Hey Adam, what's your SN?

I think Hypers are the toughest by far. They have the steepest future game and the slightest fluctuations in stack sizes change calling ranges a ton. I suck horrendously at 1-4bb ranges. 18's are probably tougher than 9's to master.

18's I try to sit at least 2-3 fish especially in the 100's+. I have a selection of fish regulars that I just treat as +ev spots, then some of the really good guys might fill up too much so I'll stay out.

A lot of the top guys are blocked so it's hard to say but I put myself in the OMEGA TIER gang

Awesome, thanks for the quick response.

Def agree with you on 18s being tougher than 9s. ICM is pretty intricate for 18s, pretty easy to leak super hard without realising.

Always good to see an MTT'ers POV on 18s, seen as a lot of them jump into everything high and are prob -EV post-rb.

Thanks.

thanks man means a lot wish you the very best this year was a shame to see U move on from bbz

Subbed from an American MTT grinder! GL on the tables!

thanks guys. got final 2 tables of a big sunday 82 hyper and the 55 re-entry turbo today also got final 40 or so of the ongame major and the 888 100k challenge. this goes with my 40xth finish in the 320 super ko on Saturday.

feel like i just need a few scores to push me in the black and it'll be smooth after that. but nothing comes easy!

Hi Jae,

It’s gonna turn soon I feel confident. Maybe when you win all the monies you can get out of those steps! Luckily the payouts are flat enough I don’t feel I have to avoid you!

I know you’ve played basically every SnG format of late so wanted to ask a question… which format do you feel is the best training ground for mtt’s, in your opinion? (excluding 180’s)

I read some interesting posts above about 6max hypers being the toughest games and I have read similar before (Jdawgs blog). I also appreciate that these players have a LOT more postflop skill than people have previously credited them for (it’s not just a push/fold game).

But I also fear that many of the ranges are so ICM specific that they won’t carry forward to mtt’s so well, and also so little of your time is spent at 15-25bb. I don’t really feel mastering 1-5BB ranges will be that important for my development just yet. Maybe turbo STT’s will be ok?

I saw someone mention CAP cash games, ever tried those or know people who do?

I have too many commitments to often grind mtt’s, but really want to level up. So if I can find a format in my shorter sessions to grind that’s what I’ll do. It’

Would be great to hear your thoughts on this.

Hey, haven't seen you in 30s for a while
I think postflop is much more important in these games than learning 3bb shoving ranges. Most guys at 30s+ have all the preflop ranges nailed down since all that takes is rote memorization and you can exploit preflop leaks by following charts but there's still a huge gap between midstakes and high stakes regs. There's also a couple of cash game sickos who don't have the greatest ICM but still do well in high stakes hypers because they're so good postflop and many of the high stakes crushers used to be CAP regs while not so many guys are successfully moving from 9m to 6m hypers.

Hey dan, I think turbo 180's are by far the best format for MTT's. If those are too long, I'd probably go 45's (which are mega withered) but then probably 6m or 9m hypers.

yeah china i moved down to 15 6m hypers and starting from there agree with you overall. in my case unfortunately i am winning at t20 and t30 but getting my clock cleaned in all of the icm spots. I should probably print out some charts or something, but I am slowly getting better! one of the rules I try to follow when very shallow is "don't fold" lol

also as a side note I don't believe in charts! they are like steroids!

6th in the huge 6m 5 hyper today and got 13th in the 5 2r1a and 7th in the 4r on Sunday yesterday

went over a bunch of my results in the past week and i feel pretty encouraged about my progress. i'm not going to share them since it would be a boring list but i think i have around 5 f2t finishes of the 109 turbos in the past week alone! throw in the 34th in the sunday million, the 44th in the Saturday SKO, and other assorted due-halts and I think I am seriously young money cash money in parallel worlds.

so i will push boldly forward.. Will write a comprehensive update at the end of February.

just got 20th in the b55 in this mollywhomper of a hand. V is a 48/26 omega defcon 9 drooler, limps about 10% overall. I think when fish limp these stack sizes in EP, they are very heavily weighted to AA.

So believe it or not, I was actually going to check preflop! But then two people came along and I saw the 31.2k in the middle and blew my wad I wonder how many of the top tier players who only play a few tables and focus like a laser actually don't rip here. I'm guessing not many.

Most of the top tier omega players I've noticed actually get it in way lighter than me. I guess they're so good with more chips they get kinda oi in shallower depths. I'm being kind of results oriented (esp after flopping a heart draw!!) but I think trying to be the best player possible means relying on your gut a lot.

This is more for philosophers but is it results oriented to bemoan our fate after the fact when I was thinking "I think he has it, I shouldn't shove" prior to doing it? And doing it perhaps because we are coded as good poker players to take the standard fistpump spot because TT is an x% hand and he is limping x%?

Maybe the stages of poker ascension are

1. shove because it's TT
2. check headsup, but shove when there's so much dead money
3. have the discipline to check pre regardless but still get in post on safe flops
4. check call flop even with an overpair and fold to further action

Or maybe I'm just a results oriented Robert

PokerStars Hand #131038496221: Tournament #1148756455, $50+$5 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level XXXI (3200/6400) - 2015/02/24 10:46:23 JST [2015/02/23 20:46:23 ET]
Table '1148756455 105' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: Takiowns (112968 in chips)
Seat 2: yot18 (391916 in chips)
Seat 4: MadsMP (271829 in chips)
Seat 5: 3iGhTy-EiGht (268442 in chips)
Seat 6: Elmagico19A1 (498729 in chips)
Seat 7: YugiohPro (114669 in chips)
Seat 8: Riveraci (187592 in chips)
Takiowns: posts the ante 800
yot18: posts the ante 800
MadsMP: posts the ante 800
3iGhTy-EiGht: posts the ante 800
Elmagico19A1: posts the ante 800
YugiohPro: posts the ante 800
Riveraci: posts the ante 800
Elmagico19A1: posts small blind 3200
YugiohPro: posts big blind 6400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to YugiohPro [Th Tc]
MadsMP said, "did not"
Riveraci: calls 6400
Takiowns: folds
yot18: folds
Elmagico19A1 said, "nh "
MadsMP: folds
YugiohPro said, "did too"
3iGhTy-EiGht: calls 6400
Elmagico19A1 said, "ur life tho, hitting that turn >_<"
MadsMP said, ""
Elmagico19A1: calls 3200
Elmagico19A1 said, "levels all over the place"
YugiohPro: raises 107469 to 113869 and is all-in
Riveraci: raises 72923 to 186792 and is all-in
3iGhTy-EiGht: folds
Elmagico19A1: folds
Uncalled bet (72923) returned to Riveraci
*** FLOP *** [7h Qh 8h]
*** TURN *** [7h Qh 8h] [8d]
YugiohPro said, "i knew it! sigh!"
*** RIVER *** [7h Qh 8h 8d] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
YugiohPro: shows [Th Tc] (two pair, Tens and Eights)
Riveraci: shows [Ac Ad] (a full house, Aces full of Eights)
YugiohPro said, "gl"
Riveraci collected 246138 from pot
YugiohPro finished the tournament in 20th place and received $342.00.
MadsMP said, "ugh."
Elmagico19A1 said, "gg Yugioh (y)"
MadsMP said, "gg"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 246138 | Rake 0
Board [7h Qh 8h 8d As]
Seat 1: Takiowns folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: yot18 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: MadsMP folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: 3iGhTy-EiGht (button) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Elmagico19A1 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: YugiohPro (big blind) showed [Th Tc] and lost with two pair, Tens and Eights
Seat 8: Riveraci showed [Ac Ad] and won (246138) with a full house, Aces full of Eights

Thanks for the answer and enjoying the updates. It's gonna happen yo!

resetting my database today. i see antes in my stt's!

Man can I ask you how you put your tables , for play 20 tables + , what is your preferences ?
GL in tables!

I stack in the middle and drag out important SNG endgames and deep MTT runs

felt like I was getting dusted in $30's and lo and behold I've dropped almost 50 buyins in just 243 games! no hypers included. still up in the sample though because of $60+.



definitely adds credence to the theory that $30's and $60's can be harder than high stakes though I disagree with that completely. I do think the good regulars at the 30's play very well though

Pretty brutal stretch in the past 2 weeks. Here is a list of sharkscope biggest wins. I do sense a tangible difference in my game though and all of the deep runs have to lead somewhere I think. This reminds me of being hungry in 2012 and wanting to break through. My mu is hovering around the 10-15k mark day by day. It would be nice to move solidly into the black and then not look back.



There are so many final two table finishes. I've made sure to pull out each table that I'm deep in and stop loading to give maximum focus. Gotta keep on keepin on I guess. Looking over this list though it is pretty brutal.

- Sunday Million the structure just sped up so much at the end and I just lost a big flip and that was kind of that.
- won a few bowlcomps but 34th milly, 44th Saturday SKO, 18th Big 55, 22nd Hot 55 is not where we want to be! also bubbled the Hotter 5.50 and there are so many huge fields I'm running deep in in that list.
- 9th 82h, 14th 215t, 13th 109t, 13th 109t, 15th 55r t, 17th 109t, 22nd hot 55, 20th 109t is just a brutal runout. Those tournaments are small fields and usually one or two extra flips is the difference between making the final table and not.
- That Thrill at the bottom was painful. Got in AA vs KJo and AQ very close to the bubble for a 50bb pot, lost to drop to 12bb, then bled down near the bubble and got in AKs vs Qx or something and stone bubbled. Because 63 were paid (7 tables), it's really anyone's game at that point. Especially if you get there with a workable stack.

Ok apologize for the moaning but this is just something I decided to do to make myself feel better

33rd in the hot 16.50 today and 11th in another 82 hyper

YouDueOhPro

I've run way too good to ever call myself due but thanks Danshiel! Today was another nasty day. Just got 61st in the Thrill just trying to blow my wad at all kinds of bounties and lost like five flips in a row. I need to think of something more lighthearted to fill this thread with. ATM it's just moaning power hour.

Got 33rd in the hot 16 and 11th in the 82 hyper, and then final few tables of the 3r 2x. I think it was a profitable day due to SNGs and the Thrill cash but who knows!

Love following these challenges, gl man

I think one of the ways I can improve this thread is by posting the clear mistakes I make each day into it. This will hold me accountable and also lead to some strat talk!

It's very hard to keep focus 20 tabling for 10 hours straight so by the end of the session, I will often be frazzled and make some pretty severe errors I might not usually make. I'll post today's at the end of my session!

Hey,
Just found this and will follow. Keep it up!

Mostly posting bc I have pretty much the same problems from time to time when grinding a lot and nothing really goes my way and I struggled finding a way to regain confidence and focus at the tables.
Putting in huge volume isn't a bad idea at any point but I would consider to throw in some "skill-sessions" (how a friend calls it) from time to time.
That means reducing tables to a minmum, e.g. something between 8-14, whatever you're comfortable with, not playing any sattys/sng's/cashgames at the side and try to play your best game in the few tourneys you play.
Thinking about every spot and how to play your range, even make some experiments with thoughts like "what line would I take if I had a flushdraw, midpair etc etc"
Imo this will help a lot more than posting spew hands or bad calldowns just to embarrass yourself in front of others and hoping not to make this mistakes again.
You can pick a friend as well during the session who's playing fewer tables as well and do it together, talk some spots, rail eachother something something..

I'm now constantly doing this on some days which aren't that much important, like a Monday/Wednesday, pretty much every time I have the feeling of not playing my best and/or having some mindset problems.
One could think as well to kick out some of the low value / huge variance mtt's for maybe 2 weeks to increase roi, decrease variance and bumping your mindset/confidence to the good level it probably was before.

For my experience I can state it just helped a lot when grinding out huge swings and improve your game.

It's worth a try

Even though the tip was not for me im going to steal it thx
My confidence is on a low atm lets see if your ideas work.

hey cold_smile, thanks for the suggestion. I actually do do that at the end of my sessions. Confidence is pretty good, I'm still putting in 8+ quality hours every day. Haven't taken a day off today. Just focusing on continually getting better and hopefully the cheese will come. Good luck this year.

22nd in the Big 109 today so there's that. I am getting final 4 of some bowl comps to keep me afloat but yeah..

Just ran purer than polly to get 6th in the 22 1r1a, but luck ran out at the end. MU has crept up to 15k. I swear when I had it down to 5k or so, I thought it was game blouses.

So as promised I want to post a few hands I guess. I want to say that most of my mistakes are tied to trying to be GTO or unexploitable, without really thinking about if my opponent actually is exploiting them. Often I feel my opponents are actually exploiting themselves, so losing to that makes me twice as dumb! One of my goals this year should be to stop making plays because they are 2+2 standard.

My coach tells me nobody bluffs enough in MTT's, and I find that to be true. It might be results oriented but when I start getting uneasy feelings of "he's not bluffing," it turns out to be true. Often as well I have a hand that doesn't block the top value on the board. I'll post some examples.

Apologies for not booming these but I'll try to do that in the future. My goal in the future is to not give too much money away in spots where villains aren't bluffing enough. My river call efficiency this year is actually 2.60. Leak Buster would say that's way too high for a cash game (river call efficiency= 1 is optimal and higher means you're probably getting bluffed too much). I'm not sure what the optimal efficiency should be for an MTT.

Hand 1: Villain in this hand is a good regular. I have severe issues with this river call. I call because it's close to the top of my range but I don't think many people are ever bluffing here. Considering I don't even block a Qx, I think I have just slightly enough better hands in my range here (JJJ/A5s/Q's that had a backdoor on flop/even KK/AA) that I don't have to call. What upsets me more is how quickly I called in this spot. This was the end of session 109 6m which I tend to play my C+/B- game in since it's so late.

I think calling with KJ here makes villain's v-bet profitable. If I fold KJ and call a much narrower range (since nobody really bluffs this spot), I should do much better and he'd actually be setting money on fire.

Poker Stars $100+$9 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t40/t80 Blinds + t8 - 5 players - View hand 2664099
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

UTG: t3000 M = 18.75
Hero (CO): t6038 M = 37.74
BTN: t4592 M = 28.70
SB: t2420 M = 15.12
BB: t3368 M = 21.05

Pre Flop: (t160) Hero is CO with K J
1 fold, Hero raises to t160, 1 fold, SB raises to t388, 1 fold, Hero calls t228

Flop: (t896) 5 5 J (2 players)
SB bets t400, Hero calls t400

Turn: (t1696) Q (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (t1696) Q (2 players)
SB bets t1624 all in, Hero calls t1624

Final Pot: t4944
Hero shows K J (two pair, Queens and Jacks)
SB shows K K (two pair, Kings and Queens)
SB wins t4944

2. Villain in this hand is probably a dolt but this is again a really easy river fold. I do have a very good hand at the river and not much left in my stack but really this isn't even close to the top of my range and I doubt anyone really ever c/cs 2 streets and bluffs like this. The KJo hand is at least justifiable but I think this one vs a probably aggro fish is just bad.

Poker Stars $24.51+$0.49 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t40/t80 Blinds + t15 - 8 players - View hand 2664103
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

CO: t3000 M = 12.50
Hero (BTN): t2820 M = 11.75
SB: t2610 M = 10.88
BB: t3100 M = 12.92
UTG: t4365 M = 18.19
UTG+1: t2590 M = 10.79
MP1: t2985 M = 12.44
MP2: t6110 M = 25.46

Pre Flop: (t240) Hero is BTN with T K
5 folds, Hero raises to t160, 1 fold, BB raises to t400, Hero calls t240

Flop: (t960) 6 Q 6 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t960) 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t360, BB calls t360

River: (t1680) 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t840, BB raises to t2325 all in, Hero calls t1205 all in

Final Pot: t5770
Hero shows T K (a flush, King high)
BB shows Q Q (a full house, Queens full of Sixes)
BB wins t5770

3. These are the kinds of calls I'm just never good in. This one is slightly results oriented because I can definitely be good here vs certain kinds of players (and I won't stop calling just because I'm posting this!). But villain in this hand is a nit, and by river I don't block any of the JTo combinations which would all semibluff the turn. I think QJ/QT semibluffs would check back, so by river I'm looking at some flush bluffs and then a value range of even just 16 combos of AJ some two pairs. A5o isn't even close to the top of my range again (recurring theme). I don't think I need to call here vs weaker players and nits.

Poker Stars $10+$1 No Limit Hold'em Tournament - t300/t600 Blinds + t70 - 9 players - View hand 2664109
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP1: t32382 M = 21.16
MP2: t1711 M = 1.12
CO: t29236 M = 19.11
BTN: t12414 M = 8.11
SB: t5359 M = 3.50
Hero (BB): t12516 M = 8.18
UTG: t14925 M = 9.75
UTG+1: t34363 M = 22.46
UTG+2: t26120 M = 17.07

Pre Flop: (t1530) Hero is BB with 5 A
6 folds, BTN raises to t1200, 1 fold, Hero calls t600

Flop: (t3330) 9 A 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (t3330) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets t1322, Hero calls t1322

River: (t5974) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets t3479, Hero calls t3479

Final Pot: t12932
BTN shows 8 A (two pair, Aces and Eights)
Hero mucks 5 A
BTN wins t12932