JAN. 25/23 — LATE NIGHT UPDATE!

I have relatively big news that will change how I approach playing online poker in the future.

It has come to my attention that while playing, all forms of software that are used for one's advantage are strictly prohibited by Bodog/Bovada/Ignition. I had no idea that this was the case as the providers of such software advertise on 2+2, Twitch, and other sites that promote poker. As a result, I will not be using programs like Ignition Card Catcher or Jurojin while playing on Bodog.

Additionally, I will also likely not be using a randomizer as I feel doing so gives one an advantage.

As someone who leans on software, including an RNG, this may be a very difficult transition for me. I use randomizers more than most profitable players, RNGing preflop, flop, turn, and river spots. I will need to be very patient with myself mentally through the process of not relying on randomizing (along with other software). This change will require me to develop new heuristics to ensure relative balance in different nodes, as in theory, a large proportion of hands mix between actions preflop and on the flop. Also, everything will appear in dollar amounts as opposed to big blinds which will require me to be sharper with my bet and raise sizes, especially since I will not have the buttons provided by Jurojin.

Despite having some anxiety initially, I can potentially turn grapes into wine, considering that I am now incentivized to improve upon my understanding of spots on the flop and turn so that I maintain proper betting and raising frequencies (and combo selection). Though, without Jurojin, it will be annoying when it comes to the table display.

Fortunately, the games on Bodog are completely anonymous so it will be difficult to exploit the inevitable changes to my game. I also play on PartyPoker Ontario, but the games are soft enough to where I expect to have a pretty decent win-rate regardless.

On to some results...



Of course, there isn't that much to take away considering I am only 7.5K hands in. I have been seemingly running a tad bit under EV as my All-in Adjusted EV is sitting at about 6.5bb/100. I also take positivity in the fact that my WWSF in HU pots is over 50% and my Average All-in Equity is 47.5% whereas this stat was at 54% at 200nl. This may suggest that I have marginally gotten the short end of the stick in all-in situations. It is also possible that I am just a losing player and have been running well, but I prefer to believe that I am profitable until proven otherwise.

Time for me to go to bed.

FEB. 3/23 — JANUARY SUMMARY

Bodog:



PartyPoker:



WSOP.ca:



Hands Played: 27290
Planned Hands: 29760
Hands +/-: -2470

Total Winnings: +$2709.72
All-in Adjusted: +$5939.51

Win-Rate: +3.53bb/100
All-in Adjusted: +6.01bb/100

500nl+ Win-Rate: +1.12bb/100
All-in Adjusted: +5.81bb/100

I am relatively happy with January. Although it is very early days, I am not getting crushed at 500nl! I've even played a bit of 1knl when games were good. Of course, I have been running below all-in adjusted EV, but I ran well at 200nl so I cannot complain. The main thing to focus on is putting more volume in. I am behind on volume thus far and I have yet to even play live. So I will surely need to increase my online volume to make time to focus on live poker so I can accumulate 500 hours at the live felt in 2023. I also have been following my fitness goals, running for a distance of 140km last month.

Let's see what February offers!

Very nice results!!

I am curious, why play on Bodog when you can play the partyON pool? Surely it is much much softer, no?

The sites are relatively comparable. Perhaps, Party is a bit softer, especially at 200nl.

The issue with PartyON is they don't have any 500nl, so at the moment, I only play on Party when good 1knl games are running or when I just want to join extra tables (and then pop open 1-2 200nl tables).

Though, I am considering playing more on WSOP.ca, depending on how much net rakeback I get.

FEB. 8/23 — 20K Hands into 500NL+ Shot

I had a very good session earlier today, which has boosted my win-rate. Here are my results through 20K hands:

Bodog:



PartyPoker:



WSOP.ca:



500nl+ Hands Played: 21561
500nl+ Win-Rate: +4.32bb/100
All-in Adjusted: +8.12bb/100

It seems as though I have been building some momentum. My All-in Adjusted win-rate at 500nl+ is now near what it was at 200nl. That being said, the win-rates are always changing as I still do mix in 200nl along with 500nl and 1knl.

By the end of February, I would like to be at 40K hands at 500nl+. Then, from that point, I will re-evaluate. If I deem the shot successful, I may take a shot at 1knl on Bodog and shift my volume away from 200nl.

FEB. 28/23 — FEBRUARY SUMMARY

Bodog:



PartyPoker:



WSOP.ca:



Hands Played: 56370
Planned Hands: 26880
Hands +/-: +29490

Total Winnings: +$11287.96
All-in Adjusted: +$15084.92

Win-Rate: +5.32bb/100
All-in Adjusted: +6.21bb/100

500nl+ Win-Rate: +5.77bb/100
All-in Adjusted: +8.00 bb/100

February offered us a lot! I had a great month in terms of volume, winnings, win-rate, and all-in EV. With all of the volume I put in this month, I am now 29K hands ahead of "on pace" to reach my 350K hand goal for 2023. The large volume increase is because I decided to transition to playing primarily (solely, in fact) on WSOP.ca. Despite the high rake, the rakeback potential is quite enticing. It has been three weeks since and it seems like it was a good decision. I have made $10K on the site pre-rakeback.

I have also just crossed the 40K hand mark at 500nl+ with a win-rate of around +4.2bb/100 (~+7.3bb/100 all-in EV adjusted). It is fair to say that the shot has been going well thus far.

All in all, February has been good to me.

Damn, as I lay in bed hoping to fall asleep at 8:30am, I go through this thread and read through my initial post.

Under the ‘Purpose’ header in which I provided the reasons as to why I created this thread, I stated that “I believe looking back and seeing past improvements before my eyes will help motivate me in times in which I am lacking clarity of mind.”

It has been just over nine months since the inception of the thread, and it is crazy to think that I am already playing 500nl (and 1knl). I listed 500nl as the ideal game I would be playing online, meaning that if all was to go well, I would eventually play 500nl as part of my main grind.

At that time, it seemed like a target that was so far in the distance, perhaps one that was just not in the cards for me. Now, I could see myself playing 5knl online in the future if I continue on this trajectory. It’s astounding what just a little positive feedback and reinforcement can do.

Feeling grateful…

Wow man, these are sick results!

The WSOP results are super impressive, as I have heard the games there are alot more reggy than Party or Stars in Ontario, because the rakeback on WSOP is volume based. Impressive results my friend!

Thanks man! February was definitely an awesome month. I wish I could say the same for March, but it hasn't been amazing (although not horrendous) thus far.

I haven't gotten a bunch of volume in on Party and haven't gotten any volume on Stars. With that being said, both sites seem pretty soft in general, though Party probably has more fish per table especially at 200nl. WSOP rake is obviously much greater than Party’s so one would expect to have a greater pre-rakeback win-rate on Party.

APR. 1/23 — MARCH SUMMARY

Bodog:



PartyPoker:



WSOP.ca:



Global (no graph available): +$2405.69 TOTAL

Hands Played: 29480
Planned Hands: 29760
Hands +/-: -280

Total Winnings: -$842.66*
All-in Adjusted: -$649.71*

Win-Rate: -4.56bb/100*
All-in Adjusted: -4.79bb/100*

500nl+ Win-Rate: -5.37bb/100*
All-in Adjusted: -4.76bb/100*

*Does not factor in hands played on Global Poker due to inability to track hands

I'm not gonna lie. I am currently in quite an unmotivated, indifferent state at the moment. I am definitely not happy with the volume I put in this month. Although I effectively matched the monthly target, I hoped to get more volume in than I did in February. However, the last two or so weeks were spent in a relatively lazy manner on my part. Well, poker and life are full of highs and lows. This is more so a state of indifference as opposed to a low though. I think the stress buildup from the poker and exercise grind has caught up to me, resulting in some resentment. So I probably need to work to rectify these feelings or better accept them as time passes. Either way, I look forward to the future and still feel grateful that I am in a position in which I can get away with these sorts of troughs.

Are you Jedimindtricks?

I am not one to share screen names as I feel it is only -EV to do so (at least at this point).

Jedi probably plays like 150k hands/month lol

busto? or top dog. those small sample winrates seemed way too rungood if it was pre rake

I recognize a lot of you guys from the Ontario Discord.

In truth, I have not played a ton of online poker in the past 7-8 months. Most of my volume has been live with mixed results. Overall, I have been profitable (around +20K) but nothing like early in the year. I just haven't put in the volume to yield such results. Perhaps, I will grind more now that I’m back in Ontario. Just not sure if that will be live or online.