Dipping into the mailbag

Figure I should answer a few questions that have been sent my way.

From: Dean

As someone who is considering taking a more serious approach to poker (I currently 8 table 22-33 dollar buyin SNGs) would I be better off studying the players who are the winners at my level (33s and some of the profitable regs at 55s) or would I be best off studying someone like stevie444's game?

My opinion is that it's probably better to study people at your limit or maybe a level above your limit. You can definitely learn some things from watching the high limit games too, but also there are some things that work in the high limit games that don't necessarily work in the lower limit games, and by emulating the higher games you could pick up some bad habits for your current stakes.

From: Amir

I know that you mass multi-table. Obviously you have a positive ROI doing this, and obviously you believe you are maximizing your $ expectation by doing that.
My question is what impact do you think this has on your ROI?
Do you think your ROI would be about the same if you only played 10 tables?

I would guess my ROI would be about 1% higher if I consistently 10 tabled. I definitely make some mistakes when playing 25-30 or more tables as I've been known to do. It's obviously impossible to read every situation correctly when playing that many tables. And also I occasionally misclick if I'm in a hurry. But you're right in that I think I'm maximizing my $ earned per hour doing it the way I do it, at a cost to my ROI. If my ROI started to dip a bit I would probably cut back on the number of tables I was playing.

Also, how are you able to chat and play 20 tables at the same time??!!

I don't know, lots of practice 20 tabling I guess? :) I enjoy the chatting aspect of the game and try to engage in conversation whenever I can if the person is being friendly. Obviously I get a lot of people telling me to die of cancer or aids or whatever when I put a bad beat on them, and I don't really feel it necessary to find time to chat with these people.

From: Brad

yo jorg, been watching you alot lately. You're straight up an inspiration to me. I've been grinding off and on for the last 2 years. I have good stats but been having bankroll mangement problems. Been in debt since I droped outta university (stupid gov't student loans). I'm on a few different leadreboards on sharkscope (mostly lower limits b/c of b/r mangement)I do well in MTT's as well. If you have the time to answer this, what are your suggestions. You're obv a seasoned pro at ginding the highest stakes online sng's/tourneys. I know i'm good, and i know i can play higher, but it seems like everytime i start getting a roll i need to cash out to cover old bills and stuff (simply pressure from collectors/bills). Have you gone through this when you started? My dad has a small (very small) construction business. Pretty sure i am (and can continuously) making more money on stars than i can working with him. and he tells me i'm wasting my time, yet (my computers/guitars/tv's and shit i own are all from poker and not from work), i know i'm making more money from ginding. What are your suggestions if any? I'm 24 and I play on Pstars as ******* , I know your time is valuble, but if you could check my stats on sharkscope and suggest (in your opinion) what i should be playing it'd be greatly apprecitated. Hope I can hear you. I'll be watching man keep up the sick work!!

Hey I can't really suggest a game for you. You have to figure out what works for you and what game fits your playing style and your train of thought. Don't be in a rush to play higher if you're doing well at your current limit though. The games only get tougher as you move up.

As for people telling you poker isn't right for you...you gotta do what you want to do with your life. If you worry about what other people thing of what you're doing, you'll just be miserable in the long run. I was lucky in that both my parents were very supportive of me going into the "field" of poker so I didn't have to worry about that very much.

Also, why do so many people think my screen name is "Jorg" instead of "Jorj"? Is it that hard to read it?

From: Mirko

I'm Mirko a play on Pokerstars.it poker room.
congratz for the entry on pokerstars pro team ! .
you also do coach ?

I got a few questions similar to this.

No I am not coaching right now and have no plans to do it in the near future. I just don't feel it's really worth my time to do and it doesn't sound all that fun either. If I change my mind in the future I will be sure to let you guys know here on my blog.

From: Jason

Will you be selling pieces of you in the WSOP?

I will be selling pieces of myself in the $50k 8-game event that takes place on May 28. I will write up a blog post soon to give you guys info on how to buy a piece of me in that event if you are interested.

I probably won't be selling pieces in any other events.

From: Rob

I always enjoy playing you and am looking to finally get serious on my play. What software do you recommend for tracking play, hand history, etc? I read some of your posts about the back up internet, but do not generally have enough in play to make that worth my while. I want to be able to start analyzing myself to learn from prior mistakes. See you on the virtual felt.

I currently use Holdem Manager for tracking and hand histories. In the past I used Poker Tracker as well. They're both pretty similar but they both have slightly different functions and it's best to figure out which one does the things you want it to.

Also, when we get closer, will you post your anticipated WSOP schedule. I would love to watch you play for a bit when I am out there in June.

Here is my WSOP Schedule, written in C++ code:

if (StillInCurrentEvent() == TRUE)
{
KeepPlayingCurrentEvent()
}
else
{
SignUpForNextEvent()
}

From: Jeffrey

how do u always win every hand? can you teach me on how to cheat software like u?

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