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Help me not suck

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  1. #1

    Default Help me not suck

    I have been talking with m2m a bit and it was brought to my attention that I may be sucking it up and that is the result of my current cash flow decay. I'm going to post all the hands that knocked me out of MTT's today because I want to see if anyone sees any leaks. Hopefully you can see something that I am either to blind or dumb to see.


    This hand I felt might have been a little spewy. I guess I need to start open folding 77 in EP. The flops that usually come suck and that opens people up to check raise me where I have to fold. The thing that sucks the most about this hand is this is exactly how I would play AK, AQ, AJ, and svpro has like A6.

    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 1000/2000 Blinds 200 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    MP2 (t63340)
    MP3 (t32739)
    CO (t41694)
    Button (t22262)
    BB (t29467)
    UTG (t20980)
    Hero (UTG+1) (t35998)
    MP1 (t10254)

    Hero's M: 7.83

    Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 7, 7
    Hero bets t5000, 5 folds, BB calls t4000, 1 fold

    Flop: (t13600) A, 5, 9 (2 players)
    BB checks, Hero bets t7500, BB raises to t24267 (All-In), Hero folds

    Total pot: t28600

    Minraiser isnt raising with anything real here most of the time. I cant say all the time because last time mcat got mad at me . He basically is turning his hand face up when he did this. The flat caller is calling with some whack A-rag hand and thought I would be able to fold him out.
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 125 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    UTG (t52169)
    UTG+1 (t14145)
    MP1 (t6243)
    MP2 (t18116)
    MP3 (t15621)
    CO (t19463)
    Button (t19255)
    Hero (SB) (t12665)
    BB (t7255)

    Hero's M: 4.33

    Preflop: Hero is SB with 8, 8
    UTG bets t2400, 3 folds, MP3 calls t2400, 2 folds, Hero raises to t12540 (All-In), 1 fold, UTG calls t10140, 1 fold

    Flop: (t29805) 6, 8, K (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Turn: (t29805) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

    River: (t29805) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot: t29805


    EP's limp is pretty weak. Also kind of a call station so I was pretty happy to get it in here
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 150/300 Blinds 25 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    Hero (MP2) (t2020)
    CO (t5475)
    Button (t6635)
    SB (t12032)
    BB (t1520)
    UTG (t6761)
    UTG+1 (t5145)
    MP1 (t1925)

    Hero's M: 3.11

    Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 7, 7
    UTG calls t300, 2 folds, Hero bets t1995 (All-In), 4 folds, UTG calls t1695

    Flop: (t4640) A, J, 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Turn: (t4640) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    River: (t4640) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot: t4640

    The EP shove is wider than usual due to being short stacked. I also thought that there was a good shot of villain showing up with an underpair.
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 150/300 Blinds 25 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    MP1 (t3635)
    MP2 (t3695)
    MP3 (t4615)
    CO (t4820)
    Button (t4775)
    Hero (SB) (t2290)
    BB (t2370)
    UTG (t2173)
    UTG+1 (t2875)

    Hero's M: 3.39

    Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 9
    1 fold, UTG+1 bets t2850 (All-In), 5 folds, Hero calls t2115 (All-In), 1 fold

    Flop: (t5055) J, J, A (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t5055) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t5055) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t5055


    I think this is pretty standard
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    UTG (t6260)
    UTG+1 (t3709)
    MP1 (t2650)
    MP2 (t2965)
    CO (t2520)
    Hero (Button) (t1295)
    SB (t2165)
    BB (t1695)

    Hero's M: 2.25

    Preflop: Hero is Button with 3, 3
    1 fold, UTG+1 calls t250, 3 folds, Hero bets t1270 (All-In), 2 folds, UTG+1 calls t1020

    Flop: (t3115) 7, 9, Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Turn: (t3115) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

    River: (t3115) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot: t3115


    I think this is also kind of standard
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    UTG (t1245)
    UTG+1 (t1010)
    Hero (MP1) (t1370)
    MP2 (t1365)
    MP3 (t2900)
    CO (t1325)
    Button (t930)
    SB (t1805)
    BB (t4400)

    Hero's M: 6.09

    Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q, A
    1 fold, UTG+1 bets t1010 (All-In), Hero raises to t1370 (All-In), 1 fold, MP3 calls t1370, 4 folds

    Flop: (t3975) 4, 9, 6 (3 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t3975) J (3 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t3975) 2 (3 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t3975

    Again, I think standard

    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    Button (t2820)
    SB (t4650)
    BB (t1380)
    UTG (t3000)
    UTG+1 (t1325)
    MP1 (t1390)
    Hero (MP2) (t1000)
    CO (t1115)

    Hero's M: 6.67

    Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 10, 10
    1 fold, UTG+1 bets t200, 1 fold, Hero raises to t1000 (All-In), CO raises to t1115 (All-In), 2 folds, BB raises to t1380 (All-In), 1 fold

    Flop: (t3480) 5, 9, J (3 players, 3 all-in)

    Turn: (t3480) 2 (3 players, 3 all-in)

    River: (t3480) A (3 players, 3 all-in)

    Total pot: t3480


    Sorry if these are so blindly obvious. I dont want to leave anything out
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    Button (t1500)
    SB (t1500)
    BB (t1500)
    UTG (t1500)
    UTG+1 (t1500)
    MP1 (t1500)
    MP2 (t1500)
    Hero (MP3) (t1500)
    CO (t1500)

    Hero's M: 50.00

    Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A, K
    4 folds, Hero bets t100, CO calls t100, 1 fold, SB raises to t1500 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls t1400 (All-In), 1 fold

    Flop: (t3120) J, J, 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t3120) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t3120) A (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t3120

    Villain is super short stacked and I think my A is going to fair well against whatever they are shoving with.

    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 600/1200 Blinds 125 Ante (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    MP2 (t11330)
    CO (t11975)
    Button (t3325)
    Hero (SB) (t3660)
    BB (t24927)
    UTG (t18760)
    MP1 (t6565)

    Hero's M: 1.37

    Preflop: Hero is SB with 4, A
    4 folds, Button bets t3200 (All-In), Hero raises to t3535 (All-In), BB calls t2335

    Flop: (t11145) 3, 3, 7 (3 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t11145) 9 (3 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t11145) 10 (3 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t11145


    This hand I was really proud of. This was the same villain from the KQ hand a few HH up. I knew he was aggressive so there was a good chance he was going to pop me back. I also knew his range for AI included KQ so he would be shoving me wide. This hand was on the FT bubble.
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 800/1600 Blinds 150 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    BB (t39504)
    UTG (t14020)
    UTG+1 (t6118)
    MP1 (t17991)
    MP2 (t13096)
    MP3 (t19338)
    CO (t19130)
    Hero (Button) (t29805)
    SB (t5930)

    Hero's M: 7.95

    Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 9
    6 folds, Hero bets t4800, 1 fold, BB raises to t39354 (All-In), Hero calls t24855 (All-In)

    Flop: (t61460) 6, 10, 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t61460) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t61460) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t61460


    I had villain on total air. Ive been seeing a lot of people do this check raise with nothing thing in the 180s. Its a pretty bad play as most of the time everyone has something. I guess thats the nature of the turbos. Anyways, I didn't think he had a straight here because T9, 95, and 54 arent in his pf calling range.
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    MP1 (t1415)
    Hero (MP2) (t1445)
    MP3 (t2010)
    CO (t1235)
    Button (t2750)
    SB (t1245)
    BB (t1215)
    UTG (t730)
    UTG+1 (t1455)

    Hero's M: 19.27

    Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 10, 10
    3 folds, Hero bets t150, 4 folds, BB calls t100

    Flop: (t325) 6, 7, 8 (2 players)
    BB checks, Hero bets t250, BB raises to t1065 (All-In), Hero calls t815

    Turn: (t2455) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    River: (t2455) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot: t2455

    This one took a little thought but I was able to kind of figure it out. You let me know if I made the right choice. Villain doesn't show up with TT+ or better with this line. I mean its possible but highly unlikely. I raised to try to take the pot down but when I was popped I instantly put villain on 88. Is it bad to call knowing its a flip?

    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    BB (t3270)
    UTG (t2855)
    UTG+1 (t1455)
    MP1 (t1425)
    MP2 (t1425)
    MP3 (t1540)
    Hero (CO) (t1825)
    Button (t1495)
    SB (t1390)

    Hero's M: 24.33

    Preflop: Hero is CO with A, 10
    2 folds, MP1 calls t50, 2 folds, Hero bets t200, 2 folds, BB calls t150, MP1 raises to t1425 (All-In), Hero calls t1225, 1 fold

    Flop: (t3075) 2, 3, J (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Turn: (t3075) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    River: (t3075) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot: t3075


    This I thought was standard on my end
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 125/250 Blinds 25 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    CO (t2525)
    Button (t2625)
    SB (t3240)
    BB (t7386)
    UTG (t5875)
    UTG+1 (t2380)
    Hero (MP1) (t1730)
    MP2 (t2460)
    MP3 (t1250)

    Hero's M: 2.88

    Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q, A
    2 folds, Hero bets t1705 (All-In), 2 folds, CO raises to t2500 (All-In), 3 folds

    Flop: (t4010) 5, J, J (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t4010) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t4010) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t4010


    Again, I think this is standard
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    UTG (t3925)
    UTG+1 (t545)
    MP1 (t2335)
    MP2 (t2950)
    CO (t1425)
    Button (t2220)
    Hero (SB) (t1540)
    BB (t2615)

    Hero's M: 6.84

    Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, A
    1 fold, UTG+1 bets t545 (All-In), 4 folds, Hero raises to t1540 (All-In), 1 fold

    Flop: (t1240) 5, 6, 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t1240) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t1240) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t1240


    These two hands were back to back. I wasnt able to find a fold in either of them. Bad play??
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 150/300 Blinds 25 Ante (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    Hero (UTG) (t8535)
    UTG+1 (t3993)
    MP1 (t3755)
    MP2 (t3410)
    CO (t2817)
    Button (t2775)
    SB (t4465)
    BB (t6105)

    Hero's M: 13.13

    Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7, 7
    Hero bets t750, 2 folds, MP2 raises to t3385 (All-In), 4 folds, Hero calls t2635

    Flop: (t7420) 10, K, 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Turn: (t7420) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    River: (t7420) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot: t7420

    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 150/300 Blinds 25 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    Hero (BB) (t5125)
    UTG (t3968)
    UTG+1 (t3730)
    MP1 (t7420)
    MP2 (t2890)
    MP3 (t2792)
    CO (t2750)
    Button (t4290)
    SB (t5780)

    Hero's M: 7.59

    Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 7
    UTG calls t300, 1 fold, MP1 bets t900, 5 folds, Hero raises to t5100 (All-In), 1 fold, MP1 calls t4200

    Flop: (t10875) 10, Q, J (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Turn: (t10875) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    River: (t10875) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot: t10875


    Villain was a shorty and had been kind of loose. I figured AJo played GREAT against this players range
    PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, 12 Tournament, 500/1000 Blinds 100 Ante (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

    UTG (t16401)
    UTG+1 (t5650)
    MP1 (t5495)
    MP2 (t11384)
    Hero (MP3) (t5760)
    CO (t6445)
    Button (t5730)
    SB (t4310)
    BB (t11907)

    Hero's M: 2.40

    Preflop: Hero is MP3 with J, A
    1 fold, UTG+1 bets t5550 (All-In), 2 folds, Hero raises to t5660 (All-In), 4 folds

    Flop: (t13500) J, 4, K (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Turn: (t13500) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

    River: (t13500) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot: t13500


    Anyways, I know its kind of a lot of hands but I am really trying to focus on the smaller things I might be doing wrong. If there is a pattern globally you see that is incorrect also mention it. I would love to hear anyones thoughts on any of these. I am right in the middle of a HUGE down swing but feel like I continue to make good decisions. Hopefully someone will be able to point something out . Thanks for reading.
  2. #2
    That 99 hand is a definite fold for me. I don't care how aggressive he is. There are several shorties that will be going out soon. This is not a clash that I would be looking forward to on a bubble with your stack size in comparison to the rest of the table.


    "Gotta run well eventually."
  3. #3
    Anything not mentioned means I think its totally fine

    Hand 1: 77 UTG..seems okay given its 7 handed.

    Hand 11: TT on BTN. IMO this is total air just about never. Not that I play the hand differently..hes shoving draws and worse hands for value

    Hand 12: Seems perfectly reasonable for him to have TT+. Iso looks good, fold to the shove

    Hand 15: 77 UTG. This one I probably fold (the first time) because almost the whole table has 10bbs and you'll be raise/calling a lot with bad equity

    Hand 16: 77 BB. Without a UTG limp and if MP1 wasn't a nit then I would shove. My default here is probably fold but it seems close. Stats/reads would make it easier
  4. #4
    Most of these are good/standard. Here are the ones I think you could play differently.

    Hand 1: 77
    I would shove or fold here and lean towards shoving since it is 7 handed (see: Kill Everyone shove charts). The problem with raising is exactly what you said (bad flops etc.) and you just can't cbet/fold because you put 1/3 of your stack in and folded which is pure spew. Do not worry about the fact that you play AJ+ just like that most villains at low stakes are not thinking on that level and will not be folding to you when they hit the flop because they are not thinking about what you might have.

    Hand 8: AKo
    Not sure I want to get it in that thin so early. If you wanna take super thin edges then that's fine, but I would not make this call without a read. I guess its ok in a turbo but I would like to hear what others think about this.

    Hand 10: 99
    I like this with your read, vnh.

    Hand 12: ATo
    You can't "know" that this is a flip even if it is a reasonable chance since people tend to do this with like 22-88, KK-AA, but I have seen this move with lots almost every hand in the top 20% (just earlier tonite someone did it with ATs). I think you need to put villain on a range and stove this one, but I am guessing that you really should not call here. You are not getting 2:1 and I would say that is around the minimum I want to be calling here (~2:1 is what you need if villain is 22+, ATs+, AJo+ for instance).

    Hand 15: 77
    As with hand 1 I am not really raising here because you just get into bad spots when you are called, and would rather just be able to comfortably reshove with good fold equity. As played I am not folding to the reshove though.

    Hand 16: 77
    This one is kinda close. Not sure I like shoving here unless you have reason to believe MP1 will fold at least a decent amount of the time or is opening/will call you wide enough that it is profitable. Without reads I lean towards fold.
  5. #5
    Look to open shove more often when <10M. It appears that you are letting yourself blind down. You might be playing too tight in the early stages. I'm not saying that you need to see every flop, but if your VPIP is like <10 then you are too tight. See more flops from button and CO. Limp or raise pps from all positions. When you play too tight you will be faced with a lot of all ins. Variance will play its toll on your soul. If you work at building a stack in the early stages, you can sustain bad beats more often and less soul crushing.
  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Im_new
    That 99 hand is a definite fold for me. I don't care how aggressive he is. There are several shorties that will be going out soon. This is not a clash that I would be looking forward to on a bubble with your stack size in comparison to the rest of the table.
    Sorry I should have mentioned these are all 180man turbos. I was ITM but this was the final table bubble. 10-18 all get the same pay and 9th place gets like $8 more.

    My goal as a tourney player is not to cash a bunch of 9-5th place. You have to take chances to score big in MTTs. FTW!!

    Hand 0: 60.345% { 99 }
    Hand 1: 39.655% { 22+, A2s+, KTs+, QJs, A2o+, KTo+, QJo }
  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Sprayed
    Look to open shove more often when <10M. It appears that you are letting yourself blind down. You might be playing too tight in the early stages. I'm not saying that you need to see every flop, but if your VPIP is like <10 then you are too tight. See more flops from button and CO. Limp or raise pps from all positions. When you play too tight you will be faced with a lot of all ins. Variance will play its toll on your soul. If you work at building a stack in the early stages, you can sustain bad beats more often and less soul crushing.
    This probably applys more so because I play turbos only. 10m seems like such a big number to be shoving though since usually around 5 is 10bb. I can see how this would make sense.

    I guess try to get a big stack and shove on short stacks more often? Most of the time when blind stealing for example, I usually stick to the basic spots.
  8. #8
    AT hand: Look at how small the blinds are relative to the stack sizes. No one is wasting TT-AA at this level limping in.

    Hand 0: 52.991% { ATo }
    Hand 1: 47.009% { 99-22, ATs-A2s }

    This was my range for villain as his line said to me "there are too many over cards on the flop and I don't want to fold worse" or "I'm a donk with a suited A, NOT FOLDING!!".
  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by revolvingiris
    Quote Originally Posted by Im_new
    That 99 hand is a definite fold for me. I don't care how aggressive he is. There are several shorties that will be going out soon. This is not a clash that I would be looking forward to on a bubble with your stack size in comparison to the rest of the table.
    Sorry I should have mentioned these are all 180man turbos. I was ITM but this was the final table bubble. 10-18 all get the same pay and 9th place gets like $8 more.

    My goal as a tourney player is not to cash a bunch of 9-5th place. You have to take chances to score big in MTTs. FTW!!

    Hand 0: 60.345% { 99 }
    Hand 1: 39.655% { 22+, A2s+, KTs+, QJs, A2o+, KTo+, QJo }
    That makes a WORLD of a difference lol. In this case, good work! There is no other way to play it, if you ask me.
  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by revolvingiris
    AT hand: Look at how small the blinds are relative to the stack sizes. No one is wasting TT-AA at this level limping in.

    Hand 0: 52.991% { ATo }
    Hand 1: 47.009% { 99-22, ATs-A2s }

    This was my range for villain as his line said to me "there are too many over cards on the flop and I don't want to fold worse" or "I'm a donk with a suited A, NOT FOLDING!!".
    I disagree with this. I see people limp/shoving JJ+, AQs+, AKo much more often that I see that move with A2s-ATs. I do see it enough with the 22-99 you have in your range so I agree with that.

    Remember, donks think differently than you, and just because you would not do something does not mean they would not. Also, making all or nothing statements like "no one/everyone does xyz" or "xyz never/always" is going to hurt your game.
  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by sinister1
    Quote Originally Posted by revolvingiris
    AT hand: Look at how small the blinds are relative to the stack sizes. No one is wasting TT-AA at this level limping in.

    Hand 0: 52.991% { ATo }
    Hand 1: 47.009% { 99-22, ATs-A2s }

    This was my range for villain as his line said to me "there are too many over cards on the flop and I don't want to fold worse" or "I'm a donk with a suited A, NOT FOLDING!!".
    I disagree with this. I see people limp/shoving JJ+, AQs+, AKo much more often that I see that move with A2s-ATs. I do see it enough with the 22-99 you have in your range so I agree with that.

    Remember, donks think differently than you, and just because you would not do something does not mean they would not. Also, making all or nothing statements like "no one/everyone does xyz" or "xyz never/always" is going to hurt your game.
    I guess I was trying to say that villain is limping in 3% of his stack. The purpose of limping in big pairs is to slowplay so someone can shove over you. No one is going to be shoving over this guy with these blinds.
  12. #12
    I was gonna give my input but I thought I'd give you a few tips:

    1) number your hands, it makes it so much easier to reference

    2) delete results where results aren't needed, they just clutter up the post and get in the way



    I do like how you put your thought process for every hand though, you'll get great feedback that way, I wish everyone did that


    Don't complain; Just work harder - Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)
  13. #13
    Yeah I thought about numbering hands after I made the post. Ill for sure make sure I surely add them next time

    Please though, if you see anything wrong let me know your thoughts. Its the only way I will get better as a player.

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