Mr. Slick, Big Ugly is here to see you

When I was in high school, I took this outdoor education class that was pretty cool.

Even though I'm an Eagle Scout and know plenty about camping, hiking, rafting, etc., I got a B in the class because I kept arguing with this dude who wouldn't take on his share of the communal gear. I should have just kept my mouth shut, but I hate selfish fucks, especially on camping trips.

That story is a bad analogy for my poker game -- I know how to play pretty well, but I can't help myself from fucking it up at times because I don't know any better.

The biggest single flaw in my limit game is short-handed play, and that's a big flaw.

Full ring games often end up heads-up or three-way on the flop, and I'm practically useless in those situations. I think one of the main reasons for that is that I'm still not used to seeing a showdown with what I know is a likely second-best hand. In no limit, you usually have to be pretty sure you're ahead at the showdown to get that far. In limit, you often have to call down because the betting on each round is lower.

Fortunately, I've found a fertile training ground: Party Poker's $1/$2 6-max games.

They're short-handed by design, the play level is atrocious in general, but it's still enough of a challenge to evaluate how hands and opponents should be handled.

It's like all these fish at this level are my control group, and they're giving me an education for free (and often paying me for it!).

And these games are action-packed. You have to lower your standards and play more hands because you're up against fewer players, and other players do the same. Meanwhile, there are only six players per hand, so each hand comes around very quickly.

So I'm enjoying it and plan on playing at least 10,000 hands at this level until I feel comfortable with aggressive play, pressure situations and call-down standards.
If all goes well, I'll come out of it as a much better player.

Early on, I asked the 2+2 forum about odds and when you should continue playing a hand. Check out the discussion here.