16/08

Now I'n paying attention to each of my sessions and puting a rating on then from A to C, as jared tendler suggested in the book "the mental game of poker 2".

I'm currently reading the book and I realized how much mental leaks I have at the momment, few things related to tilt but more things related to lack of focus/concentration or lack of self knowledge about my own game and mental habits(good and bad ones).

the 4 stages of learning are also a good tool to see how much you know about a subject and how far you are from the "unconscious competence level". it's being a heplful guide.

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today I had my first session and I would rate it as "B"

I just played 2 tables, payed attention on things like Fold to 3bet status, fold to c-bet, agression factor, etc. things that I don't pay a lot of attention when playing 4 tables at the same time. I also payed attention on showdowns and how some players behave having a top pair with weak kicker facing a raise or how they react when they had two pair or better, things that I don't use to pay attention when playing more than 2 tables at the same time.

The hand bellow shows how much profitable it is to be able do identify advantageous situations and going ALL IN at the micros.

Almost everyone on micros will call your shove having just "top pair rag kicker", TPGK, overpair or two pair. Not just the fishes and whales but the majority of the regulars also!

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PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 6 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

zarvo (UTG): $0.69 (35 bb)
Nikos8511 (MP): $1.33 (67 bb)
Mashenk992 (CO): $2.70 (135 bb)
vrach1972 (BU)(VP 15/PF 7): $1.94 (97 bb)
drunkendonk (SB): $2.07 (104 bb)
theicebergslim (BB): $2.25 (113 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero (theicebergslim) is BB with 8♣ 8♦
zarvo (UTG) calls $0.02, 2 players fold, vrach1972 (BU) raises to $0.09, 1 fold, theicebergslim (BB) calls $0.07, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.21) 6♦ 3♠ 8♥ (2 players)
theicebergslim (BB) bets $0.20, vrach1972 (BU) raises to $0.50, theicebergslim (BB) raises to $2.16 (all-in), vrach1972 (BU) calls $1.35 (all-in)

Turn: ($3.91) J♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($3.91) 2♣ (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $3.91 (Rake: $0.14)

Showdown:
theicebergslim (BB) shows 8♣ 8♦ (three of a kind, Eights)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 19%, Flop: 91%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

vrach1972 (BU) shows A♦ A♥ (a pair of Aces)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 81%, Flop: 9%, Turn: 5%, River: 0%)

theicebergslim (BB) wins $3.77

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it's becoming more and more clear to me what it takes to play poker for a living at the micros, my current goal is to be able to play for a living at NL25.
It might look like little money but in brazil a regular player at that stake can make a confortable living here. at least way more confortable than my current life.

So 25nl is my first milestone, if I reach that goal I will be able to
*quit military service (better sleep, less stressful days, more free time to grind),

*rent a little house (or bedroom) just for the sake of playing(more privacy and peace of mind to perform at my peak), buy a proper notebook/mouse/table and also a chair to play longer hours without feeling any pain.

*help my family financialy

If I just manage to make 200usd month (**average**) It will be enough to acomplish the things above, and I see people making way more than this on lowers stakes like 10nl or 5nl.

But since I don't want to create false expectations I will just set my expectations to make at least 200usd month (average, not every month).

How I'm planning to get there

I see that there is 2 key factors to succeed at the micros

1.high win-rate (to compensate the rake / reduce the impact of variance. all in having nuts it's one of the tools to get there)

2. high volume keeping a high level of decision-making (playing 4 tables for long sessions keeping the same level of thinking all the time)

so that's it. I'm studying everyday and putting into action what I learned to keep improving my win-rate everyday(1º key) while I also try to play longer sessions or more tables keeping a high level of thinking (2º key)

As long as I keep pushing these 2 levers I believe I will eventually reach my goal.

on my second session today I payed more attention on my mental process when playing 1,2 or 3 tables.

it looks that when I'm playing 2 tables I basically check my cards, my position on the table, the stats of the players that will play after me and then I chose what to do.

when there's no action to be done I usually pay attention on tendencies of other players while playing (if they call flop cbet having midpair or less, if they call until the river having top pair no kicker, if they call all in having a simple TPGK, things like that) and hud stats (i develop strategies based on leaks like too low Fold to Cbet, or too wide 3bet range for example)

I've noticed that after 30 minutes playing 2 tables I become a little bored and stop paying attention on other players game and tendencies(basicaly just look to the table when it's my time to play), and when I play 3 tables I can play my A game just at the first 10 minutes, and I also pay way less attention on the hud stats.

On my next session I will play 2 tables for 1 hour and take notes about what level I played.

If I manage to play 5 sessions on my A game level for 1 hour then I will start trying to play 3 tables at my A game. Before I start putting serious volume I must learn to play at a high level with normal volume.

today on my last session I started to take notes on other guys, something that I never did before.
it were pretty simple and straightforward notes like:

"QJo ALL IN PREFLOP
97o flop AK7/ called PSB
KQo flop QAJ / betted 70% pot"

with time I will become quicker taking notes since today I spended a lot of time reviewing the hands and writing the notes and didn't payed attention a lot on the hud stats and therefore I couldn't develop good tactics based on those stats, but it's okay is the first time that I'm doing it and I will become more efficient on that thing eventually.

I'm curious where you were a Marine at? I was in the US Marines for a long time

Good luck with the grind!

I forgot to mention that I'm a brazilian marine actually, here we are known as "fuzileiros navais".

thanks.

21/08

pretty good session today, I played somewhere between my A and B level game. I played a good and solid TAG game with no spewing of chips because i'm bored as I used to do before.

I also becoming better at taking notes, I'm starting to take the notes while playing instead of consulting the replay feature as before and therefore dividing my attention from the tables.

I've got some coolers today and I lost 3,5 buy-ins on that session. usually when I loss more than 3 buy-ins I stop playing and then just return hours later as a measure to avoid playing on tilt without noticing, however I learned on "the mental game of poker 2" that it is better to strive to regain control over yourself and keep playing your best game after your loss as this will develop mental endurance on the long run, so that's what I did.

it seems that the more your force yourself to regain control when tilted the softer will be your next tilt on the future.

27/08

today I focused on improving my hand reading skills since I'm pretty beginner on that area, I'm also noticing how much important it is take notes when a showdown happens.
I mean any showdown that happen gives you valuable info about your opponents, even if everybody just checked post-flop, you always have some worth it information to write it down that will help your on the future.

Other thing, it's really crucial to write your note in the most clever and quicker way possible.
I was usually just taking notes without considering if I put it on the most intelegible way possible or not, I was just writing things. I also was forgetting to write crucial info like if he was OOP or IP postflop or what actions were taken preflop.

looks like there's a whole bunch more stuff to be learned about hand reading but since it's a skill that you will use almost any hand I believe that it's worth it to put a more serious focus on that instead of other more specif stuff.

I started today to practice hand reading using splitsuit free templates, I filtered hands that gone until showdown and I tried to hand read 20 hands today using equilab.

It's a great drill because it gives you a better understanding of your opponents behaviour. It elevates the quality of your decision making proccess.

I will practice at least 10-20 hands everyday to get a better grasp on the game. Hand reading looks pretty easy and straightforward against regs but against whales and fishes it's a pain in the ass since these guys call pot-sized bets having under-pair or a gut-shot draw, so it's a little tiredsome to deliberate about what they can have since they call with almost anything, but I will get better with time.

Maybe military career is better than nl2, maybe you can become a commander there? Are you part of special forces unit? Have you trained interrogation techniques? Are you good at shooting? I like army stuff!

I'm not looking to become a full time nl2 player brother, I'm just starting from there. And have a military career it just worth it on a serious country, not in a third-world one. what we have cannot even be considered a "career" in my opinion.

31/08

i'm becoming a little better taking notes I think, I started to use the term "flop behaviour" on my notes, I basically just write down how villain behaved when having "air" "weak" "strong" and "nut" hands. for example:

" FB:
CALLED 2/3 BET WITH MIDPAIR WEAK KICKER
RAISED FLOP-BET WITH TWO-PAIR ON WET BOARD
CHECK/CALLED WITH TPGK "

I believe it's key to know how he behave with strong and weak hands on flop before start hand reading him, that way we avoid make dumb assumptions like when he check/called on the flop and we believe that he wouldn't play that way having overpair so we remove those hands because thats what "players do most of the time".

that might be right on higher limits but on micros people play more randomly so it's good to pay some attention on villain showdowns before taking any conclusions.

Good luck I think you work on right stuff. Just in generally speaking I think for microstakes MTTs are higher ev games / if schedules allow you to play. Also easier to learn most stuff and for the most players higher overall EV imo.

I appreciate your tip but MTT are not my thing definetely. Not to mention that my working hours would be a problem, so I just play cash games.

05/09

today I heard a podcast from mind coach Elliot Roe about the 6 levers that produce profits in poker. they are skills, edge, efficiency, volume,stakes and rake. it gives you a broader vision about the factors that make someone become a high earner in poker.

so today I pushed the skill lever (putting in practice concepts that I learned), the edge lever (table selecting more carefuly, switching tables more frequently, playing a deep-stack game when +150bb) the efficiency lever(doing a proper warm-up before session) and the volume lever (forcing myself to play my A game on a volume level that I'm not used to).

it's a good roadmap to see how well you are performing

I believe the main skill that I'm developing these days is resilience. I'm going through some problems with my family and sometimes it's kinda hard to keep it up with your daily tasks when the world is falling on your head but I believe I'm doing well not letting these things put me down and keeping the work being done no matter what.

It's also important to not be dependent on other peoples incentive or motivation since it is something that is not under your control. Your progress will not be consistent that way and you will take more time to reach your goals since you aren't able to keep the same pace.

I've never been so lonely and sad as now, being really honest with you. But even that way I always find some time to improve my poker game and that makes me a little satisfied at least.

yesterday I studied a little about "baby pocket pairs" (22-66) while taking some notes. splitsuit channel on youtube is by far the most clever and straightforward study content available about poker, I'm learning a lot everyday.

the most of poker youtube channels instructionals are basically a guy sharing his screen while playing poker and sharing random thoughts about his game. which is okay since you are providing "free content" and stuff but whatever, it is what it is.

Despite starting low (we all did) you are one of the most highest potential 2+2'ers there is .
Keeps updating, shares the difficulties , has been in the army (in a tough country) , keeps working , I salute you my friend!

Good luck on your journey.

Everything great starts somewhere small and simple.

Keep at it!

Thanks bro, I'm doing my best to keep putting consistent work on my goals everyday. eventually something will happen.

thanks man

08/09

Yesterday I didn't focused a lot on poker since I was busy advertising my car to be selled and other things related. I have an idea that can solve my financial problems and put me in a better position to focus my efforts on poker properly.
Here's the idea:

1. sell my car for a fair price

2. use 1/4 of the money to repair a house that I have

3. live there and not paying rent anymore (which is 1/2 of my monthly expenses)

4. ask to be released from military duty (my contract ends at feb/2022 but If I ask to be released before they usually allow you that)

5. receive a good money from navy for 6 years of duty (they will pay me something like the same price of my car 3 months after I get released from duty)

Summarizing, I will have 50% less monthly expenses while having enough money to not need to work for something like 2 years (living humbly of course).
Not to mention that I can get a job on the security area if needed since marines are a little respected in that area.

So that way I will not have to wake up 4:00 AM to work to just be at home 06:00 PM at night anymore. I will not have to deal to all sorts of dishonest and crooked people everyday as I have to on my job. I will be able to fully dedicate myself to poker with no worries of any kind, all that I want.

With the money I will buy a better notebook, a better chair, flopzilla and pokertracker, maybe gtowizard and a poker trainer app that I like to use. I will also return to gym and start eating healthier. Maybe I will deposit some money on bodog and start playing there also, let's see.



time to make my friend look good

sorry about the lack of update guys, I'm just going through the worst time of my life and I'm not having peace of mind to study or play poker consistently as before. Have a parent suffering due to an illness is one thing, have a parent suffering at home while you are being persecuted for your superiors at your job and also while you are almost financially broke it's a whole different thing.

everyone needs a minimum of stability to get things done. I'm studying a bit everyday but I feel that my mind is not fixating the knowledge as before, I'm mental and emotionally exhausted to be honest.

I envy my friends that have an uncle or grandfather that can support them financially on hard times so they can get up again. The only thing I have is a ton of responsibility on my shoulders and a even darker future ahead if I don't find a way to change things.

thank god the car mechanic solve my car problem and now he is working again, I just need to keep advertising my car everyday until sell to someone. after selling this car 50% of my problems will be solved and I will have peace of mind to grind properly again and live a more bearable life at least.

I also asked a sargeant who is a friend of mine to speed up my release process. It seems that I can start waiting at home months before my contract is over, which would be a immense relief for me.

about poker? I'm just reading hand reviews here on twoplustwo, watching a instructional video or two and also playing a bit. Nothing serious, but better than nothing at least.

26/09

my bankroll on pokestars is practically gone, pretty much due to the high ammount of volume I was putting a the beginning (4 zoom tables) playing terribly, but since I was on a upswing I thought I was playing quite right which was not true. although I have a lot to evolve yet I must say that now I'm playing way better than I was on beginning, taking much more things into consideration before taking actions now. but it is what it is, let's carry on.

I have some money on partypoker so I will try to build some bankroll from there then withdraw the money and deposit on a better site on future since partypoker doesn't allow to use HUD. today I will focus on reinforce the basics, I'm playing too much tight on SB and BTN so I will practice and improve my play on these spots.

Try to be straightforward and just have value, bit tight, not too much bluffs, think they pay you off at 2nl a lot.

30/09

today I studied a bit of aplications of no limit holdem on my lunch break, I'm starting to understand some things better because of this book, specially when talking about hand reading. Such a great book.

Tonight when I got home I played 2 zoom tables for 1 hour, definetely a C for my performance today. Just playing like a robot, without much thinking about what I'm doing. Probably it is because I'm tired as ****, I worked a lot at my job today and I need some rest.

Tomorrow I will be at home so I will have plenty of time to put some solid work.

04/10

Today I just played 1 regular table, taking notes of some guys behaviour and trying to develop something from that. I'm also starting to consider more things on a hand than just the EV or the equity against a range, I'm also considering in what ways my hand connect with the flop usually, how fequently that hand becomes a set, a flush, a full-house, etc.

for example: it is better to call a RFI from a calling station(aka whale) with you having 98s than having A6o because the most of the time your A6o will give you a top-pair-bad-kicker that can put you in trouble because of the kicker, and it is also not great for bluff against someone who usually always call, not to mention that this hand can hardly improve to something better on turn and river.

However with 98s you can get a flush, a straight, or at least a draw strong enough to check-call profitably since the times when your draw become the nuts you will win a huge pot (sometimes his whole stack) because he betted on flop so he probably have something, and these kinds of players will call their whole stack having anything better than top pair bad kicker or just midpair.

I think I will start playing with more suited connectors and baby pairs against players that I observed that call flop e turn bets having weak hands since my hands can evolve to the nuts and win me a big pot

==============================================

note: this guy was bluffing way too much having weak hands so I thought I should call no matter with anything better than TPGK against him

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 ($0.01 ante) - 6 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

KOSOTUR (64/42) (UTG): $2.75 (138 bb)
mugre86 (MP): $1.98 (99 bb)
AndyJ82 (CO): $1.37 (69 bb)
theicebergslim (BU): $2.71 (136 bb)
Urlopan (SB): $4.97 (249 bb)
The_LegendQc (BB): $4.16 (208 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.09) Hero (theicebergslim) is BTN with K♥ Q♠
KOSOTUR (UTG) calls $0.02, mugre86 (MP) calls $0.02, 1 fold, theicebergslim (BU) raises to $0.08, 2 players fold, KOSOTUR (UTG) calls $0.06, mugre86 (MP) calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.33) K♠ 5♠ T♥ (3 players)
KOSOTUR (UTG) checks, mugre86 (MP) checks, theicebergslim (BU) bets $0.24, KOSOTUR (UTG) raises to $0.64, mugre86 (MP) folds, theicebergslim (BU) calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.61) 6♦ (2 players)
KOSOTUR (UTG) checks, theicebergslim (BU) checks

River: ($1.61) 4♦ (2 players)
KOSOTUR (UTG) bets $2.02 (all-in), theicebergslim (BU) calls $1.98 (all-in)

Total pot: $5.57 (Rake: $0.19)

Showdown:
KOSOTUR (UTG) shows 9♠ 7♠ (high card, King)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 39%, Flop: 34%, Turn: 25%, River: 0%)

theicebergslim (BU) shows K♥ Q♠ (a pair of Kings)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 61%, Flop: 66%, Turn: 75%, River: 100%)

theicebergslim (BU) wins $5.38

11/10

These last days I worked a lot on my blind defense game, I downloaded an app called "poker trainer" which is been great to memorize preflop ranges, my game on big blind improved a lot. I used this app so much that I'm at third position of the october rankings (which doesn"t mean a lot since no one knows this app lol)




I played 4 regular tables for 2 hours today. I think I played fairly well despite the ugly results. I would rate my game as a B today, Ive noticed that the quality of my game decreased a bit after playing for 1:30 hour.

I started to become a little anxious and started distracting myself a bit, but rather than just stop playing right there, I followed the advice I read on the mental game of poker and tried to force myself to keep playing well and restore my focus again instead of just quit.



I think I will start playing 3 short sessions of 2 hours each instead of 2 sessions of 3 hours, I think this will improve my win rate since the last hour of the 3 hours sessions is the time that I commit most mistakes due to be bored or tired.

Today I will play 2 more sessions, so I will do my best to play a high level game with 4 tables, I will take more time before act, I think Im misclicking some times and folding with some playable hands.

I want to be able to play 6 hours everyday with 4 tables at a high level, without distractions, taking notes faster, etc.

When I play with 4 tables the most of the time I feel ok, having control on what is happening, aware, but sometimes rare situations happen like 3 or 4 tables at the same time on river against a bet with a board that requires some thoughts so I feel a little overwhelmed and I do some things wrong. But the best way to become proeficient in playing 4 tables is to practicing playing 4 tables so I will keep trying.

HANDS

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 ($0.01 ante) - 6 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

HAL0710 (UTG): $3.36 (168 bb)
42Prokopa42 (MP): $2.06 (103 bb)
underforestR (CO): $3.87 (194 bb)
Ereke19 (BU): $2.22 (111 bb)
StarsKZN (SB): $2.60 (130 bb)
theicebergslim (BB): $2.24 (112 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.09) Hero (theicebergslim) is BB with 7♥ J♥
3 players fold, Ereke19 (BU) calls $0.02, StarsKZN (SB) raises to $0.05, theicebergslim (BB) calls $0.03, Ereke19 (BU) calls $0.03

Flop: ($0.21) J♠ 9♥ A♣ (3 players)
StarsKZN (SB) checks, theicebergslim (BB) bets $0.12, Ereke19 (BU) calls $0.12, StarsKZN (SB) calls $0.12

Turn: ($0.57) 6♥ (3 players)
StarsKZN (SB) checks, theicebergslim (BB) bets $0.39, Ereke19 (BU) calls $0.39, StarsKZN (SB) calls $0.39

River: ($1.74) A♥ (3 players)
StarsKZN (SB) bets $1.18, theicebergslim (BB) raises to $1.67 (all-in), Ereke19 (BU) folds, StarsKZN (SB) calls $0.49

Total pot: $5.08 (Rake: $0.18)

Showdown:
theicebergslim (BB) shows 7♥ J♥ (a flush, Ace high)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 35%, Flop: 70%, Turn: 70%, River: 0%)

StarsKZN (SB) shows Q♥ 8♥ (a flush, Ace high - higher flush)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 65%, Flop: 30%, Turn: 30%, River: 100%)

StarsKZN (SB) wins $4.90

h1: In this hand I should had just called on the river, I gone all in because I thought the pot would be splited in half if both players had the same first kicker on the flush, I didn't knew that the second kicker could be counted also.

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 ($0.01 ante) - 5 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

#53DOOM# (UTG): $1.68 (84 bb)
fatthematt (CO): $2.03 (102 bb)
iwabayashi24 (BU): $3.89 (195 bb)
theicebergslim (SB): $5.20 (260 bb)
csssap (BB): $5.07 (254 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.08) Hero (theicebergslim) is SB with K♠ K♥
#53DOOM# (UTG) raises to $0.06, 2 players fold, theicebergslim (SB) 3-bets to $0.25, 1 fold, #53DOOM# (UTG) 4-bets to $1, theicebergslim (SB) 5-bets to $1.75, #53DOOM# (UTG) calls $0.67 (all-in)

Flop: ($3.41) A♣ J♣ J♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($3.41) 7♣ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3.41) 2♣ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3.41 (Rake: $0.12)

Showdown:
theicebergslim (SB) shows K♠ K♥ (two pair, Kings and Jacks)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 72%, Flop: 10%, Turn: 5%, River: 0%)

#53DOOM# (UTG) shows Q♥ A♠ (two pair, Aces and Jacks)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 28%, Flop: 90%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

#53DOOM# (UTG) wins $3.29

h2: 72% vs 28% equity. tough bad beat

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 ($0.01 ante) - 5 players
Replay this hand on CardsChat

theicebergslim (UTG): $2.46 (123 bb)
#53DOOM# (CO): $1.94 (97 bb)
Ha3apBond007 (BU): $2.72 (136 bb)
Skabin (SB): $2.41 (121 bb)
iwabayashi24 (BB): $3.43 (172 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.08) Hero (theicebergslim) is UTG with A♦ A♥
theicebergslim (UTG) raises to $0.06, #53DOOM# (CO) calls $0.06, 1 fold, Skabin (SB) calls $0.05, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.25) 4♦ 2♣ K♦ (3 players)
Skabin (SB) checks, theicebergslim (UTG) bets $0.17, #53DOOM# (CO) calls $0.17, Skabin (SB) folds

Turn: ($0.59) 9♣ (2 players)
theicebergslim (UTG) bets $0.40, #53DOOM# (CO) calls $0.40

River: ($1.39) T♣ (2 players)
theicebergslim (UTG) checks, #53DOOM# (CO) bets $0.67, theicebergslim (UTG) calls $0.67

Total pot: $2.73 (Rake: $0.10)

Showdown:
#53DOOM# (CO) shows J♦ K♣ (a pair of Kings)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 13%, Flop: 18%, Turn: 11%, River: 0%)

theicebergslim (UTG) shows A♦ A♥ (a pair of Aces)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 87%, Flop: 82%, Turn: 89%, River: 100%)

theicebergslim (UTG) wins $2.63

h3: on the river I chose to just check/call because since there's a flush draw on the board and KT is on his range I don't want to bet and be raised in this spot. Anyone would take a different line here?

session 2: played more focused and less distracted than before, I found some good tables where I could exploit whales that call with weak hands until showdown all the time, B+ session;



session 3: had some bad beats on this session although I liked how I played this session. Feeling less confused playing 4 tables now, less overwhelmed.



TODAY RESULTS

I think I will adopt this sistem of just playing 2 hours session at max instead of 3 hours, today I putted good volume with quality playing since I was not playing tired/bored. 2k hands per day playing just 6 hours looks great for me.

12/10

I think I played well today, a lot of spots where I had TPGK and folded against raises on flop. I can say that I'm folding way better now, I'm even folding having two pair depending who is the guy, something that I wouldn't do it before. I think my blind defense game is ok now, I will start studying about deep stack game or 3bet ranges preflop.

Definitely would focus on pre-flop ranges and 100 big blinds play. Deep stack game should be a very distant priority.