The Life of Moo

Hand: AA on very drawy board

2010-03-07T19:27:00.001-08:00

I would like to know how to approach these situations.

oulp57 ($10.85)
lguifg ($127)
SpaghettiHed ($50)
TheEvil-look ($67.10)
sacha421 ($135)
__JM__ ($81.15)

oulp57 posts (SB) $0.25
lguifg posts (BB) $0.50

Dealt to SpaghettiHed As Ac
SpaghettiHed raises to $2
TheEvil-look calls $2
sacha421 calls $2
fold, fold, fold,
FLOP ($6.75) 6d 5s 7s
SpaghettiHed bets $6
TheEvil-look raises to $14
sacha421 calls $14

Often when your NOT against a SUPER AGGRESSIVE PLAYER and you have overpair
on a DRAWY BOARD. Then you either are a HUGE UNDERDOG or a SLIGHT FAVOURITE.

So in the future when I have a decent hand on a draw heavy board and the villain is not
super aggressive giving up is probably best.

1) SLIGHT FAVOURITE/LARGE UNDERDOG SPOT?
2) How Aggressive is opponent? if not super agg. then
FOLD

Post LB Date

2010-02-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would blog the date that I decide to tighten up and go with the suggestions made by Leak Buster. I think that at first I will simply tighten up a lot.

More specifically I will now only isolate a big fish with at least the range specified as the button opening range recommended by Leak Busters starting hands.

Also Unless both blinds are super nitty (fold to steal >0.8) I will only open from the button using the same starting hand chat.

And Finally from the SB I will only raise if the limper folds a lot to cbets, otherwise I will just make up with the same range as specified above.

Other than that I will try and 4bet less from the btn.

Summary

1) Isolate with LB Button Opening Range suggestions.
2) Open Less on the button unless super nitty non adjusting nits
3) 4bet less from the btn.

DATE: 25/02/2010

Flop vs Raise Fold%

2010-02-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

Apparently im folding a little too often to flop raise. I really don't know much about this
topic so I should Read the Filters list and make some posts.

River Aggression

2010-02-23T16:54:00.000-08:00

Apparently my river aggression is too low; I am probably getting too fancy with going for c/r on the river. At 17% instead of a 20-31% my river aggression does seem very low.

Take the Quiz on Value Betting
C/R with draws on the flop more often
Look At Filters

Starting Hands

2010-02-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

So Considering quite a few of my "Leaks" are apparently down to opening too much I can group the following and combat them together:

SB UO PFR
BUTTON UO PFR
PFR
VPIP

This will be difficult but I think it can't do too much harm. It could very well be likely that I open thinking that my postflop play can match my pf aggression and actually my hand reading or the rest of my game isn't good enough yet. This will just basically be chart poker for these situations.

UO Button/SB

22+
Ax+
K6s+
T8o+ (any Card above a T with at least 8 kicker)
43s+
64s+
54o+

So pretty much any pair, any ace, any hand with at least a T with at least a 8 kicker.
Then any SC, any one-gapped SC from 64s, and any connector from 54o.

Or the Inverse, no low gapped connectors, and no crappy suited one-gapped suited connectors either.

Generally when someone limps and you want to isolate regardless of how bad they are try to at least use the Button Open hand chart shown above.

Biggest Leaks (Apparently)

2010-02-23T14:38:00.001-08:00

So according to LB my biggest leaks in order of their scoring system, are:

Won Dollars at Showdown - Too Low
SB Un-Opened PFR - Too High
Steal Percentage - Too High
River Aggression - Too Low
Button Un-Opened PFR - Too High
Flop vs Raise Fold%
PFR%
VPIP%

Some I am suprised by and some I don't agree with too much and others I think I agree with so generally a lot to take in.

Won Dollars at Showdown I think can have a lot to do with variance, The fish have simply been getting their, or their range was simply the part that beats me ;).

Steal PCT, and Opening OOP is definitely something I could work on and will require back to basics chart poker I suppose. However I will have to think or at least tighten up a little when it comes to playing on the button.

I WILL SORT THE LIST BY SCORE AND START WATCHING VIDEOS/READING FROM THERE.

Leak Buster

2010-02-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

So I just bought the Standard version of Leak Buster after another pretty bad month and I think I will decide to play a lot tighter than before an not because I think that in a Vacuum playing looser is bad but perhaps because I can't play that aggressive well enough yet.

So This means cutting down on playing as many hands as I used to but hopefully in turn allowing me to play more tables (and hopefully show a profit).

I will write down the major Leaks that I find in my game and Give them a seperate Title as well as a overview/Summary at the end.

Possibly write down times I tilt ?

2010-02-14T15:26:00.000-08:00

Today I had two hands which I stacked off with. One Was very fishy, the other I am unsure about. However As soon as I "tilted" or felt emotionally involved I quit and decided to post here.

The first hand I 3bet a fish who seemed to fold to 3b alot. However I think I became the fish when I STARTED TO THINK WHAT I WANTED TO THINK IN ORDER TO CARRY ON WITH THE HAND - regardless of the facts.

On to the hand:

Villain: 45/27/2 with a f3b:65

Dealt to DaedricLord 8s 7h
fold, fold,
toniosound raises to $1.50
fold,
DaedricLord raises to $5
toniosound calls $3.50
FLOP ($10.25) 8c Qs 5d
DaedricLord bets $6
toniosound calls $6
TURN ($22.25) 8c Qs 5d Jd
DaedricLord checks
toniosound bets $14.50
DaedricLord calls $14.50
RIVER ($51.25) 8c Qs 5d Jd Qd
DaedricLord checks
toniosound bets $31.25 (AI)
DaedricLord calls $31.25
toniosound shows Qc Jc

So basically even though my stats said he folded a lot I talked myself into believing he didn't have a hand and subsequently that my 8 was good.

When I check the turn and he bets I made myself believe that he could be bluffing. His aggression was high, but this is a 3b pot and the board was super drawy. Even if he was bluffing he could have a lot of equity.

Then when the Q comes in I tell myself its more unlikely he has a Q now and call; even though it completed the flush draw.

So all-in-all I can't "IGNORE" the stats or part of them just because im playing a "FISH".

The importance of not being Distracted

2010-02-10T05:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I came back from a short break and wanted to play.

However I had other things on my mind; I wanted to fix Table Ninja so that I could sit out next big blinds on all tables automatically. So I started to play 9 tables while really concentrating on getting table ninja fixed and started to play fishy.

I NEED TO SIMPLY REMOVE ALL DISTRACTIONS AND JUST PLAY POKER. If I really get in to the right mindset I can kill the game, but its impossible to play 9 tables whilst having something else on your mind; like skype, fixing table ninja, videos etc.

So anyway next time I play im really just going to make sure that I am HAPPY with the way everything is set up, and that I don't know want to do or ACCOMPLISH anything other than play poker for a session with my UNDIVIDED attention.

Anyway other than that Im going to watch a lot of blue fire poker videos today and hopefully I learn something.

Moo

2 Feb Review

2010-02-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

Today I played very well, and I did the following which I think really REALLY helps.

Most of the time I usually watch a few videos listen to a few songs, and skype some people, and this constant attack on the senses makes the time when I decide to stop and concentrate on a single important task much more difficult to do.

We simply become used to this constant multi-tasking world where watching/listening/interacting with multiple sources become second nature, and as soon as we turn this off we become bored far quicker than normal, and therefore in turn it becomes more difficult to concentrate on something; like poker.

For the last few days I have simply tried to keep things "calm" and it has worked wonders. I simply wake up, have breakfast but decide not to read/watch/skype/listen to anything, but just enjoy my breakfast on its own. Then ill load up my poker apps up without any background music and start to play.

Its quite odd how different it feels and how much interesting and able I am to concentrate because of the new stimuli. Its pretty obvious that if we go from very little stimuli to something like poker it is more interesting compared to if we were just watching a movie and reading something on the side and then switching tasks.

Anyway I actually broke even for the day (lol) but had some pretty sick hands like KK flopping a full house and then four of a kind hitting the board so the two fish win with ace high. And then playing a regular light 3bettor with JJ bvb, and him making two pair with his 45 on the river.

Another thing that I highly recommend and which I finally have enough discipline to do is to refuse to look at my results until the end of the session. I realized that most of the time I would look there to see how long I had played and inadvertently looked at how I was doing.

Now I simple downloaded a countup/countdown timer in which I start when I play so I know how long I have played and when its time to stop etc. This prevents me at looking at the results and feels a lot better.

Here we are 2010

2010-02-03T03:45:00.000-08:00

So It is now February and after a really bad month (for all of us it seems) I am starting to play poker near full time, and dedicating the rest of my time to www.takeMORErake.com and targeting Berlin.

For most posts Im simply going to try and keep it short but frequent and write a bout how I felt I had played/concentrated, and any tips I may have for myself and others.

Routine

2007-08-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

I thought as I haven't been sleeping that well recently it would be good to get back into a routine. So from now on I'm going to try and get up for 9 o clock every day and go to bed at latest 1:00AM.

Generally I don'T like solid routines because we can'T ccontrol everything and I do like a bit of variation (less at the poker table though of course)

9:00 AM Wake up & Check mail etc.
9:30 AM Eat breakfast (Kalinka and musli) and read some 2+2
10:00 AM Start poker
12:30 AM Jogging, TV, Lunch
2/3:00 PM Poker

6:00PM Review poker ahnds etc.

Playing the Donks

2007-08-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

Moving down to 50nl has been more challenging than I thought. It seems I know how to play regulars and tightish people well, but a table full of donks take a different strategy.

Less FE with Flush Draws

One hand I had kk raised get called and board comes with three hearts and an ace. Against a reg I would either bet out small hoping to get raised and then push. However I just don't think this will work against a donk. Best is to either call if they donk and try and hit, or to bet out and fold to any resistance.

Bluff Less

Cbets with an ace on the board work very well even against donks because they usually put u on AK. However a lot of the time I will cbet and get called, and then check the turn, and find myself wondering whether I should try betting out again. DON'T donks will usually call, as they have seen weakness on the turn.

Draws on the turn are no good

Recently i've played a couple of big hands with something like a combo draw on the turn and don't know what to do. I think either betting out small trying to take the pot and folding to resistance is good. Or folding to a big bet.

Pushing is always bad because your not getting any FE vs. donks, and there is probably already quite a bit in the pot and therefore we give our opponents good odds. Even if we have a combo draw on the turn against donks if they raise us we need to good odds to continue.

Quick Update

2007-08-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

My little blackjack project is going superbly with over 2000 dollars "wearnt" so far in the last two weeks. All I need to do is to find some more people with new details and I think the sky is the limit.

As far as poker is concerned I found a gold mine on 2+2; the anthology. Its a collection of the best links sorted by subject concerned with SSNL. Every night I have been reading a new topic and taking it to heart. Im only playing 50nl at the moment to get back into practice, and also because my bank roll is tied up in the blackjack project.

Hopefully over the next 2 weeks I can earn another 2000 dollars and have enough for 200nl and even a holiday to Greece which I'm planning to take my girlfriend on after her dissertation.

Whoring - My Silent Partner ;-)

2007-07-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Bonus Whoring is basically taking advantage of the bonuses offered by large casinos for new players. We play optimal strategy which by thereselves will lose the least amount of money, but in combination with the bonus we come out with a profit. Usually this profit is not that much per hour, but I have built a robot to play these games for me.
However I have obviously whored all of the casinos with my details, so I need some other peoples details so that I can obtain these bonuses.

Therefore I have some potential clients who will also profit by my online activities;

Omi (may be difficult due to her age, and that I am also registered at this address)
Julies Mum (would give a large cut to julie to help her)
Svenja (Clever girl, would probably appreciate the money)
* Giacomo (good option)
* Willi (Another good option, plenty of money, no need to explain what I do)

Make Some Money Time

2007-07-19T10:53:00.000-07:00

After my bad run it looks like I don't have the BR for 100nl anymore which is very bad. Therefore I need to make some money using a different method. I could either get staked by Willi, but I have no idea how much of a cut he would want, or I need to actually make some myself.

My first idea and the one I am inclined to take is bonus whoring again. I already know the best sites to whore and I know I can make an easy 500 euros using this method. I'm going to ask Willi tomorrow whether he will let me use his details and then give him a cut of my profits. My cousin is also a possibility and my mum too.

At the moment I know hes got plenty of BR and is earning too much from 200nl to care about whoring. Ill probably start with the smaller casinos and then work my way up to Golden Palace casino. Ill probably give him a 10 to 20% cut.

This should give me the BR again to play 100nl and in the mean time I can take a break from poker, review and play some 50nl just to get confident again. Of course it will be great to use my BJ robot too.

My Monkey Tilit or bad bad luck

2007-07-19T03:36:00.000-07:00

Ok Im down a lot, about 12 buy ins last time I checked. My BR is still enough for 100nl but Im thinking of moving down. Since I have come back from my grandpas funeral I have had a shit load of bad luck or monkey tilt and this is going to have to change.

So the questions is how am I going to improve my play, or find out whether Ive been on big monkey tilt? Of course what is likely is that at first I palyed fine, then had a losing streak, then tilted thinking i was adjusting my play for the good, in other words on a downward spiral.

1. Review

Well first I'm going to review every lost and won big pot hand from PT over the last month and post all of the ones I think are big mistakes on my blog and 2+2 just to humiliate myself into becoming a better player.

2. Move-Down

Then I'm going to start playing 50nl on everest, just to build up my BR a little and to get my confidence up again.

3. Read basics

Now that I will be moving down and have been questing my play a lot, I should really just re-read all of the basics on the SSNL forums. It will be solid advice especially for playing the donks required at 50nl.

4. Watch Willi

He kills the games at EVP so Im going to watch and see what his style is like and whether it points big leaks in my game.

5. Nico

Ask nico what he thinks, im sure he will be a big help

My Week

2007-07-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well my week has been good and bad. Julie finally chose which laptop she is going to buy, and I must say I'm impressed. I recommended a Dell laptop which was excellent but a little on the heavy side. However she found a brilliant and cheap and light Samsung r70 laptop which she got cheaper than all other shops using her student status.

I also bought a little toy; the sansa 250 which is a brilliant little mp3 player which I'm using for traveling and jogging. On Saturday I took it with me for a 40 minute jog, which I'm hoping to do 3 times a week.

However Poker has been difficult, ive hit a dry long and tediuous small losing streak which has been getting to me a lot. I don't think I have been playing bad, but I have on occasion tilited a little Im sure. Today I played a good four hours and I think I played well, but still I got a couple of tremendous bad beats which I lost a lot of equity.

The other thing which really really pissed me off was miss-reading one hand against an idiot. I thought I had a pair of eights which was the hand I had on the opposite table. I ended up pushing with nothing but ace high just to be called by two pair. This was a huge blunder and I have never done anything like this before, and ended up causing another losing day.

However I have recently improved my play and learnt a little about pushing with certain hands, as well as why its not really great to raise for information. Im also thinking of creating a video soon and posting on 2+2.

Anyway I think if I continue to play as well as I did today (minus the blunder) then Im sure things will turn around soon.

My Stats

2007-07-13T04:46:00.002-07:00

My Stats over the last 50k hands.

My Break-Even Stretch

2007-07-13T04:36:00.000-07:00

Having a little bad patch at the moment which could well be normal but I do not want it causing me to go on complete monkey tilt like I did last time. I have also posted this graph and my stats on 2+2 hoping to get some advice.

6-MAX SSNL QUESTIONS

2007-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Quote:

6-MAX SSNL QUESTIONS.

Suggestions on playing suited connectors, 1 gappers, 2 gappers in position @ SSNL if it's been...

A. Raised to you with no callers.
B. Raised to you with 1 or more callers.
C. Limped to you.
D. Folded to you.

For me it is really opponent dependent. If I am sitting with a fish on my right then I want to see a lot of flops cheaply with hands that can hit big.

Having said that, assuming an average SSNL table and FULL stacks:

A. Fold. Unless raiser is a true nit who will stack off with an overpair then call with SCs and one gaps to 86s. Fold 2-gappers. I will re-raise maybe 20% of the time to vary my play or if I know that is a good chance I will take

B. Call SCs down to 67s. 1-gappers to T8s and fold 2-gappers.

C. Raise SCs from 67s up. Raise J9s and up.

D. OTB I'm raising if I am playing. If the blinds are weak it will be any two. If the blinds are decent players then 56o and 75s would be my bottom thresholds. Occasionally I will limp stuff like J9s if the opposition is weak. I agree with Sklansky and Miller on button limping FWIW.

Adjusting to different tables/players

2007-06-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

Adjusting to loose games/tables:
1. Semi-bluff less often. The semi-bluff is a profitable move because of the combination of folding equity and drawing out. Against a loose player or at a loose table, we lose out on folding equity, making the semi-bluff a less profitable play. Against players who never fold, semi-bluffing can flip from profitable to unprofitable.
2. Value bet with weaker hands. On the other hand, if a player calls down with just about anything, then we need less of a hand to warrant a value bet. (Note that this point applies most in heads-up pots; multiway, you still need something of a hand, because of the Lilliput Effect: lots of tiny opponents have a good chance of beating one big hero.)
3. Drawing hands increase in value. Given the multiway nature of the pot, draws go way up in value because of the favorable pot odds from the other "padding" and implied odds from turn and river calls.

Adjusting to tight games/players
1. Bluff and semi-bluff more often. Tight players are very comfortable laying down hands; give them a reason to do so by betting, even if you don't have the goods.
2. Devalue your "good" hands. The definition of a "good hand" gets much narrower against a tight opponent. Your value bets need to be more narrowly defined.

Sklansky also points out that TABLES are not loose or tight; PLAYERS are loose or tight. So if you're at a table that's running 40% VPIP, don't go value betting TP3K against the one guy who's a megarock just because the "table is loose."

In what ways do you adjust your play to take into account the loose vs. tight nature of your opponents? What sorts of hands do you consider a valid "value bet" at a SSNL table against a loose player? How strong must your hand be before you "value bet" a rock?

RakeBack and Bonus

2007-06-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

Today I learnt something very interesting about rake back and bonus calculation. I found out that taking rake back and a bonus at a particular website is always better than just one or the other.

I previously thought that a bonus would reduce rake back payment (which is correct) but to the point that you would earn less overall. I however recently read an article found on my rake tracker site that explains how taking both options is always a lot more profitable.

Therefore I had an idea of simply withdrawing more every month and then keeping some cash in my Neteller account. Every time I need some money (BR management) or because of a new bonus I will simply deposit using Neteller.

I have actually seen that in some case with decent bonuses you can almost double your profit by using both options than by just using one. Nice!

Thoughts for improvement

2007-06-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

I really think that hand reading is so important and that I should really really concentrate alot more on this than I currently have been.

As soon as I find myself on the flop I should be looking at my opponents pf play and his stats. From that I should determine what kind of hand range he has. I should then also ask my self religiously what kind of hand makes sense with his play. If I don't put a lot of effort into this then I don't know whether I'll make it as a decent 200nl player anytime soon.

I had an idea of simply going through some PT hands in the database and trying to put opponents on hands.

Think Ahead

2007-06-18T10:51:00.001-07:00

I found myself in a couple of situations today when I didnt know what to do on the turn. Usually because the villain would bet out or raise.

Nico highlighted that I should really try and ask myself what I want to do with the hand I have on all streets. If I find out that I would get myself in sticky situations too often later on then I should perhaps just give up the hand straight away.

For example I played a hand with a LAG and hit my top pair on the flop. I bet he raised and I called thinking he could just be bullying me with medium pair etc. Then he bets out on a blank turn, and I have no idea what to do. Nico said that either I have to carry on playing here or I should have just folded on the flop in the first place.

Intersting point - 3betting pf

2007-06-17T10:10:00.001-07:00

I recently had KQo with a raiser and two limpers and wondered what to do. I 3bet and found myself in a difficult position against a short stack on the flop.

However Nico pointed out that I should wait for a worse/better hand when 3betting after a few limpers/raise because I have a hand that has quite a lot of flop value.

I presume he means that I should wait for a hand that can really hit hard, small pairs, suited connectors, etc. rather than a hand that usually just makes TPGK.

Some Hands

2007-06-17T08:24:00.001-07:00

Thought that now with LegoPokers brilliant new converter I could just post some hands here that I had trouble with. Allows easier viewing and user comments:

Cryptologic - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.50/$1 Blinds - 6 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)

Hero (SB): $125.45

BB: $55.30

UTG: $147.60

MP: $105.95

CO: $92.65

BTN: $104.45

Reads: player is 22 5 after 60 hands.

Preflop: Hero is dealt J J (6 Players)

UTG raises to $4.00, 3 folds, Hero raises to $13.00, BB folds, UTG calls $9.00

Flop: ($27) 9 T K (2 Players)

Hero bets $15.00, UTG raises to $35.00, Hero folds

Uncalled bet of $20.00 returned to UTG

Pot Size: $57.00 ($2.85 Rake)

Some thoughts

2007-06-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

At the moment I have a couple of days spare for study because I am waiting for some money to be transferred. I have read a little, posted some hands and am currently going through my stats to see whether anything is suspicious.

I recently read a pooh-bah post from Matrix talking about different styles of play and read that if you haven't always got a good idea of what your opponent is holding by the end of the hand then you should definitely not try LAG.

Hand Reading

I have actually read quite a bit on hand reading, but after the post by Matrix I realized that a lot of the time I tend to only take into account the pf. VPIP//PFR of my opponent and have only a vague idea of whether my opponent has a good hand or not. I rarely can pinpoint exactly what kind of hand my opponent is holding.

I also have noticed when I go through some of my past hands I tend to be able to clarify the situation a lot better and in turn my opponents likely holdings. This is of course to some degree normal because we no longer have time constraints, but I have noticed that I don't really put that much effort into conscientiously putting my opponent on a hand.

I have myself come up with some tips to help:

Check the dealer box to see what has happened if you can't remember (IMPORTANT)
Remember that VPIP is very different from PFR
Look at player notes

I actually set myself a target of improving my hand reading skills before attempting to move up and I don't think that I have done much work in this area. I will be making another post soon dedicated to this topic.

Some Research Topics

2007-06-16T01:51:00.000-07:00

So I have finally taken the dive and started to play 200nl. I only play one table at the moment and play another two 100nl tables on the side. This is so that I get used to the betting amount and the change in play (if any).

However I thought it would be good to start re-learning some topics, and to perhaps do some reading about some topics that have been bothering me:

Why should we donk-bet ?
How to play certain types of players - more spec. very tight aggressive players
3- and 4-betting light
Cold-Calling stat on PAHUD
Aggression Factor ?
Using PT to review play

I hope to discuss a lot of these topics with Nico and perhaps Willi, as well as read articles on 2+2.

Should I move up ? -CONT

2007-05-17T12:58:00.000-07:00

I thought that before I decide whether to move up or not, I should sort some things out, and set some targets.

First of all I should try and go for a couple of weeks playing at least 5 hours a day, recently I have not put the hours in and I should really treat playing with importance If I want to make a profession out of this.

Although I have learnt quite a bit recently, and have tried to keep poker a lot simpler (throwing away some difficult hands, or playing too aggressively against the regulars) which has seemed to help alot. I still have a lot to learn.

I think one of the things that would be really good is to watch the card runner videos with my new poker buddy willi and note down everything that I find interesting or something that I wouldn't do myself. Then brainstorm and try and put the new things I learnt into practice.

I already learnt something new, I used to always 3bet KQ pf. but watching muddywaters videos recently learnt that if your playing someone who is very likely to call a 3bet anyway we might as well just call in position and try and play some poker. This also creates less variance and if they call a 3bet were in quite a difficult position when we hit.

I have also recently experienced that the biggest problem I have is disclipline and knowing when Im beat or in a difficult situation. I tend to get clever and try and play the regulars alot, and although I have made quite a bit of money against them I dont think its required at this level. However of course I will require the ability to play the better players if I move up.

Should I move up ?

2007-05-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

Big Important Topic. Should I move up to play 200nl ?

Well Ive been doing very well recently, especially considering all of the things that have happened recently. I also have the bank roll for 200nl and I don't think the play is much different.

At first I have decided to play until 50k hands of 100nl so thats another 9k hands to go. This will give me a better idea of my play and some more money too.

The problem is that I am very comfortable at 100nl and have plenty of money to help me if I have a bad month. However If I start off with a very bad month of 200nl I still have money left but I will not be able to take another shot for a while.

So I suppose the question is will another month of 100nl improve my play so much better, compared to starting up soon ? I might also have a little more money to make me more comfortable if I stay at my current level for another month.

Anyway Its a difficult decision because I could be making a hell of a lot of money at 200nl even 3-tabling and if with diminished return, but of course I need to think about it.

I also plan to watch all of the cardrunner videos before hand to spot if I have been playing differently than the pros.

Ill Keep You posted.

My ill Mouse

2007-05-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

Just a little word to my little pet mouse called Matlida, she had to go to the vets a couple of days and have a couple of injections. We used to call her fatty (fettchen) but shes lost so much weight she looks more like shes Anorexic than American.

Anway shes looking a lot better now, although still on the skinny side and I will be uploading some photos soon.

My comeback

2007-05-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

So... A lot has happened, I play exclusively at crypto now (Interpoker) and have been running very well. Although Ive had a lot on my plate recently (being sued, ill pet mouse, moving poker office etc.) Poker seems not to have been affected.

I think this is probably very much to do with that I now no longer work for such an arse hole. Where before I could only play after my work (part time programmer) when I was usually stressed or tired, I now play whenever I like. Of course this could be just normal variance but I think its clear that I was probably playing at least a little tilty causing a "mountain" shape in my graph. The first 21k hands are also much more erratic, compared to the more recent hands.

Anyway heres my graph and as you can see its a lot better, of course the first 21k hands were also the first 100nl hands i had ever played so there were bound to be a lot of mistakes I made.

My New Poker Site + Targets

2007-04-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

I finally have a new account registered with my new German details at InterPoker. I get 30% rakeback and also get a nice $100 bonus.

As I have not played poker for a while I have decided to two table the 50 dollar tables for a week, to see how I fall back into grinding. I also think I need to practice some discipline and just feel a little more comfortable playing again, before playing for more.

Nico said something which I think is important, and that all hands can pretty much be solved yourself without the help of an online forum. If I think hard, and research then I will probably learn more about poker and a hand, rather than simply bombarding 2+2 forums with hands and questions. This will make me think rather than just wait for an answer.

I also found a German forum on 2+2!! Which im planning to post on, and hopefully find some decent hamburger poker players to befriend.

Anyway wish me luck...

My Rakeback

2007-04-09T04:31:00.000-07:00

Ive finished my bonus deal at full tilt for a long time now, and because there are still a lot of American sharks there I have decided to change site, and get a rake back deal somewhere.

Potential Sites

Party Poker - This still seems to be a party with lots of European fish at all times, but of course it doesn't offer rake back at all, at least not legally. If I can't find a different site full of fish then I will probably come back here and at least get a new bonus

Titan Poker (iPoker network) - Top rated by Poker Listings, with a juicy bonus too. I think this might be first on my list.

InterPoker (Inter Casino) - Same as classic poker, site software seems similar to full tilt. I'll have to check this site out.

Pacific Poker (888) - I don't like the software but its possible that there are a lot of juicy tables around here. Bonus is small Ill have to check RB of course.

Mansion Poker - Seems very interesting, great software and a huge bonus. Ill have to check this out, and its rake back deals.

Everest Poker - Does not offer Rake back and only holdem (not that I play anything else) so this will probably not make this an option.

A few targets

2007-04-08T14:19:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would write down a few targets that I want to achieve soonish now that I have my own office:

Get a Rake Back account - Urgent
Play 3-4 hours a poker a day, two tables at first
Find a new Job
Pay for Aikido Suit ?
Visit my grandmother
Make my gf v.happy !
Get a fucking Fridge - Have spent far too much money on take aways recently
Re-Read everything that I have put on this blog - get back into the game

I'm back - My Mountain

2007-04-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

So after a long time I'm back. I had a lot of work on, and because my graph also looked like this, I took a break from poker:

My Mountain

However I now have my own private poker office! Unfortunately our house is just too small for two people to concentrate and work at the same time without trying to kill each other so me and my gf put a lot of time and effort into sorting out a place for me to work.

So far I've only played a few hours here and there but I hope to be playing an awful lot of poker in the upcoming days, while searching for a part time job on the side.

Anyway other than poker, I went to a Muslim wedding, and went to a easter church ceremony which were both eye openers. I don't think I will be that willing to do them again soon, but at least I have the experience over and done with now.

Some Tweaks

2007-02-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

Haven't made that many posts recently due to a large downswing, which pretty much destroyed my PTBB/hr. But im still up overall and not giving up any time soon.

I have also recently watched some videos of 100nl 4-tabling. Iv'e learnt to throw out hands like Axs UTG, but also to start calling more on the button with suited connectors where before I would just throw them away. If UTG raises pf then he should have quite a nice hand so my implied odds and position with these hands can be quite tasty.

I think I have also been paying alot more attention to stack sizes, and therefore been folding small pairs vs. small stacks because I do not have the odds for a set, and because they tend to be a lot more agg. post flop.

Im off to England for a while soon for my dads birthday and will hopefully be playing a bit there with nico, and learn some things.

January 31st - First Month

2007-01-31T01:08:00.000-08:00

Here are my results for my first month playing 100NL, pretty much exactly on target. Managed to get past the downswing, tightened up my play a little and fixed some leaks:

PTBB/100: 4.06
Hands Played: 14k
Hours played: 58hrs
$/hr: 20$ + 9$ RB

One thing I learnt was that I am not yet ready to play four tables confidently. Although most of the time its not a problem on the rare occasion I have decent hands on two tables or more my play is affected, so for this month Im sticking to three tables almost exclusively.

Secondly I should try and be playing a little more, pretty much exclusively only playing poker on the weekends 6 hours each day, and take a day off or two in the week. I'm hoping to fit in 80 hours per month.

As far as my PTBB is concerned its exactly on target, and therefore brilliant for a first month of proper cash games. However there is still plenty of room to improve, and would love to be able to hit 5PTBB.

The DownSwing - HELP

2007-01-23T08:31:00.000-08:00

Ok... So I've hit a downswing of around 8BBs which could well be normal variance but I thought I would try and improve my game as much as possible by review, sending nico a video and setting some objectives.

Objectives

Make/Watch videos
Send Video to Nico and 2+2
How to play paired flops
How to play in the blinds

Play more Poker - Timetable

2007-01-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Seems as though im working far too much for far too little, although I am on no set wage per hour and can work when I like, I seem to work quite a bit at the moment because the sooner I get this program working the less I will need to do (Im not sure whether that makes any sense)

Anyway im not reaching my target of playing 15 hours a week so I have decided that every day I will stop work around 3-4 o clock and use the next few hours for poker. I will stick to this rigidly and let my boss know its very unlikely that I will be working for him at this time.

BSB play raising junk

2007-01-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

I just read an excellent article on 2+2 which gives a very good primer to playing BSB on the button. The article can be found here http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=ssplnlpoker&Number=8698320&fpart=&PHPSESSID=

PRE-FLOP

vs. Fishes (LAG, or 65/1/1 etc.)
Whether the players are a fish in which case we can raise with the intention of only betting with made hands on the flop, and checking with unmade hands. Pretty simply; we're tying to hit and keep the pot small vs. these opponents.

Tight players (nits)
We simply raise to steal the blinds

Both (Nit and loose)
Trying to isolate against the fish

POST-FLOP

1.We hit hard (Decent draws, top pair)
Cbetting should become larger or smaller depending on what shows the most weakness to the opponent.

Big draws that we want to felt with can be bet, and then pooshed. This move should be kept for more aggressive players who would raise us light.

2. We completely miss
Betting may by the only way we win this pot so thats what we will do, however vs. complete fish calling stations alot of the time its just best to c/f.
Sometimes if we put the player on a obvious draw, or we think that they do not believe us we can fire another barrell.

3. We got a little something
There are two lines of thought here, either check and try to get a free card or a cheap showdown. Or we bet/semi-bluff/value bet loose villains.

A few observations/Areas to improve

2007-01-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been looking into how to play in the blinds/button, what Harrington calls BSB play (Button/Small Blind/Big Blind) and have made a few observations.

At the moment it looks likes I have been raising absolutely anything in the SB, which may well be ok if the BB is tight, or at least slightly tight. But I've been doing this when the BB is a calling station (VPIP 40+) which I'm sure is not the wisest idea. I should be raising with at least the top 50%, or perhaps even just calling to keep the pot small as playing these villains are difficult, we never know what type of hands they can have, yet they call all the way.

Therefore I have decided to read up more about this topic and discuss with nico (www.teamrobusto.com) and on 2+2.

How to demolish three hours profit

2007-01-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Played three hours today and felt very confident with my play, earnt about 120 dollars and then this beauty of a hand came along...

Full Tilt Poker
$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Ring Game
6 Players
http://www.legopoker.com/hh

MP: $94
Hero (CO): $94.45
BTN: $75.25
SB: $18.1
BB: $48.4
UTG: $117.15

Preflop: Kd Ks ($1.5, 6 players)
UTG raises to $3.50, MP folds, Hero raises to $12, BTN folds, SB folds, BB folds, UTG raises to $37.50, Hero raises all in to $94.45, UTG calls $56.95

Flop: 3c 6c Qs ($190.4, 2 players)
No action

Turn: 3c 6c Qs [4c] ($190.4, 2 players)
No action

River: 3c 6c Qs 4c [3d] ($190.4, 2 players)
No action

Hero KK, Villain QQ !!!

The importance of hand ranges

2007-01-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I spent pretty much the whole afternoon with my GF learning the hand ranges defined in the last post. Today I learnt that I should also use them...

I have JJ UTG, Button raises me he has 8 PFR after 100 hands, this means that he should usually only have AK, AQ, KQ and decent pairs. TT is the least likely.

Yet the flop comes with Qxx and he checks, and I check. Then he bets the turn and I call, then he does it again on the river and I call. WTF could he have ? I mean any pocket pair apart from TT beats me and AQ beats me too, so the only hand I beat is AK, which is unlikely as he would not put two decent PSB in.

Just because he checked the flop means NOTHING, he was probably going for a check raise.

I should remember to actually put the opponent on a range on the flop ASAP, as I would have probably folded the river bet here straight away.

Know thy Numbers

2007-01-07T10:00:00.000-08:00

Some helfup stats, firstly a very broad, rough translation of some hand stats:

5% = 77+, AK, AQs
10% = 66+, AK, AQ, suited aces, KQs, QJs
15% = 22+, AK, AQ, KQ, 54s+, Axs
20% = 22+, any broadway, Axs
25% = 22+, any broadway, Ax, 54s+, KQo
30% = 22+, Ax, Kxs, any broadway, 54s+
40% = 22+, Ax, Kx, any broadway, 32s
50% = 22+, xxs, Ax, any broadway, Kx+

Super-premiums: AA, KK, QQ, AK. Total probability: 2.6%.
Premiums: AA-TT, AK, AQ, KQ. Total probability: 5.9%.
Any pocket pair: AA-22. Total probability: 5.9%.
Any two broadway: Two cards, both T+, including pairs. Total probability: 14.3%.
Any suited ace: A2s-AKs. Total probability: 3.6%.
Unsuited ace: A2o-AKo. Total probability: 10.9%.
"Maximum suited connectors": JTs-54s. Total probability: 2.1%.
Any ace: A2o+, A2s+, AA. Total probability: 14.9%.
Any two suited: literally. Total probability: 23.5%.
Any two connectors: 32s-AKs, 32o-AKo. Total probability: 14.5%.

Weekly Topic: Hand Reading

2007-01-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hand Reading is vitally important at 6max NL, some players pros even don't have a clue about general ABC poker but are so good at reading opponents hands that they make a ton of money. While others who know the advanced strategies, don't have a clue and can't pass 50NL.

This week Im going to be looking at five general sub-topics explained in pokey's excellent article found on 2+2 ; http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=microplnl&Number=8629256&PHPSESSID=&fpart=1#Post8629256

My Goals

2007-01-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

So I have set my Mission, and now I need to set some goals to be able to accomplish this objective. This could be a huge article in its self but have decided at the moment to do two things. First to have a weekly topic where I discuss, study and produce mind maps about a particular poker related topic. And secondly to try and be constantly aware of these four factors in life, and to try and keep them on an even scale:

Eating well
Sleeping well
Staying active
And Maintaining healthy interpersonal relationships

My Mission

2007-01-05T08:07:00.000-08:00

My mission in the next 4/5 months is to earn enough money from poker to get a BR of around 10k, so that I can either start 1/2 or HAVE THE OPTION to turn pro playing 0.5/1 without having to worry about bad months.

I intend to do this by not touching my BR until then, unless someone dies, or I at the very least lose a leg, and I need to buy a wheelchair so that I can get to my computer.

I will live on the money I get from my part time job as a IT Geek for which I get about 1k(EUR) a month for. The rest just goes into poker; I work out that if I play 15 hrs a week at 5PT/BB I should be on about 2k a month.

Where is my Dishwasher

2007-01-05T02:20:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I probably bought the most +EV household appliance so far... A dishwasher. At first I thought dishwashers were going to be very expensive, but apparently the newer models, save more electricity and water and in turn money compared to normal washing, well more importantly it saves me washing up myself!

At the moment im waiting for some turks probably to turn up and fix it all up, the only problem is that they are an hour and a half late...

How much to Raise on flops

2007-01-04T02:42:00.000-08:00

I found this in the forums which helped me a little with my raise sizes with multiple opponents and a good hand. Generally 3/4 time the last bet plus the current pot size seems to be a good rule of thumb. In the below case this would be 27$ (3x6 + 9).

This hand is a fold as played, The hands that we beat JJ/QQ should have raised pf. All other small pairs make a set, and the blinds could be on some kind of double draw too. If our raise was larger then we show more strength and would make this an easier fold if 3-betted.

Full Tilt Poker
$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Ring Game
6 Players
LegoPoker Hand Converter

Stack Sizes
MP: $74.20
CO: $77.55
BTN: $59.45
SB: $135.5
BB: $99
Hero (UTG): $161.40
Being able to use these text

Preflop: K♣ K♦ ($1.5, 6 players)
Hero raises to $3, MP folds, CO folds, BTN folds, SB calls $2.50, BB calls $2

Flop: 3♥ T♠ 4♥ ($9, 3 players)
SB checks, BB bets $6, Hero raises to $14, SB folds, BB raises to $51

Stop Reading 2+2 randomly, use it to learn

2007-01-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

I think a lot of people think that if they just endlessly read the poker forums they will just somehow magically get better. This is not true, the ideas, the moves, and the reasoning behind the posts need to be studied and learnt.

From now on I will decide to post blind (will not look at the replies) then come back later that day and check the responses. If they differ, and the correct move is considered standard or universally accepted by the members I will think about why my reasoning is wrong, note it down and practice what I have learnt.

Why I should stop, take a breath and think

2007-01-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

The river on this hand is awful, I should just call, even top two pair is going to be scared on this board.

However I didn't know that then, I'm still learning and thought my straight was goot, and decided to raise, and got re-popped - now I know that my hand is beaten, but I don't know what to do. This is where I should take a deep breath, think about folding, and do just that.

In NL folding is very important; in the Theory of Poker we are told that by making decent folds we win more by saving money, its as simple as that. And this is what I need to work on... any comments appreciated.

Full Tilt Poker
$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Ring Game
6 Players
http://www.legopoker.com/hh

CO: $16.65
Hero (BTN): $112.95
SB: $95.5
BB: $155.55
UTG: $44.05
MP: $106.75

Preflop: Td Tc ($1.5, 6 players)
UTG folds, MP raises to $3, CO folds, Hero calls $3, SB folds, BB folds

Flop: 7h 9h Js ($7.5, 2 players)
MP bets $4, Hero calls $4

Turn: 7h 9h Js [Qd] ($15.5, 2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $10, MP calls $10

River: 7h 9h Js Qd [Kd] ($35.5, 2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $12, MP raises to $24, Hero raises to $50, MP raises to $76, Hero raises all in to $95.95, MP calls all in for $13.75
Uncalled bet of $6.20 returned to Hero

First HH

2007-01-03T10:05:00.000-08:00

OMG, This wasn't too pleasent, but nevertheless I think the check on the flop is not wrong, I can't see how JJ/KQ/TT could call if I c-bet here so I decide to check, and then bet on the turn. Anyways the villain had JT and I got shipped.

Full Tilt Poker
$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Ring Game
6 Players
http://www.legopoker.com/hh

UTG: $117.25
MP: $122.85
CO: $30.80
BTN: $55.30
SB: $38.5
Hero (BB): $99

Preflop: Ad Ac ($1.5, 6 players)
UTG calls $1, MP folds, CO folds, BTN raises to $4.50, SB folds, Hero raises to $12, UTG folds, BTN calls $7.50

Flop: 4d Ks Ah ($25.5, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: 4d Ks Ah [Qh] ($25.5, 2 players)
Hero bets $15, BTN raises all in to $43.30, Hero calls $28.30

River: 4d Ks Ah Qh [Ts] ($112.1, 2 players)
No action

First Post

2007-01-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

I really didn't want to get into blogging, I thought that with the millions of blogs already out there (specifically for poker too) I couldn't see why I should bother with one, but then I realised my blog would be about me, which is quite a difference. I for one care about me, and not about the other millions of bloggers.

I also thought writing would help improve my poker; by writing about my difficult hands here, and roughly what I learn day-by-day I have a place where I can always check and see what I have accomplished, in a nice time-lined manner.