The wife? Was your holiday actually you eloping? Way to get out of the wedding list. ;-) It's my birthday today so have tomorrow off. Not told my gf about the micro millions yet :-/ Promised her a game of badders so have to do that.

Happy birthday mate, is it a big one? I stopped counting when i passed 30! Tell the missus to buy u a tournament entry for your birthday, im sure that would go down well!

Last night I felt a little scared money after having had a good session at 25nl earlier in the day but still having a very precarious roll, so I decided to play 10nl rather than 25nl. Went very nicely, was about $27 up over a few hundred hands. Makes such a difference just getting to showdown and having the best hand a few times – feel like in the last couple of days I’ve been able to value bet without expecting to run into the nuts every single damn time, which is nice.

Felt more adventurous this morning (who doesn’t at 6.15am lol) so decided to get back on the 25nl tables. Again, with a little work table selecting, there were some nice juicy fish to be found. Managed to win $50 in about 300 hands, so did the sensible thing and shut the session down there and then and booked a nice win.

Here are a couple of interesting hands:

Hand 1

I almost never take this line, but felt as though with my big draw I wanted to take control of the pot. When the PFR called both flop and turn I think his range is capped at tptk/overpair type hands – I think a monster would have raised at some point due to the wet board. Though I whiffed the river I decided this would be a scary as hell board for this villain, seeing as he’s a nithim and I could probably get him to fold, seeing as I’m repping a set/2pair or something like 8h9h with my line far more than a busted FD. Would you fire the river here?

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1821668
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $21.58 - VPIP: 100, PFR: 0, 3B: 0, AF: NaN, Hands: 1
SB: $8.57 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 14, 3B: 4, AF: Infinity, Hands: 69
Hero (BB): $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 14, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 202117
UTG: $25.92 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 13, 3B: 9, AF: 1.3, Hands: 60
MP: $59.00 - VPIP: 29, PFR: 26, 3B: 18, AF: 3.0, Hands: 66
CO: $31.13 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 17, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 23

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with Q A
UTG raises to $0.75, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35) 7 J 6 (3 players)
Hero bets $1.50, UTG calls $1.50, BTN folds

Turn: ($5.35) T (2 players)
Hero bets $2.75, UTG calls $2.75

River: ($10.85) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $7.00,


Hand 2

We flop the nuts. PFR doesn’t cbet, so I decide to bet small to induce the agro BB to spaz. He obliges by raising. What do we do now – click it back and hope he spaz shoves, or call and try to get him to fire the turn?
Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1821669
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $61.11 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 13, 3B: 9, AF: 1.3, Hands: 60
BB: $74.92 - VPIP: 35, PFR: 24, 3B: 11, AF: 7.0, Hands: 17
UTG: $12.68 - VPIP: 33, PFR: 33, 3B: 0, AF: NaN, Hands: 12
MP: $25.00 - VPIP: 28, PFR: 26, 3B: 10, AF: 2.3, Hands: 39
CO: $26.21 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 17, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 23
Hero (BTN): $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 14, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 202117

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with T T
UTG raises to $0.75, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.75, 1 fold, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35) 5 7 T (3 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.75, BB raises to $3, UTG folds, Hero raises to $7,

Well done on those solid sessions mate.

I like your play in both those hands.

H1 - If he called with a 1 pr (o/pair or TPTK type hand) then note him and value bet his arse next time you do make a hand against him.

H2 - One of my biggest query spots when you have a set you want to get value from. Always hard to know the best line. Check/raises don't always get respect but I think a bet and then a re-raise after he raises you will wake him up in a hurry. I reckon he folded? I hope he didn't. Not a big hand sample but he seems fairly aggro and this probably isn't a bad spot to call with position if you expect him to lead the turn. However, I'm always worried about building the pot when I'm in front.....and not allowing some obscure suckout, so I'd probably raise to.

The more I think about it, the more i think this is probably one of those spots where you call and give him a chance to fire the turn again.

Hand 2 - yeah i just posted this in the micro forum as well and there were opinions both ways but most thought flatting was better. i agree with you that repopping looks massively strong, and he's probably not spazzy enough to shove a draw (of which there aren't many) or random crap over it. though i don't think it's terrible as there are lots of turns that might slow things down. i've slowplayed so many times in this spot and to be honest most of the time they just c/f the turn anyway after making the one bluff on the flop. in this case he did fold to my reraise unfortunately

The thing is with hand 2, if he has a monster he is likely to continue on the turn anyways, overpairs such as JJ+ and 55/77, I wouldn't worry too much about straightdraws because they are a small part of your range and his for that matter so him slowing down on the turn with his monsters is unlikely. On the other hand if all he's capable of is bluffing the flop and giving up the turn as you claim many do, I'd say you still made max value out of this hand. Unfortunetaly not every top set pays us 100BB

thanks for your post mate and welcome to the thread. I think hand 2 is one of those where unless i cooler him, most of the time i wont win a big pot no matter what i do, and some of the time he'll spaz regardless of what line i take

Exactly, and goodluck with the challenge.

Oh dear. Must remember im not rolled to keep triple barrel bluffing. Especially when they have aces

I know I said I wasn’t going to turn this thread into a series of bad beat whinges and general rants, so I’ll try to keep posts like this to a minimum. But I’m just getting so frustrated, I have to get this one off my chest.

Firstly, Friday night I played in one of the Micro Millions events with my free $3.30 ticket. Utterly card dead for about 4 hours, just about managed to survive by stealing. Finally got dealt AQ, got it aipf against a maniac who flipped over A10. He rivered a flush. What a nice way to spend an evening.

Then over the course of a couple of thousand cash hands Friday night, Sunday and this morning, I dropped about 3 BI playing 25nl. I’m going to put down all of the following hands because I want to give an impression of the normal sh*t I have to deal with. This is not an unusually bad run for me – this is pretty standard. This is why I sometimes lose it in my thread, and why I sometimes go on tilt – because I am utterly incapable of getting anyone to call two streets with worse when I have the nuts, but somehow when I have the 2nd nuts, they always have me beaten. These are just the worst ones – there were plenty of others I could have put in.

Hand 1 – Flopping a set is good, right?

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1824777
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $23.24 - VPIP: 43, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 4.4, Hands: 80
Hero (SB): $29.40 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210
BB: $39.25 - VPIP: 51, PFR: 10, 3B: 0, AF: 1.2, Hands: 41
UTG: $11.98 - VPIP: 85, PFR: 4, 3B: 0, AF: 2.2, Hands: 27
CO: $14.00 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 13, 3B: 0, AF: 2.3, Hands: 45

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is SB with 2 2
UTG calls $0.25, 1 fold, BTN raises to $0.75, Hero calls $0.65, BB calls $0.50, UTG calls $0.50

Flop: ($3.00) 4 2 9 (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, BTN bets $1.25, Hero calls $1.25, BB calls $1.25, UTG folds

Turn: ($6.75) A (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $4.75, BTN calls $4.75, Hero calls $4.75

River: ($21.00) 5 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, BTN bets $10.00, Hero calls $10, BB folds

Final Pot: $41.00
BTN shows A A
Hero mucks 2 2
BTN wins $39.16
(Rake: $1.84)


Hand 2 – flopping a set is good this time, surely.

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824783
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $16.14 - VPIP: 55, PFR: 11, 3B: 9, AF: 4.2, Hands: 174
Hero (BB): $30.33 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210
UTG: $27.88 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 20, 3B: 5, AF: 5.7, Hands: 198
MP: $25.00 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 14, 3B: 1, AF: 1.9, Hands: 221
CO: $19.40 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 0, 3B: 0, AF: NaN, Hands: 4
BTN: $26.82 - VPIP: 50, PFR: 50, 3B: 33, AF: 0.5, Hands: 4

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with 8 8
3 folds, BTN raises to $0.75, SB calls $0.65, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.25) 8 9 J (3 players)
SB bets $2.25, Hero raises to $6, BTN calls $6, SB calls $3.75

Turn: ($20.25) A (3 players)
SB bets $9.39, Hero raises to $23.58, BTN calls $20.07 all in

River: ($69.78) J (3 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $69.78
SB shows J 9
Hero shows 8 8
BTN shows A 5
SB wins $46.42
(Rake: $2.00)


Hand 3 – I have to win with a set eventually, don’t I?

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824772
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP: $25.00 - VPIP: 28, PFR: 22, 3B: 0, AF: Infinity, Hands: 46
CO: $27.97 - VPIP: 16, PFR: 6, 3B: 0, AF: 1.5, Hands: 32
BTN: $10.60 - VPIP: 62, PFR: 38, 3B: 8, AF: 1.2, Hands: 29
SB: $26.91 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 15, 3B: 0, AF: 3.0, Hands: 47
BB: $25.00 - VPIP: 15, PFR: 12, 3B: 4, AF: 17.0, Hands: 189
Hero (UTG): $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG with 3 3
Hero raises to $0.75, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.75, 1 fold, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35) 3 6 7 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.68, BTN calls $1.68, BB folds

Turn: ($5.71) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $4.25, BTN raises to $8.17, Hero calls $3.92

River: ($22.05) 5 (2 players)

Final Pot: $22.05
BTN shows 5 4
Hero shows 3 3
BTN wins $21.06
(Rake: $0.99)


Hand 4 – of course you call all the way and river your gutshot.

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824771
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $28.72 - VPIP: 29, PFR: 22, 3B: 0, AF: Infinity, Hands: 45
SB: $27.06 - VPIP: 16, PFR: 6, 3B: 0, AF: 1.5, Hands: 32
BB: $29.85 - VPIP: 62, PFR: 38, 3B: 8, AF: 1.2, Hands: 29
UTG: $25.00 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 15, 3B: 0, AF: 3.0, Hands: 46
MP: $25.00 - VPIP: 15, PFR: 12, 3B: 4, AF: 17.0, Hands: 189
Hero (CO): $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206208

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is CO with A J
UTG raises to $0.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.75, 2 folds, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35) A T 6 (3 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $2.00, BB calls $2, UTG calls $2

Turn: ($8.35) 4 (3 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $6.00, BB calls $6, UTG folds

River: ($20.35) 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $16.25, BB calls $16.25

Final Pot: $52.85
BB shows 8 7
Hero shows A J
BB wins $50.85
(Rake: $2.00)


Hand 5 – against a guy who was at that time 80/30 over 50 or so hands. Thanks for the set up.

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824773
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $25.00 - VPIP: 23, PFR: 19, 3B: 4, AF: 1.8, Hands: 99
SB: $23.98 - VPIP: 43, PFR: 28, 3B: 3, AF: 1.5, Hands: 93
BB: $28.64 - VPIP: 15, PFR: 11, 3B: 3, AF: 5.5, Hands: 429
UTG: $23.72 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 14, 3B: 8, AF: 2.0, Hands: 125
MP: $12.47 - VPIP: 72, PFR: 28, 3B: 25, AF: 7.7, Hands: 47
Hero (CO): $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is CO with A T
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.75, 1 fold, SB calls $0.65, 1 fold

Flop: ($1.75) T 7 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.50, SB raises to $4.75, Hero raises to $24.25, SB calls $18.48 all in

Turn: ($48.21) 6 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($48.21) 5 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $48.21
SB shows 7 3
Hero shows A T
SB wins $46.21
(Rake: $2.00)


Hand 6 – I know my river call is very bad, but seriously, how do they manage to hit EVERY F***ING TIME?

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1824774
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $25.35 - VPIP: 47, PFR: 37, 3B: 20, AF: Infinity, Hands: 19
UTG: $25.00 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 22, 3B: 20, AF: Infinity, Hands: 27
CO: $23.94 - VPIP: 35, PFR: 9, 3B: 0, AF: 0.6, Hands: 34
Hero (BTN): $34.99 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210
SB: $38.33 - VPIP: 15, PFR: 11, 3B: 3, AF: 5.5, Hands: 429

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with A Q
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.75, 1 fold, BB raises to $1.75, Hero calls $1

Flop: ($3.60) A 4 9 (2 players)
BB bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50

Turn: ($8.60) 3 (2 players)
BB bets $5.25, Hero calls $5.25

River: ($19.10) 4 (2 players)
BB bets $13.68, Hero calls $13.68

Final Pot: $46.46
BB shows 4 5
Hero mucks A Q
BB wins $44.46
(Rake: $2.00)


Hand 7 – flopping top two pair is a good thing, right? Villain was a maniac, showing up with a whole load of crap postflop. Except when I get it in against him, when of course he turns his 2 outer.
Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824775
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (UTG): $43.20 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210
MP: $32.01 - VPIP: 41, PFR: 5, 3B: 3, AF: 2.2, Hands: 186
CO: $26.66 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 7, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 100
BTN: $36.30 - VPIP: 16, PFR: 13, 3B: 6, AF: 3.7, Hands: 214
SB: $17.58 - VPIP: 33, PFR: 20, 3B: 0, AF: 1.9, Hands: 284
BB: $28.75 - VPIP: 31, PFR: 16, 3B: 4, AF: 1.2, Hands: 320

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG with Q K
Hero raises to $0.75, 3 folds, SB calls $0.65, 1 fold

Flop: ($1.75) 5 K Q (2 players)
SB bets $1.25, Hero raises to $3, SB calls $1.75

Turn: ($7.75) 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $6.00, SB raises to $13.83, Hero calls $7.83

River: ($35.41) 4 (2 players)

Final Pot: $35.41
Hero shows Q K
SB shows 9 9
SB wins $33.82
(Rake: $1.59)


Hand 8 – against an absolute whale. Of course this happens.

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824778
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $47.86 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210
UTG: $15.90 - VPIP: 41, PFR: 5, 3B: 3, AF: 2.2, Hands: 186
MP: $20.95 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 7, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 100
CO: $20.00 - VPIP: 32, PFR: 22, 3B: 2, AF: 2.9, Hands: 231
BTN: $42.05 - VPIP: 33, PFR: 20, 3B: 0, AF: 1.9, Hands: 284
SB: $18.69 - VPIP: 31, PFR: 16, 3B: 4, AF: 1.2, Hands: 320

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with K K
UTG calls $0.25, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1, UTG raises to $1.75, 1 fold, Hero raises to $34.75, UTG calls $14.15 all in

Flop: ($32.15) 8 J Q (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($32.15) J (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($32.15) 9 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $32.15
Hero shows K K
UTG shows A A
UTG wins $30.70
(Rake: $1.45)


Hand 9 – fistpump, I’ve finally got the money in good … Well yes, I should have seen that coming.


Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1824780
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (SB): $33.69 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210
BB: $8.76 - VPIP: 41, PFR: 5, 3B: 3, AF: 2.2, Hands: 186
UTG: $17.14 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 7, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 100
CO: $42.09 - VPIP: 33, PFR: 20, 3B: 0, AF: 1.9, Hands: 284
BTN: $39.20 - VPIP: 31, PFR: 16, 3B: 4, AF: 1.2, Hands: 320

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is SB with A T
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.75, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.50) 6 T 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.07, BB raises to $2.14, Hero raises to $19.50, BB calls $5.87 all in

Turn: ($17.52) J (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($17.52) 7 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $17.52
Hero shows A T
BB shows T 9
BB wins $16.73
(Rake: $0.79)


Hand 10 – of course I only river two pair when I’m already drawing dead. And yes, I should have folded the river.

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824781
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210
UTG: $29.09 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 20, 3B: 5, AF: 5.7, Hands: 198
MP: $49.13 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 13, 3B: 7, AF: 2.1, Hands: 291
CO: $39.10 - VPIP: 23, PFR: 13, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 30
BTN: $35.84 - VPIP: 20, PFR: 14, 3B: 9, AF: 0.7, Hands: 35
SB: $33.51 - VPIP: 37, PFR: 0, 3B: 0, AF: 6.0, Hands: 30

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with Q 7
4 folds, SB calls $0.15, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.00) Q 8 K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($2.00) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.25, SB calls $1.25

River: ($4.50) 7 (2 players)
SB bets $4.75, Hero calls $4.75

Final Pot: $14.00
Hero mucks Q 7
SB shows J A
SB wins $13.37
(Rake: $0.63)


Hand 11 – yes, I’ve got it in good again …

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1824782
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP: $48.22 - VPIP: 36, PFR: 24, 3B: 3, AF: 2.0, Hands: 70
CO: $35.92 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 8, 3B: 0, AF: 1.0, Hands: 71
BTN: $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 10, 3B: 0, AF: 2.8, Hands: 80
SB: $6.72 - VPIP: 42, PFR: 22, 3B: 10, AF: 2.0, Hands: 67
BB: $42.77 - VPIP: 20, PFR: 11, 3B: 3, AF: Infinity, Hands: 64
Hero (UTG): $28.70 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 206210

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is UTG with A K
Hero raises to $0.75, MP calls $0.75, 2 folds, SB calls $0.65, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($3.00) 7 T K (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $2.00, MP folds, SB calls $2, BB folds

Turn: ($7.00) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $3.97, Hero calls $3.97

River: ($14.94) 7 (2 players)

Final Pot: $14.94
SB shows 2 K
Hero shows A K
SB wins $14.27
(Rake: $0.67)

I forgot to post last week’s graph, so here it is (mostly 25nl, but also a little 10nl and some 2nl Zoom (I was bored)). Still some reasonable profit, but this morning’s $50 loss isn’t on here so that’s going to show up on next week’s graph instead.



My roll is currently at $95. That’s because I’d previously deposited $100 to get the $3.30 Micro Millions ticket, and yesterday I withdrew the $100. I know this leaves me under-rolled again, but I simply hate having my own money in there. I need to know I’m only playing with previously won profit. So I’m now back to the situation in which my roll is made up entirely of profit, which is good for my mental approach.

I’ve also got about 3,000 fpps, so I’m going to play some hyper turbo satties and try to turn these into T$ to give my roll a boost. Cashing in 25% of those roughly equals the Gold VIP bonus, so anything above 25% and it makes sense to play the satties. In fact cashing in 32% of them is better than buying the $600 Supernova bonus, so they really do make sense. I had some success with them in my previous thread but that’s done now so I’ll start a new record of them here. If I can play 50 or so I’ll start to get an impression of the winrate I could achieve.

In the meantime I’ll be back on the 10nl tables for a while – not going to shot take at 25nl again until my roll is up to at least $125. I’m very confident I can beat 25nl for a good clip – despite a couple of horror periods and being below EV, I’m still running at about 6bb/100 over 7k hands. There are plenty of fish there, I just need the roll to be able to get back to that level.

It’s funny, I get as stressed when I’m running bad at 2nl as I do when I’m running bad at 25nl, so I may as well play the higher tables where the money is actually worth getting stressed over!

I was also reading in another thread that Blue Fire Poker membership is a good way to go. I need to get back into studying more – I’ve not watched a vid for a couple of years, since I had that deal through Full Tilt whereby you got Cardrunners membership when collecting points. So I could do with getting some fresh ideas and having a rethink about my game.

I know I’m good enough to make this work … I’m actually feeling positive still despite this morning’s session and my general sh*tty run. I’m going to be shot taking at 50nl within a few weeks – I’m determined to make it happen. This isn’t a set in stone goal (this thread is a goal free zone lol) but it’s my motivation. I want to get back to having $200 days – that was a nice feeling …

Wow, there are some pretty awful bad beats in there. That said, you clearly noted the times where the river call is awful, but I know exactly what is going through your mind "he can't have got there, he doesn't have, it would be too weak not to call" etc. It's horrible, but I think you have to learn to fold it and just move on. I do find it more and more difficult to work out a fish spazzing out and a fish showing strength.

The only other hand I have a comment on is the KK hand. I think with that big a raise you will fold out all the hands other than those dominate you (JJ, QQ, AA, 88 and 910). What did you put him on? I appreciate that it is a draw heavy board and you probably want to get your money in while you think you are ahead, but I think there is some merit in a smaller raise and see what villan does. If he re-raises, you should be getting the message loud and clear. Dare I say your raise smacks a little of tilt?

Anyhow, don't listen to me, I have moved to the darkside and am playing PLO. With NLHE, I was just finding that I could not get anyone to stack off with worse than I had. Either the skill level has increased or I am just not getting the right spots. In PLO I am defo finding that people stack off with worse. You'd love the swings in PLO Gooner! lol.

Chin up.

Alot of my play smacks of tilt at the moment unfortunately. Happened again this morning, though under extreme provocation. had a good evening last night and got back onto the 25nl tables. carried on this morning. was doing ok, then in the space of 5 minutes, first a huge fish called my shove with just a gutshot, and of course hit it, and then i ran KK into AA - i turned a K, he rivered an A. Lose with a set again, thanks. so that broke me, and i immediately bluff shoved in a 3bet pot with K high. of course he had flopped top set. Why did i expect different? the fish tilt, they hit their miracle. i tilt, i lose every hand and destroy my roll.

So my roll is now at about $65. Sigh.

On the plus side, played some satties last night:

70fpp satties: 9/21 cashed.

So that has added T$35 to my roll which i need to convert to cash. i still have 1700 fpps so i'll try to burn the rest asap.

Will post a few hands later once i've calmed down.

Hand 1

Villain is very loose and fishy, more agro than your standard fish of this type however. i felt that after PFR checks, i have a very clear value bet on the flop and turn to charge all his draws (he shouldn't have a K very often). For the same reason i felt the river was a value bet - his 2pairs now got counterfeited, and he can have one pair hands he may call with.

If betting is ok, is it then a bet/call or bet/fold? i'd lean towards bet fold, but a part of me would be tempted to call as he just doesn't rep very much.

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1825857
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $20.73 - VPIP: 48, PFR: 29, 3B: 6, AF: 1.3, Hands: 42
BB: $36.53 - VPIP: 43, PFR: 4, 3B: 0, AF: 6.3, Hands: 49
UTG: $34.13 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 17, 3B: 5, AF: 0.6, Hands: 53
CO: $50.39 - VPIP: 20, PFR: 18, 3B: 8, AF: 5.0, Hands: 108
Hero (BTN): $25.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 207674

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with J J
1 fold, CO raises to $0.62, Hero calls $0.62, 1 fold, BB calls $0.37

Flop: ($1.96) 4 7 5 (3 players)
BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $1.75, BB calls $1.75, CO folds

Turn: ($5.46) K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4.00, BB calls $4

River: ($13.46) K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6.50, BB raises to $13, Hero folds


Hand 2

I think the turn is debatable here. i decided to pot control as there aren't many cards we're afraid of and i think he'll call/or raise with better rather than with worse more often. i didn't want to raise and get shoved on as we're never good when that happens, though i'd be forced to call it off given the outs i would have.

The river seemed like a good spot to call as the paired board cuts down the combos of better hands he can have, and he could be firing a ton of missed draws. Good call or is it a fold?

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1825859
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (MP): $30.97 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 207674
CO: $25.75 - VPIP: 35, PFR: 24, 3B: 8, AF: 2.9, Hands: 100
BTN: $17.31 - VPIP: 66, PFR: 34, 3B: 9, AF: 1.2, Hands: 32
SB: $13.78 - VPIP: 15, PFR: 10, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 20
BB: $20.00 - VPIP: 24, PFR: 11, 3B: 0, AF: 1.5, Hands: 37
UTG: $17.84 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 22, 3B: 11, AF: 1.3, Hands: 45

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is MP with A A
1 fold, Hero raises to $0.75, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.75, 1 fold, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.35) 6 4 3 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.75, BTN folds, BB calls $1.75

Turn: ($5.85) T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: ($5.85) 4 (2 players)
BB bets $3.75, Hero calls $3.75


Hand 3

Here’s a spot where imo you can bluff fish successfully. I float the flop as a lot of fish will donk then give up, and I had some equity with backdoor draws. On the turn his betsizing makes me lean towards a draw or marginal made hand. The river is then a real scare card for him which I don’t think will ever have improved him, so I think it’s a good spot to put him all in. Thoughts?

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1825860
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $6.14 - VPIP: 30, PFR: 4, 3B: 0, AF: 3.0, Hands: 23
UTG: $9.25 - VPIP: 59, PFR: 35, 3B: 18, AF: 3.3, Hands: 34
CO: $14.75 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 21, 3B: 12, AF: 1.8, Hands: 138
Hero (BTN): $10.00 - VPIP: 19, PFR: 15, 3B: 4, AF: 3.1, Hands: 207674
SB: $8.35 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 8, 3B: 0, AF: NaN, Hands: 24

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BTN with 9 6
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.30, 1 fold, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.65) 4 7 3 (2 players)
BB bets $0.50, Hero calls $0.50

Turn: ($1.65) 3 (2 players)
BB bets $0.50, Hero raises to $1.30, BB calls $0.80

River: ($4.25) Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4.06,

Well I finally well and truly lost the plot last night. It’s been coming. Started off the day with $125, and as I explained in my last post, had a couple of ugly beats at 25nl and dropped $60.

Moved down to 10nl in the afternoon and immediately ran JJ into QQ against a 70 VPIP whale.

Moved down to 5nl, 3bet with AK, drooler called me with Q10s, I flopped tptk, he called me down and hit his flush. That was the final straw, and I went on PROPER tilt. None of this playing 50% of your hands tilt. None of this paying them off a little lighter tilt. That’s for losers. This was proper, ‘F U ALL, I’m open shoving every single hand on every single table’ tilt.

So, after I’d taken the inevitable beating, I dusted myself down and checked my roll to see what was left.

$25, plus T$36.

F*** it.

So with my tail very firmly between my legs I sat down at a few 2nl tables this morning, with one aim in mind – to stop thinking about poker in terms of $$.

I’ve commented on this before, but quite simply it’s why this keeps happening; I want to win money, and I hate the idea of losing money. And since playing poker involves losing a lot, that means there will be a lot of times when I’m enraged / tilted / p*ssed off because I lost money that, until that hand, I had in my account. And that means that I make sub-optimal (and often deeply stupid or entirely irrational) decisions that I would, quite simply, never otherwise make.

I’m exactly the same when I gamble on sports or the casino (which is why I have entirely stopped doing that). Even if I lose a 20p bet, my mind reacts completely irrationally, I feel an overwhelming urge to have to win the money back, and I go chasing it. Which usually results in a 20p loss turning into a £20 loss.

Same with poker.

So I need to try to train my brain to think about every hand in terms of making the best decision, rather than making the most money. The money should be irrelevant. I’m a competitive b*stard, so the idea of trying to outwit an opponent should be incentive enough in itself. But I’m always aware of the money, that’s the problem.

Until I sort this out, I’ll never get anywhere.

So, I’ll plod along at 2nl until I’m rolled again for 5nl. I’ll try to teach myself to get annoyed only if I make a bad decision, not if I suffer a bad beat.

500 hands in, and I’m a BI up. Whoop whoop whoop (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice lol?).

No especially bad decisions this morning, however, so that was the main thing. Any hands I’m unsure on, I’ll be posting in the micro stakes forum for players far better than me to advise on.