50nl+ and Life in 2021
01-08-2021
, 03:06 PM
What's up 2+2,
After spending a while lurking the PG&C subforum and enjoying many of the threads, I thought I’d start my own in the NY.
I’m a 22 y/o student in my final year @ university and playing poker in my spare time (currently 50nl on Stars).
Much of my poker journey thus far can be summarized as such: beat the micros -> withdraw and/or take a break from poker -> repeat. I’ve since broken this habit, moving out of the micros and beginning to take the game more seriously in hopes that I'm able to pursue poker in a more professional capacity once I graduate. Seeing some of the guys on here crush in 2020 is super inspiring, and testament to the fact that the dream is still very much alive.
50z results for the graph junkies out there:
Running @ 3.8bb/100 over my first 40k hands.
In terms of setting goals, I'm going to divide the year into two halves since I finish uni this summer and don't yet have any fully formed plans for after graduation (other than play more poker ofc).
January-June Goals:
[] 100k hands
[] Upgrade framework through regular study
[] Reach 100nl
[] Run a half marathon
[] Meditate x100
[] Graduate w a 2.1
Les goo!
After spending a while lurking the PG&C subforum and enjoying many of the threads, I thought I’d start my own in the NY.
I’m a 22 y/o student in my final year @ university and playing poker in my spare time (currently 50nl on Stars).
Much of my poker journey thus far can be summarized as such: beat the micros -> withdraw and/or take a break from poker -> repeat. I’ve since broken this habit, moving out of the micros and beginning to take the game more seriously in hopes that I'm able to pursue poker in a more professional capacity once I graduate. Seeing some of the guys on here crush in 2020 is super inspiring, and testament to the fact that the dream is still very much alive.
50z results for the graph junkies out there:
Running @ 3.8bb/100 over my first 40k hands.
In terms of setting goals, I'm going to divide the year into two halves since I finish uni this summer and don't yet have any fully formed plans for after graduation (other than play more poker ofc).
January-June Goals:
[] 100k hands
[] Upgrade framework through regular study
[] Reach 100nl
[] Run a half marathon
[] Meditate x100
[] Graduate w a 2.1
Les goo!
01-14-2021
, 07:53 PM
Thanks! 
Just going to drop this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JOOLipmMQ4. Caught most of it live but decided to give it another listen during my session tonight. Henry's perspective on a lot of things really resonates w me; I think it's a p insightful/entertaining conversation. Would rec.
So far I've played a few thousand hands and in the green. Will do a proper writeup soon, at the end of the month in summary if not before.
Just going to drop this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JOOLipmMQ4. Caught most of it live but decided to give it another listen during my session tonight. Henry's perspective on a lot of things really resonates w me; I think it's a p insightful/entertaining conversation. Would rec.
So far I've played a few thousand hands and in the green. Will do a proper writeup soon, at the end of the month in summary if not before.
01-24-2021
, 09:42 AM
Played this hand vs unk reg the other day and thought I'd take a look at it in the solver.
PokerStars - $0.50 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
Hero (BTN): $54.81 (109.6 bb)
SB: $131.57 (263.1 bb)
BB: $54.55 (109.1 bb)
UTG: $66.23 (132.5 bb)
MP: $66.83 (133.7 bb)
CO: $172.46 (344.9 bb)
SB posts $0.25, BB posts $0.50
Pre Flop: (pot: $0.75) Hero has 9 J
3 folds, Hero raises to $1.25, fold, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($2.75, 2 players) 9
5 2
BB checks, Hero bets $0.86, BB raises to $2.66, Hero calls $1.80
Turn: ($8.07, 2 players) 8
BB bets $10.74, Hero calls $10.74
River: ($29.55, 2 players) K
BB bets $39.90 and is all-in, Hero calls $39.90
I think that my flop sizing is suboptimal on this board. I'm currently studying this spot (IPvBB SRP) and looking to build more precision with my sizing's; I think that we prefer to bet slightly bigger on this board type, probably some middling 1/2-2/3 sizing. TPs bet at a frequency analogous to our overall frequency which is around half of the time. Frequencies shift from more often->less often moving from TPTK->TPWK, a super common pattern. J9o is supposed to bet around 40% of the time according to the solver. All of our pairs continue vs XR (J9 pure calling) since BB is supposed to XR these boards so liberally, close to/around 20% of the time.
vs the slight overbet on turn, many of our TPs start folding. We see the same sort of pattern as otf regarding kicker and frequencies, this time with folding frequencies increasing as we move from TPTK (A9) which continues most of the time -> TPWK (T9) which pure folds. 97s and 96s are in this case exceptions since these hands are always continuing holding additional equity with the gutshot. Holding the club (Jc9x) alongside your TP is generally conducive to folding more often, since we block flush draws. Suffice to say J9 even without the club is a close to pure fold ott according to the solver.
Most of the 9x that we do arrive otr with calls it off, with the exception of 96s which pure folds blocking bluffs in the form of 64 and 63s.
I think that we can fairly confidently assume that the 50z pool doesn't take this line (XR->overbet) often enough with bluffs, which makes folding ott even more attractive, especially since we are entirely uncapped here and have many better candidates to continue with.
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
Hero (BTN): $54.81 (109.6 bb)
SB: $131.57 (263.1 bb)
BB: $54.55 (109.1 bb)
UTG: $66.23 (132.5 bb)
MP: $66.83 (133.7 bb)
CO: $172.46 (344.9 bb)
SB posts $0.25, BB posts $0.50
Pre Flop: (pot: $0.75) Hero has 9
J3 folds, Hero raises to $1.25, fold, BB calls $0.75
Flop: ($2.75, 2 players) 9
5 2BB checks, Hero bets $0.86, BB raises to $2.66, Hero calls $1.80
Turn: ($8.07, 2 players) 8
BB bets $10.74, Hero calls $10.74
River: ($29.55, 2 players) K
BB bets $39.90 and is all-in, Hero calls $39.90
I think that my flop sizing is suboptimal on this board. I'm currently studying this spot (IPvBB SRP) and looking to build more precision with my sizing's; I think that we prefer to bet slightly bigger on this board type, probably some middling 1/2-2/3 sizing. TPs bet at a frequency analogous to our overall frequency which is around half of the time. Frequencies shift from more often->less often moving from TPTK->TPWK, a super common pattern. J9o is supposed to bet around 40% of the time according to the solver. All of our pairs continue vs XR (J9 pure calling) since BB is supposed to XR these boards so liberally, close to/around 20% of the time.
vs the slight overbet on turn, many of our TPs start folding. We see the same sort of pattern as otf regarding kicker and frequencies, this time with folding frequencies increasing as we move from TPTK (A9) which continues most of the time -> TPWK (T9) which pure folds. 97s and 96s are in this case exceptions since these hands are always continuing holding additional equity with the gutshot. Holding the club (Jc9x) alongside your TP is generally conducive to folding more often, since we block flush draws. Suffice to say J9 even without the club is a close to pure fold ott according to the solver.
Most of the 9x that we do arrive otr with calls it off, with the exception of 96s which pure folds blocking bluffs in the form of 64 and 63s.
I think that we can fairly confidently assume that the 50z pool doesn't take this line (XR->overbet) often enough with bluffs, which makes folding ott even more attractive, especially since we are entirely uncapped here and have many better candidates to continue with.
Spoiler:
Spoiler:
). T6hh is apparently supposed to be a pure fold otf which means that he is likely overbluffing and thus my calldown generates more EV shifting my hand from (low frequency) mixed continue on the turn and river at equilibrium -> pure call.
Last edited by VegasandtheMirage; 01-24-2021 at 09:50 AM.
01-24-2021
, 12:02 PM
01-24-2021
, 05:00 PM
02-02-2021
, 07:11 PM
January
Having deadlines scattered throughout January meant that I had a pretty slow start to the year poker-wise. Things felt fairly disorderly throughout the month both inside/outside of poker, which I think had certain adverse effects on my general performance. Found myself autopiloting some sessions for example, which just shouldn't be a thing playing this few hands. I want to focus on building consistency this month; I've outlined some routines which I'll try to implement throughout Feb to this end.
Managed to catch some heat and book a decent win this month nonetheless.
Graph
Stakes
Goal Progression + Aligned February Goals:
[] 100k hands. 6.5/100k hands played. Aiming for 10k hands MINIMUM this month.
[] Upgrade framework through regular study. Studied mainly IPvBB (SRP) in January, particularly IPs cbet frequencies and sizing's. Plan to continue to study this spot for now.
[] Reach 100nl. Played entirely 50z this month, other than one 25z session. Looking to try out some 100nl (reg tables) soon.
[] Run a half marathon. Ran semi-regularly, but p pathetic distances mostly. Want to run a 10k this month.
[] Meditate x100. 10/100 meditations. Meditate >10x in Feb?
[] Graduate w a 2.1. Wrote some essays of dubious quality...
Gl this month guys
Having deadlines scattered throughout January meant that I had a pretty slow start to the year poker-wise. Things felt fairly disorderly throughout the month both inside/outside of poker, which I think had certain adverse effects on my general performance. Found myself autopiloting some sessions for example, which just shouldn't be a thing playing this few hands. I want to focus on building consistency this month; I've outlined some routines which I'll try to implement throughout Feb to this end.
Managed to catch some heat and book a decent win this month nonetheless.
Graph
Stakes
Goal Progression + Aligned February Goals:
[] 100k hands. 6.5/100k hands played. Aiming for 10k hands MINIMUM this month.
[] Upgrade framework through regular study. Studied mainly IPvBB (SRP) in January, particularly IPs cbet frequencies and sizing's. Plan to continue to study this spot for now.
[] Reach 100nl. Played entirely 50z this month, other than one 25z session. Looking to try out some 100nl (reg tables) soon.
[] Run a half marathon. Ran semi-regularly, but p pathetic distances mostly. Want to run a 10k this month.
[] Meditate x100. 10/100 meditations. Meditate >10x in Feb?
[] Graduate w a 2.1. Wrote some essays of dubious quality...
Gl this month guys
Last edited by VegasandtheMirage; 02-02-2021 at 07:34 PM.
02-20-2021
, 06:54 PM
Played a mix of games so far this month; put in some hands at 100z as well as in some app games (PokerBros). Unsure on what sites/stakes I will be playing on a consistent basis moving forward, hopefully I can figure that one out by the end of the month (likely w a nudge from variance (regarding stakes) in either direction lol). Full update to come then.
02-28-2021
, 12:58 PM
February
Decent month all in all, just about managed to complete all of my aligned goals. Things were going well at 100z up until yd where I had my biggest losing day so far in poker, roughly -700$ which reset my profit at the stake. I think that my play was reasonable, and that the loss was for the most part a result of my tendency to push marginal spots in combination with poor card distribution. Shrug, according to my BRM I still have a few BIs to play w. Will be continuing (returning) to play on Stars exclusively for now, my decision to do so being a reflection of my current priorities (learning>earning). I think that for me, the platform (nice software + tougher games) is generally conducive to improving more quickly than if I were to play elsewhere.
Graph
Stakes
Scraped 10k hands total playing untracked, where I made $260 ($130 after splitting) playing 20-60nl.
A slow 10k, but a 10k nonetheless. Lifetime PR distance run (being new to running), happy w this one.
March: more 100nl, study, running, meditation/mindfulness, and uni work ig, smh.
Decent month all in all, just about managed to complete all of my aligned goals. Things were going well at 100z up until yd where I had my biggest losing day so far in poker, roughly -700$ which reset my profit at the stake. I think that my play was reasonable, and that the loss was for the most part a result of my tendency to push marginal spots in combination with poor card distribution. Shrug, according to my BRM I still have a few BIs to play w. Will be continuing (returning) to play on Stars exclusively for now, my decision to do so being a reflection of my current priorities (learning>earning). I think that for me, the platform (nice software + tougher games) is generally conducive to improving more quickly than if I were to play elsewhere.
Graph
Stakes
Scraped 10k hands total playing untracked, where I made $260 ($130 after splitting) playing 20-60nl.
A slow 10k, but a 10k nonetheless. Lifetime PR distance run (being new to running), happy w this one.
March: more 100nl, study, running, meditation/mindfulness, and uni work ig, smh.
04-08-2021
, 03:35 PM
March/Q1
Had an unfortunate run last month which has cast me back to 50nl for the time being. My play has been reasonable, but not great; I think that my A-game is likely doing well at 50nl and perhaps even 100, but a lot of fluctuation still exists in my play. Noticed that I’ve been neglecting some of the introspective aspects of my game recently, like reviewing hands. On this front I’m going to review at least one of my HHs per day as a gateway habit (s/o Lethiferous's blog for the idea), with the intention of reviewing all pots >10bb. Also starting to spend some time improving my understanding of stats so that I can better analyze my game, as well as others (and actually expand my HUD stats beyond VPIP/PFR/3Bet).
In other news, I played some hands over on GG (everyone knows that changing sites offsets a downswing), started a volume accountability thing w a friend (each of us need to provide proof of 1k+ hands/day) in order to normalize playing more hands, and have consulted with a few different CFPs. Continuing to study, run and meditate regularly
. Onto results...
2021 (Stars Only)
My graph featuring a casual cliff edge which has emerged over the last 12k or so hands
. Glgl!
Had an unfortunate run last month which has cast me back to 50nl for the time being. My play has been reasonable, but not great; I think that my A-game is likely doing well at 50nl and perhaps even 100, but a lot of fluctuation still exists in my play. Noticed that I’ve been neglecting some of the introspective aspects of my game recently, like reviewing hands. On this front I’m going to review at least one of my HHs per day as a gateway habit (s/o Lethiferous's blog for the idea), with the intention of reviewing all pots >10bb. Also starting to spend some time improving my understanding of stats so that I can better analyze my game, as well as others (and actually expand my HUD stats beyond VPIP/PFR/3Bet).
In other news, I played some hands over on GG (everyone knows that changing sites offsets a downswing), started a volume accountability thing w a friend (each of us need to provide proof of 1k+ hands/day) in order to normalize playing more hands, and have consulted with a few different CFPs. Continuing to study, run and meditate regularly
. Onto results...2021 (Stars Only)
My graph featuring a casual cliff edge which has emerged over the last 12k or so hands
. Glgl!
04-08-2021
, 07:03 PM
Nice reflection, good goals, and I love building accountability with friends! Good luck at the tables
04-09-2021
, 02:05 PM
Quote:
March/Q1
In other news, I played some hands over on GG (everyone knows that changing sites offsets a downswing), started a volume accountability thing w a friend (each of us need to provide proof of 1k+ hands/day) in order to normalize playing more hands, and have consulted with a few different CFPs. Continuing to study, run and meditate regularly.
In other news, I played some hands over on GG (everyone knows that changing sites offsets a downswing), started a volume accountability thing w a friend (each of us need to provide proof of 1k+ hands/day) in order to normalize playing more hands, and have consulted with a few different CFPs. Continuing to study, run and meditate regularly
.
Sounds like you have a really solid plan, and can also vouch that poaching ideas from Lethiferous is a great approach to life. Gl, keep the updates coming!