Hello 2+2,

I did one of these challenges awhile ago, and barely made it past a month before going on tilt. I quit poker for the better part of two years, but couldn't give it up, and I am back playing recreation-ally. I (again) want to take poker more seriously and improve my game over the course of time. Playing for fun is great, but I feel my skill is stagnant when I don't take it seriously. I would really appreciate any feedback on my plan of attack as outlined below. I understand things will likely not go according to plan, but you can't find where you are going if you don't have a road map. Or something like that.

I have played poker for fun for the last 12 years, and have probably played in the neighborhood of 100-120k in my lifetime. I know this definitely isn't a ton of hands, but enough to give me a solid grasp of the game at the micro level. Again, please comment on any or all of the outline below, it would be much appreciated!

Goal - 50NL by end of August ($1,250 or 25 BI)
Start - 25BI at 25NL ($625)

Plan:
Play 4 tables of 25NL at a 6BB/100 hand clip and average 80 hands per hour.

6BB/100 or 4.8BB/80 Hands
320 hands per hour= 19.2BB or $4.80/hr.
$625/$4.80= 130hrs
130 hours over two months=65/mo. or 16.25hrs/wk.

Again, I know wins and losses are not linear, but this is just a guideline. I feel like I can beat the game at a higher rate if I stay disciplined, but I went with 6BB to be maybe a little conservative.

Questions:
1. Does anyone have a recommendation for a good micro-stakes coach? I don't really like the online videos because it is more difficult to ask questions, and then additional questions from answered provided from a blog or forum.

2. Does Ignition Poker allow HUDS?

3. What do you guys use to review hands? I used to use Universal Replayer but last time I tried that with Bovada it didn't work. Maybe I'm an idiot and couldn't figure it out.

4. What is a good equity calculator? I used to have one but can't remember the name of it.

Thank you in advance,

So it has been a little while since I created this thread and just wanted to give everyone an update to where I am at. Even though no one is probably subscribed to this thread I want to keep a journal for myself.

I was at Canterbury Park in Minneapolis last weekend and ended up 6 way chopping a $180 BI tourney for $1,400. After spending some of the cash, I have about $1,000 left over, and will be using this to supplement my starting BR.

I have played some tournaments and cash games on Ignition, but nothing to track or report. Tournament have always been my strong suit, so I wish I could play more of them, but cash games are so much easier to plan my weeks around, that I need to stick to cash for my end goal. I'd like to mix in some tournaments on the weekends, however with the limited amount of time I plan to play, I think I should just stick to cash.

I am going to get everything setup tonight and buy-in the $625 on Ignition. More to come..

I ended up buying into Betonline as I like to be able to track other players stats over the course of time, rather than just per session on anon tables. I ended up buying a small card table, cheap chair, and a 32'' monitor today for poker grinding.

I played just over 1k hands today, and it is fairly evident I have A LOT to work on in my game. One of the biggest leaks I have is calling value bets OTR. I paid off quite a few players today, even though I had a good feeling I was behind. I am going to post a couple hands in the forums, and will probably post the majority of my hands there, until I get some people following this thread (if ever).

Technically, I only lost one BI today, but that was spread over two sessions, and a $50 bonus. I was at $600 before I started my second session, and ended up at $475 before I thought it was time to quit. My tilt got to me for about 3 minutes, and then I pushed it to the side, and was able to focus on the present game. This was probably my greatest strength/positive note of the session.

Starting BR - $500
Current BR - $475
1k Hands
Win Rate - Negative

Be careful playing 25nl with 20bi, one bad session could decimate your roll, 10bi swings aren't uncommon

gl

Appreciate the advice. What would you suggest the minimum bankroll?

Depends on how tough your games are. On stars I wouldn't play with less than 700~ and be willing to drop down and rebuild if you got close to 500

If you beat the games below and actually drop down there is absolutely no need for this. Even something like 10BI works fine as long as you are going to drop down if you hit 10BI for the level below (and repeat) this way you can actually shot take and move up a hell of a lot quicker and have effectively a 0 chance of going bust.

There are some mental game aspects that can dictate whether this works for individuals but it's certainly not bad and I struggle to see how it doesn't result in moving up as quickly as possible.

Each to their own. Saying things like "If you can beat the level below there's no need for more than 10bi and you'll never go bust this way" is bad advice because you cannot predict variance and there's no certainty in poker. In 2010 I would agree with you but not anymore, games are tougher and as a result variance is much higher.

I used to implement a 20bi strategy for 25nl but there's no way I'd do it anymore. We can agree to disagree.

Sorry no agreeing to disagree. I assume you have misunderstood so I will explain in more detail.

$250 is 10BI at 25nl, if we drop to $160 we drop down (so ~4BI shot)
$160 is 10BI at 16nl, if we drop to $100 we drop down (so ~4BI shot)
$100 is 10BI at 10nl, if we drop to $50 we drop down (so 5BI shot)
$50 is 10BI at 5nl, if we drop down to $20 we drop down (so 6BI shot)
If we drop down to $0 we are bust (10BI shot)

If you are a winner at 25nl you are a bigger winner at 16nl, etc to the point where you should be crushing 5nl and 2nl so much that those swings are effectively 0. This method actually allows you to shot take effectively with very little risk to your roll. If OP is winning at 6bb/100 then 10BI downswings happen very rarely but OP almost definitely isn't winning at those rates unless he should be crushing much higher or has a special site to play on.

If you're a mental game fish, the type to build up a 2k roll and then tilt it off, then this method would probably be a bad idea for you as you wouldn't move down but then again so is having a poker roll at all.

You might not bust your roll but you'll decimate it if you go on a 20k hand downswing using a 10BI strategy. I'm a solid winner at 25z but recently had a 12bi downswing, it does happen and it happens more frequently than you might think.

As for your mental game fish comment which I assume are personal jabs, a couple of yrs ago you were talking like a fish new to 5nlz. It's very easy to take shots at people without posting your own graphs or ability to win in the games. Oh look, you were using 100$ for 5NL zoom.

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...98/?highlight=

Out of interest for the OP I'm done replying and bringing this thread off topic.

Yeah I am going to move down if I hit around $350. I like the aggressive shot taking structure. I did incorporate two tables of 10NL today along with 2-3 tables of 25NL today.

Do either of you have any good articles for playing 3bet pots?

Thanks for the commentary btw,

I was under the assumption good players win at 8 or 10 bb/100. Maybe that was back in 2010 as well.

I've made somewhat of an adjustment to my playing schedule. I don't feel terribly confident in my game, and actually think my overall strategy was a little dated. I used to think a "value-town" plus volume strategy would have been enough to escape 25nl, but I am now going to try and balance my ranges a little more.

I am a little leery about this strategy because I still don't think players are adjusting to other players very much, but from what I've read, a balanced strategy is needed in the micros so I am going to employ it.

If anyone is following, any thoughts?

Just got done playing for 2.5 hours and probably played 600 hands or so. I felt like my game was more on point and I tightened up my calling range pre-flop which really helped me stay out of unfavorable positions. There was a guy on tilt that was stuck for 3bi, so I wasn't thrilled with quitting the session, but I really wanted to book a win. Booking a win is definitely a leak of mine, however I need to build my confidence in my game and that helped me do it.

Overall I think my play was fairly standard, and I don't think I made many mistakes. I did squeeze with A10s from the SB against a CO raise and BU call. Flopped a gut shot, and ended up betting about half pot. BU called and he hit his flush and I hit my turn straight, so I ended up losing a BI there. I don't hate the play pre, just ended up getting into a cooler situation.

Overall I'd rank my play at an A
Bankroll - $500 (back to even)

I didn't read the debate but will show how I do moving up/down.

Move up to $16nl w/$320 (20bi)
Move down to $10 w/$200 (have 20bi when moving down)
You get the idea.

Yeah, I want to be a little aggressive, but I will only move up/take shots if I feel comfortable with my game. Right now I am planning on taking a 3BI shot at 50nl, once I get to $900 or 18 BI.

I played another 2 hour session tonight, for a total amount of 4.5 hrs. played today. My bankroll is at $540 so I am up $70 or almost 3BI today. I know winning cures everything, and gives an artificial sense of confidence in your ability, but I really feel good about my game; definitely I've ever felt about it actually. I have not been getting in as many rough spots, and in general things seem to be working.

I really wish holdem indicator had a way to convert the hand history into a more readable format so I could make this thread a little more interesting. I am going to post a couple hands, so hopefully people don't mind the somewhat difficult format.

Overall today - played B+
Bankroll - $540
BI Needed to take shots - 14

CULaw2009(SB) $12.16 - VP:45 PFR:24 AF:1.7 W:33|75 STL:60|100 3B:0|50 CB:50|33 N:-13.09 Hands:29
Me(BB) $25 - VP:22 PFR:21 AF:2.0 W:9|50 STL:50|73 3B:13|100 CB:38|33 N:-28.11 Hands:117
yannisthedonnis(UTG) $27.93 - VP:53 PFR:16 AF:3.9 W:19|40 STL:26|27 3B:12|40 CB:75|42 N:10.34 Hands:116
grilledSardine(MP) $33.69 - VP:28 PFR:18 AF:1.2 W:29|33 STL:56|54 3B:2|33 CB:57|33 N:7.84 Hands:95
Endlösung(CO) $24.65 - VP:8 PFR:4 AF: W:0| STL:0|100 3B:0| CB:|100 N:-1.55 Hands:24
15A18M(BTN) $26.22 - VP:11 PFR:0 AF:Inf. W:0| STL:|100 3B:0| CB: N:1.22 Hands:9


Pre Flop: Me(BB) with [Jc,9h]
Villain (UTG) calls 0.25, grilledSardine(MP) folds, Endlösung(CO) folds, 15A18M(BTN) folds, CULaw2009(SB) calls 0.15, Me(BB) checks

Flop: (2c,Jh,8c) (3 players)
CULaw2009(SB) checks, Me(BB) bets 0.50, yannisthedonnis(LP) calls 0.50, CULaw2009(SB) folds

Turn: 9s (2 players)
Me(BB) checks, yannisthedonnis(LP) bets 0.83, Me(BB) raises 2.91, yannisthedonnis(LP) calls 2.08

River: Td (2 players)
Me(BB) checks, yannisthedonnis(LP) bets 3.58, Me(BB) calls 3.58

Final:
yannisthedonnis(UTG) shows [Js,Qh]
Me(BB) mucks [Jc,9h]
yannisthedonnis(UTG) wins 13.92

This guy was somewhat maniacal as evidenced by his 53/16 VPIP/PFR and an aggression factor above 3. However he ended up having the top of his range a couple times in a row against me. I think he is betting missed FD and one pairs here some of the time, and I was getting pretty good odds to call. This hand I didn't mind too much. The next one is a little more goofy though.

CULaw2009(BTN) $11.91 - VP:43 PFR:23 AF:1.7 W:33|75 STL:60|100 3B:0|50 CB:50|33 N:-13.09 Hands:30
Me(SB) $25 - VP:23 PFR:21 AF:2.5 W:13|33 STL:52|73 3B:13|100 CB:43|33 N:-33.80 Hands:118
yannisthedonnis(BB) $34.61 - VP:53 PFR:16 AF:3.2 W:20|45 STL:26|26 3B:12|40 CB:75|38 N:15.40 Hands:117
grilledSardine(UTG) $33.69 - VP:28 PFR:18 AF:1.2 W:29|33 STL:56|54 3B:2|33 CB:57|33 N:7.84 Hands:96
Endlösung(MP) $24.65 - VP:8 PFR:4 AF: W:0| STL:0|100 3B:0| CB:|100 N:-1.55 Hands:25
15A18M(CO) $26.22 - VP:10 PFR:0 AF:Inf. W:0| STL:|100 3B:0| CB: N:1.22 Hands:10


Pre Flop: Me(SB) with [Th,Td]
grilledSardine(UTG) folds, Endlösung(MP) folds, 15A18M(CO) folds, CULaw2009(BTN) folds, Me(SB) raises 0.65, yannisthedonnis(BB) calls 0.50

Flop: (7h,Js,Jd) (2 players)
Me(SB) bets 0.95, yannisthedonnis(BB) calls 0.95

Turn: 7s (2 players)
Me(SB) bets 1.61, yannisthedonnis(BB) calls 1.61

River: Ad (2 players)
Me(SB) bets 2.38, yannisthedonnis(BB) calls 2.38

Final:
Me(SB) shows [Th,Td]
yannisthedonnis(BB) shows [4h,As]
yannisthedonnis(BB) wins 10.75

Same villain as last hand (maniacal guy to my left). I think I could have made some money off of him if I stayed at the tables, but games were breaking fairly regularly so I decided to call it a night.

As far as the hand goes, I feel like I had him until the river. I didn't like my river bet, as he isn't calling me with worse hardly ever here. But his continuing range had been so wide, and I had a read that he was raising his big hands and would continue with medium strength hands too far into hands.

Good luck for your question on articles about playing 3bet pots i'm sure there was one on the upswing poker website - just google upswing poker - in the free resources area. (As well as a hand converter, not sure if it will work for you but worth a try)

Great, thank you!

Sunday Update:

So I was reading Phil Galfond's "Ask Me Anything" thread from back in 2007 last night (great great read, I will upload the link here if anyone is wanting it), and he mentioned he started taking shots at the nosebleeds with only 10BI. I was feeling pretty good about my game, and wanted to play a little 50NL; because if Galfond can play nosebleeds with 10BI why can't I play 50NL with just one BI. The worst that could happen would be I lose $50 and be back to even for the weekend. Well I ended up playing three pots, and the most notable one was against a Platinum (4 of 5 stars) player on BetOnline who had literally played 18 of 22 hands, and limped every single pot. The player to his left was also limping every single hand, and the one player to the right was isolating the two limps about 75% of the time.

So with my JJ, I 3bet the isolated raise, the one limper decided to mini-4 bet, and at this time I was convinced I was going to shove because of his playing style. And snap calls with 78o and the board runs out 9932J, and I take down a $120 pot!

I really don't want to be making it a habit to hop into 50NL games, but taking the risk paid off, which I am of course grateful for.

So overall this weekend I went from ~$470 to $630 or a 5BI weekend. I am not too sure how much I will be playing today as I have to get stuff ready for the week, and have been hanging out with a lady friend who I might spend some time with as well. Also, I plan on starting to work out. I used to be good about getting to the gym 4 days a week, but I just moved to Minneapolis, MN and haven't put in the effort to get back into the swing of things.

Did you find the article/hand history converter on the site?

Yeah. I appreciate the suggestion but it didn't work. Holdem Indicator is really a POS.

Tuesday Update:
I 4/5 tabled for about two hours after work today was up 1.6 BI's. I felt like the session went pretty well except for one hand (I really really really wish I had a better format to post hands, but Holdem Indicator is such garbage.)

Anyway, the BB cold-called my 3 bet from the SB, called my flop bet, and re-raised all in on a 10high board. I had JJ, (now) figure I am beat here 90% of the time, but got AI as I had about half a stack left. Ending up losing to KK. Then my KK lost a stack to AA in a blind v blind battle.

Other than the two losses I felt pretty good about taking $60 from a fish in about 45 minutes, and then feel like I played pretty well otherwise. I haven't had a session like this before where I was up 1.6BI in two hours and was basically even when stacks got in. I am hoping it is because I am playing better, and not just run good, but who knows.

My biggest leak showed again tonight as I was up, and wanted to look at my bankroll (something I never do until the session is over). I was getting a little gassed after playing 1k hands, which I know isn't a ton. But I felt like my A game was slipping and I could possibly be declining to a B game shortly, so I felt it was good to get off the virtual felt.

Anyway, I'll post that JJ hand if I can find it.

BR - $647
Overall play - B-
Confindence - 6.5