I've been playing poker on and off for about 15 years. Mainly I've played live MTTs at my local casino a few times a year. I've binked a few decent scores but have ran at an overall small loss. It never bothered me as it was a hobby, not something I took particularly seriously. I used to delude myself that "I'm good, it's just variance". But I've been pretending to myself. Online I found it much harder. Played some MTTs and a little bit of micro cash but with little success.

This summer I decided to start taking my game seriously and focus on beating 2nl rush on GG. So far it's been very much sideways. I'm only beating it for 2BB/100 over 50k hands. My game is very limited. Major issues have been stacking off with TPTK against sets and other stupid beginner mistakes. I feel like I've tightened this up and am now focusing on improving the other, less glaring, leaks in my game.

I am currently studying by reading books and online articles and lurking this forum a lot.

Thought I'd start off my sharing a hand that I played today. Looking for thoughts? This is a situation I'm struggling with.

GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

Hero (UTG): $2.23 (112 bb)
a94180a7 (MP): $2.15 (108 bb)
680fa3a2 (CO): $2.19 (110 bb)
8f97f6e0 (BU): $1.78 (89 bb)
afac721f (SB): $2.07 (104 bb)
87c3a8b9 (BB): $3.71 (186 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero (Hero) is UTG with Q♦ Q♣
Hero (UTG) raises to $0.05, a94180a7 (MP) 3-bets to $0.17, 1 fold, 8f97f6e0 (BU) calls $0.17, 2 players fold, Hero (UTG) 4-bets to $0.53, a94180a7 (MP) calls $0.36, 8f97f6e0 (BU) calls $0.36

Flop: ($1.62) K♥ K♠ A♣ (3 players)
Hero (UTG) checks, a94180a7 (MP) bets $1.62 (all-in), 8f97f6e0 (BU) folds, Hero (UTG) folds

Total pot: $1.62 (Rake: $0.09)
a94180a7 (MP) wins $1.53

Is this just a call, or a jam preflop?

On the flop, do I continue here? I'm thinking he might have been on jacks or something like AQs. A lot of blockers out there. At 2nl I'd expect AA or KK to shove preflop.

Any advice appreciated.

Hi!

I think you played this hand well. Preflop Call or 4bet is okay.

We're up against two opponents on the flop and we shouldn't overplay our hand.
Just check and fold to a shove.
We will very rarely see a worse hand in this situation.

Good luck!

4bet Jam vs 2 is overplay, def a big blunder preflop imho, just 4bet sqz a normal sizing. Not really sure if I like having calling range mw OOP.

Flop not continuing, just x/f. Even vs smaller sizing. JJ not betting 3 way OTF, unless he's a very big fish, and even then, not a high proportion to justify a call.

We're protected by all AK+, AA and KK here, that we're 4betting.

I take the preflop part back, esp with the BTN very likely being a fish, 4bet jam might be a good play. Postflop I keep what I said.

Thanks for the replies guys. Correct about Villain- he was playing like 30/12. I was never really worried about him. Reassuring I didn't make a total mess of it.

Played just over 10k hands in the past week, so not massive volume. I'm running abOVE EV according to the Pokercraft. I know the graph is before rake.

I need to invest in PokerTracker but won't do that until my bankroll covers 30BI at 5nl and the cost of a PokerTracker registration.

I'm focusing on just playing solid poker and being positionally aware, unlike a lot of the 2nl field (especially post-flop).

What a terrible day! Lost 4BIs. Didn't hit a flop all day. Biggest hand I won was like 25BB. I played badly too.

Played an hour this morning and then a couple this evening. Both awful.

Punted off with QQ twice, once against Ak and then the rubbish in hand one below, where the guy trapped with Aces. I've posted another hand where I'd appreciate some feedback.

Hand One

GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

Hero (UTG): $1.99 (100 bb)
d9b79c8 (MP): $2.00 (100 bb)
124b8a62 (CO): $2.08 (104 bb)
e399df5 (BU): $2.81 (141 bb)
211a666c (SB): $2.78 (139 bb)
7a6f86f (BB): $4.22 (211 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero (Hero) is UTG with Q♣ Q♥
Hero (UTG) raises to $0.05, d9b79c8 (MP) 3-bets to $0.15, 4 players fold, Hero (UTG) 4-bets to $0.39, d9b79c8 (MP) calls $0.24

Flop: ($0.81) 9♠ 3♥ 5♣ (2 players)
Hero (UTG) bets $0.33, d9b79c8 (MP) calls $0.33

Turn: ($1.47) 5♦ (2 players)
Hero (UTG) bets $0.59, d9b79c8 (MP) calls $0.59

River: ($2.65) K♥ (2 players)
Hero (UTG) checks, d9b79c8 (MP) bets $0.04, Hero (UTG) raises to $0.68 (all-in), d9b79c8 (MP) calls $0.64

Total pot: $4.01 (Rake: $0.09)

Showdown:
Hero (UTG) shows Q♣ Q♥ (two pair, Queens and Fives)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 19%, Flop: 8%, Turn: 5%, River: 0%)

d9b79c8 (MP) shows A♠ A♣ (two pair, Aces and Fives)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 81%, Flop: 92%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

d9b79c8 (MP) wins $3.92

Hand Two

GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

Hero (UTG): $2.22 (111 bb)
7d5d3808 (MP): $2.03 (102 bb)
44d9f46e (CO): $1.47 (74 bb)
d4ca5cb0 (BU): $2.01 (101 bb)
2677a275 (SB): $3.66 (183 bb)
9f847dff (BB): $11.22 (561 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero (Hero) is UTG with K♣ Q♣
Hero (UTG) raises to $0.05, 1 fold, 44d9f46e (CO) calls $0.05, 2 players fold, 9f847dff (BB) calls $0.03

Flop: ($0.16) A♠ 8♣ 7♠ (3 players)
9f847dff (BB) checks, Hero (UTG) checks, 44d9f46e (CO) checks

Turn: ($0.16) T♣ (3 players)
9f847dff (BB) checks, Hero (UTG) checks, 44d9f46e (CO) bets $0.14, 9f847dff (BB) calls $0.14, Hero (UTG) folds

River: ($0.44) A♣ (2 players)
9f847dff (BB) bets $0.33, 44d9f46e (CO) raises to $1.28 (all-in), 9f847dff (BB) folds

Total pot: $1.10 (Rake: $0.08)
44d9f46e (CO) wins $1.02

Hand one - I'm fairly happy with the flop bet. But then when he calls I'm thinking he has made a light call with JJ and he's putting me on AK. I hesitate on the turn and kinda know I'm beat but fall into the fallacy of being pot committed. The KK might have given me a chance to bluff jam? Not sure. Villain was

Hand Two - was this a nitty fold or fine? My thoughts were that even if I made my flush, one of the villains could have the nut flush. I'm never confident with a King high flush in a medium/big pot. Then I figured if the Ace did come to give me nut flush then we'd have a paired board and I could be behind anyway. But the odds were tempting to call on the turn...

Past week I felt like I was doing really well, but today I've been so off it. I ran below EV most of the day, but I didn't help myself either. ...

Running at -40BB/100 at 2nl is a big confidence dent.

Any advice and critique of the hands appreciated.

Gl with the journey. Hand 1, just call the 2bb bet. Before that is fine, although at 2nl opening from utg and facing a 3bet, especially from HJ, can consider just calling. Also, you're not leaving yourself much behind with that turn bet, so might as well jam. H2: probably a call with the gutshot and flush draw, especially with those odds. If you get in a tricky spot on the river with the second nut flush, or with the nut flush on a paired board, so be it.

Thanks for the feedback. Both points make sense.

I sometimes wonder if my preflop play is too GTO at 2nl. I know it’s mainly about fat value at this level and getting in good with people calling with weaker hands - where most of my profits have come from. I know GTO is unexploitable but I sometimes end up in these post flop spots I wouldn’t have if I used a more conservative approach. I don’t call cold at all except in BTN or BB which I think is good. But maybe the 3betting and 4betting tighter and folding a little more would be better? I play 21/18 as it is though. There are so many 30/12 sorts of players in the 2nl pool.

Looking back on why yesterday went so badly it's quite obvious now. I was tired and I was stupidly playing 4 tables in mindless mouse clicking mode, overly reliant on charts and not thinking.

Sometimes I think going on autopilot should be enough at 2nl, but I have to accept I'm not good enough to do that. When I play two tables, focused and ditch all the charts I seem to do better. A bit more exploitative. Looking at my note on Villains and their stats.

Had an hour session this morning. Played a lot better. Ran my 2 tables up to 150bb just winning the sort of small pots I was losing yesterday.

I'm still not getting much like, right enough.

Majority of the time when I open with AA or KK I'm getting no action and nobody is opening before me when I have these hands either. The classic situation of sitting on the BTN or BB with AA and everyone folds.

Session didn't end in profit as lost two all ins against short stacks pre.

First one was on a GG cash drop table. Weak short stack opens and I 3bet. He jams for his remaining 45 bbs and I call with AKo versus his QJs. I had option to cash out 75% after the flop but declined as I think that's negative EV in the long term. Am I right? Sure enough, the turn card is a Jack and it holds on the river for Villian to win.

Other hand was my in SB v BB. I raise with AKs and 50bb villain re-raises to 10BB. I jam and he calls, showing Aces.

Gl with your journey! I am also on gg

Cheers man!

I love this game but I often wonder if I'm mentally resilient enough to succeed. I've read a few of these hard luck stories on here. "I'm very successful in my career." Check. "I've have a degree in mathematics." Check. "I play sub optimally for who knows what reason even though I know it's wrong." Check! I've run it up to taking a couple of shots at 5nl and then run it all the way back down to half bank roll again. Rinse and repeat. Variance is going to be worse when my win rate is only 2bb/100.

I am back to work tomorrow after summer holidays and we have a new born on the way later this month (our third).

Tomorrow morning 7am I'll be out a run and want to make it a daily habit again Monday to Saturday. Work well, family time and then try and grab an hour each midweek day to grind. Weekends are where I'll try and get some volume. But got a busy month ahead and family will always come ahead of Poker. But I am determined to succeed after years of 'pretending' to be good at this game.

An interesting hand from tonight's session:

GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

3814a836 (UTG): $5.78 (289 bb)
d1355195 (MP): $2.00 (100 bb)
bbd10912 (CO): $2.10 (105 bb)
7ea12e4c (BU): $2.00 (100 bb)
Hero (SB): $3.43 (172 bb)
37fbbb39 (BB): $2.07 (104 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero (Hero) is SB with Q♥ Q♣
2 players fold, bbd10912 (CO) raises to $0.05, 7ea12e4c (BU) calls $0.05, Hero (SB) calls $0.04, 37fbbb39 (BB) 3-bets to $0.30, 1 fold, 7ea12e4c (BU) calls $0.25, Hero (SB) 4-bets to $3.43 (all-in), 2 players fold

Total pot: $0.95 (Rake: $0.07)
Hero (SB) wins $0.88

Original raiser was playing VPIP/PFR of 4/3 so I decided to mix it up a bit and call. I almost never call in the SB but thought I'd get a wee bit creative. With 3 players in the pot already the BB decides to 3bet in the typical squeeze play. His stats showed a high 3bet%. When I see the original raiser fold I know I'm crushing the BTN who has now called twice, and I'm likely crushing the BB when I look at his stats. Decide to get it all-in, not minding if I get a call. Was hoping one of them would think I was just at it and call with TT or 99 etc.

What do you think? Is my logic ok? It's not how I'd usually play this hand. I'm not sure I won as much as I might have, had we got to the flop but I thought it was an interesting play for me to try.


Another hand that came up:

GGPoker, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

7e4fc795 (UTG): $1.65 (83 bb)
Hero (MP): $2.34 (117 bb)
17b48747 (CO): $3.75 (188 bb)
14102b6c (BU): $4.52 (226 bb)
d0d10bf1 (SB): $6.29 (315 bb)
1fb584b9 (BB): $2.00 (100 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero (Hero) is MP with K♣ K♥
7e4fc795 (UTG) raises to $0.04, Hero (MP) 3-bets to $0.14, 4 players fold, 7e4fc795 (UTG) calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.31) 8♠ K♦ Q♠ (2 players)
7e4fc795 (UTG) checks, Hero (MP) bets $0.16, 7e4fc795 (UTG) calls $0.16

Turn: ($0.63) 4♠ (2 players)
7e4fc795 (UTG) checks, Hero (MP) checks

River: ($0.63) T♣ (2 players)
7e4fc795 (UTG) bets $1.35 (all-in), Hero (MP) folds

Total pot: $0.63 (Rake: $0.06)
7e4fc795 (UTG) wins $0.57

I ran this in GTO wizard and it said I should have bet the turn 80% of the time and should have called the all in. The guy was playing 32/22 stats. I reckon that Axs is in his calling range for the 3bet. As is AJo. Have I played this terribly? It felt like it would have been a hero call, but having run it in GTO wizard I'm not so sure now.

Thoughts?

KK hand I agree to bet turn and River. Hand is too strong to fold.

Well, I had to step back from Poker again due to real world stuff. Our 3rd kid was born not long after I posted this thread. I played a few thousand hands at 2nl to get my head back in it and the past few days I've been playing 5nl and seem to be running well.



I stripped my game back, to being an Uber-nit, then gradually layered in basic ideas again like c-betting flops, and some turns, playing in position, stealing and defending blinds appropriately. I just wanted to stop losing money rapidly and then started to bring some profitable plays into the game. Sounds weird, but I had to learn to break even first before beginning to exploit. I'm playing about 17/15, but more aggressively than I would have in the past.

I cringe when I read some of the questions I asked above. Those situations seem like no-brainers to me now. The 5nl rush on gg is full of insane numbers of fish - I thought the days of seeing people playing 53/12 were long gone, but a lot of people just like the gamble. People paying off with Top Pair, weak kicker etc, the sort of daft things I used to do. I hope it's not just run-good, but all of the reading, study and practice I've put in, seems to be beginning to make a difference. It's a small sample, 5k hands, but I've turned a nice profit so far.

I still feel like I'm leaving money on the table sometimes. Laying down too many hands and not defending blinds enough. But most of my stats in PokerTracker leak tracker are in the "Good" range. I've got a lot more reading and study to do. Working on range analysis just now and beginning to think of a game tree for common spots I find myself in. C-betting the flop, in heads up pots, as the PFR in position is like printing money at this stake .

Will see how I can get on over the next few days and will post again. But hoping I've finally figured out the basics of micro stakes cash games.

Welcome back

Red line looks good. Keep going!

Good Luck mate, I've started dipping my toes into Cash on Party, ive noticed at 2nl its all about being tight and aggro i dont bluff to much!! they will call you down with anything haha.

Just read through this thread. Great stuff. I’m currently stuck in the micro stakes and hope I can learn a bit from you.


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