Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Can you spot my first shot at 50NL?

This graph is a combination of 25NL and 50NL. Can you spot my first attempt at 50NL combined with a poorly timed full buy-in loss at 100NL as a result of chasing a fish upwards and getting coolered and then the subsequent tilt (sorry for the terrible sentence structure)? Then can you identify where I successfully made the transition and started crushing 50NL?




I'm a little concerned about the redline dropping down a bit in the latter half of the month. As long as it stays positive, I'm okay with it. I believe the redline is very indicative of strong reads and solid play. A 45 degree line downward indicates to me that you are playing just your cards too much and not your opponents enough. Anyways, more later.

Dubs

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Transitioned to 50NL...

Well, didn't get to go home for Christmas. Flippin' blizzard across midwest cancelled my wife's and I flight into Omaha on Thursday and Friday. We made the best of it but I certainly missed being home for the holiday. We've rescheduled for the 2nd weekend in January. But that has allowed me a decent amount of time at the tables.

I'm finally out of micros and into "small stakes" full-time. I've been on a heater recently and this may be my best month ever. By far.

I've also made "Legend" status on UB which is a 4x multipler for UB points. Combine that with their current promotion for 3x power hour until the New year and I'm rolling in 12 UB pts per status point earned. I'm going to try to get in some good volume before the New Year as a result. With a baby 3 months away, this might be the last time I get this good of a grind in for some time.

By the way, World of Warcraft + poker = profit. I've been two-tabling while I grind away in WoW when I'm not in the mood to fire up 4 tables. My winrate during these sessions has been ridiculous. I think it's because:

-fewer tables = better reads
-less Fancy play syndrome which ties into
-willing to fold more often

anyways, back to my warrior and back to the tables. have fun ya'll.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Massive monkey tilt is bad

Started yesterday. Was up 3 buyins at 50NL. Ate some supper with teh wife and came back.

AA < KK shortly after starting. BOOOOOOOM. 6 buy-in downswing. Oh well, only 3 buy-ins lost for the day right?

Carried over into the next day.

I've now been forced back to 25NL. Yay.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Starting to get comfortable at 50NL, mixing in 25NL HU

Starting to hit a groove at 50NL and adjusting well to the table dynamics/play at UB. Incredibly soft games are available. Patience and position are key. Bankroll is approaching highest ever. Best part - there are no plans or need for a withdrawal this time around. I may finally be able to make some decent coin.

I've also been mixing in some 25NL HU. The hand reading experience is vital to becoming a successful poker player and HU play really helps that facet of my game exponentially.

Plus it's incredibly lucrative despite rake chewing up a huge part of your profit. I tilted one guy terribly last night and he ended up dropping 2.5 buy-ins to me before "disconnecting." Fun stuff.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Adjusted well to 25NL, now taking shots at 50NL

Title says it all. I have a lot of thoughts running through my head for solid blog posts. I think I'm going to try to tackle the value of EV in HEM, or more aptly, the lack of value of the EV stat.

Friday, November 27, 2009

I'm scared....

To make a positive post as I'm now up 14 buy-ins over 1500 hands since my whine post. More later on what I'm doing that I feel has resulted in this positive swing (besides running hotter than Mercury).

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Bitch post for the win....

Gorged myself on a Thanksgiving feast, drank a $hit load of Sam Adams Winter, passed out for 3 hours, got home, bit hungover, win 4 buy-ins in 585 hands. Easy game.


err...make that 5.5 buy-ins.

Why am I freaking out at 25NL???

Seriously...why? I'm only down just 4 buy-ins over 11k hands this month and I have 25 buy-ins for the level still.

Yet it feels like if you want to flop a set, just play against me. You can crack my KK and AA all day long.

I can do this. I will do this. You wait and see.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Maybe this hand finally changes my luck at 25NL?

I love my play here and I'll fill you in on why tomorrow.

BTW - in this hand below, 2 donkeys and the villain who is a thinkin and relatively tough tagsish type (24/14 >295h).

Another quick stat, I've switched skins to UB for aesthetic purposes (cleaner than UB) with a better "classic" table layout for 4-8 tabling). Anyways made the switch a few days back.

Here is how I'm running:

25NL: 3817 hands = -8.22 BB/100 (in HEM BB/100 = PTBB)
10NL: 2672 hands = +21.15 BB/100

I can only think it is a mental thing about "running bad." I guess I could whine about top set of Aces getting beat by a guy not giving up a J3s and getting runner runner for a flush for 180bbs or losing to 53 vs AA on a K93 flop where he turned two pair but I won't. I've sucked out my own a fair number of times.

So I'm taking a different approach. Playing one table of 25nl and 3 of 10NL as I implement some changes to my cbetting strategy. More on that on a later date.

Anyways, back to the hand that really swung my night at my 25NL table:

Absolute Poker $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 384637

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter



Hero (MP): $32.81

CO: $15.98

BTN: $18.74

SB: $49.99

BB: $20.86

UTG: $77.99



Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is MP with K of diamonds Q of diamonds

UTG raises to $0.85, Hero calls $0.85, 2 folds, SB calls $0.75, BB calls $0.60



Flop: ($3.40) J of clubs 9 of clubs 8 of spades (4 players)

SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $1.70, Hero calls $1.70, SB calls $1.70, BB calls $1.70



Turn: ($10.20) 9 of diamonds (4 players)

SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $5.70, SB folds, BB folds, UTG calls $5.70



River: ($21.60) 3 of diamonds (2 players)

UTG checks, Hero bets $17.10, UTG folds



Final Pot: $21.60

Hero wins $20.52

(Rake: $1.08)


Saturday, November 21, 2009

Using image and metagame to your advantage

A couple hands earlier I turned a flush against this villain on a KKxAx board and value owned him on the river.

This hand came up about 3 hands later:

Absolute Poker $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 383307

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter



Hero (BTN): $25.44

SB: $11.19

BB: $7.35

UTG: $10.02

MP: $20.74

CO: $5.45



Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BTN with 3 of diamonds A of spades

1 fold, MP calls $0.10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.45, 2 folds, MP calls $0.35



Flop: ($1.05) T of hearts 5 of diamonds 9 of spades (2 players)

MP checks, Hero bets $0.60, MP calls $0.60



Turn: ($2.25) 2 of clubs (2 players)

MP checks, Hero checks



River: ($2.25) 4 of diamonds (2 players)

MP bets $2.25, Hero raises to $24.39 all in, MP calls $17.44 all in



Final Pot: $41.63

Hero shows 3 of diamonds A of spades (Straight, ace to five)

MP mucks 9 of clubs K of hearts

Hero wins $39.55

(Rake: $2.08)




Owned.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Major Improvements to Absolute Poker Lobby....

AP has finally joined the big boys in terms of lobby filters and organization. All I gotta say is about fricken' time! Can finally filter to one specific game size or range (i.e. 10NL) plus some additional nice filters such as % of players to preflop (0-25%, 25-50%, etc). Also the ability to filter out 72 tables, jackpot tales, etc.

If you haven't signed up for Absolute Poker or Ultimate Bet, make sure to sign up for RakeBack through me for a nice 30% rate.

If you do have an account there, go ahead and check it out. I'm glad to see them finally making some much needed improvements.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Another strong night....

+4.5 buy-ins again tonight. Also mixed in a 25NL game and got coolered AK vs AJ on AKJJx brd (I should have folded and even said so but didn't follow through on my read). Eventually made that buy-in back at 25NL by beating up some shortstackers.

Anyways, almost fully rolled for 25NL finally. Looking forward to continuing to cruise through the micros.

Here's my graph at 10NL on AP since I started this HEM database early this year. Approx 71k+ hands at a clip of 5.76BB/100 (not bb/100, for bb/100 essentially double my BB/100 i.e 10.4bb/100). Not bad. Take out a breakeven/bad play stretch in there and I'll take it.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ended the streak....

Ended the streak of 4 straight sessions of instantly dropping 2-3 buy-ins and then working my way back to a positive session.

Instead, I just played well the entire session for a nice 2.5 buy-in win.

I like it when I play well.

Here's a sample of the notes I've been taking on videos I've been watching. This note taking I believe is critical to really actually "learning" what I'm observing

I don't expect you to really make heads or tails of these notes, but enjoy anyways!

top 3 leaks at micros:
1) not vbetting enough
2) not folding enough on trn or rvr when raised
3) not folding enough to 3bets

In order to call PFR, need 2 of 3:
1) skill advantage (3principles: get value, don't bluff, don't pay off)
2) card advantage
3) position advantage

Moving Up:
-Theoretically wrong to play the same game when you move up limits
-see someone 3bet a suited connector, call IP and it wil be profitable -> allows you to creep back towards looseness
-can't be an outlier if you are not playing loose; you can be a winner playing tightly, but you can't be a massive winner

Small/Micro:
-image doesn't matter as bad players don't adjust/acknowledge
--we do need to adjust how loose we are based on how others are playing

-Lean towards being tight until you know it's a good idea to lean towards loose

(The Coaching Tree - Episode One)
-bet bet bet bet for value and fold if they raise
-at 25NL, you are not making most of your money bluff-catching, you make most of your money through value betting: morale of the story: FOLD MORE OFTEN
-you make your money by valuebetting not by calling
-people aren't bluffing as much as we think they are
-a bad players mistake is they call too much, they will get to showdown a lot. (need big cards pre against this type of player)
-if tricky, hard players (fold hands like A8, k6, etc as they aren't going to make big hands against someone who is decent at applying pressure)
-anytime you think you can get called by worse, you should bet for value; keep betting and fold if they raise
-if you have a problem paying off all the time, WORK ONIT!.45


(The Coaching Tree - Episode Two)
-play tighter against good players and looser against bad players
---1) skill advantage (3principles: get value, don't bluff, don't pay off)
2) card advantage
3) position advantage
-Pot management
-big cards are great against bad players

(The Coaching Tree - Episode Three)
-can control ability to cooler by choice of cards (king hgh flush as opposed to T hgh flush)
-double barrell with increase in pot equity and fold equity? Look for those spots. why he prefers T8o vs A6o; the semi-connected allows for str of hand to improve with multiple cards vs A6 only looking for A and still may not be good
-each individual situation is unique
-what types of strength does my hand have, what sorts of things make my hand more powerful (T9s - more money behind relative to pot, someone with a looser range preflop -> able to bluff more often)
-while he may call less often when we shove, the extra money we make

(The Coaching Tree - Episode 4)
-FR can fold to aggression when lacking the nuts
-player identification - easier to call down aggressive opponents than against passive opponents
-take notes on patterns (min raise, min3bet, etc) and then take specific notes when pattern is broken
-stats vs observed hands - observing one hand will tell you the world more than any stat

(THE COACHING TREE - Episode 5)
-against bad plyers should be betting for value more often
-nver wnt to pay off a passive player or a person with a tight range
-you cannot play good poker until you understand equity (66 on 2A2 brd w FD, 66 may be best hand but has terrible equity against overcards and FD
-can beat aggressive players by calling, beat passive players by betting
-low cards are worst against loose players

(ROAD TO ROBUSTO - Episode 5)
-as the stacks get deeper, opponents stack off
-deeper stacks benefit more in position

(THE COACHING TREE - EPISODE 6)
-ck-call and then donk trn with strong hands on dry boards is a good line
-making right choices pre makes post flop game easy
-against shorties: playing aggressively when they raise, play really tight when they shove

(The COACHING TREE - Episode 7)
-a lot of players are incapable of overbetting without the nuts or very near nuts
-if getting 3bet a lot by good players in the blinds, raise smaller pre???
-shortstackers make there money not by squeezing lightly, they make their money by stealing blinds and having you call lightly when they have a tight range

(Road to Robusto - Episode 5)
-

(Baby Steps - Episode 1)
-UTG range @ 25NL: all PP, suited aces to AT, offsuit AJ, KQo, some suited connectors
-cbets: player types and flop types
-3betting
-raise loose from button but not against shortstacks

(Baby Steps - Episode 2)
-

(Baby Steps - Episode 4)
-

(CardRunners - The Biggest Difference - Episode 1 of 4)
-think not only about improving your game, but also self-mgmt to put in more hands and make more money
-set aspirations with a certain kind of goal in mind
---be honest with yourself where you stand on the grand ladder of poker plyers
-watch high stakes and identify weakness in the worse players
---examine unexpected plays
-watch your own stakes and observe top winners, why are the constantly winning at high winrates?
--table selection? mimic their reads?
-Figure everything out, make sure to understand WHY something is good or bad
--be careful with forums, instead consult with good players
-Put in Better Hands
--don't just sit down at 6 random tables, prob filled with regs
--find the soft games! pick games better than your opponents
--spread bankroll around
--don't let ego get in the way of your profitability, you're an idiot and you should just check-fold your whole life
--play your best
--diversify the way you grind, miss out on value if don't check out other limits such as lower stake that offer a huge fish, look at FR games or HU games if identify fish
-Practice Hand Reading
--use excel
--play 1-2 tables and think about what opponents range is through every street
-verbalize, speak it aloud
-Get your logic straight
--EV is most important, not comfort (ie avoiding tough spots)
--EV is most important, not pride
--OVERALL EV, NOTHING ELSE

(BalugaWhale - Ghost)
-Don't choose how loose or tight based on your position, need to choose based on where are the bad players, where are tehy at and how deep are we?
-bigger mistake to stack off lightly vs passive plyer than loose aggressive player
-general philosophies run throughout poker
--getting value is important, not paying off is important

(Parralells - Episode 1)

(CardRunners - The Biggest Difference - Episode 2 of 4)
You are your biggest responsiblity - you are in complete control of yourself.
-Be Honest.
-Observe, observe, observe. View from a completely OJBECTIVE standpoint.
-->DON'T SPECULATE when you are making reads on people, deciding what people might do, how the game might change around you based on dyanmics and history
----->for example, I've raised 4 times, he is 3betting lightly because he is annoyed - where are the facts that support this???
----->don't follow blindly (forums for example)
----->make sure to understand WHY someone is saying what they say and evaluate from there

TILT CONTROL!
->Factors
--->Bankroll affects tilt to extreme degree; solution: play with a larger bankroll relative to the stakes you play
----->mathematics of 20BIs is sound but account for fact that very slight amount of losing momentum on short bankroll can cause unbelievably long and enduring cylce of bad play due to general stress, lack of confidence and tilt; one bad session leads to bad week to bad month to bad year
----->finance swing, stress swings, level of happiness swings, understnding of game swings, current swing factors into tilt
---->Manifestations of tilt
------->spewing
------->FPS - Fancy Play Syndrome
------->Any deviation from your top play
-----RECOGNIZE TILT WHEN YOU ARE DEVIATING FROM TOP PLAY> SAY IT ALOUD!
-Techniquies for tilt control
-->If stop less is less than 5 buy-ins, probably stressing bankroll too much
---->drop down to a lower limit to allow to be more comfortable with swings, hit stop loss less often
------>Trailing stop-loss, i.e. up 10 buy-ins, then lose 3 back; quit at that time.
-->Change stakes, play easier games to regain confidence; helps get your head in right place to avoid those hefty downward spirals.
-->Talk to yourself; say things aloud, ask yourself questions. Results in your awareness increasing, becomes much more personal, introspective, allows you to focus on your mistakes; sounds silly but is INCREDIBLY helpful
-->Building on increasing credibility and recognizing own mistakes, reflect with a friend
-SUGGESTIONS
-->play over-rolled (50 buy-ins)
-->Find minor distractions (for example, Bejewelled) to help clear your head, refocus, allow some tilt to wash away
-->NEVER FORGET TILT'S IMPACT (tilt being less than your best, if you tilt off one buy-in every 10k hands = 1/2 BB/100 from overall winrate; if winrate is 2BB/100 that is 25% cut of your winrate; several months delay of moving up.)
MOMENTUM CONTROL - one of biggest factors in success
-->Quit when losing seperates the people who have had success vs those who burnout and quit
-->NEVER quit when winning
----->Play too much when losing and not enough when winning
-->Stop splashing
-->CHANGE TABLES, look for better games
----treat each table like it's own mini-session, if getting crushed on one, LEAVE IT!
GAME SELECTION
->EXTREMELY EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!
--->takes 2 minutes, don't be lazy!
--->find non-regulars, under 100BB
--->don't avoid shortstacks, these are BAD plyers, take advantage of it
--->Scan other stakes for good games (above AND below)
GRINDING ETHIC
->First: better play
-->Time of day, focus, games, etc
->Second: more volume
--1-table in the background
--random, short sessions; these add up significantly over time
--set financial goals???
---not goals like I want to make $5k, but rather something tangible; like i want to pay for a trip, can't take trip until $XXXX.
MOVING UP OR DOWN
->Taking shots
--NOT a full-time jump
--preserve confidence
--prepare for changes
--SET YOUR EGO ASIDE, end result is $$ not pride
IMPROVING
-Short study, EVERY DAY
-Ask yourself
--what's his range?
--how about an alternative? do you understand or just regurgitating?
--can i do the math?

(CR - Krush - SSNL pt 1 of 2)
-

(Road to Robusto - Ep 7)
-Unconscious incompetence - Mistake?
-Conscious incompetence - Learn to stop making them
-Conscious Competence - Learn to exploit others
-Unconscious competence - Learn to let others to exploit themselves

(CR - The Big Difference Pt 3 of 4)
Handreading
-2 part decisions
--1) Make a read
----->need a read in order to justify an action (not just "I have a good hand")
--2) Use it
-Data loss throughout the course of a hand
-->someone will see a flop, draw flop comes and people add a hand to someones range (3h4h)
-BIG difference (hand reading mistakes is the BIGGEST difference)
-be the best self-corrector
-Mistakes
->Projection = people think that their opponents would do what they themselves would do
--> you do not equal your opponents
---->cannot factor in their information, variable valuation, and emotional state
->Absolute Strength
--avoid changing their "range" due to data loss (opponent always 3bets 99 but you put him on a set of 9s after flop on 9 hgh brd)
->Exotic tells
-Successes
->Legitimate tells
--->Timing, for example -quick call is showdownable/weak made hand
----->Planning (insta shve rvr probably had plan to shve before rvr even came)
----->Ease (example: easier decision, faster action)
--->Bet sizing
----->Round numbers
->Experience
-->"Most" (most of the time, this happens)
->Notes
-->Consistency
-->Information exchange
-->Simple and certain
->Showdowns (immensely important to developing reads)
-->Pay Attention!
-->Avoid fanciness
->Conclusion
-->No set of rules
--->No simple answers
--->Never, always, etc.
-->Four part process
---->1) Make a read
---->2) Consider all plays
---->3) Calculate EV
---->4) Press the button

(DC - Parallels, Ep 8)
-against bad aggro players, don't play back with them with bluffs because they don't fold weak made hands while good players may fold those hands
-don't want to call semibluffs, we want to play into them

(King for a Day - Episode 1)
-player with less than full stack is typically a weaker player
-don't want to be forced to call w draws

(NuteDawg 100NL 1)
-identify those players that think you are getting out of line and then play tighter against them and let them hang themselves.
-betting a flop with intention of betting the turn
-->think about what kinds of cards you want to barrell and what is their calling range on the flop; you want to be thinking about this on the flop before you make your cbet
-biggest flaw - don't think deeply enough about what their opponents ranges are and how they will react to all the different plays at your disposal

(vitalMyth Leakfinder)
-auto pilot bets & raises
-->cbetting w any sort of equity, discount opponents range (Qjx brd w AT), they are never folding a huge part of their range)
-->Value from worse?
-->Fold out better?
-Raising to gamble
-->Will money go in??
-Raising big hands
-->Beaten if called??
Suited Aces OOP
-Implied odds
-Strong draw flops often
--Shows gamble
--Get folds
-Need credibility
--C/R a lot
--Trappiness
-->Not thinking about protecting against anything, value from worse, etc.

(VitalMyth - The Big Difference pt 4 of 4)
-Recall 4 steps
---1) Make a read of opp hand's range 1st thing always!
---2) Consider all plays (minbet, 2x pot, 1/2 pot, check, lead, etc.)
---3) Calculate EV
---4) Press the button
-Best Players
---Have a very very good understanding of equity
---Understand all options and understand consequences of all options
-Make Life Easy is COMPLETE BS!
---Avoid tough spots
---Polarized ranges
---Fold marginal hands
----->Doing this prevents you from becoming good!
----->Instead make tough spots easy
----->Push small edges
-Don't PANIC
---I can't...can I?
---->Fold big hands...you CAN fold big hands, is it the best strategy?, calm down and think, the pain of making the mistake is worse than the pain of folding; because at the end of the day you are playing for money, not ego
----->Define your edge, "i get value from this guy because he overvlues TP", "i get value from this guy because he folds too much."
----->Fold despite long odds; you don't have to call getting 6:1 for example
---Won't they start...?
----->No, they won't
----->They're STILL stupid
---What does he have?
----->All-in I guess.... <- this is BAD!
--stop call-folding!
--Review all sessions
--Be honest with yourself
--Get in control
--It's not easy!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Playing super well....

Here's how I know.

Past two night sessions, go down 2-3 buy-ins within the first 10 minutes of each session. Mostly because of a coolers or bad beats but 2 of them (one in each session) due to my own bad play.

And I didn't tilt. Instead I recognized the losses for what they were, especially the losses due to bad play. Made a note to help develop my reads on the villains.

And then went on to crush. First night was the 3 buy-in downer. I swung it back to +2 buyin session.

Tonight instantly down 2 buy-ins when semi-coolered with a flush over flush and then a terrible play in a 3bet pot w AK when I tried to push a bad player (even had dbag in his screen name) off a Q high flop when I pushed over his re-raise and he snap called w JJ and I bricked out. I recognized my mistakes in the hands. As a result, I didn't tilt. Made my notes to develop reads on both players and moved on.

Moved on to a +5.5 buy-in session over 2 hours.

Oh yeah, final VPIP/PFR of 30.1/23.2. Not exactly nitting it up.


Uhm.....make that a +7.5 buy-in session. Just turned quads and got check-raised. I flatted; he snaps shove river and I win a $40 pot at 10NL. So I guess you can say I run pretty well too.

Anyways, the other example of playing well:

Absolute Poker $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em - 4 players - View hand 341566

The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter



BB: $19.91

Hero (CO): $18.33

BTN: $33.46

SB: $10.40



Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is CO with 3 of diamonds 3 of clubs

Hero raises to $0.30, BTN raises to $1.05, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.75



Flop: ($2.25) 2 of spades K of spades Q of spades (2 players)

Hero bets $0.80, BTN raises to $1.60, Hero raises to $3.80, BTN calls $2.20



Turn: ($9.85) J of diamonds (2 players)

Hero checks, BTN checks



River: ($9.85) A of spades (2 players)

Hero bets $6.45, BTN folds




EDIT: Important note is that we are playing relatively deep with effective stacks of 180bbs. This gives me much more room to maneuver and apply pressure as you see in the following analysis.

I have a very strong read on this player. I know that his 3bet is JJ+ based on the 1.2k+ hands I have played with him. On this flop, I have a particular plan against him so I donk into him expecting the re-raise from AA, KK, QQ, and AKo and AKs. He probably flats with a small chance of fold JJ (chance of fold increases if missing Js). I put in the 3bet (notice this size is considered relatively large for this particular table, this is important at it puts a good deal of pressure on him) to gather more information as I'm about 70% positive that he'll give me a free river with anything less than a set here. He will be shoving QQ and KK, AA with Aspade. 50/50 on him flatting w AKo with Ace spades. This means I can make a move on the river if it is a spade. He obliges and flats the 3bet and gives me the info I need to play this hand perfectly.

He checks behind Jd trn which eliminates JJ from his range. I now put him on AK.

So in order to avoid any "data loss" (concept that we add hands to villain's range after the flop that we said he couldn't have before the flop - Cardrunner video by Vital Myth as part of "The Big Difference" series. HIGHLY RECOMMEND), I put villian on JJ, QQ, KK, AK, AKs due to his 3bet. After flop, I am able to eliminate As from his range based on the action. Qs and Ks is already out there so he cant have those either.

The river is the absolute perfect card to bluff at against this particular villain as I 100% KNOW that he does not have a spade. I am also 100% positive that he is a thinking enough player that he will fold to a largish raise.

Against a bad player, this is a much much closer play as they will not be willing to fold two pair or stronger on this river. (EDIT: actually against a bad aggressive or even bad passive player, I am check-folding this flop texture.)

Anyways, just thought I'd share my thoughts on an interesting hand. I've made some great strides recently in my poker playing based on changing HOW I am studying the game and, as a result, how I'm approaching the game when I'm on the tables.

See you at the felt,

DubsPoke

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Turning a corner

Been playing without a HUD for the past few days after watching a video by BalugaWhale and Tubasteve on DeucesCracked (the first Coaching Tree episode).

By not using a HUD, I'm having to develop reads and really think through hands as they are played. As a result, I think I'm turning a corner in my poker development. Time will tell.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

I'm a tilt monkey...

and i'll never play above 25NL unless I fix myself.

enough said.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Love this quote...

From one of my favorite CardRunners instructors vitalmyth:

In reference to players not game selecting because of ego:

You're an idiot and you should just check-fold your life.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Impressed by DeucesCracked

Seriously very impressed. If you weren't aware, DeucesCracked has a promotion going through Oct. 4 where everyone can view all of their videos in their flash format.

I've been checking out their small/micro stakes vids. check out "Road to Robusto" by tubasteve and "uNL looseness" by BalugaWhale. Especially Episode 4 of Road to Robusto where it is purely a HEM review. More specifically, how to use filters in HEM.

Sounds boring, right? Far from it. It is filled with gems and actually shows you the impact of your leaks. Such as calling turn raises.

Here's some gems I jotted down in notepad while listening:

top 3 leaks at micros:
1) not vbetting enough
2) not folding enough on trn or rvr when raised
3) not folding enough to 3bets

In order to call PFR, need 2 of 3:
1) skill advantage (3 principles: get value, don't bluff, don't pay off)
2) card advantage
3) position advantage

Moving Up:
-Theoretically wrong to play the same game when you move up limits
-see someone 3bet a suited connector, call IP and it wil be profitable -> allows you to creep back towards

looseness
-can't be an outlier if you are not playing loose; you can be a winner playing tightly, but you can't be a massive winner

Small/Micro:
-image doesn't matter as bad players don't adjust/acknowledge
--we do need to adjust how loose we are based on how others are playing which is different than adjusting based on our image

-Lean towards being tight until you know it's a good idea to lean towards loose

Saturday, October 3, 2009

The dangers of "reverse tilt"

If you are not a decent HU player.

Story is short. I erupt after having my AA cracked by 74s for 100bbs, all in the flop when he just had the naked FD (i had A of diamonds too). Damn river.

Anyways, I erupt and talk some $hit to the guy and I reload my 100bbs. He gives me crap about being a pussy and not loading to the 200bb option that is available on AP.

He continues to chatter and eventually challenges me to a HU battle. I had already calmed down, recognized the error of my ways, and de-tilted. He more or less went on reverse tilt.

My read on this foe is that he was pretty much a nit/slight TAG player. In other words, get him in a HU battle and he will be lost most of the time.

I accepted his challenge. And took 3 buy-ins from him in 180 hands through solid HU play, recognizing his leaks and exploiting the hell out of him.

And life is good today.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

A personal post....

i don't think I've ever made one of these but....



GO HAWKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Huge win tonight.. Unfortunately our boys play much better as the underdogs and i don't know if that will be possible after tonight.

Oh yeah...I'm going to be a daddy in 7 months....scary $hit!!!!

(but very excited about it too!)

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Cut down to one table

And played an MMORPG (not WoW, sorry Waffles).

Won back my 2 buy-in loss from the previous session.

And then went on to win 5 more buy-ins. Going to have to think about this for a while and find out why such a drastic change in results.

Session Evaluation

Played pretty well until the last 2 hands caused me to have to shut it down for a while.

AA cracked by QTo, flop QTx. 3 straight times I lost with AA in the session. I could actually feel my body heat rise.

Next hand, AQs. Flop top pair and flush draw. Get it in against maniac who flopped bottom set. I couldn't improve and instantly down 2 buy-ins for the session.

I shut it down as this is a continuation of a very bad downswing right now where I am playing very poor poker. I am considering even dropping down lower than 10NL which is pathetic but may be necessary.

But for now, a short break while I refocus.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

September is not August unfortunately

Poor decision making and run bad at 25NL with mediocre performance at 10NL has me in a bit of quagmire. I'm pressing a bit too much.

But I'm confident this is still going to be a month where I finish playing 25NL as my main game with shot taking being made at 50NL.

Also, I have started making plans to really improve this blog. Only time will tell if I have the conviction and aptitude to follow through on these plans. Wish me luck. F that. Wish me strength. Personal strength is much more reliable.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Now 9 tabling comfortably.

I've set up a AHK script (I'll post a copy if interested, just let me know in comments) where i can press CTRL+ QWEASDZXC to quickly move a table AND re-size to a desired location:

TABLE Q - TABLE W - TABLE E
TABLE A - TABLE S - TABLE D
TABLE Z - TABLE X - TABLE C

I have a bit of overlap on ASD but at least everything is decent sized; I'll post a full-sized screenie in a bit.

As a result, I'm rolling in rakeback, I'm crushing for a 9ptBB (18bb/100) rate and I'm getting in over 1.2k hands per 2 hours. I suggest this only if you have control of the basics which I'm finding I do at 10NL due to my long-term winrate I've been able to maintain at this limit.

My graph for August:



And here is why everyone should play with rakeback. My graph with rakeback:



PS - I'm also almost back to 25NL. Woohoo!

Here's the screenie. Please note that I can see the entire table on the bottom row. MSPaint couldn't allow the full screenshot for some reason.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Going to be posting more...

as my daily commute motivates me more and more to become a pro poker player some day. 45 minute commute is now 1 hr+. F' that noise.

For real though, I will be posting more. I'm going to try 12 tabling for the next few days just to see how I can do.

More later.

DubsPoke

(PS -> having rakeback is turning out to be huge; if you don't have it, sign up for it by clicking the linkage to the right).

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Haven't posted in a while....

Because I lost my game....seriously cannot win over the last 2+ weeks. Was up +$200 at one point last month after being down $90.

I'm now back to where i started because of bull$hit like this (keep in mind this is at 5NL, pot is equivalent of almost 3 buyins):

$0.02/$0.05 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:
UTG ($6.12)
Hero (UTG+1) ($13.37)
CO ($10.79)
BTN ($5.00)
SB ($15.98)
BB ($6.75)

Pre-flop: ($0.07, 6 players) Hero is UTG+1

1 fold, Hero raises to $0.20, CO raises to $0.35, 1 fold, SB calls $0.33, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.50, CO folds, SB calls $1.15

Flop: ($3.40, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2.45, SB calls $2.45

Turn: ($8.30, 2 players)
SB checks, Hero goes all-in $9.42, SB calls $9.42

River: ($27.14, 2 players)

Final Pot: $27.14
Hero shows:
SB shows:

SB wins $25.84 ( won +$12.47 )
Hero lost -$13.37
CO lost -$0.35



Since July 1st I am a whopping 20 buyins under All-in EV. That doesn't count coolers and the like. Man i'm f'in pissed at poker right now.

EDIT: LOL - as soon as I posted this I coolered someone where we both had a straight with my 8T vs his 85 on 679xx board. And then had TT hold up vs two half stackers w 99 and AKo all in preflop. I have not posted all this time because i don't like bitching about bad luck and coolers.... perhaps i need to change that philosophy?

Monday, July 13, 2009

Battling Tilt - The Story of July

So this month so far has been marked some insane battles with tilt.

After starting off with $90ish dollars on Pokerstars, I immediately went on a 7 buy-in downswing of run bad + tilt. Hit a low of $13 before I decided that I better play some 5NL or risk going busto for my first time ever.

And I grinded back up before another set of tilt + run bad set in. Fortunately, I was still playing 5NL so a 6 buy-in downer didn't hurt nearly as bad.

Grinded that back up to about $120ish. Sat at two 10NL tables, one horrendous beat later plus one tilt-induced terrible call led to some more losses at 5NL due to tilt.

And now, back on the upswing. Really need to focus at just saying "NH" no matter what. Sort of resets the brain, allowing me to move on to the next hand and the next villain.



That and TABLE SELECTION. If you're running bad at a table, just MOVE. Pride doesn't pay. Choosing good tables and identifying targets does.


And oh yeah, if a 40/2/1.2 fool is RAISING preflop. He probably has an Ace. Don't try to bluff him off it.

That is all.

Good luck at the felt!

DubsPoke

Sunday, July 5, 2009

This was a fun one.

LOL - against a 71/3/0.9 moron:

$0.02/$0.05 No Limit Holdem
5 players
Converted at weaktight.com


Stacks:
UTG ($4.22)
CO ($5.00)
Hero (BTN) ($6.08)
SB ($4.53)
BB ($8.67)

Pre-flop: ($0.07, 5 players) Hero is BTN

UTG calls $0.05, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.20, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.47, 2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $0.25, UTG calls $0.25

Turn: ($0.97, 2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $0.45, UTG goes all-in $3.77, Hero calls $3.32

River: ($8.51, 2 players)

Final Pot: $8.51
Hero shows:
UTG shows:

UTG wins $8.11 ( won +$3.89 )
Hero lost -$4.22