Beyond the Basics - Phase III

1,041 hands, -$221.05



Bankroll: $1,220.88

314 hands, -$128.55



Bankroll: $1,092.33

I gotta say I was reading the last dozen or so posts thinking "when is he going to hit a cooler"? 7 buyins - ouch, and I know:



(my October graph - okay, it's 11 buyins, with an annoying little false dawn in the middle. Also, notice the sexy upswing immediately beforehand - look familiar?)

Yeah, very familiar.



That's my career at 50NL. Cold enough for ya?

Losing 25% of my bankroll in one day was very disheartening. Fortunately, I still have some cushion left to fight it out. I'll have to blow $242.33 before reaching my self-imposed stop-loss of $850. I know that's only 5 buyins and it could easily happen, but if I ended up having to drop back down to 25NL, that could be devastating.

Nothing unusual happened. KK < AA, TP+FD < overpair, overpair < TP (trips on river), TP < overpair x2, etc. I've happily stacked off in such situations many times before. It's just never happened so many times in such a short span. To make matters worse, I didn't win a single pot larger than 50bbs.

I know this all sounds very noobish and whiney, but this is a new experience for me. Not since my crash and burn last year (which was probably due to horrible play) have I had such a downswing. I wondered aloud earlier in this op how I would handle it when I eventually hit a cooler, and now it seems that I'm not taking it very well.

As I typed this, I was actually 4-tabling a bit as there happened to be a few decent tables on Stars. I've just closed the tables down and booked a profit of $45, so I guess I'm feeling a little better. If I were just now taking a shot at 50NL and won a buyin in a few hundred hands, I would feel great. Perhaps it would be best if I just pretended that the last 4,000 hands never happened.

Hehe. But, as you know, it's all part of the learning process - in this case, it's teaching your psyche to be more resilient, accustomising you to the substantial losses you're likely to experience weekly or more from now on.

I had pretty much exactly the same experiences as you - KK vs AA all in pre-flop twice (both times against aggro villains who 3-bet a fair amount pre-flop), and about 5 buyins lost with overpairs vs sets and TPTK vs overpairs. I am slightly concerned about these - one of my biggest leaks is that I fold too easily with good hands, so I've been doing me best not to, and I thought it was working - the last 2,000 hands are maybe indicating something else. Or, it's just variance.

Hmm, maybe I should post about this in my own operation thread Gyno, do you ever play the gauntlet? If not, you should!

GL, dude! I'm playing stars $50 at the mo too. I'm finding it good Hopefully I won't hit a massive downswing soon! Currently I'm running about 10ptbb/100 over 7k hands @ 25NL and 50NL, so all is good. Hope you get back on your heater soon!

Yeah, I've played in the Gauntlet every Wednesday this season. Bigred knocked me out of the first 2 with coinflips. 3rd game I played badly and donked out. Then last week I got crippled with KK < 88, then lost a coinflip (can't remember what it was) then QKs < T9s to finish me off.

I don't think I stand much chance of finishing top 10

Originally Posted by PokerMuzz

GL, dude! I'm playing stars $50 at the mo too. I'm finding it good Hopefully I won't hit a massive downswing soon! Currently I'm running about 10ptbb/100 over 7k hands @ 25NL and 50NL, so all is good. Hope you get back on your heater soon!

I remember you from 25NL.

POKERSTARS GAME #12799780516: HOLD'EM NO LIMIT ($0.10/$0.25) - 2007/10/23 - 13:58:21 (ET)
Table 'Oppolzer' 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Scuba4 ($12.40 in chips)
Seat 2: Wayoo ($15 in chips)
Seat 3: BossCoho ($17.85 in chips)
Seat 5: astuteNacute ($31.30 in chips)
Seat 6: Poker_Muzz ($25.95 in chips)
Scuba4: posts small blind $0.10
Wayoo: posts big blind $0.25
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to astuteNacute [Jd 6d]
BossCoho: folds
astuteNacute: folds
Poker_Muzz: raises $0.75 to $1
Scuba4: folds
Wayoo: calls $0.75
*** FLOP *** [7d 9h Ad]
Wayoo: checks
Poker_Muzz: checks
*** TURN *** [7d 9h Ad] [As]
Wayoo: bets $0.50
Poker_Muzz: calls $0.50
*** RIVER *** [7d 9h Ad As] [8d]
Wayoo: bets $1
Poker_Muzz: calls $1
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Wayoo: shows [4h 7h] (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
Poker_Muzz: shows [Kh Kc] (two pair, Aces and Kings)
Poker_Muzz collected $4.90 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $5.10 | Rake $0.20
Board [7d 9h Ad As 8d]
Seat 1: Scuba4 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Wayoo (big blind) showed [4h 7h] and lost with two pair, Aces and Sevens
Seat 3: BossCoho folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: astuteNacute folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Poker_Muzz (button) showed [Kh Kc] and won ($4.90) with two pair, Aces and Kings

LAWL. I hope your ride is smoother than mine. GL.

Lol, you could have picked a better hand than that! k thanks

271 hands, +$70.25

After reading spoonitnow's thread on bonuses and rakebacks, and consulting with biondino about the state of Full Tilt, I've decided to move $600 there. My FPP's at Stars are not worth very much, and I find myself dry heaving every time I look at my contributed rake on PT. I'll keep the rest of my money at Stars, but I will only be playing the juiciest tables there.

My rectum is still sore, but I'm easing my way back into a comfortable position. I now have a $312.58 cushion and hopefully I can widen the gap in the coming days. I know it's only 271 hands, but hey I'm a busy man. I've got places to go, football to watch, and obscene quantities of cheap American beer to drink. I'm living the dream, baby!

Bankroll: $1,162.58

I've been busy with life lately and haven't logged many hands. I did deposit $500 at FTP (ePass wouldn't let me do 600) but I've only played 20 or so hands, lost about $5 and for some reason can't get the hand histories to work properly. I've contacted customer support, and I don't intend to play there anymore until it gets resolved. I really really love Poker Tracker, and reviewing my sessions has become a ritual that I can't stand breaking.

In non-poker related news, I've accidentally quit smoking. I drank a lot on Sunday and was real hung over on Monday. I just lazed around all day and felt too sick and groggy to walk out to the parking garage to retrieve my cigarettes and lighter. Now it's Wednesday and I still haven't had a smoke. I imagine this may have an impact on poker and other life pursuits, as I may find myself stressed out and highly irritable. I think I'll be fine as long as I am lucid and aware of my emotional state.

Hey man, you're doing well, why don't you pop into IRC some time and have a chat? Also Smoking is good for you, my doctor told me so.

I haven't played a single hand since Sunday (unless you count the 2 minutes I spent fiddling with FTP or that rigged FTR tourney). I didn't take this break intentionally, but now that I have I feel refreshed. My batteries are recharged and I can march on to November with a clean slate. My only concern is that I may have gotten a bit rusty. I vaguely recall taking a similar break and playing quite badly for the first few hours of my return. When I resume my journey tonight, I may decide to play just one or two tables to acclimate myself.

After skimming through the October results thread, I wondered how my results for October looked. After applying the appropriate filter to Poker Tracker I was surprised to see that I had only played 14k hands for a profit of $408. Of course, this doesn't include any hands played at Cake, but it's still a somewhat disappointing number. One of my primary goals was to play more hands, and this month I'd like to crush last month's record. Let's see if I can't double it.

Whoops, I've smoked 3 cigarettes since Sunday. That's still an astoundingly small number, considering I used to smoke nearly a pack a day. Still, it seems that cold turkey isn't going to work for me. I'm not throwing any money at the gum or patch, so perhaps I can wean myself off them?

You could just see how long you go on smoking a fag a day - it's
s a massive improvement after all. The important thing is you are 100% sure in your head you want to give up - even a tiny little uncertainty will end in disaster. If you're not 100%, then work on the psyche before actually quitting for good.

Btw I am around tonight, probably playing, if you want to chat about poker!

744 hands, -$187.50
Gauntlet VI Registration, -$5.50

I don't have much to say about last night's session. It was just another one of those nights where I couldn't get a hand to hold up. By the end of it, I succumbed to tilt and donked away a buy-in on this hand:

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button ($57.30)
SB ($50.45)
BB ($57.50)
UTG ($23.30)
UTG+1 ($59.25)
MP1 ($47.25)
MP2 ($42.75)
MP3 ($61.30)
Hero ($49.25)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, K.
5 folds, Hero raises to $2, Button raises to $6.75, 2 folds, Hero calls $4.75.

Flop: ($14.25) 2, Q, J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $10, Hero raises to $24.5, Button raises to $60.55 (All-In), Hero calls $18 (All-In).

Turn: ($99.25) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($99.25) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $99.25

Results in white below:
Hero has Qh Kd (one pair, queens).
Button has Ad Ac (one pair, aces).
Outcome: Button wins $99.25.

Naturally, I called it a night after that. I wish I had realized that I was getting frustrated and saved myself $50. I'm almost out of cushion. I'm getting very close to having to drop down to 25NL, and the thought of that makes me sick. Everything about the last 5,000 hands makes me sick. Maybe one day this will look like a small hiccup on my life graph, but right now it looks pretty ugly:



If I'm going to stay at 50NL my luck will have to change very soon. Tonight I'll burn up my FPPs on satellites and hopefully give myself some breathing room. If not, I only have another $120 to spare before dropping down.



Bankroll: $969.58

1,342 hands, +$217.60
FPP Sattelite win, +11 tournament dollars

Originally Posted by grnydrowave2

If I'm going to stay at 50NL my luck will have to change very soon.

And so it has! After going over 4k hands without winning a 200bb+ pot, I won 4 tonight. AA > KK, set over set, the sort of things that haven't happened for me in quite a long time. Now that I have over 6 buyins of cushion I can breathe a bit easier. However, the best part of tonight's session is that I think I may have identified a big leak in my game at 50NL.

Actually, it's difficult for me to determine whether it's a leak or if I'm just getting coolered, but I'm getting killed with top pair. I just seem to be constantly running into sets and overpairs. At lower levels I was always comfortable jamming pots with such hands because I would frequently enough get called with worse hands, but now I'm not so sure. I can't believe it's taken me so long to realize this, but AKo, AQo, KQo, and AJs are all HUGE losers for me while AKs and AJo are about break-even. This isn't over a very large sample (6.5k hands), but it's a very alarming trend. I'm not exactly sure what to make of all this, but I'm definitely going to slow down a bit when I meet heavy resistance with such hands.

I was quite disappointed when I attempted to convert my FPP satellite prize into cash. I tried registering for the tournament, then unregistering, but when checking the Stars cashier I found that it had simply given me back the tournament dollars. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I recall hearing about people winning Sunday Million tickets in satellites, then turning them into $215. Was I mistaken, or does this trick only work for that particular tournament? If I'm stuck with tourney dollars, then I'm not going to waste any more time with FPP satellites. Playing a bunch of micro SNGs or the actual tournament are both unappealing to me. Whatever the case, I won't be including the tourney dollars in my Bankroll records until they're converted to cash.

Bankroll: $1,187.18 + T$11

Originally Posted by grnydrowave2

Actually, it's difficult for me to determine whether it's a leak or if I'm just getting coolered, but I'm getting killed with top pair. I just seem to be constantly running into sets and overpairs. At lower levels I was always comfortable jamming pots with such hands because I would frequently enough get called with worse hands, but now I'm not so sure. I can't believe it's taken me so long to realize this, but AKo, AQo, KQo, and AJs are all HUGE losers for me while AKs and AJo are about break-even. This isn't over a very large sample (6.5k hands), but it's a very alarming trend. I'm not exactly sure what to make of all this, but I'm definitely going to slow down a bit when I meet heavy resistance with such hands.

Nice. Spenda went over my hands and found this as my big problem as well. I am in a big downswing and this has a lot to do with it. Glad you checked up on that. Anyways, really glad to see you hit big again. GL man!

847 hands, +$165.05
Dad's drunken SnGs, -$22.00, -T$11

It's hard for me to get annoyed with my father since he's padded my BR in the past. Still, I wish he be a bit more sensible. Open limping with Axs in MP late in a SnG with an M of 6 makes me want to hurl. I try not to watch him play anymore, but I think I should at least post a sign by my computer that says "NO LIMPING".

I know I say this all the time, but there weren't too many hands of interest last night. Maybe I just don't know what an interesting hand looks like anymore. I think they used to be hands that I struggled with, and couldn't determine the best decision. Nowadays, the decisions come easier to me (though that doesn't necessarily mean I'm making more correct ones).

For instance, I spoke with biondino yesterday about a hand that I felt I played poorly. After posting the HH, he agreed, and offered his reasoning on a more optimal line. However, closer examination resulted in me changing my mind! Here's the hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (4 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB ($50)
UTG ($86.80)
Hero ($68.90)
SB ($21.10)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 9.
1 fold, Hero raises to $2, 1 fold, BB calls $1.50.

Flop: ($4.25) 6, 9, Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $3, BB calls $3.

Turn: ($10.25) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6, BB raises to $12, Hero calls $6.

River: ($34.25) 7 (2 players)
BB bets $9, Hero calls $9.

Final Pot: $52.25

Results in white below:
BB has Ts Ac (flush, ace high).
Hero has 9h 9s (full house, nines full of sixes).
Outcome: Hero wins $52.25.

This is one of those "uninteresting" hands that I normally wouldn't post. I initially felt that flat calling the river was weak and that I should have pushed for value. I "knew" I played it wrong and what I should have done differently. Mark agreed, but after a few minutes I realized that the river card destroyed villain's calling range. If he had something like 5c4c or a naked 6, he wasn't going to call a shove. He was mostly going to call with hands that beat mine. I decided that 3-bet shove on the turn was probably the best move, with my initial line being a close 2nd. (in Mark's defense, I don't think he noticed that there was 4 to a flush on the river)

My reasoning may very well be flawed, but the fact remains that I dismissed this hand as unworthy of further review. The only reason I even told biondino about it was because I was disappointed with myself for passing up value. It was initially just a vent. I wonder how many more "interesting" hands I have in my database that I shelved. After today's football game I intend to take a closer look and hopefully recover some post-worthy hands.

Bankroll: $1,328.23

205 hands, +$76.30
FTR500 Registration, -$5.50

I hate putting in such short sessions, but the action at Stars dried up very quickly tonight.

So I reexamined my PT database and found that a big part of my downswing was due to tilt and getting carried away with TPGK. Sometimes both. Several hands went like this:

In Position:

I raise with two face cards.
I hit my pair on the flop.
Villain leads, I r/r all-in.
I lose to overpair/2pair/set

Out of position:

I raise with two face cards.
I hit my pair on the flop.
I c/r all-in.
I lose to overpair/2pr/set

Those were just hands in which I was tilting. Quite a few played similarly where I got all the money in in a slightly less retarded fashion. This is exactly the sort of thing I worried about when I first made this op thread. Playing for stacks with TPTK or even TPGK was unbelievably profitable at 5nl and 10nl. Now it doesn't work anymore and it has cost me dearly to figure that out.

Of course there were some bad beats and coolers mixed in, but that didn't account for all 11 buy-ins as I naively believed at first. This has been an expensive lesson, but hopefully it will pay for itself. I'm still hard-pressed to find "hands of interest", but there are a few in there which I will post tomorrow. It's been a long day and I'm feeling lazy.

Bankroll: $1,399.03

"Never stack off with a pair" is a phrase that's served me well up to now. Obviously never say never, but by and large you should be able to get away from pairs against real strength. Save the all-ins for playing truly terrible players or bluff-catching vs laggs, that kind of thing.

714 hands, +$141.45

Phase II Complete



50NL has been quite an adventure. I thought I had this phase wrapped up 11 days ago, only to have things tailspin out of control. I came dangerously close to dropping back down to 25NL. I tilted some, perhaps panicked a little bit, but I fought through it and fixed a huge leak in my game. It was just one of those growing pains that I foresaw in my Beyond the Basics mission statement, and I'm sure there will be many more to come. Hopefully I will be observant enough to pay less for my next lesson.

Believe it or not, I'm actually beating 50NL for 5.81ptbb/100 through 8,329 hands. Perhaps if I hadn't donked away so many buyins, I could have been crushing this level!

I have alot more I want to post here, but it's getting late. Tomorrow I will post checkup stats, some hands, and my plans for Phase III.

Bankroll: $1,540.48

Originally Posted by grnydrowave2

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (4 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB ($50)
UTG ($86.80)
Hero ($68.90)
SB ($21.10)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 9.
1 fold, Hero raises to $2, 1 fold, BB calls $1.50.

Flop: ($4.25) 6, 9, Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $3, BB calls $3.

Turn: ($10.25) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6, BB raises to $12, Hero calls $6.

River: ($34.25) 7 (2 players)
BB bets $9, Hero calls $9.

Final Pot: $52.25

i don't think this is fine.... preflop and flop are good. Turn lead is small but I like the flat call if you're prepared to get some money in on the river... you can't be scared of the straight flush after pre-flop, and QQ is SOOO unlikely. I probably min-re-raise river half pot for value and call any push. Doesn't matter if villain folds, the value then is that you don't show your cards. Put this hand in the SH forum! see what people say.

Originally Posted by daven

i don't think this is fine.... preflop and flop are good. Turn lead is small but I like the flat call if you're prepared to get some money in on the river... you can't be scared of the straight flush after pre-flop, and QQ is SOOO unlikely. I probably min-re-raise river half pot for value and call any push. Doesn't matter if villain folds, the value then is that you don't show your cards. Put this hand in the SH forum! see what people say.

I disagree. QQ is certainly in his range, especially considering his line. c/c followed by c/r when the board pairs? And like I said before, I don't think I get any value out of raising him on the river because I'm not getting called by many hands that I'm beating. He'll usually either fold a weaker hand or raise me with a stronger one, and I don't see how there's any value in making him fold. The river card just killed any action I would get from weak flushes or a naked 6. I can't really put him on a strong flush draw, because his line wouldn't make any sense.

I've posted the hand in the SH forum as you suggested. It should be interesting to see what people smarter than you and I think of this hand.

so whats next?

Originally Posted by Miffed22001

so whats next?

I'm compiling my progress report at the moment, but details of Phase III will be up very soon.

Phase II Checkup

Primary Goals:

Get to $1500: Accomplished - ldo

Play more hands: Failed - I've only played 11,126 hands since October 13th. That really sucks, but meh... I've said from the beginning that life priorities come first, poker comes second. Still, I intend to make a strong effort to improve on this.

Secondary Goals:

Digest starting hand requirements: Accomplished (kind of) - This stuff is mostly table dependent, but I have base requirements to use as a default. I didn't really pick this up from reading or asking around. It's mostly been trial and error. So, I guess I sort of failed this one as far as methodology goes, but in the end I've gotten a solid idea of what hands to open with in each position, what conditions are necessary to limp speculative hands, and which hands I'm 3-betting and calling 3-bets with. However, I may need to reconsider some of this since several big broadways are losers for me.

Learn to deal with shortstacks: Accomplished - This has become much less of a problem ever since I left the deepstacked games at Absolute. I still encounter quite a few shorties, but simply being aware of their presence goes a long way! It sucks having to dump small PPs to a shortstack raise, but there are benifits to having them around as well. Many of them get married to a hand if they catch any kind of pair, so TPGK is usually good enough to stack them. It's also good to take notes on what kind of hands they're pushing with preflop. Some of them will do it with any PP and Ax, so if I find one at my table I might call if I'm closing the action with TT+ or AJ+. I guess the moral here is that playing shortstacks can be player dependent, so take good notes.

Identify my other leaks and plug them: In progress - This sort of goal will never be complete, but I've certainly made great progress. Getting married to top pair was a massive leak that I fortunately found before it was too late. I initially believed that I had made a great discovery about 3-bet ranges, but now I'm not so sure. Recently I've noticed quite a few light 3-betters at 50NL, and I still see lots of people cold calling (or even limping!!!) with QQ+. I guess this is yet another variable that is player dependent.

Read more: Accomplished - I've certainly spent alot more time reading threads at FTR, 2+2 digests, and Smackinyaup's guide. I've found some of it helpful, some of it... not so much. Maybe I need to reread some of it and let it all sink in. I can't really find too many examples where I've applied something I read at the tables.

STOP. Graph time!





25nl and 50nl 6max:


Career (winrate is inflated due to deepstack tables):


Phase III coming soon. I may have to put this off 'till later since I have to go to class soon.

Hint:

plug your leaks here
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...=0#Post4946669

Originally Posted by Miffed22001

Hint:

plug your leaks here
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...=0#Post4946669

A prime example of me not applying what I've read. Thanks, I'll make to sure to actually do it this time.

I just went through the list step-by-step and the only problem I found was that I'm losing money on off-suit connectors. I really don't play very many of them, and I think the main reason I'm losing with them is because AK0 and KQo are losers for reasons I've already determined.

Phase III

Primary Goals:

Get to $3,000 - Double my bankroll. Easy, right?

Play more hands - Let's try this again! I spend almost as much time reading and posting about poker as I do playing it. My sessions tend to be short and somewhat infrequent. I know I'm capable of logging more than 18k hands a month, so lets do it already.

Experiment with half-stacking - At some point, probably when my BR is up to $2,000, I would like to try this out. Buying in for 50bbs at 100NL is the way to go, right? I think buying in for $25 at 50NL would be a step backwards. Anyhow, I'll give it a shot and see how it affects my winrate. If things go well I might stick with it until the end of Phase III.

Secondary Goals:

Get more involved at FTR's NL Strategies and SH forums - I read both of these forums regularly, but for some reason I hardly ever post there. Most of the time I don't feel that I have anything of value to add to the discussions, especially with HHs for higher limits. Still, I think it would do me alot of good to participate in some of the threads.

Post more hands - I can be quite lazy sometimes. When I put off reviewing sessions in PT for a while and the database piles up, I sometimes find myself looking only at the biggest pots I played. Alot of them look standard, and sometimes I'm wrong. I always say things like "I'll post some hands tomorrow", but alot of times I never do. I know there are at least 2 or 3 very nice, helpful people who read this thread regularly and I'm not giving them much to work with. I'm also wasting a great resource at the other forums on FTR by not posting any hands there.

Identify leaks and plug them - The never-ending quest.

Reread everything - I read alot of material in Phase II, but I don't much of it stuck. I need to comb through the 2+2 digests, FTR digests, smackinyaup's guide, and anything else I can get my hands on. More importantly, I need to soak it all up and try to apply some of it to my game.

Decide how to manage the bankroll - I'm not sure when I'm going to take shots at 100NL. Half-stacking doesn't count. My shot at 50NL almost failed miserably, and I would hate to struggle at the next level because I didn't give myself enough cushion. I may or may not dabble in 100NL in Phase III. It's something I'll have to think over.

Two days in and I'm already failing primary goal #2!

I've played a little bit, but nothing much worth reporting. I've played about 300 hands of 6max for profit of like $3. I donated to the Gauntlet last night and lost another coinflip. Oh, and I also blew another $5 on razz. I had never played it before in my life, but it sounded so easy. But I folded a bunch of seemingly unplayable hands, finally got dealt something decent, and lost a $4 pot with 9-low against 8-low. Obviously rigged.

No school tomorrow, so I expect to log at least 1,000 hands tonight. Also, the Texans have a bye on Sunday, so this weekend should be more productive than usual.

970 hands, -$252.90
Gauntlet Registration, -$5.50
Razz Spew, -$4.90
Cleared Bonus, +$20.00

When it rains, it pours.

I'm making it worse than it has to be. I might be wrong, and I'll go through PT tomorrow to confirm, but I feel like I played very poorly tonight. After running into a set with top 2 and KK vs. AA, I lost 150bbs with an overpair against a set. I might have gone broke with it anyway (or perhaps not), but I still think I played that hand horribly because I was tilting. A quick glance through the database shows that I lost tons of little pots, a few buy-ins worth of failed c-bets it seems.

Or maybe I'm just blaming myself for what was essentially a big cooler. I don't know, and I'm really not objective enough right now to go over it. Stuff like this kills my confidence. I hate saying this because I've felt like I'm above that NCoD shit, but man... maybe I'm just not very good at this game. These violent swings have directly coincided with my move up to 50NL. Have I hit a wall?

Bankroll: $1,297.18

The overpair vs set thing sounds unfortunate, but obviously the hand itself needs to be looked at before we can comment. If the overpair was less than KK then I think there's almost no reason to stack off 150BBs with it in any circumstances; if it's AA then that's a bit different but may still not be justified.

I hope you do post a couple of the hands you felt you may have played badly (there's probably no need to crucify yourself by posting hands which you KNOW were played terribly) - I'll certainly see if I can comment usefully.

1,170 hands, +$15.85

I ran quite well, but I lost some big pots against drawing stations, and I'm sure there was some spew mixed in as well. Ugh. I don't think I'm playing very well right now.

Bankroll: $1,313.03

Experiment with half-stacking

I just don't see the point of this tbh. The thought of not being able to play PPs and SCs in juicy pots just depresses me - they're the best thing abut poker. And why, at this stage in your poker career, do you want to reduce the skill factor in your game? You still want to learn how to play a successful, well-rounded game, right - I'd just stick with full-stacking for now.

how's the op going?

how's the op going?

Apparently I didn't mention it in this thread, but I decided to take a 1-2 week break from poker and come to terms with the my leaks and shortcomings. A few weeks turned into a few months, and before I knew it I had "quit".

I'm a bit disappointed in myself, because I had vowed to stick with it through the rough times. Fortunately, this hiatus was distinctly different from my previous endeavor. Before, I had panicked, quit while ahead, took the money and ran. This time, I left with the intention of returning, and so my bankroll is still online.

I'm probably very rusty now, and I wasn't even very good to begin with! Well, I did manage to turn $200 into $1500, so I couldn't have been that bad. Over the next few days I intend to dip my toes back into the water. I'll consolidate my funds, play some low stake cash games (and perhaps some SnGs), and get back into the habit of reading this forum.

This will be a gradual process. I'm merely trying to reacquaint myself with the game. At some point I will draft a new plan and get this op back on track, but I'm not sure when that will be.

Thanks to everyone who read this thread and offered their support.

Hole shit man, you alive?

I thought you got lost in the Amazon or somethin'

Weeeeeeeeeee Welcome back!

I just read this entire thread, and I must say that I'm very pleased with myself for keeping a written record of my adventure. It makes me wish that I had kept a journal earlier in my lifetime. To go back and read what I was thinking and feeling just a few months ago was very interesting and entertaining. I can only imagine what it would be like to read my 15 year old self's autobiography.

I've also gone through all of my accounts. Most of the money is still in Stars, with a little bit in FT and ePass. I paid a few non-poker debts through Stars, and so my bankroll has shrunken slightly.

Bankroll: $1,282.07

305 hands, +$21.10
180 man SnG, -$4.40

It's good to be back.

Don't ask me why, but I decided to play a 180 man SnG. I've read Harrington on Hold 'Em volumes I and II. Although (sadly) little of that information was fully absorbed, I do know about M and inflection points. I know that "tight is right" early, and at what point it becomes necessary to make moves. Despite that, I usually ignore the conventional wisdom in MTTs. Not because I believe that I know better, but because I feel pressured to do so. When I'm surrounded by players with chip counts many times my own, I feel like every hand I play will potentially pot-commit me, even if my M is 20+. I feel desperate to catch up, and will attempt to do so with reckless abandon. I know it's stupid. This is why I don't play MTTs. Oddly enough, I do okay in 1-table SnGs.

I got my feet wet 2-tabling 10NL 6-max. I ran well, hit a few big hands and got paid. I already feel that I'm beginning to reenter my comfort zone, but I would still like to take it slow. Diving right back into 50NL just seems like a bad idea. I haven't played poker in 4 months. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm starting back at square one, but I do feel the need to sharpen what little skills I have and prove to myself that I'm still a winning player at the microstakes. Perhaps after a few thousand hands at 10NL I'll move up to 25NL. If things go well there, I may move up to 50NL after few thousand more hands.

Looking back through my records, I find myself regretting more and more my decision to take an extended break. For sure, I went through a rough patch. A 9 buyin downswing after enjoying such consistent success can destroy the confidence of a rookie such as myself. Still, I fought through it and climbed my way back up. That's something to be proud of. Why then, did I hit the panic button after another small downswing? Even after all that, I was beating 50NL at 1.64 ptbbs/100 through 11,000 hands. That's far from crushing the game, as I had done the levels before it, but it wasn't that bad. Who knows where I would be now if I had stuck with it?

If I want to succeed at this crazy game, I'm going to have to grow a pair.

Bankroll: $1,298.77

181 hands, -$2.84

I spent more time today reading about poker than I did actually playing it. Although I only put in 500 hands today, it is already apparent that I haven't accumulated too much rust. I was afraid that after all this time that I would have somehow "forgotten" how to play well, and that does not appear to be the case. I have little doubt that my abilities have suffered some atrophy over time, but I find comfort in the fact that I didn't play horribly today or make any regrettable/questionable decisions.

Therefore, I've decided to move up to 25nl ahead of schedule. Another good reason would be that it's just insanely conservative to play 10nl with 130 buyins.

I don't know how this eluded me for so long, but I noticed a (potentially substantial) leak in my game just now. In my 11,000 hands at 50nl, I folded the SB to a steal 88% of the time, folded the BB to a steal 82% of the time, and attempted to steal the blinds myself 22% of the time. I honestly have no idea what neighborhood these numbers should be in, but I suspect that I'm not stealing enough, and failing to defend my blinds far too often. Whether blind defense should be much of a concern for me at this level is also questionable, but stealing is not. I raise on the button with a wide range, but I don't do it with garbage hands. Perhaps I should when folded to. This is something I certainly need to look into.

Bankroll: 1,295.93

Don't defend your blinds any more than that - there's just no need.

499 hands, +$10.99

It's late and I'm a bit tired. I'll put off my session review for tomorrow. One hand in particular really bothered me, but I think I made the right move.

I installed some neat auto hotkey scripts. The autorebuy script is particularly useful, even though the "auto" part isn't functioning correctly. Even so, I can hit F1 to rebuy after folding a hand and it will rebuy in time for the next hand. I always hated losing a sizable pot, only to catch a monster the following hand without being 100bb deep!

I've also discovered the magic of exploiting players with wide raising ranges by 3-betting them light. How has this eluded me for so long?! More on that tomorrow.

Bankroll: $1,306.92

Originally Posted by biondino

Don't defend your blinds any more than that - there's just no need.

Blind defense is the part I'm very unsure about. For one thing, I'm not even exactly sure what it entails. Flat calling light seems like a bad idea, and the thought of 3-betting light in those spots makes me cringe. I really hate being out of position, especially in raised pots. At these stakes, I can only forsee one type of situation in which it would be +EV. That would be if I actually noticed a positionally aware player 1 or 2 seats to my right with a high tendency to steal blinds. Even then, I wouldn't like to open up my range too much, even if I think he'll raise with any two. Perhaps it's noobish of me, but I just feel very uncomfortable out of position in raised pots.

I've only skimmed through spoonitnow's blind stealing thread, but just based off that, I agree that it's +EV to open raise with any two on the button if the blinds are complete nits. Aside from that, I'll have to investigate further.

Session Review

Hand 1: This is the hand that I mentioned last night. The one that bugged me. Villain is 44/2/0.5. I don't know much else about him.

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

Button ($38.50)
SB ($18.75)
BB ($41.70)
UTG ($21.75)
MP ($18.60)
Hero ($26.65)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, Q.
UTG calls $0.25, MP calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.5, 3 folds, UTG folds, MP calls $1.25.

Flop: ($3.60) 5, 9, Q (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $2.5, MP calls $2.50.

Turn: ($8.60) 3 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $5.4, MP calls $5.40.

River: ($19.40) 8 (2 players)
MP bets $9.2 (All-In), Hero folds.

Final Pot: $19.40

Results in white below:
MP doesn't show.
Outcome: MP wins $28.60.

Hand 2: Villain is a 74/44/5.3 LAGtard. He loves to min 3-bet preflop.

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

MP ($22.75)
CO ($20.70)
Hero ($26.50)
SB ($26.85)
BB ($32.85)
UTG ($30)

Preflop: Hero is Button with , .
3 folds, Hero raises to $1, SB raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.

Flop: ($4.25) , , (2 players)
SB bets $2.3, Hero calls $2.30.

Turn: ($8.85) (2 players)
SB bets $4.5, Hero calls $4.50.

River: ($17.85) (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero raises to $10

Hand 3: MP is 45/12/3.5. In a previous hand, he double barreled me with bottom pair and I called him down with 2nd pair. BB is 30/26/3.8.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

BB ($25.60)
Hero ($29)
MP ($103.30)
Button ($25.80)
SB ($52.60)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , .
Hero raises to $1, MP calls $1, 2 folds, BB calls $0.75.

Flop: ($3.10) , , (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $2.2, MP raises to $5.25, BB calls $5.25, Hero calls $3.05.

Turn: ($18.85) (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, MP bets $11.5, BB folds, Hero raises to $22.75

My thoughts:

Hand 1: At the time, I felt that he had been drawing to a flush and hit on the river given his c/c, c/c, push line. But in hindsight, I think this could easily be a slowplayed set. It's difficult for me to assign ranges to people with high VP$IPs, but I think limp/call preflop is quite often a pocket pair. This is also compatible with his line considering that his AF is so low. Either way, I think folding on the river is the right move. It just irritated me alot at the time.

Hand 2: I'm not privy to this information, but if I had to guess, I would say that villain's 3-bet% is very close to his PFR%. If that is the case, then I missed alot of opportunities to 4-bet him light, this hand included. That aside, I felt that I was ahead the entire hand. Again, I simply can't put people on a range when they're so loose, but I think the flop and turn calls are fine. The river raise was instinctive. It just reeked of weakness, so I decided to come over the top. In hindsight, that's probably a stupid play. Even though I suspect that he's trying to see a showdown with his blocking bet, I can't see him calling my raise with anything I'm beating.

Hand 3: This hand is weird. Both players are loose and heavy raisers, so I think large overpairs are out of their ranges. AJ+ and KJ+ are probably out as well. That said, the flop action concerns me. AGAIN, I can't put either of them on a range aside from the aforementioned discounted hands. Either of them could easily hold a 10. Then again, MP loves to bluff and BB could conceivably be drawing to a flush. Though questionable, I didn't feel compelled to dump the hand to such a small raise. I love the turn card. When BB checks, I feel confident that I'm holding the best hand. MP's bet means little to me given his aggressive nature and the fact that he was checked to. The question here is whether c/c would have been the better move on my part. If any non-ace were to fall on the river, I'd lead out a weak $3 bet and try to induce a big bluff. It's not something I do often, but I think this is the perfect opponent to do it against. I know he'll probably call me with a pocket pair here on the turn, so maybe it's not such a bad play.

977 hands, +$43.10

Don't let the result fool you. This is possibly one of the worst sessions I've ever played. I was down $50 at one point, and up $100 at another. I got an insanely volatile run of cards over a short period of time. Actually, to be fair, I think I played fine throughout most of it; I just played 2 big pots toward the end like absolute dogshit. I'm almost too embarrassed to post the hands, but I will. Later. I think I'll take a break and get back to the tables. This time I'll try extra hard to maintain focus and self control.

I know this post is low-content, but it feels good to vent a little.

Bankroll: $1,350.02

481 hands, -$24.25

LOL, I should have seen that coming. I've been playing very badly, but I know what the main problem is and I'll work on plugging it with AoK's punishment technique. More on that tomorrow.

Bankroll: $1,325.77

Session Review

As much as I hate to do this, it's time to air out my dirty laundry and post some very badly played hands from last night.

Hand 1: FWIW, I think I played every street fine except for the river. I don't know what I was thinking when I made that call. It was just an appalling lack of discipline. Maybe I felt like he was trying to steal the pot, but that's no excuse. I didn't even think about it, I just insta-called. Yuck.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG ($16.10)
MP ($20.85)
Button ($29.50)
SB ($14.75)
Hero ($41.30)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, K.
UTG calls $0.25, 1 fold, Button raises to $1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $3, UTG folds, Button calls $2.

Flop: ($6.35) 9, 6, 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $4.5, Button calls $4.50.

Turn: ($15.35) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $9.6, Button calls $9.60.

River: ($34.55) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $12.4 (All-In), Hero calls $12.40.

Final Pot: $59.35

Hand 2: Unknown villain. I need to stop treating overpairs like the nuts.

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

BB ($27.40)
UTG ($24.35)
MP ($25)
CO ($12.40)
Hero ($52.30)
SB ($32.15)

Preflop: Hero is Button with , .
1 fold, MP calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.2, 2 folds, MP calls $0.95.

Flop: ($2.75) , , (2 players)
MP bets $1.75, Hero calls $1.75.

Turn: ($6.25) (2 players)
MP bets $12, Hero raises to $24, MP calls $10.05 (All-In).

River: ($50.35) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $50.35

Hand 3: Villain is 22/16/3.5. The 3-bet preflop is fine, I think. I need to start respecting the c/r though. At this level, I think it represents big strength much more often than not. Also, stacking off with top pair seems to be a recurring theme again.

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

UTG ($30.75)
MP ($25)
CO ($44.20)
Hero ($24.70)
SB ($25.30)
BB ($48.80)

Preflop: Hero is Button with , .
UTG raises to $1, 2 folds, Hero raises to $3.5, 2 folds, UTG calls $2.50.

Flop: ($7.35) , , (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $5, UTG raises to $15, Hero raises to $21.2, UTG calls $6.20.

Turn: ($49.75) (2 players)

River: ($49.75) (2 players)

Final Pot: $49.75

Hand 4: Unknown villain. Weird hand. I'm confident that I have the best hand on the flop and turn. I clicked it back on the turn for kicks, when I probably should have made a larger raise. The river call was just terrible, but had I taken the aforementioned line, all the money might have gone in anyway.

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

CO ($27.30)
Button ($16.90)
SB ($24.75)
BB ($22.60)
Hero ($24.65)
MP ($12.75)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , .
Hero raises to $1, 4 folds, BB calls $0.75.

Flop: ($2.10) , , (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.5, BB raises to $3, Hero calls $1.50.

Turn: ($8.10) (2 players)
BB bets $2.5, Hero raises to $5, BB calls $2.50.

River: ($18.10) (2 players)
BB bets $13.6 (All-In), Hero calls $13.60.

Final Pot: $45.30

The main problem here is that after the first hour or so, I got mentally lazy. I made most of my decisions without thinking them through, and as you can see, my auto-pilot instincts suck ass. I'm not 8 years old, and I'm not afflicted with a genuine case of ADHD (though I have been diagnosed with it. But who hasn't?). I shouldn't be having any trouble staying focused. I was somewhat aware of the problem when I took my first break, but for whatever reason I ignored my own advice and continued playing like a dolt.

Afterward, I was disappointed with myself. For the first time ever, I gave AoK's leak plugging technique a shot. I broke out the notepad and wrote 100 times "Think before you act. If you can't, then take a break." Resorting to such a juvenile act (I haven't done that since grade school) was humbling. If I ever log another session like that, I'll get out the notepad and do it again. So in addition to having pounded the message into my own head, the threat of having to do it again will hopefully serve as a preventative measure.

An optimist would note that I didn't drop a bunch of buyins last night, despite my bad play, and in fact came ahead. A pessimist would point out that I ran very well and had little to show for it. I'd prefer to move on from the experience and see the glass as half full.

496 hands, +$72.40

I think there just might be some merit to AoK's technique after all. The session was pretty solid overall. I made a few tough folds in situations where I may have otherwise spewed, but a little voice in my head said "think before you act". So I did, and kept mistakes to a minimum. It also helps that I'm still running pretty damn well. It's a shame the session ended so early. I had intended to play at least 1,000 hands tonight. There was just one problem:

Someone in my building set a fucking chair on fire.

Why anybody would do that is beyond me. The fire alarm at this complex is so loud, I'm afraid it might have hurt somebody. As I walked down the hall to evacuate, I glanced over at the conference room and saw the burning chair. Everyone else on my floor had walked right past it. I don't think they even noticed it. I sure as hell did, and grabbed a fire extinguisher. So I went outside and explained to the resident manager that the fire was out. Case closed, right?

Wrong.

They made everyone (all 900 of us) wait outside as 5 police cars, 2 firetrucks, and 1 ambulance arrived on the scene. Men in yellow jackets and gas masks stormed the complex to fight a fire that didn't exist. I don't know what they were doing in there, but whatever it was, it took them several hours before they let us back in. Reason #6942 that I can't wait to move out of this place.

As usual, I'm going to put off the session review for tomorrow. I don't think there were any notable hands though.

Bankroll: $1,398.17

Originally Posted by grnydrowave2

I made a few tough folds in situations where I may have otherwise spewed, but a little voice in my head said "think before you act". So I did, and kept mistakes to a minimum.

Currently this is my mantra too. At these stakes, just keep it straight forward no need to be FPS-y. Your opponents will be making fundamental mistakes often, while at the same time we are playing with minimal mistakes. I find when I play like a donk I'm break even or slightly losing. When I'm focused and making minimal mistakes I'm running like 16ptbb/100.

1,345 hands, +$21.85

I'm proud of myself. This was one of the longer sessions I've subjected myself to in a while, and I played as close to mistake-free (IMO) as is reasonably possible. There was one gaff where I 3-barreled OOP against a call station thinking that I had TPTK. I had somehow misread my hand as AK when I in fact had AQ. It's weird because I played rock solid the whole session, then blew $7 on a mistake that I've never ever made before. Oh well, I suppose there's a first time for everything.

Unfortunately, I didn't run very well. I got killed by sets, but luckily I only got stacked once, which was a set over set. Most hands were super standard. Nothing notable really comes to mind, but I'll still do a session review in the morning as usual. I like this routine because not only is it compatible with my laziness, but it also allows me to review the hands objectively with a fresh pair of eyes.

I've just glanced at the PS lobby, and the tables are still very soft. I'm feeling relatively fresh, so I think I'll get back at it.

Bankroll: $1,420.02

539 hands, -$17.10

LOL. I found myself in a dream situation with a maniac donator, and it blew up in my face. This guy was calling shoves with bottom pair, making 50xbb river bluffs into 4xbb pots, etc. I only caught 2 decent hands the whole time, but I made a predictable mistake: I forgot about the other 4 players. I got caught in the crossfire and stacked off twice. 1.9k hands of break even poker. gg.

Bankroll: $1,402.92

330 hands, -$16.80

The last few days have been crazy for me, and I haven't had a chance to play many hands. I got home late tonight, and the table selection at Stars was very bad. I shouldn't have sat down in the first place, and given the result of the session, I really wish I hadn't.

I kept mistakes to a minimum for the most part, though one particular player at one of my tables made my life very difficult. At first glance, he appeared to be a typical LAGtard, but I think he was much better than I gave him credit for. He was raising 25% of his hands, and my attempts to 3-bet him light were mostly unsuccessful. Conversely, he was 3-betting the shit out of me and kicking my ass postflop. I was unable to adapt. I was surprised to see in PT that I only lost $5 to him, because it felt like I got thoroughly pwned. I supp0se the silver lining here is that I learned a lesson on the cheap. If I want to minimize mistakes, then I shouldn't be tangling with difficult, tricky players if it can be avoided. There is no need to get into pissing matches, or give individual players too much attention. When I drastically alter my playing style, I tend to fuck up.

I've slipped up a bit in the last few sessions, but I'm still quite happy with the way I've been playing overall. The unremarkable results over the last 5k hands doesn't bother me too much because I feel very confident in my abilities. I think I'll move up to 50nl in a few days.

Bankroll: $1,386.12

288 hands, -$76.60

I've always made a conscious effort to not post bad beats here. Nobody cares, nobody wants to read them, and it doesn't do me any good. Still, I get tempted sometimes.

This is one of those times.

But I'll refrain from doing that and just vent instead. In a 10 minute span I got stacked 3 times with overpairs vs. weird shit. All 3 hands were eerily similar. Each time the money got in on the turn, each time I was way ahead, and each time they got me on 5th street.

This is something I should get used to. I should be happy to have encountered 3 bad players willing to stack off with garbage hands. I suppose the rapid succession of each event just got to me. It's made me quite irritable and susceptible to tilt. Fortunately, I didn't do anything stupid as a result. I've decided to take a break until I cool off, and then I'll get back it.

Bankroll: $1,309.52

629 hands, -$57.95

I think I have grown accustomed to running bad.

I know that may sound ridiculous, considering my last whine post, but it's true. The first cooler session bothered me at first. I felt that I was on the verge of exercising poor judgment, so I took a break. A few hours later, I felt fine. It was as if it never happened. My next session really sucked too. Set over set, KK < AA, and a lot of failed c-bets. Again, it really annoyed me. This has been a problem in the past, but this time there was a very distinct difference: I didn't add insult to injury by spewing, and I'm not in a doom and gloom mindset.

Don't get me wrong. Today sucked. I dropped nearly 6 buyins. But I know that it wasn't my fault. I know that I did the best I could, and that things will get better. There is no need to panic or drastically change the way I'm playing. I'm going to fight through this and wait to ride the next wave.

Bankroll: $1,251.57

1,833 hands, +$124.90
180 man SnG, -$4.40
Heads up SnGs, -$0.40

The last few days have been weird. I've given a statement at the police station regarding the arson incident. I suffered chest pain, went to the doctor, and learned that it was just a case of heartburn (the first time I've ever gotten it, apparently). Oh, and my internal clock is completely backwards. I've been awake all night and sleeping all day.

This has had some interesting results. My usual habit was to play poker in the evening (US time), but when I awoke at 4 AM the other day, the traffic was too low. Out of boredom, I played another 180-man SnG (I really need to stop doing that), and a few micro heads up SnGs. At the same time, I browsed a few sections of FTR that I usually don't read, such as the heads up forum. In passing, someone (I think it was ISF) mentioned that US evenings is now one of the worst times to play on Stars.

How right he was. I have since observed that late mornings and early afternoons are the best times to play. Once I learn to sleep like a normal human being, I'll adjust my schedule to play at these times more often. Unfortunately, I'm still on Tokyo time, so I have to go to bed now. Before I go, I'll post a hand that I played very weirdly:

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

UTG ($48.50)
Hero ($24.75)
CO ($33.10)
Button ($31.35)
SB ($24.75)
BB ($62.15)

Preflop: Hero is MP with , .
1 fold, Hero raises to $1, CO raises to $2, 3 folds, Hero calls $1.

Flop: ($4.35) , , (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $3, Hero raises to $22.75, CO calls $19.75.

Turn: ($49.85) (2 players)

River: ($49.85) (2 players)

Final Pot: $49.85

Results in white below:
Hero has Ks Jd (flush, king high).
CO has As Jc (flush, ace high).
Outcome: CO wins $49.85.

I honestly have no idea what I was thinking at the time, but ISF's easy guide to aggression was probably in the back of my mind. Of course, that isn't at all applicable to this hand, as I have very little (if any) equity against any hand that will call this stupid overbet.

There are many more thoughts I'd like to get down regarding my experiences with poker. Perhaps tomorrow when I'm not feeling tired and sick.

Bankroll: $1,371.67

I might just dump that pre-flop after the reraise but I'm a FR nit so whatever. After that the flop push is OK but it screams of draw. I would rather raise to 9-10 as I'm guessing you would with a set...? It's all going in on that flop anyway, don't feel bad about getting it in with that draw.

Originally Posted by badgers

I might just dump that pre-flop after the reraise but I'm a FR nit so whatever. After that the flop push is OK but it screams of draw. I would rather raise to 9-10 as I'm guessing you would with a set...? It's all going in on that flop anyway, don't feel bad about getting it in with that draw.

If I raise 9-10 and he calls, what's my play on the turn? FWIW, villain was minraising a ton preflop.

1,214 hands, +$29.95

Here is a similar hand from yesterday:

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

UTG ($24.75)
MP ($14.90)
CO ($36.70)
Hero ($27)
SB ($122.45)
BB ($27.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, K.
3 folds, Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, BB calls $0.75.

Flop: ($2.10) T, A, 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.5, BB raises to $4.25, Hero raises to $26, BB folds.

Final Pot: $10.60

Results in white below:
No showdown. Hero wins $10.60.

I know this isn't completely awful, since I most likely have a ton of equity. Still, I'm essentially daring the villain to flip for stacks, or concede a smallish pot. As (I think) badgers alluded to, a better play might have been to reraise to $10-$12, and shove any turn if called. But if the turn is a blank, I lose alot of that equity, and my shove has less fold equity. My usual play was to simply price myself in for the draw if OOP, and take a free card if in position. If opp gives me improper odds to draw, then fold. Obviously, that line sucks.

I've dabbled a bit in 50nl, but the plan has been to move up exclusively once I got the roll up to $1,500. Though I haven't been running particularly well, I've been doing okay at 25nl. Still, I think I'd like to fix a few leaks before doing so, particularly with draws. I'm going to post some hands in the SH forum today. I know some of this is going to be really obvious stuff, and I think I have an idea of how to play them better, but I'd like to take advantage of the great resource that is FTR and get some reaffirmation. I don't mind looking like a doofus in the process if it helps me improve.

Bankroll: $1,401.62

The more I look at this the more confused I get but if you think raising smaller will have more FE on the flop then you can just shove turn and you won't have lost anything... I'm not as sure as I was when I posted before though lol.

544 hands, +$3.50

I played 544 hands on Sunday. In the middle of the session, my old man gives me a call and asks if I'd like to pay him a visit. Long story short, I end up drinking too much and spend most of Monday nursing a hangover. Yeah, I'm a pussy when it comes to that stuff.

So now I am waaaay behind on my April Accountability. I'm not giving up on it. I just means that I have to put in alot more hands than I usually do over the next several days. I think I'll shoot for 2,000 today.

Bankroll: $1,405.12

892 hands, -$98.90

After 11 days, I've relapsed. I took a shot at 50nl, and found myself overwhelmed by the change of pace. The tables I played on were insanely aggressive. I'm generally accustomed to the loose passive tables I've been playing as of late, and I felt like I was getting badly outplayed in this new environment. In hindsight, I don't really believe that was the case. My opponents were aggressive, but they should have been easily exploitable. My shortcoming was my failure to adapt. As I felt myself tilting and losing control, I stopped posting blinds and started closing all my tables down. Wouldn't you know it, my relapse came on the very last hand of my very last table:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero ($52.55)
MP ($49.75)
CO ($54.95)
Button ($74.65)
SB ($88.55)
BB ($54.35)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, J.
Hero raises to $2, 2 folds, Button calls $2, SB calls $1.75, 1 fold.

Flop: ($6.50) 7, A, 9 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: ($6.50) T (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $4, Button raises to $11, SB folds, Hero raises to $50.55, Button calls $39.55.

River: ($107.60) 7 (2 players)

Final Pot: $107.60

Results in white below:
Hero has Kh Js (one pair, sevens).
Button has Th Td (full house, tens full of sevens).
Outcome: Button wins $107.60.

I think from now on, when I feel that it's time to take a break, I'll just shut all my tables down immediately. Or better yet, perhaps I need to break out the pen and pad and buy myself another 11 days of discipline.

Despite this setback, I'm going to stick with 50nl. I've accomplished all that I wanted at 25nl. I logged 10k hands and posted a positive winrate. It served as an effective barometer, but I'm clearly overrolled for it. There is no reason for me to play there any longer. I've played mostly solid these past 2 weeks, and as long as I can remain consistent, I'm confident that I can beat 50nl as well.

Bankroll: $1,306.10

Lol that's happened to me so many times. I need to quit cos I'm tilting so I click off auto post blinds and spew massively until the BB comes around

Someone said this somewhere. (I think it was dozer)

You need to think in units.

I think that is all that's needed to make you a winning 50nl player.

Originally Posted by badgers

Lol that's happened to me so many times. I need to quit cos I'm tilting so I click off auto post blinds and spew massively until the BB comes around

Someone said this somewhere. (I think it was dozer)

You need to think in units.

I think that is all that's needed to make you a winning 50nl player.

What do you mean by this? Don't let the money scare you?

Basically just play exactly the same winning game from 25nl and don't think differently about your opponents. Whatever you were doing that made money at 25nl will be fine at 50nl, there's not that much of a change in play a lot of it is just psychological.

Originally Posted by badgers

Basically just play exactly the same winning game from 25nl and don't think differently about your opponents. Whatever you were doing that made money at 25nl will be fine at 50nl, there's not that much of a change in play a lot of it is just psychological.

This is generally the attitude I have. It had been a long time since I'd played 50nl, but I didn't recall that it was much different from 25nl. Over the last 10k sample, I've been beating 25nl with a 15/10/3.2 game. I had some concerns whether my aggression (particularly flop aggression) was too high. My flop AF is 4, with a c-bet% of ~60%. However, it seemed to be working quite well. Stations are easy enough to identify, so I don't do it against them. OOP against more than one opponent is a no-go as well. In position against 1 opponent, I c-bet like 90% of the time unless I've seen that particular opp c/r before. The overall result was a W$WSF of 38%, which I thought seemed high. Perhaps too high.

Even so, I kept playing my same style at 50nl. But it was just like a completely different game. I was getting checkraised, floated, and 3-bet at seemingly every turn (no pun intended). I felt like I was being exploited. I really don't remember a drastic change between 25nl and 50nl. Maybe it was just a flukey thing (it was a small sample), but if this trend continues, I think I will need to adapt. Perhaps it might be best to tighten up, tone down the postflop aggression, and wait for big hands.

I hope you're right though. I feel very comfortable at 25nl with my style. Most of my decisions are very simple and it's easy to avoid big mistakes with good focus. If conditions return to normal, then I'll keep doing what's been profitable for me thus far.

Hey man just to let you know 50nl is a lot different now unfortunately. I have been experiencing the same kind of stuff. Now, I'd first off suggest running higher than 15/10 even at 25nl because I really don't think you'll win much at 50nl+ like that. Plus, I think you are leaving money on the table at 25nl. I completely skipped 50nl when I took shots at 100nl because 25nl was just that much easier. If you aren't feeling comfortable yet, I'd stick at 25nl to pad my roll more. You can also try to implement new styles as well at 25nl that may help you when you move up. Just some thoughts.

Originally Posted by kmind

Hey man just to let you know 50nl is a lot different now unfortunately. I have been experiencing the same kind of stuff. Now, I'd first off suggest running higher than 15/10 even at 25nl because I really don't think you'll win much at 50nl+ like that. Plus, I think you are leaving money on the table at 25nl. I completely skipped 50nl when I took shots at 100nl because 25nl was just that much easier. If you aren't feeling comfortable yet, I'd stick at 25nl to pad my roll more. You can also try to implement new styles as well at 25nl that may help you when you move up. Just some thoughts.

Elaborate please. What kind of stats were you running at 25nl? To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical about the benefits of loosening up at this level, but I'm all ears. In what way is 50nl different? Do you really think 100nl is easier than 50nl, or did I misread that? Has 50nl changed in some way over the last 4-5 months, or do you mean post-UIGEA? If the latter, then I must not have noticed it before.

Get on AIM, you bum!!!

I can tell you on AIM but I might as well just say it here just in case anyone else is experiencing the same problems. Did not mean to say 100nl is the same or easier than 50nl. I just meant I skipped 50nl (foolishly) because I noticed that 50nl, in the past few months, has changed to be more aggro and I figured they'd be about the same. If I'm making a lot more at 25nl then I figured I would just keep playing that until I had a good roll for a shot at 100nl.

Anyways, I am/was running at least 18/15 at 25nl which netted me the most money. Usually higher but then I noticed I could multitable pretty well and keep those stats at this level. They fold way too often to cbets (no floating) so I just pounded them with preflop raises and cbets. I seriously think you can cbet 95% of the time there and be very profitable. Of course stealing, especially finding huge nits in the blinds, is going to be very profitable. So I mean it's basically the strat most advice to use, play tight in UTG and UTG+1 but I really loosened up in the CO and BTN. One thing I realized after my prop bet is how often you can isolate players, 3bet them whatever with a wide range and get them to fold with cbets. I mean I made "74" very profitable. I don't really know where this is going but I thought I'd write what I have learned at this level.

As far as 50nl goes, you obv. get floated a ton more and can't really cbet as high as I was. I've really found them not folding much to my cbets and began to just double barrel wrecklessly. You really have to pick good spots to double barrel and make sure you know they can fold. That's the big thing for me right now, is trying to 3bet...and even 4bet...wide ranges vs. unknowns. That plan sucks. Make sure you can actually give them a range (by seeing their 3bet pots at showdown, etc.) before you just assume they are 3betting you light. I also think bluffing isn't too profitable vs. most opponents unless you have really obvious spots or have reads. This post sucks and is wasting your space. But it's kind of the stuff I have wanted to write down for myself for awhile.

At $1300 your really rolled more for taking shots at 50NL then playing full time. imho. At 50NL it really pays to table select more thoroughly. Do more than just make sure theres a few donks at the table, pay attention to who you have position on, and who has position on you. Theres a lot of silly aggressive people, who are bad, but a lot of times aren't worth giving position to and having 3-bet your steals from the blinds a lot.

Originally Posted by reprisal

At $1300 your really rolled more for taking shots at 50NL then playing full time. imho.

Yes, I know. I've been playing 25nl for several reasons. Mostly because I quit playing for 4 months. I didn't know how rusty I would be, or how I would react to a 4+ buyin downswing right off the bat, or if I was even still a winning player. 10k hands later, I've dispelled all those concerns for myself.

Originally Posted by reprisal

At 50NL it really pays to table select more thoroughly. Do more than just make sure theres a few donks at the table, pay attention to who you have position on, and who has position on you. Theres a lot of silly aggressive people, who are bad, but a lot of times aren't worth giving position to and having 3-bet your steals from the blinds a lot.

It's funny that you mention this, because I was thinking about it today when chatting with kmind. We were talking about multitabling and our standards of table selection. We both look for tables with 40% VPIP or higher, give priority to tables with higher average pots, and shut down tables when they get 4-handed or fewer. It occured to me that I never even consider my position in relation to other players. I sometimes have trouble keeping 6 tables running simultaneously with my table selection standards (though kmind tells me he can manage 10 with similar preferences). I'm afraid that if I added another requirement that I would never be able to multitable effectively. Is that a leak? Leaving money on the table? I don't know.