Yeah I might take a look at some reg speed tables rather than zoom, but I actually think my problem might be autopiloting decisions and overvaluing hands in some spots where I should sigh-fold e.g. AT on 84598 getting shoved on otr (after villain called pf 3b).

Also spand, missed your earlier message about the AT hand. Why do think his leading range is that heavy on A2/A7 rather than draws? I was pretty stumped bc population tendencies vary so much in that spot, some people play complete air like that and some people thats combo draws/2p+.

Gonna play a session now, will update after. Gl all!

Almost forgot, gonna put my BR in here to make me accountable to move down stakes if my BR falls out of my range. Currently using 40BI rule but quite loosely, e.g. will play a session of 25z w/ 38-40BI behind.
BR: $974

Disappointing session, though it was profitable.

First 1k hands:


Took a break, got some water, came back, another 1k hands:


One hand I 100% punted by overbluffing SB v MP on KQxxA in 3b pot (called by AQ), but I have some I'd like to review:

Hand 1:
Felt that he has a lot of AK/AQ/AT/88 in his range that'll fold to a river shove, plus w/ A blocker to flush and J blocker to straight I thought it was a good spot.



Hand 2:
Obviously has QQ/KK/AA in his range, I thought check back on flop also keeps AKss/AQss/KQss and some AsXs in his range too but not sure if thats accurate or if it amounts to enough combos that we actually beat. If so, fold river I assume.



Hand 3:
Pretty std set v overpair cooler, not sure if my flop shove is good though. Called by KK/TT that we lose to, but also QJ/AK/KQ. I think shoving turn is better than calling but we do have As which reduces the combos that villain can be b/c so maybe it's not.



Nice to get a winning session in finally, gonna go to the cinema with a few uni mates to see Logan now, apparently it's the best film in the series so I'm feeling goooood. Gl all

H1 is prob ok in theory but I don't like it vs a std NL25 guy that will end up b/c 2pair+. So yeah, I think fold >>>>> jam >>>>>>>> call, something like that

In H2 I think it's fair to assume most Ax will/should x down, not sure about flop x with spades if villain has Ax, but if done then I think turn/river goes x/x a good amount. I'd keep an eye on his 4b size too which I'd say leans him more towards QQ+, seems a tad large even at 135deep.

Think H3 is unlucky, KK prob rips it pre and 33 doesn't 3b/c so we obv ran into the worst case scenario which makes up a small % of his range. I prefer bet flop jam turn or xc xc when he jams turn. That being said, we block both AK and Axs, so that's unfortunate but yeah, prob still a bet flop jam turn and pray spot.

Thanks Panda!
H1 I agree, I think if I know villain is thinking about the game then it's a better play but can't be making that assumption at 25nl, a mistake I've made a few times since I started playing cash again

H2 Again agreed, 4b sizing had me worried and ingame I felt calling a 4b oop was almost definitely a mistake, maybe a marginal one with JJ but still would rather 5b/fold, folding more against his sizing. QQ+ is gii but I think JJ is too wide against 25z population tendencies

H3 So you discount 3b's from suited Broadway's after I x? In hindsight betting is better from a game flow perspective too but it folds out a lot of his range (QQ/JJ/99/suited broadway aces/kings) otf that might call the raise. My thinking was we obv snapcall a flop raise so we get more value from any bluffs by check shoving flop and denying further equity. Again might be a lot to assume 25z villains bluff flops in 4b pots

Fun Sunday session, played the $1m Storm, min cashed, standard re-jam BU v CO, ran 77 into QQ. Cash session went well, played A+ second session but not as good first session, unsurprisingly I only played 2 zoom tables in the second as I had tournaments alongside too. Evbb/100 of second session was >25, but ran pretty bad overall today:




Had a few standard losing spots, KK<JJ, AA<ATo (fish gonna fish), etc. Fun hands:

Hand 1 - Should've squeezed pre, but flop betting was weird with the sb lead. Button raising rep's Axss/Kxss/KJ/66/55/87, with KJ/87 probably at a lower fq at these stakes. Standard call of flop raise, especially since our hand is so underrepped, but I was stuck on river because it was such a gross card . Thought his range after turn bet was more KJ/Axss/66 so we still have to call, but the river completes a lot of stuff.



Hand 2 - Villain playing 26/26/28.6 over decent sample, thought a lot of his range would be folding to the shove and if we're called, we should have good equity. This is standard in tournaments, my q is whether or not it's better to x/c when so deepstacked?

Since it's week's end, checklist:

[X] 20k hands
[X] Review 30 hands, post 5 to thread
[ ] Health goals - Disappointed with this one. Eating fine but minimal exercise, partly due my workload at the moment (end of semester project due on Friday) but I should make an hour a day, 5 days a week just at least to go the gym.

Pretty poor week I'd say, results- and ev-based. Played some sessions when I shouldn't have, punted in spots where I shouldn't have, but it was definitely a week of improvement mentally and in my game itself. Finding responses to the posts v helpful in developing of thinking in the correct way and in general.

Stats/graph



Next week should be an improvement I hope, but volume might be low due to impending project.

Goals:
[] 20k hands
[] Study solidly for 5 hours
[] 5 hours of exercise

You know what they say, set achievable goals.

Again, frustrating session. Lost a couple of BI early, once in a donky spot, once w/ nfd on a low board. Grinded back up to evens, then +1BI, but then got absolutely crushed in the last 500 hands. Board runouts were insane, lost 2nf to nf where villain was pretty capped (I thought, turns out his BB 3b range contained all Axs) but it is what it is. Played well all day I think. Another today.

Week so far:



Another update later w/ interesting hands from last couple of days.

Great session to turn the downswing/poor play around. Really feeling a lot more comfortable at the cash tables now, seeing a ****load of mistakes by many of the other players - regs included - and think I've really found a good rhythm too.

Session graph:



Nice spike to end the session, not too many interesting spots for a long while and I'm happy in the knowledge that I didn't leave just bc I was ahead though, just hit my 2k hands at a good time

Interesting hands from this week:

Hand 1 (vs weak reg):



River raise is odd. Sizing obviously leading much more strongly towards 9x but Jx could also be going for value against my Tx or missed flushes could be raising but idk, maybe call is too thin? Villain never has AA/KK here either based on prev play

Hand 2 (vs unknown):



Villain flatting from bb caps range at QQ I think, at these stakes people really only play pp's like this, so 88-QQ, probably KQs/AJs. Flop bet is std, checked turn to avoid being raised off hand but can't fold as QQ/JJ/AJhh+ still bet. River was unsure. I think QQ/JJ/TT/99/88 still bet for value, flush draws still barrel at some fq too.

Hand 3:



Pretty definite turn is just a x, but is it a x/f? Is a flop x/c in 3way pot better too or is it better to fold out equity like QJ/JT/underpairs?

Hand 4:



Pf is too loose but not terrible I think, flop is probably better as a call to realise equity but ingame I thought with such high equity and weak sdv a raise worked better. Cbetting turn is necessary I think too to rep sets/T8/85 but calling turn is probably a mistake.

Worst session I've ever had. Ran like total **** for 1k hands, lost 5BI. AK v 66 on AK6dd in a limped pot v fish, QQ v KcJx on Q8KAccc for 140bbs, etc. etc.. Really frustrating to have such a massive losing session after playing well for and gaining a lot of confidence over the past week or so, feeling pretty awful right now. Can't tell whether I'm just downswinging harder than I ever have or I'm just playing badly but really, after the runouts and coolers I've had this month I'd like to think it's the former.

Bankroll now at $950 after rb bonuses, might drop down to 16nlz to regain some confidence and reset a bit. Actually down -20BI for the month which is a lovely statistic to have in my first month of playing cash. I've been reviewing hands over this week in a much better way I feel and I came into this late evening session pretty happy but now I don't know what to think.

Today's graph:



Re-read this after walking away and sitting with housemates for a while and it is, as they say, a storm in a teacup. I can and will grind this back. I can and will reach 50nl. I can and will beat this game.

In the immortal words of Michael Caine,

Rough stretch but don't let it get you down - normal to have that in cash games especially when you keep getting coolered constantly.

H1: I'd have gone bigger on the flop but otherwise I don't think I'd have folded river - his line is quite strange.

H2: Definitely folding river - a cold-call of a 3Bet is usually some sort of PP and this board hits every PP that he might have. I could even make a case for folding the turn - there's only two good rivers for you and you're OOP.

H3: I really don't like this turn shove. When you've got two customers on an actiony board in a 3bet pot and you only have TPTK, it's time to check and try to see a free river. I guess you're hoping that KQ or QJ will call but the fact is there are so many other combos that have you totally crushed including 88, JJ, possibly TT and various 2 pairs, not forgetting AQ as well.

H4: I think wp until you call the turn shove. This is simply a pot odds problem and the numbers don't work for you.

The first three hands seem to show a general trend that you get sticky with premium hands that don't improve on wet boards. I'm not sure whether you think villains are bluffing all the time. However certainly in hands 2 and 3, the flops connect well with the ranges that the villains are likely to have. So when they show strong resistance, a lot of the time they just have it and they're taking you to value-town.

Thanks spand, appreciate your analysis and you're right about both the general trend and the rough stretch, I'll keep it in mind. Just crushes my mental game to get setup after setup against such a weak player pool that I know I can play better than. Then tilting off stacks = dropping more $.

Officially moved down to 16nlz as of today, lost 3BI again. K6 v AK on AKK97 bvb (should've folded to river shove), AK<KK SB v CO aipf, shoved over flop bet in 3b pot v fish w/ fd after he potted every cbet like 4 times. I realise that spewing is a problem too, having too much ego in these games is an issue - should play my game and not get fazed by other people winning pots off me, just focus on playing each hand in the best way possible.

On a good note, I'm seeing a lot more patterns in postflop spots where aggression is super profitable that I didn't make analysis or take advantage of when playing mtts. Gonna do some proper analysis of my whole game in general over the next few days, hopefully leakbuster can help me spot some issues. Moving back to London for Easter now, maybe the change in environment will help me somewhat but also having exam revision + gf there will reduce my volume a decent chunk. Will update soon.

gl everyone

BR: $805

Very trying times. Reduced to playing 2 tables because I thought it would help my winrate but again, got absolutely crushed by a bunch of runouts today, some of which I've listed for analysis below. Don't want to post a graph this week but I will:



Running about $150 under EV but I think a lot of problems this week and this month have been multi-tabling related - I used to play 6-9 tournament tables and thought this would translate to 4 zoom. Took me 35k hands to realise this was incorrect.



Sample size on 2 tabling is laughable but feeling much more confident at smaller table number so I'll grind this way until I make consistent profit.

Hand 1:


I think raising turn with such massive equity is good than just c/f but not sure if rc/f or just gii ott is better after villain raises turn. Villain really only reps KJ/KK/JJ/77/44 and some Axdd but as we block Qd Jd I thought his range was erring more towards strength, hence the call.

Hand 2:


Pretty sure this is fine, villain has enough draws and we only lose to KQ/KK/QQ/77 and we block KQ/KK/77.

Hand 3:


Pf is standard, villain was playing 41/25/12.5, I think calling otf is v weak so raising is better but don't know if villain has enough Ax to be shoving here.

Hand 4:


Is x/f'ing river too weak?

ty & gl

H1: I dunno what's going on, I'm just glad I'm an MTT fish and don't get into that sort of crap...

H2: I put this down to a cooler

H3: You're 40% vs all overpairs apart from AA - I think you played it reasonably.

H4: Looks fine to me.

thanks spand, missing those easy <20bb +EV MTT shoves too

I think I've honestly cracked it. Had the best session I think I've ever had, didn't run well at all (lost a coupla flips for a coupla stacks) and didn't even make a single BI on the day but my last session I felt the best about playing that I have in a long time. 16nl is something I should beat and since I didn't post any goals for this week, they are these:

[] Beat 16nl this week for 5evbb/10, playing 30k hands (definitely achievable)
[] Revise for 20 hours for summer exams with focus on Thermodynamics and Mechanics (need to keep this important, first proper week of revision so 5hr/day, Mon-Fri should be fine)
[] Post 10 hands, review 30 specific spots in more detail, e.g. facing flop raises on monotone boards when cbetting w/ TP+ hands (need to do more specified work to improve faster)

Graph for the day:




As seen, running below EV but not the point. Third session of the day started about halfway through, riiiiight about when my non-showdown winnings levelled out. My issue this whole month has been essentially massively losing at non-showdown, which is down to lack of focus and tilting. I feel much better about this now and I think I can regain everything I dropped and wiiiin

Few hands from the day, had I run better could've easily been a +5BI day buuut that's poker.

Hand 1:



Flop 3b is obviously a tough spot, limits villain really to flopped flushes and Axcc, so x/f river is probably best.

Hand 2:



Same problem as before really. I don't block any nfd's and folding is out of the question but maybe flop raise sizing is too big.

Hand 3:



Standard call or fold river? Don't see what combos I beat apart from AQ/missed clubs.

Hand 4:



Nitty fold I think, but villain had v tight 3b range MP v UTG, JJ/QQ/KK/AK, but overbet on river leads a lot more to KK/JJ, especially since we block AK.

Hand 5:



Betting turn is sometimes AA/KK/QQ/JJ/AJ after checking flop, but river shove means I should probably fold.

As shown, I have an issue folding big hands but I think I'm getting better quickly.

Good day today, played A game for the most part and ran pretty well overall, as well as getting organised for my exam revision. Will continue to grind 16nlz until I get back to 40BI at 25nl, not really feeling the need to shot-take as of yet.

2-tabling has clearly had an impact:



Three interesting spots:

Hand 1

Pretty sure river call is okay as villain only reps 99/66/44 and missed draws, particularly with the check on the turn, as most stronger hands would be looking for value against draws/overpairs and draws are (more often) looking for a free river. But against population tendencies at 16nlz, draws are less likely so a fold is possibly better?

Hand 2

Similar spot as h1/h2 in previous post. Monotone boards I find tough to play and I felt folding tp here would be incorrect due to the volume of Ah/pair+fd combos, turn bet is probably too much as we're betting too many hands if we bet here.

Just fishiness at 16nlz

h1, I'd start out by betting flop larger, and as played turn should also be bigger, river sizing is fine. As for line check it's a weird hand by villain, but I much prefer b/f river cus I don't think population bluffs like this.

h2, do you have any stats on the guy? Not sure about 3b pre, depends on villains BTN rfi/call 3b strat but think vs std 16z pool tendencies it's a bit loose. I'd use other hands to 3b before this, but if villain is folding more than normal 16z regs then it obv becomes better. Postflop I don't like, 2brl/calling off at this texture isn't good imo. I think it's fine to start out by x/c flop vs the right people and try to get to SD (many regs will stab once, then give up), as played with cbet flop I'm definitely checking that turn card, and it's prob just a x/f vs most 16z regs.

h1 - I agree, population absolutely underbluff this spot massively, so it should be a fold with just an overpair. Explofold but definitely +EV

h2 - 3b pre is too loose, particularly vs this villain (28/22/11.6/33, last one is ft3b). Agree too with line being wrong, folding tpwk is probably right as well against villains not really thinking further than their own hand.

Hi,

Interesting thread, I have actually been doing something similar (history of casual play,live play resulting in goal of being able to beat online and build a bankroll)

I have been playing 10nl/25nl on Party and Stars, and find the lines you take are quite similar to my own, but that you level yourself into calls on the river.

I was doing exactly the same thing, but I found at this level, even 'regs' just weren't being this creative and that when I'm being c/r or face odd bets on the river they have it.

("But why would he bet so big if he had a flush, he would bet smaller" was a common thought alongside the bang of the desk)

One thing i found useful was 4betting slightly wider against Blinds and late position 3bets.

If you have Skype, would be interested to talk in more detail!

GL

Thanks! Actually haven't posted over the last couple of days because I had two frustrating sessions, frustrating mainly because of what you're saying - calling too much on runouts with 2nd/3rd/4th nuts where villains are repping anything but the nuts, and I level myself into a call.

PM'ed about the skype too

As mentioned above in my reply to mrbrbutton, bad coupla days, brought it around today though.

Today's graph:


This week's results:

Weekly volume hasn't been great, saw the gf a couple of times before she goes away and doing exam prep for the summer. Happy to have a positive winrate but I'm still working on my game and clearly, it needs a lot of work. 16nlz is pretty straightforward for any thinking player imo, just need to chill and not level myself into calling vs what is usually jus' the nuts.

Some hand reviews from the last 3 days:

Hand 1: Interesting overbet ott by villain, donk lead on river was very polarising as well, decent amount of history v them, very aggro postflop.


Hand 2: Std gii on flop?


Hand 3: Absolutely butchered this. Should x/r turn I think or just b/b/decide on dodgy rivers.


Hand 4: Pretty std I thought vs donking fish, flop raise is better maybe? Iso's villain, denies equity.


Hand 5: Either he's a wizard or he thinks 3 pair is a great hand? 3b pre might be a bit spew too


A good weekend and I should still easily get my 5evbb/100 goal. Hope to be in profit at 16nlz (ev-wise) by the end of next week, currently -6BI. Haven't been running well but also playing like **** some days, which I hope to improve upon more and more.

gl all!

Monthly update:
Played ****, ran worse. Worst losing month I've ever had but learnt the most I think I ever have too. Moved down to 16z after losing (ev)20BI at 25z (tilt, bad play) and then lost 15BI at 16z (tilt mainly). Grinded some of the 16z back in the last week or so and really feeling more comfortable in the game, but I'm still having massive losing sessions that are countering all the good stuff I'm doing.

YTD graph = MTD + $20 so I'll just post monthlies for now, enjoy the grossness

25z

16z

Overall month's stats
#

Horrible I know. Goal of reaching 100z and $20k br is a bit further off now but really, it's a drop in the ocean. Having a bad month hasn't changed my quality of life and it's given a chance to improve more rapidly, forcing me to study more and reflect on tilt too.

Gl to all for April!

Short update, had a winning week, not by much but still winning. Almost back to evens at 16z and should probably be moving back to 25z by the middle of next week, assuming I don't run into a load of setups.



Any thoughts on previously posted hands is appreciated!
Thanks, gl all!

Almost forgot:
BR at $790.82, moving up at $1,000. Thoughts on shot taking? Considering a 2BI shot when I hit $850 but idk if I should just grind it out.

What's your shot taking plans when BR is up to 1k? I think it's better to use a 4-5 BI rule when first shotting a new level, but it depends how you react to losing/moving down again etc., 2 BI doesn't give you much room at all if you get into some unlucky spots.

It's fine to move up to NL25 for 4-5 BI's on an $850 BR. GL!

Panda - I wasn't really sure to be honest, I'll probably use the plan you suggested in your post

Pretty poor week, down -EV$85 but only played 5k hands as a result of revision/seeing mates from home. Had a couple of absolutely brutal runouts and a couple of punts, can defo beat this stake but my results just aren't proving it right now.

Graph for the week:


Played a good session today to round out the week, need to set a better revision/play/social schedule for the next two weeks that I'm home to get some real volume. Down about 11BI at 16z, which is recoverable in one good week I think. BR at $715.

Hand 1: Loose call pf but bvb I think calling 100% suited hands isn't awful, especially against weaker opponents. Vs unknown. Have to call turn I think, losing only to JJ/TT/A2, beating everything else.


Hand 2: OK to get in otf? Villain has AA/KK/QQ a lot but we have 47% against those hands and fold out hands with lots of equity (2 overs/bdfd's)


Hand 3: Fishes being fishy at 16z. Villain has no 4s in his range (I thought) after not raising f/t, lots of Tx/JJ/club draws, maybe b/b/x is a better line? Gets value from KJ/bluffs but loses value against strong Tx/JJ/QQ.


Hand 4: Standard fold otr? Potting t/r on this runout is scary, but we block 77/88, all draws missed and I don't think AA/KK/AQ/33 bets this way so I think we rarely lose to bigger rivered 2p and quads is super unlikely, so only QQ/77/bluffs?


Hand 5: Flop bet is lots of Ax/Qx/Jx, turn is great and a raise is probably better, only losing to 2p really (AA/KK/TT 3b pf) and villain usually 3b's AT pre. I think we have to call river as many 1p Ax bets I think and we beat some weaker 2p's.


Playing cash w/ Sunday MTTs in a late session tomorrow night, a nice $25k score would make me happy gl all!