Good session today.

Won several significant hands.

Caught one bluff with pocket QQ against a tilted opponent who went All-In for $9.xx on the FLOP with pocket 66.

It was awesome. :-)

Bank roll up to $219.46.

Much better action after 10 pm. Why is that?

Worst session to date.

3 1/2 hours, 1 table 25NL cash game on Ignition.

Early on the same player made his hand on the TURN and RIVER with inferior hole cards.

The first time I folded to his All-In giving up a large pot.

The second time I called with QQ only to see that he had made his straight on the RIVER with 76 off-suit.

He took 1 1/2 buy-ins from me.

Bank roll down to $148.89.

I have to go back down to 5NL.

Back down to 1 table, 5NL cash game and taking notes on every hand I see the FLOP.

In 1 hours time I had 9 hands strong enough to see the FLOP.

3 of those FLOPs connected with my cards in a strong way.

In the end I broke even.

Bank roll $148.71

Who else thinks Ignition is rigged?

Another losing night,

nothing else to say,

Bank roll $140.76

I took a shot at 25NL on ignition playing 1 regular table.

In a little over a weeks time I lost four buy-ins so I moved back down to 5NL.

For the past three days I have been playing 1 regular table of 5NL and nothing has improved. I’m just losing less money. My bank roll is down to $140.76. This has been very discouraging.

Earning a profit from poker feels impossible. Even at these low stakes it is so competitive. I see very few obvious fishy players which must mean that I’m the fishy player at the table.

Thus far I have not been using a HUD because my computer is running Chrome OS which doesn’t support any of the HUD software. I am planning on purchasing a new one. Perhaps a HUD and analysis of my play will help.

Thanks for reading.

Looking forward to following along in this thread.

OP, I started out in poker by grinding 5NL on Ignition. This year poker has been a very steady source of side income for me (although not $5k a month - I think that is a very lofty goal).

My experience playing 5NL on Ignition is that the games are very good. If you play reasonable ranges and solid ABC poker, you will beat these games over the long run, simply because there are so many players who playing way too loose and wild. If you are playing 1 table at a time though, "the long run" will mean hundreds of hours of play.

Getting a HUD will be very beneficial. Another thing you should work on is becoming comfortable playing 2 or more tables. If you are a winning player, playing more tables will lower your variance and increase your hourly winrate. You will have more opportunities to find fish to beat up on as well. I found that multi-tabling helped me to tighten up my play as well, which is going to be very important when starting out at 5NL.

New computer, Poker Tracker 4, No change in results yet.

Bank roll $131.57

Here are some of the big hands from today.

#1

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 134 BB
UTG: 99 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
MP: 26.6 BB (VPIP: 36.17, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 47)
CO: 95.6 BB (VPIP: 34.78, PFR: 30.43, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 46)
BTN: 101.6 BB (VPIP: 14.29, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 33.33, Hands: 7)
SB: 255.6 BB (VPIP: 30.00, PFR: 30.00, 3Bet Preflop: 17.65, Hands: 41)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 3 4

fold, MP calls 1 BB, fold, BTN raises to 4.4 BB, fold, Hero calls 3.4 BB, MP calls 3.4 BB

Flop: (13.6 BB, 3 players) T 4 5
Hero checks, MP checks, BTN bets 6.6 BB, Hero calls 6.6 BB, fold

Turn: (26.8 BB, 2 players) 6
Hero bets 11.8 BB, BTN calls 11.8 BB

River: (50.4 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero bets 37 BB, fold



#2

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 133 BB
BB: 92.2 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
UTG: 21 BB (VPIP: 38.33, PFR: 1.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 60)
MP: 111.2 BB (VPIP: 29.31, PFR: 25.86, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 59)
CO: 136.2 BB (VPIP: 42.11, PFR: 42.11, 3Bet Preflop: 42.86, Hands: 20)
BTN: 236.6 BB (VPIP: 26.92, PFR: 26.92, 3Bet Preflop: 20.83, Hands: 54)

Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has T K

fold, fold, CO raises to 2.4 BB, fold, Hero calls 2 BB, BB calls 1.4 BB

Flop: (7.2 BB, 3 players) J A K
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, CO calls 6 BB

Turn: (25.2 BB, 2 players) 3
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (25.2 BB, 2 players) Q
Hero bets 121.6 BB and is all-in, CO calls 121.6 BB



#3

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 249.8 BB
SB: 52.6 BB (VPIP: 18.60, PFR: 11.63, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 44)
BB: 123.4 BB (VPIP: 13.33, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
UTG: 114.6 BB (VPIP: 21.88, PFR: 21.88, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 32)
MP: 94.4 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 31.11, 3Bet Preflop: 13.33, Hands: 47)
CO: 102.4 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 3)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has K A

UTG raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, fold, UTG calls 6 BB

Flop: (19.4 BB, 2 players) 7 8 7
UTG checks, Hero bets 8.4 BB, UTG calls 8.4 BB

Turn: (36.2 BB, 2 players) 9
UTG checks, Hero checks

River: (36.2 BB, 2 players) 7
UTG bets 17.2 BB, fold



#4 I had a draw to a royal flush. Needless to say, I had to take the shot.

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 216.6 BB
UTG: 100 BB (VPIP: 21.05, PFR: 5.26, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 22)
CO: 201.6 BB (VPIP: 22.35, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 85)
BTN: 47 BB (VPIP: 42.86, PFR: 28.57, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 21)
SB: 100.4 BB (VPIP: -, PFR: -, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Q A

fold, fold, BTN raises to 3 BB, SB raises to 13.6 BB, Hero calls 12.6 BB, fold

Flop: (30.2 BB, 2 players) T K A
SB checks, Hero bets 15.4 BB, SB calls 15.4 BB

Turn: (61 BB, 2 players) K
SB checks, Hero bets 29 BB, SB raises to 71.4 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 42.4 BB

River: (203.8 BB, 2 players) 4

Good luck.

Poker is a reasonable side income. And that side income can change your life. I remember when I was growing up my parents would buy a car and get a 5 year car loan. Then 5 years later they would get a new car and another 5 year car loan. Always in debt. You could buy a new car debt free every several years with no guilt. You could buy the latest iPhone every other year even though your current one isn't even out of date. Vacations, etc. etc. Enjoy.

My only advice is this, consider playing below your skill level with a large bankroll. Make it like shooting fish in a barrel. People playing full time feel they need to play the highest stake possible and push their bankroll to the limit. And most of them end up whiny bitch head cases posting on 2+2 about a 1 buy-in lost that ruined their world. Do the opposite. Play with a huge bankroll in terms of units and play against opponents clearly lower than your skill level. Of course learn and move up over time, but have your skill level be far above that of your opponents.

Thanks Dan.

I see that you are a 2 + 2 adept.

As a newbie I am grateful for your insight.

I will try two regular tables at 5NL.

Thank you for your insight.

I was in debt for several years. Having freed myself from it I am disgusted by the idea of borrowing money now.

How much is a large bank roll in your opinion?

40 - 50 buy-ins?

100?

What is a large bankroll is subjective. But use a sliding scale of increasing your bankroll as you move up. For example, if you have 40 buy-ins for NL25, then for NL50 try to get the bankroll up to 50 buy-ins. And as the situation increases to you playing higher stakes keep increasing the number of buy-ins. There are no hard rules. Just play with a big bankroll so that you are not sweating a few buy-ins lost and fear of having to move down.

Cool. I have another piece of advice for you, if you're open to it. Based on the hand histories you posted, make sure that when you study, you are focusing on pre-flop play. This is going to be the most important street at 5NL. Your opponents are going to be playing too loose and too passive. If you play tight, solid ranges and you play them aggressively, you will win. You will have a stronger range than them, you will be playing more hands in position than them, and you will be playing bigger pots with your best hands.

34cc - fold this pre-flop to a big ISO raise, especially since you are OOP and not closing the action pre-flop

KTs - you should 3bet this against a CO open, especially when that player is a loose fish. Generally you do not want to be cold-calling raises from the SB.

AQo - you should never cold call 3bets. Play all of your hands as a 4bet or a fold. In this configurations (BTN vs SB vs BB), AQo can cold 4bet as a bluff. However, do not make this play if your opponent is only 3betting the nuts (which is often going to be the case at 5NL). In this spot, the SB is a complete unknown and has chosen a large sizing, so you can fold pre-flop. If the hand goes to showdown and you see he 3bet KQo (which is a good play SB vs BTN), make a note.

This is excellent.

Thank you.

200 hands, 2 regular tables

Some of the big pots toward the end

#1

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 130 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 10.00, Hands: 15)
Hero (UTG): 100.8 BB
CO: 157.8 BB (VPIP: 23.53, PFR: 19.61, 3Bet Preflop: 12.50, Hands: 53)
BTN: 95.4 BB (VPIP: 28.57, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 7)
SB: 100.8 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 10.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 22)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 9 9

Hero raises to 3 BB, CO raises to 9 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 8 BB, Hero calls 6 BB

Flop: (27.4 BB, 3 players) T T J
BB checks, Hero checks, CO bets 6.8 BB, BB calls 6.8 BB, Hero calls 6.8 BB

Turn: (47.8 BB, 3 players) 8
BB checks, Hero checks, CO checks

River: (47.8 BB, 3 players) 2
BB bets 45.6 BB, Hero raises to 85 BB and is all-in, fold, BB calls 39.4 BB



#2

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 108.8 BB (VPIP: 37.50, PFR: 37.50, 3Bet Preflop: 40.00, Hands: 9)
BTN: 114.2 BB (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 25)
Hero (SB): 201.8 BB
BB: 98 BB (VPIP: 27.78, PFR: 27.78, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 18)
UTG: 224.8 BB (VPIP: 21.62, PFR: 18.92, 3Bet Preflop: 15.38, Hands: 37)
MP: 30 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)

Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has K A

fold, MP raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, MP calls 7 BB

Flop: (21 BB, 2 players) T A J
Hero bets 10 BB, MP raises to 20 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 10 BB

Turn: (61 BB, 2 players) 7

River: (61 BB, 2 players) K

Hi mike. In this hand you should fold preflop. It's just not good enough to play OOP multiway. Often when you make a flush it will be hard to get paid OOP and there and some reverse implied odds as well given it will be such a weak one. As played you should fold flop. He bet into 2 people for a decent size so you should be quite far behind his range and given you're OOP our prospects just aren't good enough to call here. I would check turn, I think we have very little fold equity especially for this size and sometimes he will raise and we have to give up our equity. Check with a plan to call 60% pot or less. River seems very ambitious, i'd bet smaller if you want none 8x hands to call. Check/calling is also an option to bluffcatch vs missed draws. hope this helps

First hand: I like your play pre-flop. On the flop, I think you can check/fold once the BB calls. I don’t think over calling is a huge mistake though since the size is so small.

On the river I think you made a pretty big mistake. Two points I want to make:

- You need to make sure that when you bluff, you have fold equity. In this spot, Villain does not have enough money left behind for you to bluff. If he has a better hand than you, he will always call. There is no fold equity.

- At 5NL, you should mostly be looking to bluff in spots where your opponents display weakness. When players have a strong range, you should not bluff, because they are very unlikely to fold. In this spot, BB has called the flop with a player to act behind him and then he has potted the river into two players. There is no reason to think he is weak here.

If for some reason, you thought this player was likely to be bluffing, you should just call the river.

Second hand is well-played. Unlucky for you.

Thanks Dan.

Your analysis is most appreciated.

Thanks Andy.

Lost 2 1/2 buy-ins today,

2 regular tables, 5NL, 200 hands

This hand happened right away.

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 87.8 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
SB: 122 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 88 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
MP: 177.8 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
CO: 30 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB, CO posts penalty blind 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.4 BB) Hero has 9 A

fold, fold, CO checks, fold, SB raises to 2.6 BB, Hero calls 1.6 BB, CO calls 1.6 BB

Flop: (7.8 BB, 3 players) 6 2 3
SB checks, Hero checks, CO bets 3.8 BB, SB calls 3.8 BB, Hero calls 3.8 BB

Turn: (19.2 BB, 3 players) A
SB checks, Hero bets 8.2 BB, CO raises to 23.6 BB and is all-in, SB calls 23.6 BB, Hero calls 15.4 BB

River: (90 BB, 3 players) 2
SB bets 28.6 BB, Hero calls 28.6 BB

After a horrible losing session this past Thursday I took a day off.

Today I reviewed pre-flop course content and tightened up my ranges significantly.

Here I am playing the SUPER-NIT.





Unfortunately today's session was just under break-even after 200 hands.

Here are some of the big pots I saw.

#1 Out kicked

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 31.8 BB (VPIP: 53.66, PFR: 7.32, 3Bet Preflop: 5.88, Hands: 41)
BTN: 85.6 BB (VPIP: 71.43, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 42)
SB: 98.4 BB (VPIP: 36.84, PFR: 31.58, 3Bet Preflop: 25.00, Hands: 19)
Hero (BB): 106.2 BB
UTG: 146.6 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 40)
MP: 57 BB (VPIP: 23.81, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 42)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 7 8

fold, fold, fold, BTN calls 1 BB, fold, Hero checks

Flop: (2.4 BB, 2 players) 7 7 5
Hero bets 2.4 BB, BTN raises to 4.8 BB, Hero calls 2.4 BB

Turn: (12 BB, 2 players) A
Hero bets 11.4 BB, BTN calls 11.4 BB

River: (34.8 BB, 2 players) 3
Hero checks, BTN bets 16.6 BB, Hero raises to 33.2 BB, BTN calls 16.6 BB



#2 Coin Flip

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP: 105 BB (VPIP: 29.73, PFR: 5.41, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 38)
CO: 9.2 BB (VPIP: 45.00, PFR: 5.00, 3Bet Preflop: 10.00, Hands: 21)
BTN: 99.6 BB (VPIP: 12.50, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 8)
SB: 131.2 BB (VPIP: 25.00, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 42)
BB: 110 BB (VPIP: 23.33, PFR: 23.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 31)
Hero (UTG): 152.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Q A

Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, CO raises to 9.2 BB and is all-in, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 6.2 BB

Flop: (19.8 BB, 2 players) 2 3 K

Turn: (19.8 BB, 2 players) 5

River: (19.8 BB, 2 players) 7

Today was another break even session.

2 regular tables, 200 hands

At least I didn't pay anyone off.

That's a win.

Here was the biggest hand of the day.

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 30 BB
BTN: 43.2 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 2)
Hero (SB): 102.8 BB
BB: 97 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 50.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
UTG: 18 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
MP: 25.4 BB

Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB, UTG posts penalty blind 1 BB, MP posts penalty blind 1 BB, CO posts penalty blind 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 4.4 BB) Hero has 4 4

UTG checks, MP checks, CO checks, BTN raises to 4.8 BB, Hero calls 4.4 BB, BB calls 3.8 BB, UTG calls 3.8 BB, MP calls 3.8 BB, fold

Flop: (25 BB, 5 players) 9 4 3
Hero bets 13 BB, BB calls 13 BB, UTG raises to 13.2 BB and is all-in, fold, BTN raises to 38.4 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 25.4 BB, BB raises to 92.2 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 53.8 BB

Turn: (261 BB, 4 players) A

River: (261 BB, 4 players) 3

On days where you are card dead, or spot dead, or are taking bad beats like the one you posted, breaking even is a win. Another thing to realize - you are playing in a high rake environment. In order to be a breakeven player long term, you actually have to be crushing your opponents. Beating the rake in low stakes poker is not an easy feat.

To illustrate - I just looked at the small Ignition 5NL sample that I have in my PT4 database. It is 16,000 hands and I payed $133 in rake. That's over 26 buy-ins!! So in order to be a breakeven player over those 16k hands, I need to win 26 buy-ins from my opponents. I think that is something like a 16 BB/100 winrate just to breakeven. That is crushing your opponents.

Regarding your hand history: I'm sorry if it seems like I am beating a dead horse here but you should fold pre-flop in this spot. This is a losing call because the PFR is short-stacked, which limits your implied odds when you hit (you can only win 43bb when you crack Villain's Aces). The pre-flop raise is too big. The vast majority of the time when you call this 5bb raise, you will check-fold the flop and you will have lost 5bb. Some of the time, the BB will squeeze and the BTN will jam and you will have to fold pre-flop and you will have lost 5bb. Some of the time, the BB will overcall and one of the limpers will limp/raise, and you will have lost 5bb. Some of the time, you will flop a set and lose, and you will have lost way more than 5bb. All of these scenarios are not cancelled out by the fact that occasionally you will flop a set and stack the short stack PFR (especially because you are paying a high rate of rake everytime you do win the pot). If the PFR had a full stack, I would probably be OK with making this call (although I think fold is still a good play even in that scenario).

Thank you Dan.

Your analysis is always appreciated.

As far as rake is concerned, I had no idea how it would add up in the long run.

Their website says that the rate is the same up to $.10/.25.

Do you recommend playing at higher stakes?

Yes the rake doesn’t seem like a lot at first but it is devastating.

That said, I don’t think you should move up. I am positive that 5NL on Ignition is beatable. The 16k hand sample I have where I paid 16 BB/100 in rake, I also won at 10 BB/100 on top of that. Before I got PokerTracker 4, I won something like 100 buy-ins at 5NL while I was learning poker strategy.

I do think you should move up in stakes quickly if you have the money to play with. But make sure that you are beating each stake first. If you can’t beat the rake at 5NL, you won’t be able to win at 50NL. The rake will be less, but the other players will be much better. Get a winning 20k hand sample at 5NL and then move up to 10NL and do the same. Continue to focus on studying in order to do this.

The bad beats continue.

Same 2 regular tables, 200 hands.

Here is the biggest pot from this evening.

Ignition - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 117.8 BB (VPIP: 36.67, PFR: 23.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 31)
SB: 194.8 BB (VPIP: 36.17, PFR: 10.64, 3Bet Preflop: 3.85, Hands: 48)
BB: 31.2 BB (VPIP: 36.36, PFR: 13.64, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 22)
UTG: 145.6 BB (VPIP: 35.29, PFR: 17.65, 3Bet Preflop: 14.29, Hands: 17)
MP: 107.4 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 24.00, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 50)
Hero (CO): 94.2 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has A A

fold, MP raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, BTN calls 9 BB, fold, fold, MP calls 6 BB

Flop: (28.4 BB, 3 players) 5 7 6
MP checks, Hero bets 16.6 BB, BTN calls 16.6 BB, fold

Turn: (61.6 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero bets 34.4 BB, BTN raises to 92.2 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 34.2 BB and is all-in

River: (198.8 BB, 2 players) 7