BooG690 Lerns Zi Pokerz

[Outlaw]

I actually really like that idea for a fitness program Outlaw. I've been getting lazy as shit. Something like that would seriously motivate me to get off my ass and do some running.

We could do a prop and everyone go out and run a mile and post their time. Then have a Vegas get together next summer at the world series and have a run, whoever has dropped the most off their initial time gets to shave Xianti's head.

[Keith]

3) BooG should be getting the girl he chose to get drunk

ps, 23 is kinda young...

FYP

[BooG690]

@ Outlaw: That wouldn't be a bad idea tbh. It would be nice to have a thread where we all share stories, motivate each other, etc. etc.

@ Illfavor: You would notice something like that. I think if you get folded to on the BB, it counts as a hand but does not affect your VPIP/PFR (as you did not have an opportunity to do either).

OK, so time for another hand. It comes from a session two days ago. This session was actually one of the most fun sessions I've had in a long time. A reg and I were getting into it, pretty much battling like crazy.

It started out with me directly to his right. He was three-betting me like crazy and was he was really becoming a hassle. However, I was stubborn, chose to stay, and tried to beat him OOP (genius move, I know). Admittedly, I was getting killed and folding a whole lot to his three-bets. When I'd call his three-bets, I'd be put in spots where it was difficult for me to call. My four-bets, however, were pretty successful against him. Soon, I finally let my pride go and got the fuck off that table. Luckily, I didn't lose much.

I found another table and I just so happened to sit on his left (I swear, it wasn't on purpose). Sweet. Time to make his life a living hell, amirite? I three-bet him a shitton and even four-bet two of his three-bets rather lightly. He appeared at another one of my tables (this time directly across from me). We didn't get into it much at that table (except for the second hand which is the whole point of this analysis).

Anywho, this was one of the three-bet hands from the table where I was sitting directly to his right. He's rather aggressive. I've seen him shove a few flops against other opponents. He's also a winning player...I PTRed him while playing to see if he was a spewtard or if there was, in fact, a method to his madness.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



CO ($42.20)
Button ($25)
SB ($25.35) - Villain I was warring with was 33/31/5.2 with a 25% 3bet percentage, a 90% flop cbet, and a 51% ATS. I read this for being spewy but he is in fact a winning player according to PTR (I understand that doesn't necessarily make him "good"). It was a swongy graph...but still a winning player.
Hero (BB) ($41)
UTG ($55.70)
MP ($25)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
4 folds, SB bets $1, Hero raises to $3, SB calls $2
So looking back on it now, I may have wanted to three-bet him larger. I guess I wanted to make it look as "bluffy" as possible and the "standard 3x" may have helped me look bluffy imo. With our history (my three-betting his raises at this table), I expected villain to call a bit loosely. {AJs-A2s,KQs,suited connectors,JJ-88} are all hands I put into his three-bet calling range. I expect him to four-bet the top of his range here since he knows I'd probably be playing back and/or calling looser given our history.

Flop: ($6) 5, 10, 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $5, SB raises to $22.35 (All-In), Hero calls $17.35
I've seen this all before. Three-bettor cbets, this villain shoves. I put villain on any draw, a pair of tens, a pair of nines, sets, and possibly overpairs that he chose to call preflop. Given a range like this, I felt I was way ahead and I called.

Turn: ($50.70) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($50.70) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $50.70 | Rake: $2.50

Results:
SB had 9, 8 (one pair, nines). - Standard for villain
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $48.20

OK, sweet. My read was correct and I won a nice pot. More importantly, I was pumped that I took this villain down. The score was currently 1-0.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



SB ($26.05)
BB ($29.40)
UTG ($16.25)
Hero (MP) ($30.45)
Button ($27.70)

Preflop: Hero is MP with J, J
1 fold, Hero bets $1, 2 folds, BB raises to $3.50, Hero raises to $7.75, BB calls $4.25
I four-bet villain and he calls. At the time, I thought nothing of it. I felt everything was standard. In hindsight, this is the first time villain called one of my four-bets. Does this mean villain actually has a hand or did villain adjust? At the time, I put his range at about the same kind of range he called with last hand. The four-bet probably took many suited-connectors out of his range...but I didn't really take that into account at the time. Mistake by me I guess.


Flop: ($15.60) K, Q, 10(2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $7, BB raises to $21.65 (All-In), Hero calls $14.65
I'll be honest, the flop startled me a little bit. I thought "Holy shit, I have a royal/straight flush draw." But then I thought, "Shit, it hit villain's range pretty hard as well." Villain could have easily had a set or a pair bigger than mine but I wasn't really scared of those type of hands since I had a ton of outs against those kind of hands. Hands in which he has an A or a made straight suck since I lose a lot of equity. But then again, we're playing a range of hands and I'm most likely ahead of that range. So I choose to bet on the small side and hopefully induce a shove. I get what I want and instacall with my massive equity.

My thinking on the flop was all planned out before I even clicked a button. I'm pretty happy about that. I'm also happy that I stood my own against a lagtard and played well against him. I'm not sure I like the four-bet in the second hand too much, but besides that, I played well (I think). This little confrontation was a large confidence booster. Anywho, that's really all for now. I guess I just wanted to share a reg war that I had with everybody who reads this.

[Carroters]

Nice Boog, pwn dem lagtards good.

Who was this btw. I regulated 25NL on stars quite a bit chances are I know a bit about him.

[Outlaw]

I like the way you played those hands given the history. I am at 25NL currently myself, I don't think its bad form to give villain's name here. (unless it someone who posts here lol)

[dranger7070]

ITS ME OBV (jk)

[BooG690]

@ Outlaw, Carroters: Get your own fish :P

OK, so more analysis. Kthx.

I was probably more confused about this hand than I should have been. I will analyze this hand as it should clear things up.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



BB ($26.30)
UTG ($30.45)
Hero (MP) ($45.45)
CO ($41.65)
Button ($40.60)
SB ($17.40) - Villain is your standard 44/23 fish. Passive with a 40% fold to cbet.

Preflop: Hero is MP with 9, 9
1 fold, Hero bets $1, 2 folds, SB calls $0.90, 1 fold

Flop: ($2.25) 8, 5, 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB calls $2
Again, fish doesn't fold to many cbets. His range is probably decently wide here, something like: {JJ-99,66,AT+,A8-A7,KJ+,JT,T9s,97s+,76s,65s,54s}. Value bet ftw.

Turn: ($6.25) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
I feel this card hit his range harder than most would think. I am probably behind his continuing range here since I'm only really beating 8x. I'm giving villain a continuing range of: {JJ-99,66,A8s,T8s+,98s,76s,65s,54s}. There's a ton of two-pair type hands that beat me here now so I choose to check the turn, re-evaluate the river, and possibly get some river value out of hands that definitely wouldn't have called my turn bet. Is this the right play? Is villain's assigned continuing range OK?

River: ($6.25) Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB calls $2
Villain checks the river as well. Villain would be trying to get value from his straight/two-pair type hands here on the river. I may have let Qx catch-up, but there probably weren't too many of those hands that called the flop anyway. That leaves me with the one-pair hands that will probably only call a small bet.

I'm pretty sure I played this hand OK...there probably wasn't much value in betting the turn. Position helped me win this hand as I get a lot of information from villain's river check that I would not have had OOP. Position ftw.

[BooG690]

Wow. I feel like I've been away from the action for forever...and it's only been a week and a half. Last week I went to Tampa and I spent most of the week either getting errands out the way or actually in the sweet, sweet sun (actually, Tampa was a bit windy, but whatever).

The trip itself was great; getting there sucked. My flight was delayed due to rain and shit here in NY. Since I had a connecting flight (money be tight), I missed my flight out of Fort Lauderdale and was stuck in that airport with a 12-hour layover...to get onto a flight to Orlando (that was the next flight anywhere near Tampa). Therefore, I had to rent a car in Orlando and drive my ass to Tampa. So imagine a 12-hour layover followed by an excruciating 2-hour drive. Ehh...whatever, I had a good time. Sadly, as I was playing phone tag with Spirit Air about my delayed flight, I chose to bring my phone into the bathroom while I took a steamy shower. Bad move. Long story short: goodbye Storm, hello Droid.

Well, I arrived back in New York on Monday. I had a shitload of work to do for school (tests are starting again), a shitload of work to do for moneys*, and other errands that I needed to do after missing the weekend here in NY (probably wasn't the best weekend to leave). Anyway, I finally caught up today and I told myself that I need to get back into the poker groove. It's amazing how long it takes me to get things going again...but yeah, I'm here. Expect hand analysis any time now.

And dear IRC: I miss you guys.
* - check this article I found here on FTR: Free Moneys from FTP Everyone should comment on how amazing this article is and how this writer brings you the bestest bonus news.

SHAMELESS PLUG FTW!

[Micro2Macro]

Good to see you back around updating your blog, shitty that you ran into some complications with your trip but great to see you had a good time.

Get in IRC when you can dude, and gl getting that schoolwork finished.

[BooG690]

I went to the gym tonight and am a bit tired. I really, really wanted to play some poker tonight...but it probably wouldn't be a good idea. But I still got that itch, sooooo...ANALYSIS.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



CO ($26) - This is the villain from the previous hands that I warred with. Again, he is a 28/25/4.8 with a 16.8% 3b, 33% fold to 3b, and 83% flop cbet. I probably wouldn't mind getting a hand like AQs AIPF against this villain.
Button ($28.70)
SB ($27.30)
Hero (BB) ($25)
UTG ($104.45) - 77/10 dumb fish
MP ($25) - 46/43 over 30 hands. Due to the small sample, I will assume he is a lagtard until proven wrong.

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, A
UTG calls $0.25, MP bets $1.25, CO calls $1.25, 2 folds, Hero raises to $4.50, UTG calls $4.25, MP calls $3.25, CO calls $3.25
So in retrospect, I pretty much hate my 3bet here. Actually, I loathe it. Given villains' stats, I shouldn't expect them to fold much. Also, I'm OOP against three other players so my 3bet should probably be bigger (as played ldo). At the time, I felt as if a call OOP without initiative was pretty bad. I also hated a fold against these villains since I was most likely ahead of their range...so I raised. I would love to hear other opinions on this. Please let me know here or PM me on IRC or somethin'.

All three villains probably have a wide range since most seem pretty fishy. I am leaning towards broadway cards with the occasional mid-pocket pair. I also think SCs are in CO's range.

Flop: ($18.10) 5, 2, 8 (4 players)
Hero bets $20.50 (All-In)
I get my flush draw and two overcards. I am a favorite against pocket pairs that missed their sets and a huge favorite against any other suited spades. If villain were to hit his set, I am a 25% underdog. I put these types of hands in villains' calling ranges. With only one bet left, I choose to go all-in as I am ahead of their calling range. I don't think it would have been better to check with the risk of it being checked through and losing a ton of equity on the turn (though my friend in the CO would have probably bet but i don't think it was worth the risk).

This hand was an awkward and confusing hand for me since the situation was pretty non-standard. I don't think I played it horribly, but I do have my doubts. Feel free to flame me. Thanks.

[dranger7070]

A bigger 3bet PF = smaller flop shove, so thats one reason for 3betting larger, but as played this is totally fine. You have so much FE its gross, and you will be ahead a lot of the time they snap it off with 99-JJ and worse PPs or like A9 lol.

nh

[surviva316]

you DEFINITELY SHOULD NOT LOATHE PREFLOP!!!!! if these people never fold to 3b's then you're doing it for value with the best hand. i think we should be ok getting it in against ANY of the villains too. the sizing is weird 'cause the pot's getting so big, but since they're all fish, you might as well just make it bigger, like 5-5.50. against regs, we'd wanna make it 4.50-4.75 to make them think they have FE i think (i might be wrong though)

postflop is really awkward, but we shouldn't ever fold and there's only a psb left and shoving is def better than c/c (obv), so process of elimination........shove

[BooG690]

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



CO ($26.15)
Button ($19.35) - 24/18 over 18 hands. No reads.
SB ($27.60)
BB ($25)
Hero (UTG) ($31.55)
MP ($31.20)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 9, 9
Hero bets $1, 2 folds, Button calls $1, 2 folds
Hmm...so I have a relative unknown calling from the button. I'll put him on {TT-22, suited connectors,A2s+,ATo+,KQo,KTs+} range.

Flop: ($2.35) 2, Q, Q (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, Button calls $1.50
I probably should have bet larger here. His calling range is mostly TT-33 (33ish hands being optimistic) and flush draws.

Turn: ($5.35) J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks
I can't see villain calling my bet here with worse pocket pairs. He is most likely calling with a flush draw. My reason for checking here is to get more value out of his smaller pocket pairs on the river (he has more pocket pairs than flush draws here). I really don't think my hand is strong enough to protect here so I check.

River: ($5.35) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $2.75, Button calls $2.75
Nice. Board paired. At this point, I'm reminded of the possible random A2 he may have called my flop bet with. His flush draws missed and he's still calling a ~.5PSB with a lesser pocket pair. So I bet...and win moneys.

Total pot: $10.85 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
Button mucked 5, 5 (two pair, Queens and fives).
Hero had 9, 9 (two pair, Queens and nines).
Outcome: Hero won $10.35

[Vinland]

Hey BooG, general 10nl question:
I've done a few sessions there and have noticed a lot of short stackers (20 - 30BB). I havent seen a lot of shoves with showdown yet...

What is a good calling range? I can assume hands like AQ/AK are in their but do we want to call a SS shove with say 99? Are they shoving w/ mid PP?

Funny thing with them is they still do a lot of limp calling and then folding on flop....just wasting money it seems....

[Jason]

Funny thing with them is they still do a lot of limp calling and then folding on flop....just wasting money it seems....

This is why I don't shy away from short stackers and sometimes embrace them. The ones that push/fold usually have a predictable range based on observations and stats. YOU as a player that doesn't short-stack, will have that range just as often as they do and will worst case be flipping with them and best case have an edge as you know his range better than he knows yours. The ones that try to play post flop as you've noted have basically little to no room to maneuver after the flop and since most players don't hit anything after the flop, it's easy to bully them around because they quickly have to make a decision for their stack. Add position in your favor and it's really tough on them.

[Micro2Macro]

Hey BooG, general 10nl question:
I've done a few sessions there and have noticed a lot of short stackers (20 - 30BB). I havent seen a lot of shoves with showdown yet...

What is a good calling range? I can assume hands like AQ/AK are in their but do we want to call a SS shove with say 99? Are they shoving w/ mid PP?

Funny thing with them is they still do a lot of limp calling and then folding on flop....just wasting money it seems....

Play the 50bb min tables, learn how to own people in position with deep stacks, get good at poker, and make a whole lot more money with less variance.

To answer your question it depends on their /position/table dynamics etc. as this will affect their range. Your pot odds will also be a key factor in how wide of a range you can call - this is pretty key, beacuse if there's enough dead money in the pot it will be a mistake to fold hands you'd never consider getting all in.

[xpaand]

Why hello there! Good to see you're doing well buddy. I see what I could've become if I didn't stop studying. I'm gonna try to get back into it whenever I have free time from school and work. I still owe you a sweat session!

[BooG690]

I figured I'd post this up. I think I extracted value pretty well here. I'm not too sure about my flop check though...but whatever. I've been actually looking to do more analysis on the bluff-side of things...but haven't gotten any really good hands as of yet.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



SB ($25)
BB ($46.65)
UTG ($26.36)
Hero (MP) ($25.99)
CO ($16.16) - Villain is 37/11 with a 0% 3bet in 90 hands. He's more aggro than your standard passive fish...but still not very good.
Button ($26.93)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 9, J
1 fold, Hero bets $1, CO calls $1, 3 folds

Flop: ($2.35) J, 5, Q (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks
I hit my jack. However, the board is relatively dry. The only worse hands in his calling range that may call me are T9s and worse jacks (if any). I choose to check to try and manage the pot a bit.
Turn: ($2.35) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, CO calls $1.50
A diamond hits the turn. Villain may now have diamond draws that I can extract value from (that I kept in the hand with my flop check) so I bet. Villain's range is now {KQ,QT-Q9,Jx,99-66ish,flush draws}.
River: ($5.35) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $4, Hero calls $4
The flush misses. His calling range is going to, again, be mostly hands that beat me. His betting range, however, includes flush draws and perhaps lower pocket pairs that may try to pick the pot up here. I choose to check/call to extract value from these type of hands.
Total pot: $13.35 | Rake: $0.66

Results:
Hero had 9, J (two pair, Jacks and twos).
CO had 9, 10 (one pair, twos).
Outcome: Hero won $12.69
So I may have been able to get three streets of value here...but I think in the long run, my flop check may have been best. Then again, I don't know.

Hopefully some bluffing analysis to come!

[dranger7070]

I DEMAND UPDATES!

[JKDS]

I TOO, DEMAND UPDATES

[BooG690]

Damn...it's been a long time. Almost a month. December was a bit busy. I had four exams, lost my job, found another job (which is rather labor-intensive), and have been doing the whole Holiday thing. Aside from that, I'm deciding to get a personal trainer. I meet with two of them this weekend and I'll choose one at that time. I'm pretty damn excited. Hopefully I can start next summer off right.

After losing my job, poker snapped right back into the main stage. I seriously need to start making money from it. I've been dominating 25NL and am probably ready to make the move on up. I'll be hanging out at 25NL until after the Holidays. We'll see how my third shot at 50NL goes.

I've been meaning to post up some hand histories. Sadly, I haven't. But then again, I just began to start playing poker again. I will focus on bluffing and try to analyze my bluffs. I don't find bluff analysis to be as clear cut as value-bet analysis...so I'm more than happy to do such things.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



UTG ($8.75)
MP ($42.95) - 26/17 over 55 hands. Not many postflop stats/observations on him.
CO ($23.60)
Button ($67.90)
SB ($79.55)
Hero (BB) ($25)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, K
1 fold, MP bets $0.75, 3 folds, Hero raises to $2.50, MP calls $1.75
With AKo OOP, I choose to three-bet. I like to take the initiative OOP rather than just calling. His call tells me he has something like {JJ-66, AQ+}.

Flop: ($5.10) 5, 6, 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $2.50, MP calls $2.50
Board is a bit dry...there may be some straight draws out there, but not much more. Villain most likely has an overpair or just overcards. I choose to put out a cbet as a bluff (and also get some information). I assume villain is passive (just a basic assumption I make of most fish) and I would obviously fold to a raise on a board like this. I have about 25% equity against overpairs that may call. I will be looking to double-barrel here given any card that is a jack or higher (or perhaps even a ten).

Turn: ($10.10) J (2 players)
Hero bets $5, 1 fold
OK, so I hate my bet-sizing here. I'm pretty much repping a big pocket pair here...but I put out a little bitch bet. I should definitely have bet something along the lines of $7.50-$8. At the time, I was really thinking about the EV of making such a small bet. But seriously, I have to make my story believable. I think villain is folding {TT-77}. That is 24 hands that he will be folding. He will be continuing with {JJ, 66-55}. There is only nine hands that compose that range. Therefore, we estimate villain to be folding ~73% of the time. This tells me that I could have made a pot-size bet here that still would have been +EV. Sadly, I choose to get greedy with my EVs and make a little bitch bet that villain could have easily called with a flush draw he may have picked up. Moral of the story: make your bluffs believable.

Total pot: $10.10 | Rake: $0.45

Results:
Hero didn't show A, K (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $9.65

[BooG690]

In continuance with my analysis of bluffing hands, here's a hand where I pulled a [most likely] slightly -EV preflop move and made up for it knowing the +EV flop situation I put myself in would make up for preflop.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



BB ($25)
UTG ($25.35)
MP ($41.11) - Villain is standard weak/tight fish. I've seen know aggression for him and he basically plays fit/fold postflop.
Hero (Button) ($28.36)
SB ($35.58)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, 7
1 fold, MP bets $1, Hero raises to $3, 2 folds, MP calls $2
I like to three-bet bluff a small amount of the time with suited one-gappers on the button. I figured villain may fold this preflop, but if he calls, I still have a pretty +EV situation postflop. Knowing this, I chose to three-bet him and take the pot on the flop with a cbet if he were to call. For this move to be immediately +EV,

Flop: ($6.35) 9, 9, Q (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $4, 1 fold
So the flop is a bit more coordinated than I wish it were. However, I choose to go on as planned and cbet. Villain would need to fold 38.6% of the time for this to be profitable. My plan on the turn, if villain were to call this bet, is a check/fold.

I actually wish Flopzilla remained free so I can use it to check how villain's range actually hit this flop...meh...back to paper & pen, I guess.

Total pot: $6.35 | Rake: $0.31

Results:
Hero didn't show 5, 7 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $6.04

This is a standard example of making a slightly -EV bet during one street to set up a +++EV situation on a future street. Thanks to the coaching I'm currently getting, I am beginning to understand this conceptually. Hopefully I can continue to put this concept into practice.

[BooG690]

Weeee. More bluffing. Here, I bluff with barely any equity. For sake of easier maths, I will be making my calculations assuming I have 0% equity.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



CO ($36.70)
Hero (Button) ($25)
SB ($25.25) - 42/14 through 38 hands. I will assume he is a standard weak/tight player.
BB ($26.65)
UTG ($36.95)
MP ($43.80)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, 8
3 folds, Hero bets $0.75, SB calls $0.65, 1 fold
I generally raise on the button with any ace. I expect the SB to call and I'm prepared to bluff the flop a huge percentage of the time. I will assume villain's range to be {JJ-22, AQ-A8, K9+, QT+, JT, suited connectors above 65s}. God, I miss Flopzilla. I don't wanna count all these combinations. I did it anyway though and it's 246 combinations (maybe, that may be wrong).

Flop: ($1.75) 2, 3, 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1, SB calls $1
Mmmm...dry flop. I cbet this a huge percent of the time. Villain needs to fold ~36% of the time for this to be +EV. Therefore, he'd need to fold ~89 combinations of his starting 246. We'll assume he continues with {JJ-22, AQ-AT, KQ, 56s, 76s, 87s}. This means he calls with 110 combinations which means he folds 136 combinations (more than 50% of the time). I could've overbet the pot here and it still may have been +EV.

Turn: ($3.75) J (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, 1 foldSo he called my river bluff. My bet is +EV if villain folds 34.7% of the time. This means he needs to fold ~47 combinations. The J is an overcard to the board and adds some fold equity. I hold the As which cuts the number of combinations he continues with by a good amount. I will assume his continuing range to be {JJ, 77, 33-22, AJ, KQss, 65ss, 76ss, 87ss}. This is a mere 25 combinations he calls with. He folds 85 combinations which makes my bet here +EV.

Total pot: $3.75 | Rake: $0.15

Results:
Hero didn't show A, 8 (nothing).
Outcome: Hero won $3.60

Hopefully some of you guys will count the combinations and confirm that I calculated them right (or wrong). Also, if anybody has a Flopzilla key or hack, that'd be great. Kthx.

[BooG690]

So I've been putting what I've been learning to good use and have begun to bluff on the flop a lot more. Some reading and a great discussion with Spoon helped me understand the kinds of boards/villains I'm looking to bluff. I've paid more attention to my image and my perceived range. The following hand is against a laggy regular. He's a winning player and isn't necessarily bad. I've been check-raising his cbets all night long. I guess he chose to finally call me down.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



UTG ($25)
MP ($43.85)
CO ($36.40)
Button ($32.50)
SB ($37.20)
Hero (BB) ($29.55)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, J
3 folds, Button bets $0.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.60) 8, K, J (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $1.25, Hero raises to $4, Button calls $2.75

Turn: ($9.60) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $5, Button calls $5

River: ($19.60) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $19.80 (All-In), Button calls $19.80

Total pot: $59.20 | Rake: $2.90

Results:
Button mucked 4, K (one pair, Kings).
Hero had K, J (two pair, Kings and Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $56.30

Yeah, I know. I should've bet more on the turn. The point is that I MADE that happen...which is cool.

[dranger7070]

[BooG690]

MAXIMUM FOUR TABLES!

[Micro2Macro]

YES!

[BooG690]

So I ran pretty bad today. This caused me to tilt. I lost like four buy-ins. About one and a half of those buy-ins are due to my tilt. I still want to play...but I'm just going to restrain myself and study a bit. That's all.

[BooG690]

OK...so I'm broke IRL. I have no job, no sort of income, and can't take a full-time job since I will be returning to school shortly. Most of the jobs I find are full-time jobs. I've applied to be a bartender (I have no experience) and also applied elsewhere (check the Commune and see exactly what I'm talking about).

That's a little preamble for what lead to this. I moved up to 50NL (I have the bankroll, no worries). I know I can beat it. I asked Micro for some help on three-betting and I've also watched him pwn the fish at 50NL. Watching with his commentary helped a lot. I've played a lot more this month because I feel a bit of pressure to make money from somewhere. When I had a job (I got the boot recently), I felt no pressure when I played and coolers/bad beats didn't bother me much. However, my whole month has went as follows: bad beat, cooler, KK < AA, tilt off money, rinse, repeat. I can't do anything about the first three parts, but SERIOUSLY with the tilt issues? I've played poker for a year and I'm STILL tilting? And better yet, I'm ALLOWING MYSELF TO SPEW OFF MONEY? This is unacceptable and disgusting. I must learn to deal with pressure. I've taken a two day break from poker. I hadn't really visited the IRC since I don't want to hear of it. I will start back on my poker journey tomorrow. But seriously, I have to learn to deal with poker a lot better.

I guess I'm just annoyed since the bad beats and the coolers have been happening a lot more often than ever. However, this is simply because I've played more poker this month than I've ever played so it feels they are happening more often. People run really bad for 15K hands...and probably a lot more. I must learn to deal with this and stop being a bitch. I will be back at the tables tomorrow.

[BooG690]

Wow. So I read my last post in this thread and I'm quite happy with my progress. Not having side income made me put a lot of pressure on myself to make money with poker. It was a losing formula.

Anywho, since then, I've gotten another job. I'm sure most of you know what it is...if not, search the commune for the funnies. I make a good amount of money doing it and, more importantly, I can continue my poker journey without unnecessary stress.

I've posted a bit about my struggles with moving up to 50NL. Well, I think I've finally gotten a hold of the 50NL. I'm doing rather well this month and I'm in the process of thinking about the game correctly thanks to Tommy Angelo's video series on DC. I no longer see players as fish...they're obstacles. And what has helped me the most is that I'm not "better" than a player...I simply have a set of advantages over him/her.

Anyway, I'm not going to post up my results or anything in this blog. No graphs to look at here. However, I am on the verge of cracking into 100NL, I think. I chased down a player on my buddy list onto a 100NL table a few nights ago. I did rather well and found the game to be the same as at 50NL. However, my sample size was small so I do not want to make any assumptions. We'll see how things go...

[dranger7070]

Thread revivals are fun.

I remember the text lol, glad can't wait to see the post where u movin up to the 200s!

[kiwiMark]

Be wary, readers, for in these parts is a very strong curse.

[FMLwin422]

Hey BooG,
You are a very interesting blog going on here. I am definitely interested in your progress, and keep it up! You seem to playing pretty solid poker. Maybe ill see you on the tables sometime
Good luck!

[generman]

[Penneywize]

If this is his first post, either he starts a presentation or is banned by nightfall IMO

[CBAT]

If this is his first post, either he starts a presentation or is banned by nightfall IMO

It's obviously boog bumping his own thread =D

[BooG690]

Wow. It's been such a long time. I've really slacked off on my blogs...and poker.

I stopped taking poker as seriously as I should. There are a bunch of things that have factored into this:

1) Not as a brag, but I've been making good money this Summer. With my $0 debt, I've been able to pad my bank account pretty well. However, this has lead to comfort. Poker became less important to me since I had less of a desire to make money through it. Sick, huh?

2) My mind is weak. After a couple of bad beats, I'd hate the game. I'd detest it. Sadly, I would suck at quitting my session and more bad things would happen. I am allowing my tilt to creep back and I hate it.

I've decided to withdraw a large portion of my bankroll and start back at 50NL (perhaps a bit of 25NL until I get back in the groove). I've ordered Elements of Poker which I hope will help me with controlling my emotions/mind/etc. I will work on taking more breaks and quitting my sessions at better times. My past few sessions have been marathons and there is no reason for this.

For starters, I will not allow myself to play more than an hour without taking a break. I will remove myself from the game both mentally and physically (those of you that've read Elements of Poker may be very familiar with this).

I will also work on quitting my sessions at better times. Recently, I'd almost never quit when I was up and always went "one more round." This must be stopped. I will analyze my cost-benefit to staying at the table and decide based on that (will losing X cost me more than winning X benefits me?). By cost, I obviously mean negative emotions, tilt, etc. By benefit, it will be the positive feeling I receive from winning. Whenever I feel the cost is greater than the benefit, I will quit. I will then examine and analyze why I felt this way and work on tweaking the way I think about this as I go along (again, from Elements of Poker).

Lastly, I will be studying again. Mostly reading new threads (in the SH forum), hopefully posting, and analyzing my own hands. I've ordered Dan Harrington's new book to get me back to the basics. This is in an effort to fight the first reason of my laziness. Even without the money, I always loved learning poker. Its the perfect combination of math and psychology.

Additionally, I will be playing more live poker. I feel a combination of live and online poker will keep me focused on the game. Obviously, I will focus more on online poker but, for variety, I will mix it up with live poker.

Hopefully these steps get me back into the game. I hope to update this blog soon with more positivity.

I will be start playing poker again on Monday and will be reading all weekend to prepare myself for my first session. LATER!

[Carroters]

Glad you're back into the pokers brah. Good luck getting the groove back, I'm here for a sweat, just hit me up.

[BooG690]

Well then. I haven't updated this bad boy in a while. I'm going to try and regularly update this blog monthly (at least). Anywho, onwards with the update!

I began August by playing some 25NL. I shot through that and am now back to 50NL. I've been playing at 50NL for the last two weeks and am pretty comfortable at these stakes. I will be building up the bankroll to get myself to 100NL. Obviously, while doing this, I will be studying my problem hands, analyzing on my own while asking for help if I cannot think up a range, don't understand some theory, etc.

This month went very well and I feel a lot of it was my commitment to NOT CHECKING MY SESSION RESULTS. I checked them once a week (Mondays). I reviewed my hands on Mondays. This worked out great. I tilted less during sessions since I was not trying to win money back when I was down (I wouldn't really know exactly where I stood). Also, previous losing sessions did not affect me since I did not know if they really existed. Anyway, I would suggest this to people that feel checking session results leads to tilt.

I was speaking to Dranger a few days ago and he mentioned his dabbling in PLO. He told me all about his reasoning and I became pretty intrigued with at least learning the game a bit. I decided to invest a bit in learning the game. I will be watching videos and reading a book to get myself started. I have some leftover money on PokerStars which will become my PLO bankroll (it's like $200 or so). I will probably start at 5NL and work my way up. However, this will be taking a backseat to NLHE. My main focus will be NLHE with PLO mixed here and there.

A lot of the reason I cannot focus on PLO is due to a prop bet Kiwi and I have chosen to partake in. Like the famous BC Volume Goal Prop, we have set goals for ourselves. If we both make it (or both don't, for that matter), neither loses anything. If either of us fails, that person owes the other money (I don't really want to disclose the amount without Kiwi's OK). I will be shooting for 60 hours this month. If I make it this month, I plan on propping again next month for a bigger number of hours.

Hopefully everything goes well this month. I still have a lot to work on, which is a good thing. Improving, studying, analyzing, and working on my mentality is what makes poker such a beautiful game. It's a lot of the reason I want to pick up PLO (I enjoy learning new things). Anyway, that's all for now. Bai gaiz!

[philly and the phanatics]

in b4 KIWI VS BOOG prop thread (dooo ittt imo)

but good luck boog keep us posted, especially with the plo life

[dranger7070]

loldrangeraments

[kiwiMark]

It's a blowjob, guys. He's gonna owe me a blowjob.

My goal's 90 hours by the by, as I don't have school like boog does, but am currently sick.

[BooG690]

Surviva and I had the bright idea of doing a grind-a-thon at his apartment.

I'm currently at his apartment and will be grinding all day.

[dranger7070]

Gross.



...




...




...



...pics?

[BooG690]

He's currently cooking me dinner atm. Do I owe him anything for it?

[kiwiMark]

Please say it's lobster

[dranger7070]

Please say it's chocolate covered strawberries and a video camera.

This sounds better to me.

[BooG690]

Here's my second blog update of the week. In case you missed it, here's the first.

Anywho, poker has been kicking my ass for the past two months. I have a ton of room to improve and I have dedicated an entire month (November) to doing so. I need to learn how to study, review sessions, and talk poker with others. I used to love learning the game when I first started but that love of learning has faded. After two losing months, however, you seem to understand that it's time to get back to basics.

To help me refocus and get back to basics, I've gotten a coach. He's a winning player but more importantly, he explains his ideas rather well. I have my first session tomorrow and am rather excited to start.

I will be re-reading Theory of Poker and an eBook that I've gotten. Also, I will be watching more videos...especially now that I'm done with my important exams and will only have poker to study (for the most part).

I may start posting videos of my gameplay now that I have a program I can record and edit videos with. I will make one and pending the response I get from others, I will re-evaluate and perhaps post others.

The road to improving begins here. I have a million resources at my disposal (as does everybody here at FlopTurnRiver). I plan to use them and begin to make real money playing a game I love.

[OngBonga]

Nope, still can't find Dranger's offending post.

Nice blog.

[BooG690]

Well then. I haven't written in this damn thing in forever. As some of you know, I ran away to Costa Rica for two months in January and February. Costa Rica was fucking awesome. I got my TEFL certificate and chilled by the beach for all of February. I can officially stand up on a surfboard and did a couple of sick expeditions. I'm applying for a spot as a summer camp counselor in Spain or England which would be awesome. I will be in Korea around September teaching English for a one-year contract. BAM! Life on the up and up. My dream of seeing the world is coming together.

I arrived at home on March 7th and jumped back into poker on the 9th. I chose to "ease" myself in at 50NL...but found out I was totally lost. Whenever I take a long break from poker, I totally forget how to play. It's sad really. I swallowed my pride and went back down to 25NL. I really hated the idea of it since I thought I was done with that stake, but I had to do it since I couldn't beat 50NL at the time. I spent a couple of days at 25NL and did quite well. Everything slowly came back to me. I climbed up to 50NL and ran quite hot. Once I thought I was ready, I made my way back up to 100NL. I used PlatinumStar as a goal to get me to grind out a good number of hands. I ran crazy hot and got back into my groove. I played for about 80 hours this month which I think is a good number considering a missed about 10-11 days at the beginning of March. I should be a shoe-in for Supernova granted I keep this pace. Here's the garf:



It was my best month ever. Hopefully April proves to be better. I have a few sessions with Carrots left from before I went to Costa Rica that I'm really excited for. LET'S DO THIS.

[BooG690]

Today I took a nice night off from grinding. I've been grinding relentlessly trying to get some rakeback and earn an iPad. I'm not sure how everybody does it but grinding this much gives me cabin fever. I've been grinding about 6 hours a day and doing OK. I've been running pretty bad and am now about breakeven for the month. Considering how much I was down, it's not so bad. I still have the second half of the month to make it up.

Everything else is going pretty well. Once the weather gets nice, I should join a Muay Thai gym again and get my ass in shape and give my life a bit of structure. Of course, this is the plan...I just gotta make sure I stick to it. Anywho, time for me to get to bed. I think I'm gonna grind a good bit tomorrow to at least win $100 in some rake race.

<3 to all

[Micro2Macro]

NY, NY