spoonitnow's Q&A thread

[spoonitnow]

I'm currently 18-tabling 200nl full ring on PokerStars. By currently I mean right now, as I'm typing this.

So ask me questions, and I'll ask you answers. Maybe this will keep me entertained.

This is sort of like a ftr well or something.

[Chopper]

didnt you do this awhile ago? only with 8 or 12 tables...and at 100NL.

man, you are getting sicker and sicker by the day.

keep rocking, spoon.

ps,,,,,i expect to see some vicious HHs in here.

[spoonitnow]

Yes I did, but that was in the commune just goofing off posting random crap.

Personally I don't think I'm that good or anything, I just work on my game a little bit at a time, but do so consistently, as in everyday. Becoming comfortable playing more tables is a part of that too.

I don't post a lot of FR HHs much anymore, but as I start working on my 6max game, I'm sure you'll see a lot.

[Chopper]

well, if youre bored, please post some of your trickier spots. those are always the ones that benefit "beginners" the most.

i never said you were a pro, but you are maximizing your leverage through many tables. and thats how you get paid online.

just be slightly better than your opponents, and play as many tables as you can. very simple really.

for the life of me, though, i dont know how you cant see the smoke coming out of your ears from all those tables. i can see it from st louis. lol.

[spoonitnow]

I'm running like 3.2 ptbb/100 over 42k this year which is probably better than a lot of the so-called FPP pros.

If I ever get in any spots that seem tricky that I don't fuck up I'll be sure to post them =P

[spoonitnow]

This is about as close as I get to tricky.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

UTG+1 ($188)
MP1 ($117)
MP2 ($65.45)
CO ($25.65)
Hero ($381.45)
SB ($119.95)
BB ($119.20)
UTG ($53)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, J.
5 folds, Hero raises to $8, 1 fold, BB calls $6.

Flop: ($17) 2, T, T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $14, BB calls $14.

Turn: ($45) 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $32, BB calls $32.

River: ($109) Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $68, BB calls $65.20 (All-In).

Final Pot: $239.40

[Ash256]

Hourly rate?

[spoonitnow]

Well maybe this, but I don't think of this is being tricky at all.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (7 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

BB ($212)
Hero ($219.30)
MP1 ($303.20)
MP2 ($193.75)
CO ($193)
Button ($207)
SB ($35)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 9, T.
Hero raises to $8, 2 folds, CO calls $8, 3 folds.

Flop: ($19) Q, T, 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $16, CO raises to $36, Hero raises to $100, CO folds.

Final Pot: $91

Villain is 36/18 and very aggressive. I call a push here (I think).

[spoonitnow]

Hourly rate?

I've averaged about 1k hands/hour so something like $120/hour or something? I haven't looked and if I open stats in PT it'll slow down my stuff.

[euphoricism]

9Ts UTG?
I like the 3bet because youre repping a monster and villain never has QQ/TT, rarely 55. But call a push?

[spoonitnow]

9Ts UTG?
I like the 3bet because youre repping a monster and villain never has QQ/TT, rarely 55. But call a push?

I mix my play up preflop by randomly opening with SCs in all positions.

Nevermind on calling the push, I thought he had a smaller starting stack for some reason.

Edit: Here's how I randomize when I play SCs from EP. Each day I pick a certain suited connector (today is T9s) and I play that from the first four positions every time I get it that day.

[spoonitnow]

God I'm a damn calling station today.

Edit: I just realized I said that over losing AK to 99 on AK9 in a 3-bet pot against a loose fish lol.

I just had a TAG stack off with AQ against my AA in a blind war where I'd stolen from the CO.

Dealer: Game #14670547829: spoonitnow wins pot ($479.80) with a pair of Aces

This is one reason why it's important to provoke people and piss them off. =)

[daven]

a question:
I've been playing 6tables fairly comfortably, yet 7 is the first time I've come across too many decisions aaarrrghhh! So my question is:
Should I use a real mouse rather than the touchpad on my laptop?

[spoonitnow]

a question:
I've been playing 6tables fairly comfortably, yet 7 is the first time I've come across too many decisions aaarrrghhh! So my question is:
Should I use a real mouse rather than the touchpad on my laptop?

Definitely. If you can do 6 tables with a touchpad, you could easily be doing 12-14 with a mouse.

[biondino]

YES!

[ProZachNation]

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...et-t65906.html

Answer to this question, probably only applies to lower buyins were people will stack off with a worse ace tho, so not sure if you remember those days

[Chopper]

spoon, i didnt think that QJs hand was "tricky" at all.

the 9Ts hand was much trickier from UTG. but, once i saw the philosophy behind it, i didnt mind it so much, either.

when you are popping 18 tables, how tight do you run? well, how loose can you be with any thought process would be the better question?

[spoonitnow]

spoon, i didnt think that QJs hand was "tricky" at all.

the 9Ts hand was much trickier from UTG. but, once i saw the philosophy behind it, i didnt mind it so much, either.

when you are popping 18 tables, how tight do you run? well, how loose can you be with any thought process would be the better question?

lol, the QJ hand wasn't tricky, that was the point , and the T9s hand seems fairly standard vs that villain.

When 18-tabling full ring, I average about 14.5-15 VP$IP and 13-13.5 PFR. I'll be posting a stats thread in the full ring forum today probably since I'm about to break 50k hands of 200nl for the year. I'm not totally sure I understand the second question but I'll try to answer it anyway.

Edit: http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...st-t65966.html is the stats post referred to above

At any given time, I'm only involved in 2-3, rarely 4-5 hands that "matter". By "hands that matter" I mean there's something about them that's going to take some sort of thought.

For an example of a hand that "doesn't matter", say you raise AQs in EP, get a 20/5 caller from the blinds who folds to a c-bet 89% of the time over a large sample. The flop comes K95 giving you a flush draw and you're checked to. You c-bet. So far this hand hasn't taken much thought and is pretty much played automatically.

Villain calls. The turn is a Q and villain checks. Now it's starting to become a "hand that matters" because you have to think a little to decide what your play is going to be, but I probably check here depending on the villain.

The river comes a 5 that misses our flush draw. Villain leads with a near-PSB. Now I've got to think more specifically about what hands he could hold. I don't know what I would do here because it would depend mostly on the individual villain.

I guess the point is that all of my decisions are sort of on this sliding scale of whether I have to think much about them or not. Big pots, later streets, villains I have been pushing and been getting pushed back against, and non-standard lines tend to involve more thought.

[spoonitnow]

I guess a point I never got around to was that I try to think about hands in a way that avoids difficult decisions. I get out of line a bit, but mostly in spots where I'm fairly certain that if I am making a mistake, that it's a small one in terms of value, if that makes any sense.

Also, most of my opponents don't seem to think especially deep about their play and balancing things out, so it's pretty easy to pick out a lot of tendencies, even when playing as many tables as I do.

[Chopper]

i am just curious as to how much attention you can pay to "villain tendencies" when you have 4-5 thought provoking hands going on.

the "how loose" question was more a way to rephrase the "how tight" part. they were basically the same question.

i just dont think you can run "semi-loose" with that many tables going. its going to be tight...otherwise you would just overheat. lol.

thanks for all the responses.

[badgers]

What's on your HUD?

[spoonitnow]

i am just curious as to how much attention you can pay to "villain tendencies" when you have 4-5 thought provoking hands going on.

the "how loose" question was more a way to rephrase the "how tight" part. they were basically the same question.

i just dont think you can run "semi-loose" with that many tables going. its going to be tight...otherwise you would just overheat. lol.

thanks for all the responses.

Loose choices don't always mean deep thought-provoking ones. Even loose spots can be standard.

What's on your HUD?

On the table I show VP$P, PFR, cbet%, fold to cbet%, and attempt to steal. When I click a player it shows me a lot of stuff, including fold BB/SB to steal %, check-raise flop %, and won sd when raise turn/river.

[Chopper]

i am just curious as to how much attention you can pay to "villain tendencies" when you have 4-5 thought provoking hands going on.

the "how loose" question was more a way to rephrase the "how tight" part. they were basically the same question.

i just dont think you can run "semi-loose" with that many tables going. its going to be tight...otherwise you would just overheat. lol.

thanks for all the responses.

Loose choices don't always mean deep thought-provoking ones. Even loose spots can be standard.

what i mean is, when you are playing "looser," you are generally playing MORE hands. that, by its very nature, puts you in more "thinking" spots. sure, some loose calls can be no-brainers...flopping a boat with 26o comes to mind. lol.

[spoonitnow]

i am just curious as to how much attention you can pay to "villain tendencies" when you have 4-5 thought provoking hands going on.

the "how loose" question was more a way to rephrase the "how tight" part. they were basically the same question.

i just dont think you can run "semi-loose" with that many tables going. its going to be tight...otherwise you would just overheat. lol.

thanks for all the responses.

Loose choices don't always mean deep thought-provoking ones. Even loose spots can be standard.

what i mean is, when you are playing "looser," you are generally playing MORE hands. that, by its very nature, puts you in more "thinking" spots. sure, some loose calls can be no-brainers...flopping a boat with 26o comes to mind. lol.

It is more hands, but it's not a significant difference from playing something like 12/10 to playing 16/14. Also in that extra 4% of hands, you'll likely be the aggressor preflop, which tends to put you in more spots that are relatively easy to play.

[Chopper]

not to beat the horse that already died, but i have a good deal of respect for you guys that can run over 6-8 tables regularly and still keep the vpip above 13ish.

do you think it possible to profit with a 20+? say for instance you already beat the games running 25/18. it cant be just adding more tables. surely, your vpip would have to come down a little. if not, you have a "chessmaster" type mind, imo.

not that i run 25/18 and profit. i run closer to 18/12 and strive for 20/15...it just never quite works out that way....lol.

[spoonitnow]

Running 25/18 very likely won't profit at full ring, but I don't think you're talking about full ring here (at least I hope not). At full ring, even 20/15 is approaching too loose, if not too loose already.

The key for adding tables for me while keeping my play the same or better than it was before is to add only one or two at a time and play for weeks before I even consider adding more. During this time, you have to keep a close eye on your play and your stats to make sure that you're not slacking off or that your play isn't being affected. For me, the key thing to watch for was that my VP$IP would continually drop from 14-15 or higher to around 12-13. This was when the little red flag goes off and I'd have to really buckle down and make sure I was playing like I want to.

[badgers]

Thanks for this thread. It's really interesting and a great read.

One more question, how do you table select when playing so many? I often find when I review sessions that I have been sitting at a crappy table for the whole time without noticing. How do you avoid this or do you just say fuck it and pwn everyone?

[spoonitnow]

Thanks for this thread. It's really interesting and a great read.

One more question, how do you table select when playing so many? I often find when I review sessions that I have been sitting at a crappy table for the whole time without noticing. How do you avoid this or do you just say fuck it and pwn everyone?

I want full tables and I sort by the highest pot average. I go down the line, and if there are more than 2-3 short stacks at a table I'll usually skip it. Also if the average players seeing a flop is really really low (< 10%) I used to skip it, but now I just play the table because my style has become a bit better for molesting nits and less reliant on making hands.

At 100nl and especially now at 200nl I'm starting to notice that often times if I want to play on 14+ tables then I have to be able to play well against tight players and tight tables as well because there simply isn't enough tables to be picky.

[bode]

i like the new avatar

[gametight]

Whats up spoon. I got a strat question for ya.

What do you do if your im MP with 77. This is usually a pretty standard raise but what are you doing if this spot if there are two or more shortstax left to act behind??

How about one and hes on the button??

Are you ever open limping here or raising everytime?

Thanx for the thread.

[Chopper]

another thing i think you need to do, if you dont already is keep the deeper stacks on your right. i like to see BIG money that i will have position on 90% of the time.

shorter stacks on your left are not as big a deal, to me, because they are going in wherever they sit. but, the deeper stacks are easier to isolate against, when they happen to be fish, if on your immediate right.

[spoonitnow]

i like the new avatar

Yeah, so do I.

Whats up spoon. I got a strat question for ya.

What do you do if your im MP with 77. This is usually a pretty standard raise but what are you doing if this spot if there are two or more shortstax left to act behind??

How about one and hes on the button??

Are you ever open limping here or raising everytime?

Thanx for the thread.

It depends how short they are and how much I know about them. In general, if there's two stacks under 30bb to act close behind me, I'd probably go ahead and raise 77 if they suck, they are tight and passive, or they are loose and aggressive. In all three of these scenarios, my decision will usually be pretty easy.

Most of the time I'll have plenty of hands with a short-stack to know enough about their play to make a decent decision here before I ever have to in a spot like this.

However, under no circumstances that I can think of will I ever open limp 77 in this particular spot. It's just asking to be abused by short stacks.

[Jibalob]

FWIW I've never played more than 4 tables of 6max LHe as it's impossible but I loaded up 11 FR 10NL tables (I have never played more than a 30-hand session of NL) and found it very easy to cope with, I didnt time out once and even showed a profit!

I do appreciate that the stakes spoon is playing are an entirely different beast, but the point is that if I can jump staight in at 11 tables, the rest of you should have no trouble building up to it 1 table at a time.

Oh - and use the "cascade" feature, I wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes on tiled view.

[spoonitnow]

FWIW I've never played more than 4 tables of 6max LHe as it's impossible but I loaded up 11 FR 10NL tables (I have never played more than a 30-hand session of NL) and found it very easy to cope with, I didnt time out once and even showed a profit!

I do appreciate that the stakes spoon is playing are an entirely different beast, but the point is that if I can jump staight in at 11 tables, the rest of you should have no trouble building up to it 1 table at a time.

Oh - and use the "cascade" feature, I wouldn't have lasted 2 minutes on tiled view.

I think trying to tile a shitload of FR tables is one of people's biggest downfalls when they're trying to build up to more tables.

[Chopper]

all right...begs the question:

you cascade, then, right? what do you do when 7 pop up at the same time you are trying to make a decision on one table?

again, i cant even begin to envision that. i assumed you tiled on about 3 monitors.

[badgers]

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...ng-t65679.html

[Kerrie_L]

wats this ?

[spoonitnow]

wats this ?

A spammer alert.

[spoonitnow]

Sort of a bump, but with relevance.

I decided to test out this 22" wide screen LCD I got and said what the hell and 24-tabled some today. It didn't seem very different from 16-tabling, but I still probably won't do it again unless I'm going to be alone and uninterrupted for a few hours. I'm pretty sure I could pull at least 2 ptbb/100 long-term while 24-tabling, which is $lol/hour, but I'm doing less multitabling FR these days and more 1-tabling HU cash and 4-6 tabling 6-max working on adjusting.

[Chopper]

so, youre already off the 18-table grind? and dropped back to Earth a bit?

seriously, spoon, i thought you mentioned you were going to change it up, but Jan. isnt over yet. i'm just kind of surprised not trying to insult you. dont take any of this the wrong way, as i may sound a bit antagonistic.

[Andrew]

Spoon,

I've currently moved up to comfortably 2-tabling 2NL and was wondering how many tables would you recommend I get to playing at low stakes? I'm looking to both move up as quickly as I can so that I can start withdrawing small amounts each week/month - Pretty much starting off as bringing in gas money for the wife and going from there whilst at the same time building a BR. Any tips/ideas would be great.

[spoonitnow]

so, youre already off the 18-table grind? and dropped back to Earth a bit?

seriously, spoon, i thought you mentioned you were going to change it up, but Jan. isnt over yet. i'm just kind of surprised not trying to insult you. dont take any of this the wrong way, as i may sound a bit antagonistic.

Not really. On the days I've gotten to play in the past week and a half (had some family stuff going on that's more important right now) I've been playing at least 4k-5k hands in the morning then leaving the afternoon for study and some 6-max.

Spoon,

I've currently moved up to comfortably 2-tabling 2NL and was wondering how many tables would you recommend I get to playing at low stakes? I'm looking to both move up as quickly as I can so that I can start withdrawing small amounts each week/month - Pretty much starting off as bringing in gas money for the wife and going from there whilst at the same time building a BR. Any tips/ideas would be great.

I think a good goal for a new playing wanting to learn multitabling is 4 tables for six max and 8 tables for full ring while still remaining profitable.

For the other, wait until your bankroll is $500 + the size of your first cash out before you make that first cash out.

[Andrew]

Spoon,

I've currently moved up to comfortably 2-tabling 2NL and was wondering how many tables would you recommend I get to playing at low stakes? I'm looking to both move up as quickly as I can so that I can start withdrawing small amounts each week/month - Pretty much starting off as bringing in gas money for the wife and going from there whilst at the same time building a BR. Any tips/ideas would be great.

I think a good goal for a new playing wanting to learn multitabling is 4 tables for six max and 8 tables for full ring while still remaining profitable.

For the other, wait until your bankroll is $500 + the size of your first cash out before you make that first cash out.

Thanks man. A couple of questions I got about your early experiences if that's not too much of a hassle:

*When/how did you first start playing and at what stakes?

*What was the first series of problems you had when starting off and how did you over come them?

*What's the biggest piece(s) of advice you would give a newbie? - pretty much if you was able to have a sit down with the Spoon just starting out.

I got to say man that you're posts are always a help, KUTGW!

[spoonitnow]

Thanks man. A couple of questions I got about your early experiences if that's not too much of a hassle:

*When/how did you first start playing and at what stakes?

*What was the first series of problems you had when starting off and how did you over come them?

*What's the biggest piece(s) of advice you would give a newbie? - pretty much if you was able to have a sit down with the Spoon just starting out.

I got to say man that you're posts are always a help, KUTGW!

I started playing play money here and there because I'm a dork and saw the uses of math in poker. That was like a few years ago, probably a year or more before I joined FTR. Once I started playing for $$, I bounced between NLHE, LHE, and NLHE SNGs for at least six months.

My first major problem was that I bounced around too much and didn't just stick to something and get good at it. I also quit poker two or three or twelve times for various reasons, which obviously stunned my growth.

The biggest piece of advice I would give a newbie is to play with a deeper bankroll as you move up, never withdraw pre-50nl if you don't absolutely have to, and set a win-rate goal for each level that you have to meet over a somewhat large sample before you move up.