Operation: Ben learns poker and builds a roll

Out of interest, if I had raised your c-bet, what do you think you'd have done? What would your thinking process have actually been?

edit: actually i'll get into more detail later, real busy right now

Yes!!!

I just played a set of 4 $22s and won 2 of them. I also cleared my Bonus with the FPPs from this set for an extra $125. That gives me a balance of $1063 Very Happy

. I broke the 4-figure mark!

Heres a fun hand (winning hand of my last game). Not sure whether to title is 'inducing a bluff' or 'the definition of a bluff'. It does demonstrate a concept missed by a lot of newbie STTers though, which is that you're often better off checking in a WA/WB situation on the river, and having a chance at calling a bluff, than betting and only being called/raised by a better hand.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t600 (2 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero (t8966)
Button (t4534)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7

, 8

.
Button calls t300, Hero checks.

Flop: (t950) 9

, 7

, J

(2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: (t950) 5

(2 players)
Hero bets t800, Button calls t800.

River: (t2550) 2

(2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t3084 (All-In), Hero calls t3084.

Final Pot: t8718

Results :
Hero has 7c 8d (one pair, sevens).
Button has 8h Qd (high card, queen).
Outcome: Hero wins t8718.

Plan was to c/r AI on the flop btw, but I'd done that recently (when I flopped a straight) so maybe he was more wary.

*Last edited by bjsaust on Fri, 22 Feb 2008, 11:43pm; edited 1 time in total*

Well, that was fun while it lasted. Played a set of 4 $33s and placed OOTM in them all, down to $924. Heres some fun hands:

[edit]Deleted bad beats, dont want to focus on them[/edit]

OK, whinge over. I need like 15 FPPs to afford Kill Everyone from the FPP store, so I might play a single table $33 later.

Or a set of 4.

Depends how I'm feeling I guess :p.

I think its a bit grey. In a live game its against the rules to show mucked cards to one person and not others, but I'm not sure how its looked upon in online games to do this.

Ok, this morning was nice. I downloaded Massimo's 25NL vids from donkeyschool and watched them, made a lot of sense. Got me in the mood for cash so I loaded up 4 tables of 25NL and ran good. Played some yesterday and did well also (ended up even yesterday after I got AI TPTK vs TPNK (deliberate trap) on the flop and he hit his NK on the river for 2pair.

Here some of the interesting hands:

First, the fun one. Its nice to get aces AI pre and have it hold up for a change:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero ($33.85)
Button ($26.25)
SB ($13.90)
BB ($25)
UTG ($23.25)
MP ($33.50)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A

, A

.
UTG calls $0.25, MP raises to $0.75, Hero raises to $2.75, 1 fold, El*Snako calls $2.65, 1 fold, UTG folds, MP raises to $7.75, Hero raises to $29.6, MP calls $26.50 (All-In).

Flop: ($62.35) 9

, J

, 2

(3 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($62.35) A

(3 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($62.35) 4

(3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $67

Results in white below:
SB doesn't show.
MP has Kd Kc (one pair, kings).
Hero has As Ad (three of a kind, aces).
Outcome: Hero wins $67.

Now this ones a bit more interesting. Villian here has been playing back at me a bit, definately my best/hardest opponent at the table. I think he's more likely to 3-bet with high PPs than Ax, except maybe AK, whereas he may expect me to 4-bet with high PPs and call with a range weighted towards high Ax's.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (4 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

Hero ($56.25)
SB ($73.70)
BB ($33.45)
UTG ($10.35)

Preflop: Hero is Button with

,

.
1 fold, Hero raises to $1, SB raises to $3.25, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.25.

Flop: ($6.75)

,

(2 players)
SB bets $4, Hero raises to $12, SB folds.

Final Pot: $14.75

Hows my bet sizing on this one (first hand at table)?:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

SB ($13.75)
BB ($19.40)
UTG ($17.60)
Hero ($25)
CO ($24.65)
Button ($26.80)

Preflop: Hero is MP with

,

. Hero posts a blind of $0.25.
UTG calls $0.25, Hero (poster) checks, 1 fold, Button calls $0.25, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($1.25)

,

(5 players)
SB checks, BB bets $0.75, UTG calls $0.75, Hero raises to $3.5, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds, UTG folds.

Final Pot: $3.50

Hmm, I honestly did raise most PPs PF, but heres another limped one, is the 3-bet on the flop best, or flat and let him bet turn?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

SB ($24.80)
BB ($14.20)
UTG ($27.05)
Hero ($24.50)
CO ($25.20)
Button ($45)

Preflop: Hero is MP with

,

.
UTG calls $0.25, Hero calls $0.25, 2 folds, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($1)

,

(4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.7, SB raises to $1.5, BB folds, UTG folds, Hero raises to $4.5, SB folds.

Final Pot: $4

3-barrel hand, I dunno about this one. My main reason for doubts is I really have trouble putting him on a hand. Some kind of PP or a strange straight draw maybe? This is same villian as the QQ hand, but earlier in the game. Dont think he's been at the table long so didnt have much read at the time.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero ($29.10)
MP ($25.85)
CO ($14.05)
Button ($24.05)
SB ($23)
BB ($34.10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A

, K

.
Hero raises to $1, 2 folds, Button calls $1, 2 folds.

Flop: ($2.35) T

, 4

, 5

(2 players)
Hero bets $1.25, Button calls $1.25.

Turn: ($4.85) T

(2 players)
Hero bets $3, Button calls $3.

River: ($10.85) 4

(2 players)
Hero bets $7, Button folds.

Final Pot: $10.85

I'm pretty sure this one was bad. This guys stats were something like 60/0, I was making a nice income stream out of raising his limps and c-betting the flops. I took this as likely a PP playing back and called, but if I give him a range of 22+,AK then I'm worse than 40% here so I think its a fold:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

BB ($26.15)
UTG ($14.75)
MP ($7.85)
Hero ($30.10)
Button ($31.65)
SB ($52)

Preflop: Hero is CO with

,

.
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.25, Button calls $1.25, 2 folds, MP raises to $7.85, Hero calls $6.60, Button folds.

Flop: ($17.30)

,

(2 players)

Turn: ($17.30)

(2 players)

River: ($17.30)

(2 players)

Final Pot: $17.30

Results in white below:
MP has Kh Ah (high card, ace).
Hero has Ad Qc (high card, ace).
Outcome: MP wins $17.30.

Last one, BB special, thoughts on the river?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

SB ($26.55)
Hero ($22.80)
UTG ($4.75)
MP ($23.20)
CO ($28.05)
Button ($44.65)

Preflop: Hero is BB with

,

.
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, 2 folds, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: ($0.75)

,

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, MP checks.

Turn: ($0.75)

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.4, MP calls $0.40, SB folds.

River: ($1.55)

(2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $1, Hero raises to $4, MP folds.

Final Pot: $3.55

Results in white below:
Hero has 5c 7c (three of a kind, fives).
Outcome: Hero wins $3.55.

Frustrating final note, earnt the last 15 FPPs I needed to buy Kill Everyone from the FPP store (and it was there yesterday), and now when I go to the FPP store its no longer there Sad

.

Heres some more good news. For those who read about me staking a guy for 20 $11 STTs, he just finished his last one and ended up with $104 profit, so for my $220 investment I got $272 back, which was nice. It was also enough to tip my balance back into 4 figures. I'd like to extend it (and so would he), but sanity has prevailed and I realise putting 25-30% of my BR into someone elses hands probably isnt the best move at this stage of my poker career. Still it was fun, he earnt a nice $50 from it and so did I, so happy we gave it a shot Smile

.

So my PokerStars goals are done for the time being. I'm now planning to move to Full Tilt and clear their $600 deposit Bonus. My plan is to move $900 of my roll onto their and start concentrating on 25NL. I'll leave $100 on stars so I can still mess around with friends and fellow FTRers when the mood strikes. So I withdrew $900 back to Netteller to put onto FT, but found out that only the $500 I initially deposited from netteller clears immediately, the other $400 has to go through a security check that could take up to 3 days. I also got a check withdrawal for the $500 I had temporarily in my account (while the stake played out) which will cover my new monitor and some other tech stuff I bought recently. Means until this extra money clears I only have the $104 or so dollars I have left on stars to mess with.

I've emailed stars support about the Kill everyone book, hopefully its only off the list temporarily.

I've found how to download the videos off FTR onto my harddrive so I can watch them. I can get between 2 and 4 a day downloaded, so I'm spending some free time watching them instead. They vary a bit in quality, but I think some of that is just the spots the people find themselves in. Watching sauces 200NL one now, and its a real standout for quality so far Smile

.

Got my money on FT this morning. Down about a buyin. I lost two big pots and both were bluffs, maybe I should learn something there? One was iffy, 3-bet pre with AKs, flop was monotone no-broadways, I c/c'd, turn was a Q I bet it and got rrai and folded. Dont think I like that one. Other I called a raise with QTs on the button, floated on a JJx two tone board with the plan to bluff if 3-flush came. It did, opp lead weak and I put in a big raise and he called. Turn brought the 4-flush and he checked so I put him AI and he called...with trips. I'm a little torn on this one. I really dont see how he calls with trips on a 4-flush board. I think my line makes sense...dunno. He said afterwards he only called because he was down $200 already today. I guess that means he was tilting, sucks.

Gah, I'm gonna have to move down or play tourneys for a while at this rate Sad

. I'm winning small pots and losing big ones. Its like I play well for an hour and then do one dumb hand and lose a buyin. Really got to work on my concentration.

You know whats worse than losing 7 buyins? Reviewing your big pot losses and knowing most of them should have been avoided. I had a set run into an unlikely straight, and KK ai v's $10 stack with AA PF, and other than that they were hands I should have folded, or bluffs I shouldnt have made.

Its not even like I have good HHs to post and ask advice on, I pretty much know the answers.

Ahh well, I have a couple days off then I'll try to get a bunch of hands in and work on my discipline. Yey for playing overrolled I guess...

realize you have to be overroled (100+BI) to play NL cash, anybody who tells you different has been experiencing the YoYo effect in all its glory

yes I'm a BR nit

and yes, sng's are different, since you can limit your losses by the buyin obv

Yeah, those are my bad points. There are points in an SnG you can say "F'k it, I might be behind but I'm shoving" and its not actually that bad of a move, but doing so in cash can reverse an hours worth of gradual winnings.

I'm not 100 buyin type overrolled, but I started with 40 buyins so I still have about 33 even after my -7 buyin start to the campaign.

Update time. The weekend was good. Will be interesting to track as the time goes on whether the tables are just nittier at my play times through the week or what.

Made back 4 of my 7 buyins so far. Playing a fair bit tighter, and taken bluffs largely out of my game for now. Its working, but probably not optimal, but it gives me a base to work foward from.

I had a real eye opening conversation with ISF in irc the other day. I'd seen some play in his and massimo's videos that just didnt make sense to me and wanted to ask him why they did it as it wasnt really explained at the time. Basically they would hit a flop weakly, call the flop bet and then fold to the turn. I just couldnt see the value in this. Whether opp was bluffing the flop or had a good hand, he's almost always firing again on the turn, which means hero is almost always folding. Surely we lose money over the long term playing like this?

ISF tried to lead this horse to water, but unfortunately he just couldnt manage to drink by himself. Eventually he gave up and just gave it to me. We play our weak hands like this, so that when we play our big hands the same way we get paid off with them.

Now at the time a little lightbulb went off. "Ahh, I see, that makes sense". Then about 10 minutes of tossing this around a bigger light bulb went off, "Hang on, this means we actually need to play our big hands the same way a fair bit for this to be +ev". "Eh?" said ISF. "Well, theres no point calling flop with weak hands and folding turn, if we always c/r our big hands on the flop!" I exclaimed. "Well duh!" or similar was his response. Hey, these things take time for me :p. It was almost an hour later that the great big lightbulb went off, kind of like turning on the sun. Let me explain (and I'll probably do a bad job):

For a long time now I've pictured poker as giant streams of hands. Any particular hand we're making a decision on will be one of a series of very similar hands we'll face over a lifetime of poker, and so we make the play that makes us the most +ev long term, not necessarily that specific hand. For instance calling a river bet when we're probably beaten because of pot odds v's his range. Heres a quote from an earlier post in this opp:

So I've kind of been flipping a bit lately. I'm getting the concepts behind more advanced play, some of which I described in the prev post, but my play isnt really reflecting it. Running at like 20/15 or higher I lost a lot of money quickly. Running at more like 15/10 I'm cleaning up. My adjustment after losing 7 buyins was to just play good hands and get paid. The sessions I do that I'm pulling in between 15-20 bbpt/100. The sessions I dont have pretty much all been negative.

So the obvious solution is to just play good hands, value bet them, get paid, but am I improving my game if I do that, or just copping out? Maybe its not that I shouldnt open my game up, but that I've been opening it up in the wrong spots? Making moves at the wrong times? Its kind of hard to convince myself to play that higher risk game, when I'm pulling down good results without it, but the whole point of this is that I should be working on improving my game overall.

Heres some hands that have me thinking that just folding is better. I'm interested in whether you think they were valid plays that didnt work, or if they're just plain spew.

Hand 1
Some kind of semi-bluff pretending I have an 8 type of hand that I should have just let go at some point, or at worst called down:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG+1 ($10.10)
MP1 ($28.15)
MP2 ($11.20)
MP3 ($10.90)
Hero ($26.85)
Button ($9.55)
SB ($12.10)
BB ($25)
UTG ($24.75)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 7

, 7

.
2 folds, MP1 raises to $0.85, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.85, Button calls $0.85, 2 folds.

Flop: ($2.90) 6

, 8

, T

(3 players)
MP1 bets $2, Hero calls $2, Button folds.

Turn: ($6.90) 8

(2 players)
MP1 bets $4, Hero raises to $12, MP1 calls $8.

River: ($30.90) 8

(2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $12 (All-In), MP1 calls $12.

Final Pot: $54.90

Results in white below:
MP1 has Qc Qd (full house, eights full of queens).
Hero has 7c 7s (full house, eights full of sevens).
Outcome: MP1 wins $54.90.

Hand 2

You know...some kind of strange, pretend I hit a set type of way to give a guy money.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

BB ($29.30)
UTG ($24.30)
UTG+1 ($15)
MP1 ($14.15)
MP2 ($22.30)
MP3 ($42.95)
CO ($23.10)
Hero ($21.95)
SB ($24.35)

Preflop: Hero is Button with

,

.
5 folds, Hero raises to $0.85, SB raises to $2.1, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.15.

Flop: ($4.35)

,

(3 players)
SB bets $3, Hero raises to $10, SB calls $7.

Turn: ($24.35)

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($24.35)

(3 players)
SB bets $4, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $24.35

Results in white below:
SB doesn't show.
Outcome: SB wins $24.35.

Hand 3

Heres an example of a semi-bluff spot that cost me a lot of money earlier on.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

Hero ($60.30)
MP2 ($33.75)
MP3 ($19.35)
CO ($4.90)
Button ($24.30)
SB ($34.30)
BB ($24.15)
UTG ($34.20)
UTG+1 ($4.65)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with

,

.
2 folds, Hero raises to $1, MP2 calls $1, 2 folds, Button calls $1, SB calls $0.90, 1 fold.

Flop: ($4.25)

,

(4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3, MP2 raises to $8, Button folds, SB folds, Hero raises to $62.3 (All-In), MP2 calls $24.75 (All-In).

Turn: ($69.75)

(2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($69.75)

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $69.75

Results in white below:
Hero has Qs Ac (one pair, nines).
MP2 has Ah As (two pair, aces and nines).
Outcome: MP2 wins $69.75.

Hand 4

Picking off a "missed c-bet":

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

BB ($27.45)
UTG ($31)
UTG+1 ($24.65)
MP1 ($21.75)
MP2 ($25)
CO ($15.80)
Button ($10.15)
Hero ($24.40)

Preflop: Hero is SB with

,

.
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.85, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.75, 1 fold.

Flop: ($1.95)

,

(3 players)
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $1.25, Hero raises to $4.5, UTG+1 raises to $12.25, Hero folds.

Final Pot: $10.95

And so on. Heres a few where higher variance play paid off:

Hand 5

Std c-bet with overcards. Bet the 'scare card' king. That overbet push just doesnt look like value so I call.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

Hero ($22.25)
MP3 ($23.90)
CO ($27.20)
Button ($27.20)
SB ($26.55)
BB ($17.95)
UTG ($9.70)
UTG+1 ($20.80)
MP1 ($30.30)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with

,

.
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.85, MP3 calls $0.85, 1 fold, Button calls $0.85, 1 fold, BB calls $0.60.

Flop: ($3.50)

,

(4 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $2, MP3 folds, Button calls $2, BB folds.

Turn: ($7.50)

(2 players)
Hero bets $4, Button raises to $24.35 (All-In), Hero calls $15.40 (All-In).

River: ($46.30)

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $46.30

Results in white below:
Hero has 9d 9c (two pair, nines and sevens).
Button has Ah Jd (one pair, sevens).
Outcome: Hero wins $46.30.

Errm, well thats about it actually. I guess theres some smaller ones there, but thats kind of my point. I'm either winning small pots, or losing big ones. Its not that I've taken making moves out of my game, but I now try to only do them in small pots. People just dont fold any part of the board in a big pot it seems.

Sigh, must learn.

Losing session this morning, but if I took my two biggest losing hands out its about break even or slightly up. Yup, both bluffs. One some guy was 'obviously playing back' and I lost half a stack. The other was a 3-barrel bluff on an AQ44Q board which I got called down by a 24/18 who'd limped UTG with AK and I'd raised him PF with 89s.

Yo BJ, you want to make another $2 bet for the WSOP ME?

Sats launched today Wink

I'll take you up on that, but I've already played a bunch of sats and blown 10% of my roll which was my limit for them. I'll have to try to find some freerolls to kick them off with Smile

.

Man, Bens BR goes down Sad

. I think its just a rough run, but I'm prepared to accept it may be bad play instead.

Heres a few of my bigger losing hands that I think I played fine, but could be debated:

Hand 1

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (9 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

MP1 ($12.75)
MP2 ($14.40)
MP3 ($13.35)
CO ($25)
Button ($20.70)
SB ($19.75)
BB ($21.15)
Hero ($24.75)
UTG+1 ($25.60)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with

,

.
Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, MP1 calls $1, 4 folds, SB calls $0.90, 1 fold.

Flop: ($3.25)

,

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, MP1 calls $2, SB calls $2.

Turn: ($9.25)

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $4, MP1 raises to $9.75 (All-In), SB calls $9.75, Hero raises to $25.75 (All-In), SB calls $7 (All-In).

River: ($52.50)

(3 players, 3 all-in)

Final Pot: $52.50

Results in white below:
SB has Qc Qh (full house, queens full of nines).
Hero has Ad Kd (two pair, aces and nines).
MP1 has Ac Ks (two pair, aces and nines).
Outcome:

Hand 2

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

UTG ($10)
UTG+1 ($14)
MP1 ($21.55)
MP2 ($25)
CO ($36.65)
Button ($39.50)
Hero ($37)
BB ($34.60)

Preflop: Hero is SB with

,

.
UTG calls $0.25, UTG+1 calls $0.25, 3 folds, Button calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.6, 1 fold, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $1.25, Button calls $1.25.

Flop: ($5.10)

,

(3 players)
Hero bets $4, UTG+1 raises to $12.5 (All-In), Button folds, Hero calls $8.50.

Turn: ($0)

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($0)

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $30.10

Results in white below:
Hero has Ah Th (one pair, aces).
UTG+1 has 7s 7c (three of a kind, sevens).
Outcome: UTG+1 wins $30.10.

Hand 3

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (8 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

BB ($29.40)
UTG ($29)
UTG+1 ($7.80)
Hero ($25.40)
MP2 ($19.15)
CO ($7.65)
Button ($9.20)
SB ($36.45)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with

,

.
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.85, 3 folds, BB raises to $2.5, Hero calls $1.40.

Flop: ($4.85)

,

(3 players)
BB bets $2.25, Hero raises to $11.35, BB calls $9.10.

Turn: ($27.55)

(3 players)
BB bets $15.8 (All-In), Hero calls $11.80 (All-In).

River: ($51.15)

(3 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $51.15

Results in white below:
BB has Kh Ks (flush, ace high).
Hero has 9h 8h (flush, ace high).
CO has (flush, ace high).
Outcome: BB wins $55.15.

Sometimes poker is good fun, sometimes its not. Funny enough its normally while you're losing that its not. My roll had dropped to around $690 so I decided to play a set of 4 $22 tourneys on FT to see how that worked for my Bonus and to hopefully bump my roll a bit. Finished OOTM on all 4, leaving me with a roll of $620 after clearing another $20 Bonus.

Bleh.

Think I'm going to start 6-tabling $11s till I get my roll to around $700 then $22s till I get to $1k and then I might revisit cash again. Might do a mix of 50/50 cash/sngs once I get back to around $750 or so rather than all or nothing like earlier.

Well, my plans going ok. I skipped the $11s and just went with the $22s (I counted my $100 on stars as part of my BR). After 2 sessions I'd built from $620 to $850 and was feeling fairly happy. Then today for some reason my internet dropped out right near the beginning of my set and I was disconned for most of the games. Came back short on all 4 (luckily it dropped out before I fired up the other 2), then dropped out a few more times for 3-5 mins each time. I scraped in for a 3rd in one and busted the other 3. BR is around $775 on FT atm. Seem to be running fairly well in their STTs, so hopefully I can build up to around $1k fairly soon and start mixing in more cash. A set of 6 $22s seems to clear about $5 worth of Bonus. I havnt been getting anywhere near enough games in, but I'll try to work on that. Been a little burnt lately, not sure whether to push through or break. If I didnt have the Bonus to clear I'd definately break, but might see how I go. I still seem to enjoy actually playing, its just that I dont have much motivation to start.

Decided to play some cash. Played 88 hands at 25NL 4-tabling and won $63 then quit:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2396121

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2396126

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2396128 (this was right after prev hand).

Quesionish hands:

I want to bluff river, but it feels like my hands face up, as is his.

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2396048

Hit a set from MP on mono-tone A high board. Obv I'd like to c/r button, but does he c-bet enough here to risk a free card? Is PSB too much of an overbet here? I has hoping to get raised by someone who hit TP or something, maybe a FD...

http://www.pokerhand.org/?2396136

Good day. Fired up 6 STTs a little later, 4 FR and 2 6-Max and won one of each, and got ITM on 2 others making about $114 profit (costs $132 to play a set, so around 80% return). Thats boosted my roll on FT to over $1k, and I still have $100 odd on stars.

Havnt played much lately, so my Bonus clearing is going poorly, but hopefully I'll get more hands in and move up in stakes and clear it a bit faster. Away for the next two nights, so hopefully will play a bunch from my hotel room.

Must learn not to play when I'm not really in the mood.

Played 5 $22s, OOTM on all. I dunno, played fairly well I think, all the hands I lost all my chips on seem to be +EV on review, but I think I get a bit bored and take more risks. Frustrating.

I know the feeling. I have actually basically stopped playing this week to only study/go over hands and all that stuff. Take a few hours/days whatever off and just study and then maybe you'll feel somewhat better. Pretty gay advice but meh.

I've been away for work the last couple of nights, so it seems like sitting in a hotel room with nothing better to do, I should be able to play heaps of poker and really work on my game. In reality though, I'm tired and bored and only playing because I think I should, not because I want to, so my state of mind isnt the best. Ahh well.

Yeah man, completely understandable. Maybe just reread HH's and stuff instead? That's what I'm doing now. Sucks but def. helps.

Yeah, I've been bad on reviewing my game lately, plus its been ages since I posted any STT hands for comment. I should spend some time doing that stuff instead.

God, I am running so bad now. I think I had around $1050 on FT a week ago, I now have $710. I had a 19 game OOTM streak, 2 seconds and now just had another 4 OOTM games. Some bad play in there (trying to mix things up, get aggressive), some coolers, some variance. Probably the main thing I noticed is that I'm literally not sucking out ever in that time. Not once did I get my money in behind and improve.

I dont think theres much tilt there. A few hands I wondered if maybe I did, but I ran the ICM on them and they were +EV. I think most of the time I'm playing well. Not great, but not terrible, just like the post I made earlier about playing some when I'm really not in the mood. I dunno, I'll grind it out I guess, just frustrating.

What I mean by that is, you can make +EV pushes and still be behind. Maybe I push 88 from the button with 10bbs and super tighty in the BB calls with QQ. Or I Push with AJ and get called by AQ. They're good plays, not tilt. You're behind, but sometimes you suck out anyway. Lately not.

On the other hand, it seems like every bubble whenever a shorty gets his money in bad he sucks out and survives.

Sigh, another day, more downswing.

8 games, 1 3rd.

I wont turn this into a bad beat thread, but every time I got my money in was a +EV situation, except for one push with 22 on the button. My third place was calling a 12bb push from an equal stack with AA v 66 and he hit a set. AQ called by JJ, AJ called by AQ, A high flush AI v's straight flush, it goes on.

I think I'll move down. My FT BR is down to $570 (from 1050 about a week ago). I could talk myself into having $100 on stars = rolled for $22s still, but I think I'll grind the $11s for a while until things work themselves out a bit.

Been trying to post tournies for review, but the trimmer isnt working for me. Keeps timing out. I'm reviewing my p/f game in sngpt and its been pretty spot on, but there could be other leaks someone could spot if they viewed my play. Thats frustrating too.

I signed up for a grinderschool sub. I like JGBs style when he plays STTs, so hopefully watching some of his vids might help me out. I'm trying to pull anything extra out of my game atm, and just play ABC poker. It really feels like thats what I'm doing, I'm just hitting some rough patches.

Ahh well, I guess I've had hot streaks, I'm allowed to have cold ones, just gotta try to make sure I only sit to play when my minds in it, and make sure I play my A game when I do.

I think I need to get a poker'ing outfit. Maybe just a hat, maybe some kind of hoodie. Possibly go the whole hog and some kind of robe or such, maybe some facepaint... I'm fairly sure adding a sinister look to my game could be just the edge I'm after.

Break evenish. Deposited $400 on Pacific Poker, $100 Bonus immediately, wont clear the rest. 5 $11s for $25 profit so far. Seem soft. FT played some $11s (BR management yo!) about break even. Variance still running poor there.

Watching vids, trying to keep my mind clear. Not playing as much, but rather than take a break, I'm happy to keep playing as long as I can do so with a clear head when I sit down.

I think the watching vid:playing ratio should be more weighted towards watching vids right now. Sowatching them is def. a good thing for you. That said definitely don't be afraid to play, we all know you are a winning player. About your outfit, I'd say win some in the Gauntlet!...but the only time I wore mine I lost a lot...so...

Anyways, good luck Ben. I'm sure I'll talk to you soon.

Yeah, I dont want to play scared, but I also dont want to be scared to play. If I can play my A game, then doing so now or in a weeks time shouldnt affect my results at all, so might as well be now. If I dont think my heads right though, I'd prefer to watch vids, think things through, review play, discusss things with folks/etc.

I really need to get serious about my game at this point. Whilst I dont think all (or even most) of my downswing was due to bad play, I've noticed recently that my games gone to shit. Maybe as a tilt result. I borrowed "The poker mindset" off Taipan a couple months back and it has a good section on tilt. When most people think of tilt they think of aggro, spewy, bluffy play, however tilt is any unintentional change to your game to make it worse. In my case I've let some old leaks in, and generally started playing a loose/weak kind of game which is about the worst thing I could do. Not dramatically, but enough to mess things up.

I'm going to go back to the drawing board. Just like post 1 in this thread I want to identify my leaks and get to work fixing them. I need to only play when my minds right, not just when I have time. I'm not looking to get fancy, I'm not looking to "enhance my game". I want to nail down a rock solid ABC STT poker game again, get winning again, and then I can look at how to extend it later.

More to come later today.

Man, I just cannot focus properly lately. I cant even sit down and work out my leaks, something I've done plenty of times before.

I decided to only play if my head was right, and in return I basically havnt played at all. Played 2 sets of 4x$11 STTs today so far, and thats it for about a week. Got a first and a third in each set which was nice, but the 2nd set in particular I lost the plot, doing all kinds of semi-bluffs and crap I dont normally do. Just got lucky a bit.

I think I need to pull back from the not playing side of poker. I can spend a couple hours on FTR a day, but not play because I'm not in the mood. Maybe if I only check FTR like once per day and give the rest of my focus to other things going on in my life, I'll feel more urge to play...

Quick update. Back to around $690 atm, time to hit the $22s again. Had a few hickups where I'd get to $600+ then play some cash and drop back again. I really need to work on my problems with cash, I just dont think its poker ability, its mental. I just dont have the read mindset. A few things:

1) I get bored. The starts of STTs may be boring fold-fests, but theres a rush to the p/f nature of the end of them, and I get that every session. Nut-hunting in FR just doesnt cut it. Spending 20 mins folding, only to hit a strong hand but need to (read should) fold to an obvious stronger hand blows. I go through my sessions, and my losing ones are almost always dumb plays that I should know better about, but tilted due to boredom. That and the occassional cooler.

2) I react badly to variance in cash. For some reason I've conditioned myself to being knocked out of entire tournies with major coolers and just grin, but take one for half a stack in cash and it pisses me off. Played some $10NL 6-max the other day, and lost half a stack with KK v's an obv FD that backdoored a straight on the river (v's my set on the turn), and then a few hands later my KK ran into a semi-bluff push on the turn for half a stack v's a FD+gutshot (picked up on turn) and off course the gutshot came in. Overall I only dropped 1 buyin, but it was enough to make me close all my tables and stop playing poker it pissed me off so much.

Anyway, onto the STTs. I think I'm running about 30% ROI in the $11s since I moved down. Been killing them lately. Really tightened up and its payed off. I was just making bad adjustments to playing at FullTilt which worked fine early, but screwed me when things turned bad. Sharkscope atm has me at a +ve ROI, but -ve return due to the bad run at the $22s. Hopefully I'll run good when I move up and stay there this time.

I also need to start setting some more time aside for poker. I'm just not playing anywhere near enough. I'm back in the gym now, so I think I need to do some real time management and actually schedule my days, etc. Getting my lounge connected to my network properly will help, then I could play there in the evening, rather than being stuck with the choice of ignoring my wife and playing in the study, or spending time with her, but not getting any poker done.

Good luck man. Been out of town the past few days but I figured out how to transfer you your HHs. I'll try to get them to you tonight/tomorrow.

OK, last night didnt work. 6/6 ootm finishes to drop my roll back down around $550. I'm going to be irrational and say fuck FullTilt and their STTs.

New plan. Nearly started a new opp, but bugger it, might as well keep it as one long thread.

Ben is now learning 6-max and building a roll.

Yup, I'm going to withdraw my cash from FT and deposit elsewhere. Looking for a soft site, since I'd like to win money while I learn. DaGoat has mentioned Everest before, so I'm leaning that way. Party Poker might be another option, since I hear its pretty soft.

I want to concentrate on cash. 6-max I think. I need to do it properly though, I've just kind of bummed along so far, and that hasnt cut it. I started this thread by identifying my STT leaks, I think I need to do the same with my cash game. I made a start in my last post, but I'm going to spend some time reviewing my hands so far in PT, and also as he said above Kmind has offered to review some of my HHs to pick up on stuff, so hopefully he'll have some feedback.

I'm going to invest in Hold'em Manager. I've had enough of the PT guys, they've lost my business. I'm going to start all new database on it when I've setup the new site, and start from scratch. I want to make a prolonged, sustained, and directed go at this thing, starting now.

Yeah, good tip. I think one of the main problems I had when I started playing 6-max at FT before was that I just went a bit crazy playing LAG style. It had worked when I'd been bumming around at 10nl on stars with friends, but backfired when I tried to play it as my main game.

Will think about staying at FTP, I just feel emotionally like a completely fresh start.

As for PT, I got really pissed off when FullTilt brought out tourney summaries (my main frustration with PT and FT) and the PT guys rushed it into the beta of PT3, but couldnt be bothered putting it into PT2 (the version people had paid money for). Now if I wanted to take advantage of that, I need to pay to upgrade. Then the PAHUD registration issue just now tipped me over the edge. Because they fuck up something on their website, I cant use the software I paid for? I dunno what happenned, but thats just shitty operations. HM have a low stakes version for only $55, which works up to and including 50NL, so it would keep me going for a while, and then when I want to get the full version its only the difference in the initial prices anyway (so total cost the same as buying the full version up front).

I just went through my PT2 stats over 6k hands at 25NL, looking at my biggest losers, and categorizing the ones that were due to bad play on my part. Overwhelmingly the most mistakes fell into "He's bluffing/stealing" situations. If someone raised me on the flop, I'd 3-bet them or something. Other than that, there were a couple of semi-bluffs (in big pots) which I think is a mistake at this level (if noone folds in big pots, then theres no equity in the "bluff" side of the equation), and a few bad calldowns on the river. I kept these separate from "he's bluffing" as they were more read/hand flow calls. I'm not sure they're such a big deal, as I'm also often right with those, and I suspect if I did the numbers I'd find I'm ahead overall from the times I've called river with bluff catchers.

So other than my mental/emotional issues identified a few posts up, one of my biggest leaks is not believing people when they raise me. At these stakes, its probably not a leak to just assume a c/r or raise equals strength all the time (even though it doesnt, picking the times it doesnt isnt worth it).

Its not so much when I think they're strong, its when I overthink things and conclude they're weak.

Example, I raise PF with AQ, get called, flop comes J66, I c-bet and he c/r's me. This looks like a really good place to bluff, so I assume he likely is. Cant remember if I called or if he was short and I just 3-bet enough to put him in and he called, but turns out he had AJ. Now just because it looked like a good place to bluff, doesnt mean at these stakes that villain really is bluffing here very often, and I should probably just give him credit even if I'm doubtful.

dude, at microstakes, i rarely have seen a player being aggressive without holding a hand that (a) he/she wants to see a showdown with or (b) connected massively with the board [nuts]

when they are aggressive without having met those 2 criteria, they are aggressive for the sake of being aggressive, and can thus be considered maniacs, since they'll probably be playing all their hands dealt and raising every single one of them on every street

i told you before and i'll tell you again: you be careful with that tilt thing now. it destroys rolls, you know.

always keep yourself in check.

One thing I've always done is practice BRM. It wasnt tilt that killed my roll this time around, it was poor adjustments (but considered ones).

Not saying theres no tilt in there, I definately suffer from it sometimes, but I think recognising that boredom triggers it for me a lot of the time will help combat that. At least now I'm aware of that risk.

Good luck with the 6-max foray.

I've just moved from FR to 5NL 6-max on Stars, with mixed success so far. Ran at 25ptBB/100 for a couple thousand hands but have pretty much given it all back over the last 1,500 hands. I've had a bad run - its very frustrating when you push a 1.5 buyin stack in on a dry flop with KK against a 96/0 fish (yes, VPIP was 96% over 60-odd hands!) and he hits a runner-runner straight - but also some bad play.

Not a lot of bluffing at 5NL, true, but quite a bit of semi-bluffing when they think they're value-betting, and no-one can fold a draw. My problem is that I lose patience and get over-aggressive thinking they're always calling down light, and then get burned too often when they do have something decent. And because they don't take any notice I don't get enough credit for being a maniac when I do have a hand.

Work, gym, wife, TV, sport, reading. Minor things like those Wink

.

Turns out I cant withdraw my whole Pacific poker roll. The "upfront Bonus" still needs clearing apparantly, and I'm a long way off it. I cancelled that withdrawal and decided to play some 25NL 6-max there last night. Ran good. In fact, I think I only showed down 1 losing hand, and that was when a table went 3-handed and I called river with 2nd pair. Not terrible.

Made almost 3 buyins in about an hour 4-tabling. God I hate their software, its SO shitty. Even 4 tabling I timed out so often because theres no time-bank, short action times, and not that noticable that its your turn to act. Their note taking method is the worst I've ever seen. I typed half my notes into chat because it kept shifting focus to the chat box on the tables instead. Doesnt show mucked cards, and doesnt store HHs. On the other hand, soft as hell. Lots of min-raises, lots of folds to 3-bets and c-bets, very high vp$ip. Was fun the hands I played. Would be tempted to just play out my Bonus there, but the lack of support for HH's (and therefore HUDs), shitty software and shitty support have convinced me its just not worth it. I've now won more than the Bonus on their anyway, so I'll withdraw all bar the $100 in Bonus and leave that there just to mess around with when bored. Their 3-up tourneys are a fun change of pace.

Got my first ever (I think) royal flush last night Smile

. Pity theres no HHs, it was a really fun hand. UTG limped, so I raised QKs (spades) OTB to isolate and SB came along as well. Flopped a gutshot + BD flush draw with an As,Ac,Jc checked to me so I took a free card. Got the Ts on the turn to give me the straight and a 4-flush with gutshot to the RF. Bet out 3/4 pot and got called by SB. River hit Js giving double paired board and SB pushed. For a moment I cursed his FH, then quickly did a double take as I realised I had a Royal Flush, not just a flush Very Happy

. So not only did I get my first Royal Flush, but it got paid off!

I think it was the very next hand I got AI pre v's an almost full stack with QQ v's JJ which held up and left me with a $65 stack on that table Smile

.

Played really well (as well as running hot) I think. I only did one total bluff all night, when someone bet like 1/4 pot on the flop so I took it off him with air. A couple semi-bluffs in smallish pots (one of which got called but I hit and got more in on the turn and river), some 3-betting with a fairly tight range, and a lot of c-betting. No stats, but I ran fairly tight, but won nearly every pot I entered using controlled aggression, and made some decent laydowns when required. If I can keep my head right like that all the time I think I'll run good.

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