Operation 400NL by 01/08

you'll be a winning player upto 400nl fr without much effort IMO. Your postflop game wouldnt need a whole lot of improvement regardless.
My issue is the same as always, how often have you played 1 or 2 tables and really tried to dominate the play?
Also, are you making a lot of thin calls that are maybe just +ev or ~ev that come from reading half decently?

If not id cut down from 6-8 tables and play a few less concentrating on playing goot and dominating tables than actually winning a whole load of money.

Id love to dig out an old post of demipardigm's showing potential semi-taggy opening ranges and compare them to yours to see how predictable you are (not always a bad thing)

My issue is the same as always, how often have you played 1 or 2 tables and really tried to dominate the play?

This seems close to my newest "min operation". I might want to chop off the 3rd and 4th table for a while, though.

Also, are you making a lot of thin calls that are maybe just +ev or ~ev that come from reading half decently?

Yeah, too much. I am trying to make my hero calls only on missed draw boards for the most part lately.

Id love to dig out an old post of demipardigm's showing potential semi-taggy opening ranges and compare them to yours to see how predictable you are (not always a bad thing)

I have no idea how to do this except manually look through all of his posts. I sifted through them for a couple of minutes but gave up. Do you know what month he wrote this(assuming i have to just look through all of his posts)?



I played like 700 hands of 200NL 6Max for -$400. I thought i played fairly well, and just ran into better hands. . But i do remember 1-2 calls that i probably shouldn't have made, and a river c/r into a good hand (he min bet flop, 1/5PSB turn, river -- it looked so weak!!!) I have to keep in mind that it is really not $400 but instead 2 buy ins. It helps for my sanity I also realized i haven't had a winning session on a Sunday since i started this mission. I probably need to start going to church again...


(In order, from best to worst) Which of these flops do you like to double barrel best? I was getting floated like crazy, and i need to double barrel more to counter it. I would assume in 6Max you would need to double barrel a little more, but i don't think it matters significantly whether its FR or 6Max - for the sake of my examples. If it is, that's probably something i need to know lol.


Flop 1: 4c 6h 9c

Flop 2: 4c 6h 9d

Flop 3: Qs 7s 2d

Flop 4: Qd 7s 2h

Flop 5: Ac 7c 4s
(I am not normally double barreling an A-x-x board if i get called on the flop)

Flop 6: 5d 6h 8d

Flop 7: Ks Qs 7h

Flop 8: Qs Jd 3c

Do you double barrel a lot more on boards with 2 of the same suit on the flop?


I think thats enough, but if you have different types of flop textures or want to go in depth with a specific type of flop texture, i would really appreciate it.


And, i am probably going back to playing 100NL 6Max, until i can better grasp some of these postflop concepts.


Now that i am on page 2 of my operation, it seems fitting to thank everyone who has posted in it so far. Thank you!

500 hands, +$500.

I ran only two tables this session. I almost didn't turn my computer on but after reading some stuff on FTR and watching some vids on cardrunners i felt "inspired" to try to have a winning Sunday. I did it!

This is one of the best pots i have ever played IMO.

FullTiltPoker Game #2369876235: Table Anthem Club - $1/$2

Hero: ($221.55)
Villan: ($140.85)
Notes on Villan: "Super aggro playing too many hands"
7 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [As Jh]
4 folds
Hero: raises to $7
Villan: calls $7
3 folds

Preflop was simply standard.

*** FLOP *** [Js 9c Th] ($16.80)
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $17
Hero: calls $17

I decided that i didn't want to bloat the pot OOP with just TPTK on such a draw heavy board. His flop bet was large, but i wasn't ready to give up on my hand yet. It was entirely possible in my mind that he was just trying to steal with a small PP, or A-x.

*** TURN *** [Js 9c Th] [9h] ($50.40)
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $51
Hero: raises to $130

This is where i feel that i made one of my greatest moves ever (for the right reason). His turn bet was just too large to be any of the hands i was afraid of. I figured if he had two pair/ set on the flop (FH or Quads on turn), he was going to want to bet a lot less to price in drawing hands. I figured if he had K-Q, he would want to value bet/ avoid pot committing himself and so i expected a smaller bet from that hand. I couldn't put him on Q-Q+ since he didn't reraise preflop. All i could put him on was a bluff or a draw.

Villan: calls $65.85, and is all in
Hero: shows [As Jh]
Villan: shows [Jd Qs]
*** RIVER *** [Js 9c Th 9h] [Ah]

When your looking to double barrel, it depends mostly on the turn card. If it is a card that changes the board. Say if the board is:
6c 2s Jh - you c-bet and get called
6c 2s Jh Kd - this is a perfect spot to double barrel, because if he called your flop bet with 77-1010 maybe 10J he will probably let it go and give you credit for the king.

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

500 hands, +$500.

I ran only two tables this session. I almost didn't turn my computer on but after reading some stuff on FTR and watching some vids on cardrunners i felt "inspired" to try to have a winning Sunday. I did it!

This is one of the best pots i have ever played IMO.

FullTiltPoker Game #2369876235: Table Anthem Club - $1/$2

Hero: ($221.55)
Villan: ($140.85)
Notes on Villan: "Super aggro playing too many hands"
7 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [As Jh]
4 folds
Hero: raises to $7
Villan: calls $7
3 folds

Preflop was simply standard.

*** FLOP *** [Js 9c Th] ($16.80)
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $17
Hero: calls $17

I decided that i didn't want to bloat the pot OOP with just TPTK on such a draw heavy board. His flop bet was large, but i wasn't ready to give up on my hand yet. It was entirely possible in my mind that he was just trying to steal with a small PP, or A-x.

*** TURN *** [Js 9c Th] [9h] ($50.40)
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $51
Hero: raises to $130

This is where i feel that i made one of my greatest moves ever (for the right reason). His turn bet was just too large to be any of the hands i was afraid of. I figured if he had two pair/ set on the flop (FH or Quads on turn), he was going to want to bet a lot less to price in drawing hands. I figured if he had K-Q, he would want to value bet/ avoid pot committing himself and so i expected a smaller bet from that hand. I couldn't put him on Q-Q+ since he didn't reraise preflop. All i could put him on was a bluff or a draw.

Villan: calls $65.85, and is all in
Hero: shows [As Jh]
Villan: shows [Jd Qs]
*** RIVER *** [Js 9c Th 9h] [Ah]

i lead turn and lead a safe looking river. This only gets called by better hands like JT/KQ...and sets...

100 hands, +$5.

Really short. I decided to watch the daily show and colbert report.

School is finally over. More time for poker.

500 hands, +$280. I ran 3 tables, 1 200NL FR and 2 100NL 6Max.

I basically broke even at 6Max. I got 2 outered for 70BB's early on, but found a huge fish and basically stacked him to recoup my losses. I think i won $15 or so at 6Max.

Full Ring went well tonight. I flopped top boat, and the fish stacked off for 80BB's with a small straight. In another hand, i made a successful bluff on a paired flop. I decided to do it because my VPIP was 9% and PFR was 5% (mostly card dead after i flopped my boat), and i figured a strong line would get some respect. I figured he probably had 8-8/J-J, based on his call preflop and after he c/r'ed the flop. I had A-8 and reraised him and he instantly folded. Otherwise I just took down pots with c-bets.

When your looking to double barrel, it depends mostly on the turn card. If it is a card that changes the board. Say if the board is:
6c 2s Jh - you c-bet and get called
6c 2s Jh Kd - this is a perfect spot to double barrel, because if he called your flop bet with 77-1010 maybe 10J he will probably let it go and give you credit for the king.

Nice post. I agree that this is a good spot to double barrel.

If the card had come a 4d instead, would you bet?

No I wouldent, first of all there is not really any draws he could have, a if he has a jack or a mid PP this card does not change anything.

Double or trippel barreling regs on low flops might be a good idea to rep a monster because he can't really put you on any other hand. But on the 100-200NL level I think this is overthinking things.

No I wouldent, first of all there is not really any draws he could have, a if he has a jack or a mid PP this card does not change anything.

So, leading a blank turn after getting floated on the flop is usually going to be spew (makes logical sense). One more leak down, ty

Double or trippel barreling regs on low flops might be a good idea to rep a monster because he can't really put you on any other hand. But on the 100-200NL level I think this is overthinking things.

I am of the opinion that this is a great thing to do against regulars, at least periodically. I was watching a cardrunners video, and sbrugby mentioned that he sometimes double barrels low boards at mid stakes to rep a big hand, even if he suspects that he will get called on the turn. He said it was to protect his big pair hands, meaning that he will get raised/called down a lot lighter when he double barrels and therefore his K-K/A-A stands to be a favorite against his opponents range. And then i assume he justs value bets a safe river...

(btw, he was playing 400NL so i don't know how relevant it is. i would say at 100NL you are correct that even the regulars might not even fold a small overpair to a strong double barrel, but at 200NL i would think the players are more aware and may actually give me credit for a hand).

Plus, sometimes a nitty regular will just give you credit for that big pair, particularly when you open from EP with like a small pocket pair, and you will take the pot down.

Learning when to double barrel is a big concept for me to master, especially as i move up in stakes. Thanks for the feedback Kauf

but when you use it make sure its vs a reg or the table has at least 2 regs that will notice. plus those regs cant be players who multitables more than 8 tables.

I dont think you need to balance much at 200NL, solid play will work IMO. ive learned this hard way i think.

At the risk of appearing weak tight, I do believe that leading flop after being floated is spew. You have to do it once in a while to balance the times you do it after catching on the turn, though, or this becomes easy to read.

FWIW, I don't know that many regulars at $100 that would fold overpairs to three barrels, either, unless the obvious draw comes in. They don't let their pairs go (and yes I am guilty too).

225 hands, +$380 at 4 tables of 200NL FR.

I won a coinflop for stacks against Q-Q with my A-K. I will post the HH to explain why i thought shoving PF was +EV.


Some history: i have only been at the table for 3 orbits but i have raised limpers 3 times previously. Just the hand before i had done it with 7d-6d and folded to a 3bet preflop, though not by anyone in this hand. Both of the players are relatively unknown to me(no notes), though i will include stats (caution: small sample sizes).

My Thoughts: I can easily see Player 1 3 betting me here seeing as my image at the moment is fairly loose and aggressive. Villan(Fish?)'s CC to the 3 bet was pretty scary, but i kind of figured him to be a weaker player so i didn't think he would always have K-K/A-A and might fold a portion of his CC range to a shove. Anyways with the $70 in the pot i figured a shove would be best.

Your Thoughts?


FullTiltPoker Game #2390010555: Table Horizon Lake - $1/$2

Villan(Fish?): ($198) (30/0 over 25 hands)
Hero: ($254.65)
Player 1: ($141.50) (31/8 over 75 hands)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Kc As]
2 folds
Limper 1: calls $2
Vi-Popsmak raises to $10
1 fold
Player 1: raises to $30
1 fold
Villan(Fish?): calls $28
Limper 1: folds
Hero: raises to $254.65, and is all in
Player 1: folds
Villan(Fish?): calls $168, and is all in
Hero: shows [Kc As]
Villan(Fish?): shows [Qc Qh]

*** FLOP *** [4d Kh 7h]
*** TURN *** [4d Kh 7h] [Kd]
*** RIVER *** [4d Kh 7h Kd] [9s]
Hero: shows three of a kind, Kings
Villan(Fish?): shows two pair, Kings and Queens
Hero: wins the pot ($426) with three of a kind, Kings


Other than that, just good poker. I am playing much better in the last week since i:

a). signed up for cardrunners (I recommend this a TON lol)
and
b). shut down a few of my extra tables. (ty miffed for the encouragement )

700 hands, -$270.

100NL FR - -$200
200NL Fr - +$200
100NL 6Max - Break Even
200NL 6Max- -$270


Well, 200NL 6Max pwned me. I made a spewy play for $100 and essentially stayed at a table where the money was no longer soft.

I played Q-Q pretty bad against a 100BB stack. He had K-K.

I got 3bet a lot at 6Max, but i played back at it a little better. The one
time i called a 3bet IP and raised the flop the opponent must have had the goods because he shoved and i had to fold.


Not too worried, since i figure i learned from my mistakes today, and feel that some of it was due to some variance. I might play some more tonight, but may end up just studying HH's and watching vids. Hopefully my nex session is a little "smoother sailing".

130 hands, +$130. I played 200NL 6Max for +$90, 200NL FR for +$80,

... and 1 100NL HU for -$33.65 (bought in weird to make it look like i was a fish/broke ). The HU session was basically on a whim; i wonder how much money the HU pros make in Rakeback alone seeing as they play 200+ hands/hr.

-- btw i lost my stack when i shoved a blank turn with my pair + FD and got called by flopped two pair. --


But i actually have one fairly interesting hand from 6Max. I don't know whether calling the turn is good, though i may have as many as 15 live outs. I think that once i called the flop i was going to have to play for stacks on any non Ten turn, so perhaps the flop call is worth more discussion.

I wasn't at the table for very long, but it seemed to me that Villan was at least tilting, if not a bad player. The chat box clued me in to him being a little frustrated -- someone had folded to him when he had a good hand, apparently. No useful stats since villan is unkown to me.


FullTiltPoker Game #2398251081: Table Comchec (6 max) - $1/$2

Hero: ($197.15)
Villan: ($103.30)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Js Ks]
Player 1: calls $2
1 fold
Hero: raises to $9
2 folds
Villan: calls $7
Player 1: folds
*** FLOP *** [9h Td 2s]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $14
Villan: raises to $40
Hero: calls $26
*** TURN *** [9h Td 2s] [6s]
Villan: bets $54.30, and is all in
Hero: calls $54.30

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

*** FLOP *** [9h Td 2s]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $14
Villan: raises to $40
Hero: calls $26

I dont like

Flop call is WAY worse than turn call.

Plus if he has JT/KT you may have serious reverse implied odds.

You prolly sucked out the flush...amirite?

Vi-Zer0Skill wrote:

*** FLOP *** [9h Td 2s]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $14
Villan: raises to $40
Hero: calls $26

I dont like

I figure a lot of people agree with this. I really didn't want to fold with two overcards and a straight draw (+ backdoor flush cardsman ) getting 3:1 on the flop. But, in this analysis after the hand i think folding is probably best because most turn cards, unlike the one i got, are blanks and don't improve my hand making my decision there difficult. I thought about shoving on the flop but since i have little FE it doesn't really make sense, so yeah i am going to agree that i should have just tossed the hand on the flop.

Flop call is WAY worse than turn call.

Plus if he has JT/KT you may have serious reverse implied odds.

You prolly sucked out the flush...amirite?

Yeah the flop call is much worse than the turn call. I think on the turn i had to call, though i had to use the timer to perform my pot odds calculations.

I didn't really take this into consideration at any point in the hand, and it basically is another point in favor of a flop fold.

lol, i didn't need to.

***RIVER***
[9h Td 2s] [6s] [2c]

Villan: shows Qc 7h
Hero: shows Ks Js

Hero wins pot $200.60 with a pair of twos.


I wonder how often a shortstack is bluffing in this spot? That was one of the factors that i considered when i made my flop call.

easy way to calculate straight pot odds without factoring his range into it....

((# of outs)*2)+2 % of hitting with one card.

replace *2 with *4 with two to come if you are seeing the river for free (ie shoving or certain to get free river card in position).

On turn, I wouldn't count your overcards as clean outs, maybe cut them in half. If you are already behind to a set, then you only have 7 flush outs. str8 outs (3) gives you 10-11 outs on turn. So you would have to be getting approx 3:1 on the turn call IMO.

I wouldn't make air a large part of his range in most cases though......even shortstacked.

Thoughts?

just let him have the pot, you cant break a poor player every hand. this hand isnt even marginal on the flop, its bad IMHO.

GOAT is right....

I forgot to mention also that his "air" can be Ax a lot of times and you can be behind to it too.....

Thanks for the responses guys -- i agree now that a flop fold is the best option.

225 hands, +$150, 3 100NL FR and 1 200NL FR.

I was over at my friends tonight, and we took turns ghosting each others 1 hr sessions. He was playing 10NL and won +$13 so i figured we probably had similar winrates tonight, seeing as we both ran the same number of tables.

Nothing to post really. I hope to play 2-3k hands this weekend and have a lot more questions for you guys

250 hands, -$150, 1 200NL 6Max, 1 200NL FR.

Dropped a buy in at 200NL 6Max. I need to stop playing at that limit lol -- the regulars > me atm. This is the hand i lost it on. I played this horribly so i won't post what i did, i just wonder what the optimal line would be. I feel too lazy to go through PT so i just wrote the HH myself. Stack sizes are approximate


Hero: ($220)
Villan: ($370)
4 other players

***PREFLOP***
Dealt to Hero: [Ac] [Kd]
Hero: raises $6 to $8
Villan: calls $8
4 folds
***FLOP***
As Qs 3c
Hero: bets $18
Villan: raises $22 to $40
Hero: ?

First, a non session related post...

Well, i ordered some datamining software for FullTilt on Wednesday. I am looking forward to using that to solidify my stats, and to help me find some weaker players. I am really happy with this week overall. Shutting down some of the extra tables i was running proved to be very beneficial. I also feel like i added a lot of new knowledge to my game this week - my thanks to anyone who has posted in this thread.

200NL Full Ring has been really good to me this week. While i dropped 2 buy ins at 200NL 6 Max, i won 6.5 buy ins at 200NL Full Ring. I am determined to become a winning 6 Max player, but for now at least i think i am going to really force myself to play 50-100NL 6Max until i can log enough hands to see if i am winning or not and develop some more serius postflop skillz . I am not denying that i had some good variance this week, but i also feel like i played significantly better this week than i ever have before.


Things That Went Well This Weekno particular order):

1). Watching Cardrunners Videos
2). Posting HH's on FTR
3). Reading/Studying Poker, on FTR and PT
4). Utilizing my HUD
5). Testing Hand Ranges Using Pokerstove
6). Good Variance
7). Reducing my Number of Tables from 6-8 to 2-4
8). Obvious Improvement on Flop Play - particularly a better balanced c-bet %
9). Good Use of the Double Barrell
10). Tighting up OOP, 3betting More IP

Most of these things i was not doing 2 weeks ago, or at least not doing them enough.


I hope to get in a pretty decent session 4 tabling tonight, somewhere between 3-5 hours. I doubt i will be playing 6Max, so hopefully things continue to go well at Full Ring.

350 hands, +$200, 3 200NL FR

I lost a 90/10 for $120 and a 70/30 for $200 in this session, and won 0 coinflips. I think this was another session where i played some of my best poker ever.


I made what i thought was a good c/r on the turn. Thoughts?

FullTiltPoker Game #2409313349: Table Orange Vale - $1/$2

Hero: ($205.75)
Villan: ($170) (26/8/4 over 600 hands)
6 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [7d 7c]
2 folds
Hero: raises to $8
1 fold
Villan: calls $8
3 folds
*** FLOP *** [6s 9c 8c]
Hero: bets $14
Villan: calls $14
*** TURN *** [6s 9c 8c] [9h]
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $25
Hero: goes AI


I could have value bet my A-A flopped set a little better, but i still nearly doubled up against an A-Q played c/c all 3 streets.

800 hands, -$330 4-5 Tables of 200NL FR.

Honestly pretty happy with the results, considering...


(the first 3 posts are without stats/reads because they are basically bad beat posts -- enjoy! )


FullTiltPoker Game #2412082873: Table Shore Haven - $1/$2

VIllan: ($208.70)
Hero: ($203.75)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [7h 7s]
3 folds
Villan: raises to $7
1 fold
Hero: calls $7
3 folds
*** FLOP *** [7c 3s 3h]
Villan: bets $10
Hero: raises to $35
Villan: calls $25
*** TURN *** [7c 3s 3h] [8s]
Villan: checks
Hero: checks
*** RIVER *** [7c 3s 3h 8s] [Ad]
Villan: bets $35 (? -- He called with an Ace on the flop?)
Hero: raises to $85
Villan: raises to $166.70, and is all in
Hero: calls $76.75, and is all in

*** SHOW DOWN ***
Villan: shows [Ac Ah] (a full house, Aces full of Threes)
Hero: mucks
Villan: wins the pot ($407.50) with a full house, Aces full of Threes


FullTiltPoker Game #2411701223: Table Arlington Bridge - $1/$2

Hero: ($200)
Douche: ($195.40)
6 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [8h 9s]
4 folds
Hero: raises to $7
1 fold
Villan: calls $6
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [7h 3d 9d]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $11
Villan: calls $11
*** TURN *** [7h 3d 9d] [8c]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $25
Villan: raises to $100
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero: raises to $182, and is all in
Douche: calls $77.40, and is all in
Hero: shows [8h 9s]
Douche: shows [Th Ts]
*** RIVER *** [7h 3d 9d 8c] [6c]
Hero: shows two pair, Nines and Eights
Douche: shows a straight, Ten high
Douche: wins the pot ($389.80) with a straight, Ten high

Douche: "you raised 9-8 preflop?"


FullTiltPoker Game #2411991404: Table Horizon Lake - $1/$2

Douche: ($197)
Hero: ($216.45)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Kc Ah]
3 folds
Douche: raises to $7
3 folds
Hero: raises to $22
1 fold
Douche: calls $15
*** FLOP *** [8d 5s As]
Hero: bets $35
Douche: raises to $100
Hero: raises to $194.45, and is all in
Douche: calls $75, and is all in
Hero: shows [Kc Ah]
Douche: shows [Ad 5d]
*** TURN *** [8d 5s As] [Ac]
*** RIVER *** [8d 5s As Ac] [7d]
Hero: shows three of a kind, Aces
Douche: shows a full house, Aces full of Fives
Douche: wins the pot ($393) with a full house, Aces full of Fives
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $396 | Rake $3
Board: [8d 5s As Ac 7d]

Douche: "better than 9-8 = >"



Well, i saved the one i feel i could have folded for last. Is his river raise always at least a bigger two pair? No useful stats/notes; it was probably my second orbit at the table.

FullTiltPoker Game #2411750459: Table Hidden Quail - $1/$2

Hero: ($206.15)
Villan: ($103.25)
5 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Vi-Popsmak [5c 9c]
Villan: calls $2
5 folds
Hero: checks
*** FLOP *** [7s 9h 2c]
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $5
Hero: raises to $15
Villan: calls $10
*** TURN *** [7s 9h 2c] [Js]
Hero: checks
Villan: checks
*** RIVER *** [7s 9h 2c Js] [5h]
Hero: bets $28
Villan: raises to $86.25, and is all in
Hero has 15 seconds left to act
Hero: calls $58.25
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Villan: shows [8c Tc] (a straight, Jack high)
Hero: mucks
Villan: wins the pot ($204.50) with a straight, Jack high


Towards the end of my session, my Rakeback was credited to my account, so my account actually reflected a $100 profit on the session!

Week 5 Results: (-$400) + ($500) + ($280) + ($380) + (-$270) + ($130) + ($150) + (-$150) + ($200) + (-$330) + ($110 -RB) = $600

Grand Total: +$1655

River raise on last hand has you beat for sure. I would not have raised flop without another club, however.

Nice week!

100 hands, +$130 2 Tables of 200NL FR.

Nothing to post, in terms of hand histories. C-bets all worked and i got some good starting hands.

I think i will play 1-2 small sessions today, and hope that i can score $100 or so in each in an effort to help restore some confidence after a relatively long losing session.

225 hands, -$140 4 tabling 200NL FR.

I feel like i played really good the entire session. I lost this rather large coinflip, but i wouldn't change anything about it. Mostly posting it to explain the poor results. However, is a bet/3bet line better for getting him to put $$$ in and then fold when i push? I was afraid he would just call with an overpair, and by c/shoving i hoped to gain enough FE to get him to fold though i love he called me with Q-Q.

No Notes. However, i was absolutely crushing this table after someone intially bluffed me and showed it off. I won 3-4 medium sized pots picking off other peoples bluffs

FullTiltPoker Game #2417015104: Table Dreamy Winters - $1/$2

Hero: ($368)
Villan: ($245.65) (22/10/4.5 over 40 hands)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Ks As]
1 fold
Hero: raises to $8
Villan: raises to $24
5 folds
Hero: calls $16
*** FLOP *** [5s 9c 7s]
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $44
Hero: raises to $344
Villan has 15 seconds left to act
Villan: calls $177.65
Hero: shows [Ks As]
Villan: shows [Qc Qd]
*** TURN *** [5s 9c 7s] [6c]
*** RIVER *** [5s 9c 7s 6c] [6d]
Hero: shows a pair of Sixes
Villan: shows two pair, Queens and Sixes
Villan: wins the pot ($491.30) with two pair, Queens and Sixes


On this hand, i checked behind since i figured that such a low and coordinated flop could easily have hit his hand, based on his stats. His turn check made me think A-x/missed broadway and so i lead out. His small reraise looks like 5-x or air. rereraise ok? I hate folding and calling seems weak and -EV.

No notes. 2nd or 3rd orbit at the table.

FullTiltPoker Game #2416818873: Table Lineshack - $1/$2

Hero: ($237.80)
Villan: ($304.85) (29/10/4 over 200 hands)
7 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Qh 9s]
5 folds
Hero: raises to $8
1 fold
Villan: calls $7
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [8s 4h 6h]
Villan: checks
Hero: checks
*** TURN *** [8s 4h 6h] [7s]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $12
Villan: raises to $25
Hero: ?

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

River raise on last hand has you beat for sure. I would not have raised flop without another club, however.

Nice week!

Its weird i was staring at the board trying to figure out what he had, and i didn't really notice the straight possibility . I put him on a really weirdly played TP/overpair and curiousity got me to click "call".

Thanks for the encouragment! It was definitely one of my best weeks of poker ever, in terms of awareness and learning. I hated to end it on a losing session though

I don't mind hand 1...with no draw you have to fold I think, though.

I call turn in hand 2 and evaluate on river.

630 hands, +$100 while 4 Tabling 200NL FR.

I made 2-3 memorably spewy plays, but none of them cost me more than 20BB's, so it stands to reason i could have done worse. No interesting hands to post, though i will say that i hit a dream flop with 4-4 (4-2-2) and got A-2 to go AI for 60BB's. I guess that good luck countered my spew, and a few well timed c-bets and double barrels accounted for the net profit

1200 hands, -$300 4 Tabling 200NL FR.

What a crazy session. After the first hour, i was down nearly $1,000. I felt sick . I almost turned off my computer for the day. But instead i took a 5 minute break, logged back on and crawled back. After losing a couple medium sized pots towards the end, i decided that calling it a session was for the best.


Here are several hands from this session...


On this hand, i think that the best line would have been to c/c flop then donk the turn. Instead i c/r'ed and built a good sized pot OOP not knowing whether he was on a draw or had a bigger king. River call was bad.

FullTiltPoker Game #2424233485: Table Stonewater - $1/$2

Villan: ($191)
Hero: ($293.45)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Kh 2c]
5 folds
Villan: calls $2
2 folds
Hero: checks
*** FLOP *** [Tc Kd 3c]
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $4
Hero: raises to $11
Villan: calls $7
*** TURN *** [Tc Kd 3c] [9d]
Hero: checks
Villan: checks
*** RIVER *** [Tc Kd 3c 9d] [Th]
Hero: checks
Villan: bets $27
Hero: calls $27


This is a difficult spot IMO. I think if he had J-J or Q-Q he would have reraised me preflop, and i don't think he would play 8-8 - 10-10 so strong on the turn. I figured that he had a set and decided to fold, but i wonder if anyone else plays the turn differently.

No notes.

FullTiltPoker Game #2424649855: Table Cimarron Crest - $1/$2

Hero: ($340.30)
Villan: ($318.20) (30/11/5 over 100 hands)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: Ks Kc]
4 folds
Hero: raises to $8
2 folds
Villan: calls $7
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [6s 7c 2d]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $13
Villan: raises to $48
Hero: calls $35
*** TURN *** [6s 7c 2d] [3h]
Villan: bets $74
Hero: folds


I had two notable suckouts that netted me +$200.

In the first hand, i had decided to semibluff the turn, holding the nut flush draw, a gutshot straight draw, and two overcards to the board. My opponent called with two pair, but i rivered a straight. He called my push on the river.

On another i c-betted my 3-3 on a K-J-5 rainbow flop, got called and spiked a 3 on the turn. He ended up getting all in with A-K for 50BB's.


However, i was pwned myself several times.
(These are net losses, not pot sizes and the %'s are when the money went in)

2 Times i got K-K AI when i was a 4:1 favorite and lost. -$200
1 Time i ran A-A into a set. It was a reraised pot however so i don't think i could have gotten away from it. -$200
I lost with 9-9 when i was a 3:1 favorite. -$50
1 Time i lost a 85/15 with my flopped top set against a gutshot. -$80

I also lost a 45/55 for $200, though i was getting 3:1 on my flop call so i don't think that it was bad.

Here are a few poorly managed pots...


I initially liked my river raise since it was for value, and obviously his reraise has me beat so i folded. Personally, i think he rivered 9's Full or had K-Q. Calling on the river seems best, looking back. It doesn't seem likely he would be leading a medium PP on the river if that was what he had floated me with on the flop.

FullTiltPoker Game #2423536257: Table Laurel Ridge - $1/$2

Villan: ($367.50)
Hero: ($200)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Qh Tc]
5 folds
Villan: calls $2
Hero: raises to $10
2 folds
Villan: calls $8
*** FLOP *** [Qc 8h Qd]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $16
Villan: calls $16
*** TURN *** [Qc 8h Qd] [Kc]
Villan: checks
Hero: checks
*** RIVER *** [Qc 8h Qd Kc] [9h]
Villan: bets $15
Hero: raises to $35
Villan: raises to $160
Hero: folds


I think in this hand i just need to fold the flop, since my position sucks and i am not interested in raising enough to price out the flush draw. In actuality i decided to rep 3-x when i made the small flop raise. Though if i did play the flop the same on the turn i think i need to just check and see if he checks behind. If he does then he is probably on a draw, if he doesn't then he has a hand he probably isn't folding.


FullTiltPoker Game #2424372276: Table Miragrande - $1/$2

Villan: ($278.90)
Hero: ($200)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [9c 9h]
3 folds
Player 1: raises to $7
Villan: calls $7
2 folds
Hero: calls $5
*** FLOP *** [3s 7s 3c]
Hero: checks
Player 1: bets $12
Villan: calls $12
Hero: raises to $32
Player 1: folds
Villan: calls $20
*** TURN *** [3s 7s 3c] [Jc]
Hero: bets $72
Villan: calls $72
*** RIVER *** [3s 7s 3c Jc] [7h]
Hero: checks
Villan: goes AI
Hero: folds


2-3 hands after that i allowed the same villan to 3 outer me on the river because i played my TP so slowly. That resulted in me losing $70.

In one of the first hands of the session, i flopped TPTK with A-K. I 3/4PSB flop, 2/3PSB turn, and checked behind on a relatively safe river card. My opponent had flopped top two pair and c/c'ed the whole way. It was a really weird hand.


All told i think there were 4 medium sized pots i could have managed better.

Dude, you gotta quit raising TPNK. It only gets you in bad spots, even if you are ahead. Pot control.....

QT hand--Yeah, I think raising river is bad. Not much calls that you beat.

Disciplined fold of the KK hand. Nice job.

99. The smooth call by villain has to concern you. I don't think this is a flop I raise. Folding>calling.

700 hands, -$200 5 Tabling 200NL.

Frustrating seems to be the right word.

Two spewy plays for 160BB's. Won't even post them since i knew what i should have done the moment i made the play. I really need to slow down and think before i act.

This -$200 session included my suckout artist play with Q-Q against A-A for 50BB's.

I already had played a good deal today. I think i was tired and that probably affected my play a little bit.

I feel sick.


Back to 100NL for a bit -- I have to get over my bruised ego lol. The move does seems best though since my conifdence is pretty low after today. I may want to wait to move up to 200NL completely next time until i have 5-6k. While i don't think i donked off all of my money, i don't want to hit a full blown downswing with only 18 Buyins. For the next couple of weeks i will only be sitting at 200NL tables if the game seems very fishy. The good news is this time when i leave 200NL i am $450 up instead of -$80 down (shouldn't have played 200NL 6Max) 3rd times the charm


Just remembering that i am leaving up makes me feel a little better about losing $500 today


I think i need to start a mini operation for my stint at 100NL.

Goal: Play 15k hands at 8ptBB/100.
-4 Tabling
-Minimum 500 hands a day

I hope to get to 5k by the end of May. so that is 1400bb's and i believe would be accomplished running just under 8ptBB/100.

As a random thought, i am thinking that i may be playing too many big pots in marginal situations. Might be one of my bigger leaks right now.

All this losing got me to thinking about how best to spend my time...

I decided to go ahead and withdraw the money from my Pokerstars account (ended up -$50 there), and have decided to sign up at Ultimate Bet - utilizing their Deposit Bonus. This time i signed up with Rakeback!

So at this point i am going to be spending my time on two sites:
1). FullTilt
2). Ultimate Bet

I hope to deposit $1500 or so onto Ultimate Bet so i can start at 100NL. Money isn't really a problem as i am earning a good deal at my day job at the moment and i have no large upcoming expenses as i am going to school only part time. This is nice...

...though i still haven't figured out how best to spend my time playing. Assuming i am mostly 4Tabling for the next couple of weeks as i spend more time concentrating on improving my game than breaking even over 8-10 Tables, what would be an optimal amount of time to spend on both sites to maximize Bonuses?

These are the conclusions i have come to:
1). I like the Iron Man challenge on Full Tilt. This is mostly because i am close to earning 100 Iron Man Medals, and then if i understand correctly recieving 100 more for declining to participate in the Freerolls. I think getting a seat reserved at a table would be a total balla move, but im not sure if i will opt for 5,000 FTP's and get a Jersey (i currently have 22k FTP already), or save up the medals for $$$.
2). Full Tilt Rakeback - 27%
3). Ultimate Bet Rakeback - 30%
4). So it stands to reason i should spend more time on Ultimate Bet, especially considering that i am going to be trying to fully unlock their deposit bonus.
5). I have probably 15-20 hours a week i can devote to playing poker for the next 4 months.
6). I need to spend around 60-90mins a day 4Tabling 100NL to get 200FTP's on FullTilt, remaining qualified for the Iron Man Medals.

Are there any cool bonuses on Ultimate Bet? I don't expect to start playing there until sometime in late May as i am waiting for ePassporte to clear my deposits. Also, can i deposit $1500 (in whatever portions the site allows) and not eradicate my initial deposit bonus?

In a few months (after i have cleared my UB Deposit Bonus), i hope to be able to run 1-2 Tables on either site and have access to a larger pool of weak players and better tables.

If you haven't noticed, i am also using this Blog as a sort of notebook for my poker thoughts. My apologizies if some of my writings are "spew"

700 hands, +$230 4-5 Tabling 100NL.

I basically made all of that on my last hand, but i will get to that later on.

I got dealt Q-Q/J-J 6 times in 50 hands at one table. Check this shit out...

I am only posting stats/notes for the first hand since i feel it is the only one i could have/should have gotten away from. On the fourth hand i just played it poorly and know it though if you want to mention it yourself feel free...


While i was playing the hand: Looking at villans AF, i decided that i was going to shove any flop that came with cards lower than J-J and probably dump my hand if any Aces or Kings hit.

My question is, how should i interpret a limp/reraise from someone with such a high AF?

Now: Looking back my analysis is that if villan is so aggro he is going to be raising a ton preflop, probably not limp/reraising. If such a scenario occurs again i am dumping this in an instant, barring specific notes that villan uses this play as a bluff.

FullTiltPoker Game #2434526127: Table Camden Rose - $0.50/$1

Villan: ($103.45) (23/11/8 over 100 hands)
Hero: ($139.50)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Js Jc]
Villan: calls $1
Hero: raises to $5
7 folds
Villan: raises to $18
Hero: calls $13
*** FLOP *** [Ts 9d 6c]
Villan: bets $35
Hero: raises to $121.50, and is all in
Villan: calls $50.45, and is all in
Hero: shows [Js Jc]
Villan: shows [Ac Ah]
*** TURN *** [Ts 9d 6c] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [Ts 9d 6c Kc] [Jd]
Hero: wins the pot ($205.40) with three of a kind, Jacks


FullTiltPoker Game #2434559044: Table Camden Rose - $0.50/$1

Hero: ($239.95)
Villan: ($109.40)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Qd Qs]
6 folds
Hero: raises to $5
Villan: raises to $20
1 fold
Hero: calls $15
*** FLOP *** [Jh 2c 5c]
Villan: bets $30
Hero: raises to $219.95, and is all in
Villan: calls $59.40, and is all in
Hero: shows [Qd Qs]
Villan: shows [Ad Ac]
*** TURN *** [Jh 2c 5c] [7c]
*** RIVER *** [Jh 2c 5c 7c] [4s]
Villan: wins the pot ($217.80) with a pair of Aces


FullTiltPoker Game #2434687795: Table Camden Rose - $0.50/$1

Hero: ($128.05)
Villan: ($50.10)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Js Jd]
Hero: raises to $5
2 folds
Player 1: calls $5
3 folds
Villan: calls $4.50
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [9d 3d 4d]
Villan: bets $15.10
Hero: raises to $123.05, and is all in
Player 1: folds
Hero: shows [Js Jd]
Villan: shows [Ad Tc]
Hero: "lol" (I AM A PROPHET )
*** TURN *** [9d 3d 4d] [Ah]
*** RIVER *** [9d 3d 4d Ah] [3h]
Villan: wins the pot ($104.20) with two pair, Aces and Threes


FullTiltPoker Game #2434821854: Table Camden Rose - $0.50/$1

Hero: ($98.50)
Villan: ($97.80)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Qs Qh]
3 folds
Hero: raises to $4
1 fold
Villan: calls $4
3 fold
*** FLOP *** [Kd Js 5d]
Hero: bets $7
Villan: calls $7
*** TURN *** [Kd Js 5d] [As]
Hero: bets $13 (a bad bet)
Villan: raises to $26
Hero: folds
Villan: wins the pot ($47.05)


the other two times i got dealt J-J and took the blinds down preflop.


The final hand was really neat. I was just thinking to myself, "this is going to be another breakeven session"...


FullTiltPoker Game #2434850193: Table Hauck - $0.50/$1

Villan 1: ($114.55)
Hero: ($111.45)
Villan 2: ($112.50)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Kc Ks]
Hero: raises to $4
3 folds
Villan 2: calls $4
Villan 1: calls $3.50
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [Ac 7d Kd]
Villan 1: checks
Hero: bets $9
Villan 2: raises to $29
Villan 1: calls $29
Hero: raises to $107.45, and is all in
Villan 2: raises to $108.50, and is all in
Villan 1: calls $79.50
Villan 2: shows [As Kh]
Villan 1: shows [Ad Jd]
Hero: shows [Kc Ks]
*** TURN *** [Ac 7d Kd] [3c]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 7d Kd 3c] [2c]
Hero: wins the main pot ($332.35) with three of a kind, Kings


and then i decided i was going to stop

Limp reraise is AA/AK/KK 90% of the time or more. Someone with such a high AF I would say it's more like 99% of the time.

I saw one guy limp reraise 88 one time, and I was shocked.

I don't push flop in hand 2. You only beat AK.

Hand 3 isn't so bad if you think you have FE. A or K diamonds isn't going anywhere though.

You are right about hand 4, turn lead is not good.

NH with KK

I haven't posted in here for a while. I haven't really been playing or anything and taking a break felt good.

Well, my mischevious deed caught up to me on Friday. I attempted to log onto FullTilt, and was notified that my account had been suspended. I broke into a cold sweat and opened up my email account to see what was in the email they sent me. I was really surprised to read that they were willing to return all my funds to me. Naturally, i told them that that would be great and 12 hours later i had all my funds in my ePassporte account.

At that point i decided to withdraw 2.5k of that money to put into savings. I may end up getting a new computer when i take a couple semesters off from school with some of that money.

EDIT: I was kind of high when i wrote the earlier post, so i touched it up a little to make it easier to read

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

My only problem with what i see in your thread is that i can sit at a 100nl 6max or full ring game running fairly good and put together a run 0f 10bbs+ on 15k samples.
You dont seem to run much better than 5-6bbs/100 even at bets which suggests you need to work on post flop play.

Theres little doubt you are a winning player, but at the moment i see you as a numbers grinder rather than a player with a much higher skill level than those you play with.
Maybe its just the games you play in, but even on stars when i run good i run 10bbs/100+ good even versus good players...

I agree that my postflop is average at best. Since Wednesday when i finally signed up at cardrunners.com, i have seen probably a dozen videos and taken 3 or 4 tips away from each one. I have tons of scrap paper all around my desk with new lines and notes on good/bad c-bet flop textures. I hope Massimo doesn't mind me reading his thread after my little fit.

I actually am happy, but not content, that i am a winning player. I recall posting a hand when i first joined where i called 3 streets OOP with A-9 (TPTK) on a monotone flop against an unknown (i didn't have PT or take notes ). Everyone was like, "dude he has a set", and i was like, "no he was bluffing i wuz sure of it" . I think i dropped about 15 buy ins at 100NL before i started to turn it around (no PT to document it, but i know i blew through all the money i won playing SNG's that summer and a lucky cash in the Sunday Million). I feel i have come a long way in the last 7 months (ty FTR).

My table selection has improved dramatically in the last month. I can now find 1-2 fish at any table i am sitting at. I am also actively isolating them now. So hopefully it isn't the games i am sitting in anymore that is hurting my BB/100.

The thing i am most happy about today with poker is that this time, unlike a few weeks ago, i have zero doubt i can win at 200NL.

GL on ur goal to get to 400nl and im sure you will man. I consider myself pretty motivated to become a better poker player and one thing i should definitely work on is taking notes and tips on different things. I have no doubt that with the time you spend digesting videos on cardrunners combined with ur dedication to move up that you will succeed. couple tips I have that I would follow if I was to grind up from 100nl again:

1. Whenever possible combine ur poker playing with clearing a bonus until you have exausted the big deposit bonuses out there. This is just free money.

2. At a certain point I think its important to ask urself whether you want to make an optimal hourly rate or if you want to improve as a poker player. I would say at lower stakes the way to achieve an optimal hourly rate is to play 15/13 to 21/16 poker, usually settling on a 19/17 type area. This is just because many of your opponents aren't using PAHUD and a tight preflop strategy will allow you to add more tables and will somewhat lessen any mistakes you might make postflop because of the strength of your preflop cards. Obviously if you want to learn/experiment take certain days and 3 table at 30/20 as you want to develop your hand reading skills. I just remember that when I was playin 100nl i thought anyone who played under 22/18 was just a huge nit and the worst thing in the world i thought was to be a nit.

Originally Posted by sauce123

GL on ur goal to get to 400nl and im sure you will man. I consider myself pretty motivated to become a better poker player and one thing i should definitely work on is taking notes and tips on different things. I have no doubt that with the time you spend digesting videos on cardrunners combined with ur dedication to move up that you will succeed. couple tips I have that I would follow if I was to grind up from 100nl again:

1. Whenever possible combine ur poker playing with clearing a bonus until you have exausted the big deposit bonuses out there. This is just free money.

2. At a certain point I think its important to ask urself whether you want to make an optimal hourly rate or if you want to improve as a poker player. I would say at lower stakes the way to achieve an optimal hourly rate is to play 15/13 to 21/16 poker, usually settling on a 19/17 type area. This is just because many of your opponents aren't using PAHUD and a tight preflop strategy will allow you to add more tables and will somewhat lessen any mistakes you might make postflop because of the strength of your preflop cards. Obviously if you want to learn/experiment take certain days and 3 table at 30/20 as you want to develop your hand reading skills. I just remember that when I was playin 100nl i thought anyone who played under 22/18 was just a huge nit and the worst thing in the world i thought was to be a nit.

Not surprisingly, hearing words of encouragement from a good poker player is nice. Thank you for dropping by sauce!


I am currently working on clearing a bonus on Ultimate Bet. I imagine this is going to take me a while, though in the meantime it certainly wouldn't hurt to create a plan of action for clearing these bonuses.

In regards to the # of tables i am usually running, i have cut down from 6-8 to 2-4 for a while now and probably will continue with that for 1-2 more months. I have already discovered whole new methods of gaining value and minimizing spew since i cut down the number of tables. This is probably affecting my total profit only slightly, since i am playing so much better now that i am focusing more on the actions i am making.

Now that i am actually thinking about it, i do spend a lot more time focusing on making money than experimenting with my game. I play TAG and have not deviated from that strategy in an effort to learn something. I really am at a loss for how to begin playing an effective LAG game. The next time i play i will make it a point to play 300-500 hands much looser than usual and see how things go.

Vi-Zero- One word of advice- since u only have 17 bi for 100nl right now dont experiment so much playin lag till ur more properly rolled. Variance is sick- in my last 10k hands i have been up 7 bi, then down 10, then up 13 again. playin 20/16.

so until ur at 30 bi at least id stick to ur A game

however i definitely recommend switching up playing styles- to improve my game i have switched it up every month - 22/18 march, 26/20 april, 20/16 may- i think besides confusing the reg's PAHUDs it keeps things fresh and keeps me learning

Well, i would say i certainly enjoy 6Max more than FR. I like getting more opportunities to bluff

However, i don't seem to be very good at 6Max just yet. For example, today i was up 2 buy ins at a table thinking i was at least 1 buy in up on the day. Unbelievably IMO, i was down 1/2 buy in for the day (mustve reloaded a lot more than i remembered). After 1.5k hands, i am down 3.5 buy ins. Playing more pots has been a challenging adjustment from FR to 6Max. My c-bets don't get as much respect, but it has helped me to pick better spots for double barrelling. I also am pushing draws harder on the flop, and i am getting even better at selecting spots to 3bet.

That, coupled with an interest in experimenting with different strategies has made me decide to drop down to 50NL 6Max.

I cashed out a large portion of my roll a little while ago, for many reasons. Part of it was to show myself and others that online poker was serious stuff. I intend to take out even more during the course of this year. I figure that this is a good point in time for me to withdraw some of my roll, since i am not a solid winner at anything above 100NL yet and my game has a lot of room for improvement. I can more cheaply make the necessary adjustments at 50/100NL.

I watched a couple of videos on cardrunners today, as well as read a few articles. I didn't take as much as usual away from the videos, but the articles i read were very educational - particularly the ones regarding bankroll management and changing limits. They were the biggest influences on getting past my ego and helping me to move down to a lower limit.

I feel like i have improved as a poker player over the last couple of days, though i don't have any results to show for it yet

40% VPIP for my first experiemental session at 50NL. I have to say i had a lot of fun playing so many pots, and feel like against 50NL players i pwn postflop. Won 31% of the hands i played.

200 hands, +2 buy ins.

GL at $50 6 max....small sample (4K hands maybe)...but I am over 10ptbb/100. That was after dropping 2 or 3 buyins to start.

lot of good poker ideas ingested this week, though all told i think i have dropped $500 or so in the last 6 days. Regarding my operation, i have been playing with a VPIP between 35-44% during my sessions, and have gotten some big showdowns with some relatively marginal hands (my small overpair winning 150BB pot against TPTK). I don't feel like writing a ton about this yet, but i do truly feel that this is in large part due to variance. This isn't to say i am not getting outplayed in some spots, but i feel i would have better results if i wasn't losing several 50/50's, 60/40's, and a couple 75/25's for 100BB"s.

Anyways...

I am looking more closely at how i am playing in spots like the one below. Usually in this spot i would give up my hand, or try to get fancy and call on the flop intending to shove a blank turn. However, i realized that on combo draw boards like the one below it is going to be very difficult to figure out which draw villan is holding if he leads any turn (which is standard after a flop c/r). Better to try to win the pot on the flop, i figure.

Example:

Villan: ($175.50)
Hero: ($101.50)
4 other players

New to the table, but my notes on this opponent say he is a regular at 100NL 6Max and is very aggressive and a light 3better. No stats BTW b/c i am a donk and cannot figure out how to get HH's to auto import into PT on Ultimate Bet

******HOLE CARDS******
Dealt to Hero: [Ac Kd]
1 fold
Hero: raises $3.50 to $4.50
3 folds
Villan: calls $3.50
******** FLOP ********
[9h 9d 7h]
Villan: checks
Hero: bets $7
Villan: raises $12 to $19
Hero: raises $70 to $89



This is what i figured villans range to be.
9-x
8-10
8-6
xh-xh
Ah-xh
2-2 - 8-8

Text results appended to pokerstove.txt

201,960 games 0.005 secs 40,392,000 games/sec

Board: 9d 9h 7h
Dead:

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 45.395% 44.61% 00.79% 90088 1592.00 { AcKd }
Hand 1: 54.605% 53.82% 00.79% 108688 1592.00 { 88, 66-22, AhKh, AhQh, AhJh, AhTh, A9s, Ah8h, Ah7h, Ah6h, Ah5h, Ad4d, Ah4h, Ah3h, Ah2h, KhQh, KhJh, KhTh, K9s, QhJh, QhTh, Q9s, Qh8h, JhTh, J9s, Jh8h, Jh7h, T8s+, Th7h, Th6h, 96s+, 8h7h, 86s, 7h6h, 6h5h, 5h4h, A9o, K9o, Q9o, Q5o-Q4o, J9o, J5o-J4o, T8o+, T5o-T4o, 86o }


My equity seems to only improve slightly when i hold the Ace of hearts... i would have figured the % to increase from anywhere between 5-10%. I imagine this is because many Ah-xh hands that i could win against via high card are now no longer in villans range, and because i pick up a backdoor flush draw.

Text results appended to pokerstove.txt

191,070 games 0.005 secs 38,214,000 games/sec

Board: 9d 9h 7h
Dead:

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 48.628% 48.27% 00.35% 92239 675.00 { AhKd }
Hand 1: 51.372% 51.02% 00.35% 97481 675.00 { 88, 66-22, A9s, KhQh, KhJh, KhTh, K9s, QhJh, QhTh, Q9s, Qh8h, JhTh, J9s, Jh8h, Jh7h, T8s+, Th7h, Th6h, 96s+, 8h7h, 86s, 7h6h, 6h5h, 5h4h, A9o, K9o, Q9o, Q5o-Q4o, J9o, J5o-J4o, T8o+, T5o-T4o, 86o }


So, the lesson i learned here was that pushing with a nut draw against a loose and aggressive opponent is ++EV!

---


Text results appended to pokerstove.txt

188,100 games 0.005 secs 37,620,000 games/sec

Board: 9d 9h 7h
Dead:

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 63.457% 63.11% 00.35% 118709 654.00 { AhKh }
Hand 1: 36.543% 36.20% 00.35% 68083 654.00 { 88, 66-22, A9s, K9s, QhJh, QhTh, Q9s, Qh8h, JhTh, J9s, Jh8h, Jh7h, T8s+, Th7h, Th6h, 96s+, 8h7h, 86s, 7h6h, 6h5h, 5h4h, A9o, K9o, Q9o, Q5o-Q4o, J9o, J5o-J4o, T8o+, T5o-T4o, 86o }


---

I threw in some random hole cards to give villan a bluff %, and left all the 9-x hands in even though he would probably c/c the flop with them some % of the time.

This was just one aspect of poker i improved on this week. I was thinking at work today about an article that someone on FTR had stickied regarding a concept known as "G-Bucks". I had read it a few months ago and couldn't get my head around playing your hand as a range against a villan. I reread the article last night and was thinking about that as well as something i read in gabe's thread titled "any questions?"

In that thread gabe brought up a post he had read when he was moving up in stakes on 2p2 where the OP had asked whether calling or folding was best to a large river bet. durr (a HS player for those who don't know) responded, "my favorite option isn't in the poll". I had not understood that until today.

Here is the board (from gabe's thread):

A-Q-x-x-y ("x" is a paired card on the flop)

I didn't understand at first what value there would be in raising the river - after all that would obviously be spewing into a set/FH.

Then i realized:
By raising the river, villan may even lay down a low set since this board seems so unfavorable to be bluffing on that a bluff raise on the river would seem out of the question. Villan might also have a hand like A-Q and be trying to maximize value against A-K/lower aces and is planning on dumping to a raise. The fact that villan is bluffing isn't out of the question either, and by raising Hero doesn't have to show villan or the rest of the table that he figured villan was bluffing or that Hero was making a very strong play on the river without a monster. All in all raising looks like a great play, once i thought about it more. This got me to think more about which boards are goof to bluff on.

And if i am wrong please point out any errors since i don't want to feel right, but in actuality be incorrect and not find out why i am wrong.

Since i posted, i ran good and won 3 buy ins at 100NL, then spewed 2.5 buy ins tonight. I was not playing my A game, oh well. The way i have been seeing it lately i have forever to work on my poker playing, and there is no need to let mistakes frustrate me, as long as i don't allow them to linger.


I don't even know what else to post in here except that i have not felt as motivated to play poker the last couple of days. I was pretty burned out after the weekend though so kind of a small sample size Hopefully by Friday i am eager to play again!

hey vi... i will try to catch up your operation later but good you give me a quick summary? did u cash out, run bad, or something? and it looks like you switched to 6max from your operation sig thing...?

Sorry readers, i have been quite lazy about updating this blog the last couple of weeks

Update: I withdrew 2.5k a couple of weeks ago when i switched from FTP to Ultimate Bet. Since then i have switched from FR to 6Max and from 200NL to first 50NL, and now 100NL 6Max. I also finally figured out how to import hand histories from Ultimate Bet into my Pokertracker, so i am going to be playing with my HUD again! (very useful for me IMO)

I am currently down $600, but i have felt that my poker play has improved significantly since i switched from FR to 6Max. One thing i am not doing well is staying focused when i am playing. I recently quit drinking soda and i am thinking that i am probably experiencing some caffeine/sugar withdrawl, hence the lack of focus. Hopefully this passes soon, or i may be forced to return to my soda drinking ways for the sake of poker!!!

I currently have 19 buy ins for 100NL, though if i drop below $1500 i am going to swtich back to 50NL 6Max. Hopefully i don't have to do this.

Been quite a while since i updated this...

But, things have gone okay since i last did.

I redeposited $200 onto Pokerstars again after withdrawing an earlier deposit, and have built it up to $500 playing SNG's and 25-50NL.

On Ultimate Bet i have been playing between 50-200NL, and i am probably down $500 or so. Honestly i have been just been amping my variance big time by 3betting lighter and playing draws very aggressively.

The biggest reason i am updating this blog is to report that i had another poker revelation! I used to be like a lot of players at my limits in the sense that i would make plays and not really understand why i was making them. I had essentially absorbed things i heard and read and began implementing the new ideas without understanding why they were good ideas.

I can now go play a long session and lose several buy ins, and instead of feeling angry or sad i am much better at rationally analyzing the plays i made and determining whether i ran into bad variance or made a poor play.

I feel like i understand so much more about poker, and not just the technical aspects (i.e. value betting, folding 9-3o UTG). I better understand how/why to balance my own poker play (reraise A-Q OOP sometimes, but also sometimes call and c/r some Ace high flops, some raggy flops b/c the hand has outs against a middle pair that might call, etc.)

I BETTER UNDERSTAND THE WHY IN POKER!!!!

i just read this whole operation from start to finish and it was a solid read. i def. think someone should write a sticky on how playing 10k+ hands of 50nl 6-max will greatly improve any FR player. when i went back to 50nl after 2 weeks at 6 max i was killing FR, hope the same happens for you.

i am playing really well. I really played well and took advantage of several good bluffing opportunities. At 100NL on Ultimate Bet there are only a few regulars that i actually don't mind having position on me, since only a few regulars actually 3bet somewhat lightly.

Lots of other good stuff too like weaker players calling my 3bets preflop and then folding on the flop. Or they will call and a King or and Ace will hit the turn, i will bet it and they fold.


Only a couple of pots that i was in today i feel i made mistakes in. I already know what i did wrong so i am not going to post them but i am considering posting in this blog more frequently. My poker drive is returning again and it only takes a few minutes to write in here.

Still playing very well, and winning $$$.

I am now reviewing sessions in PokerTracker, like my role models sbrugby and GP . I didn't use to do this on a regular basis, but by doing so i am getting another chance to review my errors and further prevent myself from making them again.

One postflop play i learned for myself this week was to NOT go for broke with a FD for 100BB's in an unraised pot. Such a donk play and i will NOT make that mistake again.

I am becoming much better at picking spots to semibluff. My favorite thing i figured out for myself was when i was reviewing someone elses' HH's...

A-Q is a tough hand to play, since it doesn't do very well in RR pots (i.e. on Ace high flops, you can frequently run in A-K). However, it is favored when put against a standard TAG/LAG's opening range.

So i thought about how i would like to play this hand, and i have decided to:

1). 3bet A-Q IP almost always
2). 3 bet A-Q OOP 50%
3). call with A-Q OOP 50%
- On Ace, Queen, and boards where i have a FD to c/r the flop
- Also c/r on K-x-x flops. This is because it is tough for an opponent to continue with a hand like 9-9/10-10 after you c/r. And, even if you get called by K-x (not as often as you will win the pot on the flop), you still have the Ace as an out. And, if opponent has a high cold call frequency you can double barrell a board like this profitably.

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

FullTiltPoker Game #2424372276: Table Miragrande - $1/$2

Villan: ($278.90)
Hero: ($200)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [9c 9h]
3 folds
Player 1: raises to $7
Villan: calls $7
2 folds
Hero: calls $5
*** FLOP *** [3s 7s 3c]
Hero: checks
Player 1: bets $12
Villan: calls $12
Hero: raises to $32
Player 1: folds
Villan: calls $20
*** TURN *** [3s 7s 3c] [Jc]
Hero: bets $72
Villan: calls $72
*** RIVER *** [3s 7s 3c Jc] [7h]
Hero: checks
Villan: goes AI
Hero: folds

please call here because villain has a missed flush a gajillion percent of the time.

Also, you made a post where you don't two barrel Axx flops much, i recommend you start three barrelling them.

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I BETTER UNDERSTAND THE WHY IN POKER!!!!

lol is this a reference to my blog?

Originally Posted by IowaSkinsFan

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

I BETTER UNDERSTAND THE WHY IN POKER!!!!

lol is this a reference to my blog?

You are not being leveled

I think i am going to start posting the worst pots i played, for two reasons.

1). To embarrass myself enough not to make the mistakes again

2). To see the poorly played pots several times so i think about why they were played poorly so i don't make the mistakes again

3). To make others feel sorry for my complete lack of poker skillz


Here are today's "worst played hands":


At the time, i figured villain might be donking the flop with a FD. But, when i consider the rest of his range (K-Q/A-Q/set), i am a solid dog. Also, i am not going to get him to fold a FD since he will be getting 3:1, and i am probably only to get K-Q/A-Q to fold a small % of the time since they might put me on a FD.


Villain: ($185.70 in chips)
Hero: ($98.50 in chips)
Player 1: ($148.65 in chips)
Player 2: ($102.95 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Js Jh]
Player 1: raises $3 to $4
1 fold
Player 2: calls $4
1 fold
Villain: calls $3.50
Hero: raises $12 to $16
2 folds
Villain: calls $12
*** FLOP *** [Qd 5h 9d]
Villain: bets $24
Hero: raises $58.50 to $82.50 and is all-in


This one i am posting to sort of remind myself i am not playing to win every pot. I feel this is a pretty weak time to start a bluff, seeing as i only get 1 street to convince him that i have a hand. I suppose folding this on the flop is probably fine too. This is the first time i saw Villain 3bet.


Hero: ($125.75 in chips)
Villain: ($147.80 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [As Qd]
3 folds
Hero: raises $2 to $3
Villain: raises $4 to $7
1 fold
Hero: calls $4
*** FLOP *** [Jc 9s Kd]
Villain: bets $5
Hero: calls $5
*** TURN *** [Jc 9s Kd] [8h]
2 checks
*** RIVER *** [Jc 9s Kd 8h] [7c]
Villain: bets $5.80
Hero: raises $19.20 to $25


Seeing as this shortstack has shown an interest in this pot, i should just let him have it. At the time, i couldn't let that happen...

Hero: ($100.90 in chips)
Shortstack ($21.80 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Ac Th]
2 folds
Hero: raises $3 to $4
1 fold
Shortstack: calls $3
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [3d 9c 9d]
Shortstack: bets $4
Hero: raises $15 to $19


I need a plan before i call this 3bet. I figured my A-J was ahead or close to even money against this villains 3bet range. He and I had been in a reraising war the last few times i have played with him. I respect him but i know he will also shove light (8-8 in an earlier BvB when i had A-A) so i didn't want to 4bet him seeing as i would be in a very marginal spot if he shoved. My plan was to c/r AI any flop with an Ace, Jack, or which gave me some sort of draw.


Hero: ($102.65 in chips)
Villain: ($94.50 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Jc Ad]
3 folds
Hero: raises $3 to $4
Villain: raises $11 to $15
Hero: calls $11
*** FLOP *** [5s 3s 3c]
Hero: checks
Villain: bets $20
Hero: folds

The biggest lesson i took from this was i won't let this player have position on me anymore, unless i have a very good reason for staying at the table.




I think i can avoid a c-bet on this flop. But i am interested if anyone else feels the same way. I feel villain has a loose pushing range here and i can't call a shove. However i also feel his PF calling range of my RR could be pretty loose too. Thoughts?


Villain is 66/35/1 over 30 hands.

Villain: is at seat 0 with $165.90.
Hero: is at seat 1 with $146.60.


Dealt to Hero: [Js Jc]

3 folds
Villain: raises to $3.50.
Hero: re-raises to $13.50.
Villain: calls


Flop (board: 9h Kh 4h):

Hero: bets $21.
Villain: raises to $91.
Hero: folds.


This was a really bad river bet. I made the mistake of trying to put villain on a specific hand (9-x), and playing as though i were against that hand. Looking at this hand now i cannot believe i fired on the 3rd spade. His check is kind of odd but i have been very aggressive at this table so it isn't really that surprising.


Villain was 25/10/.8 over 75 hands.


Villain: is at seat 0 with $80.40.
Hero: is at seat 4 with $230.

Hero: [7c 6c]

2 folds
Hero: raises to $3.50.
1 fold
Villain: calls.

Flop (board: 3s 9d 7s):

Villain: checks.
Hero: bets $4.50.
Villain: calls.

Turn (board: 3s 9d 7s Ac):

Villain: checks.
Hero: bets $11.
Villain: calls.

River (board: 3s 9d 7s Ac 4s):

Villain: checks.
Hero: bets $27.


Those are my worst hands from today. 6 poorly played pots for a 1k hand session isn't great, but at least i am identifying my errors. This should speed up the learning process.

Originally Posted by IowaSkinsFan

Originally Posted by Vi-Zer0Skill

FullTiltPoker Game #2424372276: Table Miragrande - $1/$2

Villan: ($278.90)
Hero: ($200)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [9c 9h]
3 folds
Player 1: raises to $7
Villan: calls $7
2 folds
Hero: calls $5
*** FLOP *** [3s 7s 3c]
Hero: checks
Player 1: bets $12
Villan: calls $12
Hero: raises to $32
Player 1: folds
Villan: calls $20
*** TURN *** [3s 7s 3c] [Jc]
Hero: bets $72
Villan: calls $72
*** RIVER *** [3s 7s 3c Jc] [7h]
Hero: checks
Villan: goes AI
Hero: folds

please call here because villain has a missed flush a gajillion percent of the time.

That was not a good pot for me either...

Originally Posted by IowaSkinsFan

Also, you made a post where you don't two barrel Axx flops much, i recommend you start three barrelling them.

I am going to post my limited thoughts on this and see if i am on the same page as you:

By 3barrelling A-x-x boards,
1). i can get weaker Aces to call when i have A-Q/A-K.
2). i can get A-Q/A-K to fold when i have air. For point two i would assume that we are specifically bluff 3barrelling A-x-x when our opponent either doesn't know we are 3barrelling loosely, or that our opponent is a nit.

I assume dry boards would be best for 3barrell bluffing, since our opponents wouldn't think we were semibluffing a draw then.

This is a really high variance play, but if i have the BR that isn't really going to be huge problem then. I can drop 5-6 buy ins in a session and it doesn't affect my play significantly.

I am going to go out to eat now, but this is a good concept for me to think more about. Thanks for posting ISF.

I think this is a bad river raise. If i had A-J+ then the raise would be a better value raise, but in this case i don't think villain will often call with 7-x and so he will only continue with a higher set of aces or a full house. I almost certainly have the best hand, but my hand cannot stand a reraise and it is unlikely villain has a strong hand that is weaker than mine that he will call with.


Villain is 22/13/2 over 300 hands. He is on a lot of tables - at least 6.


Hero: ($98.50 in chips)
Villain: ($102 in chips)
2 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to VI-Popsmak [Ad 4s]
1 fold
Hero: raises $2 to $3
Villain: calls $2.50
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [7d 5h 3c]
Villain: checks
Hero: bets $4
Villain: raises $7 to $11
Hero: calls $7
*** TURN *** [7d 5h 3c] [Ac]
Villain: checks
Hero: checks
*** RIVER *** [7d 5h 3c Ac] [As]
Villain: bets $14
Hero: raises $14 to $28

Only 2 pots tonight where i feel i made a serious mistake (one is in the SH forum).


I should have thought more about villains range before i raised this one. At the time i figured his range to be (A-9, A-x, air (float flop), 8-7, A-8/A-7, 8-8, 5-6/9-10). The mistake i feel i made was the size of the raise. I should have made the turn raise bigger for three reasons:

1). Make it easier to get the money all in on the river
2). deny any straight draws a chance to call for 3:1 and then stack me every time on the river.
3). No hand that is calling the $25 raise would fold to a $35 raise. Therefore the raise with the better EV is the $35 raise.


Hero: ($307.35 in chips)
Villain: ($107.45 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [7s 7c]
1 fold
Hero: raises $3 to $4
1 fold
Villain: calls $3
*** FLOP *** [7d Ac 8h]
Villain: checks
Hero: bets $6
Villain: calls $6
*** TURN *** [7d Ac 8h] [Kc]
Villain: bets $12
Hero: raises $25 to $37

i dont know... i kind of like your 25 dollar raise. you are way ahead here and you dont want to raise him out. he needs more than 3 to 1 to profitably chase a straight on you (since its just the river left not both turn and river).. although he does have big implied odds... but a straight draw doesnt really make up that much of his range. he donks out the turn which makes me think two pair a lot here. or occasionally a weak ace.

I agree the 3:1 pot odds are pretty irrelevant, but regardless it makes more sense to raise a larger amount since weaker hands are folding regardless of what size i reraise to and stronger hands are still calling.


The sick thing was the river was 6c and villain pushed. I called and he showed Qc Jc for the backdoor flush

Still playing well, though already today i feel i may have poorly played these 2 pots. I will probably play another session later tonight.


Hand 1). Villain is 30/22/3 over 150 hands. I have no notes on him, so i assume he hasn't done anything crazy when i have been at his table.


This turn bet is really stupid after my flop check, since i almost always c-bet a reraised pot, especially with an Ace on the board. Checking this flop was a big mistake also...

Villain: ($113.70 in chips)
Player 1: ($329.70 in chips)
Hero: ($246.05 in chips)
3 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Qc Kh]
1 fold
Villain: raises $3 to $4
1 fold
Player 1: calls $4
Hero: raises $11 to $15
1 fold
Villain: calls $11
Player 1: calls $11
*** FLOP *** [Ah Td 4c]
3 checks
*** TURN *** [Ah Td 4c] [2s]
Hero: bets $22


Hand 2). Villain is 18/12/3.5 over 80 hands. He reraised one of my flop c-bets earlier this session (reraise size approx. the same). I chose not to bet/fold the turn since i figured he could easily have K-Q/Q-J and fire at the turn, and i didn't want him to reraise me with either of those hands and put me in a tough spot, with him thinking i was block betting the turn with a FD. Should i have c/r or is c/c okay? The reason i decided not to c/r is because i don't see any hands he continues with that i beat, and if he doesn't check behind he probably doesn't have a FD. My plan if he had checked behind was to check whether or not a Heart hit, to give him a chance to bluff if he missed. Okay plan?


Hero: ($149.20 in chips)
Villain: ($158.20 in chips)
3 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Ad Qc]
1 fold
Hero: raises $2 to $3
Villain: calls $3
2 folds
*** FLOP *** [Qh 3d 5h]
Hero: bets $5
Villain: raises $8 to $13
Hero: calls $8
*** TURN *** [Qh 3d 5h] [7s]
Hero: checks
Villain: bets $19
Hero: calls $19

last hand i think i like bet folding the turn more.
KQ and QJ probably wont reraise you there.

One more pot that i made a mistake in...

I don't like that i raised this turn. I feel i should have called, getting over 5:1. The reason why i feel calling is better is because if my raise does get called, i only have 3 outs. And i don't feel that raising is necessarily going to get villain to fold; the board didn't really change on the turn.


Hero: ($121.15 in chips)
Villain: ($170.65 in chips)
3 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [8h Qd]
2 folds
Hero: raises $2 to $3
Villain: calls $2.50
1 fold
*** FLOP *** [4d 9c 3c]
Villain: checks
Hero: bets $4
Villain: calls $4
*** TURN *** [4d 9c 3c] [6s]
Villain: bets $2
Hero: raises $12 to $14

Up all night reading Harry Potter, but i managed to play another session before i did that.

Up nearly 16 buy ins since Tuesday: winrate is well over 10BB/100 over a 7.5k hand sample, though my money won at showdown is 51.00% so idk how much of that i can attribute to positive variance... Regardless i have played significantly better this last week than i ever had in my life. Concepts are finally starting to "click"; i also went an entire session with a friend watching, and i explained literally every single decision i made.

Bankrollwise:

I tried not looking at my UB bankroll for a while, but eventually my eyes wandered to find that i am around 3k.

My Pokerstars roll has experienced the most growth: it has gone from $700 a week ago to around $1900.

I intend to wait to move up to 200NL until i have around 4k in both accounts. I am confident i will be able to win so the bigger question is when can i afford to safely move up.

Got to go to work; i will post some pots from sessions later today.

Harry Potter LOL

I made the decision preflop that this guy was probably on tilt (he lost a big pot before this). My plan was to call PF and call a bet on any non Ace-King high flop. I called anyways; i just had the feeling that villain may be holding J-J or air. This was a stupid call because:

1). If i shove PF and he is on tilt, he may call me with weaker hands
2). I can also fold PF. I don't know for sure that he is on tilt, or if he is a calm multitabler who wasn't really bothered by getting stacked and is playing a tight 4bet range (K-K+)
3). Villain's "air" probably contains either an Ace or a King. So this flop could easily have hit a random hand like A-4o or K-9s.
4). I went with a specifc read off of one piece of evidence. I really need to build a bigger case for a marginal call next time. For example if he had raised/reraised the last 3 hands plus lost a big pot, then we would have more information to base our read that villain was tilted.

I had no notes, nor a significant sample size for stats..


Villain: ($127.70 in chips)
Hero: ($101.50 in chips)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Qc Qs]
1 fold
Villain: raises $3 to $4
3 folds
Hero: raises $10 to $14
Villain: raises $25 to $39
Hero: calls $25
*** FLOP *** [9c 8s Ks]
Hero: checks
Villain: bets $60
Hero: raises to $62.50, and is all in.

STUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDST UPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUP IDSTUPIDSTUPIDSTUPID

lol

So i have played maybe 2k hands since i last posted any poorly played pots. I have several more to post. I don't feel like i have been playing nearly as well recently.

In this hand, i did not put the coldcaller AI. The reason this is a mistake is because with A-K (unlike K-K/A-A) i want the other guy out of the pot, and don't want to suck him in with a small raise. It didn't matter since villain had K-K, but the mistake was not giving myself enough FE.


Villain: is at seat 1 with $60.15.
Hero: is at seat 3 with $117.55.
4 other players, including the Shortstack

Hero: Ac Kh


Pre-flop:

Shortstack: goes all-in for $14.50.
Villain: calls
1 fold
Hero: re-raises to $34.
2 folds
Villain: calls



This hand was already posted in the SH forum. The mistake here is that i am offering implied odds for villain to stick around with a smaller pocket pair than the ones i am representing (K-K+). I should have RR to $45 or $50. Still not sure whether to c/f any non A-A-x/K-K-x flop, since villain's calling range to a large 4bet is surely K-K+, no?

Ugh i just realized i am better off 4betting with 6-7s than A-K since then i have more clean outs. I think i will generally avoid 4betting A-K, and if i get into a spot like this again i may choose the really weak play of folding, unless villain's have been very aggressive.


Hero: ($187.10 in chips)
Villain: ($186.50 in chips)
3 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero:[Ah Kc]

Player 1: raises $3 to $4
Villain: raises $8 to $12
Coldcaller: calls $12
1 fold
Hero: raises $24 to $36


What i did on the flop was a big mistake also, but this mistake is the one that set me up to get titanically stacked


In this hand, i need to RR the flop. This way i represent a strong hand, and have the benefit of sometimes getting Q-x to fold, or to call and check to me on the turn at which point i can take a free look at the river. I have no idea why i just called...

Hero: ($103.40 in chips)
Player 1: ($127.95 in chips)
Player 2: ($81.15 in chips)
Villain: ($54 in chips)
2 other players

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Hero: [Kc Ac]
Villain: calls $1
Hero: raises $3 to $4
2 folds
Player 1: calls $3.50
Player 2: calls $3
Villain: calls $3
*** FLOP *** [9c Qc 9d]
2 checks
Villain: bets $11
Hero: calls $11


I initially liked my river call, but looking at this later i realize a few conditions needed to be met before i made such a thin call

1). villain needs to have been more aggressive over a larger sample. This villain was reasonably aggressive, but i hadn't seen him triple barrell bluff once and my sample size was only ~150 hands. I need to continue to remind myself that thin calls/bluffs need to be saved for opponents whose tendencies you are better aware of.
2). the turn needs to be a Jack, Queen, 4, 3, or 2. None of these cards are likely to improve a hand that villain was holding on the flop.
3). the river needs to be a 6, 7, or Jack. The Jack should scare villain unless he is holding one (not likely), and either a 6 or a 7 would make the likelihood of a set small.

The texture of the board and the image of the player changes significantly when those conditions are met, and then i like my call much better. Anyways villain was an 18/12/3.5 and i was feeling like a donk when i did this i guess...

Villain: is at seat 0 with $84.35.
Hero: is at seat 3 with $167.95.
4 other players


Hero: Qd As


Pre-flop:

1 fold
Hero: raises to $3.50.
2 folds
Villain: calls.
1 fold

Flop (board: 6s 3c 7d):

Villain: checks.
Hero: bets $5.
Villain: raises to $14.
Hero: calls.

Turn (board: 6s 3c 7d Ts):

Villain: bets $15.
Hero: calls.

River (board: 6s 3c 7d Ts 2c):

Villain: goes all-in for $51.85.
Hero: calls.


In case you are wondering what made me decide to do this at the time, i felt his turn bet was kind of small followed by a large river bet. The river bet wasn't a value bet, while the turn bet made me think 6-x/7-x or something along those lines.


And in general operation news, i took a shot at 200NL last night. I played okay, but i made a 100BB bluff that got called (which was fine: i am confident that my bluff was +EV). Overall i finised up about 1/2 a buy in over 500 hands. I may sit down at the 200NL tables again tonight, since i have ~25 buy ins for 100NL between UB and Pokerstars for 200NL.

I am getting better and better at this game...

This is of course the whole point of my blog but i am going to write a post about things i feel i am doing well.

1). I am very aware of my image, as well as my opponents' images. I relied much more on my opponents stats to make decisions regarding whether to raise/fold/call, but my notetaking and observations of opponents tendencies is definitely earning/saving me some money.

2). I am very good about selecting spots to 3bet. I am much more focused on my opponents history/opening position than my whole cards when i decide to 3bet.

3). I am table selecting so much better! I am hunting for tables where i can have a LAG in front and a nit/shortstack behind. I am also avoiding several of the toughest regulars.

4). I am thinking about poker more when i am not at the tables. I am starting to come up with my own ideas about boards to play back at, what kind of opponent i need, etc.



One thing i need to do more of is study sessions after i play. I have probably played 4k hands now without reviewing. I just don't feel like i am making major mistakes, and i feel like even while i am in a session i am aware of when i make a mistake. Still, looking at my mistakes a second time increases the likelihood that i don't make the mistake again. Also, actively seeking out weaker players, and not just avoiding the toughest ones is something i need to start doing. I haven't played enough 200NL 6Max to have a good idea of the weakest players, but eventually i hope to have a good idea of who the fish are so i can search for them.

Dropped 5 buy ins at 200NL, so i am moving back to 100NL on Pokerstars. I made some poor plays, but i feel that i was mostly running poorly. My showdown winrate was 47%, which is slightly lower than average, and my winrate without showdown was 42%. These could also be indicators of how i played but i honestly believe that the downswing was primarily the result of variance. I will continue to play 200NL on UB, since those games are so soft and i have enough of a BR for now to continue playing there.

+2 buy ins at 100NL today over 1k hands.

I was reading another good post when i realized how badly i want to be like some of the mid stakes and high stakes players on FTR. Obviously not like down to the kind of clothes they wear but i want to be able to make 14k in a month and know i played great poker to earn it. Right now my best month ever is probably 2k and i have never played higher than 200NL regularly. Hopefully in a few months all of the work i have put into my poker game will have paid off, and i will be playing 400NL and doing well.

I just hope that i start swinging upwards again!

oh so you're plaing on stars now? i was wondering why i never run into you anymore. just keep working hard and im sure you will keep moving up.

Originally Posted by EzDuzIt

oh so you're plaing on stars now? i was wondering why i never run into you anymore. just keep working hard and im sure you will keep moving up.

Thanks for the encouragment, EzDuzit. Yeah, i am currently playing on Pokerstars and Ultimate Bet. UB seems to have a lot more weak players than Pokerstars, so i would recommend you look into playing there if you like money


So, tonight i was breakeven on UB over 250 hands, but i lost a flip for $400 so i am fine with the results.

I think i will play in the Sunday Millions tomorrow on Pokerstars. Hopefully i do well!