Taking a Microscope to Micro-Cash Games

Back from vacation, still busy as hell but the daughter had friends over last night so they left us adults alone, which gave me an hour or so for poker. I started with a PS bankroll of $160 and ended wtih a bankroll of $167.55, which was pretty good I thought. Suffered one bad beat, had a set with flush draw and lost to the already made flush... at least it felt like a bad beat because he just flat called all the way through.

Anyway, I'm back, should be posting more soon, wish me luck, I have to drive a bobcat today to move a bunch of dirt around in my flowerbeds to build a shed.

Well I survived the bobcat adventure, having never driven one before, I just didn't know. I moved about 500 cubic yards of dirt out then built the flower bed/terracing and moved it back... I'm exhausted and sore.

So I sat down to play an hour of poker to wear my mind out too... and found that on Friday night, Poker Stars can be quite fishy... sat at the first table, turned $6 into 8.44 in no time, then the table cleared out, so did I. Opened two more... found them fishy too... one kept reloading with fish... coming to the table with 1.98 at the .02/.05 level... then they go all in with a low pair on an all overcard board, I knocked at least two out that way... others who bet on the river on a total miss... just because I was checking it through, then you raise them and they panic shove... only to lose to you're hitting the straight on the river.

I played good solid ABC poker, stopped spewing with A-x in anything but button position (only with limpers ahead now) and started raising every pocket pair. Hit a great run of cards...

PS BR is now: $179.77 (up 12.22 tonight)

Was burning up the table late sunday evening, then hit a big snag...

Had A-2 on the button, they were suited, one caller ahead, so I called. Flop came out 2-4-5 rainbow... so I have a pair of twos and a far-out flush draw... the caller min bets... so I call... An Ace comes out, so now the board has a straight draw on it, and he insta-shoves... I hit the time button and am thinking this out... this table has been pretty spewy so far in the last 1/2 hour, he has been all over the place, and he types in a taunt... no way you hit that Ace... you're mine.... a few seconds later... go ahead, call it, you missed the ace.

Now I know he is goading me into it, but he has been all over the place... could have have limped in with a 3? or a pair of 3's... hmm... I let the time wind down then called him.. I know a dumb move and he turns over 3c, 5s. He has the straight. of course. I didn't feel too bad about it, but I did have two pair and he was a donk for even limping 3/5 but he got away with it and burnt me pretty good, for about $4.

Total for Sunday, down about $7.

So in all, a great weekend for poker for me. I hope to get this track running again this week, be back up over $200 on PS and when I do hit that mark I'm registering my PT3 trial (expired).

Monty

Something just won't 'click'

I'm playing good ABC poker at this point, not taking too many out of place risks, making some money, things are going ok. Occassionally I suffer a bad beat or two... but I'm missing that 'click'.

For some reason it doesn't seem to make sense, I've lost some of my reading ability, lost the ability to know when I'm ahead or behind, and I'm back to level 1 poker.

Hmm... will post some hands or thoughts hopefully soon.

Do you have PT or HEM? If you do you should post your overall stats along with your position stats. I believe ABC poker is an overused term and you may think you are playing that style of poker when you really aren't. I thought I was playing ABC poker at 2nl and I ran at 22.3/9.9/3.3. And my position stats were awful too. My biggest problem was folding when I was beat. Remember if you have AA on a 2 suited flop and the villain check calls your cbet and a flush card hits and the villain suddenly wakes up with a bet or raise or something, yes it is a bad beat, but fold if you think they have the flush. Don't keep calling, that only makes a bad beat worse. Plus you will be able to stack them next time when a flush card probably wont come. If you don't have tracking software I strongly recommend you get some. I'm at 10nl and already I believe that the software has paid for itself.

tracking software is overrated at micro micro stakes.

just play some, get your money in good, spot the bad players, resist the urge to berate, and all will be well.

hmm usually people like to see 10k + hands to judge stats and stuff, but you run close to what I run at, and I play 10nl. So I guess that's good. After you get 10k hands I guess you could post some position stats. UTG I run 7.5/7.5 and on the button I run 20.5/13 but I think I need to raise more from the button. It seems like you loose big pots, don't become a calling station with second best hands. Also in the first couple of thousand hands it doesn't seem like you win any big pots, just medium ones. If you are slow playing you should replace that tactic with the bet bet bet strategy. Anywhoo here are my thoughts on the hands (note I only play 10nl, so take my advice at your own risk).

Hand 1: So why did you play this hand? I bet it wasn't to hit a lone K. It was to hit a flush, two pair, trips, fullhouse etc. So I don't bet the flop here because you have a K with a crap kicker and there are soooo many people in the pot you are probably outkicked or beat somehow. Although if it was the 4h on the flop than I would bet because I would have a flush draw + top pair, which is a sweet hand. When the 3rd K hits on the turn this is when I bet, because if everyone checks around it probably means that you have the best hand right now. And the 3rd K showing reduces the chances that somebody has a K with a better kicker. I think the fold on the river is good though. Somebody always has a straight (probably this i think), fullhouse or possibly a better K hand than you.

Hand 2: Raise more preflop plz. You have 4 people that just limped ahead of you make it at least $.4 if not a bit more. Raising a bit more than the 4xBB + 1 for every limper might be good here because there is so many limpers and at these stakes people just love to call and you don't want to get into a multiway pot with AA. Anyways flop bet is good and so is the turn bet, although I probably would have folded to the turn raise. I swear everytime somebody raises me big it is never a bluff at theses stakes.

In your last AA hand your flop bet is NOT good. With 2 people, no position and a very drawy flop you need to bet pot.

If you make it 40-50c pre, and PSB the flop, the turn decision is trivial.

So I spent a little time on my game this long weekend, along with a lot of time on the shed/barn... anyway, I went back to this post by Renton http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/forum/renton-s-169-hand-ss-nlhe-ring-strategy-preflop-t39184.html and reviewed it again. After reading through it, I tried some experiments.

I started raising from the button a lot more, including hands I would have auto-folded before, but Renton discusses their value. A good example is I came up with K-2 suited in the button, one bet of 4xBB ahead. I called and the flop came out K-2-4 rainbow. He bets, I raise, he re-raises and I shove. He insta calls... rest of cards come down and he is left with Aces. He immediately gets pissed, calls me an idiot and leaves... which was funny but I see his point.

Now I played this way for the next two sessions, probably about 300 hands. I didn't really profit a lot, maybe a little overall in the next two sessions, had some losses as well. I'm struggling with this pattern/plan but I can see the benefits of it. In the past position 3 is where I have made the most money so far, with odd hands. I am going to work on this late position play as Renton suggests this month and see what my differences are. Maybe I will see a better curve. The months in the past are June and July both Negative, August was break-even. Hopefully we can get September moving upwards into the heavy playing season. Winter time I have nothing better to do Wink

Aside from poker, the shed is nearly completed, roof and door left to go. My wife's dad is doing the roof (roofer by trade) and I have to figure out how to build a door. Anyway, I have to start prepping for nationals in Golf, so practice for that begins tonight hopefully.

Good luck and good cards everyone, I hope to update more in the next few weeks as this experiment progresses.

Up to Thursday evening I was doing well, playing smart... then Friday rolled around.

Lesson # 87 - Just because Fridays are Fish Day, doesn't mean your table is fishy or bluffing.

Found this out first hand on two tables... got burned big on two hands. Back down to $191.

Working on late position and button play primarily, though the cards in those positions have sucked lately. Getting into too many pots where my pocket pair gets flopped over and I have nothing to run with against strong opposition... maybe they are exploiting me.

Overall for Sep I'm not playing as much but am making small strides into profitability, when I don't donk call a shove.

Man that sucks... spent ten minutes reviewing Slevin's tourney he posted and then the thread got locked before I could post it. Dang!

Been running mediocre for a few days, up a little, down a little... hovering at the $200 BR mark. I did play a session sunday night and found on one table I ran 25/18/8.5 over I think 60-80 hands. Thought that was pretty cool, big aggression, if I remember I turned $6 buy in on that table to 15.00 or so.

Of course, the opposite holds true too, as I balanced it with two losing tables ;(

I'm running a bit weird, trying new things. Not all of them are working, but the aggression when I focus it right seems to be. I have been running into more regs than usual it seems, and they are starting to develop a line on me. There is one still who will only sit at a table with me for two hands, then he leaves. I think he is an FTR member who maybe is considerate of my noobishness and avoiding slamming me too hard Wink

Last night ran with no profit, played an hour, broke even.

I have been 3-tabling and 4-tabling though, but have to get my ROI up a bit... want to get to 6-table .02/.05 and build some momentum up but having a hard time getting past the 'break even' hump.

Last night had some time at work, since I was stuck here late, so d/l the FTP client and started playing, played for a little over an hour on .05/.10 since I had a $160 BR at FTP I hadn't used in a while. Got into a bad hand and lost a little over 1/2 my $10 buy in, then got it back to about $7 at the end. It seemed my cards were not good, only had pocket pairs three or four times I think, and only one set of those face cards. The table I was playing at was tight-aggressive, which I know was a bad table to stay at but I wanted the experience. If someone bet out they had something, the question was trying to figure out what they had.

The worst thing about playing at this table was the fact that whenever I bet out or raised, everyone immediately folded unless they had the nuts. Made reading their hands easier in the long run but made it hard to make anything but small headway. Also the people at the table were not rolled correctly so most of them got into one big hand and if they lost were gone.

All in all a wasted hour. I did watch two of Spenda's videos though... interesting and informative. One thing I am wondering though is what people thought of GrinderSchool if anyone had been there, checked it out, if it helped, etc...

I seem to be stagnating. Something needs to change.

Hi there monty! Welcome to Page #2!

I've been taking a break from poker personally to deal with some life issues, but I thought I'd check in real quick.

If you find yourself at a tight table like that, just open up a little more, steal and bluff a little more. And then just when they start getting tired up your BS, lighten up on your C-bets until you flop a monster, and keep betting! You'll be surprized with what they'll finally start calling you down with! Also, RE-BUY!! If you lost half of your buyin, so what! When you do get in a monster situation, You won't be making any money if you only have a half-stack... At the same time, I think you are expecting too much to happen while only one-tabling for an hour... Also, I've heard the rake is atrocious at $10NL on FTP. Something crazy like 10% even? Stay away!

If you feel that you are stagnating, then change something. Start raising your suited connectors, and even some stupid stuff, like 85s or T5o from the CO or BU. Try a two (or Three!) barrel bluff. Now, at the same time, don't get too crazy carried away with this, but just inject it from time to time to add some spice to the mixture. It will be fun, and help your table image immensely, and who knows, you'll sometimes flop the nuts with your J3o!

You mentioned your stats for one table over 60-80 hands, but that doesn't matter much at all... don't concentrate on it. What are your overall stats looking like now? How many hands? GL to you man.

OH, and ARRRRR me matey, it be 'talk like a pirate' day today. Shiver me timbers!

Saturday ran ok, nothing major though, played about two hours and did ok.

Sunday I played a good solid round of golf, then went with my wife and daughter to a friends house and ended up in a cash game there. 5 guys, all of whom have experience playing, though not a lot of skill except for one of them. We ended up playing weird games like 'follow the bitch' and Omaha must use two, etc. I bought in for the $20 that everyone did, was up to 35 at one point but then pissed it all away mainly to get away from the game. I was done with it, the owner of the house was trashed and getting silly... claiming his flush beats the 4 tens someone had, etc...

Went home and got online and played in the evening, general stuff, up a few, down a few, all in all I broke even after losing a heart breaker all in with pocket kings against pocket jacks... he rivered me with the other jack (we were all in pre-flop).

Anyway, so for the weekend I'm about break even... now to get life to be that way Wink

Ok... question open for discussion... I'm currently sitting on a $200 BR and playing 4 tables of .02/.05, hanging with a slowly building positive, but not losing any ground... too soon to consider a move to .05/.10 or should I go ahead and expect similar play at that level?

Maybe give it a run and see how it works for a few days with a $100 stop limit? (on the odd chance i start running horrible?)

Go for it. $10NL is very similar.

$10NL doesn't play much differently than $5NL. 20BI's is enough IMO, so yea, if you feel ready, then go for it!

I had some issues tonight... I think I know what they are but I'll let you all take a look and berate me for them...

Hand 1

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Hero (BB) ($10)
UTG ($10.75)
MP1 ($12.20)
MP2 ($11.85)
CO ($8.90)
Button ($6.85)
SB ($5)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9

, 9

5 folds, SB calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.40, SB calls $0.30

Flop: ($0.80) 2

, 7

, 6

(2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.60, SB calls $0.60

Turn: ($2) 6

(2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($2) 7

(2 players)
SB bets $0.70, Hero calls $0.70

Total pot: $3.40 | Rake: $0.15

Hand 2

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Hero (MP2) ($8.25)
MP3 ($10.75)
CO ($13.55)
Button ($2)
SB ($10.35)
BB ($5)
UTG ($8.25)
UTG+1 ($6.50)
MP1 ($5.90)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 9

, 9

3 folds, Hero raises to $0.40, 1 fold, CO raises to $1.20, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.80

Flop: ($2.55) A

, 2

, A

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($2.55) J

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

River: ($2.55) 7

(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $1.20, Hero calls $1.20

Total pot: $4.95 | Rake: $0.20

Results in white below:
Hero mucked 9

, 9

(two pair, Aces and nines).
CO had K

, K

(two pair, Aces and Kings).
Outcome: CO won $4.75

Hand 3

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Hero (CO) ($5.30)
Button ($10.55)
SB ($20.75)
BB ($9.25)
UTG ($9.50)
UTG+1 ($4.50)
MP1 ($7.90)
MP2 ($6.75)
MP3 ($9.20)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q

, Q

5 folds, Hero raises to $0.40, 2 folds, BB raises to $1.20, Hero raises to $5.30 (All-In), BB calls $4.10

Flop: ($10.65) 10

, 6

, A

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($10.65) 8

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($10.65) J

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10.65 | Rake: $0.50

Results in white below:
BB had A

, Q

(one pair, Aces).
Hero mucked Q

, Q

(one pair, Queens).
Outcome: BB won $10.15

Hand 4

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP2 ($14.45)
MP3 ($5.70)
CO ($1.85)
Button ($16.90)
SB ($19.55)
BB ($6)
UTG ($14.55)
Hero (UTG+1) ($9.90)
MP1 ($9.25)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A

, 10

UTG calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.10, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.10, MP3 raises to $0.40, 1 fold, Button calls $0.40, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.30, Hero calls $0.30, MP2 calls $0.30

Flop: ($2.15) J

, A

, 3

(5 players)
UTG bets $0.10, Hero raises to $1, 3 folds, UTG calls $0.90

Turn: ($4.15) J

(2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $2.80, UTG raises to $5.60, Hero folds

Total pot: $9.75 | Rake: $0.45

Results in white below:
UTG didn't show
Outcome: UTG won $9.30

The start of the comeback:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP2 ($9.35)
MP3 ($0.40)
CO ($3.95)
Button ($12.90)
SB ($7.75)
BB ($15.10)
UTG ($23.55)
Hero (UTG+1) ($3.40)
MP1 ($10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A

, J

1 fold, Hero calls $0.10, 2 folds, MP3 calls $0.10, CO checks, Button calls $0.10, 1 fold, BB checks

Flop: ($0.45) 5

, 5

, J

(5 players)
BB bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, 3 folds

Turn: ($1.45) 7

(2 players)
BB bets $1, Hero raises to $2.80 (All-In), BB calls $1.80

River: ($7.05) 10

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $7.05 | Rake: $0.35

Results in white below:
BB had J

, 8

(two pair, Jacks and fives).
Hero had A

, J

(two pair, Jacks and fives).
Outcome: Hero won $6.85

And the ultimate fail...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG+1 ($9.05)
MP1 ($0.95)
MP2 ($3.80)
MP3 ($12.80)
CO ($7.70)
Button ($11.40)
SB ($23.45)
Hero (BB) ($6.85)
UTG ($10)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K

, Q

5 folds, CO raises to $0.40, Button calls $0.40, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.25) K

, K

, J

(3 players)
Hero checks, CO checks, Button bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, 1 fold

Turn: ($2.25) 9

(2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $1, Hero raises to $3, Button raises to $10.50 (All-In), Hero calls $2.95 (All-In)

River: ($14.15) 5

(2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $14.15 | Rake: $0.70

Results in white below:
Button had K

, J

(full house, Kings over Jacks).
Hero had K

, Q

(three of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: Button won $13.45

Weee! Hands!

1) Super duper OMG standard. You could actually probably fold that river; but it's so small, and the board SO scary, that it's very possible it's a weak bluff.
2) Rebuy! (You knew I would say that right?) This is mostly ok. I hate having invested that much Pre-flop, but sometimes this happens. Fold river though, he's not value-betting here with worse than 99 often after checking two streets. //Checking results// Yup...
3) Rebuy! Hand would've played much differently if you had a full stack. Sucky board for your hand, but you should've been able to get away on the flop likely... //Checking results// Darn... expected...
4) Limp/call is BAD with this hand in EP. I usually would actually fold this hand here OOP. If I have to play it, I'm raising! 0.5 Pre-flop. The min-bet call line on the flop from UTG is a HIGH-STRENGTH, slowplay line. Learn to recognize that! Your hand is nowhere near strong enough to bet that turn!
5) WTF rebuy?! NO LIMPING FROM EP! Seriously, don't do this. You missed out on probably a LOT of value by not having a full stack here. DUCY? //Checking Results// Ugh. Ok, squeezing more value out of him would've been tougher (I expected KJ or QJ or JT or something)
6) REBUY! Stop slowplaying your strong, but not monster hands. Open bet the turn. Lose/win a stack on YOUR terms, not theirs. With a full stack, you are able to get away from this on the turn possibly.

Chris I get your point about the rebuys and the full stacks... I'm not sure it would have been right last night though. I wasn't playing well, so in the short run it worked out.

I am often hesitant to rebuy right away, that seems like a problem but I'm struggling with it. My slot play for years comes back to me... and trying to 'get back even' is I guess my point... also the fear of losing even larger amounts by risking more... but it does make sense that the take down is larger with the bigger stack... working on it.

Your slots strategy is just that... a strategy for slots (gambling).

Getting back to even should not be your goal, this is a leak! If you want to play shortstacked, then play universally shortstacked, and employ the strategy for that type of play (there is a guide here somewhere) But if you have a full stack on one table and a shortstack on the other, you're going to confuse your strategies slightly, and just make it more complicated. Even if you are playing the shortstack strategy, you would need to rebuy to your 40BB stack often!

Oh and:

Thanks Spoon!

Had a great session tonight. During lunch, instead of just browsing FTR, I spent 45 minutes going through the Little Green Book or whatever it is called. I did the ego exercises when I got home... felt stupid but it worked.

I played for 45 minutes, one NL5 and one NL10 table, cleared out $27 total in profit. Most ever in a single session.

I then spent an hour going through them hand by hand, reviewing them on Poker Tracker to see if my calls were correct, etc... Here are a few of the hands...

On this hand, it was only my second hand at the table, so reads sucked... I am trying to determine if I could have possibly extracted more value out of it... I doubt it though, any bet and I think he folds. Net result is the same, so I should have bet the turn or river...

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

saw flop | saw showdown

SB ($11.96)
Hero (BB) ($9.95)
UTG ($1.85)
UTG+1 ($6.87)
MP1 ($6.75)
MP2 ($10.68)
MP3 ($12.12)
CO ($6)
Button ($3.81)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A

, Q

2 folds, MP1 calls $0.05, 2 folds, CO (poster) raises to $0.10, Button calls $0.10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.40, MP1 calls $0.35, 1 fold, Button calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.32) 2

, 5

(3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks, Button checks

Turn: ($1.32) 6

(3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks, Button checks

River: ($1.32) Q

(3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks, Button checks

Total pot: $1.32 | Rake: $0.05

Results in white below:
Button mucked A

, 10

(one pair, fives).
Hero had A

, Q

(two pair, Queens and fives).
MP1 mucked J

, 10

(one pair, fives).
Outcome: Hero won $1.27

This hand is not one I played in, I wisely got out of the way, but I'm trying to understand what tatisss was thinking...
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG ($10.45)
UTG+1 ($9.85)
MP1 ($11.90)
MP2 ($4.45)
CO ($18.65)
Button ($2.65)
Hero (SB) ($9.80)
BB ($9.90)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8

, Q

1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.40, MP1 raises to $1, 1 fold, CO calls $1, 3 folds, UTG+1 raises to $3, MP1 raises to $11.90 (All-In), CO calls $10.90, UTG+1 calls $6.85 (All-In)

Flop: ($33.80) 6

, 2

, 7

(3 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($33.80) 3

(3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($33.80) J

(3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $33.80 | Rake: $1.65

Results in white below:
UTG+1 had A

, A

(one pair, Aces).
MP1 had K

, K

(one pair, Kings).
CO mucked K

, A

(high card, Ace).
Outcome: UTG+1 won $28.25, MP1 won $3.90

Imagination's hand I totally understand... I understand the KK hand also, it is hard for me to get away from those hands, even against that type of agression by two other players. Now tatiss knows one of them has AA or KK, and can't beat AA... But to call the shove? I don't think I could have done it... maybe I am learning something.

This hand, I like my move here, though it would have been my last on it, any resistance and I'm outta there... but I don't put the flop in either of villian's ranges, Nevito1 was 47/16/3.0 and Jasdell is 42/19/0.8 and Cowgirl is about a 30/7/2 though my samples are a bit small on them at this point, they all seem to be in too many hands... so I put at least one of them with Ax, small pair on another and two high cards on the third...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP2 ($12.70)
CO ($24.30)
Button ($11.85)
SB ($2.10)
BB ($6)
UTG ($1.65)
Hero (UTG+1) ($9.75)
MP1 ($16.50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 5

, 5

1 fold, Hero raises to $0.30, 3 folds, Button calls $0.30, SB calls $0.25, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($1.20) 8

, 8

, 3

(4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $0.80, 3 folds

Total pot: $1.20 | Rake: $0.05

Results in white below:
Hero didn't show
Outcome: Hero won $1.15

Ok, brag time... this was my set hunting that turned out BEAUTIFUL!...
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

CO ($5.55)
Button ($28.95)
SB ($9.75)
BB ($10.05)
UTG ($8.15)
UTG+1 ($1.85)
MP1 ($3.50)
Hero (MP2) ($10.75)
MP3 ($13.70)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 10

, 10

3 folds, Hero raises to $0.40, MP3 raises to $1, 4 folds, Hero calls $0.60

Flop: ($2.15) 3

, 10

, J

(2 players)
Hero bets $1.25, MP3 raises to $3, Hero raises to $9.75 (All-In), MP3 calls $6.75

Turn: ($21.65) 3

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($21.65) A

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $21.65 | Rake: $1.05

Results in white below:
Hero had 10

, 10

(full house, tens over threes).
MP3 mucked Q

, Q

(two pair, Queens and threes).
Outcome: Hero won $20.60

Alright, back to studying the hands to see what I did right and what I did wrong...

Villain is 45/0 over 11 hands or so... His flat call from BB puts me in position, he min bets 1/10 pot on flop, Pokerstove tells me I'm a 2 to 1 favorite at this point, but his range... I'm still a little unsure of... so we see the turn, which pairs the board, potential set out there, he bets small, giving me a .15 bet into a .75 pot... with Pokerstove telling me I'm a 3 to 2 favorite... I think I blew this even just on the pot odds...

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

saw flop | saw showdown

MP2 ($12.29)
Hero (CO) ($19.17)
Button ($1.43)
SB ($5.95)
BB ($9.73)
UTG ($6)
UTG+1 ($6.22)
MP1 ($3.34)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A

, Q

UTG (poster) checks, 3 folds, Hero raises to $0.25, 3 folds, UTG (poster) calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.57) 3

, 6

, 4

(2 players)
UTG bets $0.05, Hero calls $0.05

Turn: ($0.67) 6

(2 players)
UTG bets $0.15, Hero folds

Total pot: $0.67 | Rake: $0

Results in white below:
UTG didn't show
Outcome: UTG won $0.67

Finished studying now... thanks again to Spoonitnow for the ego check and the 'you'll never study' motivation. An hour playing and an hour studying. Let's see how long I can keep it up.

Hand 1: AQo in BB I bet the turn after the flop checks through. $1.00 make ya holla. As played, ya gotta bet the river!
Hand 2: Q8o Yea, CO probably could've (and should've) gotten away from this 3-handed. But at the same time I can't blame him too much. You see people doing the same thing with a LOT less than AA, KK and AKs at this limit.
Hand 3: 55 Yes. This is super standard! I usually PFR'd to $0.40 myself to reduce the number of callers a little more. You are WAY overthinking this though. Simply, this is a flop that didn't hit your opponents ranges at all, and you are taking a one-shot stab, representing a big pair. Any action means that you are beat, and you can easily walk away!
Hand 4: TT Perfect. I love it when that happens.
Hand 5: AQo Why so weak? 45/0 after 11 hands is meaningless(sample size), and shouldn't even factor in. I raise his flop min-bet as if he checked. If he calls that and STILL leads out small on the turn, then I easily fold. As played, he could easily just be betting a naked 5 for the OESD!

I realize sample size is small, but how do you figure samples when you are seeing so many new players all of the time, often you have to go with what little you have?

It takes a long time to get accurate stats from a player but after just one hand you can start to develop reads on them by looking at their line instead of just looking at stats. I look at stats after 1 hand but I would take almost no notice of it, after 10 hands if it's extreme nit or maniac then that is interesting/relevant etc. etc. It's all about working out which data you can use and not being too reliant on it.

Going back to NL5 for a little while, got beat up pretty bad on Sunday chasing flushes and in general just playing like a dumbass. Got paid on a couple of sets, but still didn't make my losses reasonable.

Back down to aroun 199 in the BR on stars, down to about $140 on FTP.

Ok, here we go... was this stupid or just a bad beat... the shove wasn't my best move of the night... thought I had it... but obviously didn't.

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

saw flop | saw showdown

MP2 ($7.17)
CO ($12.06)
Button ($6.76)
SB ($3.59)
Hero (BB) ($8.89)
UTG ($10)
UTG+1 ($5.85)
MP1 ($10.43)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K

, Q

UTG calls $0.05, 5 folds, SB raises to $0.20, Hero calls $0.15, UTG calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.60) Q

, Q

, A

(3 players)
SB bets $0.35, Hero raises to $0.70, UTG calls $0.70, 1 fold

Turn: ($2.35) 9

(2 players)
Hero bets $1.75, UTG calls $1.75

River: ($5.85) 3

(2 players)
Hero bets $6.24 (All-In), UTG calls $6.24

Total pot: $18.33 | Rake: $0.90

Results in white below:
Hero had K

, Q

(three of a kind, Queens).
UTG had Q

, 9

(full house, Queens over nines).
Outcome: UTG won $17.43

With him being so passive, it's tough to lose less money here. He slowplayed the flop, and got lucky on the turn. Just reload, and attack him!

Been reading a bunch and studying some Brunson also... also really taken with the concept of winning big pots and losing little ones... last night came into a situation that really signified this...

History is at home but I'm UTG+1 with 77 and call (.02/.05 table) the BB... everyone else folds but the button, who raises to 6xBB.

Now I'm wondering if this is a steal or if he has something, I check my notes and this is a solid player, with over 600 hands in history, he is running like 20/8/2.7 or similar... so I'm thinking he is on a decent hand... probably JJ+ or AK, AQ. I don't put him on a low pair because I think he just calls with that.

So, SB folds, BB folds, it's on me... I call hoping to hit a set and stack him. I am sitting with about $5 stack and he has $11 stack. Flop comes 8-T-Q rainbow. Darn I think, he may have just hit his Q. I figure if he hit the Q I'm doomed but want to represent strength and control the betting and aggression as Brunson said... so into this .67 pot I throw out .55. He flat calls... a move which leads me to think he is on JJ, wanting to see where this goes or has high pair, which beats me... Turn comes out, think it was a 2. pot is now 1.87 if I did the math right, and I check it after hitting the TIME button... he pauses for a long time... then bets 1/2 pot. I've not seen him hesitate like that before... which makes me really think deeply about it. I figure he missed the flop, has top pair though and I put him on KK. He has to be worried about me hitting a set... so I show him I have a set and bet the pot or close to it... he insta folds.

On the next hand he poses the questions... what did you have? when I don't answer he posts that he had KK... clearly beating me but I ignore him... finally he posts that he felt I hit the set of tens and just wants to know if he is close... so I oblige him and answer... 'you're close'.

I know answering was wrong, but felt that answer still indicated a set, potentially the set of 8s which is still within the range he could have expected.

Another hand that I followed what I am going to call 'the sniper approach' that I felt I played really well...

on the button with K7 suited... 4 limpers ahead in 9-handed FR, I called to see if I could flush something out... end up 6 handed. Flop comes out T-8-4 rainbow. Checks to CO and he min-bets. He is new to the table, so I am not sure what he is after... I call and we get down to 4 handed (.50 in pot)... turn comes and is a 6. Only two matched suits on the board, checks all around to CO who min bets .05 again. .5 to call into a .55 pot... one card gets me the straight and potential win, since everyone is so tentative a K or 7 likely wins the pot also... I call. Still 4 in the hand. pot now .70 and river comes out as a 9. Check, Check, Shove. I'm looking at a straight and CO shoves in front of me being so tentative previously... so now I put him on the same straight I'm sitting on or a set of 9s. I call, everyone else folds... he turns over AA... straight holds up.

So... two good hands out of around 100 last night which helped me break even overall.

LOL at the K7s hand. He's crying himself to sleep...OMG, my aces got cracked AGAIN

Good move with your read on the 55 hand.

Hand that make you cringe, then shove over...

On this hand, villian was 26/26/8 but only over 23 hands and had been playing tight. He was one of the larger stacks at the table, winning most of his hands at showdown with very good cards.

I called this hand hoping to hit a set... when I hit it and he continues... I was worried he might be sitting on QQ but I figured set vs set and I'm paying him... worked out well for me Wink

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

MP2 ($9.75)
CO ($2.95)
Button ($9.85)
SB ($18.45)
BB ($9.90)
UTG ($14.70)
Hero (MP1) ($20.20)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 8

, 8

UTG raises to $0.40, Hero calls $0.40, 3 folds, SB calls $0.35, BB calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.60) Q

, 8

, 9

(4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $1, Hero raises to $2, 2 folds, UTG raises to $4, Hero raises to $19.60, UTG calls $10.30 (All-In)

Turn: ($30.20) 2

(2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($30.20) 8

(2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $30.20 | Rake: $1.50

Results in white below:
UTG had K

, K

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

, 8

(four of a kind, eights).
Outcome: Hero won $28.70

Some of you asked me to check my stats at 10,000 hands... well. I'm just short of that and here we go:

Here is my stat summary:

VP$IP: 15.58
PFR: 8.45
W$WSF: 39.01
WTSD: 29.21
W$SD: 50.50
AF: 2.69
AFq: 47.13
3Bet: 4.87
Fold 3b: 66.08
Att to steal: 16.89
Fold BB to Steal: 74.03
Fold SB to Steal: 86.96

SO I'm looking for leaks, looks like the fold to steal percentages are high, but I don't like playing OOP with crap... 3 bet looks low too, maybe I'm a little tentative post flop... thoughts?

Swingy graph! HH for hand ~9700??? did you move up to $25NL for a hand or something?

Funny thing, yes I did play a little .25 as I clicked on the wrong tables... played a few hands and bailed... I didn't think I had those in the graph but I was playing scared, think I actually played two hands, won one and lost th eother, but would have to go look.

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