The Drive to $10K

I've only used notes on my desktop or monitor when one specific thing was really bothering me. One thing I do do regularly is pick one specific situation to think about during the session. If I'm having trouble putting unknowns on raising ranges, I focus on that specific thing for the entire session.

I'm done for a few days. Time to take a break from the tables and reevaluate why I am playing and why I play in a way that is toxic and no longer enjoyable. I ain't leaving, I just ain't logging on to Poker plex for a couple days.

I know what you guys are going to say and thanks for it.

I'm going to take my own advice and go over HM's articles for the last two months and post what I find here.

Edit:
Doing HM articles I came across this. Can someone clarify this? It's not quite sitting right with me.

Originally Posted by Talking about Flop Cbets being raised, HeM article3

because when we are raised on the flop, unless someone min raises, we don’t have the odds to call with almost any draw so any hand we call a raise with should be strong enough to get to showdown with almost always.

Is this saying it's a fold/shove situation almost always and since most Cbet raises would leave us with no FE folding is probably option 1?

jyms wtf.

snap out of it!

Originally Posted by jyms

I'm going to take my own advice and go over HM's articles for the last two months and post what I find here.

Edit:
Doing HM articles I came across this. Can someone clarify this? It's not quite sitting right with me.

Originally Posted by Talking about Flop Cbets being raised, HeM article3

because when we are raised on the flop, unless someone min raises, we don’t have the odds to call with almost any draw so any hand we call a raise with should be strong enough to get to showdown with almost always.

Is this saying it's a fold/shove situation almost always and since most Cbet raises would leave us with no FE folding is probably option 1?

i think this quote applies to 3bet pots

fuck sake, seriously jyms.

tbh this has to be all on you, this isnt a bash btw. imo (in my view of alot of other ppl) ppl scapegoat way too much on variance and tilt. Alot of ppl dont associate tilt as something close to them in my view. They treat it as a 3rd party along with and probably as equal to variance.

Maybe something to think about, Ive been thinking about tilt lately and I came up with that theory.

Is that graph from your last session??? Ok seriously get the fuck on aim and rail one of my sessions and lets talk poker, we could do a HM review too of hands.

Also dont waste your time going over them HM stat articles man. Play poker instead of trying to make stats match up/end

Still love u tho

This isnt about your game, its about your head. For some reason you're incapable of quitting. Until you figure that out, you might as well just not play.

Originally Posted by jyms

I know what you guys are going to say and thanks for it.

done. nit some ft fr 50nl and figure shit out.
peace, i'll be online sometime this weekend for further comments if you want
daven

Oh, I totally believe this is all me. This isn't variance or beats of any kind. I just can't stop playing when I am sucking. I did discover some things that are making my game worse over the last two months but that's neither here nor there for now. I will talk to some of you later. I have had some great offers from a couple of you guys and I will be taking you up on it.

XTR, it's actually just based on standard flops in raised pots

Lets say we raise to 4bb w/ 100bb stacks, BB calls. So 9bb pot. Cbet 7bb, get raised to 21bb.

Pot is 9+7+21 = 37bb. We have to call 14bb and have 89bb behind.

That's 2.5:1 on the call, and 9:1 if you win his stack.

You need to win another 30bb to BE, if you're only playing to hit your draw. So you could probably lay down here a lot and not have a huge leak. Obviously this doesn't take into account 3betting big draws.

Yea I 'm not looking at 3bets at the moment. The calling part throws me though since his raise only leaves 75BB's behind in his stack. We are calling 14 to win 37 on the turn alone. Any further bets are discounted. An 8 or 9 out draw hitting like 16%-17%. Any follow up bet he makes would be say 40BB into a 51BB pot and we would need to call 40 to win 91BB's again getting less than 2.5:1 with only 35BB's behind. Can we adjust to make any decent draw profitable vs a decent raise on the flop? Or do we need to have combo draws with 13 to 15 or more outs?

Preflop raise sizes seem relevant. With a 3BB preflop raise we´d make a cbet around 4-5BB, facing a 12-15BB raise making it

7BB + 5BB + 15BB => 27:10 and roughly 8:1 stack odds on the flop call, which for sure isn´t enough with 9 outs only considering the next street.

Generally b/3b seems the better option, as it´s kinda dumb to wait for our equity dropping down to put more money in, plus depending on the villians ranges there for sure is decent FE for b/3b with ~80 behind on flop.

Seriously those graphs tilt me. Because I know exactly how that feels like. It is an emotional issue that is pivotal to your success. Ask yourself why you would do that. Is it because you hate money? Is it because you don't want to be successful? Or are you protecting your ego because you don't want to lose to bad players? There is a reason why this happens. I don't know what that is. Only you can know what that is.

Imagine, if you solve this ONE problem, you'll succeed. If you don't solve it, you'll fail. Isn't it worth putting in the effort towards your tilt issues rather than poker?

Something I looked into mid last yr when I was having some pretty bad tilt issues was looking into getting an emotional coach.

I also here stoxpoker has some video's on tilt if I'm not mistaken. Not sure if those would help or not.

I will be looking for two coaches in the future. I will first be getting someone to work with on a semi regular basis to help with this $200NL game that I seem to kill for 50K hands and then lose my mind. And I will look for that other coach you mentioned which I think will be more than worth it by that time as well. I don't feel the need to do much at the moment since I don't have the roll nor do I think the issues are clear enough to me at this time. I will wait until I get a little closer.
Update,

I seem to be back on the horse for now. I'm running ok, and playing ok. Some spew is still in the joints so I am working it out. I still call too many 3bets, and I still C/C way too much out of plain ole' habit. I stopped trying to grind it all at once and I am sticking to the 4 tables. No shot taking at all, I will either run February out at $50NL or hit $2500 and move up once. I really need to disconnect the roll from the money and play my usual 25BI's minimum and get back to good table selection. I don't select so much at $50NL because they are that easy, but I do move if the table is too nitty or I have an annoying player to my left, (either too loose passive, 3betting monkey or a shorty that likes bingo.)

I also joined the gym again. I am at a Whopping 280 and am shooting for about 235 by my birthday(may 25th) 240 is easily doable since that is the weight I seem to always hit when I try. Pics to follow once I have made noticeable progress there.

Originally Posted by jyms

I still call too many 3bets, and I still C/C way too much out of plain ole' habit.

What kind of hands are you calling 3bets with? My games are rampant with 3betting and I STILL rarely call 3bets, so I can't imagine what you're calling with, or why you'd need to be calling much at all?

As for c/c too much.. blaaah. I think I've mentioned this before, but the problem isn't c/c too much, the problem is playing OOP too much. That's the root of the problem. Just start dumping a lot of these marginal hands from the blinds, or 3betting them and you'll have initiative.

Originally Posted by griffey24

I also here stoxpoker has some video's on tilt if I'm not mistaken. Not sure if those would help or not.

Yeah, they have a guy called Jared Tendler who's done a series on the mental / emotional side of poker, and how to make sure you're in the best state of mind possible when you're playing.

I haven't watched them myself, but I know they are among the most highly rated videos on the site.

Thanks Tony, I will see if someone has a an account, I am not getting a Stox account for a couple vids. I am in between accounts now and debating on where I want to subscribe. But that's been discussed in another thread.

Grif, most of the bets are 3 bets out of the blinds by either guys with high 3bet stats. If I have a hand I don't want to fold and figure to be ahead of his range, I tend to call. I know that this should be the exception, and not the rule, but when I figure I have been tight and only calling rarely, I still end up with 40% calling 3bets. It's just me not having a feel for exactly what constitutes a tight 4bet/fold stat. Obviously I have to work in reverse and just 4bet/fold everything with minimal 4bets, and then work back to what would be fair to call.

Your right about the C/C situation, it's just too much marginal hands from UTG and MP, like AXs, SC and small PP's. I am dropping A8s-A2s, SC's under 78s and PP's 22-55 if there are frequent 3 betting regs in the blinds. I will add somethings back as my stakes and FE increases. Right now having a ton of calls IP and multiway pots, and guys that call too many Cbets makes all of this just unnecassay at this level.

Originally Posted by jyms

Your right about the C/C situation, it's just too much marginal hands from UTG and MP, like AXs, SC and small PP's. I am dropping A8s-A2s, SC's under 78s and PP's 22-55 if there are frequent 3 betting regs in the blinds. I will add somethings back as my stakes and FE increases. Right now having a ton of calls IP and multiway pots, and guys that call too many Cbets makes all of this just unnecassay at this level.

So wait.. you're raising EP/MP and getting called by someone IP and then c/c flop/turns as opposed to betting them yourself?

Yea, it's either raising EP/MP and getting called multi way vs looser players with decent hand that can't stand a raise or a pot getting built by bet/call/call on multi streets, or actually to much blind play. I realise I skipped that part now, but meant to mention it too. There is quite a bit of calling with hands ahead of a weak opener who would have position. I do need to narrow these hands right out of my play though and yes we did talk about this already and I have a hard time respecting players at this level and breaking my habits.

Originally Posted by jyms

Yea, it's either raising EP/MP and getting called multi way vs looser players with decent hand that can't stand a raise or a pot getting built by bet/call/call on multi streets, or actually to much blind play. I realise I skipped that part now, but meant to mention it too. There is quite a bit of calling with hands ahead of a weak opener who would have position. I do need to narrow these hands right out of my play though and yes we did talk about this already and I have a hard time respecting players at this level and breaking my habits.

If c/c is a big problem in your game, then just bet in these spots where you raise EP/MP. I think too many ppl look at their hand like AT on QTx board and feel like they need to c/c instead of betting since "no worse hands will call" type spots. Which just isn't true the majority of the time. Or maybe a better example is people c/c 99 on like a K25 board. Betting gives you initiative, lets you multi-street bluff if you want and lets you hit deceptive two pairs/trips/sets.

Interesting.

Update:

I have gained some control over my emotional state for now and the sense of urgency I felt to get the roll back up. I have settled in at $50NL for a bit and have been taking the time to work on my game. Griffey has been a great help on MSN and we have talked quite a bit while I am at work. It's kind of painful to have these problems and look into the database or ship someone a hand and have them tell you something you know that just doesn't seem to have any recall during the hand. Getting out of bad/medicore hands earlier is not a leak, folding the best hand sometimes is not a leak. These are things I need to remember when playing.

One of the things I have done to help as well is I have gone back to the gym. Damn I miss the gym. I am so out of shape. I will keep some small updates going here as well. I started at 280/37%BF. Yep, that's right. I set a goal of 3lbs a week for the first two months. I know it's a little lofty but I can actually do this for some time and then knock it down to 2lbs a week after a month or two. With what I know I could probably do 4lbs a week for a couple months and still eat 3000 calories but I won't even try this time. I have other things to do with my life than "2 a days" and a ton of other stuff (cardio). My weigh ins with the rest of the house are every Sunday afternoon and today I hit the usual first week dumping of weight and set a 271 on the scale. I expect the first two weeks to sail by and drop a ton, and then week three is always a tough spot so I typically make some changes that week. I'll keep you posted. I will only do BF% testing once a month.

Lastly, I may leave iPoker soon. I hate the table availability for us in Can and US, and also, since NoIQ left the races kinda suck ass. I will know within the month. I need to get 50K more points to get the PS3 and I am out. They collect so much slower at $50NL than $200NL and adding tables just doesn't see the benefit. There are so few good tables that it is hard to table select well when playing 6 x 6m. There just isn't enough and watching for the dynamic to change is something I tend to stop looking at when I am focused on other things in my game right now.

Yay. You need to be sexy for Vegas so you can seduce the Milfs and steal their babies for nourishment.

Stop playing after 3 BI's lost in a night.
Stop playing after 1K hands if I am down or even.
Drop down if I have 2 multi BI losing sessions in a row, until I string together two multi BI sessions in a row.
Plan to take off some nights in the week.
Play less hands.

Just stressing these to you!

I just read through most of the thread. Remember your original rules to keep yourself in check on a downswing! And remember, there is always tomorrow.

EDIT Nevermind I didn't read through most of the thread, I didn't even see the 2nd page. I'll read it later on.

Originally Posted by CBAT

Stop playing after 3 BI's lost in a night.

Giving up too easy given the variance of online 6 max. 5 buy-ins is a more reasonable stop-loss. That said, I'll quit a table or opponent after two or three to protect against getting owned, pushing a bad table image or cheaters.

Originally Posted by CBAT

Stop playing after 1K hands if I am down or even.

When you have position on a live one, stay until he's broke or you're tired.

Originally Posted by Fnord

Originally Posted by CBAT

Stop playing after 3 BI's lost in a night.

Giving up too easy given the variance of online 6 max. 5 buy-ins is a more reasonable stop-loss. That said, I'll quit a table or opponent after two or three to protect against getting owned, pushing a bad table image or cheaters.

Originally Posted by CBAT

Stop playing after 1K hands if I am down or even.

When you have position on a live one, stay until he's broke or you're tired.

I'm just quoting his OP

But I do agree with you on both accounts.

I agree too and those reasons for stopping were because I was having other issues that were trumping good reasons for playing. My mindset was off, and i was not playing as well as I would like to have thought i was. It was more of a way to recognize my tilt and not find excuses to play at a higher stake or for longer than I was capable.

Yeah, it takes self awareness, otherwise safer to have an ironclad rule. If you're down 2-3 and feel good then maybe its ok to stay, but if you're tilting, or know from experience that you really cant make that call in the heat of the moment, just quit. I probably cost myself 2 buyins yesterday convincing myself I was ok when I wasnt.

Ok, so I seemed to have found a ton of mental problems and am actively relearning some things that were kind of unlearned by emotional situations I let gain control of my game. Long story short, I am relearning how to look at poker and my game. Thanks to a few Stox Vids while riding the bike at the gym I have put in more hours at cardio and more hours studying. Unfortunately my game still sucks. I ran horrible over the last 5K hands and have not adjusted my play. In typical fashion I have gone into calling station mode a little and am seeing far too many showdowns when running bad. Here's a few stats.



Positional stats


PP's, jsut to show that it's not all me.


Not a single stack earned with AA, KK or QQ. I am running horrible at sets too. It has caused me to be impatient and showdown far too often, and I know this so this must be fixed.

I still need to work on a couple things to make them habits. I have to stop playing OOP so often, I have to get my aggression up buy calling less, not betting more and I need to stop calling 3bet/raises as often. I just have to accept that I can fold the best hand once in a while and it will still be a profitable game.

With my RB and $10/1000 points bonus's I barely am rolled for $50NL so if I can't put together a session tonight with some decent stats then I will drop till I have my play adjusted. I don't care about winnings as much as a few obvious stats. If I catch myself doing any of the things I mentioned I will be done at $50NL for the next 10K hands or so.

Update coming after 1K hands.

stop it

if you want a sweat you know I'm always online

Two things I found made poker seem SOOO much easier:

1) Very very rarely play OOP.

2) Very very rarely call a 3-bet.


If you dont put yourself into shitty spots, poker becomes a lot easier. I know you just said that, and I know everyone says it, but they really are spots that are hard to stop getting into if you're not used to it. I guess I'm just reinforcing that these two things really are important to work on.

Originally Posted by bigspenda73

stop it

if you want a sweat you know I'm always online

this and me too

I want to hear about your physical impairments when you sit at a table...

Most of my issues stem from two things, and both are kinda self inflicted which leaves me not much room to complain. One comes from being far too overweight the last 4-5 years. I have abused the hell out of my body by trying to maintain my level of sports activities (Ice Hockey, golf and baseball) in lieu of being 280 instead of 235 and now have issues with several joints, including both knees, ankles, right hip and even seem to have shoulder issues still even though it's been surgically repaired twice. Not much problem when playing poker, but it had effected my reasoning for getting off my ass and going to the gym to get into shape which in itself would help, particularly with problem two.

Number two, I don't sleep enough. I never really have and it's not that I can't I have just always hated going to sleep and as of the last few years and this last 2 years more than most, I don't sleep nearly enough for what I need. One of the things that has become problematic for me is I can play as much poker as I want, but I fully want to be and am expected to be a father and husband first. So not unlike most of the guys here in my spot poker becomes something to be done when there is time. I like to play a lot so I play at night when the kid is asleep and either the wife is in bed or is watching some bad television. She does like shows like American idol and other reality crap plus several TV series. What this may have done when combined with no exercise in the last year is produce a brain fog effect that I actually am having looked at soon. My memory is shot, my eye site has gotten worse (blurry) and I have huge bouts of non focus. These are not old things either this is all fairly new. Things like leaving the house to go to the store on the corner to get a few things and actually forgetting something in my list of 3 and having to go back. Like driving to my sisters for dinner on Saturday afternoon and getting off the highway 5 minutes in to the drive at my work exit and pulling into the parking lot with my kid in the car. Reading articles/poohbah posts on poker either here or the other forum and having to start over half way through because I don't even remember what I am reading.

The body aches and pains I will deal with, since I know what caused it, or that it's just remnants of previous injury/repetitive use that will not be aggravated but needs strength training or flexibility. the brain stuff will be getting looked at by a Naturapath. Until now my basic prescription for all of this has been Rockstar energy drinks, Tylenol and just not pushing the body. I quit hockey and baseball last year and hadn't been to the gym in years as mentioned before. I am changing all that by getting back into the gym which will be number 1 in fixing this, and i really do need to start sleeping more. Maybe I should do a sleep OP. I will be having a non prescription pushing medical person look into my memory/sight issues, but suspect sleep would help a ton.

FWIW, nobody has said playing 50K hands a month predominantly after 10PM with a full time job would be easy and I have done everything in my power to make it as difficult as possible.

Oh yea, by the way if my weight is ever higher than my BR I quit. Right now I'm down to 268 (Sunday) and have almost double that. Better keep up with the gym.

Keep up with the gym and don't forget most of your results come from the kitchen!

Originally Posted by jyms

Number two, I don't sleep enough. I never really have and it's not that I can't I have just always hated going to sleep and as of the last few years and this last 2 years more than most, I don't sleep nearly enough for what I need. One of the things that has become problematic for me is I can play as much poker as I want, but I fully want to be and am expected to be a father and husband first. So not unlike most of the guys here in my spot poker becomes something to be done when there is time. I like to play a lot so I play at night when the kid is asleep and either the wife is in bed or is watching some bad television. She does like shows like American idol and other reality crap plus several TV series.
FWIW, nobody has said playing 50K hands a month predominantly after 10PM with a full time job would be easy and I have done everything in my power to make it as difficult as possible.

I can empathise with this totally. Being at the cash learner end of the spectrum , I'm trying to study and play as much as possible. Add in wife and child and a 7 days a week job, I'm finding that i'm tired in the daytime and seem to wake up at night when my wife has gone to bed.
As far as Spenda and goats offer to sweat you , take it up, having done two sessions with Erpel,him watching me and me watching him I'm hoping that it will change they way I play, time will tell. My lack of experience is my problem at the moment.In your case they will spot what you are doing wrong , which if the roles were reversed and say you were coaching me and I was playing the same way as you , No doubt you would instantly spot it in my play , whereas for yourself , you have other issues which are all compounding together so that you are having trouble focussing in on one thing and possibly trying to change too much at once, playing scared money trying to stop the downslide .

How did I miss this thread? Just read it in full, it's inspiring to see other people struggling with tilt/discipline issues, it's also valuable to see alot of the advice in the thread, including your own observations and comments about your game.

I think you need to find some way of unattaching yourself from your profits during a session. From looking at your thread you tilt the most when you lose some buy in or two that you've just won, so I think you're attaching too much significance to the buy ins when you win them. I have a similiar issue (albeit at much smaller stakes) and that's what I discovered which seems to be the key for me, that I was attaching myself to the gains so that when I lost them, I felt emotionally robbed - down, and this induced tilt - or in my case, even worse than your tilt - gambling with half my bankroll. I think if you can find some way to disassociate from the winnings when you win them, you'll have cracked 90% of your tilt issue.

Nice one about the gym - I keep meaning to get down there myself, good luck with the weight loss as well, I've found in the past that diet is definately more important than excercise. In the past i've used an effective diet (we're a simmiliar weight) which was based around eating either meat and no carbs in one day, or carbs and no meat, the good thing was as long as you stick to the food groups you can eat as much of most of the food as you like, there's no restrictions, and there's alot of food to chose from. It worked well and whenever I stuck to it I lost 3ibs almost every week and that was without excercise! If you're interested just let me know and I'll send you a link to the site (It's a uk diet programme).

When you wrote your BR targets at work I think that was useful and something you should focus on. No rush, with just 3bb/100 I was amazed when I did this the other day for myself just how much growth the bankroll will show after a year, it's like one of those desk toys with the balls on a string isn't it, the first part takes some energy (or in poker terms, damn hard work that probes every area of your psyche!) to get the bankroll moving, but before long (a year or so) the momentum will take care of the rest. Just go to be careful, patient and disciplined in the first part while building the momentum.

Good luck Jyms - rooting for you like everyone else to get things sorted on the table and looking forward to seeing the inevitable regular up monthly graphs when you've sorted things.

you were doing so good at the lower levels -- why not back down to them for a bit?

He has. One thing about Jyms, he follows proper BRM. Thats why he's still around when others who have had similar roller coaster rides have come and gone.

Definately will beat it, sounds positive so far as far as the mental stuff goes. I'd really love to catch you sometime to chat about stuff, shoot me an msn when you have some spare time.

I found that my biggest downswing happened because I was playing too much. I took a couple of weeks off (took a vacation no computer) and came back strong. It's hard to do because we love this game but sometimes I believe it needs to be done. My 2 cents.

Update:

I let the blog slip and same with poker for the week or two. We gave notice at our place and we are moving May 1, so I have been looking for a condo downtown. I think we have a handle on that and have a few to choose from now so that chapter is close to being complete. I have also been trying to get in as much gym time as possible. 258lbs@30% at the moment and easily reaching the goal.

As for poker,meh. I have taken two shots a little underrolled figuring that 14 or 15 BI's will be enough since I have been a winner at these stakes in the past but keep having horrible runs when doing so. Sessions ending up with WTSD% at 21-22% and WSD% in the mid 30%'s several times.



I have had no issues with my usual tilt problems and seem to be playing much smarter after a few conversations with Griffey, Spenda and BJ. I am still up for a ton of convo's on AIM and MSN so if you guys get bored hit me up.

BR sucks, but I have no immediate plans to withdraw since my Income Tax will be covering all my deposits and moving truck so that saves the stress about the roll. I am going to hit up the $20NL tables for another couple days before taking another run at $50NL.

Back to back 5BI sessions at $20NL and $50NL the last two nights. That and a bit of RB can't really hurt right? Update again tonight.

Nice, just keep playing your game and keeping your head right!

nice jyms. you'll be back up at 1/2 in no time.

Originally Posted by jyms

Back to back 5BI sessions at $20NL and $50NL the last two nights. That and a bit of RB can't really hurt right? Update again tonight.

weeeee! keep it up big boy!

Good job, Jyms. I totally get the physical side of things, with a body and brain that won't work quite as well as they used to. I am also trying to lose some weight and finding it difficult. Glad to see poker things are looking up. Good luck with the move and keeping the positive run going.

FUCK OFF IPOKER

OMG....

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.50(BB) Replayer
SB ($55.25)
BB ($50)
UTG ($53.17)
UTG+1 ($103)
Hero ($49.25)
BTN ($49.75)

Dealt to Hero AA

UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 raises to $2.50, Hero raises to $6.50, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG+1 calls $4,

FLOP ($14.25) T96

check, Hero bets $9.50, UTG+1 raises to $19, Hero raises to $42.75 (AI), UTG+1 calls $23.75,

TURN ($99.75) T962

RIVER ($99.75) T9623

UTG+1 shows 63
(Flop 19.2%, Turn 11.4%)

Hero shows AA
(Flop 80.8%, Turn 88.6%)

UTG+1 wins $96.75

suckkkks man...death runs end.. I promise!

Holy crap Jyms. Its gonna get better soon, try not to go insane until then. Hit me up via aim anytime u want to talk.

Cross posting from the monthly stats thread. Update tonight and I will set some goals.

-$747 so I basically lost all my RB, rakerace and bonus money I earned over January.



For the record, I play more hands while losing more money than any regular on this site. I have had my fourth losing month in a row. And I don't think my game is that bad.

seek help

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhh

jyms: I'm not going to try and tell you what to do, I'm just making a suggestion since I'm not sure if you've thought about this or not. Please do with it as you will, and feel free to ignore it altogether. Keep in mind that I'm just trying to help, and I don't mean to come off sounding like a parent or anything.

My suggestion is you cash out everything left you have online, deposit $50 on pokerstars or whatever other sites host $2nl games, and regrind. It may sound painful, it may sound gross, but I think it is a great method to slowly help regain the confidence to play your optimal game 100% of the time. You'll be able to crush the microstakes and remember what its like to win again, then you'll move to the next level, and keep repeating the process till you surpass the limits you now play. In fact, it won't even take that long, if you can get the volume in.

Just ask yourself what's better; being only + a couple hundred dollars for a month grinding microstakes or being stuck at a higher stake?

In the end I imagine you'll do what you want, so I don't expect you to regrind from nearly nothing as this may sound silly since you once did really well playing bigger games.

I wish you the best of luck and I hope you get things sorted out.

Do you think it benefits you to know that you were +EV all in but lost money due to variance?

It is important to know that you are making the "correct" plays. But that can be accomplished via single hand reviews. This would avoid knowing how much money you SHOULD have won. Not having XXX number stuck in your head may help you control your emotions.

Good luck man,

!luck

M2M, for what it's worth, I pretty much have done just that. I have already moved my BR to Stars for the time being( I've been killing $25NL for 3 whole days). I have decided to forgo the rakeraces, rakeback and bonus's and re-grind the roll. After losing what amount's to $11K in 4 months, that doesn't really leave any to withdraw and start again. I'm gonna play the small stakes games and make sure to be a winner again. Getting in the hands is never a problem and I don't think I have much to worry about as far as gaining it back. Hell I had a $200 BR last January too after playing for a living and pulling out everything to start again last year when I went back to work. I am a little tired of starting again though.

So this is where I am at, I am playing on Stars, I am 4 tabling, no more no less. I have no RB, no bonus and so no need to grind the hell out of the games. I need to find the problems in my game outside of the tilt issues because I think I have put most of those behind me. I practice my anti tilt exercises, I go to the gym regularly (last week and this week were tough because of the condo search) and I sleep more now. I know I have 3 problems to fix that cause me to bleed money. 1) I call too much from the blinds because I know I can outplay bad players postflop, but I am not outplaying them when playing with scared money OOP and with marginal reverse implied hands. 2) I C/C too much, I need to focus on this, because this is one of those auto pilot leaks I have where I just start trying to get to showdown and not think about ranges and textures. 3) I call way too many 3 bets. Calling with marginal hands that are ahead of a 3bet range is no way to see a flop. I need to 4bet or fold way more. I am sure I have others , but these are the ones I am aware of that I still do month after month.

So let's see how things go, I'm giving myself this year to become a winning $200NL player or higher. After that I am throwing in the towel and finding a new hobby since that would just be about enough. I do think I have it in me to grind a $500 BR into $5K+ for a third time so it's time to take the next step.

Heres a note: I havnt seen you post a hand for comment yet.

Yea this thread started out as a tilt solving thread and really never moved into the strat thread it may need to be. I have never posted many hands on FTR as much as I send them to people on AIM and MSN. I prefer the real time conversation about HH's. I will be posting some in the future for sure. I have actually been thinking about doing a couple vids actually. I think voicing some thoughts out loud while playing about some of the basic parts of the game would do me some good, and maybe stop some of the FPS that likes to creep into those longer sessions.

Definately do some vids. I found it really interesting. Often just watching them back by yourself you find things you didnt realise at the time. If you dont want to post them (and tbh I wouldnt) just send a few of us links, I'm happy to watch any you make.

I'm a little like you. I send HHs to people via msn/aim a LOT more than I post, but I do find it useful to post some also. Its interesting to get the broader view.

I was just about to write "you should make some videos" but looks like you already have that idea planned. I think it will do nothing but help your game. I know you probably have enough live feedback on HH but posting shouldn't hurt and we can all kind of give detailed posts and give each other feedback on and figuring out why a line is better than another. Keep your chin up. I'm rooting hard as hell for you.

GL Jyms, I am going to follow this post, as I have been enjoying your videos over as GS. If you ever take Spenda up on that sweat, I would love to sit in and spectate, I am sure I could learn a ton.

Good luck on Stars.

fuck you suck

at least you play

Originally Posted by jyms

FUCK OFF IPOKER

Since moving to stars on the 28th

sweet. keep it going, man. You'll get that mojo back.

Ok, here was a couple tough ones from last night

Opp is 48/24/6.0 only 26 hands but has 3bet three times in that span as well from the blinds.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) -

BB ($14.70)
UTG ($21.55)
MP ($73.25)
CO ($40.20)
Hero (Button) ($25)
SB ($25)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, J
1 fold, MP bets $0.75, 1 fold, Hero raises to $3.25, 2 folds, MP calls $2.50

Flop: ($6.85) Q, 2, 3 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $4, MP raises to $9.50, Hero calls $5.50

Turn: ($25.85) 7 (2 players)
MP bets $13.75, Hero calls $12.25 (All-In)

River: ($50.35) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)


Total pot: $50.35 | Rake: $2.45

_________________________________________

Opp is 93/64/1.4 in only 16 hands. Do you squeeze a smaller turn or hope he calls with less? I'm ahead always here, but should I be patient and try to get two more streets or is the shove OK?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) -

MP ($32.25)
Button ($40.45)
SB ($43.40)
Hero (BB) ($25)
UTG ($24.05)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, 9
UTG bets $1.25, 3 folds, Hero calls $1

Flop: ($2.60) 3, 2, 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $2, Hero raises to $6.50, UTG calls $4.50

Turn: ($15.60) J (2 players)
Hero bets $17.25 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $15.60 | Rake: $0.75

________________________________________________

Opp is 41/21/2.0 over only 29. Too nitty?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) -

CO ($20.80)
Hero (Button) ($25.60)
SB ($24.75)
BB ($2.70)
UTG ($25)
MP ($31.65)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, J
2 folds, CO bets $0.75, Hero calls $0.75, 1 fold, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35) 7, Q, 10 (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets $2, Hero calls $2, 1 fold

Turn: ($6.35) 9 (2 players)
CO bets $18.05 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $6.35 | Rake: $0.30

_______________________________________________


Opp is 30/10/0.3 over only 22 hands so basically not much to go on. I hit the miracle after two barrelling a hope and prayer. Am I supposed to fire this turn harder and set up the river. Not sure he can fold two but maybe three. Once the river hits would a shove be a better play than trying to get some value?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) -
SB ($23.65)
BB ($25)
UTG ($25.10)
Hero (MP) ($25)
Button ($25.60)

Preflop: Hero is MP with K, 10
1 fold, Hero bets $1, 1 fold, SB calls $0.90, 1 fold

Flop: ($2.25) 2, J, 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.75, SB calls $1.75

Turn: ($5.75) 2 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $3.75, SB calls $3.75

River: ($13.25) Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9.50, SB calls $9.50

Total pot: $32.25 | Rake: $1.55

you just constantly bet the wrong streets on the wrong cards

is there merit in you outlining your thought process in each of the decisions in each of the hands?

hand 1 - pre-flop is fine but i prefer to flat JJ here and 3-bet Axs. Flop check behind

hand 2 - 16 hands i'm sometimes 90-60 in full ring, and i'm a nit... pre-flop is fine, but so is folding. Flop is cool enough, but why not check the turn? (check call obviously). What's his range, what's his calling range?

hand 3 - QJo flat = reason? standard part of your game vs loose aggro types? what is the plan? to bet Q/J high flops? or? if so, why not raise flop? as played, fold turn

hand 4 - turn free card never once board pairs?

Hand 1 - big 3bet IP? I don't mind it if he's a big whale though and gonna call the same range. I check back flop though.. board is really dry.

Hand 2 - I don't mind a turn check here... only pot size bet left anyhow. Jamming is ok too I suppose.

Hand 3 - gross... yah I guess fold

Hand 4 - Bad double barrel card for sure.

checking in on ya jyms. Good luck!

BR = $150

Since I cant beat the game again this month and obviously am unable to change my ways, I'm out.

Taking a break.

Hmm, man I think you know what I'd say but you're taking a break which is probably the best thing. I'll try to catch you on msn for a chat soon.

crikey Jyms . Is this still the same tilt issue ?
whilst you're on your break , have you tried replaying some of your grinder videos ,turn the sound off record the "session" and play the video and pause at each stage your action is due and say what your play would be and why. At the end of the session replay the videos hand for hand and see if theres a difference in the way that you are playing/thinking now compared to the way you were playing.