Thanks for this guys, I've started messing about with HUD-world and doing some research into these preflop stats.

What do you think is a decent hand sample size for attempt to steal and/or fold to steal? I've looked around and opinions seem to range from 100-500. Black Rain suggests a generic 100 (hmm) whilst Grinders Manual sways more towards 300-500, although he doesn't list those specific stats. I've noticed my own stats aren't really converging until the 1k+ range though.

Might be a while until I get decent data given I reset my database at the start of this challenge. Tho I guess the principles can be applied hudless somewhat.

And as far as the attempt to steal goes, we're looking to attack/over-defend anything above 40ish, does that sound about right?

I'll be setting my HUD to only display required # of hands to avoid distractions. I've also ony just realised a great way to practice all this is in replayer, where you can watch the hands play out without pressure and compare outcomes. Fun fun.

Excellent. Can't remember if I said but I use the word 'four' instead of fold because I've noticed VA picks it a bit better (less false positives) and it's kinda easier to say. You can just sort of bark it out as a minimal grunt. 'Fuh', 'Fuh', 'Fuh'. Also, a fold hotkey tied to a usb pedal or gamepad goes a long way to mitigate voice/fold fatigue when it gets too much. GL back

Good time to sack off the smoke. A 3.5 has gone up to £30 in my part of Wales and, even then, good stuff is as rare as hen's teeth.

Good luck w/ the cash. How you finding the hud?

<cough> <cough> cryptocurrency is a marvellous invention <hic>

Enjoying the HUD on some practice cash tables, but lack of convergence is a real problem. Gotta get that volume up before I melt to death.

I know what you mean but I've been extra paranoid about sourcing bud from the dark web because pungency seems to be a good indicator of strength, making the best stuff more likely to be confiscated. Also, I've seen decent strains like wedding cake on there and it's going for like over 20 notes a gram if you count fees.

Nice that you're enjoying the hud. I prefer assiduous note taking, personally, but I agree that's obviously better with hud than without.

In all honesty, never lost a package to the sniff in over a decade + vacuum sealed seems standard from the big boys but aye, you won't beat <£10/g without going bulk if that's your usual. Plus conversion rates/fees etc

Where I used to live my landlady used to thoughtfully bring me my packages in the morning and place them right outside my bedroom door in the morning. 24hr delivery from screen to lung. Heaven.

I have to chime in here. A friend of mine has sourced tens of thousands of bud from dark web. Pounds at a time. Never had an issue. Make sure you find a vendor that's been around a while and is known for good opsec. Double vac seal and mylar eliminates the smell. My friend is in US though so not sure how risky international mail is.

Feels nice to be in Canada. The good stuff, legal. *sip maple syrup"

Sorry for derail! I was more worried about dodgy packaging or dogs at major/notorious postal sorting offices. I've never had a package go missing either but I only made ~10 orders for myself and ~5 for a mate - even then I'm super paranoid if I see a new car in the street on the day or whilst I watch the postman walk up the other side of the street first

That law is mad. It will never happen here.

funt - good OPSEC important for peace of mind but even then, really not to worry mate. They just don't have the resources/inclination to ever go after piddling amounts of weed (or even pills for that matter). Worse that could ever happen is a love letter (confiscation), but even that's practically unheard of these days. So I'm told anyway

SK - oh ffs

Agree about the lack of resources - it's almost impossible to get caught. Just hope nothing bad happens to you!

Ok, kind of a crazy month in Endor so things are shifting for me poker-wise.

Some cat thing came up IRL that I needed the money for and, once again, I've spent my entire BR (doh!). The curse of my entire micro-career. However, I'm taking this moment to really think about my approach and strategy to the game.

Thanks to improving health regimes I did reach my 5k hands/day target as a proof of concept this week and I really enjoyed it tbh...4-table zoom is definitely my favourite format experientially but... man.... 5-6hrs grinding every day is still pretty taxing psychologically. And it eats into your life just like any proper job. I'd somehow forgotten that bit. So I'm thinking about reducing to 2-3k as a goal long term, to preserve sanity and curiosity.

Anyway, after breaking even at 10z for 70k hands I've decided I'm still making way too many stupid fish plays that really could take place at any stake, so with that and the BR issues I'm dropping back down to 2nlz with a $10 BR and starting again (weeee).

The truth is: I want to make my grind effortless, automatic, and that means getting more and more used to playing unconscious A-game regardless of opponents or stakes. But at high speed too, so that I have time in my life to learn other things. I also think zoom is a more instructive format for me to master. Once I can consistently beat 4-table 25z online I think then I will finally be ready for 50nl cash and 1/2+ live. And that's my ultimate goal.

So, as much as 2nlz/5nlz fish will do my absolute head in, I also need to know that I can always drop down to zero and grind up from scratch. I need to know I can do that. And I may as well do it now while my life can accommodate it.

New plan, ~60k hands/month, 20BI per stake, starting from the start

Let's go (again).

BAnkroll: $10

New start gl with it !!! If you want we could set some hand review sesh next week. I will try to mark hands.

Sounds good SK. You on the discord/telegram? I'll DM you

Bonjour bonjour gents

Over a week into <cross the finger> my final final detox and I'm already going nutso with the gnawing tedium of sobriety™ so it's time to blog and play poker 'properly' again. Hurrah.

Been dabbling sporadically but nothing consistently over 1k/day. Bit of study (alright, I've been watching stuff), but I think my game is finally improving now that I've dropped stakes and started concentrating on playing solid dispassionate microstakes poker rather than unnecessary trying-to-impress the non existent ladies gto poker.

So, for completionist sake, here was my final 10nlz nothing burger g before I obliterated my BR and had to retire and rewire in a haze of delicious skunk:




And here is my latest sparkling 2nlz graph since I started 4 tabling all sober and focusing on enjoying the game again:



Get in there.

Obviously... under no illusions cos 2nlz and I'd be surprised if I struggled there. Yet, nonetheless quite pleased with my elevating red and overall attitude. I think my ideal setup going forward is to 4-table in 1 hour chunks -----which is about the limit of my concentration. But..with just enough action to keep me from doing stupid punty stuff.

Compartmentalization, I think, is the key to both the mental and the energy game.



Developing a few 4x zoom rules:

1. One hour play max, no exceptions
2. No checking the replayer while playing. Let the tracker catch it
3. No wasted thought patterns. Like 'hey, am i up today? or 'wtf did fish call with?' etc etc. LET THE TRACKER CATCH IT

PLANS:

Not exactly any wiser on my place in the game beyond 'so so microstakes player'. That's to be expected because we're always in flux ability-wise and I haven't played many hands anyway. Still all to play for.

I'm definitely not a 50nl crusher, and I aint no 2nl fish either. But there's still time!!

I'd like to get up to at least 2-3k/day ideally. 3 hours zoom sounds perfect. I'm going to keep adding volume and start posting hands and interacting with the forums again. Slowly at first, but then.. ravishingly.

IRL - GOT to earn some proper money again so I'm off to the eazy streets of UK online cash poker on Sky which will take up about 2-3hrs/day. Very doable. (My main issue playing cash is boredom given it's order of magnitudes lower in quality and interest than even 2nlz . But needs must. Plus learning how to cope with being surrounded by weaker players is it's own skill that I have to master.)

****************

All in all this challenge is almost certainly going to stretch into next year but it always was. I'm not the quickest learner of poker in the world but I am somewhat committed and if it takes a couple more years or whatever to get to 50nl and be 'safe' then so be it. Some things are worth it.

Let's see how fun the final quarter goes!

GL out there. Thar. Thee. All.

That's awesome that you are back and crushing again. Your red line at 2z is sick. I wouldn't waste much time there I would try and go back to 5z or 10z as soon as possible.

Feel free to shoot me a message on discord sometime if you want someone to sweat you.

There you go. A very nice graph. I agree those are the lines your competition envy. Go out there and get it.

Cheers D/SK. Looking to return to 10nlz ASAP and test out the new moves. + be up for a sweat sometime October if health continues the good run.

How was the month Ceres?

September not bad but not so hot as August:



I'm getting call happy again as I add in more volume basically. There's something in the way I think when I'm under 4-table time pressure that means I'm evaluating the hand way too early, or overruling my presumptions with 'no way fish has it' hubris. Mistakes I'd never make if I had a peaceful mindset.

There are some very crazy cats at 2nlz, you really can't switch off and coast like you'd think because it's a circus. These are from last sess:


PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 182 BB
SB: 100 BB
BB: 216 BB
UTG: 159.5 BB
MP: 508 BB
CO: 137 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP raises to 3.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 10.5 BB, fold, fold, MP calls 7 BB

Flop: (22.5 BB, 2 players) Q 7 A
MP checks, Hero bets 7 BB, MP raises to 497.5 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 164.5 BB and is all-in

Turn: (365.5 BB, 2 players) 9

River: (365.5 BB, 2 players) 3

MP shows A 5 (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 27%, Flop 11%, Turn 7%)
Hero shows A K (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 73%, Flop 89%, Turn 93%)
Hero wins 352.5 BB





This one I messed up and should've snap folded but I could not put him on this hand in game:


PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 111 BB
BB: 104 BB
UTG: 112.5 BB
MP: 119.5 BB
CO: 101 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 2.5 BB, fold, CO calls 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, fold, UTG calls 7.5 BB, CO calls 7.5 BB

Flop: (31.5 BB, 3 players) J T 4
UTG checks, CO checks, Hero bets 10 BB, fold, CO calls 10 BB

Turn: (51.5 BB, 2 players) 3
CO checks, Hero bets 19 BB, CO raises to 38 BB, Hero raises to 80 BB and is all-in, CO calls 42 BB

River: (211.5 BB, 2 players) J

CO shows 3 3 (Full House, Threes full of Jacks)
(Pre 19%, Flop 13%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows Q Q (Two Pair, Queens and Jacks)
(Pre 81%, Flop 87%, Turn 5%)
CO wins 204 BB

*****************

Not complaining of course and enjoying the education.

Move up. QQ hand is fine.

Ta but Ceres is still a calling fish is the real issue. He marks 5+ hands a day because they're obv, embarrassing folds off grid. 1000bb+ leaks. Much rather iron them out down here where stacks are easily replenished.

My theory is sound, my execution is what needs the work. imho

I can relate a lot to this. For a while when I was back at 10 zoom, my biggest issue is that I couldn't make folds when I knew I was beat.

I think it was part of the mental game stuff I did in the Elliott Roe course that helped me overcome it. But even now from time to time I find myself struggling to make the fold when I know that it's the right decision.

Move up to where you respect your own folds.

Haha