Starting off a blog...

and any comments are appreciated, though I would say this is more for my benefit (reflection and stuff like that while out of the heat of the moment).

I redeposited $150 to Stars and I'm going to make a concerted effort to do a few things:
1) Strike a better balance between my favored loose/fishy style and the aggro donk I started to become.
2) Ignore the fact I'm underrolled for 10NL because I SHOULD be able to beat it, considering that despite swings I was beating 25NL.
3) When I sit down, play focused, controlled poker.
4) Set a hand limit and when I hit it, (or thereabouts), I stop. I tend to get in trouble when I want to leave but go "oh, just a few more hands. hey look, AKo, lets see what happens".... as I get killed by a set.

So today, 9/9/06 I sat down to play 100 hands with my new attitude and focus. I played 104 hands 4 tabling (which is probably what I will do), but for some reason PAHUD is being really wonky on my new laptop, not ever giving my stats like it used to, only working for certain tables, etc. Hmm.

My vpip% was 21, pfr 9%, and total aggression factor 1.22. I ended the session up a buyin, or 47 BB/100.

Starting bankroll: $145.03 (I dicked around on PLO tables beforehand).
Ending bankroll: $154.98.

Notable hands: None really, a few reraise bluffs with midpairs and a set pretty much accounted for everything.

Good luck. Let's turn your $150 into a lot of money. Bankroll management is very important. No more "dicking around" on PLO tables please!

God luck champ...

Are you really going to play sessions that are only 30 mins long? I ask because I know I need about 30 mins to really get into my stride when I play so I'd be losing a lot of value - and quite possibly be a losing player overall - if I stopped so soon.

Also, no need to give your bb/100 for such tiny samples of hands - it's meaningless and it looks a little braggy.

Originally Posted by biondino

Are you really going to play sessions that are only 30 mins long? I ask because I know I need about 30 mins to really get into my stride when I play so I'd be losing a lot of value - and quite possibly be a losing player overall - if I stopped so soon.

Also, no need to give your bb/100 for such tiny samples of hands - it's meaningless and it looks a little braggy.

Well I wanted to get started on this plan, and I had work quite soon, so 100 hands seemed like as good a place as any to start the habit. I plan on playing 300 hands in a normal session, which 4 tabling should be about an hour, maybe 90 minutes worth of play.

Also, I agree about the bb/100, I was just in a bit of a rush and it seemed like something I could put down for comparison for later, since my hands played will vary. Trust me, I'm playing 10NL with a $154 bankroll -- I have precious little to be braggy about.

Originally Posted by biondino

Are you really going to play sessions that are only 30 mins long? I ask because I know I need about 30 mins to really get into my stride when I play so I'd be losing a lot of value - and quite possibly be a losing player overall - if I stopped so soon.

Also, no need to give your bb/100 for such tiny samples of hands - it's meaningless and it looks a little braggy.

i find 45mins-55mins about the peak for my winnings each session..

Steaming. Really, really ticked at myself. Just finished off a 221 hand session, ending up $3.10 despite a horrendous move on my part:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (7 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB ($7.90)
UTG ($10.50)
MP1 ($12.35)
MP2 ($11)
CO ($39.65)
Hero ($9.50)
SB ($7.85)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, K.
2 folds, MP2 raises to $0.2, CO calls $0.20, Hero calls $0.20, 1 fold, BB calls $0.10.

Flop: ($0.85) 2, 7, J (4 players)
BB checks, MP2 bets $1, CO calls $1, Hero calls $1, BB folds.

Turn: ($3.85) K (3 players)
MP2 bets $2, CO calls $2, Hero raises to $7.1, MP2 raises to $9.8, CO calls $7.80, Hero calls $1.20 (All-In).

River: ($31.75) T (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $31.75

Results in white below:
MP2 has As Ah (one pair, aces).
CO has 8d 9d (straight, jack high).
Hero has Js Kh (two pair, kings and jacks).
Outcome: CO wins $31.75.

Again: just because they are fishy and making terrible plays does not mean I should get overaggro and push around top 2 to such a board multiway.

Stats are now 22/12/1.8, which is still a bit on the loose side. Gotta stop limping 65s.

i hope you are joking..

your hand looks fine. you just got sucked out on.

however fold KJo to a pfr.. ive never played 10NL though, but if you are practicing for 25NL+ then fold KJo to a pfr.

edit: double post

That hand was very well played by you (post-flop at least) - seriously, he hit a 12-outer to beat you! 3 times in 4 you'll stack him in this situation, you understand - and that is a HUGE edge in poker.

Also, the BB/100 thing - seriously, this stat is utterly meaningless over a small sample size. 47BB/100 is completely unsustainable; if you were -47BB/100 would you think you were a terrible player?

The only time it will matter is when you've played 10,000 hands plus. This may seem like a lot, but the swings are just too big in poker. Let's say yopu have played 1000 hands and are showing +10BB/100, and then play a 500 hand session and lose 4 buyins (and this will happen, no matter how well you play). Your BB has gone from 10 after 1000 hands to -20 after 1500 BUT YOU HAVEN'T SUDDENLY BECOME A TERRIBLE PLAYER.

I'm making this point because people get far too caught up in ther short term when they start off. It's great to have a few winning sessions, sure, but you HAVE to remain aware that until you have played many thousands of hands you just can't use this info to quantify your skill, or otherwise, at poker.

Originally Posted by biondino

That hand was very well played by you (post-flop at least) - seriously, he hit a 12-outer to beat you! 3 times in 4 you'll stack him in this situation, you understand - and that is a HUGE edge in poker.

You, and TerryToma are IMO being very results oriented with this. HU, this is fine, and against MP2 I would totally expect something like AA, but against CO, that damn sure looked like a set line to me in retrospect. Calling with me to still act behind on the flop, then calling AGAIN on the turn in my same situation with no flush or straight draws being completed shoulda set off some alarm bells in my head. The fact he had a combo draw was irrelevant, and against opp's this passive (I had people bet 1/3 pots with the nuts on the river to me several times) I probably should have taken a weaker hand like top 2 less aggressively. Or maybe it's ME that's being results oriented? Because on the river I certainly wouldn't have given him credit for 98. Hmm...

Oh, and he hit an 11 outer -- the Kd would have given me a boat .

Raise the flop so you don't let the villians draw cheap. Be delighted to get AI on the turn.

Originally Posted by Irisheyes

Raise the flop so you don't let the villians draw cheap. Be delighted to get AI on the turn.

Eve with as lukewarm a hand as TPGK in a 3-way pot? I know the board isn't particularly scary but that does not seem to be a standard play at all.

Don't be a nit.

Originally Posted by Dislexsik

Don't be a nit.

Why not? That Lukie guy seems to do well for himself

Originally Posted by takesix

You, and TerryToma are IMO being very results oriented with this. HU, this is fine, and against MP2 I would totally expect something like AA, but against CO, that damn sure looked like a set line to me in retrospect. Calling with me to still act behind on the flop, then calling AGAIN on the turn in my same situation with no flush or straight draws being completed shoulda set off some alarm bells in my head.

A set line usually c/rs flop or raises turn. not call/call/call, that is a draw line.

Sure I may be results oriented at times, but would you have posted this if you won the hand?? I think you are upset because of the result and probably wouldnt have thought twice about this hand had you not got sucked out on.

Originally Posted by takesix

Why not? That Lukie guy seems to do well for himself

That's what you think

Today I did 3 seperate sessions of about 250 hands each. The first was marred by some truly RIDONKULOUS bluffs and firing 3 barrels into hands that had me crushed, leaving me down almost a buyin and a half. Very annoyed at myself, I left and played frisbee, watched football, and in the next 2 sessions I went up nearly 2 buyins and up a little over 2 buyins, respectively.

Now, at slightly over 1,000 hands my bankroll sits at $186.78 while being 20/13/1.4. While things are looking up, I haven't been sucked out on in any significant pot yet, so I'll have to watch for that. I also am probably leaving some value out there checking behind on the river with TPGK and the like.

Here's a question: You have AKs on the button, 1 limper, one raiser to 4x, you call, limper calls. Flop K 10 3 rainbow, limper raises up 1/2 pot, raiser slightly more than minraises that, instafold, right? Does anyone ever call that against opponents with little read, let alone push? Wondering, I know what's "standard", but I'm having trouble accounting for some 10nl fishiness in my decisions and I see myself a bit of the time not picking up pots I would end up winning at SD.

I don't think I'm being too results oriented up there, no. Yes, a set is certainly a possibility, but it's one of many, and with top two pair you're ahead of all other possible hands on this board on the turn. I don't think you can fold this hand however it pans out, and the CO's call on the turn is really indicative of TP or a draw to me. So you want to be all-in here - if you're behind you're almost drawing dead, sure, but the river could come up with any number of scare cards and you want to be AI before that happens or you'll have a difficult decision to make.

As for the last question, against a very tight ABC player I'd probably fold this, but unless the raiser has TT I can't see how you'd be behind (I don't know if he'd play AA/KK like this - I'm assuming not). What you should have done, of course, is re-raise pre-flop.

I would reraise AK pf to isolate.

Im not folding TPTK in this situation. but i agree to re-raise pf to isolate.

Originally Posted by takesix

Steaming. Really, really ticked at myself. Just finished off a 221 hand session, ending up $3.10 despite a horrendous move on my part:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (7 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB ($7.90)
UTG ($10.50)
MP1 ($12.35)
MP2 ($11)
CO ($39.65)
Hero ($9.50)
SB ($7.85)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, K.
2 folds, MP2 raises to $0.2, CO calls $0.20, Hero calls $0.20, 1 fold, BB calls $0.10.

Flop: ($0.85) 2, 7, J (4 players)
BB checks, MP2 bets $1, CO calls $1, Hero calls $1, BB folds.

Turn: ($3.85) K (3 players)
MP2 bets $2, CO calls $2, Hero raises to $7.1, MP2 raises to $9.8, CO calls $7.80, Hero calls $1.20 (All-In).

River: ($31.75) T (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $31.75

Results in white below:
MP2 has As Ah (one pair, aces).
CO has 8d 9d (straight, jack high).
Hero has Js Kh (two pair, kings and jacks).
Outcome: CO wins $31.75.

Again: just because they are fishy and making terrible plays does not mean I should get overaggro and push around top 2 to such a board multiway.

Stats are now 22/12/1.8, which is still a bit on the loose side. Gotta stop limping 65s.

i see nothing wrong with how you played this. this is definitly not a set line. you got your money in when you were ahead, and you will win this 3/4 times.

Originally Posted by Bode-ist

Im not folding TPTK in this situation. but i agree to re-raise pf to isolate.

For the results oriented, it ended up at showdown and the limper had Q9s for a busted OESD and original raiser had AKo. D'oh.

On Monday I played a 339 hand session ending up down a buy-in despite playing very, very good poker (IMO).

Today I played a (for me) huge session of 600 hands, running the gauntlet of playing well, to getting sucked out on repeatedly, to being coldecked to the point of not hitting TP for 71 consecutive hands on the flop. At one point I was down 2 buy-ins but I kept my cool and composure, and sure enough I hit a few draws, picked off an AI bluff, and now sit at $190.

I still have a lot to work on (re-raising PF to isolate, not c-betting enough, when I do c-bet not firing 3 barrels at calling stations, regardless of if I know they have junk or not (did this to the same guy, twice! and he shows down bottom pair to win 60+ BB pots), and calling down with AK/AQ unimproved at the river.

Still, things are looking up.

Yes, stop trying to bluff calling stations. Most of the time THEY EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE, so stop trying to bluff them.
Wait for a hand and just milk them on evey street for 1/2 pot.
They will get lucky and beat you once and a while, but at least they won't make you pay for it on the river.

Haven't played terribly much recently, and I'm thinking of cashing out of Stars and trying to hit Titan's bonus -- it looks juicy. Comments?

After a STUPIDLY RIDICULOUS 3 sessions of bad beats (and one very dumb AI turn move with just a flush draw... whoops) I'm down a fair amount from my peak (hello variance) but still chugging along at 8.5 PTBB/100 at 10NL through 4k hands. I'm trying to mix up my play here because being too predictable is -ev so I wanted a line that wasn't a set. Opponent is fairly good, 19/11/3... Thoughts?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP3 ($10.80)
CO ($10)
Button ($9.90)
SB ($2.35)
Hero ($10)
UTG ($33.25)
UTG+1 ($5.70)
MP1 ($12)
MP2 ($9.95)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5, 5. CO posts a blind of $0.15.
3 folds, MP2 raises to $0.2, 1 fold, CO (poster) raises to $0.8, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.70, MP2 folds.

Flop: ($1.90) K, 5, 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $1.45, Hero calls $1.45.

Turn: ($4.80) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $1, CO calls $1.

River: ($6.80) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.8, CO calls $1.80.

Final Pot: $10.40

you will get paid off if you bet bigger on 4th and 5th

Originally Posted by midas06

you will get paid off if you bet bigger on 4th and 5th

agreed. thats a bad line if you want $.