Right, I've gone over my last few sessions ....

Need to take more note though!

Ok, here are some notes from my last few sessions:

- Don't call with KJo multiway, especially OOP. You're not a noob.

- make bluff sizes smaller, no need to Bomb it. And don't even bother multiway unless I'm fully confident in my reads, and it's max 3 way.

- cut out the hero calls. Wait for better spots against bluffy players.

- don't make elaborate bluffs with little equity

- don't call loose pre you dbag. Don't raise loose OOP (dbag).

- never chase your losses - idiot

- if you have limited time left, either play your usual game or leave immediately. Don't let your profit/loss affect your play.

- keep tight, play solid, wait for the right spots for the bluffs only if you have the right image

- don't make stupid bluffs multiway. Fool.

- start slowly. Play tight to start, chill. There's no rush. Relax, and be patient.

- take more notes!

Come in to the vic tonight for a couple hours. There's a big waiting list on 1/2, so I put my name on both the 1/2 and 1/3 list. I get sat down on 1/3, and figure I'll move when a seat opens on 1/2.

I sit down with £200 - figure I'll top up to £300 when I get a handle on the game and players.

Very first hand I get dealt AA in CO. Damn, why didn't I sit with 300? Oh well.

MP raises to 7, I raise to 25 - no reads on me so far so tough for them to range me I think. SB calls, MP calls. MP is mid 40s possibly Middle eastern Londoner.

Pot 78

Flop 10c 8c 2s

Checks to me, I bet 60. SB folds, villain goes all in (has me covered). This looks like a flush draw all day every day.

"Call!"

"Your overpair is ahead now", he tells me. Good

Turn is a club. Bad He tables 94cc.

Lucky I only bought in for 200!

Still at the table. He's played in every hand so far.

Man, I wish I was here all night....

Not long after a young spanish short stacker sits down with 100.

He's to my left.


I have AdQh and raise to 15. He goes all in.

Hmmm. Let's think. Any PP? Possibly. 2 picture cards? Possibly. AT+? Sure, why not. I'm doing well against this range.

"Call!"

Board runs out Jd8d4d5cQs

He turns over JQ.

Good call from me... Run outs not going well but hey, I'm playing good

(PMA....)

So with 100 behind Im in BB, one limper, button raised to 20, SB calls.

Buttons open raised his Hutton every time - last time with 74o. I'd seen SB call every hand (new player, 5 hands in, showed twice, once with KK, once with 7Tss which he'd raised pre with and hit a flush on river).

I have JTo and ship it. Against their ranges I think it's +EV. Limper folds, button tank folds, SB snap calls. Uh oh. He has QQ. Well played SB, can't fault that if he suspected I might ship.

Anyway, terrible session results wise, but apart from maybe that last hand I played fine. I think.

Any kind of insights into the difference in skill levels and table dynamics between 1/2 and 1/3?

It depends.... On a weekday there's definitely better regs playing the 1/3 than the 1/2. On a weekend I find the 1/2 is actually more reg infested and 1/3 has more players willing to gambol it up.

The 1/3 rarely gets to flop without a raise (regardless of the day), whereas I find about 1 hand in 6 or so in 1/2 you can get away with limping in.

Worst saturday/weekend of my poker life to date.

Thing is I think I played well for about 80% of it.

Will update more later, but currently feeling crushed, battered, beaten up, demoralised.

Want to throw the towel in, sack off this blog, quit spending the time thinking I can make it and go hide in a hole.

Then I think, hold on, poker is f****** hard, mentally speaking. Nothing tough comes easy.

I managed to complete all my goals from last week, but now I need to regroup. I'm going to take 2 weeks off, and play very little live poker, if at all.

Instead, I'm going to analyse the balls off my game. Go through every big hand I've gone through, go through all my notes, and just study like a b*tch.

I'll be updating here on my studies, I think a trouble a lot of people have is knowing how and what to learn (including myself), so I'll be documenting that as I go.

Seriously though. FML.

Hey man...don't let things get you down...I've been through those big downswings, even getting it in with the best equity all the time and guys hitting.

If you're ahead 65% or more AI, then long term you'll win, even if you lose 4-5 in a row. it happens.

We learn from our mistakes. take and break and hit the felt when you're good.

Cheers man, appreciate it. Problem is, I wasn't always ahead...! Yes, I got unlucky a few times, but when I did make wrong decisions they were in big pots!

I'll update shortly anyway on a hand by hand basis.

I basically blew £1,500 this weekend. Ffffck.

Happens to us all man, some days we just want the card room floor to open up and swallow us.

You've got the right idea. Take a step back, analyse your game, post some hands then get back to the grind. In the long term you'll win it all back and then some!

Terrible hand the first:

V1, MP, 400 behind. Had been at the table for 1 hour. Saw one hand from him - he raised pre flop, 2 callers. Raised a bet on the flop with 2 hearts. Turn checked round. River bricked, he shoved all in, V2 called him with bottom pair (claiming he thought he had a straight). V1 turned over 9 high missed flush.

V2, SB, mid 30s Asian. Been at the table 1 hour, seen him win 3 or 4 hands with showdown, generally showing aggression, plus the hand above. 800 behind.

Hero, button, hasn't played a hand whilst Villains have been at the table due to being card dead.

Straddled pot, V1 raises to 22 (!). Hero considers raising but calls with AA, is happy to go heads up with a pot raised so much, so elects to flat due to a) strength of hand b) presumably a tight image. SB calls.

Pot 70.

Flop TdKd5

V2 checks, V1 bets 30. Hero raises to 75, V2 folds, V1 goes all in.

Hero calls. I range him at sets, AK, KT, flush draw, straight draw, combo draw. I call due to previous hand, and assuming he's on tilt.

Villain has TT and his hand is good.

My mistake: Clearly should raise pre, to 75 or so. Deny him set mining odds.

Second mistake: Obviously calling the reraise. My raise should indicate to him I'm not folding my hand (probably) and so he has no fold equity with a semi-bluff.

This was super bad.

Any feedback on any other aspect of this hand I f*cked up is welcome.

This one wasn't a bad beat. This was bad play.

What's the effective stack size?

Hand 2

This was later in the day at the Empire. I'd moved from the Hippodrome.

There was a maniac from Monaco on my left - ideal position really. There's an excellent COTM about dealing with this kind of player.

The hand:

V1, Old iranian guy. Massively overvalues any top pair. Will check/shove with TPNK (literally shoved on a KT7 flop with K2 v AA and binked a 2 on the river). Calls all his draws. 300 behind. SB.

V2, young black guy, aggressive, non-believer, calls light, will peel, folds to pressure. 150 behind. UTG.

V3, Monaco Maniac, keeps reloading, will fire 3 bullets with absolute air. Will call most bets hoping to hit any pair. 300 behind. Button.

Hero, aggressive image, 3 betting a lot. Not much else to say. 300 behind. CO.

V1 straddles to 4. MP calls, Hero calls with A9ss, button raises to 10, SB calls, UTG calls, MP calls, hero completes.

Pot 50.

Flop Jh 9d 5h.

Checks to maniac on the button who makes it 30. SB calls, UTG tank calls.

At this point I put maniac on air. I know the SB doesn't have a J (he would advertise that for sure). UTG could have a J, if it is, it's weak.

Hero goes all in. Maniac calls, SB calls, UTG folds. Uh oh.

Pot around 800.

Turn is a heart. SB bets 75. Maniac calls. RIver is a brick. SB bets 10 (?), Maniac folds. SB shows A8hh for the nuts.

I'm actually quite happy about this hand.. I think? My reads were right - I was leading the flop, and if I wasn't my raise would push out the UTG who may have had the J. I got maniac to call, and obviously by that point V1 is pretty much valued in.

Obviously this is an extremely high variance play.

My mistake: probably calling pre. Alternatively, I could have squeezed pre.

Second mistake: going for such a high variance play on a big downswing :/

Thoughts welcome.

Still, FML.

Hand 3:

V1, young "internet type" kid, aggressive, 3 betting lots of pots pre, only at the table one hours, 400 behind on BB.

Hero, not played many hands whilst V has been at table. on the button with 300 behind and QQ.

UTG straddles, 2 callers, hero raises to 25. V 3! to 75. I call - he seemed active, and I thought he would definitely do this with AK, 99+. So I called and thought I'd check the flop out.

Pot 150.

Flop 2 5 7r

V bets 100, hero goes all in.

V shows AA.

My mistake: either a) calling his 3 bet, (b) raising his flop bet (should have folded I think, he must know I had a good hand at that point) (c) not having gone home a long, long, long time ago.

Thoughts welcome.

Then, for good measure, yesterday I went to the Vic and blew 300 on a combination of bluffs (about 250 on bluffs), bad calls (about 200) and ZERO bad beats.

Down 300 on that session after being a couple hundred up.

My mistake: first bluff, fine. Once that's called. STOP BLUFFING.

Second mistake: You know the guy that's excellent, and you have never seen bluff? Don't call him with second pair.

Third mistake: WHY ARE YOU STILL PLAYING?!!?

Cheers buddy.

Have started today. Will update blog soon on my next, hyped up level of studying!

Phase 1: Brushing up on the math.

I've just got "Poker Math that Matters", by Owen Gaines.

First stages are very elementary, but looks good, it sets the building blocks step by step.

I'm about a quarter through, aiming to finish by end of next week.

I'm breaking down my game completely. Started playing 2NL last night, back to basics. Not for money obviously, just to get a grip on the fundamentals again.

Like a Phoenix from flames he hopes to rise....

H1: Yeah definitely needs to be 3b pre. I think given his large opening size, he's probably happy to call a bit 3b, or even ship over the top. Think you've probably ranged him quite well, except I can't see him doing this with just FD/SDs, it'd have to be a combo draw. If you had the Ad in the hand, I think it'd sway the decision more towards a fold as it rules out AQ/AJdd hands.

H2: Don't think calling pre is a mistake. It's quite cheap and you have a nice drawing hand in LP. Agreed flop move is quite a high variance play but it can work out as no one is representing a strong range. I think it works better though if V1 and V2 are both decent thinking players. Having two whales in the hand reduces your fold equity.

H3: Just a cooler. I think we can maybe get more value out of his range that we beat i.e. JJ-99, AKs, by flatting flop and letting him hang himself on the Turn, even though the SPR is low. If he's a thinking "internet kid" then he might get away from paying the extra £125.


Hope it helps.

keep at it, buy in for lower. Play straight ABC poker for a few sessions. NO bluffs unless you are absolutely sure. Fold to 3 bets OOP, unless you got the AA or KK.

No fancy plays, raising junk UTG or early. Value bet BIG your made hands and don't let draws get there.

Sometimes you just gotta go back to the basics and nit it up.

Did some good sessions of $1/2 live in my usual poker room. Hit the K high straight flush and will get a nice bonus. The top 8 hands of the day get paid out, usually a few hundred. Someone hit a royal flush so I'm 2nd.

I too lost big a few weeks ago, like $1200 in 2 days. But grinded it back up with small wins, $200-300 a day, cashing out when ahead. Slow and steady, I've rebounded and am in the black. You'll get there...

Man I wish I could get in on those London live games...sound real juicy. My room is all regs, nits half the time. Unless it's a weekend night.

@grimiscool thanks for the feedback. Agreed on all points really. I did have the Ad, good point, that should probably have pushed me to a fold, although at the time I saw the backdoor equity as a bonus in case I was behind.

@jazzed23 good advice. Yeah, ABC is definitely the way to go. I hate playing nitty poker but it's a must really until I get some confidence and bankroll back.

Nice stuff on the high hand, always a good bonus. There's not a lot of those kind of promotions in London. There's a bad beat jackpot at the empire, that's about it. There's also a £1 taken from every pot over £20 at the Vic which goes into the prize pool for a monthly tournament for the 150 players who have played the most. Will be playing in that 12th April

Appreciate the feedback and advice and encouragement from you guys, it really helps.

I'd agree with that.

You're playing a high-variance type of poker when you can't really afford it.
First, you still have a pretty small bankroll, so you can't afford the downswing.
And more importantly, I don't think you have enough confidence in your game at the moment to handle that downswing emotionally.

H1: I understand the call and depending on a few factors, it's maybe the +ev move. But you want them to call to get max value, you'll also lose big often. Raise pre, make less, play ABC, build a bankroll, build confidence, get rich (maybe)

H2: I don't even like the limp early TBH. You're putting yourself in a tricky position in a multiway pot with maniacs. Flop is Axx, do you call down 3 streets? Only thing you're calling pre for, is the flush pretty much. The rest, you never know where you are.

A lot would disagree with me on this, and yes, on paper, they would be right. But here, before going down that path, you should focus on ABC poker, fold, don't put yourself in that situation, you would have had a winning session and we wouldn't talk about it

It's funny how I can tell you that, even though I probably have the exact same "leak" but it's easier to see on someone else I guess.

I'm in London too, play online mostly, but played a few times at the Vic or Empire.
May try to grind live for a month next month and see how it goes.

Let me know if you want to chat.

Hey, the part that's bolded, is this in reference to the QQ v AA hand? Think I may have missed your point there? Which leak are you referring to?

You should play more live, I think the games are better, although it can depend of course. Would be good to catch up if you do decide to hit one of the casinos here.

Anyway, yeah, you're right. I should go back to ABC. Lay off the bluffs for a while, play a much more position-based game, and just value bet heavy when I do hit a good hand.

The grind back up is going to be tough

Remember in live poker, guys just DON'T fold. A bare Ace with weak kicker...call.
They aren't thinking high level "what's your range, are you value betting, blah blah..."

They see "I got top pair, or bottom 2 pair", I cawlll!! Unless it's an obvious flush or straight, and even then.

Take advantage of that.

You probably mentioned it earlier but what's your bankroll at now? Have a good 20 BI's
to cushion the downswing and have peace of mind.

We got a bad beat jackpot too, $1 out of every pot over $20. It's super hard to hit though, you need minimum quad 8's losing to a better hand.. so it can get up to 300-500k...

There's actually a good amount of regs that play, the level of play is generally decent. Just so happened we had one whale and fish at the table that night.

My bankroll has been dragged down an alley and beaten the living day lights out of. It stands at about £1,700 now. Seriously damn.

What should I do? Move down to 1/1, rebuild confidence, and pay the obscene rake? Hell, no! I persevere at 1/2, but adjust my play a lot tighter, and hope to build it back up there.

Like I say, I don't live out of my bankroll, I have a good amount of life roll, so I'll just stick it out and if I get stuck for the rest I guess I can top up.

Hoping that doesn't happen though...!

A lot of the 1/1 games around London play the same size as the 1/2 games anyway, just with higher rake. If you can still afford a 1/2 roll than definitely stay there.