I've been studying more than playing because of a sick downswing. I've been reading Professional No Limit HE and The Poker Mindset. I plan to finish both books this month and write a post about it. Maybe we can discuss a few things from both books because I doubt I will understand everything in it.
I've also been watching alot of CR and deuces crack videos. I'm thinking about joining Lego Poker because Ian, Jason, and Dodgy highly recommended it. I already canceled deuces and CR and will probably join Lego in April. I probably need a new perspective and by joining Lego, it will allow me to see how other great players think about poker.
I think I'm keeping a good balance with life and poker. I def think it's healthy to not play so much when running/playing bad. This will be good long term move because I doubt I'll be playing my A game.
I also need to review March again and see what I did wrong. I know I ran bad but I bet there were alot of spots where I could had lost less or won more.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Crazy 2/4 HU NLHE Match
Hand 1)
I bought in for $200 and took a shot. This is the first hand. I knew this guy liked to call preflop and bluff when check to because of data mine/hands I observed.
Hand 2)
Typical style that he would play. He would lead pot and shut down on turn and river with air. I limped BTN because this villain was aggro pre and never really folded.
Hand 3)
Villain leads pot on flop. I call and don't want to play a big pot. All I have is a bluff catcher. Turn is check check. Villain pots river and I call hoping to catch a bluff.
Hand 4)
I limp/call BTN because this guy is so aggro. I'm trying to play small pots. Villain lead pots and I shove. Villain calls and I lose with TPWK vs his overpair 99. I reload and take one final shot. I have a solid read on him but he's just holding the deck over me.
Hand 5)
I defend with 98o. I c/r mini and take a stand with a gutshot str8 and two overs. Villain bet/min 3 bet and I call. I hit my tpgk on the turn and intend to c/r shove but he checks. I check again hoping to induce a river bluff but he checks behind with 2nd pair.
Hand 6)
Hero Call on the River. I'm giving this guy no credit when he checks the flop and turn.
Hand 7)
Another Hero Call. I didn't want to play a big pot when the K high 2 flush flop. K hits turn and it goes check check. I don't think he does this with trips. He pots river and I make the call thinking he's betting the miss flush draw or Jack.
Hand 8)
I limp BTN to keep pot small IP. I 3x raise his flop lead with trips and call his 3 bet. I think I'm ahead when he checks the turn and calls. Ugly river card and I just check because the flush really hit's his flop leading range.
Hand 9)
I open raise BTN pock 6. I call villain pot lead on a AA5 2 flush flop. I don't think he does this with trip Aces. Possibly a flush draw, pair of 5 or random air. Villain checks and I make a reverse blocker bet. River goes check check and Villain wins with his turn pair. Pretty brutal.
Hand 10)
Limp pot. I'm on the BB. I c/r my flop top and bottom two pair. I don't think this guy ever folds his flush draw. Turn bet for value. River bet my FB for value and villain mini r and I shove. Villain had total air and could not call. I'm pretty sure he calls with a turn King.
Hand 11)
I try to stack him with pock 2 on a 998 flop. Dame, he has a Q8o.
Hand 12)
Flop the nuts but lose to the back door flush. This one def put me on tilt because I thought I was going to stack him.
Hand 13)
Preflop:
I open r 910o BTN and call his 3 bet. We're deep so I defend hoping to flop two pair or better and stack him.
Flop:
Villain lead pots on the A76 2 flush flop. I call and hope to catch the 8 or take it away if check to on the turn. Villain could be leading with anything.
Turn:
Once villain checks, I don't think he has an Ace, K or flush because he would bet it. I decide to bluff at it and take it away with a 3/4 pot bet. Villain calls and I'm praying to god he doesn't shove the river.
River:
Once he checks the river, I have no choice but to shove because 10 high is no good. I vowed that if he folded, I would quit this session. My prayers were answered and he folded without hitting time request. Villain said he had pock Q. Thank god he gave me credit for a hand because I hadn't been caught bluffing too much in this session.
This guy was crazy and I couldn't really put him on a hand. Once he started giving me credit toward the end of the session I opened up my game. I would never try to bluff this guy in the beginning in med/big pots because he never folded post flop. I would make standard c bets but wouldn't really double or triple barrel this guy. He couldn't fold draws or a pair. If I had a bigger bankroll, I would play this guy all day.
We played for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. I won $243.40 over 227 hands. This was a very high variance match. I could of easily lost 1-2 bi and hurt my BR. I don't mind my shot but I have to wonder if it is worth the risk? It could put me on perma tilt and make me play my B-C game for the next few thousand hands.
I bought in for $200 and took a shot. This is the first hand. I knew this guy liked to call preflop and bluff when check to because of data mine/hands I observed.
Hand 2)
Typical style that he would play. He would lead pot and shut down on turn and river with air. I limped BTN because this villain was aggro pre and never really folded.
Hand 3)
Villain leads pot on flop. I call and don't want to play a big pot. All I have is a bluff catcher. Turn is check check. Villain pots river and I call hoping to catch a bluff.
Hand 4)
I limp/call BTN because this guy is so aggro. I'm trying to play small pots. Villain lead pots and I shove. Villain calls and I lose with TPWK vs his overpair 99. I reload and take one final shot. I have a solid read on him but he's just holding the deck over me.
Hand 5)
I defend with 98o. I c/r mini and take a stand with a gutshot str8 and two overs. Villain bet/min 3 bet and I call. I hit my tpgk on the turn and intend to c/r shove but he checks. I check again hoping to induce a river bluff but he checks behind with 2nd pair.
Hand 6)
Hero Call on the River. I'm giving this guy no credit when he checks the flop and turn.
Hand 7)
Another Hero Call. I didn't want to play a big pot when the K high 2 flush flop. K hits turn and it goes check check. I don't think he does this with trips. He pots river and I make the call thinking he's betting the miss flush draw or Jack.
Hand 8)
I limp BTN to keep pot small IP. I 3x raise his flop lead with trips and call his 3 bet. I think I'm ahead when he checks the turn and calls. Ugly river card and I just check because the flush really hit's his flop leading range.
Hand 9)
I open raise BTN pock 6. I call villain pot lead on a AA5 2 flush flop. I don't think he does this with trip Aces. Possibly a flush draw, pair of 5 or random air. Villain checks and I make a reverse blocker bet. River goes check check and Villain wins with his turn pair. Pretty brutal.
Hand 10)
Limp pot. I'm on the BB. I c/r my flop top and bottom two pair. I don't think this guy ever folds his flush draw. Turn bet for value. River bet my FB for value and villain mini r and I shove. Villain had total air and could not call. I'm pretty sure he calls with a turn King.
Hand 11)
I try to stack him with pock 2 on a 998 flop. Dame, he has a Q8o.
Hand 12)
Flop the nuts but lose to the back door flush. This one def put me on tilt because I thought I was going to stack him.
Hand 13)
Preflop:
I open r 910o BTN and call his 3 bet. We're deep so I defend hoping to flop two pair or better and stack him.
Flop:
Villain lead pots on the A76 2 flush flop. I call and hope to catch the 8 or take it away if check to on the turn. Villain could be leading with anything.
Turn:
Once villain checks, I don't think he has an Ace, K or flush because he would bet it. I decide to bluff at it and take it away with a 3/4 pot bet. Villain calls and I'm praying to god he doesn't shove the river.
River:
Once he checks the river, I have no choice but to shove because 10 high is no good. I vowed that if he folded, I would quit this session. My prayers were answered and he folded without hitting time request. Villain said he had pock Q. Thank god he gave me credit for a hand because I hadn't been caught bluffing too much in this session.
This guy was crazy and I couldn't really put him on a hand. Once he started giving me credit toward the end of the session I opened up my game. I would never try to bluff this guy in the beginning in med/big pots because he never folded post flop. I would make standard c bets but wouldn't really double or triple barrel this guy. He couldn't fold draws or a pair. If I had a bigger bankroll, I would play this guy all day.
We played for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. I won $243.40 over 227 hands. This was a very high variance match. I could of easily lost 1-2 bi and hurt my BR. I don't mind my shot but I have to wonder if it is worth the risk? It could put me on perma tilt and make me play my B-C game for the next few thousand hands.
Smart Buddy = Great Table Selection = Easier $
I found a crazy donkey who was sitting at a 2/4 NLHE HU Table. I had him on Smart Buddy and knew he played terribly at the $50 NLHE SH tables. I watched him a bit at the 2/4 NLHE HU table and also looked at all his hand history.
I found that he liked to bet pot on the flop and shut down on the turn and river unless he had a hand. I also knew he liked to bluff the river once in awhile. With that read and railing about 50 hands of his HU match, I took a shot at his table. I was up about $500 on him but dropped about $250 of it back and called it quits. I def think I got an edge on him but I just didn't want to lose my profits. I'll post some of the crazy hands when I wake up. Really tired right now but excited that Smart Buddy has already turned me a profit.
I found that he liked to bet pot on the flop and shut down on the turn and river unless he had a hand. I also knew he liked to bluff the river once in awhile. With that read and railing about 50 hands of his HU match, I took a shot at his table. I was up about $500 on him but dropped about $250 of it back and called it quits. I def think I got an edge on him but I just didn't want to lose my profits. I'll post some of the crazy hands when I wake up. Really tired right now but excited that Smart Buddy has already turned me a profit.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Smart Buddy is Awesome
I just bought Smart Buddy because Kevin (Moniker) recommended it. It's a sick program where it let's you add buddies from various poker sites that you want to play against. This is totally going to make my life easier because I won't have to go searching for them. Smart Buddy will let me know who is online and where they are sitting. All I have to do is click on their tables and get on the waiting list. I went through my PT database and cherry picked tight/loose passive players who I want to play against. I've gotten over 312 players and there is usually around 10-20 buddies on. This is going to be sweet.
I also converted my PT database to PostgreSQL. I had two databases over 500k hands and it took over 6 hours to convert. From what I understand, I'll be able to store way more hands than the Access version. Now I just have to run and play better.
I also converted my PT database to PostgreSQL. I had two databases over 500k hands and it took over 6 hours to convert. From what I understand, I'll be able to store way more hands than the Access version. Now I just have to run and play better.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Booked a winning session
Very big confidence booster. Up 2 bi over 500 hands at $50 NLHE SH. I immediately sat out when the tilting player left. I would be quite devastated if I gave it back when I'm currently on a 12 bi downswing.
Another 4500 hands to go and I will reassess if I go back to $100 or not. I'm trying to develop a very solid TAG ABC game where my variance won't be so high and my decisions become easier. I also need to quickly identify who I'm playing against so I can play accordingly pre and post flop. Data mining, playing tight early, and really focusing will help me get a solid read before I start opening up my game and making a few moves pre and post flop.
Another 4500 hands to go and I will reassess if I go back to $100 or not. I'm trying to develop a very solid TAG ABC game where my variance won't be so high and my decisions become easier. I also need to quickly identify who I'm playing against so I can play accordingly pre and post flop. Data mining, playing tight early, and really focusing will help me get a solid read before I start opening up my game and making a few moves pre and post flop.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Running very bad and moving back down to $50 NLHE SH
So far this month I've played 2 sessions over 1852 hands. I'm down over 6 bi and if I include last month, it will be a total of 12 bi str8. I think the 3 bi stop loss is great because I don't get to play while on tilt.
I'm running so bad right now. I've flopped 3 sets and lost them to 2-5 outers on the turn or river. I'm not even slow playing but their floating in position and catching. I've been coolered about 2 times when the table was playing aggro and had to get pock J in twice only to see pock K and pock Q. My TPTK ran into flop quads etc.
I'm going to move back down to $50 NLHE SH for about 5k hands and reassess my game and rebuild confidence. I'm only down about 3 bi over about 10k hands at $100 so I know I can win there if I just run better at showdown.
I'm running so bad right now. I've flopped 3 sets and lost them to 2-5 outers on the turn or river. I'm not even slow playing but their floating in position and catching. I've been coolered about 2 times when the table was playing aggro and had to get pock J in twice only to see pock K and pock Q. My TPTK ran into flop quads etc.
I'm going to move back down to $50 NLHE SH for about 5k hands and reassess my game and rebuild confidence. I'm only down about 3 bi over about 10k hands at $100 so I know I can win there if I just run better at showdown.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Group Sweat last night
Ian played 4 tables of $50 PLHE SH at FTP. Brian, Kevin and I sweated and a few interesting hands came up that was discussed afterwards. Ian just stepped up the the $50 level and played a TAG ABC game. Ian picked his spots well and only c betted on great flops. It gave me the opportunity to understand what made a good/bad flop to c bet. I will try to incorporate that into my own game.
Check out our new group blog titled Millennium Poker Group
Check out our new group blog titled Millennium Poker Group
Sunday, March 2, 2008
CR friend "Screenw" and March Goals
I met "Screenw" (Winthrop) by chance while chatting at CR about a year ago. He's finally realized that he wants to be successful at poker after reading Ezmogee's (Ezra) blog post at CR. Ezra basically said that anyone could be successful at poker through hard work because there are so many resources available to help you improve. There are poker books, poker training sites, and friends who like to discuss poker strategy over the internet.
Winthrop has played all the way up to $100 NLHE SH but has dropped down to $10 and $25 NLHE SH for personal reasons. He plans to rebuild at the micro stakes and eventually be back at his regular $100 game. Through hard work, Winthrop will accomplish that goal within 2-3 months.
While sweating Winthrop 2 table $10 NLHE SH @ UB. I realized that I've been playing way too fancy. I've been making plays and hero calls with very few reads. I want to reach a point where I play near perfect and make the correct decisions on every street with the information I currently have. I want to have a well balance game where my bet's get respect from the better players/donks and I'm loose enough where I will get called down lightly.
I saw a lot of things that Winthrop does well that I need to start doing consistently. Give unknowns respect and learn to fold med/strong hands when facing heat post flop. Just explaining why I do the things I do to him made me realize that I don't always play my A game. It would be totally sick if I brought my A game all the time. I would be up an additional 30-50 buy ins lifetime. I guess I'm trying to chase perfection.
March Goals.
1) Play 20k hands
2)Play A game or quit immediately
3)No Hero calls without reads
4)3 buy in stop loss for one day
5)Read Professional No Limit Holdem & The Poker Mindset
6)Attend weekly group sweats
7)Post at least one tricky/tough hand per session at CR
8)Respond to 2 hand history post per day at CR
9)Update Poker blog 2-3 times a week
10)Respond to all relevant blog posts involving strategy/hands
11)Watch 2-4 CR , Trikkur, or Deucescracked videos/week
If I accomplish all these goals, the results will take care of itself and I should be moving up to 1/2 NLHE SH within 2-3 months.
Winthrop has played all the way up to $100 NLHE SH but has dropped down to $10 and $25 NLHE SH for personal reasons. He plans to rebuild at the micro stakes and eventually be back at his regular $100 game. Through hard work, Winthrop will accomplish that goal within 2-3 months.
While sweating Winthrop 2 table $10 NLHE SH @ UB. I realized that I've been playing way too fancy. I've been making plays and hero calls with very few reads. I want to reach a point where I play near perfect and make the correct decisions on every street with the information I currently have. I want to have a well balance game where my bet's get respect from the better players/donks and I'm loose enough where I will get called down lightly.
I saw a lot of things that Winthrop does well that I need to start doing consistently. Give unknowns respect and learn to fold med/strong hands when facing heat post flop. Just explaining why I do the things I do to him made me realize that I don't always play my A game. It would be totally sick if I brought my A game all the time. I would be up an additional 30-50 buy ins lifetime. I guess I'm trying to chase perfection.
March Goals.
1) Play 20k hands
2)Play A game or quit immediately
3)No Hero calls without reads
4)3 buy in stop loss for one day
5)Read Professional No Limit Holdem & The Poker Mindset
6)Attend weekly group sweats
7)Post at least one tricky/tough hand per session at CR
8)Respond to 2 hand history post per day at CR
9)Update Poker blog 2-3 times a week
10)Respond to all relevant blog posts involving strategy/hands
11)Watch 2-4 CR , Trikkur, or Deucescracked videos/week
If I accomplish all these goals, the results will take care of itself and I should be moving up to 1/2 NLHE SH within 2-3 months.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Feb Results
Btimm ptbb/100 Challenge Results:
2.08ptbb/100 over 7377 hands winning $307.
I thought I was going to win this challenge but ran and play very bad between hands 3500-7377. I was up over 9 bi at 3500 hands. I need to readjust my game and pick my spots better. I think I need a stop loss of 3 buy ins because I will tilt off another 2-3 bi easily if I keep playing.
Overall, I"m very satisfied with my results. I'm playing a more loose aggressive game which makes my daily swings higher. I think I will tighten up and try to play a 21/18/3 game. I'm getting into too many marginal spots where I have to make hero calls or bet/fold playing 25/20/2.7 because I"m getting no respect when I bet or check behind flops.
Here are my Feb results.
$50 NLHE SH over 4,517 hands
$269.40 5.96ptbb/100
Running at 25/19/2.83
Flop AF = 3.62 Turn AF = 2.14 River AF=2.42
ATS$=44.61
$100 NLHE SH over 8,234 hands.
$312.40 1.9ptbb/100
Running at 25/20/2.7
Flop AF = 2.42 Turn AF=1.75 River AF = 1.75
ATS$=44.90
Overall Profit = $581.80 over 12,751 hands.
A quick edit.
My PT stats were missing about 1087 hands at $50 NLHE so I'm actually up another $100 bucks. Sweet.
New Overall Profit = $681.80 over 13, 838 hands.
2.08ptbb/100 over 7377 hands winning $307.
I thought I was going to win this challenge but ran and play very bad between hands 3500-7377. I was up over 9 bi at 3500 hands. I need to readjust my game and pick my spots better. I think I need a stop loss of 3 buy ins because I will tilt off another 2-3 bi easily if I keep playing.
Overall, I"m very satisfied with my results. I'm playing a more loose aggressive game which makes my daily swings higher. I think I will tighten up and try to play a 21/18/3 game. I'm getting into too many marginal spots where I have to make hero calls or bet/fold playing 25/20/2.7 because I"m getting no respect when I bet or check behind flops.
Here are my Feb results.
$50 NLHE SH over 4,517 hands
$269.40 5.96ptbb/100
Running at 25/19/2.83
Flop AF = 3.62 Turn AF = 2.14 River AF=2.42
ATS$=44.61
$100 NLHE SH over 8,234 hands.
$312.40 1.9ptbb/100
Running at 25/20/2.7
Flop AF = 2.42 Turn AF=1.75 River AF = 1.75
ATS$=44.90
Overall Profit = $581.80 over 12,751 hands.
A quick edit.
My PT stats were missing about 1087 hands at $50 NLHE so I'm actually up another $100 bucks. Sweet.
New Overall Profit = $681.80 over 13, 838 hands.
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