Charts are for pussies anyway

Thank you very much. Oh for sure man. I started full time in March and am now just realizing how insanely hot I was running those first couple of months. Was a bit naive to think it could keep going that way forever but it's all part of the journey. I have put in so much studying/coaching since then and am likely a much better player. The results just haven't been as good. I will appreciate the heat a lot more the next time it comes


Yea some of the regs on global poker who are winning have the most insane strats imaginable. Preflop is lol bad at the lower stakes.The site doesn't allow HUD's but just from constantly playing with the same regs you can tell some of them have massive leaks pre. The nittier guys are opening like 20% from the CO which is insane... Like they miss half of the suited Kx Qx Jx that should be opening at 40bb for example. I just never see these hands at showdown. As for 3 betting, some of the regs don't have a 3b bluff range. They also don't have any flop check raises as bluffs. It's insane. I find it hard sometimes to make the right adjustments vs these player types. But hey they can still print in these lineups vs all the punters so why bother lol. Just 18 table with a 17/16/5 vpip/pfr/3b and make the monies.

Then there's the opposite. One guy in particular comes to mind. Up 250k profit on the site yet does the wildest **** ever(it is over like 30k games though so not like they are some hs crusher just a mass grinder who does some things well). We are both 1/12 and 2/12 in some $33 freezeout and I open utg KK they 3b mp and I 4b. They call we get it in on 984r. He has 88. Zero icm awareness. Ranges all over the place. The last time I played full time was 8 years ago in europe. Feels like the games are softer now than back then from what I can remember.


US/Canadian fenced sites are amazing. If the euro regs got their feet in the door there they would absolutely crush it. I'm glad that these sites are closed off from most of the player pool. Some of these sites are playing like we are back in 2009. It's my job to be less salty and start taking advantage of it

agree with alot - feel like alot of Global Regs - dont need to study as much , or need a fancy strat

since Global is so soft - talking about this actually today with others

global poker aint real poker

Yea for sure. There are diiferent types. I think being a massive nit can work pretty well on global. Can just mass multitable and wait for recs to gift stacks. Very low variance strategy purely for $$$. That strategy will work up to the $33's on global but after that they will start to get exploited pretty hard by good regs.

Most regs there just play a very solid strat. No big punts/blunders and you will make money for sure. For me though, when thinking about the long term, it's much better to be the guy playing an aggro strategy. Trying out all the light 3 bets/4 bets. Getting into a bunch of 3b pots. Value betting very thin knowing you will value own yourself sometimes. If you're always playing as the solid tag abc guy, you will never be comfortable playing outside of that making it difficult to climb the stakes. I don't have any evidence that this is correct except for just watching high stakes mtt's. These mtt's play very aggressive. So I can only imagine trying to win at those stakes playing 19/17/6% 3b. I would get absolutely smoked.

As an example to the previous point: Let's say we have a 50bb effective chip ev spot in a $55. We raise HJ 2.3bb k6ss. Good aggro pro makes it 6.9bb btn. On global most of the regs are snap folding and "waiting for a better spot." I get it bc there are a lot recs in the pool who can gift you chips. However, once a good reg realizes you are over folding in these spots, they will exploit pretty hard. Calling here is winning 0.2 compared to a fold of 0. I think we have to make the call here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we want to have correct defense frequencies versus 3bets by regs( I mean the ones who actually have a 3b bluff range and not the hugely nitty guys who only have value). Secondly, if we are mostly overfolding these spots/hands, we will be way out of our comfort zone when we eventually do get in these spots postflop.

Maybe some of the regs I view as too nitty are able to adjust accordingly to the higher stakes mtt's and adjust their strategies. I just highly doubt it. If the ultimate goal is to be a high stakes grinder, then I think it's worth having a solid GTO style baseline approach preflop is the way to go. Then start to make some exploits from there.

Just my 2 cents on the matter

Brian did a review of this FT on one of his latest BBZ vids, you may well have seen it. I watched it today, then started reading this thread, weird coincidence!

I'm also grinding MTTs, although at a more part-time basis at the moment, as I have a 3/4-time job. Managed 400 tourneys this month though which isn't too bad. Would love to make it a full-time thing, but want to establish at least at 10k bankroll first. Sitting at ~4k atm after a $2.1k score last night in a $32 bounty yesterday. Was particularly sweet as I've been on a 2k downswing over the past 3 weeks. Playing on GG so the variance is high due to the larger field sizes, but I've managed a 22.5% ROI over 2.2k games over the past year and a half, at at $12 avg buyin. Been increasing the buyins kinda aggressively, which may account for some bankroll variance. I think taking shots whilst I have a regular income is worthwhile though, although it hurts when they don't pan out! Hoping that with study and dedication to the game I can achieve my goals.

Enjoying this thread and your attitude is inspiring. I've also had trouble with the my mental game during this downswing, getting angry at perceived bad luck in a way I haven't really experienced before. It's definitely an entitlement thing. As you said in a previous post, downswings are an inevitable part of the game, and it's how we deal with them that is important. Going forward I'm going to try and focus on this side of things more. 5-minutes of meditation before each session is perhaps a good way to start?

Anyway, good luck in your games. Keep grinding. I'll be watching this thread with interest!

Was travelling for a couple of days and managed a score on ignition in a $44 mystery bounty. First hand after bubble burst and bounties were in play I jammed hj with 10bb w 84hh covering 3 stacks behind. CO 5BB BTN had 22bb SB 8bb and BB 3BB. Only btn calls with A9o and I hit an 8 to double. How BB folds anything here is beyond me. There is a ton of EV to gain in mystery bounties bc people are playing them all wrong. The EV of each bounty at that stage was like $122 and the next pay jump was a dollar lol. There's like an extra 20bb in the pot if you cover(bc of the bounty). The strategy once the bubble bursts is basically if you cover a player you open or jam 100% range. Their counter is to call off incredibly wide. Anyways I doubled up and next hand jam K7cc covering everyone behind. 3 callers and we scoop and win the top $1,000 bounty plus another $60 for the other 2. Eventually there came came a point with like 15 or so left that we had to start playing closer to a regular tournament as all the big bounties were pretty much gone and payjumps getting bigger. Anyways got down to 4 handed picking up some more nice bounties. Unfortunately got KO'd sb vs btn AQo <AKo for 66% of chips in play. A great score and boost for this months results

Hello there. Thank you for the nice words.

Well done on your progress so far. Yes if you are working a job right now that covers living expenses, you can most definitely afford to shot take much more aggressively than somebody playing full time. You can always reload. Saying that, I would still just play in games where I know i'm plus EV. In the past I knew some guys who binked like a 50k score in a $22 buyin on pokerstars back when they had massive fields. Then they decided that instead of increasing their $15 abi to more like a $30 abi, they could shot take 530's and ball out :P. Recipe for disaster. That's why I am studying so much lately. I really want to be able to beat the 55's-109's for a nice roi. In order for that to happen, I need 2 things to work out:

1.Have a big enough bankroll to be able to play at that ABI.
2. Be a good enough player to beat those games.

You gotta be ready for when you have that big score and can start shot taking at higher games. It's gonna be much tougher fields so you're game has to be at a high enough level to play with the regs at those stakes. Otherwise it'll be tough to break through. Right now i'm on pretty much a 2 month breakeven stretch and it's all because i'm losing at the higher ends of my buyins. I'm running pretty bad but maybe i'm also just not winning much at those games compared to the lower stakes. It's driving me to study pretty hard right now. Yesterday I spent 9 hours between HH reviews with some guys I know/BBZ simple poker systems/GTOwizard work. My roll is at a point where I need to raise my abi from where it was back in april. But to break through the next hurdle, I think the most important thing is study study study. Otherwise i'm likely looking at an extended breakeven stretch because my game has gone stagnant and i'm not even beating the competition.

Hope any of my rambling helps you on your journey lol.
GL

Thank you for the advice, it definitely rings true. With ABIs I generally only mix in up to the $54 level when my bankroll is around the $4k mark but I may forgo those for the time being. There are definitely regs in the field that are very competent - I wouldn't say I feel intimidated to play against them, but doubt I have an edge. Luckily there are still a lot of soft spots too.

I usually spend at least an hour a day going over hands in the GTOwiz hand analyzer, and from there try to find a more focused spot to hone in one. For example, yesterday I was drilling turn barreling after cbetting on monotone flops vs BB. I don't know whether study like this is the most effective, but it's enjoyable to me. Perhaps I should still be spending more time drilling more basic pre-flop/flop spots as that is where so much of the EV is gained and lost, rather than more esoteric spots. I think getting an appreciation for both the "simple" and "weird" spots are important for a good overall understanding of how the game works though, for what it's worth.

What do you find the best form of study?

I will pick up Simple Poker Systems, as I've recently subscribed to the daily seminars and am pretty impressed with the content, mainly watching Jordan's videos.

Good luck with breaking the break even streak. It may well just be variance, but studying and tightening your game can never hurt!

Ah, the old bink'n'bust syndrome.

Hahaha. Yea that's a perfect illustration Zamadhi. Dunning Kruger in full effect. That's one of the most underrated skills in poker. Even if you're extremely good at the game and able to beat let's say 2knl, you're still gonna go bust if you play in the wrong games at 10knl. I guess that's why poker will always remain profitable for the best of the best.

I openly admit I was somewhat deluded earlier on in this thread. I was on an insane heater and thought it was normal and the money would keep pouring in. Getting punched in the face repeatedly last couple of months has put me right Stay humble. Stay focused. Work your a s s off and then be ready to execute when the big spots come your way

August MTT Total: +$2,100

$1,200 came from untracked sites. Mostly from the $1,700 score on ignition.

Here is a look from ACR, Global and Chico:





Volume: 360 count + 77 re entries= 437 total games. Add in another 100-150 on untracked sites for a grand total of ~550 games played for the month. Overall pleased with the volume count considering the amount of time I spent studying.

Here is a look at the months results split between $0-50 and $50+





From untracked sites can add another ~1,500 profit $0-50 and -$300 in the >$50 games.

So I did manage to profit ~$6,300 in the lower buyins on my schedule which I'm very pleased with. Absolutely killing those games and feel very comfortable at those stakes. As for the >$50's, it's just not happening yet. I lost ~$4,200 in those games. There have been just so many spots last couple of months where I am losing the flips at the wrong times deep in the tournament. It happens. Just gotta keep fighting and eventually I will get into the green in those games. I'm on ~100 buyin downswing in those stakes which is no big deal. Just frustrating. I had had a lottt of big spots deep in $55's and $109's when I think about it. Just one big score in those will put a different complexion on the challenge.

It's been a testing couple of months but I'm glad to have a winning month and some confidence leading into WCOOP on pokerstars. Heading for the airport in a couple of hours. Taking all next week off from playing poker. Will likely still do some study and be ready for the start of the series the following week. Very happy to have a complete break from poker to unwind and reset.


Challenge to date:

Some stats as of late:

whats ur actual bb/100 ?

im using HM3 lately now as well ( using H2N just for player pool analysis ) keeping my DB separate


but yeah why i ask i cause since i started up again im running super super bad , like worse ive ever have

my all in adj bb/100 is like above 10 , but actual bb/ 100 only 3.8

small sample for me - only playing 6 tables lately - working on bunch of things but i can feel im getting ran over literally , and DB is reflecting that


just was curious to see ur actual winrate compared to ur all - in adj , ( for comparison )

even worse this month - ( i know only couple sessions - so not taking much stock into it ) - but havent been on this type of DS ever


( great way to start off with new coach / backer hey ) lol,........


only means one thing ..... ( i was telling our buddy Gator same ) ( he is going thru the same thing )


the SUN run is coming - fall , winter ......

ev bb/100 seems low for these stakes but it is 22k hands only and i dont know how deep you are playing. Can you post

a) ytd stats
b) then 0-50$ ytd
c) 51$+ ytd

Hey man yea it be like that sometimes. Sucks but it'll turn around. To be honest BB/100 is not the be all and end all in mtt's anyways. Like if we think about where the money comes from in mtt's, ICM play is gonna be so so important. But avg stack at this stage is often like 20bb so it's gonna be tough to realize big bb/100 winrates at these depths anyways. Or even things like you could run bad for a month and then run hot in the highest buyin in your schedule for the month in a 5k player field and win infinite $$$. MTT's are crazy . Just keep doing what you have been in the group you seem to be very active and doing the right things away from the tables aswell.

Hey Belthazorrrrr. Yea the vast majority of those hands are played 40bb or less. I max late reg a bunch and don't like to play too much deep stack poker. When apestyles did my db review he seemed to think I had a very high winrate. What do you think is an achieveable bb/100 at the 0-50's?

As for posting all my hands: I have an old HM2 licence and also recently purchased a yearly licence for HM3. My hands are all over the place. Big mess to be honest. I'm thinking of just getting drivehhud. Especially for sites like chico and ignition. Some guys I study with highly recommend it.

Like i'll have some bustout hands that don't even show up in HM2 which is super annoying. Also like 40% of my volume is from global which doesn't allow hud's. I just tried filtering on HM2 for <$60 buyin and it just gives me back the same amount of total hands....it doesn't track winnings correctly either. Lol. Basically what i'm saying is that I don't have a solid answer for the a) b) c) in your post

I had 8bb/100 at 350$ abi, 80% of my hands were under 65bb, i doubt if double my winrate isnt possible at 0-50$s, i guess people will blunder all over the place. Also my 65bb+ winrate was actually lower since deepstack isnt my strongest point

yeah def hear u about the bb/100 - nothing i put too much stock into

n yeah appreciate the kind words, esp coming from a good player like u -

really enjoy having u apart of the group - n hoping we all can do some great things this year -


yeah i hear u about HM 2/3 , i tried it out for a week - also had many issues , ( using H2N for player pool stuff ) but wanted to keep my own DB separate ( was gettting too laggy with 12m hands H2N )

so actually full circle now back to PT4 - n which i thought not broke why fix ?

n yeah any tracker does not record MTT results correctly - only for some sites ( depends on what the Summaries are n some other factors _)

so ACR , Poker stars - we get full results i know for PT4 , H2N ( pretty sure HM ) not sure about DH2 ( used it for 2 week trial while back wasnt playing those sites )

but yeah guess thats why we have Sharkscope , - or for the ppl who just play on ACR or P S - there fine , but yeah i remember going deep while back about this very issue

Had a nice time with family and friends for the past 10 days or so.. Went to a really fun wedding and met some people I hadn't seen in 10 years. Drank some of the best guinness on earth. Visited some beautiful towns in rural Ireland. Ate at a michelin guide restaurant(not michelin star but still really good). But now it's time to get back in action at the poker tables.

Started back yesterday with a small, slightly winning session. Could have been a lot better had I not disconnected for 15 mins while 4/10 in a $30 daily special on GG poker with 1.6k up top.....Came back to being 9/10.... So gross. I actually had a Sim card as backup internet too. Problem was a breaker went in the house and the electric went out so I had to switch that back on and then intuitive tables started acting up on my monitor to the point I could hear the table actions taking place but couldn't actually see the table itself on the screen. Big mess but I managed to ladder to 7th losing AQo<KK for $280 or so. Had a couple more cashes on ipoker. Decent day.

Today I played a nice 8 hour session and really got back into a rhythm. A lot of volume on ipoker, gg and a few tables on ACR and chico. Had a deep run in my biggest buyin of the day.A ~$57 buyin in the Zodiac something something on GG poker with over 9k up top. GG gets super shallow in the late game so just have to run good with the flips. No dice and out for ~$170. Was looking like a breakeven/slightly losing day until I caught some heat in the $16.50 5k early special on ACR.Was a very soft final table and managed to get HU. Ended up going for a deal and securing a 4 figure payout as chipleader. So we'll take the W and the $1,062 in prize money.



Have not been able to get money onto pokerstars... As a US based person, it's very difficult to get money on there. I still haven't gotten my irish bank account set up so it's a real pain...If anyone can swap PS for crypto/Venmo/Paypal/Zelle, I would really appreciate it

Great start to the month.

Hey I tried to DM you but your messages are full. Can you please send me a message?

Had a few decent deep runs today in the morning session. Small field mtt's are my favorite.

Cashes:

6th in a $22 on chico for ~$70. KK<AJo for 2nd in chips. Mega whale 4b jammed but couldn't hold up.

Just final tabled a 10 euro re entry on ipoker. 5 handed everyone had similar stacks. I 3b jammed 22bb from bb AKo vs a mega whale(this guy check called 89o on AJ6. turn 6 check check. And then check called an Ace river with 9 high on AJ66A... Maybe he misread his hand as 88 or 99 or was calling for a chop). Anyways dude turbo snaps A7s and gets there. Would have had a big chiplead after that one but no dice. 5th for 108 euro.

Managed to win a 10 euro bounty on ipoker for 293 euro. Ran very well final 2 tables in this one.

In the $55 15k gtd on GG (it got 19k prizepool in the end), I got down to the final 3 tables. $3,534 up top. LAG player(18bb) opened from the LJ, BTN nit (17bb) called, SB (30bb) called and I 3b jammed 13bb with AJo. To be honest I was most worried about the BTN in this hand and thought they may have some traps as flats. But this player type also flats some suited bways which they should be jamming pre vs the open so in the end was very comfortable with my jam. SB always dead money vs my jam I think. LJ snap jammed over me and I couldn't get there vs AK for what would have been 3rd place stack. GG plays so shallow final few tables before the ft rollback. 18th for ~$160.

Kept the table count low and really enjoyed the session. Especially a lot of icm spots. Gonna continue this small avg field size grind as much as possible. I don't care if i'm giving up some ev by not playing the optimal hours. Just gonna do what feels comfortable. Good week so far. Up some where between ~$1,200-$1,500. May play a small evening session before big sunday tomorrow.

I'd love to see your graph separated by weekdays vs weekend. You say you dont care about not playing optimal hours but I remember a poster somewhere hypothesized that no reg makes money in unoptimal reg-infested weekdays / morning schedules, and to prove it he showed his own graph, he was breakeven everywhere except on weekends where he made all his money, and this guy was a crusher too.

Hey man what's up? I think the afternoon weekday games are pretty good tbh. Less good regs playing those hours imo. Definitely not gonna be the highest ev approach but still can win during those hours.



Here it is separated Mon-Thursday and then Friday-Sunday. Defo never advocating missing a Sunday but I know some guys who grind for a living playing off peak hours sometimes