Micro Steaks to Bigger Steaks

Thread title inspired by UCDLaCrosse.

The 10K Marathon

Poker is a long-term game and being too results-oriented in the short-term is counter-productive and detrimental to my long-term poker success. Aside from playing insanely over-rolled as well as standard tilt issues, focusing too much on results has been a major thorn in my side. So to combat this leak, I've removed all instances of monetary stats in HEM and I refuse to peek at the cashier window. The theme of this operation is long-term. So I'm going to track my progress in 10,000 hand blocks and just focus on making good poker decisions. This means no bankroll updates, no cashier, no win rates, no graphaments, or anything else that pertains to short-term results. I will only open these stats every 10,000 hands. I can review individual hands and non-monetary stats in between, but that's it.

Keeping with the theme of 10,000, that's what I'm going to shoot for in terms of bank. It's a nice even number, and I'll have 50 buy-ins for 200NL. I will definitely take shots before I reach that number but right now that's the long-term goal. It's going to take a long time and a lot of hard work but I'm definitely up for the challenge. Over the next couple weeks I will be re-acclimating myself to the game (since I really haven't played at all since BF), re-reading ToP and checking out a few books I have yet to read, specifically Professional No Limit Hold'em. I'm leaving the country on January 25 and will return February 10. When I return to the states, it's time to pin my ears back and get to fucking work.

Money Management

I'm going to start with depositing just $80 on Carbon (FTR 150% bonus ftw), which seems to be the best place for Americans after BF. I have a few bucks left on Cake after my last withdrawal but their software tilts me to no end, their traffic blows and I've had cash-out problems with them, even prior to BF. I will only be playing there until I deposit on Carbon, then it's adios muchachos. All other money I've previously had on poker sites has been withdrawn (excluding FTP) and is now padding my savings account.

As for bankroll management, I'm going to be somewhat aggressive but not careless. What I mean by aggressive is that I'm not going to be afraid to take shots when my game is on and I'm running good. I'm not sure of an exact number, but I would assume as long as I have more than enough money for my current stake and I'm feeling good, I can take a couple buy-in shot at the next level at one table. Same rule applies for officially moving up stakes, which will be starting with one table, then two, then three and so on. I do want to move up fast; however I also want to earn my way through the poker food chain while acquiring the necessary skills of how to crush each level. So for my own peace of mind, I've come up with the following chart that includes a buffer zone of moving up/down and taking shots, as well as the minimum amount of buy-ins I need to win at each level.

Micro Steaks to Bigger Steaks

4NL............................................ + 15 BI's (min)
10NL........ $200 - $250............... + 30 BI's (min)
25NL........ $500 - $750............... + 30 BI's (min)
50NL........ $1.25K - $1.75K.......... + 35 BI's (min)
100NL...... $3K - $4K................... + 40 BI's (min)
200NL...... $7K - $10K................. + _________

Ready, Set, Go

I have a serious case of OCD when it comes to organization. Therefore I will strive to keep this blog as organized as possible while tracking my progress and thoughts on the game. I won’t define a specific time frame for my long-term goals, since it would defeat the purpose of having a long-term perspective. However, I don’t want laziness to set in at any point, so I will make short-term monthly goals along the way. Like I said above, failure is not an option. I don’t want to come off as arrogant by saying that but there will be no epic fails. I believe there will be struggles along the way but I’ll do everything I can to work my way through the dirt and muck. So many great players in this forum have struggled at times. So when I hit a road block, I know it’s the not the end of the highway but a detour down a scenic side road. It may take longer to get there but I’ll get there all the same.

Poker Ramblings ITT

• The Fundamental Theorem of Poker
• Implied Odds & Reverse Implied Odds
• Deception Tactics, Pot Manipulation & Free Cards
• 4NL Level Complete & Taking Shots at 25NL

Since I’m leaving the country in a few days and won’t be back until February 10th, I’ll go ahead and post my goals for February now.

Goals - February 2012

• Play 15,000+ hands of NLH-FR (hopefully more but short month, blah)
• Earn some kind of VIP level at Carbon
• Subscribe to Grinder School (again)
• Become a delightful nuisance to better players in IRC
• Get bikes to point all the mistakes I'm making
• Read Professional NL Hold'em (again)
• Have a plan for every hand (see above)
• Find more situations to 3-bet in position and improve in 3-bet pots
• Work on basic hand reading, pot control, SPR, equity and making +EV decisions
• Review HHs thoroughly using PokerStove, the BC and IRC
• Create some kind of routine for my poker sessions (before, during and after)
• Lose 5 more pounds and increase my bench press rep-weight by 10 pounds

FTR Classics

How-To: Calculating Hand Combinations, About Blockers, etc. by spoonitnow
This post has helped tremendously with putting villains on ranges. I’ve been able to spot nut hands (hero folds) sooner and snap-off bluffs and worse hands (hero calls) more often.

Exploitation and the FTC Theorem by Robb
This goes hand in hand with Renton’s ABCD Theorem and helps with exploitation of various villain lines as well as our own. Two things that Robb mentions that I think are very important here is the stupidity of balancing our range against retards and to play ranges NOT ratios.

How To: Analyze Calling An All-in by spoonitnow
While it's really tough to do these calculations at the table, the repetition process will prove a positive expectation to your bottom line. Also helps with range analysis on the fly.

3-betting and fold equity in FR NLHE by Muzzard
This is a great post in regards to pounding people in position. I know, lol fold equity at micro stakes poker. But that’s a good thing. Against our 3bets, the nits fold and the fish call way too often. Not many adjust by 4-betting thin, so we can safely muck our 87s vs the nits and AQish type hands vs the fish when it does happen.

run good dude. a very well thought out first post; nice.

Thought I should post this here as well. It's just a basic comprehension write-up about the FToP.

The Fundamental Theorem of Poker

In chapter 3 of ToP, Sklansky writes about the Fundamental Theorem of Poker, which I give my thoughts below. Feedback welcome.

Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain; and every time you play your hand the same way you would have played it if you could see all their cards, they lose. Conversely, every time opponents play their hands differently from the way they would have if they could see all your cards, you gain; and every time they play their hands the same way they would have played if they could see all your cards, you lose.

So the better our hand reading skills, the fewer mistakes we make and the more deceptive we can be in terms of what we hold. Furthermore, we can continue to exploit our opponents to where they’re constantly making the wrong decisions over and over.

The hand Sklansky uses to illustrate this is a fairly simple example.

Hero has J T, Villain has K Q. 100bb effective stacks. Flop is Q 8 7. Hero checks, villain bets, and hero calls with a flush draw, gutshot straight draw and backdoor broadway. The turn is A and hero leads.

This is something I do constantly and my opponent almost never knows what I’m doing. Usually they are so confused by it that they just call and try to see a showdown. Weak-tight players even fold here. The thing is, most players will just call unless they have AQ, QQ, AA, 88 or 77, in which case they would almost always raise. That’s 12 total combos of sets and 12 combos of AQ. If they raise and aren't holding one of these hands, good game them.

So if villain raises, hero can fold if raise is substantial (let's forget about the fact we have a MONSTER draw we may consider felting). However, if villain calls, which he will do entirely too much, hero gains because if villain knew what we had, he would raise. So by leading the turn here, hero gets to see a cheap river with a huge draw and lay his own price to do so. And against weak-tight villains, hero can get them to fold better hands, whether it be on the turn or by bluff shoving the river when we miss. However, this can be really spewy when you don’t know your opponent enough. So taking this line against an idiot who can’t fold is suicide because they will call down with anything.

Another example. 100NL - full stacks. Hero raises to $3 with A A. Villain calls $3 with random suited trash on the button and loves to chase flushes. Flop is A 7 2. We lead for $6. Villain calls making the pot $19.50 with $89 behind. For the sake of the hand, villain's range is Ks2s+, 22-QQ. Turn is 9. So if villain is drawing to the flush, we must bet enough to deny proper odds but not too much that will make him fold. Why? Because we want him to call since he's making a -EV decision. Going back to the FToP above, any time we can force our opponent into making a -EV decision, we win.

So how much do we have to bet here? Well that depends on the villain. The more he'll pay to see the river, the more we should bet. Any river spade that's not a 9 or 2, we lose. He's got just 7 outs to see one card, which equates to roughly 15% chance to hit the flush. But wait; there are also his implied odds to factor in the hand, since there's still quite a bit left behind. So we can get away with betting much more than just a couple $ here. Opinions may vary, but I'll bet at least 1/2 pot here (more if he'll call it though since we'd like to get the money in) and if the spade does happen to fall and he leads into us, I'm probably not paying him off.

I know these are very basic examples but I think I have a decent grasp on the theory, and that will help as I delve into chapters 5-7 in which I'll review pot odds, effective odds and implied/reverse implied odds.

In continuation of the reading and comprehension of ToP, I give my thoughts on implied odds (chapter 6) and reverse implied odds (chapter 7) below. This is some pretty basic stuff, but it never hurts to review. As always, comments and feedback welcome.

Implied Odds & Reverse Implied Odds

Implied odds is the amount we stand to win when we catch our card, or as Sklansky puts it, where our odds are better than they seem. Reverse implied odds is of course the exact opposite, in which our implied odds aren’t as good as they seem. This is a classic situation of winning the least when we’re ahead and losing the most when we’re behind (i.e. – bluff catching).

Sklansky states four reverse implied odds situations that we must be aware of, but the one I will focus on here is: You have little chance of improving to beat the hand your opponent has or might make... Or in other words, how much you could expect to lose after making our hand (i.e. – drawing to the worst hand).

Allow me to illustrate implied odds/reverse implied odds with the following examples:

We open with 9 8 in the CO. Button calls and both blinds call in a 4-way pot. Flop is Q T 7. The small blind donks for 2/3 pot, big blind calls and the action is on us with the BU still to act.

We now have an open-ended straight draw. If we spike a 6 or J on the turn, we make our straight. However, if the 6 or J is a , it completes a possible flush draw, and the J completes a possible broadway straight. This is a situation I see all to often where a player will make his card on the turn and then proceed to get the money in with the second nuts, or as stated above, winning the least when ahead and losing the most when behind.

So with a hand like this, if we’re not getting good pot odds to call, we should fold since the reverse implied odds offset any implied odds we may be getting (or not getting).

Now let’s take the same hand 9 8 in the CO. 100bb stacks. We raise, BU and SB folds, and the BB snap calls, who is a 9/4 nit who always raises/re-raises QQ+ and AK and limps/calls with all other pairs. So his range is super tight, like 22-JJ. We can also include AK and AQ in his range but it’s such a small part that I wouldn’t worry about it here.

HU flop of Q T 7. BB checks, we c-bet our draw, and BB min check-raises. We don’t think he would ever do this with AK or unimproved pocket pairs, because after all he’s a nit and he never bluffs. So his range is TT, 77, AQ and a slow-played QQ-AA. But by him check-raising the minimum, he’s now given us super good implied odds to draw to our straight. And with his range, we don’t have to worry much about a better straight (AK) or a flush (AQs/AQo) so seeing a turn card is pretty much mandatory. The only thing we have to be worried about here is if we make our straight on the turn but the river pairs the board. But, against such a strong range, we could possibly get it in on the turn and not think twice about it.

In conclusion, we must always be aware of our implied odds and reverse implied odds on different board textures in combination with villain’s ranges – even more so in multi-way pots.

I’ve been thinking about how to get more value out of some hands and be less spewy in others. My aggression stats are meh so naturally I’m probably being over-aggressive in some spots and not aggressive enough in others (because I'm far from perfect).

ToP chapters 8-10 discuss deception tactics, pot manipulation and thoughts on giving and taking free cards. While what’s in the book is important, I would rather dissect a hand I played at 4NL that relates to the aforementioned chapters.

Deception Tactics, Pot Manipulation & Free Cards

Hero is in the BB with AKo.
UTG calls $0.04, 2 folds, MP calls $0.04, 4 folds. Hero raises to $0.24, UTG calls $0.20, MP folds.

Read on Villain: 32/6 over 480 hands; folds to cbets frequently and rarely floats, however he does bet quite often when checked to in a raised pot.

Pot is $0.58 (13.5bb). Flop is A75r. I have $6.80 behind (170bb); UTG has $3.12 (78bb) behind.

Should I cbet this flop? Well let’s think about villain’s range. He limp/called a 6xbb iso raise, so his range generally consists of 22-TT, suited Ax, and maybe some suited broadways. I wouldn’t imagine he’d ever take this preflop line with a big pair, and I have blockers to AA and KK, so we’re good.

Now let’s think about my perceived range. I've been playing pretty tight and iso-raised to 6xbb from the BB. So I'm obviously incredibly strong, or incredibly spewy. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out I have a good hand, even against the most horrible of hand readers. So let’s put my perceived range at 99+, AQ+, AJs+.

This is a classic range matchup of a fish trying to outflop the aggressor hoping to get paid off by hitting a set, a big draw, or two pair.

If we cbet this A75r flop, we’re representing a big Ace, which is exactly what we have. And this type of villain is not one to figure things out on his own, so I definitely don’t want to spoon-feed him any information. Plus, by betting this flop, we have to figure out what worse hands are going to continue. Let’s go back to his range, which is {TT-22,ATs-A2s,KTs+,QTs+,JTs,KQs}.

On a dry flop of A75r, he’s only going to happily continue with 77, 55, A5 and A7, which smacks us our range in the face. He’s also likely to continue with worse Ax, but he’s not going to be excited about it and we might have trouble building a pot on later streets.

Now let’s factor in the hands he’ll fold, in which we take down the pot right there. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but we’re working on maximizing value here and on a dry flop, and I think this is a pretty decent situation to try. Since he rarely floats, he’s probably not going to continue with random hands or small pocket pairs.

So if he has a hand like 99 or KQ, I’m not going to get much value from him by betting out. But if I check, it gives him the opportunity to bet/buff, or check behind and possibly improve on the turn. And if he’s got an unimproved pocket pair, I’m not really concerned about giving him 2 outs to hit a set. It does happen, but it’s rare.

So I decide to check to him and he bets $0.50 into $0.58. He’s not betting with 100% of his range, but it’s still fairly wide. Should I go for the check/raise? No, because I’m not worried about any draws and I don’t want him to fold a worse hand. I call the $0.50 and the pot is now $1.58.

The turn is a K and we now hold top 2 pair, which crushes everything in his range except for 55 and 77, in which case we’d still have 4 outs to take it down on the river. Now back to getting more value out of our hands. If we bet into him, we’re obviously repping strength, but 4NL players aren’t very good at hand reading and I’m going to use that to my advantage.

At this point, we’ve under-repped our hand and we can feel comfortable getting all the money in with top 2 pair. Actually we want to get the money in so we have to start taking control of the hand and plan for an all-in. Taking the lead here kind of defines our hand somewhat, but let’s be aware of two things: (1) he’s not a very good hand reader and (2) I’m not certain he’ll fire another bet to allow for a check/raise. So I bet.

Villain has $2.62 behind so I lead out for $0.75 into a pot of $1.58. Betting only 50% of the pot accomplishes a few things: (1) it looks semi-weak; (2) it looks like a blocking bet or a Kx-type of hand; which in turn will help get more calls from non-thinking opponents; and (3) it leaves only a PSB on the river to get the remainder of villain’s stack (when he calls turn). If he folds, that’s fine. We’ve already gained 9bb that we probably wouldn’t have gotten had we repped the Ace and cbet the flop. But we really want him to call, ldo. And of course, we can feel pretty comfortable about getting it in verse a raise here too.

So I put in the bet, villain tanks only for a couple seconds and just calls. The pot is now $3.35 with villain having just $1.87 behind. If he had a set or 2 pair Ax, I’m certain he would have raised all-in. By now, I’ve narrowed down his range to one-pair Ax, maybe Kx, and possibly a stubborn middle pair, but in either case I’m way ahead.

The river is another A. I think for a second and shove. Villain tanks for about 20 seconds, and calls for his remaining stack and flips over KQs.

But never mind what he showed up with. The point of this was to really think about how to get more value of out of a made hand. It just so happens that I ended up with the nuts, but I was going to shove any river card or call a turn shove anyway. I turned my made hand into a bluff (sort of) where I under-repped my hand versus a fish who can’t hand read very well. I was deceptive, manipulated the pot and gave free cards to gain more value for my hand.

After reading chapters 8-10 in TOP, I really wanted to put it into practice I feel I accomplished that here. If you have any feedback, comments or questions, feel free to reply ITT.

mmm steak

but seriously, gl.
looks well planned out, stick to your game plan and crush obviously.

gl sir!

I've made it back to the US in one piece but I must say that Ohio weather sucks ass. Going from a month of 80+ degree sunny days to kicking snow off my kicks in a matter of about 5 hours is really tilting, to say the least.

Allow me to illustrate with photos taken from my iphone with a before & after (FML):



On to poker. So here's an update after 10k hands. I'm not too unsatisfied since this is the first batch of hands in damn near a year. I definitely have things to work on for sure though. I need to look through some hands to post in the BC and hit up bikes for some coaching in the next few days. Bankroll update coming at the end of the month and another 10k hands at least. I'll be moving up to 10NL beginning of March barring any unforeseen disasters/monkey tilt spew.

I've been reading PNLHE from 2p2 (Miller/Flynn/Mehta). Very good read and recommend to anyone. The 2nd half of the book is fantastic, which I'm reading again to really soak it in.

*Note - fold to 3bet is too low but I don't fold to min 3bets and that's all the 4NL tards seem to do.

GL. Very well organized operation.

Merge bonuses suck as they are just an extra 13.33% (8.66% if you have RB) of rakeback. Most other networks its usually 25%+. But it is easier to get bonuses. Make sure you have an active bonus running at all times, free money. Plan ahead and figure out what you need to do (usually promos, reload bonus, etc.) to make sure you have a bonus running.

How many tables are you doing?

Yeah I hear ya. Americans don't have a lot of options right now and Merge is basically our Stars at the moment, in terms of traffic. The bonuses, not so much. I don't know why any non-us players would be grinding there. They have a Feb reload bonus but I just missed it as I had to reload before last night. As for your tables question, I play anywhere from 1 table to 10 tables, usually 1 table while at the office and anywhere from 4-10 during an actual session. It's funny though because looking at the rise in that graph (between hands 5k-7k) is where I only played 4 tables. But sample size, meh.

Looks good. Your steal & c-bet is a little low, but not absurdly so. Keep working on your game, crushing feesh & you'll be moving up soon.

hey stargrinder i recently started pmaying 10 nl after some prick hacked my account and took my 350$ worth of cheeseburgers. just a remark on your stats , from my experience on this donkament stakes, even with all the loosy goosy calls on flops u should cbet a bit more. Might wanna look at your cbet and cbet % succes rate. don't think anyone pays attention to it but Cbetting 58% makes u look rlly strong and a bit unbalanced. Personally i've been cbetting around 70-ish % with a 45% succes rate. that's while playing 6m with rlly big megadonks mixed with nits like myself on a eurosite . I'd at least try to up it to like 65%.

His cbet is definitely low but I think his steal pct is fine for FR.

Infact, one can argue to even lower it a bit at the micros. Pretty sure if he lowered his steal pct, his cbet flop % would automatically increase due to having a stronger range when going to the flop.

Just experiment and see what style best fits you. I could see arguments on both why 30% steal vs 40% are better. I wouldn't recommend going below 30%. In the end, I think it comes down to what kind of player you are and its different which is more profitable from person to person.

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm in the steal pct is optimal camp but I absolutely agree that my cbet pct is way too low. I've just been leveling myself.

steal % is def not even close to optimal

Originally Posted by bikes

steal % is def not even close to optimal

Okay I'll play. I suppose optimal would look something like this:

~60-65% from BU
~40-45% from CO
~25% from SB

So average steal pct here would be 43% instead of 36%. Is this closer to optimal in your opinion? My standard RFI from the BU is 3x regardless if I have 72o or AA. So I'm risking 3bb to win 1.5bb, which means the blinds need to fold a combined 67% to be breakeven here right?

at the micros, where "defending your blinds" means calling OOP & c/f'ing missed flops, you can get away stealing in LP a lot more than at higher stakes where you're getting 3bet or messed with on the flop.

Hopping on the StarGrinder wagon.

Gl duuude. Sounds like we're in similar situations atm.

Regarding ATS, I checked my overall steal success over the last 12k hands and it's 60%. My standard steal size is 3bb therefore blinds need to fold a combined 67%. So I was like WTF why are these assholes telling me to steal more when I'm not even profitable.

Then I filtered for results when stealing from CO/BU/SB.

526 hands
26% WTSD
63% W$SD
+5.5 buyins
+104.75bb/100

Out of the hands won, only 1 hand was over 50bb and only 5 hands were over 25bb. That's a ton of smallish pots over and over and over. So the steal success stat in HEM doesn't really tell the whole story, so I have to ask, what the hell good is it?

Originally Posted by StarGrinder

Regarding ATS, I checked my overall steal success over the last 12k hands and it's 60%. My standard steal size is 3bb therefore blinds need to fold a combined 67%. So I was like WTF why are these assholes telling me to steal more when I'm not even profitable.

Then I filtered for results when stealing from CO/BU/SB.

526 hands
26% WTSD
63% W$SD
+5.5 buyins
+104.75bb/100

Out of the hands won, only 1 hand was over 50bb and only 5 hands were over 25bb. That's a ton of smallish pots over and over and over. So the steal success stat in HEM doesn't really tell the whole story, so I have to ask, what the hell good is it?

Steal success is just what it says, how often your taking it down pre when ATS. You need 67% if you are folding EVERY single flop, which is never the case, so you aren't "losing" money as you stated. The only benefit of stealing doesn't just come from people folding preflop.

FWIW I rarely look at stealing success rate unless I am doing some kind of analysis of my HEM stats and looking to plug leaks.

It's days like today where poker makes me want to fucking stake someone through their forehead. Only 900 hands, down 5 buyins / 6.5 buyins below -EV. FML and this low limit shit. Almost 10k hands running break-fucking-even at goddamn 4NL FFS. Whopping win-rate over 13.5k hands is 3.50BB/1.75bb. I can't suck this bad, srsly.

/rant

inb4 bikes calls me a bitch

On a positive note my live bankroll has gone from $100 to over $1k in about 9 days so that's something to think about while I'm tilting over the fucking penny tables.

Originally Posted by StarGrinder

Whopping win-rate over 13.5k hands is 3.50BB/1.75bb.

Confused. Do you mean 1.75BB/100 (3.5bb/100)?

Just out of curiosity, how many bb/100 are you paying in rake?

Originally Posted by StarGrinder

On a positive note my live bankroll has gone from $100 to over $1k in about 9 days so that's something to think about while I'm tilting over the fucking penny tables.

Nice. What did you play earn that? How come you have a live roll? Are you planning on grinding it out live as well?

Originally Posted by L_Clan_Sup3rMaN

Confused. Do you mean 1.75BB/100 (3.5bb/100)?
Just out of curiosity, how many bb/100 are you paying in rake?

Yeah what you said. I had em backwards and have no idea which one people use. Over just 13.5k hands so far, I've had 828 raked hands for nearly $27 total at 4NL which equates to ~31c (7.5bb) per raked hand. That's goddamn insane when you compare % of rake to say that of a 100NL game.

Originally Posted by L_Clan_Sup3rMaN

Nice. What did you play earn that? How come you have a live roll? Are you planning on grinding it out live as well?

Yeah, I added a note in the OP about playing live. I basically started with $100 about 10 days ago 'officially'. I say officially because I've ran a 50NL home game a few times a month for a while but decided it was time to build a live roll rather than using it to buy worthless crap at the gas station every morning (and afternoon, see weight loss in OP). After 2 nights of home games and a trip to to an underground 1/2 game I'm up over $1K. I'll be half-stacking 200NL at the casino now until I've got at least $2K min. Live players are so bad they might as well just play their hands face up. I essentially started with the same amount, so if I grind out $10K live before I can do it online I'll have some decisions to make. I'm already waaaaay ahead ldo.

Also, a note about multi-tabling it. I fucking hate it at this point. I really do. I would honestly rather play 2 tables of 25NL/50NL right now than 10 tables of 4NL.

EDIT (3/9/2012) - I didn't delete this post because I wanted to come back here one day and laugh at it. Well that day didn't take long to come. So ha ha and ha. That is all.

Originally Posted by StarGrinder

It's days like today where poker makes me want to fucking stake someone through their forehead. Only 900 hands, down 5 buyins / 6.5 buyins below -EV. FML and this low limit shit. Almost 10k hands running break-fucking-even at goddamn 4NL FFS. Whopping win-rate over 13.5k hands is 3.50BB/1.75bb. I can't suck this bad, srsly.

/rant

inb4 bikes calls me a bitch

Sometimes dude it's better to simply make a good quit when you're down than keep grinding on relentlessly. Nobody plays better when they are stuck. Poker will still be there if you take a break for a few hours. Just reread over the goals you set and things should be fine.

Also you're a bitch.

Also, a note about multi-tabling it. I fucking hate it at this point. I really do. I would honestly rather play 2 tables of 25NL/50NL right now than 10 tables of 4NL. Today 01:02 AM

Drop some tables (say to 6), fine a good balance for you between quality and quantity.

We are in the same fucking boat my freind.
I expected to be making much better progress than this and it's got me tilted to no end. I was thinking about posting a FML post today too, but decided against it. instead I posting my stats and looking for help/advice.

I feel like I've been beating my head against the wall in 4NL, but I refuse to put good moneys in "the easy way" just to move up. Must... grind... my.... BR... UP!

Nice to know I'm not alone anyway. Misery loves company.

if you don't have the discipline to work on your game and play lots at 4nl when your results aren't where you want them, how are you going to have this discipline at higher stakes?

Originally Posted by bikes

if you don't have the discipline to work on your game and play lots at 4nl when your results aren't where you want them, how are you going to have this discipline at higher stakes?

Yeah I know. And I thought this while I was ranting. But it's better to let it out on a forum than to throw something across the room... even though it makes me look like an undisciplined ass. Trust me, I'm willing to put in the work that's needed, just a bit frustrated yesterday. If you could offer any advice on a gameplan it would be much appreciated, whether in irc, or skype... or our next coaching session, which I'm extremely looking forward to btw.

Originally Posted by bikes

if you don't have the discipline to work on your game and play lots at 4nl when your results aren't where you want them, how are you going to have this discipline at higher stakes?

True!
If there is one thing I know (and it may be the only thing) about poker it is that it takes self discipline. That's why I'm still grinding it out here at 4NL until I can get a grip.

if you want to play less tables play heads up.

So yeah I need to stop being such a cunt about running bad. Shit happens. Next time Slansky owes me money, I'll come back here and read the post where I bitched like a pussy and then this post to back it up. I broke my own rules in the OP too - looking at results and using those short-term results as some kind of cock-waving measuring stick. LOL fail. Guess that part of my game needs work too.

sklansky never owes you money, you don't deserve to run good or bad and yes short term results mean nothing

Okay fuckers, February is gone and it’s time to move on. Bankroll update as of today is $230 + another $1160 for live play. I started this operation about 6 weeks ago and sort of eased my way back in to this game. I’m all in now and there’s no turning back. The train is moving forward (albeit very slowly). From theoretical decisions to emotional control, I need to look at each session as deliberate practice towards getting better. No auto-pilot, no spew, no brash decisions. I wouldn’t invest time and money in to a business opportunity then auto-pilot important daily tasks, so my poker game should be no different. Treat your pokers like a business says that geeky Leatherass9. Well he was on to something, I’ll give him that.

Goals – March 2012

• Volume: 20,000+ hands of NLH-FR (online)
• Work on bet sizing in regards to villains’ ranges
• Lose at least 5 more pounds

This weekend is going to be a busy one. I’ll be grinding out some hands on Merge tonight, then Friday is my fishy ass home game. That usually runs till about 2am. Afterwards we’re heading up to Motown for some late night, early morning, stoned pimp B&M grinding. Saturday night we’ll be at Firekeepers in Battle Creek and then back home Sunday for family time and hopefully some decent volume on Merge again. Unless disaster strikes, I’ll be moving up to 10NL soon and hope it to be a smooth transition with no spew. To those following this blog or adding their feedback along the way so far, your thoughts and feedback mean a lot, so thanks.

I should totally go to both locations and bumhunt you. but lol live. also detroit is scary

Originally Posted by bikes

I should totally go to both locations and bumhunt you. but lol live. also detroit is scary

hahahaha.

gl star

Originally Posted by bikes

I should totally go to both locations and bumhunt you. but lol live. also detroit is scary

You should. I'll be the guy angle-shooting anyone with a hoodie.

its fucking cold in casinos man i dont see why anyone gives the hoody hate

Time for another 10k hand update (not exactly 10k but close enough).

4NL – Level Completed

Hands: 18,022
Win Rate: 4.30 BB/100 (8.60 bb/100)
Net Profit: $62 (15.5 BI’s) + $120 (bonuses)



So after talking with bikes here’s the deal. I’m going to move some funds over online from my live roll (I have around $2k) and play 25NL and bonus whore on another skin. The max deposit bonus is 150% up to $750 so I’ll drop $500 in the bucket and grind out as much bonus coin as I can. I’ll probably just withdraw like $250 from Carbon and use it as a reload bonus or something once the initial deposit bonus period expires on the other skin. I don’t want it to sound like my goal in life is to break-even for a while, but if I do, I’ve got the bonus money to back me and I’ll learn a lot more than at 4NL and 10NL. That’s the most important thing here is to digest a ton of shit and evolve amirite.

Anyway, bikes pointed out some awful leaks, mainly my lack of postflop aggression and my dreadfully nitty blind play. The good news is they’re fixable and this is what I’ll be working on over the next 10k hands. Bet sizing is another story but I think that will gradually improve as I learn to better assess villain ranges.

Not sure about what I'll do if 25NL kicks my ass a bit (as far as moving down) so I'll just cross that bridge if/when I come to it.

Run good!

sounds like a plan . go forth and crush, GL

yay shot taking. Makes for much more entertaining blawg content than all the rampant BRM nittiness. run goot!

BRM nittiness = my biggest leak in the past imo. Totally fucked with my progress. If I was playing for a living right now it would be different but I'm not. Hopefully entertainment to follow. Ship it micro bonks.

yeah supernitty BRM is really designed to avoid having to drop to stakes where the hourly starts to suck too much to pay the bills. Recreational players that aren't relying on the money for income have the luxury of being able to gambol more -- who cares if you have to drop stakes? good experience, and as long as you have the discipline to drop when your roll starts getting dangerously low there's no need to go busto and have to re-deposit unless you can't beat 2NL.

Two things I've noticed from 25NL so far (very small sample) are:

[ x ] players are just as bad, if not worse, than at 4NL-10NL
[ x ] BBs are still just BBs

With that being said, I still haven't had a winning day on Sunday since I started this blog. Another couple shitty Sundays and it could turn into an MTT day out of spite.