Hi everyone,
I'm looking for some advice/guidance on improving my play.
I've been playing poker on and off for a year now, recently I started to try and improve my game by studying poker a lot more.

I've committed myself to playing .50cent 45m turbos and try to crush them before moving up. I deposited $50 so id have 100BB and be covered for downswings.
I bought Jivaro to use as my primary HUD, and of course i've read "hardgeus' Guide to PokerStars 45 Man Turbo Tournaments" even though its years old it still held a wealth of information.

Now i'm recently experiencing a big downswing that is getting me worried about my play.



My play style is to generally play very tight in the first 3/4 levels, open up my range by the 5th level to steal pots from Hijack/cutoff/button and occasional SB.
I usually raise my baby pairs to see a flop, if i miss my set most of the time I get out.

If i have a Big Stack when 3 Tables are at play, I defend my BB aggressively and stay tight until just before the final table when there's 12/15 Villains left, then i steal pots a lot more to have a healthy stack in the Final Table.

If i have a Small stack(less than 10bb) i just pick my spots to shove.

I'm starting to really wonder if i'm turning into a fish lately.
Last tournament i busted out at 12th position. I was SB with a small stack, 7BB. UTG villain raised 3bb, I've seen him play 80 hands, he had a 45/20 style. It was folded to me, so i went all in with my As4c, he showed AhQd and dominated me.
Just one example i can remember.
I've been busted out a lot like this trying to double with a Ax holding when im under 10BB.

Is there anything i should really look at? Read poker books? or anything liker that?
Any advice is appreciated.

Hey, evanie. Welcome to 2+2!

at a glance... 100 mtts is a way too small sample to make conclusions.
If you had lost all of them, it would have been nothing special to concern (my personal worse downswing waws ~380 BI and a bigger stake)
OTOH, you could end up making >100% ROI.
Of corse you could cashout and use the money but on a long term ROI is swingy only at the begining. Real ROI gets steady as you play thousands of games...

If you need advice, please post your hands where you have doubts. I see you wrote some spots which is a good start (as I see it is your first post) but I mean c/p the hand from hand history. Looking at the results is NOT equivalent of playing profitable..

I will be glad to analyse them for you.

Thank you Theodorus20, I appreciate the welcome.
You're right about the sample size, I should just keep grinding more.
Lately im just getting bust out from the final tables with flips. So im not too worried about my play.
Just got $20 from a $1 timebomb so i should still be able to manage the downswing in the .50c sngs.

I wouldn't even start posting 45man graphs till you hit around the 1k mark.

I'd stop playing time bombs too, rake is a bit of a joke in them.

The rake is a bit much in these games. They should still be beatable, but even moving to the $1s will be like 2% less rake which is significant. If you are willing to move down and rolled for it (even at 50-75 buy ins) I would advise trying the $1s. Quality of play will be the same and that rake will help.

As others have said, do not focus on your results over such a small sample. Focus on the quality of your decisions. Post hand histories with any reads and other questions that you might have. Take close notes of your opponents, always pay attention to play and ask questions. Find friends or other aspiring online players to discuss with on messenger/group chats etc.... Become familiar with ICM and ICM software. If already familiar, spend more time ripping apart hands with those programs to better understand the factors to consider.

It's never a bad idea to end a session early or take a break from the game if things get rough for you. Those are the best times to avoid playing, reflect, take a break, and come back to studying-only first until you feel ready to jump back in to the games.

GL!

Thank you AMT, you're advice is very helpful.
I'm rolled for 70BI in $1 sngs.
Would you recommend for me to stick with the 45m even though its normal speed?
Or try the 90m Turbos?

Would you be able to analyse this http://www.boomplayer.com/en/poker-h...305_CD90A2F70B hand for me please?
I was at $1 45m sng. It was the final table, with 8 players left.
From 27 hands from him that was recorded on my hud the villain had 22/19.
I had him on a Ax hand, is flipping at this situation at this point of the tournament acceptable?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the delayed response, not on here as much as I once was!

Will really come down to your goals here. If you're only trying to build a bankroll and are not concerned with hourly rate or number of tables or anything then I'd say focus on the regular speed games until you feel comfortable. Can always try the 90m turbos, just be aware of any differences in the payout structure.

There are also $1.50 45 man turbos which look good.

Assuming the payout is for the top 7 as in 45man turbos, I don't like flipping here on the bubble especially with a tiny stack still in. As well as being one of the 6 stacks of a similar size.

That being said, I like the idea of 3bing here, villain should be stealing with a wide range here. When he 4b jams for 15bb I think we can narrow his range to JJ+ AQ+. I think flatting and set mining/re-evaluating the flop is also Ok, but I like a 3b fold here.

1. Focus on every decision. Always question urself why are you doing stuff
2. Play ABC game, dont try to be Tom Dwan on microstakes, nobody understand ur logic anyways. They think on level 1 - what is their hand, and act accordingly
3. Do not ever think about results when you havent played enough games. Anylyse ur graph and roi every 1k games or so. (for example. tossing a coin is a 50/50 shot for heads and tails. Toss it 10 times. Did you get 5/5? I don't think so. Now toss it 1000 times and see that the result will be much closer to being 50% chance)
4. Study, study, study. Memoraise ranges. Both for calling and shoving. Study HRC. Always ask yourself about your shoving or calling spots, even if not involved in a hand
5. Find people that are on the similar level and discuss hands with them
6. Post hands on forums
7. Stay calm, eat well, exercise, meditate, dedicate and be a poker junkie and the results will come

we're all slaves to variance. peace out amigo

*In reference to my previous comment:

I would check ICM here for you, but currently on my phone. I think it's probably a fold, but worth double checking.

regarding the hand, im snap shoving a2s a9o 22 and all suited broadway, kqo kjo. sh*t loads of hands to be honest. what i dont do is 3bet/c small on under 20bbs as they sometimes call and ur screwed and also it seems too strong. just rip it in and pray

what? u cover OR :P what icm?

....is it not an ICM spot?

it is, but for a villain, not hero

edit: in hrc, if CO opens 17% which i think is reasonable, hero can shove wide and put icm pressure on HIM

Ah I see! My mistake. Thanks for correcting me!

Couldn't CO be opening wider than 17% here stealing? If so that would allow hero to shove wide as well right?

yeah, true for both. HRC gave villain even tighter range, i corrected it a bit, but could be wider for sure, especially if he thinks that btn and blinds will be overfolding this spot