Setzy's 2008 (COMPLETE!): Setzy's 2009... Goals up!

Pretty much running in circles the past few days. Today I am down a few buyins after a few good sessions the past two days. I read Lukie's thread about not pulling the variance card and I don't want to do that. I'm tired of blaming things on beats and whatnot, but the reality is that a lot of it can be boiled down to the absolute nittiness I'm finding at 50NL.

I've not worried that much about table selection at the limits I play, but I think it's becoming more of an issue. It's not altogether uncommon for me to run into one or two people on each table with VPIP/PFR in the 11/3 neighborhood.

I am also having trouble with AK hands, which I never have in the past. Over my entire sample at Stars I'm losing with AK, which is unacceptable. I have to figure out these problems and progress.

MicroBR: $1786

100NL can be a shitty jump because there aren't as much fish comparatively to 50NL, but there's nothing you have to do differently. So just keep at it and hope you start running better.

How utterly boring tonight was.

I can honestly say I've never seen a span of hands that were so mundane that I disliked it as much as these. Tonight I played roughly 2300 hands and never won an entire stack off someone, which I am pretty sure is the longest span I've never stacked someone that wasn't a full stack. I did drop a stack with KK vs a flush, but after that it was just like everyone stopped playing big pots with me (and I wasn't even on that table for much longer). It was simply one of those nights nobody plays when you hit, and when you don't hit they are playing back at you. Called plenty of preflop raises looking to hit sets, the few that came were in unraised pots and one that was on a monotone flop and it folded as soon as I bet out.

Didn't really end up down that much, just 2 buyins...very much in the normal swing of variance. I honestly don't think I could have ended up much more by playing any different than I did. It'll change...it has to!

MicroBR: $1900

And November draws to a close.

Been on a decent streak the past couple days at 100NL, though I just dropped a stack versus a very loose opponent in my very last hand. It happens.

November goals -

Boost the micro-roll up to $2000. - Complete!

Go play live 1/2 a couple of times. - Failed..I didn't go to the casino once. I'm questioning whether it's really worth the time to do it or just better for novelty value..I live about an hour and fifteen minutes away, so that's almost 3 hours drive round trip. So, live play is on the back burner for now.

Consider splitting some of the micro-roll off into a full-time "live" roll. - Considered, decided against it.

Try to get to PlatinumStar on Stars..that should be pretty hard. - Complete! Finished this about halfway through the month.

So I got the monetary part down, and the Platinumstar.

I've really been thinking about goals, more than usual..and I think I'm going to work towards a few more long-term goals. Namely to get my financial situation outside of poker back to zero, so I can start investing and possibly work towards buying a house.

Anyhow, here's my new set of December goals:

Get 100% comfortable at 100NL. I'm almost there.

Make a conscious effort to try and play a little 200NL Ring.

Get to 100,000 FPP on Stars. (48k currently)

Finish positive for the month, in any amount.

At the end of the year I will be posting annual goals for 2007, which should include a plan for paying off my student loans, and a profit goal that lets me use poker money as living expenses.

MicroBR: $2217

keep up the great job setzy... im sorta in the same boat... 100nl has been kicking my ass with variance and bad play on my behalf, so i've been building up my micro-roll in 10-25 nl... until im in the right mind frame to go play 100nl again...

And we swiiiiiing...

Earlier today I played some, dropped a few buyins, won them back after a time. Then I took a break, played some more later, and started dropping buyins..except this time the bounce didn't go back up, it just kept going down. 600 hands later, I'm down 4 buyins and some change. Ugly.

Bad play? People may seriously deny their bad play and leaks, but this time I can say it wasn't anything I did. Maybe I should have gotten away from the KK hand when the preflop minraiser reraised allin for a full stack after I reraised and there were 2 other callers. Maybe, but with the other people's money in the pot, I mean COME ON it's the second best hand!

Ugly hand #2 - Setzy puts in 80% of his stack on flop and turn with JJ on a T high TTxx board, river comes 3 and villain hits his 2-outer for the rest of my money.

Ugly hand #3 - Setzy gets AA in EP, raises and gets reraised by a full stack. I decide to flat call his reraise, and check a horrible looking TJQ flop. Villain bets, Setzy puts it all in and Villain calls. Turn comes an A and the river bricks, and a different villain scoops another Setzy buyin with KK. (Same table as my KK vs AA)

Throw in the loss of a few medium-ish pots and no big wins, and we have a bummer night. After talking with a friend, we've come to a realization that I think is going to be a pretty big problem.

I'm underrolled for multi-tabling 100NL. It's true that this is my micro-fun BR and I technically should be doing anything I want with it, but my plan was sort of to build my micro BR up to replace my old one. If you read the old parts of my blog, I used to multi-table 25NL with many buyins, way more than typical "bankroll management" guidelines. At 100NL I have practically half my micro BR on the table at any given time.

So now in the midst of trying to accumulate a mass of FPP, I've found that problem. Right now I think my best course of action is going to be to get to a level of FPP I can stop and acquire something at, then go back and start working with a lower level.

Current MicroBR: $1770

I decided that since I've been playing online poker for 6 months seriously and haven't done anything with it (including with my bad beat jackpot money), I went and bought a big screen TV and am withdrawing a large portion of my micro BR and moving back down again. New goals soon.

My new goal is to not set a goal for this month. I don't want to have any pressure...it's the holidays, and I've been playing so hardcore the past few months. I don't want to risk burnout when all it may take is losing a few buyins (not tilted, beats!) to make me really want to quit.

I respect a large amount of the FTR community, but there is something to be said about the skill level at Stars 100NL Ring compared to 25NL. It isn't easy. Practically all I do is study hands and try to improve my poker game, and I'm barely a winning player at 100NL. After that last set of beats, I believe I actually dipped a little below what I started at when I moved up. I felt I wasn't having fun. I felt too connected to what was going on. That was a recipe for some long-term disaster.

So I immediately remedied it, treated myself, and moved down to a level where I'm the tough player and know I'm capable of winning. I don't think that I'm only good enough to play 25NL, but I think that it's much easier for me to win at a long-term rate there. After playing higher limits, the amounts played for at 25NL seems paltry.

When I withdrew I started again with 20 buyins for 25NL, $500. A few days later I'm up several buyins. We'll see where it leads from here.

MicroBR - $692

Hey man, I hear ya loud and clear... after my sick morning of +9-buyins.. I've managed to float up and down and I currently find myself back where I was BR wise (~1800) and I have little confidence that my game can consistently beat the 100NL crowd. My past few sessions I typically had no idea whatsoever where I was in the hand... I either get outplayed or outdrawn.. and even though I suck out some and out play a few.. those occurences are definitely in the minority.

I'm not sure if it's best to go jumping back to 25NL (even though that does sound relaxing).. or if I should just try to cut back and try playing on 4-tables at a time at $100NL. What are your thoughts?

I was also curious about your FPP's.. I was all primed to land an LCD TV.. but if I kick it back to 25NL or even 50NL.. I'm not sure if that's ever going to happen. Do you have a rough estimate of the FPP/hand you earn at those stakes?

GL man... keep the thread going regardless, it's a good read.

I'm PlatinumStar, and now at 25NL I seem to be getting roughly 1FPP per 3 hands. At 100NL is was almost 1 per hand. I don't remember what it was when I played 50NL, but I would figure it's probably 1 point per 2 hands.

I got my TV today, and it's smokin' badass. Thanks to FTR, or I'd never have made the money to get it Now I just need to get some new stuff to play and watch on it..

Originally Posted by Setzy

I got my TV today, and it's smokin' badass. Thanks to FTR, or I'd never have made the money to get it Now I just need to get some new stuff to play and watch on it..

get the nintendo wii.. just dont throw the controller at it

On two separate occasions I have decided I was going to camp out and get me a Wii (biondino back me up!) and both times there were too many people in line...I loved Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube so I might just wait till the new one comes out for the Wii before I get one.

Originally Posted by TerryToma

Originally Posted by Setzy

I got my TV today, and it's smokin' badass. Thanks to FTR, or I'd never have made the money to get it Now I just need to get some new stuff to play and watch on it..

get the nintendo wii.. just dont throw the controller at it

/threadjack
is the new nintendo fun?

Originally Posted by Dislexsik

Originally Posted by TerryToma

Originally Posted by Setzy

I got my TV today, and it's smokin' badass. Thanks to FTR, or I'd never have made the money to get it Now I just need to get some new stuff to play and watch on it..

get the nintendo wii.. just dont throw the controller at it

/threadjack
is the new nintendo fun?

yessir! my friend bought it at midnight and brought it over. we played until 5am. just like old times, i felt young again lol

I love doing whatever I want, and taking it easy this month is making things really good. Grinding is okay, but we all know how mentally draining long sessions and taking beats can be. I am not winning a ton of money or anything, but I'm enjoying my sessions more than I have been in the past couple weeks..and I'm keeping them shorter, too.

For another change of pace I've been playing 25NL 6-max. I've decided I want to learn some poker and quit nutcamping..though it's not all huge bluffs and slim edges at this level, it's still pretty straightforward I've noticed, and it's looser than ring. Perhaps I can move up in this..but I'm not rushed, and that's something to think about at a later date. I may have an extended stay at 6-max, I may move back..I don't know, and at this juncture, it really doesn't matter.

I'm taking a new approach to keep my mentality stable. I have purposely not looked at my balance for the past few days. Whenever I play I purposely don't look, which is very very hard because I used to check so often, and I know that detracts from play. I think I'm up, but I'm not sure I may do something like check once a day or something, maybe at a fixed time. All I know is I don't want to be checking after hands, in the middle of playing and whatnot. Indivdual sessions don't matter, and with this much experience I should know that by now.

MicroBR: ???!

I'm also considering giving 25nl 6-max a shot. I check my balance at the end of the day/session, and don't worry about it while i'm playing. That seems to help keep my mind clear while i'm playing. I really messed up last month by checking my monthly net profit near the end of the month to see how close I was to my monthly goal. I discovered I was only 200$ away w/3 days left and overplayed way to much to try to clear it, which ended up costing me 700$.

I've run into a quandry.

Running pretty well at the moment, hitting plenty of sets and getting paid. I've been paying special attention to more of the 6-max threads being posted around here, and I have to agree that image plays a definite factor that it doesn't in ring, or at least, in the stakes I play/have played.

The quandry is that I'm not going to make it back to PlatinumStar status if I play as much as I have been. I haven't played too much, 1k hands a day or fewer (in respect to my average over the past few months, that's definitely lower). So I don't know what I'm going to do...let myself go back down to Gold?

I've run into a few ups and downs at 6-max, and in the past when I hit them I just went back to my normal ring game and nutcamped. Now that I've survived a downswing or two, I think I may be ready to stay there full time. I really want to increase my winrate. That will most likely be a goal for 2007.

Only time will tell.

I haven't left you 6-max!

But since Stars released that new bonus, I've gone back to playing 50NL ring to clear it faster. Once I get done with it (about 40% done) I'll go back to 6-max.

Gone back to checking my balance a little more (way less than I used to!), so I know how things are looking a little more now. I've enjoyed this "take it easy" month, but come January I'm ready to get down and dirty serious again. I've played considerably more lately with this bonus to clear, and I don't feel as lackadaisical as I have been in the past month or so. I will post some concrete poker resolutions in the coming days, which I hope to see through with some serious effort.

MicroBR: $1050

It's New Years Eve! 2006 has come and almost gone, and I have to say this was a good year. This post is going to be geared toward my goals for 2007, with probably a few thoughts and comments here and there.

Overall goals for 2007:

#1. ) Pay off my school loans entirely.

This will cost about 10k. I want to use a very solid approach to raising this money playing poker, using good, sound bankroll management and by putting in enough hours to get the job done within a reasonable amount of time. I have decided I will use a 25-30 buyin cushion to determine what stakes I will play at a given time, and not play terribly overrolled like I was at Party.

#2. ) Continue to fund bills with poker. I already have a decent amount set aside, enough to last me for a good while.

#3. ) Work on my tournament game. Even though it seems to be the concensus that the "real" money is in cash games, I have always felt like my tournament game was nothing special and I want to feel the magic of making final tables and hopefully winning a MTT. How exactly I will go about this I haven't decided yet..I may spend a full month on exclusively tourneys.

#4. ) Begin saving (post school loan payment), for a vehicle. What kind or price range is undetermined at this point. When I complete #1, I will decide more on this.

#5. ) Continue to track my progress as I have done, and increase my winrate by learning how to play against my opponents better.

And that's it. Here's to a new year!

Go dude p.s. I'm back in the country if you're AIMin'...

I've gone back to 50NL ring for the time being. It's not especially because I dislike 6-max or want to quit, it's just I feel that's where I need to do my "serious" grind. In addition I'm in the range for buyins for 50NL now, and I would not feel comfortable playing 50NL 6-max at this point in time.

Ring is going okay, however my winrate has not gone up much. I oftentimes wonder if the majority of what people post when they post graphs are just upswings, and what people's all-time winrates actually are.

I've stumbled upon a great idea I think may help me pay for my school loans. Today I decided to do a search on "Stars rakeback percentage FPP" or something like that on google, and ran into a 2+2 thread where a guy said he was able to use his FPP for the concierge service and Stars would make payments to his school loans. I believe I'm going to email them and see if they would be able to do this for me when I reach that amount. (180k FPP)

MicroBR: $1350

Hey Setz,

On my laptop, which is where I've played my last 70k hands (well over half of my all-time total), my PTBB/100 is exactly 6.

I've made another executive decision, and decided it's time to crank it up a notch. I'm assimilating the other money I put in Neteller with my MicroBR (originally to pay for my TV) and I'm going back to playing 100NL Ring full time. This will allow me to gain FPP practically twice as fast as I am now at 50NL, plus will make me well rolled to play 100NL.

I'm getting that itch to play tournies, but I'm purposely keeping away from them because when I get into them I want to get into them full time, not one here and one there. What I may end up doing is near the end of the year when I get all the FPP that I am striving for, make the switch.

All in all things have been breakeven lately. I posted a set of hands here:
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...oker-49185.htm
Comments would be great, as I will be posting the results sometime later today.

Just as a final thought, it would be awesome to make that Elite Supernova on Stars.. I know it can't happen at the level I'm playing, but maybe next year.

Grinding has been okay. My final session tonight was a bit annoying because I was getting amazingly great hands, and no one would play with me. It happens.

It's no joke, Stars 100NL ring is seriously a rock garden. The players are extremely tight, and most of the postflop play is straightforward and aggressive. Just as a quick example of facts, I will list the VPIP / PFR of the players I have the most hands played with at 100NL.

16.3/7.8
12.4/7.6
18.3/4.1
10.7/3.5
9.6/2.3
12.9/7.1
16.5/6.5
14/4.7
15.4/8.3
14/2.7
11.4/3.5
10.5/5.1

That is all-inclusive, with no filters or anything...every player I have over 1,000 hands logged with at 100NL. No VPIP over 20%. No PFR over 10%. Insane huh?

I just got to Platinumstar today, so I'm gaining those FPP faster now. I'm on pace to make Supernova by the end of May, I think that will be just fine.

BR - $3000

I don't think this statistics are that alarming.. you are essentially only tracking those players that are multitabling... since given the number of tables running it's difficult to get huge sample sizes from any one opponent unless you are extracting that data from multiple tables. And it's more common to see a multitaber play a nitter style... So although I agree that 100NL is a rock garden... I think your statement actually is verifing that those that multitable 100NL tend to be very rocky... not that everyone is a rock.

Your sample size is obviously much larger than mine.. but mine shows a similar trend the you reported for those persons from whom I have over 1000 hands listed..


11.8/6.3
9.14/4.7
16.1/3.8
19.5/5.2
11.9/8.9
11.6/1.1

Apparently I need to play more hands....

Nooo... NOOO! My plans!

-----------------------------------------------------

Hello Chris,

The service may not be used to pay bills. If you would like to exchange
FPPs for cash the best method is using the 100,000 FPP reward bonus
offered in the VIP Store.

Regards,

Scotty
PokerStars VIP Team

-------------------------------------------------------


Dangit. Props to PokerStars support for giving me the straight facts, and answering in a timely manner. My question about Neteller was answered within an hour or two, and this one in a day or so. Now I have to revise my plans...

I'd had such a good week, until today!

It's frustrating when you work so hard, play so much, and gain a whole slew of small wins only to see it crash down in a matter of a day. Today was one of those days where nothing goes right, and you just *know* you're going to spiral down. Nothing good gets paid off, every big hand loses, no matter how crappy pot odds you offer to your opponent, they still draw and hit. You virtually can't win when your big hands aren't winning, and today I end up in the red with pretty much every premium hand. (I knew it was coming with AA, just because I hadn't lost any big pots with it yet in a whole mess of hands)

This has been my first pretty rough patch since I've started this new year. Hopefully I can turn things around soon. I'm on the verge of 100k FPP, and about 1/6 of the way to Supernova status. I guess I'm going to get the $1500 VIP bonuses since the concierge thing won't work now. I may end up just putting it in my BR and taking out the money near the end of the year.

BR - $2965

hey gl setzy, it will turn around. I really believe a lot of the times that this happens to me I need to sit back, relax, and turn my attitude around. and I don't mean that I get pissed or anything, but I just mean that I need to realize that I have no reason to think negatively about my game as long as I wasn't playing stupidly.
If I ever break completely free of my sng habit and sit down to a 100NL stars table, I'm virually guaranteed to run into your 20-tabling nitastic self, so see you at the tables.

My recent dissatisfaction with ring has driven me away, for now.

When you play against groups of 10-17VPIP and 3-7PFR players, it becomes very hard to get paid off. Essentially, almost all of the getting stacked hands come from a "nuts-2nd nuts" or "overpair/set hand - combo-nut draw".

When I quit playing 6-max at the beginning of the year, it was to clear that Bonus Stars was offering and then with the new goals I had set for myself in 2007. But I've gotten away from one of my main goals - and that is to increase my winrate. There is no reason I should sit and play for 4 hours and earn 25% as much as someone else who is just as capable of a winning player. If I increase my winrate, I increase my return, and that should be the ultimate goal.

I think 6-max offers a chance to sustain a higher overall winrate than ring. One of the biggest reasons I think this is because it is much easier to exploit players at a 6-max table and win their money rather than having 7 other players and one fish around.

So for now, I'm going to go splash around at 50NL 6-max. Since I've played nearly a full month of 100NL, starting at 50NL 6-max shouldn't be too overwhelming, since the swings are expected to be greater and the learning hopefully won't have as much of a penalty. In addition, I am well overrolled for this level of 6-max, and I think that will be a good comfort.

January is drawing to a close, and I hope February finds me well.

Current BR: $3100

Ignore the last post, I played 50NL 6-max for one day and got pretty much a horrible taste in my mouth, so I went immediately back to ring. However, I'm not afraid to say that things are looking grim. By grim, I mean pretty craptastic.

I've been on a nice slide the past week, BR is sitting at $2475. I've been overplaying AA postflop, getting in the "it's the money hand, ARR in" mindset, which is so bad. Like everyone does on a downswing, I'm questioning the quality of my play, wondering how much is semi-tilt, how much is bad luck, and how much is bad play. After today I'm less than 1 buyin positive ALL TIME at 100NL, over 70k hands at Stars. I think that definitely proves that I'm lacking some necessary skills to succeed in the seemingly pretty damn tough 100NL Stars ring game.

From my own perspective, I find myself torn between betting turns and checking behind in position, trying not to build big pots without big hands, and facing check-raises from slowplayed sets (As Theory&Practice talks about), which usually in turn finds myself faced with some sort of river bet from the OOP caller. Then I have to decipher whether or not their hand is strong or whether they're betting because my hand is underrepped.

I've signed up for the Session Review, and hopefully I can learn (and maybe teach) a few things. What I do understand is that poker is a long-term game, and I'm still focusing on the long term. Something I *may* have to do is spend some FPP points on the cash bonus, clear it and keep on from there...I wanted to save up for the $1500, but if I lose very many more buyins I will not be adequately rolled for 100NL any longer.

Stay tuned, we'll see where the next week leads.

BR - $2475

Well, I've neglected posting my progress long enough. I've had a change of heart in the past few weeks, and I've changed and am now doing something that I find a lot less stressful and easier on the brain.

I dropped down. I dropped way down.

Now I'm swimming in the 25NL fish pond. I love it. For me, it's easier to put in more hands and it's also easier to get paid by bad players...so it's like a double bonus. The only thing that I really dislike about only playing 25NL is that I don't earn anywhere near as many FPP and VPP as I did playing the higher limits.

There's something to be said about being considerably overrolled for the limit you're playing. I think that personally I have not been following a very sound bankroll management strategy at these higher limits (that works for me). Most bankroll management guides tell you to have 20/30 buyins for the limit you are playing. That's all fine and dandy, but I still find that multitabling (and as I do, with usually 9) can be a bit overwhelming when a significant portion of your BR is in play at once.

With that said, I have not been putting in as many hands as I should/planned to. I've been partying a lot and going to a lot of shows. One problem I have is that the usual best times to play, weekend evenings, are the times that I have obligations and places to be, or are the times when I go out to party.

Anyhow, I've been steadily winning at 25NL over a good sample. I like playing with virtually no stress. Today I dipped into a few 180s (first tournies in a long, long time) with a friend, ended up placing 3rd in one, my best finish to date in one of those.

So, I think the purpose of this post is just to say that everybody has to follow their own path in the poker world, and there are many paths to success. I don't think that I have to beat every limit on PokerStars to be a good player, and I don't have to prove anything to anyone. In the end, no one will remember how many hands I played at a particular limit. It's all about doing as well as I can, and hopefully winning along the way.

BR - $3100

Sometimes things fall apart, and I can't explain why. But maybe we can figure some things out by dissecting a couple of hands.

Today I set out to put a large enough dent in my VPP on Stars that I could maintain Platinumstar by tomorrow. I played 4000 hands at 100NL (had been playing 25 and 50NL the past few weeks), and a lost a buyin. Not too bad, and I had swung up a buyin and then down, and finished down some. I leave, return and play a quick session and end up half a buyin, then decide to play a few MTTs.

I play 6, cash in 2 and bust before any FT's, pretty much making my money back, but nothing else. Afterward I decide to get back on and grind out my VPP some more.

Then in the span of 5 minutes, I run into a guy that 4-bets JJ oop on me and flops a set for a stack vs my AA when I smooth call, I lose KK vs QQ allin preflop to a spiked Q, my queens get busted by a set of 9s (this was probably the worst play of all the hands, because his line looked more suspicious than the others and may have been able to get away), and my QQ loses to JJ in a reraised pot when villain spikes a J on the river and check-raises me for like the 30% left in my stack. Coooooooooooler. End of that rant, let's talk about the hand histories.

If I'd gotten away from the ones that MAY have been possible to get away from, and played the AA to maximum expectation...here's what would have happened instead.

Hand #1.) I push AA preflop as a 5-bet, villain folds (I guess?) and I win $20 instead of losing $100. +$20

Hand #2.) I got 3-bet with villains QQ, I pushed the KK, nothing I could do. -$100

Hand #3.) I get QQ and raise it up preflop, and proceed to lead out on a 9 high flop into about 4 people for roughly $15. Villain calls, turn pairs the board with a 3 I believe...I lead for ~$26 and Villain reraised to like $70. This is where I tanked and decided to push instead of fold. So say I fold, and save the rest of my $105 stack. -$50

Hand #4.) I get QQ and reraise on the button, Villain calls. Flop comes low and villain check-calls $18 or so, then leads out weak on the turn ($10). Here I can go all in, or fold. Funny spot because I'm not sure of Villain's play if I do go all in, he may call and I lose $100, or he may fold and I win roughly $40. If I call, the river comes and he checks to me, I bet $36 and he check-raises me (where I should lay it down I guess) for the rest of my stack, like $40 more. So I could either lose $100 (all in on turn), win $40 (he folds on turn), lose $60 (fold to river CR), or lose $100 (calling the all in, as I did). -$220/4 = -$55 average between the four outcomes.

So if I played those hands the MOST optimally I guess, I would lose only $185, instead of $400. Quite a difference. Hold'em is about minimizing your losses in your mistakes, and in those hands I did not.

Anyhow, I will finish up my VPP tomorrow at 50NL. I've amassed over 130k FPP now and I'm just waiting to get to Supernova before cashing them in for the cash Bonus.

BR - $3100

If you didn't get sucked out on though the way you played the hands would have been more profitable. You need to look at it from both angles. Tongiht I lost full stacks all in PF with QQ both times losing to AJ. Think I should've just folded pf?

Big pots are meant for big hands, you just ran into some variance

Call me crazy, but I've been avoiding the "post a blog, run like crap" syndrome and haven't been updating for a while. March has been exceptionally good to me, and I'm sittin' pretty right now.

Last Sunday I chopped the $3.30R for just under $2,000. I really feel like I've been playing great (especially in the rebuy tournaments), understanding how tight players play, when stealing blinds is a good idea, and using stack preservation and image to keep myself in the game. I played the 3.30R again yesterday and was on track to make a good run and unfortunately lost a crucial coinflip (AA vs 88c, all club board) in a reraised pot that sent me packing. I cashed in the 5.50R 2 days ago (the only time I've played it recently), finishing just outside the top 100. I played well in that tourney and built my stack up, won a few races and then lost one or two, and was out.

But don't get me wrong, I'm not getting stars in my eyes and thinking I'm a pro tournament player or anything. Cash is still my bread and butter game and I'm not leaving it. With my newfound BR boost I really have a great cushion for playing 100NL, and I've been grinding out a small winrate while also gaining a lot of FPPs. 3 months into the year and I'm almost halfway to Supernova. I'd really like to get it done by the end of May, but we'll see how it pans out. If I could play somewhere in the vicinity of 60K hands at 100NL in April and May I think that would do it.

BR - $5,800

Bit of a shameless bump..in case anyone who reads my progress thread didn't know, it's in this new forum called "Poker Blogs and Operations". Good idea for a forum, Poker Etc. was getting to be a bit of a mess.

Well it's not a completely non-content post, I've changed my game! Believe it or not, Setzy is playing limit now. Yeah yeah I know. But honestly, I think I can multi-table it far easier and gain the FPP I need to get to supernova faster. Just the other day I realized that the supernova bonus is going to be "reviewed" on June 30, so I 100% absolutely HAVE to get to supernova before then and buy those bonuses!

I'm not disowning NL or anything, just taking a break to keep things fresh. I enjoy the mathematical aspects of limit, and believe I play better than my opponents, so I think that combination will pay off for me.

Well...

I never can stick to anything, it seems like. I played a lot of limit the past few weeks, and finally burned out on it. For the meantime, I've switched back to 100NL. Today was pretty rough...but the more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized that it wasn't an "exceptional" downswing as much as a "normal" one. 5 buyins is not that many, and over a 3k hand span even more so!

It's not even really worth going over as far as hand histories go, but just to reassure myself that they were played well I'll run through them fairly quickly.

Full stack losses -
AA vs KK - All in preflop, K on flop.
KK vs AQ - All in preflop, A on flop.
AA vs JJ - Reraised pot pre and big bets on flop/turn, spiked set on river and got all in (< than a psb left).

Other half stackish losses -
Bottom set vs Top set - All in on flop
Bottom two pair turned boat vs top set turned boat - All in on turn
Bottom set vs Top set - Big bets every street - All in on river
QK made 2p on turn vs AK 2p made on flop (I was aggressor preflop) - All in on turn

Just ran through my HH's for the day, which is always a good thing to do. It's never fun losing, but it IS good to know that you play well, and eventually the luck will even out. For all of today's adventures, nothing still beats the 1 outer I took yesterday

Like I used to be in the lower levels, I am starting to get a really good feel for how the players are at 100NL. I am confident in my game, my hand reading skills, and more so in my post-flop skills than even a month ago. I'm very happy to see myself still progressing and not stagnating.

In other news, I am 2/3 of the way to Supernova status on Stars. I have a whole bunch of FPP saved up and ready to go when I get there. If I play as much in the following weeks as I have in this month, I am on track to be done in less than one month.

That's all for now...

tough hands. keep workin on your skillz though it will pay off.

I'm officially Supernova.

I have got to fucking quit paying off these 100NL nits when they bet on the river and I'm so obviously beat.

STOP

CALLING

RIVER

BETS

SETZY.

I'm such a breakeven player, it'd make you guys sick.

Right now I'm sort of in a poker funk. I feel like I play well compared to the regulars that I play against, but for some reason I don't have good results. Don't get me wrong, the 100NL FR regulars on Stars are pretty annoying to deal with. Some things I'm starting to seriously believe though...

1.) When you play versus a bunch of nitty regulars, your image so very rarely ever comes into play. Oooh, so you raise 89s UTG. They don't care. They're going to call preflop and look for a set. Most times, they fold to the cbet. But every so often, that 1 in 8 shot hits and you get raised, or they hit some other pretty good hand.

2.) If you're looking for the truth, it's on the river. In my experience, you almost always know where you stand when the bets come out on the river. If you're out of position and you get raised, expect something damn near the nuts.

3.) Small bets followed by reraises from the same player on the same street equals incredible strength hands.

Something I'm having incredible difficulty with is determining where I stand versus a flop raise.

Examples:
I raise AJ in MP and a fullstacked button calls, and the flop comes out A67 rainbow or AQ5 with two diamonds. I cbet and get minraised. What the hell?

I raise JJ in MP, two players call. The flop comes out undercards, and I get minraised. I've seen sets in this position and stuff as crazy as AKo with no draw.

I have a problem 3-betting on the flop because I feel it ties me to the pot that much more, especially when I'm beat. Sometimes folding seems too weak and raising seems too spewy, but then calling seems too passive...so I'm stuck.

The minraise on the flop in general perplexes me, and I find myself lost more in those situations than any other.

I've cleared one of the $1500 bonuses and started on the next one. This new promotion is awesome, but my playing is lackluster. I'm pretty unhappy about it, to say the least...but I have to take advantage of this promotion while I can. Being Supernova makes it just that much better, too.

congrats on supernova.

i liked your points, keep thinking things through, & posting about them. we all benefit.

Basically after I don't know what you'd call it...a meltdown and rejuvenation of sorts, I have come to a couple major decisions in lieu of some of my recent bad times.

I'm going to start making some DETAILED and specific goals, starting now.

Goal #1. - 1ptbb/100 LONG TERM

As of this moment, I want to be a minimum 1ptbb/100 LONG TERM winner at 100NL FR. I'm erasing the past, and starting over now. Starting at zero. The past is history. I'm going to embarrass myself by stating publicly that I am a marginally losing player at 100NL FR over 120k+ hands. That's going to change.

I am going to set some new rules and guidelines for myself. If I lose two buyins within a 15 minute span, I will immediately leave all tables and take an hour break. During the hour I will consciously review my current play and visit the forums to post and read.

I am going to study and read an hour for every four hours of play. This will include reading hand histories, posting hand histories, giving feedback and hopefully getting feedback.


Goal #2. - 20k by Jan 1, 2008.

I don't care how much I have to play to get it, but including bonuses and winnings I want to have a 20k BR by Jan 1, 2008. I will be taking out 10k to pay for my school loans, which will leave me with a 10k BR. Right now my BR is $6,300, with one $1,500 bonus 1/3 complete and 150k in FPP left to purchase more. By working off this bonus and the next I should have the additional 50k FPP to buy another $1,500 bonus, totaling $4,500 in bonuses. That leaves $10,200 to gain.


It's time to quit screwing around. I have played poker without a job for almost a year now, and I have no reason to not be a winning, successful player.

i really enjoyed reading your blog Setzy. Congratulations on reaching Supernova, that is really something.

Goal #2. - 20k by Jan 1, 2008.

It seems doable, given your history, current BR, and upcoming bonuses.

Assuming a 1ptBB/100 winrate at 100NL, needing to earn approx. 10k:

... equals 1million hands. (i hope my math isn't wrong!)

So, i would say this is doable IF you can earn 5-6ptBB/100, and therefore play 200k+ hands in the next 7 months (close to a full time players number of hands in a similar time period).

Goal #1. - 1ptbb/100 LONG TERM

I have good news for you. Once you start spending more time analyzing your game i can guarantee you will be a much bigger winner than 1ptBB/100. I am undecided as to whether setting such a modest goal is best for your poker playing, but that may be personality dependent. Either way, good luck!

Well my first session didn't go that great.

2448 hands, -$153. I thought I played well, but I'll post a few big hands for analysis anyhow.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Villain is an aggressive multitabling regular, lordyefc.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP3 ($102.55)
CO ($40.30)
Hero ($149.50)
SB ($119.40)
BB ($126.40)
UTG ($263.70)
UTG+1 ($130)
MP1 ($128.90)
MP2 ($19.90)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 2, 2.
UTG calls $1, 3 folds, MP3 raises to $5, 1 fold, Hero calls $5, 2 folds, UTG calls $4.

Flop: ($16.50) 3, A, 2 (3 players)
UTG checks, MP3 bets $10, Hero raises to $30, UTG folds, MP3 raises to $97.55, Hero calls $67.55.

Turn: ($211.60) 5 (2 players)

River: ($211.60) 7 (2 players)

Final Pot: $211.60


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lots of action preflop, raise good or would I drive out potentially worse hands?


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB ($59)
UTG ($208.80)
MP1 ($29.50)
MP2 ($44.50)
CO ($84.85)
Hero ($185.05)
SB ($54.80)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, K.
UTG calls $1, MP1 raises to $5, MP2 calls $5, 1 fold, Hero raises to $30, 2 folds, UTG folds, MP1 calls $24.50 (All-In), MP2 raises to $44.5, Hero calls $14.50.

Flop: ($121) 4, 2, 2 (3 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($121) 3 (3 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($121) 3 (3 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $121

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flop aggression good, or too over the top?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button ($95.80)
Hero ($108.95)
BB ($194.15)
UTG ($130.50)
UTG+1 ($266.70)
MP1 ($97.40)
MP2 ($127.40)
CO ($19.10)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K.
6 folds, Hero raises to $4, BB calls $3.

Flop: ($8) 4, T, 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $6, BB raises to $15, Hero raises to $38, BB calls $23.

Turn: ($84) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $66.95 (All-In)...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking back on this next hand, I probably should raise this flop. The minraise on the river just screams that I'm beat though.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG+1 ($21.20)
MP1 ($48.65)
Hero ($112.85)
CO ($157.20)
Button ($126.10)
SB ($101.65)
BB ($42.90)
UTG ($100)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, Q.
3 folds, Hero raises to $4, 3 folds, BB calls $3.

Flop: ($8.50) 6, K, A (2 players)
BB bets $6, Hero calls $6.

Turn: ($20.50) T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($20.50) 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $11, BB raises to $22, Hero ....?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Usually I don't slowplay, but this hand was multiway and I wanted to try and get the other villains to hang around.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP3 ($34.20)
CO ($51.45)
Button ($101.35)
Hero ($101)
BB ($158.90)
UTG ($144.30)
UTG+1 ($96.65)
MP1 ($61.45)
MP2 ($93.45)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 2, 2.
2 folds, MP1 raises to $3, 1 fold, MP3 calls $3, 1 fold, Button calls $3, Hero calls $2.50, 1 fold.

Flop: ($13) 8, 8, 2 (4 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $6, MP3 calls $6, Button folds, Hero calls $6.

Turn: ($31) 3 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $6, MP3 folds, Hero raises to $19, MP1 calls $13.

River: ($69) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $73 (All-In)...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Getting CR'ed on the turn makes this easy to lay down, right? Villain is vanflone, running 15/7 after 90 hands with an agg factor under 1 on the flop and turn.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP2 ($100.55)
CO ($124.70)
Button ($138.90)
SB ($25.30)
BB ($100)
UTG ($117.40)
Hero ($131.95)
MP1 ($100.35)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with T, T.
1 fold, Hero raises to $4, 5 folds, BB calls $3.

Flop: ($8.50) 2, 8, 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $7, BB calls $7.

Turn: ($22.50) 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $13, BB raises to $30, Hero ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Call, not raise? I figured raising would actually BETTER disguise my hand.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

CO ($122.25)
Button ($85.85)
SB ($136.90)
BB ($99.15)
UTG ($119.45)
Hero ($103.25)
MP2 ($104.75)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 8, 8.
UTG raises to $4, Hero calls $4, 5 folds.

Flop: ($9.50) 8, 8, 2 (2 players)
UTG bets $6, Hero raises to $18...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is about the best one for discussion, IMO. Villain is Schwallie4, multitabling winning player. He's only running 12/6 in this 150 hand session though. Thoughts on each street?


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

SB ($24.05)
BB ($100)
UTG ($95.60)
UTG+1 ($25.35)
Hero ($100)
MP2 ($138.80)
MP3 ($58.50)
CO ($76.80)
Button ($120.95)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q, 9.
UTG calls $1, UTG+1 calls $1, Hero calls $1, 2 folds, CO calls $1, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($6) J, K, K (6 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $4, CO calls $4, SB folds, BB calls $4, UTG calls $4, UTG+1 folds.

Turn: ($22) 2 (4 players)
BB checks, UTG bets $12, Hero calls $12, CO folds, BB calls $12.

River: ($58) 6 (3 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $25 ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This one ok?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero ($100)
UTG+1 ($15.85)
MP1 ($147.55)
MP2 ($92.85)
CO ($436.60)
Button ($38.75)
SB ($175.30)
BB ($107.10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, K.
Hero raises to $4, 1 fold, MP1 calls $4, 5 folds.

Flop: ($9.50) 2, A, 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $7, MP1 raises to $16, Hero raises to $40, MP1 calls $24.

Turn: ($89.50) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $56 (All-In) ...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Sorry for so many hands, but that is over almost a 2500 hand span. Hopefully better results soon.

EDIT: RESULTS REMOVED IN RELEVANT HANDS!

Plz don't post results... end right before (or after) your last decision...

I changed 'em....happy?

Yep

1. Standard.
2. I only raise to $20 pre-flop, but since they're both shorties this is fine.
3. Flop aggression is good but I might just push the flop. As played, def push the turn.
4. I'm ok calling the flop, but def bet the turn. As played, your line looks super weak so I'm always calling this river.
5. Looks good to me.
6. Yeah, I think you gotta lay this one down on the turn.
7. Hmmm... I don't mind it. Don't mind a flat call if he c-bets a lot though.
8. You gotta raise that turn. Not much money in the pot, draws will probably pay, and you're letting a bare Ad draw cheaply. I value bet a little bigger on the river, like $40ish.
9. I c/c turn to pick off a bluff. You're only getting called by hands you're behind here imo.

My evening session brings me back to positive for the day, and a much needed day in the green.

I only had one hand where I missed some value (after reviewing the evening session), and it's SOMEWHAT debatable because it was a 3-way pot and I was looking to get a call from the third person to bloat the pot on the river. I'm still interested in hearing other opinions on the hands from earlier. Not all are losing hands

Tomorrow I may post hands involving minraises, since those are still somewhat baffling.

Pretty decent little session...only one hand I had a pretty hard decision to make.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Hero ($197)
CO ($55.95)
Button ($116.65)
SB ($83.20)
BB ($100.30)
UTG ($102.40)
UTG+1 ($104.70)
MP1 ($82.25)
MP2 ($101.45)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A, A.
UTG calls $1, 3 folds, Hero raises to $5, 4 folds, UTG calls $4.

Flop: ($11.50) 8, A, 9 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $8, UTG calls $8.

Turn: ($27.50) 7 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $17, UTG calls $17.

River: ($61.50) K (2 players)
UTG bets $43, Hero ...

Villain has about $30 left and is unknown...I wasn't sure if I should put him in or just call, because of the potential draws that got there. After reviewing however...he limped UTG, which seemingly should narrow his range a bit more. Hmmmmm....

One other thing, after talking with Zook I've decided to nix the "two buyins lost and quit" thing. I WILL quit when I feel like I'm not playing optimtally and with +EV. I think this posting and making myself accountable is really helping.

Nothing like a garbage session to make you think you're the worst poker player to ever grace the fine earth. I got outplayed at pretty much every turn...people were 3-betting my raises preflop and I could almost be certain that they weren't playing their hands, they were outplaying me.

The only plus to the whole situation is I finished my next bonus.

Here's some hands, in case anyone is interested....

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button ($197.50)
SB ($98.60)
BB ($119.80)
UTG ($68.05)
UTG+1 ($30.55)
MP1 ($129.45)
Hero ($120.70)
CO ($35)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, A.
2 folds, MP1 raises to $4, Hero raises to $13, 4 folds, MP1 calls $9.

Flop: ($27.50) 9, 6, K (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $17, MP1 raises to $34, Hero calls $17. (oh boy, i got check-minraised....should I write a note about this?)

Turn: ($95.50) 3 (2 players)
MP1 bets $82.45 (All-In), Hero calls $73.70 (All-In). (Does anyone fold AA in this 3-bet pot, is this AK once...in a blue moon?)

River: ($251.65) 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $251.65


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP2 ($67.80)
CO ($108.15)
Button ($66.95)
SB ($491.60)
Hero ($101.55)
UTG ($27.70)
MP1 ($96)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A.
3 folds, CO raises to $4, Button calls $4, 1 fold, Hero raises to $20, CO folds, Button calls $16.

Flop: ($44.50) 9, 6, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $24, Button raises to $46.95, Hero calls $22.95. (I mean you have to, right?)

Turn: ($138.40) 7 (2 players)

River: ($138.40) Q (2 players)

Final Pot: $138.40


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


On this hand I raised the villain because I had top pair and his bet was extremely weak. When he reraised to $20 is this an insta-muck, or can I think this is ever AK (or something weird like KK or a 2 heart draw....nah, not a draw) and I could possibly spike a Q and take the lead?


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP1 ($132.35)
MP2 ($120.95)
MP3 ($180.90)
Hero ($99.05)
Button ($31.75)
SB ($102.70)
BB ($140.75)
UTG ($100)
UTG+1 ($102.65)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, Q.
3 folds, MP2 raises to $4, 1 fold, Hero calls $4, 3 folds.

Flop: ($9.50) A, 4, 5 (2 players)
MP2 bets $3, Hero raises to $10, MP2 raises to $20, Hero calls $10.

Turn: ($49.50) T (2 players)
MP2 bets $25, Hero calls $25.

River: ($99.50) K (2 players)
MP2 bets $50, Hero ....


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


This shortstack is 28/7, fairly aggressive....decent spot to gamble with a probable 99+?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP2 ($59.45)
CO ($104.75)
Button ($29.65)
SB ($179.10)
Hero ($215.50)
UTG ($55.10)
UTG+1 ($109.80)
MP1 ($115.60)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, A.
5 folds, Button raises to $4, 1 fold, Hero raises and commits... ?


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Looking back, I screwed this hand up because I was trying to keep the fullstack in and wasn't really worrying about the half stack. After the full stack folded the flop, the shortie had an awkward amount left, and I made a betting error.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG ($90)
UTG+1 ($99)
Hero ($100)
MP2 ($97.15)
MP3 ($41.60)
CO ($96.50)
Button ($58.50)
SB ($76.90)
BB ($88.30)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with K, K.
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1, Hero raises to $5, 1 fold, MP3 calls $5, 4 folds, UTG+1 calls $4.

Flop: ($16.50) Q, K, T (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $9, MP3 calls $9, UTG+1 folds. <--- Should bet $11-12 here into the $15 pot

Turn: ($34.50) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $13, MP3 calls $13. <--- After betting $11-12 on flop, can put the rest in here

River: ($60.50) J (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 bets $7, Hero calls $7.

Final Pot: $74.50


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Here I tried a flat-out bluff, do bluffs need to be 3-barrels?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

SB ($68.70)
BB ($38.55)
UTG ($135.65)
UTG+1 ($137.05)
MP1 ($94.40)
MP2 ($71.50)
Hero ($101.85)
Button ($42.65)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 8, 9.
3 folds, MP2 calls $1, Hero raises to $5, 3 folds, MP2 calls $4.

Flop: ($11.50) A, A, 2 (2 players)
MP2 bets $2, Hero raises to $10, MP2 calls $8.

Turn: ($31.50) 6 (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero checks.

River: ($31.50) J (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $16, MP2 calls $16.

Final Pot: $63.50


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


What is up here? Villain is unknown.


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

MP1 ($114)
MP2 ($27.90)
Hero ($102.60)
Button ($99.50)
SB ($54.65)
BB ($151.60)
UTG ($52.20)
UTG+1 ($95.50)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, A.
2 folds, MP1 raises to $3, 1 fold, Hero raises to $11, 2 folds, BB calls $10, MP1 folds.

Flop: ($25.50) 7, 6, 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $16, BB calls $16.

Turn: ($57.50) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $48, Hero ... ?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another disgusting decision, another unknown..


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG+1 ($99)
MP1 ($182.10)
Hero ($103.95)
CO ($53.05)
Button ($73.25)
SB ($137.45)
BB ($97.50)
UTG ($98.50)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 9, T.
1 fold, UTG+1 raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero calls $2, 1 fold, Button calls $2, 2 folds.

Flop: ($7.50) 6, Q, J (3 players)
UTG+1 bets $4, Hero raises to $13, Button folds, UTG+1 calls $9.

Turn: ($33.50) 5 (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $20, UTG+1 calls $20.

River: ($73.50) K (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $23, Hero ....

Final Pot: $96.50

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


BB Special, I play good?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG+1 ($18.50)
MP1 ($33.65)
MP2 ($145.65)
MP3 ($98.50)
CO ($64)
Button ($100.50)
SB ($39)
Hero ($100)
UTG ($97)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4, 6.
5 folds, CO calls $1, 1 fold, SB completes, Hero checks.

Flop: ($3) K, 2, 7 (3 players)
SB bets $4, Hero raises to $13, CO folds, SB raises to $38, Hero calls $25.

Turn: ($79) J (2 players)

River: ($79) 7 (2 players)

Final Pot: $79



Tonight was like $30 here, $30 there, $25 there....and suddenly I'm down $600. I guess winning 38% showdowns, getting outplayed by aggressive players and not 100% playing by me (although I do think I played well, just not GREAT, though there were some crummy spots).

Basically my confidence is shattered...I've lost around 20 buyins in the past week. Am I not good enough to beat 100NL? Maybe not, maybe that's the harsh realization.

Here's the thing, I think I play well...I'm not a nit running 10/5 or 12/3 or whatever, I play 17/12 and I'm aggressive. So what the fuck?

Tonight was one of those nights, every time I went to steal a blind with K3 on the button because it was folded to me, I got 3-bet, yet every time I woke up with a real hand, I took down the blinds.

I'm studying, I'm reading, I'm posting...I'm losing. I'm at a loss. Surely this can't be my plateau of poker, THE MICRO LIMITS?

Nothing's really changed since I last updated...I'm still slowly losing and bonuses are keeping me afloat. I'm on my last $1,500 bonus now that I have FPP for. I've decided I'm going to change my game for the millionth time...mainly because I'm sick of FR. Maybe 100NL FR is easy for some people, but it's not for me, for whatever reason. I've decided what I'm going to do is grind out a particular amount of hands at 50NL 6-max, and see how things go from there.

Stars 10 Billion double points promtion ends today, so I will be concentrating much more on creating a winning game rather than being a bonus whore.

Since the promotion ended I've played very sparsely and basically tried to just rathole a few wins every day. The past 4 to 5 days had been successful, but today's 1k hands pretty much erased all that as I lost 5 buyins. Still pretty much a breakeven and unimpressive player, honestly.

I really hate the woe is me shit that it seems like I'm posting, but it's not like that. I'm not down on myself or whatever, I feel good about my play overall. Today I got a little coolered, a little outplayed, the stuff that happens to everyone at some point or another.

Today the big mistakes I made were all on the river, calling large bets with one pair and overpair type hands, and one large blunder calling a checkraise with tptk and then calling off the rest of my stack. I'm feeling that the river is STILL where the majority of the truth comes out about players hands, even at 6-max 100NL. I just have to be patient, not pay off other people, play smart and I can do this.

BR - $9190

Still slightly losing, but clearing bonuses puts me in the green. I've topped $10k now, but don't have any more 100k FPP bonuses to cash in at this point. I think I'm playing fairly well, not perfect obviously...a couple times I've gotten into reraised pots with KK and the ace flops and I just decide that it's all going in anyway, and each time the villain has some Ax combo.

I need something to get me back to playing more, I have slacked off a lot.

BR - $10k

Well a bit has happened since my last post. I started getting low on funds in my bank account, so I had to request a check to make sure I don't go negative in the next month. Basically I just decided to cash out a $1,500 Bonus and use that. However, just the other day I cleared a new $1,500 bonus, so it's pretty much back to where it was. I've played a whole lot in the past week, driven to unlock that bonus.

Yesterday I decided to take a break and play the $3.30R, which is fast becoming my tourney of choice. Ended up finishing 12th of 2334, which is great and terrible at the same time, because I was so close to making another 4 figure cash. I was basically on a freeroll though, because at one point I shoved over what I thought was a late position blind steal and rivered a guy on a 2-outer, A8 vs AK on a X8K X 8 board.

I also won a AK vs AK allin preflop hand by rivering a flush, but the poker gods would not let me taste another final table as I got my AA crushed vs 87o and my QQ vs JJ vs AT 3 way allin [(Jxxh)xx board for the bad beat stories for the kids], missed my 11 outs on the turn and river as I had the only heart between all of us. Still walked away with a bit under $200, but anybody who plays tourneys will tell you that man, it's just not satisfying to go all that way and get soooooooo close. You gotta get lucky to win those things, and I did...but it was not meant to be there at the end. As my friend said, the guy who had me covered on the QQ hand (incidentally the same one who I won the AK vs AK hand) had reraised his JJ and it was all going in no matter how many chips I had.

I am still toying with the idea of playing a whole bunch of tournies, but man I think those things might be more heartbreak than cash games. I've actually had some decent success recently, trying to manage pots better and keep my head out of fewer bad situations. I'm really improving my postflop play, and making better calls and reads than ever. I feel "in the zone" as far as being able to decipher who has what, and oftentimes I am right!

Here are two hands, and I'm not going to convert them because you have to see the chat in the first one to really get the full story.

PokerStars Game #10864923929: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2007/07/10 - 10:03:34 (ET)
Table 'Corvus IV' 9-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Michael ST ($53.85 in chips)
Seat 2: SetzerMason ($119.65 in chips)
Seat 3: Dloreb ($58.20 in chips)
Seat 4: Skiing7654 ($105.05 in chips)
Seat 5: IKA258 ($104.55 in chips)
Seat 6: PokerChef511 ($194.50 in chips)
Seat 7: 1p0kerboy ($116 in chips)
Seat 8: brysof ($50.65 in chips)
Seat 9: StarMike2006 ($130.10 in chips)
SetzerMason: posts small blind $0.50
Dloreb: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to SetzerMason [Qd Ad]
Skiing7654: calls $1
IKA258: folds
PokerChef511: folds
1p0kerboy: calls $1
brysof: folds
StarMike2006: folds
Michael ST: folds
SetzerMason: raises $5 to $6
Dloreb: calls $5
Skiing7654: calls $5
1p0kerboy: calls $5
*** FLOP *** [Ac 3c Qh]
SetzerMason: bets $15
Dloreb: raises $37.20 to $52.20 and is all-in
Skiing7654: folds
1p0kerboy: raises $57.80 to $110 and is all-in
SetzerMason said, "well pokerboy has a set of 3s"
SetzerMason said, "i guess top two isn't any good :/"
SetzerMason: folds
*** TURN *** [Ac 3c Qh] [As]
*** RIVER *** [Ac 3c Qh As] [Ah]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dloreb: shows [4c Qc] (a full house, Aces full of Queens)
SetzerMason said, "**** rofl"
1p0kerboy: shows [3s 3h] (a full house, Aces full of Threes)
Dloreb collected $140.40 from pot

This next one looks awful in a vacuum, but trust me I seriously knew I was no good.


PokerStars Game #10865733623: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2007/07/10 - 11:24:02 (ET)
Table 'Hathor' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: wingsrock ($64.50 in chips)
Seat 2: SetzerMason ($158.95 in chips)
Seat 3: Scarer ($97 in chips)
Seat 4: Michel84 ($107.15 in chips)
Seat 5: venkanto ($136.90 in chips)
Seat 6: wildpike ($85.50 in chips)
Seat 7: dinchii ($40.80 in chips)
Seat 8: JohnRegular7 ($15.50 in chips)
Seat 9: Andi100001 ($90.95 in chips)
wildpike: posts small blind $0.50
dinchii: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to SetzerMason [5s 5h]
JohnRegular7: folds
Andi100001: raises $1 to $2
wingsrock: folds
SetzerMason: calls $2
Scarer: folds
Michel84: calls $2
venkanto: calls $2
wildpike: folds
dinchii: folds
*** FLOP *** [9c Qs 5d]
Andi100001: bets $1
SetzerMason: raises $6 to $7
Michel84: calls $7
venkanto: folds
Andi100001: calls $6
*** TURN *** [9c Qs 5d] [Ac]
Andi100001: checks
SetzerMason: checks
Michel84: bets $20
Andi100001: calls $20
SetzerMason: calls $20
*** RIVER *** [9c Qs 5d Ac] [8s]
Andi100001: checks
SetzerMason: checks
Michel84: bets $78.15 and is all-in
Andi100001: calls $61.95 and is all-in
SetzerMason: folds
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Michel84: shows [9d 9h] (three of a kind, Nines)
Andi100001: mucks hand
Michel84 collected $211.40 from pot


So anyhow, here's to keeping it up.

BR - $11,700

Story of my poker life

PokerStars Game #11271385321: Hold'em No Limit ($0.50/$1.00) - 2007/08/02 - 14:17:37 (ET)
Table 'Industria V' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Chrill0r ($156.95 in chips)
Seat 2: vagner77 ($130.40 in chips)
Seat 4: SetzerMason ($90.50 in chips)
Seat 5: AR_GTAm ($98.50 in chips)
Seat 6: quendam ($23.65 in chips)
Seat 7: silentiger ($78.20 in chips)
Seat 8: Sodom ($21.70 in chips)
Seat 9: dodoli ($42.55 in chips)
quendam: posts small blind $0.50
silentiger: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to SetzerMason [9s Ts]
Sodom: folds
dodoli: folds
Chrill0r: folds
vagner77: calls $1
SetzerMason: calls $1
AR_GTAm: folds
quendam: calls $0.50
silentiger is disconnected
silentiger is connected
silentiger: checks
*** FLOP *** [8s Jc Js]
quendam: checks
silentiger: checks
vagner77: checks
SetzerMason: bets $3
quendam: folds
silentiger: folds
vagner77: calls $3
*** TURN *** [8s Jc Js] [4s]
vagner77: checks
SetzerMason: bets $6
vagner77: calls $6
*** RIVER *** [8s Jc Js 4s] [Qs]
vagner77: folds
SetzerMason collected $20.95 from pot
SetzerMason: doesn't show hand

Actually feel like I'm playing pretty well right now...outplaying the majority of my opponents and whatnot. Today my cards were on fire, (the hand above, sets, flopped quads twice, blah blah), so many great hands and pretty much nothing got paid. Just one of those times when there's really not much you can do. Currently working on another bonus ...about 1/5 done with that.

I messed around with some 6-max limit for a while....really great for amassing FPP and VPP, that's for sure. But I really don't care for the game that much..that's just me. Might play more as just something else to do, when I get sort of "bored" with NL. What is fun about 6-max limit, because you really get to play more hands and try to decipher what your opponents have. You see a lot of showdowns....or at least I do

BR - $13,500

That's really weird.

Today I lost about as much as I ever have in a single day, 10 buyins over about 4k hands. I'm not going to go into incredible detail about it, because it's not terribly interesting...the standard, a few coolers and a few possibly questionable plays. What's funny is even though I lost all that today, I'm still at the same BR amount that I was at as of my last post. That's almost reassuring, which means I've WON 10 buyins in the past week, I just lost them all back today which puts me at even for the week

I am almost complete with the bonus that I have been working on, and though today I was reconsidering taking my shot at 200NL with it, now that I think about it more I think I am going to...why do I need to sit forever at 100NL? I don't. If the shot goes bad, it's not like I'm busto or anything, I have a great BR cushion. Also fast approaching is the first of the milestone bonuses, and this first one will be worth $2000. Woot!

BR - $13.5k

13.5K and still at 100NL, wow

Originally Posted by Da GOAT

13.5K and still at 100NL, wow

Right, but I will definitely be taking 10k out to pay for school loans, which means I "technically" only have 3.5k disposable.

I've been getting beat down lately. Beat down badly.

I've come back to this thread several times in the past few days, and wanted to update my progress..but I didn't know what to say. I've dabbled in 200NL FR and had a good session or two, and a couple of bad sessions....I'm down a few buyins overall there. I'm still losing overall at 100NL FR, which is telling me that I should not be playing higher than 100 if I can't even beat that long term! I've pretty much failed my goal of winning 1PTBB/100, or even having a positive winrate. I read, I study, I try to decipher other people's hands. I try to play a level ahead of other people, but something just doesn't work. I am not going to blame things on bad luck, because that is too easy to do. I will just suffice to say that SOMETHING is not working, and that is that.



So.....



I'm changing it up again. I've looked over Sauce's Super-Simple guide to beating 6-Max Post-UIGEA and I am going to try and fully implement this style playing 100NL 6max, by strictly following this guide, and mold myself into a winning player. Here's my new mini-operation for September (which does not supercede any of my annual goals, this is just a set of new goals):

SEPTEMBER 2007 GOAL SET:

1.) Play 100,000 hands of WINNING 6-max 100NL by 9-tabling in the month of September. Anything above 0ptbb/100 is considered a success.

2.) Upload my hands from Poker Tracker nightly before bed. This will ensure a complete database.

3.) Learn Sauce's guide inside and out, and implement the ideas accordingly...especially paying attention to 3-betting players based on their potential ranges.

4.) Review, post, and discuss hands much more than I have been doing. This will be the loosest of the goals, but nevertheless important.


I am a competitor, and I will beat my competition.

GL on your new operation. 6 max is a much tougher game than FR so don't get too discouraged if you don't win right away. Stick to it, however, and you should be fine.

Setzy: I think 9-tabling right when you start 6max might be a little ambitious. Maybe start with 4-6 and work you way up. Just a thought. GL.

I agree with zook, 9-tabling 6-max when you first make the switch sounds like highway to burnout. Personally I play 6-8 tables and I think I shouldn't play more than 6, as my play deteriorates above that. Sooo hard not to sit at 8 when the fish are out in force though.

Just because it may not already be clear...I'm not brand spankin new to 6-max, I've already logged probably 50k hands lifetime at various limits...

And you're talkin to the guy who has 12-tabled FR forever, and 9 6-max tables are a similar amount of hands per hour. I've already made an agreement with a friend that if this side operation doesn't go as I want it to, then I'm going to severely cut down my tables to 4 and focus HARD CORE on my game. Seems like with the new guidelines I'm using however, that I'm not playing a ton of hands and can concentrate on seeing more what my opponents are up to.

Anyhow, today's my 25th birthday and I'm going to eat with the family and enjoy a nice slow day, which is going to put me behind on my 100k track. Tomorrow I will be going to the casino to stay for an undetermined amount of time, further putting my operation behind. I knew this going in though, so I will just have to put in a few extra hours to get where I need to be. Once I get back from the trip, I'll probably have to log a minimum of 5 hours per day to reach my goal.

Happy birfday! Halfway to 50, eh?

9 tabling six max isn't even comparable to 12 tabling full ring.

don't forget that your vpip will be about 1/3 higher in six max.

Originally Posted by HalvSame

Happy birfday! Halfway to 50, eh?

Yeah, quarter of a freakin' century..

Casino went well, won a couple hundo at 1/2 300 Max. Would have won several buyins worth, but when you see 40 hands per hour and you're getting lovely hands like T4o and stuff that adds up to numbers between 9 and 12 that don't connect it's not easy to pile up a win. Suited cards were unheard of Had one of the best tables ever - position on two insanely drunk dudes basically in a huge pissing contest from the time I sat down till when I left....dude on my left blind straddling to 35 three or more hands per orbit, and I couldn't capitalize in FOUR hours of play. Misplayed one hand pretty badly that I won, missed some serious value... but you never know. The villain was actually pretty good, he may not have called a river bet....but who knows. I was expecting worse play at the casino....several tight players, but still some pretty serious fish. Anyhow my winnings paid for my trip and food and I still have some left over that I'll go spend on something or other, haven't decided what yet.

In response to Renton, I'm following Sauce's strategy and my VPIP is actually less than it was using my own style playing FR. I was running about 17% VPIP 12-tabling FR and so far I'm 15% VPIP at 6-max. Gonna start a late night session and see where things end up.

Best of luck Setzy... I'm always a fan of your blog because I feel like your changing decisions about what stakes you are playing are very similar to my own.

I constantly feel like I need to change things up but I never seem to get anywhere and I end up back at FR. I guess it's due to the fact that I've played so much multi-table FR, that the swings and such are expected and therefore don't really bother me. Playing FR I KNOW that I won't have winning sessions all the time... 3-4 losing sessions in a row might be a touch frustrating, but nothing to send me packing.

I think it's great that you've added a hand count to your goal this time. Stick with it! No matter what happens. Maybe change the stakes or number of tables, but stick with it. I have to imagine that is the only way to get unstuck from the depths of FR monotony.

Another hangup for me is that somewhere in the back of my head I think that by switching games I'll find this pocket of free money because all of the other players are donks... which is not really the case. For example, I constantly read that 6-max is the bomb and that FR is the suck. So, I decide... "Ya know FR is getting a little stale.. maybe i'll give 6max a shot"... however i think somewhere in the back of my head I'm thinking... "I'm gonna pwn 'des fools for like eleventy billion ptBB... mwwahahaha..." and when I have a losing session or breakeven session I tend to feel like I played like shit and I don't know what I'm doing and run back to the safe recesses of the FR. Do you detect anything like this in your attempts to change up your game??

Best of luck.

Kingnat, yeah. You and I are born of the same mold or something.

I used to look for that "donk money" in every corner, as soon as I went on a downswing or got bored. In my experience so far, FR is the easiest game to just sit and rack up tons and tons and tons of hands. 6-max plays quickly, but seems to be a bit more draining as far as having to put people on hands and pay attention to the goings-on that happens in each hand.

You read "Better players make more money at 6-max" a lot...but I go and play 6-max and the majority of the time I don't see myself winning tons more when I'm on a rush than I do playing FR. When you lose you just want to make it go away, to do something to win...anything!

I remember one time when I went to play 6-max after getting tired of FR. I played for a couple days, heavily multi-tabling...can't even remember how many it was, like 9 or 10 or something. Anyhow things go well for a while, then I notice a guy that's playing back at me on a this one table in particular, I see how aggressive he is and I'm like "Okay, he's raising with all kinds of junk, can't wait till I get something great and get paid off!"

A while later I pick up JJ and get reraised for the millionth time, get it all in preflop and the guy has me dominated with QQ. Ran straight back to the warm, fuzzy bosom of FR DIRECTLY after that hand. I made a mistake, but instead of trying to learn from it I just went back to what felt safe and easy.

This project I'm seriously trying to learn. I do believe I have good hand selection, decent table selection (improved in the past few months), good understanding of hand ranges based on betting patterns, and I'm learning more about NL postflop play shorthanded, which is something I did not have much experience with. It's just putting all the pieces together that seems to be my problem.

I went on a heater and my PokerTracker broke because it was so amazed to see me winning, so now I can't upload and post stats! I have to look into this, but right now I've been too busy playing and working on my next Bonus!

Looking forward majorly to the HU tourney, I think it's going to be a good structure and I hope I win the damn thing

I think I've learned something important about 100NL 6-max, and that is that the majority of players are good at preflop and flop playing, but the majority of them don't understand what to do if you don't continuation bet (if you mix up your play on them). I've now tried to take the best part of Sauce's guide and supplant it with my own ideas about how to play optimally at 6-max, and I've run much better since trying to completely run everybody over with over-aggression.

The latest Bonus has prompted me to play a lot of hands, but I'm still very far behind the monthly goal. Now with PT messing up on me, I can't even be sure how many hands I've even played! The number is just a number though, and if I make myself into a winning player it's more important than just playing X amount of hands.

PT's still acting up, and I haven't made an active effort to try and diagnose the problem. Every time I load any HH I get an error screen and it lists the HH with some other junk on it and says to check my error log and send it along with the HH to someplace...whatever.

Finished a bonus today. I haven't played as much as I wanted because I was helping my family with some things, but the times I've played I feel productive and efficient. Reading hands well, making some good calls, a few not so good calls, and playing pretty solid overall.

It's nice to see that I'm well on track to doing what I planned for my annual goals. I have a couple long-term money goals that I'm about to set, but that may not be until the end of the year...have to stay focused.

So yeah, I got nowhere near my 100k. But that's really all bad I have to say.

I started a new database after I read the PT files, send out an email and found out my DB was full or whatever....loaded my September hands and it showed I have a positive winrate after 60k hands played this month!

Let me review my goals from September:

1.) Play 100,000 hands of WINNING 6-max 100NL by 9-tabling in the month of September. Anything above 0ptbb/100 is considered a success. Failed, but I did play 60k hands of winning poker.

2.) Upload my hands from PT nightly before bed. This will ensure a complete database. Complete! I am current on my database (though I was a bit behind when it screwed up halfway through the month)

3.) Learn Sauce's guide inside and out, and implement the ideas accordingly...especially paying attention to 3-betting players based on their potential ranges. Complete! I learned this guide very well, and though I guess I was running somewhat bad during the first part of the month when I was trying to implement it word for word, I ended up putting my own spin on it which turned my game around a whole lot.

4.) Review, post, and discuss hands much more than I have been doing. This will be the loosest of the goals, but nevertheless important. Semi-Complete! I reviewed more hands than I have in the past, and I discussed a lot of hands, albeit not on FTR...I didn't post a whole lot of hands, which is where the "Semi" comes into play.

I'm going to take another 200NL shot starting at the beginning of October. I haven't set any goals yet, but I will.[/b]

My goals for October will be roughly the same as September, except playing 200NL, and the # of hands is not paramount. I would like to get in the 60k range again.

I started playing 200NL Saturday, won a few buyins the first night, and lost them all back tonight. I reviewed my hands in PT for tonight (good), and could account for pretty much the entirety of my losses (actually after a second review, more than my total losses) in coolers and beats. One hand I made a bad calldown against what I thought to be a bad, loose player but was actually a wolf in sheep's clothing. Live and learn.

I am especially proud of my mental state after losing a few buyins at my new level. I'm not scared or ready to move down. Tomorrow, I continue!