Operation: Getting a grip on things.

Think about this: Bet sizing should be a function of range manipulation.

Yes, I see....

Thats what I've tried to work on the last few days....and it seems to make a difference, I've got an extra street out of the villains where before I perhaps wouldnt.

I think I was just always betting 3/4 - pot expecting a call but I wasnt getting them...so I've adjusted a little depending on the board and player...

Thx for the help.

gogo Vinland Smile

Another good day. Played a short session and was up a buy-in and a smidge.
Had two real nice hands which I may post in the BC to see if I was naughty during the hands at all.

After that I decided to play a SNG and I busted out in 9th...out of 9. I have never busted first. This game was tighter than any I have played for a $1 SNG. Almost never more than 2 in a pot. Crazy tight except for villain who is the most active.
The villain had already open shoved during the first level and in the second level I opened in EP for 3.5xBB and it folds to him and he open shoves again. I snap call because.....
No-Limit Hold'em, $30.00 BB (9 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($1430)
Hero (UTG+1) ($1420)
MP1 ($1400)
MP2 ($1470)
MP3 ($1540)
CO ($1510)
Button ($1725)
SB ($1370)
BB ($1635)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A

, A

1 fold, Hero bets $100, 6 folds, BB raises $1605 (All-In), Hero calls $1320 (All-In)

Flop: ($2855) J

, Q

, J

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($2855) 8

(2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($2855) 10

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $2855

Results:
BB had 8

, 8

(full house, eights over Jacks).
Hero had A

, A

(two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Outcome: BB won $3070

lol.....oh well. I said nh to him and moved on...what else can you do...

Well I played next to no poker on the week end on account of Mothers day dinners all weekend.....yikes.
I had one session during the day and I was down a marginal amount. I was pissed and thought I must have played shitty but I looked at the hands on HEM and I really did ok. I was an aggressive raising machine preflop (when i did play a hand) and didn't play scared ever.
There were 3 hands that I lost that accounted for the bulk of my losses on the session. One was me w/ 99 vs Kx where villain rivered his K. Another was me with AJ vs villain with A8 where we both hit our A but he hit is kicker on the river.
The other hand I know he hit his card on the turn I just cant remember the dynamics of the hand.
I am hoping to play a nice amount of hands this week. I really want to get to 5nl this month. It would be nice if I could up my win rate a bit but I know that I cant do much to control that, outside of playing my best...

Over 3200 hads (very small sample I know) I am running 13/9/3.9 with a win rate of 30 bb/100. The last 1200 hands or so I have had very good cards but they just dont connect or my high pocket pairs dont get a lot of action.
I am having lots of fun with this though. I will be very happy once I get to 5nl.
I may change this as well to go to 5nl once I hit $120 instead of $100. I dont want to buy in for 100bb but I'll see. I'd rather buy in at $6 and quickly get to $140 so I can buy-in for $7 which is what I used to do and feel comfortable with. I am expecting to do well there and just keep playing as solid as I know how.

Nice little session today. Had a few real nice pots including this one where I "feel" like I made a hero call, even though I'm sure it wasn't...

Villain was 92/32/3.8 over 30 hands.
Not a lot of hands but it shows a tendancy to over value his hole cards

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

Hero (SB) ($2.98)
BB ($1.70)
Villain (UTG) ($1.74)
UTG+1 ($3.03)
MP1 ($3.86)
MP2 ($2.74)
MP3 ($5.24)
CO ($2.23)
Button ($4.97)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10

, A

Villain bets $0.08, 6 folds, Hero calls $0.07, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.18) J

, 6

, 4

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero calls $0.08

Turn: ($0.34) 8

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero raises $0.30, Villain calls $0.22

River: ($0.94) 9

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.06, Hero calls $0.06

Total pot: $1.06

Results:
Hero had 10

, A

(high card, Ace).
Villain had 3

, Q

(high card, Queen).
Outcome: Hero won $1.01

That may have been totally stupid, but I felt like he had air, and worse than mine. The bets just screamed to me "please leave". I was a bit concerned when he called my turn raise but again, his river bet was so pussy, I felt like he had nothing...

This was another nice pot for me:

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

MP2 ($3.03)
Hero (CO) ($3.40)
Button ($0.84)
SB ($5.85)
BB ($4.96)
Villain (UTG) ($1.80)
MP1 ($1.16)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q

, Q

Villain bets $0.08, 2 folds, Hero raises $0.26, 3 folds, Villain calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.55) 4

, 10

, 2

(2 players)
Villain checks, Hero bets $0.44, Villain raises $1.54 (All-In), Hero calls $1.10

Turn: ($3.63) 3

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3.63) Q

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3.63

Results:
Villain had K

, A

(high card, Ace).
Hero had Q

, Q

(three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $3.48

And this!

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

MP1 ($4.95)
Hero (MP2) ($2.93)
CO ($3.39)
Button ($1.83)
Villain (SB) ($0.85)
BB ($2.59)
UTG ($1.36)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A

, A

UTG (poster) bets $0.06, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.26, 2 folds, Villain calls $0.25, 1 fold, UTG (poster) calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.81) 2

, 8

, A

(3 players)
Villain checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.70, Villain calls $0.59 (All-In), 1 fold

Turn: ($1.99) 5

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($1.99) 2

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.99

Results:
Villain had A

, 8

(two pair, Aces and eights).
Hero had A

, A

(full house, Aces over twos).
Outcome: Hero won $2.05

I only wish that the Villains would have me covered... I never seem to double, just taking out smaller stacks but Its tough to complain.

I am hoping to reach my goal by months end. I can almost taste it.....but its more of a wiff right now.

Nice little session today. Had a few real nice pots including this one where I "feel" like I made a hero call, even though I'm sure it wasn't...

Villain was 92/32/3.8 over 30 hands.
Not a lot of hands but it shows a tendancy to over value his hole cards

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

Hero (SB) ($2.98)
BB ($1.70)
Villain (UTG) ($1.74)
UTG+1 ($3.03)
MP1 ($3.86)
MP2 ($2.74)
MP3 ($5.24)
CO ($2.23)
Button ($4.97)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10

, A

Villain bets $0.08, 6 folds, Hero calls $0.07, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.18) J

, 6

, 4

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero calls $0.08

Turn: ($0.34) 8

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero raises $0.30, Villain calls $0.22

River: ($0.94) 9

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.06, Hero calls $0.06

Total pot: $1.06

Results:
Hero had 10

, A

(high card, Ace).
Villain had 3

, Q

(high card, Queen).
Outcome: Hero won $1.01

That may have been totally stupid, but I felt like he had air, and worse than mine. The bets just screamed to me "please leave". I was a bit concerned when he called my turn raise but again, his river bet was so pussy, I felt like he had nothing...

This was another nice pot for me:

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

MP2 ($3.03)
Hero (CO) ($3.40)
Button ($0.84)
SB ($5.85)
BB ($4.96)
Villain (UTG) ($1.80)
MP1 ($1.16)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q

, Q

Villain bets $0.08, 2 folds, Hero raises $0.26, 3 folds, Villain calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.55) 4

, 10

, 2

(2 players)
Villain checks, Hero bets $0.44, Villain raises $1.54 (All-In), Hero calls $1.10

Turn: ($3.63) 3

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3.63) Q

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3.63

Results:
Villain had K

, A

(high card, Ace).
Hero had Q

, Q

(three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $3.48

And this!

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

MP1 ($4.95)
Hero (MP2) ($2.93)
CO ($3.39)
Button ($1.83)
Villain (SB) ($0.85)
BB ($2.59)
UTG ($1.36)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A

, A

UTG (poster) bets $0.06, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.26, 2 folds, Villain calls $0.25, 1 fold, UTG (poster) calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.81) 2

, 8

, A

(3 players)
Villain checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.70, Villain calls $0.59 (All-In), 1 fold

Turn: ($1.99) 5

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($1.99) 2

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.99

Results:
Villain had A

, 8

(two pair, Aces and eights).
Hero had A

, A

(full house, Aces over twos).
Outcome: Hero won $2.05

I only wish that the Villains would have me covered... I never seem to double, just taking out smaller stacks but Its tough to complain.

I am hoping to reach my goal by months end. I can almost taste it.....but its more of a wiff right now.

H1- If I were going to raise somewhere it'd be the flop. Donkbets for <1/2 Pot are not usually hands that withstand raises well (even when we have air).

H2- nh
H3- lol wow coldcalling in SB w/A8o. ez game.

Hi Ill....

H1, I agree in hindsight....On the flop I thought it was a weak bet but I gave it just a little bit respect. The turn bet for the same amount into a now larger pot really rang bells that he had garbage.
I almost never ever call down light like this but something told me I was good. I expected to see him turn up a KT or KQ but not Q high.

H2, I'm just not folding esp to a shortstack. I used to always think "OMG he got a set of Tens" and fold, but that tends not to happen very often. I have to go with the percentages.

H3? yes EZ game....I'm just pissed that I keep getting into these spots with shortstacks. But I guess its usually the shortstacks that shove this crap. Larger stacks will play this crap but not shove I find.

Well I have a few new goals to make. I will make it to 5nl in probably another 4K hands or so (pretty confident). I dont want to just plow through in FR and build my roll while not learning some of the other NL games so starting now, and even once I am at 5nl, I am going to spend part of my time learning 6max and HU. I am bad at both. HU I've done very little but I'm just horrawful at 6mx. Again, its a small sample but its enough to know I suck.

So once at 5nl I will likely 2 table it while I table some 2nl 6max until I get the hang of it and some 2nl HU (by starting tables). I looked at my stats of 6max (when I'm actually on a 6max table or on a FR table that only has 6 players) and I am a losing player at it. I open up quite a bit at 6max but I wonder if tight is still right...

I dont want to be totally reliant on FR and would love to be a juggernaught at 6max...it looks so fun.

I am also hoping to get a few larger SNG's under my belt and maybe some MTT's (micro). I enjoy them but getting the time is tough.

For now, I think I am off to the strategy section to look for 6max advice.

COMPLETE!!!
I hit the $100 mark last night. I wasnt going to play (I was tired) but just had the urge so I thought I would 2 table 6max to try and get the hang of it. One table was dead and the other one had an ultra Aggro player who shoved a few time on the flop.
I had to wait for a hand to go up against him:

Villain was 50/17/3
No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($4.91)
MP ($3.13)
Villain (Button) ($6.35)
SB ($2)
BB ($2)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K

, K

Hero bets $0.08, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.08, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.19) 9

, J

, 10

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.16, Villain raises $6.27 (All-In), Hero calls $4.67 (All-In)

Turn: ($9.85) 6

(2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($9.85) 6

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $9.85

Results:
Villain didn't show (had JT)
Hero had K

, K

(two pair, Kings and sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $9.40

OOPS!! Suck out! The crazy maniac actually had a hand. Lets just say my all-in EV took a hit with this one a bit.

After that I decided to play a 27 man $1 SNG. I pretty well folded my way to the bubble and had to shove w/ A9 when I was quite short. I got called by a maniac (more on him later) and another player who had JJ. I hit the A on the turn and trippled up which put me in the top 4. I continued to fold most of the way thru the final table and ended up ITM (5 players) w/o doing much except the occasional shove when I had to.
For the whole tourney a maniac had the lead. He woul announce what cards he had (he never lied) and ran just sick. He went into a pot he had no business in w/ J7 and hit trips to knock a large stack out. Over and over again he would hit the flop, it was unreal.

When we were 3 handed I got into a big hand with him:

No-Limit Hold'em, $600.00 BB (3 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($11598)
Villain (SB) ($15102)
Hero (BB) ($13800)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K

, 9

Button calls $600, Villain calls $300, Hero checks

Flop: ($1800) 6

, 8

(3 players)
Villain checks, Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($1800) 9

(3 players)
Villain bets $4200, Hero raises $13150, 1 fold, Villain calls $8950

River: ($28100) 9

(2 players)

Total pot: $28100

Results:
Villain had 8

, J

(full house, eights over nines).
Hero had K

, 9

(full house, nines over eights).
Outcome: Hero won $28250

Another suck out! I didnt feel too bad.
1) The blinds were killer
2) He had shoved many times when there was weakness so trip 8's was an unlikey holding.
3) He had been pretty douchey and had run well and sucked out multiple times.

Before this, when 4 handed, there was a short stack to my left who I was prepared to knock out multiple times with a shove. But this maniac kept limping in and when I raised he would call my raise and play independantly. Rather than checking it down he would raise the flop, I would never connect so I'd fold and he would check the turn and river to the shortsrtack w/ nothing. The short stack was able to survive 4 of these scenarios....it was so stupid on the maniacs part.

So, I made it to my goal, but I will extend it to $120. I dont want to go to 5nl quite yet b/c I want to buy in for more than 100bb.

Congrats Vinland!

After talking with a micro reg here at FTR, I may go ahead and play 5nl. My reason to stay back was to uild the roll more and buy-in for over 100bb.
His arguement to me is that 5nl is the last time you can buy for more than 100bb so get used to it there. I have 20 BI for it so I may go for it. I will continue to play 6max at 2nl to continue learning that game and start grinding it out at 5nl. Its been so long since I played there (underrolled and scared) about 6 months ago.

Go for it bro! 5NL is just as horrible!

I've often read thru some Operations here where a player moves up in stakes and it doesnt go well at first. Bad beats, variance, not connecting etc...
Well put me on the list. I played 5nl yesterday and shit was it bad. I got shit cards for one, I got a tonne of low PP in multiway pots (even after I raised) that wouldnt connect and the players played back after a cbet.
When I got good cards they rarely stayed in the hand. One hand I got QQ and was flat called by the SB. The flop came KAX and he donked into me....just cant see how I can call after I was the raiser in EP.
The worst hand was when I was able to check in the BB w/ 53 and I hit 2pair. My opponent had a pair and hit his kicker on the river to beat me.
The players were clearly not good. The ave stats were 22/2/1....just limping and calling bets, raising only when on a killer hand. I just couldnt get anything to exploit them.
I saved some histories and may post them to see if I played poorly, but I will wait for a couple of sessions to pass to see if this keeps up.
It was one session, not the end of the world but when you go up in stakes and play the first one, you want to do well like the level before. I lost a BI and felt like a total rookie, where perhaps I wasn't, I just didnt have things go my way. I had nights like this in 2nl, but after a few killer sessions, not right off the bat.
Helps to write this stuff out. My confidence is still there, I will continue to play solid cards and try to pay better attention to see what hands are being shown down...
I really dont want to have to drop to 2nl.....I just need to get some hands to value bet with rather than always having to cbet or c/f.

As long as you're rolled for $5NL, don't sweat it. Just keep playing your game. And even if you have to drop down to $2NL, which I doubt you will, but you know you can win there, too, so don't sweat that either.

Well thats better!
I actually hit some flops, had my cbets work out better and getting an A over K full house helps too.....and the opponent decides to call down with his 2 pair.
Its just a little weird to see how much more money is involved /pot and I'm only at 5nl!!
I raise to .20, get a caller.....theres 45 cents....I vbet for 40 and get a call now pot is over $1.20....that was someones whole stack in 2nl....
I know its all relative, it just takes some getting used to especially when I'm such a cheap ass.
It was a nice session, I recouped my losses from the previous and then some...Probably wont play much this weekend due to my boys B-day parties....Hopefully I can play one good session and try to carry on.

For me, the biggest adjustment was learning how to represent. At $2nl it's all fit or fold poker and value betting is god.

At $5nl value betting is still god, but you can really start firing on scary flops, turns and rivers. If you see someone with 22%+vpip and 55%+ fold to c-bet, you're going to be taking a lot of flops off them.

Just some food for thought, good luck as always Vinland.

Sweet....enjoying 5nl. Playing a bit nittier than I'd like but its a combo of cards over small sample and I want some time to adjust a bit to how they play. It is a bit nittier than 2nl for sure.
The session got started early with this fun one...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (7 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Villain (CO) ($16.13)
Button ($4.93)
SB ($5.95)
Hero (BB) ($5.80)
UTG ($15.57)
MP1 ($9.86)
MP2 ($8.53)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5

, K

3 folds, Villain calls $0.05, 2 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.12) 4

, 10

, Q

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.10, Villain raises $0.25, Hero calls $0.15

Turn: ($0.62) 9

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain checks

River: ($0.62) A

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, Villain raises $1.50, Hero raises $3.10, Villain raises $4, Hero calls $2 (All-In)

Total pot: $11.62

Results:
Hero had 5

, K

(flush, Ace high).
Villain had 6

, Q

(flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $11.07

I had another nice pot as well but I want to show it in the BC to see if I could get more out of it than I did...

So far (in a small # of hands) so good. I'm raising when I should but I may need to look at how many cards I am playing. My stats (VPIP/PFR) are single digit which maybe that fine but I did well at 2nl and I ran 12/10. Its just a start so maybe I'll naturally open up a bit, we'll see.

Holy fuckin hell I suck at 6max. My results on HEM, when I break out the earnings for 7-9 players is great but my earnings for 4-6 players are all negative...
I'm just glad I'm playing at 2nl so it had minimal effect on my BR.
I won a tonne of small pots....everyone would usually fold to a cbet or fold to a turn barrel. If they called more, they had something usually.
I had a few nice ones where I nearly stacked the same player with TPTK and TT vs his 88 on a Q high board.

for the session I was running 16/12/3.5 with over 400 hands.

In hand one, villain was 81/3/2.2 over 191 hands, however at the point of this hand I only had about 35 hands on him. He called just about everytime and only folded to large pf raises. If he had nothing on the flop he would fold to a cbet/value bet, if he minbet it meant he had something small or was on a draw, if he bet a bit bigger into a passive opponent then he had something decent. If he was against an aggro opponent and he had a hand he would just flat call....

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2.98)
BB ($4.23)
UTG ($4.78)
MP ($2.29)
CO ($1)
Button ($1.94)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 2

, 2

UTG bets $0.10, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.09, BB calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.30) 4

, 7

, J

(3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks

Turn: ($0.30) 2

(3 players)
Hero bets $0.20, BB raises $0.40, 1 fold, Hero raises $1.04, BB calls $0.84

River: ($2.78) 9

(2 players)
Hero bets $1.64 (All-In), BB calls $1.64

Total pot: $6.06

Results:
Hero had 2

, 2

(three of a kind, twos).
BB had 4

, 4

(three of a kind, fours).
Outcome: BB won $5.81

God damnit......on the river, I felt committed but told myselft while I was betting "hes got an overset". I dont know if I could slow down on that one or not....usually set are good but his calls on that rather unintimidating board told me he had to have at worst an overpair, maybe AJ. He minraised so I didnt know if he had a FD or was trying to get me of one (which a minraise wouldnt do)...

Hand 2 Villain was 24/19/2 over 204 although this hand happened around 100 hands.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($2.46)
villain (Button) ($3.06)
SB ($4.35)
Hero (BB) ($4.59)
UTG ($4.63)
MP ($0.74)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q

, Q

1 fold, MP calls $0.02, 1 fold, villain calls $0.02, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.08, MP calls $0.08, villain calls $0.08, SB calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.40) 4

, 2

, 3

(4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.38, 1 fold, villain calls $0.38, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.16) 8

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.86, villain raises $2.58 (All-In), Hero calls $1.72

River: ($6.32) J

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $6.32

Results:
villain had 6

, 5

(straight, six high).
Hero had Q

, Q

(one pair, Queens).
Outcome: villain won $6.02

My pf raise was off, I think I just palin forgot to add in some of the limpers...
On the turn....I dont know....I just dont know if its a call. Kinda bad luck but usually when a micro opp shoves like that its with a decent hand that beats TP.

Hand 3 was against the same villain as in hand 1...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($2.83)
MP ($12.93)
Button ($5.10)
SB ($4.33)
BB ($1.06)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q

, K

Hero bets $0.08, MP calls $0.08, Button raises $0.14, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.06, MP calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.45) 2

, 7

, 8

(3 players)
Hero bets $0.32, MP calls $0.32, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.09) K

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.72, MP calls $0.72

River: ($2.53) Q

(2 players)
Hero bets $1.65 (All-In), MP calls $1.65

Total pot: $5.83

Results:
Hero had Q

, K

(two pair, Kings and Queens).
MP had 8

, 8

(three of a kind, eights).
Outcome: MP won $5.58

Betting w/ the 2nd nut FD and hit my K on turn...his flat call had me worried...as mention before, he either folded w/nothing or flat called with something good. He was pretty transparent...and he still made me look stupid...
The Q on the river sunk me.....bloody hell...
I dont know if I could play that different....the guy was 81/3/2.2 for christ sakes.....can I put him on hands that I still crush? Would be call bets like that without a set? I just dont know.
I've got major homework to do on 6max....It's always been my undoing but I'd like to play it for sure...

Wow your OP is pretty long. I'll definitely be following it from now on though. You playing on Poker Stars? I'm considering moving up to $10NL, but for the time being, I'm also a $5NL grinder. Good luck and I'll be seeing you around.

Once again a sick session of 2nl 6max. I havent played a FR session at 5nl b/c I want to improve at 6max but feel I should start back at 2nl.
For the most part, I suck...I think I may need to tighten up a little more. I know most players play more hands but I may need to shorten my starting range. I had 3 real shitty hands. I may have played parts of the hand bad (not sure) but they were just bad spots for me.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($4.07)
BB ($2)
UTG ($2.18)
Villain (MP) ($2.10)
Hero (CO) ($3.09)
Button ($5.29)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 10

, K

1 fold, Villain calls $0.02, Hero calls $0.02, 1 fold, SB calls $0.01, BB checks

Flop: ($0.08) 8

, 7

, 6

(4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Villain checks, Hero bets $0.06, SB calls $0.06, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.06

Turn: ($0.26) 6

(3 players)
SB checks, Villain checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.26) J

(3 players)
SB checks, Villain bets $0.04, Hero raises $0.16, 1 fold, Villain raises $0.24, Hero raises $0.50, Villain calls $0.38

Total pot: $1.58

Results:
Villain had 4

, A

(flush, Ace high).
Hero had 10

, K

(flush, King high).
Outcome: Villain won $1.53

I'm glad he didnt reraise....I dont think I could get away from this...
Villain was 36/2/3 so I think he does this with a Q high as well...

Then this hand happened:

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($4.02)
Villain (CO) ($1)
Button ($0.90)
SB ($2.49)
Hero (BB) ($3.35)
UTG ($5.07)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A

, A

2 folds, Villain (poster) checks, Button calls $0.02, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.06, Villain (poster) raises $0.12, Button calls $0.12, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.92, Villain (poster) calls $0.86 (All-In), 1 fold

Flop: ($2.16) K

, J

, 6

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($2.16) 2

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2.16) 5

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.16

Results:
Hero had A

, A

(one pair, Aces).
Villain had K

, K

(three of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: Villain won $2.06

After it was all in I just kept saying in my head "no king, no king...."
Once the king landed I pretty well assured myself I lost before the showdown was revealed...

I had clawed my way almost back to even for the session and then this happened with same villain as hand #1:

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($0.99)
MP ($0.48)
Button ($1.78)
Hero (SB) ($2.44)
BB ($3)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K

, J

2 folds, Button calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.07, 1 fold, Button calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.18) 9

, 10

, J

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.14, Button calls $0.14

Turn: ($0.46) 2

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, Button calls $0.40

River: ($1.26) J

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.98, Button raises $1.16 (All-In), Hero calls $0.18

Total pot: $3.58

Results:
Button had J

, A

(three of a kind, Jacks).
Hero had K

, J

(three of a kind, Jacks).
Outcome: Button won $3.43

Holy shit..... I would like to know If I played it wrong but WTF?
He just limped w/ AJ from the BTN which is worth a raise...
If I was him...on the flop I would raise it b/c of the flush and str8 draw potential...
He just played so f'n passive...I dont get it....
Again, other than him flopping the straight, I didnt think he had me. I basically put him on a worse J b/c if he had the straight, he probably would've (should've) raised to charge for possible flush draws that could catch him...

If it wasnt fot these 3 hands I would have been up on the session a little bit....not good bu t not sucking either. I killed FR but suck at 6max....
I think I'll read some guides here and watch a video or two...
I really want to nail this...

So I made a few adjustments and it seems to be working so far at 6max. For the most part I had to just tighten up which means I went from 16/12 stats to more like 12/9 and really got pickier with my cards in EP.
Its been a small sample but it seems to be working so far; I'm a lot more comfortable while playing...which means you can play like a confident, badass while playing, instead of being scared since you opened with JT from EP....

Heres a couple of hands that worked out for me. I'm not proud of how I played them all but here it is regardless...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($3.73)
Button ($4.58)
Hero (SB) ($2.98)
Villain (BB) ($4.89)
UTG ($2.24)
MP ($2.82)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K

, K

4 folds, Hero calls $0.01, Villain bets $0.02, Hero raises $0.10, Villain calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.24) J

, 7

, A

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.16, Villain calls $0.16

Turn: ($0.56) Q

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain checks

River: ($0.56) 4

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.20, Villain calls $0.20

Total pot: $0.96

Results:
Hero had K

, K

(one pair, Kings).
Villain didn't show
Outcome: Hero won $0.96

Why did I limp w/ KK? Just to be sneaky...and of course the A lands on the flop. After his flop call, I felt that he didnt have an A. I checked the turn, hoping to induce a bet....again I dont like it and on the river I felt happy to fire out a small suck bet. I wanted some $$ from him so I put out a little bet that I felt he would call. I wish I made it more like $.30 but thats what I did...

This hand was nice...not much villain could do I doubt:

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($2.20)
UTG ($7.61)
Villain (MP) ($1.34)
Hero (CO) ($3.01)
Button ($1.90)
SB ($5.64)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 8

, 8

1 fold, Villain calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.08, 1 fold, SB calls $0.07, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.26) 9

, 4

, 8

(3 players)
SB checks, Villain bets $0.02, Hero raises $0.22, 1 fold, Villain raises $0.48, Hero raises $1.70, Villain calls $0.76 (All-In)

Turn: ($2.78) 6

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2.78) 3

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.78

Results:
Villain had 9

, 8

(two pair, nines and eights).
Hero had 8

, 8

(three of a kind, eights).
Outcome: Hero won $3.34

This hand also went well for me, I was kinda proud even though it was probably standard...
No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($3.88)
Hero (CO) ($2.93)
Button ($1.55)
SB ($5.89)
Villain (BB) ($1.23)
UTG ($2.09)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q

, K

2 folds, Hero bets $0.08, 2 folds, Villain calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.17) 7

, K

, 2

(2 players)
Villain bets $0.02, Hero raises $0.14, Villain raises $0.24, Hero calls $0.12

Turn: ($0.69) J

(2 players)
Villain bets $0.89 (All-In), Hero calls $0.89

River: ($2.47) 5

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.47

Results:
Villain had K

, 10

(one pair, Kings).
Hero had Q

, K

(one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $2.37

I had very few hands on him so I had to go with regular instinct here.
When he raised the flop, I felt he had a FD or was trying to move me off a FD (and he held TPMK).
His turn shove convinced me that I probably had the best hand. Again he either had a FD or a worse K. If he had KK, or AK he probably would've reraised preflop so my KQ was likely the best.
It was possible that he had a set of 2's or 7's but thats a small number out of his possible holdings so I made the call...

I think I will continue with playing 2nl 6max for a while to improve. I would like to play my 5nl FR but I really want to bump up my knowledge w/ 6max. Besides, some of the juiciest tables at 5nl are 6max so I need to improve before taking my stacks to a 5nl 6max table.

I would really like to play some HU tables as well...that will be my next project. Again, I will play them at 2nl and just keep starting tables to practice....I'm terrible at HU...even worse than 6max...

My playing time has reduced which is sad, I have a seminar to study for this month as part of my University course...
Hopefully next month I can put some serious hours into my tables...

I've been thinking about the possibility of delving into 6 max or HU in the future, but for now, I've been limiting that exposure to when I start full ring tables Smile

Yeah, I've wanted to try starting new tables, and I tried at 2nl but I didnt do well.
So I'm hoping to try again at 2nl now that I am rolled for 5nl and playing FR and get better at 6max and HU so that I can do it profitably at 5nl and beyond. I will always try new things (like short tables, HU, adding new hole cards etc...) at lower levels. Its much safer on the BR...
I've considered trying some HU SNG's but they start at $2 and thats a bit more than I'd like to spend for practice...

I'm trying to convince myself to play more game types. I've always loved cards games....period. I now have a roll for 5nl....as it grows I would like to learn to play limit HE, Stud, 2-7, Omaha, razz etc...but at the lowest possible limits to begin

All those games are interesting to me and I'd love to learn how to play them profitably. The problem as always with me is time. I dont have much of it and I'm trying to build the BR in NLHE.

Hopefully I can spend some time learning them...Especially stud...I liked playing that as a kid, I just didnt understand it. I could build the roll w/ NLHE and play the lowest micro limits learning the other games it will just mean that my roll builds slower than normal...

The weekend went ok. I played a little 6max and did well...I definitley need to continue to play tight at 2nl 6max. I thought I woul open up a bit more and steal more pots etc...but they dont fold right? So I open with stronger hands and just absolutely torture them with value bets...

5nl went ok too. I played my game, I didnt bet scared and I took down some pots uncontested when I would open raise my low/mid PP from EP which is nice. I got into a couple nice pots and won an all-in....I love this game when you can play comfortably and profitably...

Beautiful session today: 2tables 5nl FR and one 2nl 6max...

Had this one very early:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($2.72)
BB ($6.50)
UTG ($1.32)
Villain (UTG+1) ($14.59)
MP1 ($5.47)
MP2 ($4)
MP3 ($5.25)
CO ($2.55)
Hero (Button) ($4.93)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q

, A

1 fold, Villain bets $0.15, 4 folds, Hero calls $0.15, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.37) 4

, 3

, Q

(2 players)
Villain bets $0.20, Hero raises to $0.65, Villain raises to $1.10, Hero calls $0.45

Turn: ($2.57) 6

(2 players)
Villain bets $3.05, Hero raises to $3.68 (All-In), Villain calls $0.63

River: ($9.93) 10

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $9.93 | Rake: $0.45

Results:
Hero had Q

, A

(one pair, Queens).
Villain had Q

, K

(one pair, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $9.48

I just started the table so I didnt 3bet him b/c I felt his cards would be decent from EP...so I flatted
His bets just looked scared, he didnt want the flush to hit obviously but just in general he wanted me to go away...so I called the shove.

At the 6max 2nl table I tapped into this one. I cant believe he felt ahead on the turn and river...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (4 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($2.83)
UTG ($5.52)
Button ($8.12)
SB ($3.80)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A

, 10

1 fold, Button calls $0.02, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.06, Button calls $0.06, SB calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.24) 7

, A

, K

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.16, 1 fold, SB calls $0.16

Turn: ($0.56) A

(2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.34, SB raises $3.56 (All-In), Hero calls $2.25 (All-In)

River: ($5.74) 4

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $5.74

Results:
SB had K

, 7

(two pair, Aces and Kings).
Hero had A

, 10

(three of a kind, Aces).
Outcome: Hero won $5.49

I was kinda shocked that he would think I was calling that shove with a hand that doesn't beat 2 pair....glad these players are out there...

This happened on the 6max table as well....just shows how bad some people are even when you lose...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($5.48)
MP ($5.49)
CO ($5)
Button ($7.98)
SB ($4.91)
BB ($4.98)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 5

, 5

Hero bets $0.08, 1 fold, CO (poster) calls $0.06, Button calls $0.08, 1 fold, BB calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.33) A

, 5

, Q

(4 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.30, 2 folds, BB calls $0.30

Turn: ($0.93) 2

(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.42, BB raises $4.60 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $1.77

Results:
BB had 4

, J

(flush, Queen high).
Outcome: BB won $5.90

He showed it and asked if he beat me...I felt like mouthing off "wow! I cant believe you had a flush! Never would have guessed..." But restraint got the better of me and I just said "yes" and "nh"...did he expect me to call on that board?

Back on the 5nl table:

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

MP3 ($3.18)
CO ($6.39)
Button ($4.88)
SB ($6.95)
BB ($5)
UTG ($4.90)
UTG+1 ($1.93)
MP1 ($4.93)
Hero (MP2) ($9.48)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 4

, 4

3 folds, Hero bets $0.15, MP3 calls $0.15, CO raises $0.25, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.10, MP3 calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.82) 4

, 5

, 10

(3 players)
Hero bets $0.60, MP3 calls $0.60, 1 fold

Turn: ($2.02) 2

(2 players)
Hero bets $1.65, MP3 calls $1.65

River: ($5.32) 10

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.70, MP3 calls $0.68 (All-In)

Total pot: $6.68

Results:
Hero had 4

, 4

(full house, fours over tens).
MP3 didn't show [2h, 3h]
Outcome: Hero won $6.40

Again, I couldnt believe it...ok he had a SD but holy crap....
I figured he had a draw but could never put him on that hand...

A nice way to spend my evening...I love da pokerz...

Time for update...

Down a bit after I had a bad session where my KK<QQ (lost stack) and other hands didnt go well (missing lots of flops).

I have been playing 5nl the last few sessions in the evenings at PS and it has been a nitfest....so bad. I spent a fair bit of time table selecting but it didnt make much difference. I would find a table with a high $/pot amount. I would jump on there and it would just slow to a crawl...it happened on 3 tables I went to where it was at the highest level for $/pot only to fall to the bottom after a while.

The only pots I won were pots that I raised PF, then won on the flop w/ a cbet/value bet and the other players just folded b/c they didnt hit. I cant complain with that too much but it makes making $$ harder to come by. I had a set, straight and a couple TPTK scenarios that didnt get past the flop....

The only nice thing was I was able to take a couple of three-way pots with an OESD when the others just folded.

I left yesterday with a marginal gain....it would have been better but I chased a ISSD vs 2 players for a little too much. The flop call was ok but I should have given up on the turn...I was likely beat even if I hit it...
The best pot I had was a flush that I hit on the river that paid off vs trips...

Still having fun, I just dont have a lot of time and am still having trouble concentrating on the players and I go into autodrive, something that the regs are trying to reduce in the BC...
I think my schedule only allows to play in the late hours which means I'm tired so I cant concentrate as well...I dont take as many notes as I should, especially when the table is so straight forward (call preflop, fold to cbet w/ nothing).

Sometimes it's hard to find a calltard Very Happy

What adjustments to your game do you make when the table is weak-tight?

I "attempt" to open up a bit more in LP and steal blinds more with hands like A8o, K9s, JT etc...

I dont open up much from EP or MP though. I'm just not good enough yet to tell when I am ahead or behind since their range is still very wide on the flop and a hand like AT from EP is not fun for me to play. Unless the board is T high I dont have a lot of confidence putting money in the pot.
The other change i made was I open raised with all PP. Sometimes I will limp in with 66< to hit a set vs maniacs but I had the table fold almost every time when I raised with them...

I also reduce my 3betting (which isnt that high to begin with) b/c I find that when they were raising preflop, it was with very strong holdings so a 3bet would only really be a bluff.

It was a tough grind yesterday...I have a couple hands that I should put up here...one where I had QQ and I folded on the flop to a weak/tight player who all of a sudden found his balls and bet with a J high board. So I figured the only hand I beat was AK but since there was no A or K on the board so I didnt think the pansy would cbet that strong on a board he completely missed. It was a clear value bet by him. He probably had JJ+ and I was crushed but I cant be sure. That hand bugged me all night.

Long update here:

Luco: Yeah we'll have to look for each other at IRC and do some donking at 2nl....I wouldnt mind some HU for practice...

Jason: My big mistake was stayng at tables too long after they became nitty. It WAS bad though...I changed that last night and just moved along when I had to and found new tables with some bleeding going on.

This first hand is from a few sessions back. I was so happy with my bluff, although it may not have been a bluff....I may have had the best hand. He just seemed so scared that I decided to pull one out:

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

Hero (BB) ($5.70)
UTG ($9.90)
UTG+1 ($7.66)
villain (MP1) ($12.55)
MP2 ($5)
MP3 ($9.25)
CO ($0.68)
Button ($2.63)
SB ($4.66)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K

, A

1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.05, villain bets $0.20, 4 folds, SB calls $0.18, Hero raises $0.55, 1 fold, villain calls $0.40, SB calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.85) 3

, 8

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, villain bets $0.40, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.40

Turn: ($2.65) Q

(2 players)
Hero checks, villain checks

River: ($2.65) 4

(2 players)
Hero bets $2, 1 fold

Total pot: $2.65

Results:
Hero had K

, A

(one pair, eights).
Outcome: Hero won $4.55

I almost never bluff, aside from cbets or semi-bluffs so this felt like a good genuine bluff....as I was committing a good chunk of my stack to it...he probably had a mid PP or a good A or K...

So I had a dry spell for a bit. Little action, bad cards, missing flops etc...
Its amazing how a few hands can turn things around. I started the session dry as ever, mostly taking down pots with flop cbets.
Then these happened:

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

UTG ($8)
Hero (UTG+1) ($6.08)
villain 1 (MP1) ($18.35)
MP2 ($10)
CO ($6.55)
Button ($4.39)
villain 2 (SB) ($5.10)
BB ($3)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A

, A

1 fold, Hero bets $0.20, villain 1 raises $0.35, 2 folds, Button calls $0.35, villain 2 raises $0.98, 1 fold, Hero raises $5.88 (All-In), villain 1 calls $5.73, 1 fold, villain 2 calls $4.10 (All-In)

Flop: ($17.66) 9

, 3

, 8

(3 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($17.66) 10

(3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($17.66) 8

(3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $17.66

Results:
villain 2 didn't show [Q,Q]
Hero had A

, A

(two pair, Aces and eights).
villain 1 didn't show [Q,Q]
Outcome: Hero won $16.81

WOOOT! They both had QQ....I don't know, if I had QQ and was Villain 1 I probably would have folded...
I thought the shove was a bit overdone by me but I didnt want to make a decision on the flop and I felt that Villain 2 would call for sure so I just went ahead...

About 3 hands later this happed on another table:

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

UTG+1 ($5.08)
MP1 ($2.28)
villain 1 (MP2) ($5.57)
CO ($4.41)
Button ($9.78)
SB ($3.35)
Hero (BB) ($5.77)
UTG ($1.58)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9

, 9

3 folds, villain 1 calls $0.05, CO bets $0.20, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.15, villain 1 raises $0.65, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.62) 9

, 7

, K

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.65, villain 1 raises $4.87 (All-In), Hero calls $4.22

Turn: ($11.36) K

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($11.36) 2

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $11.36

Results:
Hero had 9

, 9

(full house, nines over Kings).
villain 1 didn't show [A,A]
Outcome: Hero won $10.81

I almost never donk bet but I thought a nice little wussy donkbet would cause him to reraise huge and he took the bait...

donking sets ftmfw

Yeah pretty tilting eh?
You disprove of it??

I think they have their place at times...I don't use them much except when I have a villain crushed and he has given away the fact that he has a premium pair and will likely reraise or shove.

It's such an awesome move when you know villain will spaz out and come right over the top Very Happy

I haven't had to vent in a while...so here goes.

Fuck...
Thats better.

A pretty bad stretch going on for the last while. I haven't been able to play a lot of poker for the last while so last night I fired it up and was all gun-ho to get crushing...instead I got bulldozed.

I couldn't connect worth a damn and my good PP never held up.
In one hand (I need to post it for critique) I had QQ, raised and had one caller, flop came KXX and I cbet and was insta raised (just over min raise) and I insta folded. There were no SD or FD's possible so I dont know what else he would have raised with other than a K...

I had QQ 5 times and I lost 3 out of 5 with one "win" being the blinds only.

I lost my stack when I had the 2nd nut FD and on the flop I felt the implied odds made it good for me to call (there were 3 players in the pot), and on the turn I called the rest of my stack with proper pot odds and didnt hit....that was one buyin gone.

On another table I made up a little bit with one good pot but then on that same table I got in all in w/ KK...
It took him a while to call my all in so I knew he didnt have AA, I figured JJ, QQ or maybe AK (some will call). The flop came XQJ and I knew I lost....sure enough, he had QQ....there was another stack gone.
Had my KK held I would have been up for the session and would be happy about how things went.

As is, I still think I am playng fairly well. Not scared, not spewing, still playng tight and aggro....its just not going my way.

I hope to get back on and fight again...It would be nice to get ahead on the BR, I've dropped a bit over the last week.

I'm not too tilted, just frustrated how I'm hitting my flops and how my good PP don't seem to hold up.

Well another session last night went awry.....its bad....

I'm officially on a 7 BI downswing...
I'm a little pissed with last nights session, I started to tilt a little bit.
I lost a BI when I raised EP w/ AdJd and the flop came J high rainbow. SB checked and I value bet and was called.
The turn was a second diamond, SB shoved....
So he had a hand but was worried abot the flush. I had TPTK and the nut flush draw but it was apparant I was behind but the session was going poor again and I just couldn't believe I was behind yet again so I made the bad call.
I didn't hit the flush and he turned over AA...there was a buyin gone.

Its really suprising how card dead I am. I am getting good cards to start but I just dont connect off of them. My cbets arent working very well and I just dont know if they are floating me or if they actually have something...and I don't like to 2nd barrel yet...the players just dont fold that fast after calling one street.

I think yesterday I didnt cbet enough. I had a tonne of hands with low/mid PP and there usually was a K or A on board and I always checked and folded to a bet b/c it seems like a lot of the players at 5nl call raises w/ K or A's in they're hand, not like 2nl where they call raises w/ anything...

I am almost down to my 2nl BR, my only saving grace is that my expected EV winnings are quite a bit higher than my actual winnings due to some of the beats I've taken. My earnings graph and EV graph are almost equal...

I am still playing good cards, I'm not playing junk....I think there are 3 problems, I'm not connecting on my good cards like AK, AQ etc...I have taken some bad beats (KK getting cracked 2x by QQ), and I have made some bad calls where I should've known better...It's just hard to believe after a while that once again you're behind in a hand!

I think I will need to open up some stats and see if I can find a problem/leak...As I said, my preflop selection is good, but my cbetting needs to improve for sure...and I have to fricken fold when I think I'm behind...

The biggest change b/w 2nl and 5nl is my cbetting. It seemed like I could cbet any board and have them fold whereas now, I get called so often....I dont know if its just floating or if I'm actually running into hands...
At 2nl if a player bet and I only had say AQ, I folded...they didn't bet without some kind of hand....at 5nl, I'm starting to think that this isnt the case. When I raise with JJ and the flop comes Axx, I have been checking and autofolding to bets, I just don't know if they are making bets like that w/o an A in their hand...
When I do cbet, I seem to get called and again,I have a hard time believing that they are betting into me with worse than an A...

This may seem small, but if you can change your way of thinking from

I've pretty much gone through everything you have in terms of handling losses. Everything Jason said is bang on. Now here's my 2c:

One thing that has helped me lately is instantly closing all tables once I feel frustrated. The other day I had a hand where villain sucked out on me with 4% equity for stacks and I admit I was pretty frustrated because the same thing happened to me on another table at the SAME TIME. So I got really frustrated - but instead of trying to play upset and grind back my losses I forgot about it and quit for the day. IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO DO THIS IMMEDIATELY - DO NOT WAIT FOR YOUR THE BIG BLIND TO REACH YOU. IT IS +EV TO QUIT WHEN FRUSTRATED NO MATTER HOW MANY 'FREE' HANDS YOU HAVE LEFT TO SEE.

Sometimes unbelieveable things like that will happen, but the best thing you can do is realize that you're either on tilt or going to be put on tilt from such events, and then do everything in your power to close the Poker software. Doing this will save you alot of money and make you feel much better when you cool off and realize you only lost a little bit instead of what could have potentially been alot.

Don't wait for the big blind, don't make excuses - get up and leave. You need to admit to yourself right away that you're on tilt and then stop playing. You can try your hardest to stop tilting, but it won't work. It's not easy to do, but once you do it, you'll thank yourself.

This is completely normal and something that every poker player goes through to some degree. Those who manage it best will earn the most.

If you want I have a (very, very long but worth it) article on how the human brain works and why you cannot play your best no matter how hard you fight it when you're on tilt. PM me if you want a copy of this article.

Thx for all your input...
I have decided on something which will help out:
- I was still playing on auto too much so I am going to move to only 2-3 tables max. I was paying much better attention to the players with 2 tables, when I improve, I will go back to 4 tables.

Something that I need to get into my head is that just b/c a player is bad, doesn't mean he can't have a strong hand...

I played a good session on the weekend and have 3 sample hands.
2 went my way one didn't:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($1.44)
Hero (Button) ($5.55)
Villain) (SB) ($4)
BB ($12.22)
UTG ($5)
MP1 ($7.65)
MP2 ($2.81)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A

, K

3 folds, CO bets $0.20, Hero calls $0.20, Villain) calls $0.18, BB calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.80) 5

, K

, 7

(4 players)
Villain) bets $0.50, 1 fold, CO calls $0.50, Hero raises to $1.75, Villain) calls $1.25, 1 fold

Turn: ($4.80) 2

(2 players)
Villain) checks, Hero checks

River: ($4.80) Q

(2 players)
Villain) checks, Hero bets $0.90, Villain) calls $0.90

Total pot: $6.60 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Hero had A

, K

(one pair, Kings).
Villain) mucked 8

, K

(one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $6.30

I was a little worried on the turn that he ran into a 2pair hand and I unwisely checked. On the river I knew I was well ahead so I put a smallish bet out that I hoped to have called. I don't know if I got all out of the hand that I could...

Next:
These 2 hands happened simultaneously against the same villain...
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($6.62)
MP2 ($1.13)
Hero (MP3) ($4.98)
CO ($5.68)
Villain (Button) ($4.29)
SB ($6.93)
BB ($1.57)
UTG ($4.25)
UTG+1 ($11.56)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with J

, A

4 folds, Hero bets $0.20, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.20, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.47) 7

, A

, 6

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, Villain calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.27) J

(2 players)
Hero bets $0.85, Villain raises to $3.69 (All-In), Hero calls $2.84

River: ($8.65) 2

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $8.65 | Rake: $0.40

Results:
Villain had 6

, 6

(three of a kind, sixes).
Hero had J

, A

(two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Outcome: Villain won $8.25

Not a good call, but not sure. He certainly would've done this with 2 pair or even AK (he possibly would limp/call w/ AK, very passive). He was running about 60/0/X over 50 hands....very passive...

We were involved in another hand at the same time on another table that went as follows:
He raised preflop for the first time, what do you think he had?
I usaully 3bet QQ but I was pretty confident I was up against a big hand but cant fold QQ yet...

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

UTG+1 ($5.07)
Villain (MP1) ($7.26)
MP2 ($6)
MP3 ($6.86)
CO ($5.85)
Hero (Button) ($5.11)
SB ($3.03)
BB ($8.63)
UTG ($5.17)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q

, Q

UTG calls $0.05, 1 fold, Villain bets $0.15, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.15, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.52) 4

, 10

, Q

(3 players)
UTG checks, Villain bets $0.30, Hero raises to $0.80, 1 fold, Villain raises to $7.11 (All-In), Hero calls $4.16 (All-In)

Turn: ($10.44) 4

(2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($10.44) 3

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $10.44 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had Q

, Q

(full house, Queens over fours).
Villain had A

, A

(two pair, Aces and fours).
Outcome: Hero won $9.94

I hope to find him at the tables b/c he was a maniac...

I played an interesting session last night. I marked a bunch of hands for observation later and may post some here or in the BC.

I was up marginally, so I'm happy. It would have been much better had I not misplayed a hand badly. I knew I was behind on the turn and he checked the 3rd spade on the river. I tried to bluff at it repping the flush and he called w/ a set of Q's...
People are much nittier in general at 5nl. Sure there are some maniacs but I have ssen so many just flat call QQ in the blinds or limp AK in EP...it's been a real eye opener to see what hands they turn over sometimes.

Just working on folding really....and on cbetting proper boards. I probably cbet too much and possibly fold too often when I check the flop. Most of the players will bet at me when I check...I need to watch they're hands w/others to see what they are floating with.

One interesting spot...I had a perpetual blind stealer on my right. 3 rounds in a row he tried stealing from the SB. Everytime he did, I 3bet him and he folded. The interesting thing is that each time I had a genuine 3betting hand. I believe I had AJs the first one, 2nd one was 99 and the last hand was KK. I was just praying that he would get tired of me 3betting and that he would fire back at me on the 3rd try, but unfortunately he folded vs my KK....oh well.

I feel as though I am getting my head around this again...although I am still annoyed at my cbetting. I am hoping to maybe get a membership somewhere for a month (like grinderschool) and see what they say. I just seem to get called too much and I have a hard time 2nd barreling. Its tough to put them on a range and when I only have 99 and there is a Q or K on board its tough to fire a second round.

Nice session last night. Played some 5nl (3 table for a bit and 2 for a while).
Up a buy-in and pretty happy overall. One table had a complete suicidal maniac/self flagellator at the table....He ran about 79/75/2.5. Just a moron.

However it was fun to watch b/c I saw people playing against him and they all knew just like me that he was bad, but none of them played against him properly...
I could tell that when he bet big (PSB, over shoves etc...) that he had something....a FD at worst, sometimes even bottom pair. But people would call his flop shoves with A high and of course they lost their stack to a middle pair w/ shitty kicker.....
He was up 3 buy-ins on the table.
I don't think I played a pot against anyone but him...I just value bet like crazy and in one hand he shoved the flop and I had TPTK which I felt was plenty....It was as he only had an OESD....

The difference is that I tightened up a bit more, and 3 bet him to isolate...Sometimes it sucked when I had to fold the flop or turn but I knew my patience would pay off with him....I probably lost more pots than I won but I won WAY more $$ than I lost...

I could have won more probably but in one hand I lead UTG w/ JJ and he 3bet me and I called...
Flop was KJX....he lead out strong and I figured, if he has a K he's not folding so I reraised about 4.5X....and he folded Crying or Very sad

I figured if he had a straight draw or K he would shove over but I guess he had air.
He left the table about even, only b/c people played him poorly and on his last hand he went all in with 85s and hit runner, runner, runner for a STRAIGHT FLUSH!
What a goof....I hope to find him again at the tables.

My cbets were working well, I found some nice flops where I could cbet w/ confidence, sometimes against 2 players...
So I am slowly but surely rebuilding the roll from by 7 BI slide....I hope to be back up in no time...

I will continue to play some 6max at 2nl and hope to get to 5nl 6max soon. I am getting more confident and patient but I still find it swingy for me and my earn rate is lower than at FR...
When I do move up, I will try to work on HU at 2nl....I am god awful at HU.

Kinda frustrated right now but not giving up...
I started in 2nl and it went well. Actually it was quite easy...
I started 5nl and it was great, I was taking guys to value town, stacking, bullying and having fun....then it hit, a 7 BI downswing.
It started as a couple of beats and coolers, then it progressed w/ bad call downs when I knew I was behind but didn't want to be.

From that slip-up I have been slowly building back. My frustration is that it is quite slow. My winrates aren't what they used to be and I'm beating 5nl for an embarrassing rate.

I've tried to get the win rate out of my head and instead tried to focus on the positives that the more time I spend there, the more I can see and learn from.

Last night I played a bad session. I wasn't angry with my play, I just couldn't stay ahead and I had to lay down on the river to hands that seemed to now be ahead (4 to a straight and villain wakes up and starts raising, get reraised when the flush completes etc...) Hands like that I don't know if I'm behind, I just trust my instinct that the player who usually is passive probably wouldn't do that kind of bet w/o the goods.

I will plug ahead, and keep playing the way I believe I should. It would be nice if my BR would improve faster, but I also want to make sure I play well.
Yesterday, I had a hand that I was proud to lose in a way. I had 99 and raise pf and had a caller. The flop came AJX and I did not think a cbet would be wise...we checked it down and he showed JT. He had the best hand. Now its possible that I could have stole the pot with the worse hand but I am actually happy that i was able to see a flop that did not look good to cbet on....a small victory I suppose.

Hopefully I can play again today, I am hoping to keep grinding and keep learning. If I can get to 10nl relatively quickly that would be great.

Had a nice steady session last night. Played tight, and patient and folded when I should for the most part. Except for two mistimed bluffs, I did well. Nothing special, no all-ins, no set over AA, just good ol' fashioned value betting with TPTK vs villains willing to call with TPLK....Everything was so standard aside from my two bad bluffs, that I have no HH to show. I may put one of the bluffs in the BC....I just couldnt put him on a hand to save my life and the board contained all low cards...

I was able to follow the action, take notes etc....it feels good to really feel on top of things and play well. I just need to be patient, not worry about the dry stretches of getting dealt J2, Q6 etc...
The cards will come eventually

Have been carrying on through a shitty breakeven stretch.
Part is still beats, part coolers, part stupid calls that I make.
Its the kind of calls that made me money in 2nl but not in 5nl, people are repping more what they have in general...

Things have picked up a bit lately so I'll post a few to provide evidence.

This one is on the tilt side, as in put me on the tilt side....

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

UTG+1 ($5)
MP1 ($15.59)
MP2 ($11.60)
MP3 ($6.22)
CO ($5.69)
Villain (Button) ($7.44)
SB ($2.07)
Hero (BB) ($5)
UTG ($6.12)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A

, A

4 folds, MP3 calls $0.05, 1 fold, Villain bets $0.20, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.60, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.27) 7

, 4

, 8

(2 players)
Hero bets $4.40 (All-In), Villain calls $4.40

Turn: ($10.07) 9

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($10.07) 4

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10.07 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Villain had 3

, 4

(three of a kind, fours).
Hero had A

, A

(two pair, Aces and fours).
Outcome: Villain won $9.57

I'm fricken tickeled that he called, pissed at the river. Shoving AA on the flop is not something I do often like that but I really felt that he would call with shit b/c the board is so weak and the shove may come off like a bit of a bluff...I know its not necessary at 5nl but it worked, and I thought it would for some reason.....
Wont be doing that too often though.

In the last few sessions I have been making some calls that have been profitable. They have been difficult calls but I have won the hand and made some $$. The problem is, these are the same kind of calls that I have been making over the past while and losing money on. A few weeks ago I was in similar situations, and the overbet shove I was looking at was repping the top of his range and usually the nuts.....but in the last few sessions, my calls worked and I had the guy dominated.....sometimes the villain was on a complete bluff.....which wasnt happening a few weeks ago. It's strange, I don't really feel like I'm playing all that different but yet my BR would say otherwise...

I have some other hands I wanted to show but the Hand Converter doesn't seem to want to work for me now after I posted that last hand.

Supposedly I just have to delete 3 letters and the hand converter works so here goes...
These are some interesting hands (for me) that I played a session or two back:

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

MP1 ($7.61)
Villain (MP2) ($8.98)
MP3 ($10.77)
CO ($4.13)
Button ($10.63)
SB ($4.95)
BB ($9.12)
UTG ($9.01)
Hero (UTG+1) ($5.81)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with K

, A

1 fold, Hero bets $0.20, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.20, 3 folds, SB calls $0.18, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.65) A

, 4

, 10

(3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.50, Villain calls $0.50, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.65) 6

(2 players)
Hero bets $1, Villain raises to $3, Hero calls $2

River: ($7.65) 5

(2 players)
Hero checks, Villain checks

Total pot: $7.65 | Rake: $0.35

Results:
Hero had K

, A

(one pair, Aces).
Villain mucked K

, 8

(high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $7.30

I don't remember much about the villain. The thing that gets me is that lately I have been inclined to fold when I see a big reraise on the turn like that...During my downswing, I had a few hands like this where I called the big raise on the turn and was all in on the river to see that I was up against a set or 2 pair. I tend to think that those reraises mean what they say now...
However in this pot, I just didnt believe him and I don't know why...
There wasnt much different between this hand and the others that I got stacked in....his raise really could only mean a few things: I have 2 pair/set and I'm showing you I have strength, I have an A w/ med kick but I don't think you have an Ace..., I have a FD so I'm semi bluffing...(which I dont see happening as much when the pot is that big already)...
I'm happy I called but not sure why I would feel ahead...

This hand happened a bit later:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($5)
UTG+1 ($11.92)
MP1 ($3.20)
Villain (MP2) ($8.23)
CO ($5.44)
Button ($9.68)
SB ($9.16)
BB ($6.10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q

, Q

Hero bets $0.20, 2 folds, Villain calls $0.20, 3 folds, BB calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.62) 2

, 6

(3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.50, Villain raises to $3.70, 1 fold, Hero raises to $4.80 (All-In), Villain calls $1.10

Turn: ($10.22) Q

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($10.22) 3

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10.22 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Hero had Q

, Q

(full house, Queens over sixes).
Villain had 2

, A

(two pair, sixes and twos).
Outcome: Hero won $9.72

Again, I was a bit scared but I thought he probably would've reraised KK+ preflop and if he had trip 6's, he would slowplay a bit more (not always but many times they do). Again this is where my problem is. A while ago when I lost a bunch of BI's, players would have shoved trip 6's b/c they were worried about the FD on board...in this hand, I felt I was likely up against an overpair like TT or JJ and he probably put me on over cards. Trips were certainly in his range but not a huge chunk of it, so I just put the rest of my stack in and hoped I was right.

As mentioned in my last post, I had a good session, making calls that a few weeks ago, were extremely unprofitable for me.
Is there a big difference between these hands and this one I posted a while back?:

[url=http://www.flopturnriver.com/reviews/Online-Poker-PokerStars.php]PokerStars[/url] No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($6.62)
MP2 ($1.13)
Hero (MP3) ($4.98)
CO ($5.68)
Villain (Button) ($4.29)
SB ($6.93)
BB ($1.57)
UTG ($4.25)
UTG+1 ($11.56)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with J, A
4 folds, Hero bets $0.20, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.20, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.47) 7, A, 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, Villain calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.27) J (2 players)
Hero bets $0.85, Villain raises to $3.69 (All-In), Hero calls $2.84

River: ($8.65) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $8.65 | Rake: $0.40

Results:
Villain had 6, 6 (three of a kind, sixes).
Hero had J, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Outcome: Villain won $8.25

To me its similar, I faced a big reraise and I called just like I did in the last session, but here I was miles behind....chalk it up to semi-cooler? Varience? Or am I missing something...

No update for a while:
Have continued to play lately and have played decent. No huge sessions, just steady progress...slow and steady wins the race I suppose. I'm almost back to my BR before my BI drop from end of June.
I have played well imo. I need to break out some stats and see but I would say I'm doing well at showdown and some of the ones I lose are beats/coolers that I cant complain about....
My fav so far? I had 88 on a TT8 board....I got it in on the river vs a nit and he showed T8....
The table had a maniac and so people who were generally nittier started playing any hand for the chance to stack him....I just got caught in the crossfire.

As for learning....I'm not learning much outside of hands. I havent had a lot of free time and will have less come sept so I haven't been to the IRC in ages.

I finished Harrington on Cash vol1 and need to get Vol 2 as well as some Sklansky books.

My biggest challenge right now is deciphering the difference between calls that lose me money and calls that win money. I have had hands where I hold say, QQ and the flop comes all lower and villain reraises me/shoves, I call and he shows a set.....I think, "of course he has a set, what else does he have that he'll do that with"?
Then, the next day, I run into the same scenario, I call the reraise/shove and he has TP on the board and loses to my over pair.....it can't be random chance.....there is something about the player that I should know about that makes the call profitable or not. I just seem to run into bad situations where I don't have enough history on the player to know what they are capable of.

I have understood that it will take me forever to get to 25nl, which is my ultimate goal for now. I'm fine with that. Playing under 5K hands makes it tough to move up quickly.

Last night I had a great session where I won just under a BI in a short stretch of hands. This included a loss w/ AA vs JJ all in pre.
I really felt in control and was confident, and had a good idea when I was ahead or behind. You really feel like you are crushing the table when you rarely lose a pot and people just seem to get out of your way often.

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Operation: Getting a grip on things.

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Operation: Getting a grip on things.