Hello 2p2

ABOUT ME

I'm a 22 years old guy. I'm into self-improvement in areas like meditation, workouts. I'm a big fan of taking poker rather mindfully than like a drill. I started playing on microstakes last year and since then played inconsistently and did not treat it very seriously. That now changes. I'm going to put more time and effort into it as well as have my life balanced.

PURPOSE OF THE THREAD

- to share my journey
- to stay consistent
- to get feedback

THE GOAL

The ultimate goal is to acquire sufficient skills and play for a living.

CONTENT

I will post about my results from last week every Sunday. Also I will summarize what I studied, scheme a plan for next week and define goals. I'm glad to receive any feedback.

Best regards ,

kutawikucu

Hi, kutawikucu!
Welcome to 2+2

What discipline do you play, sites, limits, results?

Good luck with your journey!

Thanks! I play 6-max online cash. One of the reason is I can jump in and off the game whenever I want , also it's more technical than tournies. I play micros at Stars. As I said above I have been inconsistent with my play. By the past results I'm slightly losing player. But I worked on my strategy and recent results suggest I beat the stake. The goal is not only to get better at the game but also accumulate bankroll, so it may take some time to build it for higher stakes.

This week was fun for me in poker. I think I figured out how to exploit the pool preflop. I basically print money from their preflop overfolding. I found out that I lose 90% of money in only 5% of hands. I give the pool too much credit for not having only nuts in big pots.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $6.75
Stake: NL2 Zoom
Time played: 12:00
Hands: 2319
Profit/loss: -$0.88

Poker studying: 3:45
Study topic: 3b, 4b, 5b preflop ranges recalling, hand review

PLAN FOR NEXT WEEK
[ ] 15 hours of playing
[ ] 6 hours of studying: more preflop ranges recalling and memorizing them more precisely

download and mess about with equilab, you can make all sorts of ranges preflop work for you.

i use to open 1/2 button 1/3 cu then sb depended how they played pre and postflop but either 50 or 25 ish maybe even 16.66 vs some yes im serious ha, and ep, mp i was always tight ish in the 12-15% percent this was just winging it guessing (learnt this was what i was opening after downloading equilab putting in hands i always or sometimes open.

but also gone the 1/2 sb 1/3 bu 25% cu 20% mp 16.66% ep (personally id say dont over exploit preflop least not in what hands open, open strong hands relative to your position actually i forget how i did it but i also played around with really tight ranges too that i made to factor rake in or something cant remember how i did it but came out with 12.97% ep 15.69% mp 19.46% cu 27.17% bu 43.29% sb (but in reality i basically played the button as the 43.29% and the sb as the 27.15% or both 43.29%.

id say just think how hands hit boards or dont how barrelble they are lol what they block etc and what continues given position vs you in general or how likely gonna have nuts riv etc or good enough bluff hand.

take advice lightly as im broke but yh download and mess around with equilab also partypoker had like an odds of pairing up flop by river hitting sets etc etc cant remember where is but google it was really useful to me to memorise chances and odds having best hand or them having or not back when started playing.

other advice 3bet more ip like as much as humanly possible till they adjust and oop just 3bet tight real tight like 1/3 what there opening relative to position but squeeze oop and ip kinda polar when theres cold call dead money there, but in general just 3bet stronger hands than there opening in general from that position, respect position play more hands ip not oop defend tight oop ip little wider but also lot of people arent popping that light oop so weigh up reverse implied odds of hand calling how likely can bluff them post how likely hand gonna be good at showdown given position there range of hands popping so either defend fair amount like 1/2 ip 1/3 oop but continue tightly ish post still ip overfold even if think there out of line if there range or hand is stronger than yours super mergey still cant do much so just yh respect position and stack depth stack to pot ratio is important least i think it is matters alot.

postflop work it out lots of stuff from bet sizes boards textures game flow dynamics so just trial and error that stuff, say dont try exploit too much preflop least not in really obvious ways but do kinda try too alot postflop theres more room boards positions help there patterns help etc bet sizes etc dunno play to your strengths.

good luck if get cold 4bet fold everything but aks,KK+ by default dont take unnecessary flips and when are flipping or probably be the one applying that pressure not calling it and both losing to rake, but depends but pre flop avoid flips, as bluffs do breakeven bluffs big small just do them, as calls dunno flip a coin dont hero call every breakeven spot postflop big pot small pot turn riv whatever flop just dont be complete station, station when need too, also to exploit you got to let yourself be exploited too in certain areas cause you open that up by exploiting yourself.

good luck have good summer year life whatever.

also if are not a gambler genuinely a poker player good bankroll management discipline etc play omaha edges are potentially far bigger due to people tables getting deep and more mw spots more gamblers in mix etc just need bigger roll for it to play it heard something mad like 50buyins which is insane i could never do that, also in lot of ways least post flop its less complicated more card more info, keeps you more engaged too cause every hand street matters more in a way.


get equilab work out how likely certain hands are a reality postflop preflop bucket them or something and chance you or they their range making a hand and yh other than that pray you have good control over emotions and monkey tilt and bankroll management.

peace out.

you dont memorise preflop ranges btw just pay attention to opponents like alot pre and post how regularly there opening limping whats being showdown how passs pre are or pass agg post whether its ip or oop or cause of a baord that they thinks good for them look for patterns will help way more than memorising hands just opening strong relative to position hands left chance people waking up with a hand.
if can have access play on site where huds arent allowed too (i wouldn't recommend gg though i thought about playing there but eh dont trust company) partypoker probably good if games actually run, last time opened it was pretty quiet on there though.

also if multitabling 1 use a hud if over 2-3 tables and 2 play a tighter game pre as otherwise your miss too much action misclick etc etc.
if playing 1-2 tables or hudless just watch opponents intensely when in hand and not and play as many hands from every seat as humanely possible try go after people until they adjust then readjust etc easier to do on hudless sites as its harder for people to workout quite what doing both pre and post least most people or there counter funny.

really if want highest winrate dont care about money play omaha winrates probably higher pontential but hourly probably higher in holdem more hands per hr ability to play alot of tables if good at multitabling etc

You seem like a guy who has a lot to say. I tried to read trough your advices but cannot really understand much. I think you have a chaos in comprehension of poker. You are spitting one information over other. I study the game rather systematically and from theory perspective. I'm not fan of vague advices. Anyway thanks for reply.

I play better than before, have more confidence and emotional stability. Now I understand more that it's bad to sweat results, try to "save the day" or win a particular hand. I should concentrate all the time to execute my overall strategy well and not care if I win or lose a session. I had a sunrun moment when I won 4 BI in half hour. I will try to speed up my learning process as I can. Really looking forward to study postflop strategy, betsizings on particular flops, etc. If you have any learning system for that, let me know. For example categorizing similar flops to buckets and make simple rules for each bucket.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $10.89
Stake: NL2 Zoom
Time played: 13:15
Hands: 2753
Profit/loss: +$4.31

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 13.25/15 hours of playing
[-] 0/6 hours of studying

PLAN FOR NEXT WEEK
[ ] 12 hours of playing
[ ] 3 hours of studying: preflop 3b/4b/5b ranges recalling and memorizing

Here I am with a weekly update. Really enjoyed this week's sessions. I have found and learned new leaks of microstakes pool which I can exploit. I saw results of a guy here on 2p2 playing microstakes reg tables. He had insane results. I believe there is higher winrate possible on reg tables than in Zoom but I just can't play it. The players have no strategy and I just don't know how to counter it. Also I really hate to play against maniacs and "chaotically". I want to move up in stakes and playing against maniacs don't really help it. What I want is to learn solid strategy. That's why I am going to stick to Zoom.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $14.34
Stake: NL2 Zoom, NL2 reg tables
Time played: 9:00
Hands: 2084
Profit/loss: +$3.04

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 9/12 hours of playing
[-] 0/3 hours of studying: preflop 3b/4b/5b ranges recalling and memorizing

PLAN FOR NEXT WEEK
[ ] 9 hours of playing
[ ] 3 hours of studying: preflop 3b/4b/5b ranges recalling and memorizing

In the upcoming weeks I am going to increase volume. This week I was playing a little bit with a solver. I'm going to use the solver to create simple heuristics for postflop. My mental game got really better this week.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $14.05
Stake: NL2 Zoom
Time played: 9:00
Hands: 3381
Profit/loss: -$0.29

PLAN THIS WEEK
[+] 9/9 hours of playing
[+] 4/3 hours of studying: preflop 3b/4b/5b ranges recalling and memorizing, studying solutions, watching liveplay videos

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 15 hours of playing
[ ] 3 hours of studying

I decided depositing few bucks for better feeling of bankroll and move up to NL5 reg tables. And ... it was worth it. I have been underrating myself. I think I can beat NL5, even NL10. But I was staying NL2 to build bankroll. That's not necessary. I was overrating the microstakes pool. NL5 is not tougher than NL2 and I guess NL10 is not also. I'm gonna grind some on NL5 and I will see. At the reg tables it's chaos, they don't have any rules. I can't really employ my solid strategy. Because of that I'm gonna mix into it some Zooming to stay sharp. There is saying "You are only as strong as your enemies." NL5 and NL10 is so soft I don't know why I started it playing just now and not long time before.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $40.89
Stake: NL5 reg tables
Time played: 7:30
Hands: 1477
Profit/loss: +10.82

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 7.5/9 hours of playing
[-] 0/3 hours of studying

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 9 hours of playing

I had some technical issues, which was annoying. I planned session in time when server maintenance was going on. After that a new update of software came. And since then my client (Stars) lags and freezes while playing. I already contacted support and will see what they can do. I have had my longest time played per one day (9 hours) and managed it pretty well. I had quite a run bad at the NL5 tables. "Rude" and chaotic opponents become annoying, that doesn't happen at Zoom. All of this motivates me to put even more effort into poker and play more volume. You are gonna hear from me next week and with better results.


RESULTS
Bankroll: $27.38
Stake: NL5 reg tables, NL2 Zoom
Time played: 24:30
Hands: 4966
Profit/loss: -$14.38

PLAN THIS WEEK
[+] 24.5/9 hours of playing
[+] 4/3 hours of studying

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 40.5 hours of playing and studying

Here I am with weekly report of my journey! My technical issues are somehow resolved. I still didn't get reply from Stars support, but after another server maintenance the lagging and freezing is gone. Playing Zoom fits me more. I made a big improvement. I feel confidence in my strategy. My mental game got better. I got a better grasp of what variance is. Now I understand more that upswings and downswings can last really long. And that deriving my skills from results from last 10k hands is wrong. I would like to progress faster. I need to work harder and be more effective. If you're reading this and you just started playing or studying, listen to this. There is so much free content on the internet and so much bullsh*t. There are articles that don't teach you anything. Someone says that, someone else says otherwise. There are people who are trying build their coaching career, but doesn't really understand that too much. So keep track where you spend time and be really careful what you read.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $25.12
Stake: NL2 Zoom, NL5 reg tables
Time played: 21:45
Hands: 4250
Profit/loss: -$2.05

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 28/40.5 hours of playing and studying

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 24 hours of playing and studying
[ ] Compute 100 solutions with solver

I realized that I make it too hard for me. I overcomplicate, think too much about hands. I try to apply GTO principles against players who don't even know opening ranges. Against players who open 73s from UTG. I need to make it simple. No rocket science is needed to beat those players. My fundamental knowledge and even a bits of deeper knowledge is more than enough. That's how I changed my playing this week. I am going to have "focus sessions" sometimes though. When I really try to think about what's the best decision at every decision point. Also I am going to increase volume. Even with winrate of 10bb/100 my bankroll isn't going to grow much in a few months with this tempo. I need to be more effective.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $32.05
Stake: NL2 Zoom, NL5 reg tables
Time played: 15:00
Hands: 3654
Profit/loss: +$5.53

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 19/24 hours of playing and studying
[-] 62/100 Compute 100 solutions with solver

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 12 hours of playing
[ ] Compute 200 solutions with solver

I didn't give much time to poker this week. I decided to make a step. I assume NL5 or NL10 isn't much different from NL2. So why not to learn there, if I have money for it?

RESULTS
Bankroll: $84.89
Stake: NL2 Zoom, NL5 Zoom
Time played: 2:15
Hands: 269
Profit/loss: +$2.84

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 5/24 hours of playing and studying
[-] 36/100 Compute 100 solutions with solver

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 6 hours of playing

Mhhhh... Less than $100 is really not enough for NL10. You might get away with it if you play well and run good, but if you hit a bad run you can lose everything.

Yes, 8 BI for 10NL zoom doesn't look like a story with a happy end

Moreover, I don't think 17 BI is enough for NL5. You can try, but determine you the stop loss in advance.

If NL5 looks like easy and you beat it, just spend week or two to build roll at least to $200-$250. Even If you crush the NL10 it is very likely you torch your BR because of variance.

Well that isn't the point. It's about moving up faster. I am ready to lose 17BI and I am going to deposit again in that case. I just don't want to grind it from NL2, when NL5 and NL10 is not so much tougher. The bankroll amount is just a number at this moment. I am aware of the variance. I might deposit a few more times, but I might not.

Theoretically speaking, if I have winrate on NL5 same as on NL2, so according to utility, it's more worth to play NL5.

My story is going to have a happy end.

Thanks for feedback and GL at the tables

In this case, there is no reason to refuse to play on nl10.

GL!

Not many hours played this week. I'm establishing a balance in my life. I cannot give 100% time to poker. It's more important to think in long-term than short-term. So far I don't feel difference playing NL5. I'm gonna tryhard it now. My mental game got even better. It's not "you get good over night". You get better inch by inch. Wish me luck. IM GONNA F***ING MAKE IT.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $80.55
Stake: NL5 Zoom
Time played: 4:00
Hands: 1104
Profit/loss: -$4.29

PLAN THIS WEEK
[+] 6/6 hours of playing and studying

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 15 hours of playing
[ ] Coherent plan for studying for next months
[ ] Create excel sheets with GTO solutions for 3b pots BTNvsUTG, BTNvsMP, BTNvsCO
[ ] Estimate strategy of micro Zoom pools, complete stats and estimated ranges

I made an analysis of pool with tracker. The next thing I am gonna do is to build ranges of pool.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $70.45
Stake: NL5 Zoom
Time played: 10:00
Hands: 2748
Profit/loss: -$10.10

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 10/15 hours of playing
[-] Coherent plan for studying for next months
[-] Create excel sheets with GTO solutions for 3b pots BTNvsUTG, BTNvsMP, BTNvsCO
[-] Estimate strategy of micro Zoom pools, complete stats and estimated ranges - I have all the stats: preflop opening, limping, 3b, call 3b, 4b, call 4b, 5b in every position, not the ranges.

PLAN FOR THE NEXT WEEK
[ ] 12 hours of playing
[ ] 6 hours of studying

It might be worth making aliases from certain types of players (regs/fish) and analyzing them separately, not the whole pool.

I just want to write something about mindset. I think many can relate. Having "a poker mindset" has positively impacted my life outside of poker. By "poker mindset" I mean: to understand variance, to know how cruel it can be, to deal with your feelings, let them express, to not supress them, to be consistent, to do the best possible decision and not to be result-oriented, to be aware of your own shortcomings. I'm not that good in that yet. But I'm working on that. And still it has an impact to other parts of my life. I don't freak out when something good or bad happens. When something goes bad, I don't take it as an attack on me. I only care about what I can control. That is also the reason, why poker players in general are often calm, easygoing and humble.

I took a break from poker this week.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $70.45
Stake: -
Time played: 0:00
Hands: 0
Profit/loss: -

PLAN THIS WEEK
[-] 0/12 hours of playing

PLAN NEXT WEEK
[ ] 0/12 hours of playing

This week was the best I have ever played. I really enjoyed it. Next week I'm going to tryhard. I'm gonna go f*cking apesh*t. I'm gonna up the stakes and go on NL10. Guys, don't tell me I'm reckless or that it's a bad idea. I'm going to take the risk just for the chance it might work out.

RESULTS
Bankroll: $77.54
Stake: 5NL Zoom
Time played: 13:30
Hands: 3226
Profit/loss: +$5.88

PLAN THIS WEEK
[+] 13.5/12 hours of playing