Back in the 900s after a few good sessions and completely ignoring my own advice about taking a few days off (as usual).

The more I watch training vids, the more curious I am about why using 4x in SB vs BB is bad. I just can't see how giving your opponent 2/1 on a call in position ever works out well but all the pros seem to do it.

I'll open a new thread and see if I get some good tips.

Hours: 237
Profit: £904.43

When you raise 4 instead or 3 you risk one more bb and don't think players defend that differently to 3 or 4.

Got some great answers about SBvBB play here --> https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/6...70/?highlight=

Consensus seems to be that a lot of players are folding too frequently to 3x when in the BB, just because I'm exploiting this from the BB and calling very wide, it doesn't mean most of the playerpool generally are. Seems to be a case for 2x, 3x, 4x even 5x vs different types of players depending on their calling/3B ranges.

I'll try 3x for a while and see if it makes a difference.

Interesting hand tonight, what would you guys do in this spot? Villain has been stealing my BB from the CO about 3-4 times in a row with 2.2x raises, seems like a decent reg:

***No-limit Hold'em NL25***
Seat1
Seat2
VILLAIN (CO): ($40)
Seat4
Seat5
HERO (BB): ($40)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [Qc Qs]
Seat1 folds
Seat2 folds
VILLAIN: raises 55c
Seat4 folds
Seat5 folds
HERO: raises $2
VILLAIN: calls

*** FLOP *** [4h 6s Jc] ($4.15)
HERO: Bets $3
VILLAIN: Calls

*** TURN *** [4h 6s Jc Kd] ($10.15)
HERO: bets $5
VILLAIN: raises $12.50
HERO: ????

Preflop I would do it $2.5
I would go call turn c/c river. I dont see what hand he raises here for value.

My reasoning for the $2 3B (and not higher) is that with someone 2.2x stealing I'd like to be bluff 3Betting a ton here, so 4x feels more balanced.

When we c/c the turn and he jams the river (jam would be less than pot bet), what are we hoping to see? I feel like the only natural bluffs here against my 2 barrels are ATs, AQs, QTs, and even those its rare to see such a balsey play vs 3B + 2 barrels w/o the flush draw coming in. Is a reg ever spewing off with MPTK here?

Felt like a win small or lose big scenario so I mucked.

Hours: 239
Profit: £960.61

Needless to say, I bounced back. Ahaaaa! (...with a bit of a sun-run)

How exactly are you tracking your hours please?

My wife starts complaining after an hour, she's quite precise

I'm just estimating and plugging hours into an excel sheet every day.

Good blog, learning lots from it as someone just (re)starting the game. Also have aspirations to play live one day, much prefer the feel of it, just don’t have the bankroll.

Best of luck in getting there. Keep up the posting!

The good news, there's no shortage of terrible players at NL25 So just a matter of time.

Unfortunately this week I'm missing every draw and losing all my AA, KK all-ins, but some mad hero calls and spew players have softened the downswing.



Thanks mate, I'll keep trying to post interesting hands.

Just played this hand against a solid-aggressive reg, how was my flop play and how are you guys playing brick turns?

***No-limit Hold'em NL25***
Seat1
Seat2
Seat3
Seat4
VILLAIN (SB): ($25)
HERO (BB): ($25)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [Ac Qh]
Seat1 folds
Seat2 folds
Seat3 folds
Seat4 folds
VILLAIN raises 90c
HERO: raises $2.50
VILLAIN calls

*** FLOP *** [Ts Js Qd] ($5)
VILLAIN checks
HERO bets $2.75
VILLAIN raises to $7.50
HERO calls

Here is an article about moving from NL10 to NL25:

https://www.blackrain79.com/2017/10/...to-expect.html

It is by someone who has a famous book about grinding the microstakes, and who has won tens of thousands of dollars at these tiny limits over millions of hands. It says "The difference in skill level between NL10 and NL25 is one of the biggest that you will find between any two stakes online. That’s because at NL25 you will encounter many “pros” on a regular basis for the first time. "

and note "The difference in skill level between a typical NL10 reg and a reg at NL25 can be quite big. Above all, regs at these stakes will be much more aggressive and give you a hard time in a lot of spots."

Note "At NL25, you will get 3Bet way more than at NL10, especially when stealing the blinds or attacking limpers.

Likewise, if you 3Bet other regs at NL25, they will often come over the top and 4Bet you. Both of these situations are tricky and can be frustrating as well, especially if they happen over and over."

So you have to be really careful. Read the article and make adjustments.

Dude that is from 2017. Games have evolved so much after that. Solvers and sheet.

To the AQ with that exact combo would just jam the flop. As played on blanks call jam or jam vs check / small bet.

Thanks both for the input, I also think NL25 player-pools vary between sites, so for some sites the article is still relevant. Site + table selection helps alleviate the gap but I'm hoping some online training will help me understand how today's low-stake pros think.

I'd love to try PartyPoker (another HUDless site), but I self-excluded from a casino that bought it many years later, so I cant play there until 2024 lol.

Been playing NL25 for nearly a month now and I think there's been only 1 mb 2 players that are both aggressive and put me in tough spots, but they still have some fatal flaws.

Had a bit of a recent comeback and looking to break £1000 milestone this weekend. Come on!!!!

Hours: 245
Profit: £970.98

We're half way lads!

Hours: 248
Profit: £1004.77

This was a painful spot. Laggy rec with an *immature-offensive name sits down, played/raised almost every hand aggresively and has 3bet a few times in the last 10 mins. Thoughts on this hand?

*Think name is relevant as they tend to be spewy-angry, gambling type recs


***No-limit Hold'em NL25***
Seat1
Seat2
VILLAIN (SB): ($50)
Seat4
Seat5
HERO (BB): ($30)

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [Qc Kc]
Seat1 folds
Seat2 folds
VILLAIN bets 75c
Seat4 folds
Seat5 folds
HERO: raises $3
VILLAIN raises to $4.50
HERO: calls

*** FLOP *** [9s Jc 4d] ($9.10)
HERO checks
VILLAIN bets $13
HERO ????

Just fold otf. Against these type of players you don't need to take marginal spots. They are annoying to play against but you gotta go old school and wait it out. It can also be that they just had a warm deck for 10 mins.

Yeah I can't defend this play whatsoever, at best break-even EV against a complete spewer, but mostly getting 3/2 for a hand that 20-30% equity.

Here's another hand that just baffled the hell out of me, I just could not find a hand in Villain's range that I'm not ahead of that plays this way against a PF-3Bettor in EP. Villain is a very good-aggressive reg and always c/r his draws:

***No-limit Hold'em NL25***
Seat1
HERO (EP): ($25)
VILLAIN (CO): ($21)
Seat4
Seat5
Seat6


*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [Qc Qh]
Seat1 bets 75c
HERO raises $2.50
VILLAIN calls
Seat4 folds
Seat5 folds
Seat6 folds

*** FLOP *** [As Kh 2s] ($5.35)
VILLAIN checks
HERO bets $1.5
VILLAIN raises $3.50
HERO raises $7.50
VILLAIN raises all in $18.50
????

22, AQ, AJ,

Long and short of it is you're probably never good here. Don't mind the c-bet, but at must you can call and hope villain checks down on subsequent streets when he raises you. The 3 bet otf is just turning your hand into a bluff because you hate having to assume he has QJ/JTs and is just spewing off.

It's annoying to play vs these guys when you can't hit a flop to save your life, but I think it' fairly simple because you can just bide your time till you have them locked up and they will pay you off.

He coldcalls the 3b right? He can easily have Ax here (never 22) and even AKo. Don't know how many player clickbacks draws tbh. Just call (or fold) and go from there.

Thanks guys, I'm beating myself up about this hand because his style of play has one massive Achilles-heel, and that is he donks off hard against my nut-advantage range (if I used that term correctly).

I went down the rabbit-hole thought process of:
- He knows I'm top of my range so he must fold any Kx, Ax to my 3bet on the flop
- He's very agg, so never has AA,KK,AK
- He's very good, so never has 22
- I block AQ and this would never c/r flop because of point 1 (unless as a tester bet planning to fold to jam)
- He plays all draws very aggressively

There was just 1 tiny flaw, point 1 was bollox! This is his blind spot for some reason and I'm gutted I paid him off.

He had...



Never again!

Wow... That line with A5s is... optimistic at best. Guess he had your number haha

He may well do, he's very good, but I have a note on him that he is inexplicably aggressive when I'm at the top of my range. So he has spewed off a few times to my houses, flushes, broadway sets, AAKKQQ with little to zero equity. So he has a gaping weakness.

Look for the AQ on TJQ hand a few posts back, that was him too vs my 3Bet.

I talked myself into this one though because blockers etc. and temporarily blind to Ax-suited, just couldnt put him on a hand. I think he just brls + raises nutflush draw ALWAYS however strong my range is.

Hours: 255
Prfoit: £1038.88

Fun session last night battling some regs, then got dealt these 2 hands at the same time:

- KK vs AKo (200bb deep SB vs BB)
- AA vs KK (100bb UTG vs EP 4B vs BB call4B)



A little earlier I played this hand against a reg who seems to be getting increasingly laggy and I have noted that he blasted 3 barrels with air ip when I did not CB from UTG (I trapped him with top-pair previously). Rate my spew!

***No-limit Hold'em NL25***
Seat1
Seat2
HERO (CO): ($25)
Seat4
VILLAIN (SB): ($25)
Seat6


*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [As 9c]
Seat1 folds
Seat2 folds
HERO raises 75c
Seat4 folds
VILLAIN calls
Seat6 folds

*** FLOP *** [Qs 6c 7d] ($1.75)
VILLAIN checks
HERO checks

*** TURN *** [Qs 6c 7d 8c] ($1.75)
VILLAIN bet $2.60
HERO calls

**RIVER*** [Qs 6c 7d 8c 2s] ($6.95)
VILLAIN bets $10
HERO calls

Another reg-battling session missing every flush, str8 + str8-flush draw but managed to only lose $10 by being an out-right thief.

Hours: 258
Profit: £1053.88

Interesting hand against a ok-reg, tight-agg style and I noted he can make big hero-calls with middling hands:

***No-limit Hold'em NL25***
Seat1
Seat2
HERO (CO): ($25)
VILLAIN (SB): ($25)
Seat5
Seat6

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [9c Tc]
Seat1 folds
Seat2 folds
HERO raises 75c
VILLAIN calls
Seat5 folds
Seat6 folds

*** FLOP *** [Kc 8d 3d] ($1.85)
HERO bets $1
VILLAIN calls

*** TURN *** [Kc 8d 3d 7s] ($3.85)
HERO bets $2.20
VILLAIN calls

**RIVER*** [Kc 8d 3d 7s 2d] ($8.25)
HERO checks
VILLAIN check

My thought process was:
- Flop: Unlikely to have a good King as he 3bets/mucks these pre, likely small pocket-pairs
- Turn: Probably folds 8x, low pockets, Ace floats, A3o + I have str8-draw. (after-thought: I probably bet too much on turn)
- River: Would usually bluff this river, but against a hero-caller I decided not to.