Was annoyed about making too many mistakes that I should have avoided if had a clearer thought process focusing on what matters. Decided for the next week every session I will keep a tally and afterwards do 10 push ups for each avoidable mistake. Either my game will improve or will get ripped.


(could feel he had QJ because it's hard to find many bluffs, single Jx might go smaller otr sometimes and his timings were suspicious but thought this was too extreme to fold)

PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
Hero (SB): 100 BB
BB: 132.57 BB
CO: 100 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A J

CO raises to 2 BB, fold, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, CO calls 8 BB

Flop: (21 BB, 2 players) T 8 A
Hero bets 5.1 BB, CO calls 5.1 BB

Turn: (31.19 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero checks, CO bets 15.29 BB, Hero calls 15.29 BB

River: (61.76 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero checks, CO bets 69.62 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 69.62 BB and is all-in

CO shows Q J (Straight, Queen High)

Hero shows A J (Straight, Jack High)

CO wins 200.38 BB




PokerStars - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 115.92 BB
BB: 137.26 BB
UTG: 130.3 BB
MP: 118.38 BB
CO: 219.87 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q Q

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, BB raises to 10 BB, Hero raises to 22.5 BB, BB calls 12.5 BB

Flop: (45.5 BB, 2 players) 9 K 8
BB checks, Hero bets 11.03 BB, BB raises to 29.21 BB, Hero raises to 77.5 BB and is all-in, BB calls 48.29 BB

Turn: (200.5 BB, 2 players) 4

River: (200.5 BB, 2 players) 2

BB shows 6 7 (Flush, King High)
(Pre 23%, Flop 55%, Turn 100%)
Hero shows Q Q (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 77%, Flop 45%, Turn 0%)
BB wins 199.13 BB

Since started playing 200nl I'm more than $3000 below EV which has felt frustrating this week because that's a serious amount of money to my life and for progressing my poker career faster.


Just have to remember the long term is what matters and these stretches will seem irrelevant then, and should focus on what I can control, improving as a player, to compensate for it.


PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 47.02 BB
BTN: 100 BB
SB: 212.69 BB
Hero (BB): 103.77 BB
UTG: 130.89 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7 A

fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 7 5 K
Hero checks, BTN bets 1.73 BB, Hero raises to 6.07 BB, BTN calls 4.34 BB

Turn: (17.63 BB, 2 players) J
Hero checks, BTN bets 5.53 BB, Hero raises to 33.33 BB, BTN raises to 91.44 BB and is all-in, fold

BTN wins 82.91 BB





PokerStars - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 432.14 BB
SB: 100 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 104.05 BB
MP: 112.36 BB
CO: 329.79 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K Q

fold, fold, CO raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 6 J 6
Hero checks, CO bets 1.15 BB, Hero calls 1.15 BB

Turn: (7.8 BB, 2 players) A
Hero checks, CO bets 5.93 BB, Hero raises to 20.39 BB, fold

Hero wins 18.68 BB

yeah exactly, it's annoying af but if you zoom out and see the bigger picture 15bi is nothing. Just keep doing what you doing!

Still can't win all-ins.


Against a fish:

PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 110.71 BB
UTG: 242.72 BB
Hero (MP): 111.93 BB
CO: 100 BB
BTN: 127.54 BB
SB: 111.2 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q A

UTG raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 8 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 5 BB

Flop: (17.5 BB, 2 players) 7 3 2
UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: (17.5 BB, 2 players) 9
UTG bets 10 BB, Hero calls 10 BB

River: (37.5 BB, 2 players) T
UTG bets 21 BB, Hero raises to 60.07 BB, fold

Hero wins 78.13 BB



PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 110.46 BB
SB: 310.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q 8

SB raises to 2.5 BB, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5 BB, 2 players) 8 7 3
Hero checks, SB bets 6.04 BB, Hero calls 6.04 BB

Turn: (17.07 BB, 2 players) A
Hero checks, SB bets 8.23 BB, Hero calls 8.23 BB

River: (33.52 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero bets 93.7 BB and is all-in, fold

SB mucks A 8 (Two Pair, Aces and Eights)

Hero wins 32.9 BB

unlucky mate, when I go on stretches like this I'll just stop looking at the tracker and accept I'm running bad until I start winning again.

That's a very healthy way of looking at things.

You're right it's definitely the best thing to look at your graph as infrequently as practical. Can't say I will be able to resist the temptation though

Worst week in terms of results to date

Started to feel like there's no point in trying because can't win as will keep running into suckouts and every bluff failing. Even though I know that's not true it's how it feels because kept facing that all week. And my focus shifted more to trying to win a big pot instead of playing well strategically.

Not saying I was playing perfectly and it's all bad luck, definitely can improve technically and then the results would be better, and that's the best thing to focus on


Poker goals for this week are:

• drill minimum 30 hands per day
• take a break every hour when playing, or if lose 3 BIs
• not check results

Going to grind for 1 more week then take a few weeks off. Despite the setback the long term trajectory is good and aiming to be established at 500nl by the end of the year.

Hmm sucks to read mate, despite running under ev like mad (I saw 20/25bi at some point) it seemed to me that the month was going really well for you (in terms of bi all in adjusted). As cliche as it sounds don't let this ruin your process. You are still doing very well and also on the tables you are playing well, sometimes some small fundamental errors that you should work on to eliminate over time.

Likely doesn't mean much from me but I enjoy checking in on this thread and seeing your follow ups. I thought you were killing it and low key kinda inspiring. Would hate to see you give up.

I feel like I can relate to feeling like I am losing to suck outs and always looking to play big pots. I took a step back after thinking the same stuff, got honest about a lot of stupid things I do and try to stay positive and enjoy the work to improve.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support a lot.


Maybe I sounded more negative before than I meant, if anything I'm more determined now to come back from the downswing and keep progressing. And it's only a 15 BI downswing in EV which is to be expected fairly often.



Love to hear that, I agree positivity (especially in the face of bad circumstances) and having total self-honesty about what you can improve at are the best mindset qualities for achieving anything

There was a part in the TMGoP book, the guy had just moved up and lost quite a significant amount. Was feeling bad at first, then (can't remember exact details) but he and his wife went out to celebrate anyway because he could never have imagined playing at the stakes/level he had achieved. Overcame the downswing not long after.

I just posted a sample with a 20 buyin downswing, and a little after the comeback went right into another 10-15 downswing or so. Makes me hungrier in a way to prove I'm not a complete dog lol point is I didn't think I would see downswings like this but yeah I suppose they're more common than I had initially imagined

After a small downswing the week before, I came up with an idea to maintain a strong mental game. A reasonable worst case downswing might last for 100k hands. So you only have to keep a good mindset and the normal habits needed to win while you grind through that amount of hands expecting to lose, then by the end you will be winning again.



(folded because they're attacking my strong range and As blocks the most common bluffs)

PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 3 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 100 BB
BTN: 126 BB
SB: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

fold, SB raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 10 BB, SB calls 7 BB

Flop: (20 BB, 2 players) T 3 J
SB checks, Hero bets 9.69 BB, SB raises to 22.5 BB, Hero calls 12.81 BB

Turn: (65 BB, 2 players) K
SB bets 67.5 BB and is all-in, fold

SB wins 64.38 BB


(trapped turn to give them a chance to overbluff river or improve since most of their range is air)

PokerStars - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 170.56 BB
BB: 50.03 BB
CO: 173.56 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q A

fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, SB raises to 11 BB, fold, Hero calls 8 BB

Flop: (23 BB, 2 players) 3 6 Q
SB bets 7.39 BB, Hero calls 7.39 BB

Turn: (37.77 BB, 2 players) Q
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (37.77 BB, 2 players) 4
SB checks, Hero bets 81.62 BB and is all-in, fold

Hero wins 37.15 BB

Hands since last update:



Took a break from poker for most of August but am now ready to come back harder.

Need to grow my bankroll by $4k more, then will shot 500nl.

Also planning to move to a cheaper country by the end of the year, Thailand is the most likely option right now.


Is this better as an exploitative check/fold otr?

PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP: 100 BB
CO: 123.4 BB
BTN: 176.78 BB
SB: 102.73 BB
BB: 197.17 BB
Hero (UTG): 128 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, CO raises to 7.5 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 22 BB, CO calls 14.5 BB

Flop: (45.5 BB, 2 players) 5 J T
Hero bets 14.56 BB, CO calls 14.56 BB

Turn: (74.62 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero bets 24.17 BB, CO calls 24.17 BB

River: (122.96 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero checks, CO bets 62.67 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 62.67 BB

CO shows A K (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 50%, Flop 52%, Turn 59%)
Hero shows K A (Flush, King High)
(Pre 50%, Flop 48%, Turn 41%)
CO wins 246.92 BB

If win $1400 more will take 4 BI shot at 500nl, so could be this week if I run well.


Dumbest hand this week. Limped because it was a zoom table with 3 fish ahead who will iso too often.

PokerStars - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 248.61 BB
BB: 102.14 BB
Hero (UTG): 107.55 BB
MP: 100 BB
CO: 114.49 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A A

Hero calls 1 BB, fold, CO raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 2 BB, Hero raises to 13 BB, CO calls 10 BB, BB raises to 40 BB, Hero calls 27 BB, fold

Flop: (93.5 BB, 2 players) 9 5 K
BB bets 20 BB, Hero calls 20 BB

Turn: (133.5 BB, 2 players) 4
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (133.5 BB, 2 players) 7
BB bets 42.14 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 42.14 BB

BB shows K K (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 18%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows A A (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 82%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
BB wins 216.41 BB


I don't think they would raise flop with many worse Qx and wouldn't bluff river when my range after turn is mostly trips+ which is perceived as not folding. Unless had Ac{T,5,4,2} bluffing just because blockers but they're unlikely to raise flop.

Pacific Poker - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 98.2 BB
UTG: 101.5 BB
MP: 103.4 BB
CO: 133.82 BB
BTN: 58.93 BB
SB: 100.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K Q

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) J 3 Q
SB checks, Hero bets 4.5 BB, SB raises to 16.4 BB, Hero calls 11.9 BB

Turn: (38.8 BB, 2 players) Q
SB bets 12.8 BB, Hero calls 12.8 BB

River: (64.4 BB, 2 players) 6
SB bets 68.3 BB and is all-in, fold

SB wins 62.4 BB

200nl:



500nl:



Playing a higher stake for the first time gives you the thrill of gambling that recreationals are in it for. It feels crazy that it’s now normal to win or lose in a few hours what I used to earn in a month.

Got very lucky at 500 obviously and the shot can still fail. Just going to focus on playing A-game, learning from mistakes and getting reads on new players/pool for the next week

Gl with 500nl man! Dont fall into the trap of thinking that people will exploit you/are way better compare to the previus stake and change your strategy because of that.

Thank you, and good advice. I made that mistake before I think moving to 50nl

I’m in the middle of the process of moving up, any more tips/advice?

Table select hard at first, to improve the chance your shot sticks sooner because otherwise you can spend a long time making no money winning at the lower stake to lose it at the higher

Don’t be risk adverse just because it’s more money. The way to exploit most players is by bluffing and calling more than GTO

Maybe some exploits you can no longer get away with against certain players but don’t think you have to copy GTO because “everyones good”

Otherwise play similar to normal, like elmagico says. Good luck, keep us updated how it goes

Awesome, thanks!

Btw shot take is going well so far. +>20 BIs in <10k hands. I’m struggling to believe it’s not just sun run. When do you consider the shot take completed? # of hands? BB won?

Good news is I think I can check off all your bullet points except maybe risk adverse. My BR might just need some management tweaks. I was going to shot take 50nl with 37.5 buy ins as per my most recent adjustment. But I ended up delaying 25nl volume in place of study and more focused decisions while playing (no zoom and less tables). So now I’m past my threshold for shotting 50nl but I basically didn’t get any volume in 25nl. Deciding if I should skip 25nl and just go for 50nl with a tight stop loss or wait out 25nl for maybe 25-50k min. I gave myself the goal to reach 50nl by the end of the year so this ended up happening a bit ahead of schedule

Interested in thoughts on any of these hands

(vs very aggressive reg. limped because 2 fish and 1 unknown ahead)

PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 100 BB
Hero (UTG): 205.8 BB
MP: 117.95 BB
CO: 31.94 BB
BTN: 140.88 BB
SB: 95.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

Hero calls 1 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, BB checks

Flop: (2.5 BB, 2 players) 2 4 5
BB checks, Hero bets 1 BB, BB raises to 3.19 BB, Hero raises to 7.57 BB, BB raises to 20.7 BB, Hero calls 13.13 BB

Turn: (43.9 BB, 2 players) A
BB bets 31.89 BB, Hero calls 31.89 BB

River: (107.68 BB, 2 players) 9
BB bets 46.41 BB and is all-in, fold

BB wins 106.31 BB


(Probably too extreme to fold this?)

PokerStars - $2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 100 BB
BB: 100 BB
Hero (UTG): 100 BB
CO: 121.05 BB
BTN: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K 6

Hero raises to 2 BB, fold, BTN calls 2 BB, fold, BB calls 1 BB

Flop: (6.5 BB, 3 players) K 2 8
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets 4 BB, fold, Hero calls 4 BB

Turn: (14.5 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero checks, BTN bets 18.5 BB, fold

BTN wins 13.78 BB

PokerStars - $5 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 100 BB
BB: 117.69 BB
UTG: 102.5 BB
MP: 128.67 BB
CO: 103 BB
BTN: 61.19 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A 3

fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) Q A J
Hero bets 1.43 BB, BB calls 1.43 BB

Turn: (8.85 BB, 2 players) A
Hero bets 6.31 BB, BB calls 6.31 BB

River: (21.47 BB, 2 players) K
Hero checks, BB bets 6.26 BB, Hero raises to 89.27 BB and is all-in, fold

Hero wins 33.39 BB



PokerStars - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 223.21 BB
BB: 601.68 BB
UTG: 163.88 BB
CO: 371.47 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T 8

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 4 T 2
BB checks, Hero bets 2.62 BB, BB raises to 9.94 BB, Hero calls 7.32 BB

Turn: (25.37 BB, 2 players) Q
BB bets 16.87 BB, Hero calls 16.87 BB

River: (59.11 BB, 2 players) J
BB checks, Hero bets 70.7 BB and is all-in, fold

Hero wins 57.74 BB