Hello guys!

(Rambling starts here, if you want to cut to the poker challenge scroll down)

Last year I registered here and started my first thread ever, a PLO5 to PLO200 attempt that failed at the PLO25 shot, and I stopped playing poker as I busted the roll.

So long story short..I´ve been playing poker since I was 19 (**** 6 years now!) but never took it seriously.

Why I was doing it wrong?

At the beggining I LOVED poker. It was fun! I was going to the local casino, had some really nice results in tournaments, good results also in cash. Then I discovered online poker and the same happened. Good deep in many small tournaments winning 600-1000$, qualified to play big events.. it was really nice.

Then I started wondering if I could ever be a poker pro? Work from home grinding? And then it all started to go wrong.

I started to put a lot of volume, push myself to play higher stakes, etc. And I wasn´t ready for that!

So for the last 2-3 years I´ve had many attemps to build a roll from a 100-200$ deposit. All of them were unsuccessful and I stopped playing for good last year.

Why I am coming back?

Well I´ve never stopped reading the forums (specially the PG&C), I´m always watching the youtube episodes of the WSOP and the EPT and I´m trying to play home games with friends when I can.

The turning point was a few months ago when I had a job interview for a really great position, and the interviewer asked me: What are your hobbies?

I really don´t know why but I didn´t know what to answer at that moment. When I came home, I told my gf laughing that the only question I ¨failed¨ was the hobbies one. She said: C´mon you have many hobbies! Why you didn´t say poker? You love it!

So that made me decide to start again from scratch.

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Why it will be different this time? For many reasons:

1. I´m studying the game. I´ve bought a poker book and I plan to post hands here, review my play and learn.

2. I´ve got a really good job (Sales Executive) which is very demanding and stressful but I love it. So I´ll only play poker as what it should be: my hobby.

3. I´ll only move up stakes when my roll allows it and I make sure I´ve crushed the previous one. Starting at NL2 with a 60$ deposit.


The plan:

Only move up in stakes when I have at least 30 BIs in the level + 10 BI´s on the next one to take a shot at it.

When my bankroll reaches 250$ start playing PLO also from PLO5. The swings there are massive so I will only play PLO with 50BIs roll at the micros, then 100BIs.

Graph since I started:



Right now I´m trying to focus on identyfing the player types and hand ranges.

Biggest pot won:



Is it OK my call on the flop? My plan was floating and try to catch the T for the nuts + all his stack if he had AA or KK and try to steal the pot if a heart on the turn or he would check. Fold if he would barrel again.

I wanted to mark many hands to post here and review them but I didn´t know how lol. I just saw how to do it so from now on I will.

Bankroll: 88.91$ +29$ almost from the start, 40 bb/100 over 3500 hands.

VPIP 21.2 PFR 14.4 playing a solid TAG style. Feeling really good.

More updated soon

Good luck, can relate to your 6 years spinning the wheels, this time you make great progress sounds like you are playing with decent BRM, good luck to you

This is a very bad plan as your calling with the idea that you are crushed but will win a big pot if you hit 4 outs. Typically you want to be the one semi bluffing with the gutshot anyway rather then calling to hit it. Plus we don't even have any back door flush draws here.

I don't even think you can count your hitting an A or K to put you ahead in this situation. Think about what a EP player could be min 4b'ing with. Most of the time it will be JJ QQ KK AA AK. Maybe not at like mid stakes but def at the micros.

Now I don't really think calling the min bet with AKo is that bad but look at what that range does to us on the flop. We are CRUSHED. the JJ hit a set, the QQ hit a set, the AA was already ahead and still way ahead and with the KK we still only have 7 outs to pull out ahead.


I think this is a easy fold on the flop.
Goodluck with your goals OP.

Good luck !

Thank you! I could have simply deposited more but I don´t want that. I want to go step by step and do everything correctly.

I had my doubts yes, thank you for the thought process I should have gone through. This helps so much appreciated.

Thank you sir!

Very happy with the volume I put yesterday. Managed to play almost 3k hands. I finished also reading Crushing the Microstakes and took notes on everything explained there.

First session:



I´m very happy that even though I was running so bad I kept my tilt in control and sticked to the plan. I´m only angry I played really bad this hand:



I should have gone AI at the flop.. Or eventually just call the turn, and fold the river on the brick.

I´m not sure about this one:



Villain is a maniac (54/31). I´m putting him on KQ, KJ or worse, perhaps JQ. Only worries me he has KT for top two or a set, I´m never putting him on K6. I should have folded and look for easier spots right? Specially that we were quite deep.

At night I played a short 350 hands session where I applied at perfection the concept of ¨Extraction¨



Nice call to a massive shove when you only have an overpair!

Bankroll: 87.46$

In your 9Js hand I think your right the best play is jamming the flop. From what I have noticed in a lot of players if he has the ace here he is not making that tiny bet with a potential flush draw out there. This bet looks very weak and you will get folds a high % of the time. Seeing as he has a little under half his stack in the pot yes jam is only option when you raise. Even if he has an ace you still have not quite but close to 50% equity in the hand.

Now your thought of calling the turn and folding to a bricked river is not a good plan as he only has less then 10% of the pot left behind. We hate calling but I cant see folding if he put the last .44 in the middle at that point. Just think of this. If you have a decision where both choices you have feel bad then you made a mistake somewhere earlier in the hand. After not jamming the flop I think we have to just fold to this turn bet.

Keep paying attention to stack sizes as it can give you clues. Villain went from timidly making a small bet of flop that didn't quite make him committed to the pot to then being fully committed to being all in and is never folding to our raise. Obv things can change based on reads or if they are spewing or something like that. To sum it up we went from having great odds on flop + a good amount of fold equity to then having much worse odds + 0 fold equity on turn.

I just want to add my statements are obv just my opinion so don't take everything everyone says as facts. I'm open to discussion if someone disagrees. That is what is great about this forum is the varying opinions and the back and forth conversations that ensue from that. I think that is the best way to get better at this game.

You are right, I am not paying enough attention yet to stack sizes. I know the concept of SPR so I should definately focus more on it, specially on those cases.

Thank you very much for the comments really

Last 2 sessions were like the night and the day: had a really ****ty one running way under EV (AA < KK pre two times, AA < QQ pre) and the two folling ones:




I should have folded because of the massive shove. He could be shoving with KJ or with ATh I guess, and even if he has the nuts I still have 20% to pair the board. But again the point is to find easier spots. I don´t have to make crying calls.



Ugly cooler. Nothing to do there.

But since that session I´ve changed my approach and it went really well. I´m following the advises in Crushing the Microstakes: if I´m getting raised on the turn or river, I´m very probably beat so I should fold and look for an easier spot. I have to be the one doing the aggresion.


Giraffe:

GL!

This game is so tilting sometimes. Stopped playing because in the last 50 hands:









So frustrating to end up a nice winning session to a 3BIs loss one.

Damn ^ plus all those hh's is a lot of coolers! Poker can be brutal sometimes. At least this means we should get some heat soon! Inb4 heater!!! GLGL

Can you call for heaters everyday??



very easy session to end the free day! Tomorrow moarrr

Really pissed, I take one step forward and runbad makes me go 2 steps back. 8BIs under EV. Is it normal to run so bad?

Two times floped the nut straight with QK and..





U_U

There are days I just can´t win, no matter what

Subbed! I am in a somewhat similar situation. Good luck!