#read like an equation so you vs what’s in the parentheses first and then vs what is left

[plaid-maniac]

Ok but real talk: What the Fuck was Edgeworth doing in 1-3? No like seriously, what did he do? Like in 1-2 he’s updating autopsies and convincing the bellhop to not talk, in 2-4 he’s pulling Will Powers out of fucking nowhere cause he saw Shelly and Matt doing a transaction in the hallway. 3-5 he’s obviously doing stuff cause we are doing stuff, same goes for all the investigation games. But like what was he doing in 1-3?

Like with Franziska’s cases you see her at the scene talking to witnesses or gathering evidence directly. Godot shows up with evidence he didn’t even clear with the police. They clearly do stuff before a trial. Edgeworth does too, in literally every case but 1-3.

The first time Edgeworth meets his witnesses is when they are on the stand. I can vaguely believe that cause it might be the detective’s job to handle witness stuff, with Franziska just being controlling about it. But he doesn’t even look at like the one piece of evidence we know he had to have gotten before the trial (the photo of the steel samurai going to studio 1 from the security camera). Gumshoe clearly gets the evidence well before the trial, but Edgeworth first sees it during the trial, and is completely shocked at how bad of evidence it is. Gumshoe had it, did he just not look at it or ask about it?

As far as I can recall all he does is call witnesses, get upset when they don’t respect him, mock Phoenix for being an idiot whenever he says something wrong, throw up a couple very loose objections that get overridden immediately, and then at the end stall Dee Vasquez on the stand until Phoenix can convict her of murder. He doesn’t do any evidence gathering, leaving everything up to his witnesses, and basically throws the whole trial away by being woefully underprepared.

The only three reasons I can think of as to why this is:

1. He’s such a fanboy of Will Powers that he decides not to do his job and hopes that Phoenix steamrolls him in court to get a not guilty for his celebrity crush (unlikely, he hasn’t properly gone through his redemption arc, it’s clear that losing still effects him, and he has too high of a sense of Justice to let someone that is almost certainly [due to the testimonies and evidence] the killer go)

2. He is so backed up with other cases/other obligations outside of work that he has no time to actually work the case (unlikely, as there is no evidence to suggest that the prosecution’s office asks prosecutors to work more than one case at a time, and as far as any other reason, I mean just look at him. He’s got nothing else going on besides work)

3. He is so stuck in Guilt and Gay Pining due to his recent loss that he can not get any work done (listen, it’s the only thing that makes sense. What the fuck else would be going on to cause him to not even check the evidence before a trial?)

[musinginspades]

The Buy-In

I’m learning poker.  This blog will document that journey, my struggles, what I’m working on, progress, etc.  Here’s an introductory post about me, where I’m at, what I’m working on, and how I’m working on it.

I started playing poker at the beginning of the poker boom (2003).  I mostly played limit hold ‘em for a few reasons, mainly because that was what was offered at casinos in Minnesota (where I lived then).  I read some books, played for a while, won some money, and would just play here and there.  After graduating college, it just dropped off my radar.  A few years later, I got back into playing poker, this time NLHE 6-max online.  Unfortunately, I only played a few months before Black Friday hit.  

Now, I’m back into it and picking up NLHE.  I currently play 6-max $2NL micro stakes.  After initially dumping $40 worth of buy-ins, I’ve been picking up better habits and improving my skills to where I believe I’m a slightly winning player at these small stakes.  But I’m committed to getting better now.  I also play full-ring live a few times a month, but I’m a pretty winning player at low-stakes on that.  Plus, in Colorado (where I now live), there’s a law making the maximum bet $100, so it really is $2-100 Spread limit, not exactly No-limit.  6-Max will really help me work on my post-flop play, battling for pots, etc. since the ranges are wider and the blinds come quicker.  

For Christmas, my wife and her family chipped in to buy me 10 coaching sessions with Peter Clarke (www.carrotcorner.com) at my request.  I’ve also purchased his quintessential NLHE 6-max textbook, “The Grinder’s Manual” (TGM).  TGM is one of the few books that is still recommended by poker players as a book worth studying vs. just getting an online subscription to a site, plus he wrote it as if it were to be used as a textbook in a course on Poker, which fits what I’m looking for.  I’m studying that, taking notes, trying to put the lessons into practice, and revisiting.  It’s a much slower process, but one that solidifies learning the concepts much better.  I’m currently as far as chapter 6, but continue to go back and review previous chapters when I have a problem.

As far as study habits, my wife and I are waking up at 5:30AM now.  She works out while I study poker for ~90 minutes each morning.  Additionally, Monday evenings are reserved for additional study plus playing online.  Those are the predetermined blocks of time I spend on poker.  Additionally, most Wednesday nights I get to grind a few hours of playing out.  Eventually, I’d like to get to 3-4 hours of study and practice each day: one session in the morning, and one after work.

Deliberate study is one part of the equation.  Deliberate practice is another.  Right now, I’ve taken a break (or slowed down, rather) from advancing through TGM in order to work on my hand reading skills.  My preflop play is mostly solid, though a lot of work still needs to be done, particularly around 3-betting, facing 3-bets, and 4-betting+.  The time to dive into those concepts will come.  

Instead, I’m focusing on improving my hand reading right now.  I play a bit looser than a normal TAG for 6-max (I’m around 28/24 to 30/25), and playing looser means I need to play sharper post-flop.  I think the biggest chunk of that is in better hand reading.  

My morning study sessions right now involve actively watching videos or reading articles on hand reading, then practicing that knowledge by reading 1-3 hands per morning.  There’s a lot that goes into this aspect for right now.  Going over my own hands or hands from SplitSuit’s 6-max Hand Reading Workbook (which I think my coach also worked on) is part of it.  

But then there’s more than reading a hand.  I’m asking myself what range would I call with? Bet with? Raise with? Check/call? Check/fold?  I’m taking those situations, counting combos, and working through that.  This helps me to understand how I play, identify some of my weaknesses, but also identify weaknesses of players who play like me.  I’ve noticed that so far, I’m too value-heavy post-flop.  I don’t know exactly how much I need to increase this yet, but If I’m continuing with 40-50% of my combos in some fashion on the flop, I’m probably too tight.  So I have some math to study and work out regarding that.  I don’t just want an answer like “you should c-bet 70% of your range.”  I want to know why that number is correct (if it even is).  That starts by spending at least a few hours going through the math and figuring that out.  I’m worried about getting down in the weeds too much this early, but I also know that if I can reign that in, it’ll likely be the best for me in the long run. 

Essentially, long-term success comes from the following, paraphrased from an Amazon review as it pretty succinctly spells it out (with my current steps in parentheses):

• Top experts practice more than those who are merely very good (already setting aside daily practice periods, and I plan to eventually up that amount) • Get an expert teacher and get lots of feedback (I have a dedicated coach) • Practice skills, not acquiring knowledge.  Knowledge will come as a result of using the skills (practicing my hand reading off-table as well as on; also using poker-fighter.com for drilling repetitions. I disagree with some recommendations on there such as when pot odds aren’t quite there to call an all-in with a draw, but in general should be good for drilling.) • Analyze so you know exactly what those skills are and what you need to improve most • Active, deliberate practice, not merely practice.  

Finally, I’ll be writing this blog.  I think writing is often overlooked as a method toward improvement.  It helps solidify and crystallize knowledge being worked on.  It forces you to really look at things and brings to the surface what your real trouble spots likely are.  And I’ll be working not on the lowest-hanging fruit each time, but on where my biggest (identified) weaknesses are.  It’ll make me think more.  It’ll bring up my play quicker.  It’ll shore up my biggest leaks first.  

And, of course, I’ll be working on whatever my coach tells me.