Micro stakes grinding

Poker is a crazy thing. In the MTT I just got knocked out of, there is a guy making 2 or 3 huge pre-flop raises every orbit. I finally get JJ and decide to put it to him. Whatever happens, happens I am prepared for him to catch. The table short stack decides to call for three way action. We are all in, big bully turns up KK and short stack has 22. Short stack rivers his 2 to triple up and KK gets a refund from my stack. I am the lone loser, lol. Now maybe it is just me, but it seems that I run into this alot. Villain playing very loose agg but when I finally get a hand he just happens to have a bigger one. Feels like a setup. That's the beauty of lagging it, you get the action on your great hands. Sigh

My flawed poker mindset keeps costing me money. I see monsters under my bed. I always feel villain catches what they need and assume the worst.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG ($5.70)
UTG+1 ($3.26)
MP1 ($5.73)
MP2 ($4.55)
CO ($3)
Button ($4.30)
SB ($10.60)
nibbles (BB) ($6)

Preflop: nibbles is BB with 3

, K

2 folds, MP1 calls $0.05, 1 fold, CO (poster) checks, Button bets $0.10, 1 fold, nibbles calls $0.05, 1 fold, CO (poster) calls $0.05

Flop: ($0.37) 10

, K

(3 players)
nibbles checks, CO checks, Button bets $0.15, nibbles calls $0.15, 1 fold

Turn: ($0.67) 3

(2 players)
nibbles checks, Button bets $0.25, nibbles raises to $0.65, Button calls $0.40

River: ($1.97) Q

(2 players)
nibbles bets $0.50, Button raises to $1.50, nibbles calls $1

Total pot: $4.97 | Rake: $0.20

Results:
Button had J

, A

(straight, Ace high).
nibbles had 3

, K

(full house, Kings over threes).
Outcome: nibbles won $4.77

Everything I've been told is true. I've let my gameplay be affected. Looking at the stack sizes I was supposed to put villain all in on river. Long term that is the play for the amount of chips at risk. But I convinced myself that villain had KQ, for whatever reason. I am an unreasonable nit and I need to work on it. It's like I'm playing with scared money and these are just nickels and dimes. It is not only about tilt. Gotta keep working. Gotta keep growing. I really want to be better, and being better means getting maximum value outta my winning hands.

Well, hopefully my laydown has appeased the poker gods and they will start letting my rockets hold up again. Late in $1 nine man S&G. Obviously had reads on both opponents by now.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00+$0.20 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

BB (t1930)
Button (t6665)
Hero (SB) (t4905)

Hero's M: 21.80

Preflop: Hero is SB with A

, A

Button calls t150, Hero bets t450, 1 fold, Button calls t300

Flop: (t1050) J

, 8

, Q

(2 players)
Hero bets t450, Button calls t450

Turn: (t1950) 10

(2 players)
Hero bets t450, Button raises to t5765 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: t2850

Results:
Button had 10

, J

(two pair, Jacks and tens).
Outcome: Button won t2850

Enough already. Puh-leeze. Pweedy pleeze. Ended up finishing 2nd in this thing. Decent day. Bankroll is at $145.67. Time for bed. Tomorrow is another day. I will watch some of the instructional videos until I fall asleep. Poker on the brain.

Hey this is pretty cool. I'm doing a similar thing now out of necessity, trying to take $10 and see how far I can build it up. Good to know that it can be done, though I'm not especially looking forward to the tedium of nut camping for two cents. Smile

Not exaggerating. Not winning even 50% of these situations. I really don't know what to do with my gat damned aces. Fucking frustrating. I am not forgetting the winners. I just started multi-tabling the other day. I usually play 100 or so hands a day. I see AA like every other day, and they are constantly cracked. It is not in my head. Geezus this is crazy. Whatever they need boy.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP2 ($7.82)
MP3 ($2.68)
CO ($2.18)
Button ($2.23)
SB ($3.53)
BB ($5)
UTG ($4)
UTG+1 ($4.92)
nibbles (MP1) ($5.30)

Preflop: nibbles is MP1 with A

, A

1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.05, nibbles bets $0.30, 3 folds, Button calls $0.30, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.72) Q

, K

, 7

(2 players)
nibbles bets $0.30, Button raises to $1.93 (All-In), nibbles calls $1.63

Turn: ($4.58) Q

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($4.58) 2

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $4.58 | Rake: $0.20

Results:
Button had J

, Q

(three of a kind, Queens).
nibbles had A

, A

(two pair, Aces and Queens).
Outcome: Button won $4.38

Whatever they need. I will be a better player once this shit ends, but for now it is absolutely crazy! I can't beat the luckbox. It really is better to be lucky the good. ARGH!!!

Just ended first session of the day. Got over 300 hands in. Still new to the multi-tabling thing but going ok. Running four tables at a time at 5NL. Only thing is I can no longer watch tv while I play. I either listen to music, or if the Knicks are playing I listen while taking glances at the screen when something happens.

So far it has been a break even session, literally. Roll is at $145.80, up 13 cents. I recovered nicely from a few beats I took earlier including the rockets falling, so figured this would be a great time for another break.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 347 hands and saw flop:
- 32 out of 50 times while in big blind (64%)
- 12 out of 47 times while in small blind (25%)
- 32 out of 250 times in other positions (12%)
- a total of 76 out of 347 (21%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 13 (61%)
Pots won without showdown - 21

Hey man! Its great to see you finally got the multi tabling bug. I just switched over to FR a couple days ago. Been going good so far. My roll is doing quite nicely since the switch Smile

. (My op banner has been updated in a week or so lol) Hope things start to turn around for you, and my recommendation is to not watch tv while playing if ur starting to multitable. You need to get reads on villains, even when not in a hand.

Keep your chin up, those big PP's will come through for you in the end.

Yeah, I'm feeling it. Now I don't understand what took me so long. Down a little on two tables, up a bunch on the others. The other times I did this I only 2 tabled, but 4 seems to be ideal for this. Me likey.

I stopped playing after 500 hands. Roll is up to $149.13. I'm not even up a buy in but I feel great. Again, I'm in no rush. Ah man, I missed the 50 cent MTT. I'll probably through in a S&G and call it a night. I've been playing poker way to late which causes some rough mornings. Gotta get that under control.

Another session of multi-tabling started slow but ended pretty good. Fired up 4 tables at 5NL and after 225 hands I was down a buck fitty. (Oh yeah, I lost the S&G I played last night so my starting roll was $147.93). Took a break and decided it would probably be best to get used to multi-tabling at 2NL. So got on 4 tables there and had a great session there. Turned my $146 into $154. Pretty good for 2NL.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 450 hands and saw flop:
- 37 out of 64 times while in big blind (57%)
- 14 out of 60 times while in small blind (23%)
- 52 out of 326 times in other positions (15%)
- a total of 103 out of 450 (22%)
Pots won at showdown - 12 of 22 (54%)
Pots won without showdown - 29

Key pots:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG+1 ($4.53)
MP1 ($1.66)
MP2 ($0.96)
MP3 ($1.56)
CO ($3.08)
nibbles (Button) ($5.60)
SB ($1.19)
BB ($2)
UTG ($5.75)

Preflop: nibbles is Button with 10

, 10

2 folds, MP1 calls $0.02, 3 folds, nibbles bets $0.10, 2 folds, MP1 calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.23) 9

, 7

, 10

(2 players)
MP1 checks, nibbles bets $0.10, MP1 calls $0.10

Turn: ($0.43) 10

(2 players)
MP1 checks, nibbles checks

River: ($0.43) 9

(2 players)
MP1 bets $0.15, nibbles raises to $5.40 (All-In), MP1 calls $1.31 (All-In)

Total pot: $3.35 | Rake: $0.15

Results:
nibbles had 10

, 10

(four of a kind, tens).
MP1 mucked 5

, A

(flush, Ace high).
Outcome: nibbles won $3.20

Just b4 I shoved the river I typed "split pot, huh?" in the chat box. Villain insta-called.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

SB ($2.47)
BB ($2.20)
UTG ($2.02)
nibbles (UTG+1) ($2.87)
MP1 ($4.75)
MP2 ($5.04)
CO ($4.75)
Button ($6.21)

Preflop: nibbles is UTG+1 with A

, A

1 fold, nibbles bets $0.10, MP1 raises to $4.75 (All-In), 5 folds, nibbles calls $2.77 (All-In)

Flop: ($5.77) 4

, 10

, 6

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($5.77) 2

(2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($5.77) 6

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $5.77 | Rake: $0.25

Results:
nibbles had A

, A

(two pair, Aces and sixes).
MP1 mucked K

, K

(two pair, Kings and sixes).
Outcome: nibbles won $5.52

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP1 ($5.09)
MP2 ($0.73)
CO ($3.12)
nibbles (Button) ($2.97)
SB ($4.34)
BB ($1.11)
UTG ($1.80)

Preflop: nibbles is Button with 9

, A

UTG calls $0.02, MP1 calls $0.02, 2 folds, nibbles calls $0.02, SB calls $0.01, BB checks

Flop: ($0.10) J

, K

, 3

(5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, nibbles bets $0.08, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.08, 1 fold

Turn: ($0.26) 3

(2 players)
UTG checks, nibbles checks

River: ($0.26) Q

(2 players)
UTG bets $0.06, nibbles raises to $0.22, UTG raises to $1.70 (All-In), nibbles calls $1.48

Total pot: $3.66 | Rake: $0.15

Results:
nibbles had 9

, A

(flush, Ace high).
UTG had 4

, 5

(flush, King high).
Outcome: nibbles won $3.51

Taking a short break. Will do a second session after my late night snack.

Alright, time for bed. Can't keep doing the late night poker thing during the week. Squeezed out another buck and change in second session. End of day roll is $155.85. Total hands for today was 763, which is an all time high for me. I can't believe I waited so long to start multi-tabling. Why oh why am I so hard headed? I thought I was playing tight before, but now I see I really wasn't. I was seeing around 30% of the flops when I was playing only one table at a time. Now I am closer to 20. Now I easily fold marginal holdings pre-flop if I don't have enough limpers in front giving me odds for the call. B4 I would often talk myself into those calls.

Till tomorrow.

Hey Keek! I am playing 4 tables now. I shrink the size of the tables somewhat so they all fit on my screen without overlapping. That way I can still follow all the action on all of the tables. Working pretty good so far. Hope it keeps up. Pretty much all of my progress has come from playing one table at a time at 2NL.

Periods where you fold four or five consecutive hands? There have been times where I've folded four consecutive orbits. As far as playing more tables, make sure your roll can handle it cos more of it is at risk at a given time. Good luck. I hope it goes well. Do you play on PokerStars?

Didn't get too many hands today. Only played 226 and only made a little over a buck. I was down on all four tables until I hit a BB special where my A2 flopped a str8 and villain had top set. Stacked him and got my roll up to $156.99. Meh, hoped to play more, but oh well. I'll take a small win over a loss anyday. Bedtime.

some of your cbets seem very small. the ones i can remember off the top of my head are the AA SNG hand and the 1010 hand where you turned quads. These are both drawy flops and on both occassions you bet less than half the pot - you're giving villain good odds to call with draws here.

My bet sizing has always been something I needed work on. It is a result of my bigger bets not being called. When I'm betting I want the call cos the hands I bet usually have showdown value. It is that balancing act of getting weaker hands to call and better hands to fold as opposed to the other way around. Still working on my game.

Today's session started off slowly. Roll dropped down to $154 until...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP1 ($0.93)
MP2 ($4.98)
CO ($2.94)
Button ($0.74)
Hero (SB) ($2.98)
BB ($1)
UTG ($2.47)
UTG+1 ($1.88)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K

, K

UTG calls $0.02, 2 folds, MP2 bets $0.06, CO calls $0.06, Button calls $0.06, Hero raises to $0.20, 2 folds, MP2 calls $0.14, CO calls $0.14, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.70) 2

, Q

, 8

(3 players)
Hero bets $0.46, MP2 calls $0.46, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.62) 10

(2 players)
Hero bets $2.32 (All-In), MP2 calls $2.32

River: ($6.26) J

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $6.26 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Hero had K

, K

(one pair, Kings).
MP2 mucked K

, Q

(one pair, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $5.96

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

BB ($0.93)
UTG ($5)
UTG+1 ($2.70)
MP1 ($0.58)
Hero (MP2) ($5.96)
CO ($0.97)
Button ($2.55)
SB ($1.93)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with K

, K

3 folds, Hero bets $0.10, CO raises to $0.18, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.39) 7

, K

, 9

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $0.20, Hero raises to $0.40, CO calls $0.20

Turn: ($1.19) 6

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.42, CO calls $0.39 (All-In)

River: ($1.97) 4

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.97 | Rake: $0.05

Results:
Hero had K

, K

(three of a kind, Kings).
CO mucked A

, A

(one pair, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $1.92

Glad to see the turnaround with my big PP. I have been waaaaaaayyy overdue. So after 226 hands my roll is at $158.07. Dinner break. Want to play 4000 hands by Monday. Will see how it goes.

In the first hand above, what was your thinking when you shoved? Were you thinking I am hoping to take the pot right here? Or were you thinking he was a weak player and would call you (more of a value bet?). I struggle with this, I would have thought I don't want to shove because only a player who beats me can call.

He initially raise PF, if it were me he would have hit his set with QQ, TT or JJ.

Keek, I had been at the table a while and hand a fairly decent read on how villain played (provided he wasn't mixing it up). I had seen him get into a pf race with JJ, so I figured that he would do the same with a better hand, so tossed out QQ. I also saw him do a nasty suckout on someone else. I shoved cos I put him on the draw (AJc - AKc) and the turn 10 added a bunch of outs to his possible draws. He would not pay anymore money if he missed, so get the money in now. My heart sank a bit when the river J came, but all's well that ends OK. With the way I've run lately, I am paranoid with my big PP. It was one of those "If I'm beat, I'm beat" moments.

At 2NL be on the lookout for players that stack light as hell, so you will be able to take advantage. Pay attention to showdowns, and look them up if they muck their cards. Shoving is something I've been doing more of lately. People think you are bluffing and usually call. This is just at 2NL, not so much at the higher stakes.

Hitting a set when villain likely paired his ace is a great situation that allows you be be creative with your chip extraction techniques. My situation was very different cos I was vulnerable to an ace, flush, and (on the turn) a str8. A pot sized bet on the turn would have made me pot committed on the river where I may have been putting my chips in bad, had villain completed his draw (and missed draws don't pay well). I felt if he'd call $1.62 he'd call $2.32. I couldn't wait on villain to commit himself as I was OOP. At 2NL, if you feel you have the best of it, shove. Alot of times they will call you, cos they will assume you are one of the maniacs that shove air.

I still need to work on emotion control. I still get upset too easily. I dropped a buy in when my QQ ran into KK for my stack as I began today's session. Got pissed cos it was in my 1st 15 hands. Left the tables and played a $1 single table S&G. Built up a 5000+ chips stack with 4 players left. In a big pot I induced a bluff from the 2nd big stack only for him to runner runner his needed card to suckout, and again I was on tilt cos now I was short stack. The thing is I was able to come back and win 1st place. I hafta remind myself that losing is a part of the game. It has to happen. For some reason though, I can't just shake them off. That is something I definitely need alot of work on before I go up in stakes where you actually play for money.

Crap day. Up & down, ended down. Roll is at $156.17. After another long session multi-tabling I was down a little over three buck. Played in a 90 man 25 cent S&G and fin 7th for like a buck. That sucked too, but i wont get into it. Can't win everyday, right? At least I logged alot of hands.

Till tomorrow.

Logged a 500+ hand session and was down $1. Frustrating day. Played a S&G and took first, so put my roll back up to $158.30. I've noticed I don't have as much success on the weekends in cash games, but weekend S&Gs go alot better. The over aggression works against the donks in S&Gs cos they knock each other out, but in the cash games they price me out of my hands. So unless I'm holding a set or top two, they win. But when I am strong they really pay me off. So I am pretty much at the mercy of the cards in ring. Still feel like playing cash (vs S&G), but undecided. Will c. Definitely playing more poker tonight though, either way

Finally cracked the $160 mark. 1st day back at 5NL. Played a short 100 hand session playing only one table. Will play an S&G then do a 2 table cash session after a break. One hand that is still with me:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($5.79)
MP2 ($4.96)
MP3 ($10)
CO ($16.21)
Hero (Button) ($9.03)
SB ($5.35)
BB ($2.50)
UTG ($0.66)
UTG+1 ($6.76)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A

, 8

1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.05, 2 folds, MP3 calls $0.05, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.05, SB calls $0.03, BB checks

Flop: ($0.25) Q

, 3

, J

(5 players)
SB bets $0.10, BB calls $0.10, 1 fold, MP3 calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.10

Turn: ($0.65) A

(4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP3 bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, 2 folds

River: ($1.65) J

(2 players)
MP3 bets $1, Hero folds

Total pot: $1.65 | Rake: $0.05

The way I saw it, the best I could hope for was a split. Villain played every ace (saw him limp AK on button), but could have easily had KT or AJ. I see so many people make this call though so was this a nitty fold? There was a good chance this was a split pot.

Still grinding.

Keek, I think my hand is too weak for that type of aggression on the turn. What do I do if villain shoves my re-raise? All I have is top pair weak kicker. I don't see villain folding to my raise so I don't see what I would accomplish with that move. If this were a tournament or a S&G I might make that play, but in a cash game I don't like to make plays like that, on that type of board, in a limped pot, with a marginal holding. But like I said, I'm nitty. So I guess your answer to my question on the river is you wouldn't be in that spot. I think I will post this in BC. Thanks for response.

BTW, I took 1st in my S&G. May play another.

Good day. Got caught up playing too late. I have really got to stop doing this. Won just under 10 bucks today, which is pretty good. Roll is at $167.90. Gonna watch Poker After Dark until I fall asleep. Jennifer Titty is on and her breasts are in full effect.

Till tomorrow.

Nice work on the roll nibbles. Very nice, hope u break $200 soon.

Thanks ryokan! I was all ready to quit a short while back, but I got back on the horse. $200 is right around the corner. I can feel it.

But tonight I wasn't feeling the poker thing. Did not want to play at all, so I forced a $1 S&G and finished 3rd. It is better than losing, but I really hate 3rd place. But it is better than bubbling. I think I will just play the 25 cent MTT and watch some MMA on Spike. It is one of those Ultimate Knockout joints. I just luv that stuff.

I just found a good micro stakes MTT. the 8:15 p.m. $2.00 + .20 guaranteed $4000 is very good. Starting with 3000 chips allows for alot more poker to be played. I just got knocked out in 1300+ place but still had fun. I just wish I had luck as you need luck to go deep in these. The table luckbox bigstack ran me down for his flush just like he ran so many others down to get his weak ass draws and build his stack. I am truly a sucker cos I keep playing these things. I just luv 'em so. Played just under 100 hands at 5NL b4 the MTT and dropped a little over a buck, so roll is down to $165.60. Gonna do a 5NL multi-table session after a break. I will only do 3 tables cos 4 seemed a bit much as I was missing out on some of the action. I'm not good enough to just play on autopilot.

No more NLHE grinding. I'm going back to my old school game of 7 card stud. I can't take advantage of the hold em luckbox. My roll had dropped back down to $158 after some super suckouts and I was super pissed. Yesterday I reacquainted myself with stud playing the 4 cent/8 cent game. That went pretty well, so this afternoon I started on the 10 cent/ 20 cent game. I wish that game was as popular as hold em cos there u can really take advantage of luckboxes chasing dead cards. I saw one guy who was multi-tabling stud. LOL. I'd bet anything he isn't a winning player. At least he wasn't at the table I was playing at.

Anyway, my bankroll has recovered thanks to some donkeys betting my hands for me. Roll sits at $174.80. Taking a break and will go through the stud portion of FTR (never stepped foot in there). I will still play hold em, but I'm done grinding it. Stud is where I will log the majority of my sessions.

Oh yeah, I threw in a $1 nine man S&G and finished 3rd cos some luckbox I had competely dominated sucked out on me. QQ vs Q8 on a Q high board. Runner runner str8. that's hold em for me, and my sanity. Stud it is baby. Beats like that wont cost you your stack.

Lol. Nibbles you'll be back at NLHE before you know it. There's so much traffic on Stars your never far from finding a fishy table. Just stick at it dude, you can't let one session, day, week or month of losing or breaking even get to you. You've got the game to beat the levels your playing at, you just have to put more volume in!! Only playing one 300 hand session a day isn't going to get you where you want to be.

I'm not trying to make a dig at you, I just want you to do well!!! PLEASE stick to the grind and see your operation through and don't let your good work so far go to waste!!

Hey suit! I will still throw in NLHE from time to time (few times a week), but I gotta go with stud. I don't think I am breaking away from my op. My goal remains the same. Grind to $500, only adding another game to the grind. Although there aren't as many, the donkeys are there too. I do love hold em, but the swings may be too much for me. I've tried limit hold em, but the suckouts are way, way, way too much for me.

Anyway, I finished the night playing 4 cent/8 cent stud. Put the roll to $179.41. Today I am reading Doyle's Super System. I found a free copy online. Right now I'm reading Chip Reese's section on stud of course. My poker library is very limited so time to get with the reading. Probably wont play any until tonight.

but dont you wanna beat NLHE?? i cant believe theres more idiots at stud than at HE.

Poker is all about luck. Smile

Since last night I've been cold carded at stud. this afternoon after horrible cards again, I decided to play a little razz. And whaddaya know, I'm being dealt 3 of a kind and big pocket pairs left and fuggin' right. I can't stop the board from pairing on me. You just hafta laugh about.

I finished reading Super System, and now I'm reading Sklansky's TOP. Haven't been grinding cos of the reading. Roll got up as high as $181, but now back down to $178.69, so pretty much no progress. Too bad I'm not as "good" as so many people here. My "wheee" moments are few and far between. Why can't I just run good for a little while? Just a small rush? Just a little fun push and catch poker for profitz and monies? Envy is a terrible thing, but I am feeling it. Hopefully TOP will help put things in perspective.

Don't think I will play anymore poker today. Not in the right frame of mind.

I hate to repeat myself, but you keep giving me an opening Wink

- this is the book you should be reading on poker. Believe me now and thank me later.

Haven't found a free copy of the poker mindset yet, Jay. When I get to 10NL and start building up my FPPs I'll order it. Have found Harrington on Hold em, though. Started reading it today. Really good read so far. Haven't been playing much poker due to reading, but the little I have played cost me a buy in. Dropped 5 bucks in the last two days, roll down to $173.09. I am gonna take another stab at the $2 MTT that starts with 3000 chips. The only other time I played it I didn't cash, but it was still a fun experience.

Finished reading Harrington on Hold em vol 1 and it was a great read. So many things I wasn't aware I was doing wrong and failing to take into consideration. This book and Super System really opened my eyes. All this time I have been just trying to get into pots ahead and win by staying ahead (I'm relatively new to serious poker). I didn't appreciate the fact that you have to play from behind when the odds dictate it. I was aware of it, but didn't appreciate it. I don't know how to write it all but I feel I have a better understanding of the game now. One thing I've been doing wrong is pricing myself out when I semi-bluff. At these stakes, how silly is that? I have a better understanding of what I am trying to accomplish with bet sizing. I have had trouble with that.

I didn't play much poker today, just 1 S&G. I took 1st, but it was different this time. I actually crushed the game. I didn't have a great run of cards or a bunch of maniacal opponents that knocked each other out early. I even had QQ go down, but it didn't phase me cos a lesser player would have lost more in that spot. I mixed up my play very well and by the middle of the game I was in command. I was doing much more than playing my cards. I was taking advantage of situations. I actually had plans for my play of hands. I've won a bunch of S&Gs but this win was very different. I didn't just wait for premiums and hoped they knocked each other out.

I was losing my zest for poker here lately, but these books have recharged me. I am about to start on No Limit Hole Em: Theory and Practice. Reading is fundamental. Idea

A real tilt day. Poker can be a real bitch. When it is your day to lose, you will lose no matter what. No matter what. I did something real stupid today. Pissed off cos of how bad the day was going, so I decided to jump up to 10NL for a session. 1 buy in, no problem. I decided to short stack it. VERY FIRST HAND:
FTR Hand History Converter Output (intended for copying and pasting into poker forums!):
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG ($2.60)
UTG+1 ($3.10)
MP1 ($2.30)
MP2 ($13.35)
CO ($5.45)
Button ($8.90)
SB ($9.50)
Hero (BB) ($6)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q

, Q

UTG calls $0.10, UTG+1 calls $0.10, 2 folds, CO bets $0.30, Button calls $0.30, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.20, 2 folds, CO calls $0.90, Button calls $0.90

Flop: ($3.85) Q

, 3

, J

(3 players)
Hero bets $1.20, CO raises to $2.40, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4.80 (All-In), CO calls $1.85 (All-In)

Turn: ($12.35) 6

(2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($12.35) 4

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $12.35 | Rake: $0.60

Results:
Hero had Q

, Q

(three of a kind, Queens).
CO had 10

, A

(flush, Ace high).
Outcome: CO won $11.75

TWO HANDS LATER:
FTR Hand History Converter Output (intended for copying and pasting into poker forums!):
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

SB ($9.90)
BB ($2.50)
UTG ($3)
UTG+1 ($2.55)
MP1 ($13.35)
MP2 ($7.70)
CO ($9.90)
Hero (Button) ($4.85)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J

, J

3 folds, MP2 bets $0.30, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.90, 1 fold, BB calls $0.80, MP2 calls $0.60

Flop: ($2.75) 2

, 10

, 3

(3 players)
BB checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $1.40, 1 fold, MP2 raises to $2.90, Hero raises to $3.95 (All-In), MP2 calls $1.05

Turn: ($10.65) 9

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($10.65) K

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10.65 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had J

, J

(one pair, Jacks).
MP2 had 3

, 3

(three of a kind, threes).
Outcome: MP2 won $10.15

I guess I deserve it for playing above my roll. 3 hands at 10NL, what an experience. I still can't win the big pots. Destined to grind.

I could post this shit everyday, but I don't. Why do I fuggin play? Played my $2.20 MTT and this is how I go out:

FTR Hand History Converter Output (intended for copying and pasting into poker forums!):
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00+$0.20 Tournament, 125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Button (t9298)
Hero (SB) (t2287)
BB (t8595)
UTG (t4340)
UTG+1 (t9355)
MP1 (t9875)
MP2 (t4745)
MP3 (t3509)
CO (t5170)

Hero's M: 3.81

Preflop: Hero is SB with A

, A

4 folds, MP3 bets t750, 2 folds, Hero raises to t2262 (All-In), 1 fold, MP3 calls t1512

Flop: (t4999) K

, 2

, 9

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t4999) 3

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t4999) 4

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t4999

Results:
Hero had A

, A

(flush, King high).
MP3 had 9

, A

(flush, Ace high).
Outcome: MP3 won t4999

And again I was not surprised. Built myself up to 5000 chips stacks twice and some luckbox sucked out on me then donked chips away to someone else. You have to be lucky for poker. And I ain't that. Domination means nothing. Damn I am sooooo pissed off right now. I can't win big pots and I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. What cards should I play? Am am not even winning 50% of the situations. Got dealt 4 big PP today, the 3 losers are posted here, the winner only won the blinds. Sweeeeeeeeet!

I know you all don't wanna hear it. I know you all don't give a fuck. I feel like I should stop giving a fuck. Was all amped up from my reading, but this crap drives me crazy. I hit three sets this weekend and lost them all.

Roll is at $160 right now, and I will keep playing tonight. Bad idea and I no longer care. Gonna do 3 tables at 5NL and whatever happens happens. You can't care about this shit.

Just gotta let it go man. No need to get worked up about it. If you can't handle running bad for a while at 5nl/10nl you will never be able to hand the bigger swings at 25nl+. What will you do when you lose a $100 stack with AA to a guy who played J4o just for the hell of it? You can't get pissed off, just type, "nh" in the chat and move on. Poker is a mental game that has no room for emotions. It took me a LONG time to realize that, but once I did I instantly seen improvement. I don't let losing a stack/stacks affect me (at least not as much). If I got my money in good, I pat myself on the back and make a deposit in the EV bank, if I got in bad I tend to get more pissed off cuz I know I made a mistake.

Just some food for thought. Just gotta be able to desensitize yourself from the swings and keep making +EV decisions. GL sir.

Thanks guys. I appreciate your comments. The thing that gets me is that it takes so long for me to build it up, but it goes so quickly. Like I said, I don't usually win the big pots, so my progress is a slow grind. Oh well. It is what it is. Thanks again.

Today I decided I would start over. The $20 drop in roll stung a bit. I went right back down to 4 tabling 2NL. I have decided to focus on hand volume. 1000 hands a day is my goal. Half way done so far today. Stats:
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 522 hands and saw flop:
- 49 out of 75 times while in big blind (65%)
- 30 out of 71 times while in small blind (42%)
- 71 out of 376 times in other positions (18%)
- a total of 150 out of 522 (28%)
Pots won at showdown - 26 of 35 (74%)
Pots won without showdown - 32

I'm up $1.75 so far, which puts me over 8BB/100 (me tinks). When I get used to grinding out a consistent winrate for 1000 hands I will move back up to 5NL. My new focus is volume. I was surprised BB/100 was so high cos I lost a total of 3 bucks when my KK ran into AA, and my JJ was crushed by 99 catching his set. Didn't let it piss me off though. Hopefully this shift in focus will be good for me.

1st day of new goal and fail. Fell alseep after hand 741. Final stats for the night:
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 741 hands and saw flop:
- 62 out of 100 times while in big blind (62%)
- 40 out of 100 times while in small blind (40%)
- 112 out of 541 times in other positions (20%)
- a total of 214 out of 741 (28%)
Pots won at showdown - 31 of 46 (67%)
Pots won without showdown - 51

Finished the night up $5.39 which gives me over 19BB/100 for the session. Grreat! Two hands that stuck with me:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

SB ($1.98)
BB ($6.03)
UTG ($5)
UTG+1 ($3.06)
MP1 ($2.69)
MP2 ($4.59)
MP3 ($0.71)
CO ($2.37)
Hero (Button) ($2.97)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9

, 9

1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.02, MP3 calls $0.02, CO calls $0.02, Hero calls $0.02, 1 fold, BB bets $0.14, UTG+1 calls $0.12, MP2 calls $0.12, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.12

Flop: ($0.61) 9

, 6

, 2

(4 players)
BB bets $0.62, UTG+1 calls $0.62, 1 fold, Hero raises to $2.83 (All-In), BB calls $2.21, UTG+1 raises to $2.92 (All-In), BB calls $0.09

Turn: ($9.28) K

(3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($9.28) 9

(3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $9.28 | Rake: $0.45

Results:
Hero had 9

, 9

(four of a kind, nines).
BB had K

, K

(full house, Kings over nines).
UTG+1 had A

, 7

(flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $8.65, BB won $0.18

Biggest pot for me ever at 2NL. I actually earned a FPP, lol. I keep expecting the worse. When K hit on the turn I knew BB hit his set, and the spade hit river (didn't initially notice it was a 9) I was cussing cos UTG+1 had to be on that draw. Cussed for 2 seconds. But all is well. Sweet pot.

This one was a little lesson on implied odds:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG ($1.28)
Hero (MP) ($2.94)
CO ($2.31)
Button ($3.11)
SB ($4.22)
BB ($6.56)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 7

, 8

UTG calls $0.02, Hero calls $0.02, 2 folds, SB calls $0.01, BB checks

Flop: ($0.08) K

, 5

, 6

(4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.08) 4

(4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.06, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.06

River: ($0.20) 7

(2 players)
UTG bets $1.20 (All-In), Hero calls $1.20

Total pot: $2.60 | Rake: $0.10

Results:
UTG had 9

, 8

(straight, nine high).
Hero mucked 7

, 8

(straight, eight high).
Outcome: UTG won $2.50

I didn't insta-call. I acknowledged the possibility of him having the 98. I didn't really know what type of player villain was so he might have made that play with a 3, or just an 8. I guess realistically the best I could have hoped for was a split, and with so little invested in the pot I should have gotten away.

Tonight I will try my best to hit 1000 hands. Gotta get the hands in. Wanna be a multi-tabling nit.

OK. 1000 hands a night was a rather lofty goal for 4 tabling. The tables I played were rather slow but had loose passive players so I stayed.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 330 hands and saw flop:
- 20 out of 46 times while in big blind (43%)
- 11 out of 42 times while in small blind (26%)
- 37 out of 242 times in other positions (15%)
- a total of 68 out of 330 (20%)
Pots won at showdown - 5 of 9 (55%)
Pots won without showdown - 23

Up $4.50 so far. Taking a break now, will try to force out a few hundred more. When I was playing one table at a time, playing 4 or 5 hours was very easy as I watched tv or movies on the internet. Multi-tabling I am putting forth some effort keeping track of the play on each table. There is more work involved. I will play at least 500 hands a night, but will shoot for more.

Two hands I won with questionable play.
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

CO ($1.84)
Button ($5.49)
SB ($3.65)
Hero (BB) ($3)
UTG ($0.63)
MP1 ($1.16)
MP2 ($4.21)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K

, K

2 folds, MP2 calls $0.02, CO calls $0.02, 1 fold, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.16, MP2 calls $0.14, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.36) A

, 10

, A

(2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.22, Hero calls $0.22

Turn: ($0.80) 8

(2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.34, Hero calls $0.34

River: ($1.48) 5

(2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.34, Hero calls $0.34

Total pot: $2.16 | Rake: $0.10

Results:
Hero had K

, K

(two pair, Aces and Kings).
MP2 had 10

, 7

(two pair, Aces and tens).
Outcome: Hero won $2.06

At first I figured I was way ahead or way behind and I'd give him the opportunity to bluff off his chips, but I showed enough weakness that some villains would shove the river, which I wouldn't have called I don't think. If I had AK in that spot I likely would check raise the turn, so that would probably be the better play in the future where I might get a weaker ace to fold.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG+1 ($1.75)
MP1 ($1.92)
MP2 ($7.98)
MP3 ($3.17)
CO ($5.05)
Button ($5.39)
SB ($5.44)
Hero (BB) ($2.94)
UTG ($2.08)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9

, 9

UTG bets $0.06, UTG+1 calls $0.06, 2 folds, MP3 calls $0.06, 2 folds, SB calls $0.05, Hero calls $0.04

Flop: ($0.30) 9

, 10

, J

(5 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.10, UTG calls $0.10, UTG+1 calls $0.10, 1 fold, SB calls $0.10

Turn: ($0.70) K

(4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG bets $0.20, UTG+1 calls $0.20, SB calls $0.20, Hero calls $0.20

River: ($1.50) J

(4 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $1.39 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $1.39, 1 fold

Total pot: $4.28 | Rake: $0.20

Results:
Hero had 9

, 9

(full house, nines over Jacks).
UTG+1 had Q

, A

(straight, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $4.08

Even though I won I don't like how I played the hand. I thought this one was tough to play cos the board was scary from the very start. On the river I had the worst possible boat and I think I'm a loser more times than I would win in that spot.

I am really tired as I had a long day. I will force at least the 170 remaining hands for the night. Volume baby. Oh yeah. I stopped reading TOP, will resume later. I am reading Small Stakes Hold Em by Sklansky, Miller, and Malmuth. Good read. I really want to get better.

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