MIDI music composition is like playing Poker because …
by PokerAnon ~ March 28th, 2009. Filed under: Goals and plans, Philosophy and approach.
Years ago I wrote MIDI music as a hobby. I had a nice external KORG sound source, touch sensitive keyboard, and stored the information using my computer and MIDI software. I recorded a CD of some of my favorite completed stuff and shipped copies out to relatives. Recently I dug the CD out and started listening to it in the car. Now I hear some imperfections both compositionally and performance-wise that I was less aware of back when I recorded these, but overall it’s still pretty good stuff, I think.
The point of bringing this up is what I realized about the connection between my MIDI composition period and my current poker playing. As I got into composing I would become absorbed into the world of the sounds that I was building as I sat with my Fostex headphones separating me from the rest of the world, listening, revising, re-recording, tweaking the MIDI data. And it became something that I carried around with me during the day as well; thoughts about how to extend or revise sections, hearing the current project in my head during the day, listening to excerpts that I recorded on cassette tape to listen to in the car. It became an artificial alternative reality that I was in contact with many times during the day.
A similar thing is happening with me and poker, especially recently, and I think this is the reason that I wanted to revisit the recordings that I did long ago. Because I’m experiencing a similar artificial alternative reality when I play multiple poker tables and because I carry that experience around with me at other points of the day and reflect on it, I’m reminded subconsciously of my music period which made me want to listen to the music again.
Right now I’m particularly interested in the harder stuff, with distorted guitars, heavy pounding drums, angular dissonant lines. I think the interest there stems from some frustration and inability to express or get that same kind of angst or tension out while playing poker. On one hand it’s good that it’s not getting out at the poker tables, but on the other hand it would be better if it didn’t evolve in the first place. Still, I’m only human yet.
So that kind of zoning out, becoming absorbed in what my computer and I are doing, doing so on a regular basis many times a week, and carrying thoughts about these sessions with me during the rest of the week (including causing me to write blog entries about it) are what MIDI composing and poker have in common for me. There are lots of other similarities too, like my efforts to improve over time in both cases, but it’s the feelings about or perception of this other part of my life that is strongest right now.
I’m happily chugging along in my multitabling ring games project. I’ve had some discussions with a friend about moving up/down as he did something similar when he made the move to play ring games after a number of years as a successful MTT player and as an unsuccessful ring game player.
Like him, I’m looking for a level of comfort before moving up. My win rate is okay, I’ve got 13,000 hands at this level at the moment, and I started out over-rolled for this level, but I don’t feel like I’ve got it managed. There are still moments when I’m unsure what the best choice is, plus I’m pretty sure there are considerations that I’m overlooking when I get in various situations. On top of this I’m wondering whether I should start a project of playing LAG, with the intention of becoming comfortable with that style so that I can implement it whenever I see the opportunity arise. The LAG project may be a separate project that I can do at any time, though having comfort with it would add to my arsenal.
But it’s interesting the degree to which this has been more about attitude, default actions and patience rather than poker analysis. I seem to be working harder on developing/maintaining the right attitude, selecting default actions in given situations, and maintaining patience more than anything else. Maybe these default actions are the extent of the analysis (mind you, there are hundreds of them, depending on stack sizes, position, opponent’s and my stats, actions to date, board so far, plus my hole cards), while holding on to patient aggression. Letting donk shoves and suckouts roll off my back while waiting for my sets to hit and situations with fold equity to develop.
