Hey guys,

after a long break from poker, I'm now gonna start completely fresh and inspired.

little introduction:

I'm 19 years old and live in Germany. I recently finished school and now have holidays till October.
I've started playing poker with 18, and my 2 year anniversary is coming soon.

Before the break I was a NL25 SH losing player. Mostly because I was just grinding, without any ambition to get better or make any attempt to study.
But my whole mindset changed, and I'm willing to invest more time in theory than I did before. Also I'm changing from SH to FR.

I will post Hands and would like to discuss them with you. And please don't hold back with criticism. I want to learn as much as possible in as little time as possible.
In the near future, I might tend to do videos also. But now I will stick to hands and graphs.

I apreciate any advice or help from you guys.
If someone wants to make a U2U coaching just tell me.

I will start with a 60$ Bankroll on NL4. The site is Party Poker.
The goal is to become a NL100 winning player.

Here is an interesting hand from yesterday:

Villain has 16/14 stats with 57 hands.
I open with a 4BB raise. he calls.
I play my Cbet OOP with TPTK. Villain reraises about 2x of my bet.

What can he possibly hold? He would never just coldcall AA,KK or QQ, his PFR is to high for that. 33 would be to loose in my opinion. 66 would be possible, as well as AQ, KQ or a suited Ace, with wich he has the nut FD. Is the call okay?

The turn is a blank. I check and he bets 2/3 potsize. No draws completed. 66 would have me beat. I beat everything else, like FDs or pockets between 77 and JJ.

The river is also a blank. I check and he shoves.
The river doesn't change much, only that now every Deuce beats me, but his line wouldn't make sense then. Well maybe A2 in hearts.

Is the call the right choice? I beat everything what he could possibly hold except 66 and a split pot with AQ. Maybe he had a FD and now tries to steal the pot in position, or he has pockets like JJ or TT and thinks he is ahead or can't fold.
Or he trapped me with AA,KK or QQ with calling my pf openraise.

What do you think about the hand? Did I make the right thinking? Did I make a mistake? What should a good player think in such a hand?

I have no experience regarding the calculation of EV with pokerstove and such things. I would really appreciate if somebody could do that, so I can learn it too.
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No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (8 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($3.23)
Hero (UTG+1) ($4.40)
CO ($4.20)
MP2 ($4.65)
BB ($4)
UTG ($1.92)
Button ($5.83)
MP1 ($1.68)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A, Q
1 fold, Hero bets $0.16, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.16, 4 folds

Flop: ($0.38) 6, 3, Q (2 players)
Hero bets $0.24, MP2 raises $0.52, Hero calls $0.28

Turn: ($1.42) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $1.01, Hero calls $1.01

River: ($3.44) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $2.96 (All-In), Hero calls $2.71 (All-In)

Total pot: $8.86

Not much of a cash player but against a standard 16/14 reg I'd fold the turn. Your rarely ahead of anything in his range here besides some kind of combo draw like 45hh and your still behind that.

Once you decide to call the flop, don't fold

It's a mistake to not include 33 in his range. You raised from UTG+1, and 33 is exactly the sort of hand I'd like to play against that kind of range. By the river, about all you can beat is a missed flush draw, and most players at these limits tend to lose heart on the river when their draws miss so when they fire that big river bet, way more often than not they have what they represent. You probably should be folding the turn, although I agree TPTK is a tough hand to get away from. The river as played has to be a fold though.

Fold on flop is probably best, you dont have much invested and can find much better spots to get the money in. He can have AQ as well, but 66 or 33 is most likely. His just above min raise looks really strong.

If you really want to improve so you are a solid winning player at 6-max here are the resources I would recommend:

The Poker Mindset - Ian Taylor and Matthew Hilger
Ryan Fees 6-max guide (free!)
A subscription to one of the many good video training sites.

There are a ton of other great resources out there, but these are the ones I found most useful. Tons of different opinions on the best video site, but there are several good ones - just do a 2+2 search to read the discussions.

What a great session today and yesterday

I played 1701 hands in 6 hours the last 2 days. With +16.92$
I love upswings .

I recently read The Poker Mindset, and it was one of the main reasons of my motivation to work on my game and start this blog
I feel much more calm now after Bad Beats. And I lose a lot less with bad play or tilt.
Also I don't feel the urge to quit the session, when I'm up more than 1 stack.

Right now I'm trying to beat Full Ring, therefore I won't read 6-max literature. But I will keep your recommendation in mind when I'll change. Which I will definetly do in the future.

As a NL4 player I can't afford to invest money into a subscribtion. I will use everything that I will get for free or have in my possesion already. (reading Harrington on CG right now).

__________________________________

For the end of the day (in Germany it is 11:00pm ) here are some hands, I would like to have your opinion on.

Villain plays 11/8.
I make a standard 4BB raise in UTG. Villain coldcalls OOP.
He donks potsize on the flop.

Has he got the ace? He is a tight player, I don't think he would call with hands like AT, AJ or even AQ. AK would be a possibility, not everyone 3 bets AK, especially OOP.
I rather think he would play pockets that way. Maybe hands like 66+. But would he pot bet his set or TP for that matter?

What do you think? Is a call for information ok? Or should I raise/fold in this situation?
What would be the best line on the turn if I would call?


Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (9 handed) - Party-Poker Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($1.48)
Hero (UTG) ($4)
CO ($5.43)
MP3 ($2.04)
BB ($2.53)
UTG+1 ($4)
MP1 ($2.96)
MP2 ($4.83)
Button ($9.73)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, K
Hero bets $0.16, 7 folds, BB calls $0.12

Flop: ($0.34) 8, 6, A (2 players)
BB bets $0.33, Hero ?

________________________________________

Villain has 25/16 stats after 50 hands.
He makes a steal from the SB with a 7BB Raise.
Could such a move really be for value? Where is the point of raising so big? If he has a premium hand and everyone is folding to him, why should he do that?

On the flop he shoves. Same thought as preflop. If he would have AA-JJ, why should he bet so big?
My thoughts: He has hands like AT+; KJ+ or even total crap. Preflop he doesnt want to play hands like that oop, so he makes a big bet.
Didn't work, no hit either, so he just tries to force it with a shove. Therefore easy call.

What do you think about this thoughts? Any mistakes? Something to consider? How would you play it?


Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (9 handed) - Party-Poker Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($4.75)
SB ($5.70)
Hero (UTG) ($5.77)
UTG+1 ($3.95)
MP2 ($4.65)
CO ($5.91)
MP1 ($1.42)
MP3 ($0.97)
Button ($4)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7, 7
Hero calls $0.04, 7 folds, BB bets $0.28, Hero calls $0.28

Flop: ($0.66) 4, 5, 5 (2 players)
BB raises to $4.43 (All-In), Hero ?

_______________________________________

At the end, thanks to all your advice and the active hand discussions. I'm looking forward to post here regularly and hope to get as much knowledge from you as possible .

I'm out partying. See you tomorrow.

What I did was to sign up to Deucescracked for a single month and download a whole load of relevant videos. You are still able to watch them after you subscription has expired. Months later I have still not watched them all. It is extremely good value for money. In particular, the series "The Eightfold Path to Poker Enlightenment" is outstanding, and worth a months subscription alone. It covers similar topics to The Poker Mindset, but from a different and very effective point of view.

I would just like to say I am in no way affiliated with DC, it just happens to be the only video site I have knowledge of and I found it incredibly useful.

Hey guys, today was a day without poker, but a lot of sportsbetting.
The Soccer World Cup is really an amazing experience, especially if your team is winning and you are betting on them .
Made +20$ with the Germany - England match.

DC are promoting a free 7-day trial. Maybe I'm gonna test it out.
What videos can you recommend? Except the Poker Enlightment, which really sounds interesting.

Would really apreciate, if somebody could comment on the hands above

Just finished my good night session and made 1 stack again.

I was really on the top of my game tonight. There were some really ugly spots and suckouts, but I was totally calm and was able to play my A-Game. Today's results would be much worse, if I had lost control after some coolers.

I am really motivated right now

See you tomorrow

Good Luck TDK! Your enthusiasm is great. I am doing something similar.

Hand 1 I would think 33 or 66 was definitely in his range. I'm not looking to play my stack with TPTK against a solid reg in that spot.

Hand 2 is kind of tough... if he was a little fishier I might think 77 was good there against AK possible but even then he has 8 outs twice add to that the very real possibiltiy that he has an overpair.

Hand 2 I muck pre-flop. His over bet OOP either means he has AK and you are looking for a favorable flop, or he has a big susceptible pair and would rather take the pot now. I routinely see players overplay TT/JJ/QQ like this. Also a slight chance he actually has the nuts here.

I don't see how you make the call pre-flop, but missing your set on the flop then makes it an easy muck. I would definitely be inclined to call a raise like that in the future though if he is going to shove flop as you are then getting the implied odds PF against a player like this. I muck it, and take a note on him.

BAEVentures

Hey guys,

just finished another 1 hour session (the length works well for me) and I'm -2,50$. But guess what, I'm really happy about this result . Had some funny bad beats (best one: AQo vs. Q6o), and I'm still calm and concentrated like Buddha himself. 1 month ago, I would be on monkey tilt right now, but now I'm totally concentrated and make notes if something like that happens.

Also I'm feeling very confident with my game right now.
I have a ton of leaks (12 to be exact, if I can trust the Leak Buster Demo with a samplesize of 2300 hands [to my defense: Every stat, which is shown in the demo is perfect/good ]), but I have so much motivation right now and feel constantly the urge to better my game.

Just watched the first part of the "Crushing NL50" video series on Pokerstrategy. Also I'm reading Harrington on Cash Games.

My Bankroll is 99$ atm + 45$ on MB. 144$ in total.
With 200$ I will make my first NL10 shots. I'm more than confident with my game to do that.

Here are my stats:



Are they ok? Limping to much?

And finally the graph after I started this blog




Thanks
what do you mean with similiar? Grinding from bottom to top or having the main emphasis on psychology and poker mindset?
In both cases, should we work together

FYI that sample size is way too small for Leak Buster. 2.3k hands is a session for some people. You need at least 50k hands to really get an idea of your leaks.

But keep up the good work, and it looks like you're motivated to improve your game.

That wasn't really meant seriosly. I know that 2,5k isn't a samplesize for anything, it was just a side note, which I wanted to share with you.

Just finished another 1,5 hour session. This time instead of 4 I played 6 tables. I didn't really notice any difference in my game or any shortage of thinking time.
The consequence is that it will be standard from now on for me.

And it runs pretty good for me, too. Another +5,82$ to my Bankroll.
I can't wait to finally see the downswing to this up. I hope I will still play my A-Game then, but when I see, how calm I'm playing at the moment I have no doubt about that.

50$ to go for my NL10 shot

Hey guys me again

Today was a busy day. Half of it I wasn't able to play or learn anything, but now I've just finished another 1 hour session 6-tabling. Was 8$ up, but lost a stack in the phase I was closing the tables with KK < AA. (didn't stop playing because of the hand )

There were two hands I wasn't really sure, how to extract more value out of them.

________________________________________

Is the bet sizing ok?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (8 handed) - Party-Poker Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($6.75)
Hero (UTG+1) ($4.43)
Button ($1.72)
CO ($3.73)
SB ($1.46)
UTG ($3.90)
BB ($4.16)
MP2 ($4.37)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A, A
1 fold, Hero bets $0.16, 2 folds, CO calls $0.16, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.38) 9, 10, A (2 players)
Hero bets $0.28, CO calls $0.28

Turn: ($0.94) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.72, CO calls $0.72

River: ($2.38) K (2 players)
Hero raises to $3.27 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $2.38

_____________________________

I think the call on the flop was ok, because he had 100% C-Bet on turn.
Should I shove on the turn? Or would a call be the better option?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.04 BB (8 handed) - Party-Poker Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($4)
BB ($13.88)
UTG+1 ($5.38)
MP2 ($4.78)
SB ($3.90)
CO ($4.33)
MP1 ($3.84)
UTG ($3.66)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 10
1 fold, UTG+1 bets $0.16, 2 folds, CO calls $0.12, Hero calls $0.16, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.50) 8, 10, A (3 players)
UTG+1 bets $0.54, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.54

Turn: ($1.58) 8 (2 players)
UTG+1 bets $1.17, Hero raises $2.34, 1 fold

Total pot: $3.92

__________________________

40$ to go for my NL10 shot

I probably flat the turn with the TT since the pot will be big enough for you to get it in on the river anyway and if he's betting on an 8TA8 board, he's most likely betting the river.

Just finished another 1 hour session. With additional+9.38$ to my bankroll

Running really good atm.

Finally a losing session again
I was waiting for it, to finally test out my mindset under more serious conditions.

Well, what can I say. I was stable and calm as ever
Session went with -1,05$, was down 6$ at one moment.

Biggest beat:

Party Poker $4 No Limit Hold'em - 8 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

UTG+1: $4.00
MP1: $3.79
MP2: $0.11
CO: $6.34
BTN: $2.75
SB: $1.14
Hero (BB): $4.00
UTG: $3.06

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero is BB with 5 2
UTG calls $0.04, 6 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.10) J 5 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.04, Hero raises to $0.08, UTG raises to $0.12, Hero raises to $0.20, UTG raises to $3.02 all in, Hero calls $2.82

Turn: ($6.14) 9 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($6.14) J (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $6.14
Hero shows 5 2 (two pairs, Jacks and Fives)
UTG shows J K (three of a kind, Jacks)
UTG wins $5.84
(Rake: $0.30)

Was thinking he wants to steal the limped pot ip. The minreraise was maybe a bit too low. Should I shove after his 3bet? (I don't like my move)
He limps 40% of his hands out of UTG.

Flopping bottom two pair against just the UTG limper, I'd tend to lead out. I'd rather see something like:

Hero bets $0.06, UTG raises to $0.18, Hero raises to $0.60, UTG raises AI, hero snaps and does the happy dance. Either way it worked, you got your money in with the best of it, unfortunately he got lucky. Don't second guess yourself cause the result sucked =(.

NH

Finished another 60 minute session and I have to say, it was the sickest one since I started this blog.

The beginning wasn't really spectacular. Won some small pots, lost some. But then, in a timespan of maybe 60 seconds I lost 3 big pots. And was down 9$.
Another endurence test for my mindset My play wasn't affected in any way at all and I just kept going.
Made 4.5 stacks in about 20 minutes and ended the session with +9.81$

See you guys. Hopefully soon on NL10

Good Luck.

Wasn't able to play yesterday and today I had only time for one session.

Made my first NL10 shot
The result is satisfying, but I felt really money scared in the beginning. I really have to do something about it, because I won't be able NL100 otherwise.

I played 6 tables total. 4 tables NL4 and 2 tables NL10. But the confusion was too big, because I always had to rethink the bet sizes, and I closed the NL4 tables.

In total I made +10,55$, NL10 alone was +6,04$



still running pretty hot

Should have known that this up will end in a down eventually.
Made another shot on NL10. But this time I lost nearly 2 stacks. (-18.26$ to be exact)

The lost money isn't really a problem for me, but the bad play is.
I was really money scared in the beginning, and avoided a lot of situations.
Additional to that, I had a pretty loose player behind me, who 3-bettet every time I was openraising, and raised, when I was limping.
I really had problems against this guy and ended up limping hands I should've raised.

But, whatever. I will learn from my mistakes and try to play better next time.

Won 20$ on the Germany - Argentina match today, so I'm kind of break even today