Hi Ralph! Welcome to my study and play blog! You caught me in a phase where I am changing the way I play and I think my reasoning will likely be tragic, but I will try. Do you have any particular preference for hands? Winning, losing, big pot, difficult, anything at all?

As for JL's course, I have no doubt it is legit. Also, I noticed that one part of his Postflop play is the same as what Doug Polk suggests in his "Postflop playbook", so they can't be 2/2 being wrong in that.

[Session results: Lost but happy]

I lost a total of $20 playing crappy tours and cash, including a $1.10 regular rebuy, where I rebought 5 times, as well as a $1.10 Sat to Mini Fast Friday, where I also rebought twice. I got a bit trashed playing 2NL zoom, losing $6 there. Nevertheless, I feel happy today, and I am in a good mood, mainly because:

• I found this new study material, which I have not yet completed
• I discovered "peace&loove"'s channel, which lifts my mood. It is making me feel relaxed playing.

Any 100bb zoom cash hands you found difficult and your thoughts as you played them. It’s important that you’re thinking in terms of ranges and how each range interacts with the flop, turn and river.

Hi Ralph! Here is a 100bb Zoom cash hand where I got stacked. Unlucky river, but how did I play overall?

PokerStars Zoom Hand #245062093591: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2023/07/28 10:26:45 EET [2023/07/28 3:26:45 ET]
Table 'Halley' 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: Koresh153 ($1 in chips)
Seat 2: Fr3dST ($2 in chips)
Seat 3: mainat ($0.85 in chips)
Seat 4: hawkinnsl ($3.28 in chips)
Seat 5: StafaneEn ($2.42 in chips)
Seat 6: Tilted9042 ($2 in chips)
Fr3dST: posts small blind $0.01
mainat: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Tilted9042 [9d 7d]
hawkinnsl: raises $0.04 to $0.06
StafaneEn: folds
Tilted9042: calls $0.06
Koresh153: folds
Fr3dST: folds
mainat: folds
*** FLOP *** [4s 7s 3d]
hawkinnsl: bets $0.06
Tilted9042: calls $0.06
*** TURN *** [4s 7s 3d] [9c]
hawkinnsl: bets $0.10
Tilted9042: raises $0.23 to $0.33
hawkinnsl: calls $0.23
*** RIVER *** [4s 7s 3d 9c] [Tc]
hawkinnsl: bets $2.83 and is all-in
Tilted9042: calls $1.55 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($1.28) returned to hawkinnsl
*** SHOW DOWN ***
hawkinnsl: shows [Th Ts] (three of a kind, Tens)
Tilted9042: shows [9d 7d] (two pair, Nines and Sevens)
hawkinnsl collected $3.89 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $4.03 | Rake $0.14
Board [4s 7s 3d 9c Tc]
Seat 1: Koresh153 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Fr3dST (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: mainat (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: hawkinnsl showed [Th Ts] and won ($3.89) with three of a kind, Tens
Seat 5: StafaneEn folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Tilted9042 showed [9d 7d] and lost with two pair, Nines and Sevens

Yeah, so you’re not playing correct preflop ranges. Preflop is a fold, too loose, especially against a 3x open, and on CO. FYI many players are not even playing a flatting range on CO these days, but idk if it’s worth getting into why as those are more advanced cash concepts, I would just say for your purposes T9s+ minimum, probably more like JTs+ in that spot.
Turn raise needs to be way bigger so you can shove for pot or less on river.
Otherwise NH UL obv.
I’d recommend you focus on finding free preflop ranges from all positions so you’re playing only profitable hands instead of jumping around to varied training material that mostly deals with postflop concepts on a conceptual basis ie ‘delayed cbetting the turn.’ ( Jonathan little content)

[Session results: A final table]

I got so frustrated with the new course material that I cashed out all my money and decided not to play any more. Nevertheless, I was left with about $2 which I couldn't cash out, so I continued playing them. I was lucky to cash in a $1.10 PKO, and come 7th, bringing my bankroll to $15.51!

In the last hand, I got doomed. With about 25xBB, I raised with QQ, and the big stack called. The flop was a Q high monotone. I went all in, but he called with JTs for a flush to take me out.

[Study session]

I've been studying "Mastering the Turn" and "Mastering the River" videos from JL's courses. The content somewhat makes sense but is a LOT and daunting to follow. I have picked up only some basic stuff from each but I am still trying to digest as much as I can. Sofar, I only understand very basic things.

[Session results]

Today was a good day. I played 2 tours, a $2.20 and a $1.10 Bounty builders. I made it deep in the 2nd, busting out as the final table bubble boy. Unfortunately I didn't have the luck required to make it deeper. A guy to my right got lucky on me at least two times, making my chips go down significantly. I ended up going all in as I was getting blinded out, and lost to ATs vs KQo. I won a nice $17.89, and my bankroll grew to $28.33.

[Morning session results]

This session I played 2 games and cashed in 1. I made a deep run in the Bounty builder $1.10. I managed to wreck my great progress, after having fought hard for a whole 3.5 hours! While I had a good stack of >60xBB, I decided to make a dumb move of calling an all-in 4-bet by a big stack with AQs. He turned over AKs, and won with a flush, sending me out. This last hand proves that it takes one moment to just lose my cool and call an all-in, and lose it all.

[MTT rating: I got A in 4 different tournament types on PokerProLabs]

PokerProLabs has rated me with an A in Bounty Builders $1.10 and $2.20, which is the highest possible score!
https://pokerprolabs.com/tilted9042/pokerstars/2023/mtt

[Evening session results]

In the evening session I played 4 games, including a $4.40 Bounty builder, a $0.55 Bounty builder, and 2 x $1.10 Bounty builders.

In the first 2 tours, I had a long bad run of cards. From the first 100 hands, I literally played only about 14%, instead of my usual 25%+. That's 11 hands less in 100 hands in each tour! As I couldn't get a hand, my stacks kept getting smaller and smaller.

Eventually, magic happened in the $0.55 BB and I doubled up twice, once with AA and once with QQ. My stack went higher later on as I got more good cards, and I ended up making it ITM. Later on, I called an all in with TT vs AQ, and the opponent hit a Q on the flop. The final hand was 77 which didn't hold up 4-ways, sending me in the bust.

I thought the miracle came on the $4.40 too, when I got dealt 77 and hit top set on the flop, with the player to my left raising. He was holding JJ and hit a J on the turn for a higher set, to bust me out! :S

During the last $1.10 BB I started eating dinner, wasn't paying attention, and made bad plays. I ended up calling an all in with AJs for no reason, to find me up against KK, which held up.

Lessons of the day:

1. Chip and a chair: Be patient if your cards don't come.
2. Don't play if you are not fully concentrated on your game.

My bankroll is now at just over $19.

[Session results]

Today I played a total of 6 games, which included a $3.30 Bounty builder, the $2.20 Micro Saturday KO, and a $1.10 Bounty builder.

I was very unlucky on the $3.30 as I kept getting outdrawn when favorite, so my stack went down shortly. Same on the $2.20, as I kept building my stack but then got outdrawn by inferior hands. Eventually, I got short stacked and gambled on a T9s, getting beat by an AK who hit top pair K.

It just doesn't seem to work on the $3.30+ tournaments, so I am not sure what to do! I feel like I am not in par with the competition, but maybe this is how I feel because I haven't cashed big in a while.

My bankroll is now at $11.

I am thinking of posting some hands to learn and also discuss. I will need to look up my database of hands.

Here is a hand I played where I lost big with AK. I don't know what villain had. How did I play it??

PokerStars Hand #245216014740: Tournament #3625278982, $0.46+$1.50+$0.24 USD Hold'em No Limit - Level II (30/60) - 2023/08/05 16:41:31 EET [2023/08/05 9:41:31 ET]
Table '3625278982 68' 8-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: indio197010 (6034 in chips, $1.50 bounty)
Seat 2: Tilted9042 (4768 in chips, $1.50 bounty)
Seat 3: FillAKilla (7497 in chips, $1.50 bounty)
Seat 4: drampa (4722 in chips, $1.50 bounty)
Seat 5: aka1ynx (4208 in chips, $1.50 bounty)
Seat 6: berre96 (4653 in chips, $1.50 bounty)
Seat 7: Flavione0971 (1451 in chips, $1.50 bounty)
Seat 8: Gesha&vnh (11675 in chips, $2.25 bounty)
indio197010: posts the ante 9
Tilted9042: posts the ante 9
FillAKilla: posts the ante 9
drampa: posts the ante 9
aka1ynx: posts the ante 9
berre96: posts the ante 9
Flavione0971: posts the ante 9
Gesha&vnh: posts the ante 9
Gesha&vnh: posts small blind 30
indio197010: posts big blind 60
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Tilted9042 [Kc Ad]
Tilted9042: raises 180 to 240
FillAKilla: folds
drampa: calls 240
aka1ynx: calls 240
berre96: folds
Flavione0971: folds
Gesha&vnh: folds
indio197010: folds
*** FLOP *** [6c 3c Tc]
Tilted9042: bets 265
drampa: calls 265
aka1ynx: folds
*** TURN *** [6c 3c Tc] [Qd]
Tilted9042: bets 424
drampa: raises 544 to 968
Tilted9042: calls 544
*** RIVER *** [6c 3c Tc Qd] [9s]
Tilted9042: checks
drampa: bets 1794
Tilted9042: folds
Uncalled bet (1794) returned to drampa
drampa collected 3348 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3348 | Rake 0
Board [6c 3c Tc Qd 9s]
Seat 1: indio197010 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: Tilted9042 folded on the River

[Cash vs Tours]

I was thinking about why I lose in cash games but do ok in tours. I found these answers from Reddit enlightening:

1. "Tournament poker really is a lot different than cash. Since cash is pot raked with no ante you have to play very tight. Tournament poker is raked on buyin (not pulling rake from every pot) and typically played with an ante. Those 2 factors mean you have to play a lot wider.

Also most tournament play is a lot shorter stacked than a cash game. the shorter stack size forces you to play a more high card heavy range and less suited connectors/low pairs. The value of suited connectors and low pairs comes from hitting a flush/straight/set/boat and getting stacks in. If you’re playing 150bb effective like in a cash game these hand a lot more valuable than if you’re playing 40bb effective or less in a tournament.

The fact that tournament chips are not a 1:1 cash value has a drastic effect on strategy as well (look up ICM for more in depth explanation).

All this combined means when you play the exact same strategy that crushes cash games it could still be a losing tournament strategy. I find it a bit unlikely because most tournament players are completely ass at poker. "

2. "The reason tourneys are easier is because the stacks get so short so quick. We spend much of the tourney with 20-40bb stacks or whatever. We end up playing 1 street poker. You get AJo in the CO, raise, get 1 caller, and flop an Ace, the money is probably going in on the flop or the turn. You’ll get murdered doing that in cash games. In fact when we get real short, it’s just all in preflop when we get a decent hand. Not having to play all 3 streets reduces the skill necessary to be competitive."

https://www.reddit.com/r/poker/comme...but_crush_cash

You 4x opened, which is bad, utg, which is worse
You cbet 1/3rd pot, which is fine, out of position, which isn't great, on a monotone board with the 2nd nut draw in a meta where I'm guessing you're getting called super wide, so that's bad
Turn bet is bad, no reason to think you're ahead and no reason to think you're getting a fold. When you get essentially clicked, you called, which is also bad
River is fine obv

Thank you for the feedback, Evo. So what would have been a good play? Check-call flop? And, later, check-call turn?

Also, is there another way to present a hand than the Pokerstars format?

[Tool discovery: Hand history converter from Upswing poker]

Answering my previous question, I found a tool to convert hand histories from Pokerstars to a format friendly for this forum: https://upswingpoker.com/convert/

I will now be posting hands in this new format.

[Session results]
Today I played only 1 game, the $3.30 Bounty builder, but made it very deep, up to the Final table bubble. I cashed a nice $46.15. My bankroll is now $58.67, which is a comeback since my last downfall. Also, this is my deepest run in the $3.30 Bounty builder to date, so I am extremely happy about that!

Key hand: AQ vs AA. Villain raised 2xBB, I 3-bet to 5xBB and villain went all-in with AA. I called and lost a big part of my stack.
Last hand, I went all in with A7s, and got called by TT, which held up.

[Key hand: $3.30 Bounty builder, AQs]

Here we are almost at the Final table bubble. I was unsure whether it was good to call the shove. Was I right?

PokerStars, $2.94 + $0.36 - Hold'em No Limit - 12,500/25,000 (3,800 ante) - 6 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

Her2827 (UTG): 1,016,362 (41 bb)
Adambl58 (MP): 674,324 (27 bb)
SWPC (CO): 611,940 (24 bb)
AdRiAN(U)7 (BU): 158,844 (6 bb)
Tilted9042 (SB): 1,244,020 (50 bb)
EnZoSwE (BB): 1,568,974 (63 bb)

Pre-Flop: (60,300) Hero (Tilted9042) is SB with Q♣ A♣
2 players fold, SWPC (CO) raises to 50,000, 1 fold, Tilted9042 (SB) 3-bets to 125,000, 1 fold, SWPC (CO) 4-bets to 608,140 (all-in), Tilted9042 (SB) calls 483,140

Flop: (1,264,080) 4♦ 2♦ 9♠ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (1,264,080) A♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (1,264,080) 7♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: 1,264,080

Showdown:
SWPC (CO) shows A♥ A♠ (three of a kind, Aces)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 87%, Flop: 99%, Turn: 100%, River: 100%)

Tilted9042 (SB) shows Q♣ A♣ (a pair of Aces)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 13%, Flop: 1%, Turn: 0%, River: 0%)

SWPC (CO) wins 1,264,080

The (nonallin) raise sizing preflop should be 3.5 or 4x, not 1.5x. Your game completely lacks fundamentals like this. Not to be a Debbie downer but just being straight with you. Do you know that there are small stakes MTT strategy discussion forums on this site that you can read and post hands? I would start by just reading a lot of threads with the comments, that’s what I did when I was starting out.

Preflop is probably just a shove, ICM is gonna prefer us to make the last bet rather than 3b/c, but I’m not a tournament player/expert. 3b/c can’t be too bad, and certainly is significantly +cEV against some opponents in a $3 MTT.

Hi Ralph! Thanks for the assessment. You're right, my 3-bet sizing is too low. I know what the correct 3-bet sizing is, I usually make it 3.5x.

I was just too nervous to gamble much of my stack, so I decided randomly to 3-bet light!! I am not sure why I thought of that, also given that I called an all-in afterwards.

I need to practice those spots.

[Hand analysis: Last hand in the $3.30 Bounty builder of 07/08/2023]

So, I figured that I made a mistake in the last hand of this tournament. In short, I went all-in with A7s from UTG+1, when that is not correct according to the Push Fold charts I use. Below is the hand:

----

PokerStars, $2.94 + $0.36 - Hold'em No Limit - 17,500/35,000 (5,500 ante) - 7 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

AdRiAN(U)7 (UTG): 120,888 (3 bb)
Tilted9042 (MP): 498,780 (14 bb)
EnZoSwE (MP+1): 1,698,074 (49 bb)
Her2827 (CO): 1,358,012 (39 bb)
Nicrobe (BU): 2,217,762 (63 bb)
Adambl58 (SB): 520,724 (15 bb)
pop14072023 (BB): 621,724 (18 bb)

Pre-Flop: (91,000) Hero (Tilted9042) is MP with 7♦ A♦
1 fold, Tilted9042 (MP) raises to 493,280 (all-in), 2 players fold, Nicrobe (BU) 3-bets to 2,212,262 (all-in), 2 players fold

Flop: (1,077,560) 9♦ 8♦ Q♣ (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (1,077,560) 5♥ (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (1,077,560) 8♣ (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: 1,077,560

Showdown:
Nicrobe (BU) shows T♠ T♣ (two pair, Tens and Eights)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 68%, Flop: 54%, Turn: 66%, River: 100%)

Tilted9042 (MP) shows 7♦ A♦ (a pair of Eights)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 32%, Flop: 46%, Turn: 34%, River: 0%)

Nicrobe (BU) wins 1,077,560

----

For those parameters, the Push Fold charts show I shouldn't go all-in with A7s. It is marginal, but still incorrect. I could have saved myself a position in the final table or better from this. (https://www.mypokercoaching.com/push-fold-chart/)

[Game results: My bad experience with a $7.50 bounty builder]

I played a $7.50 Bounty builder. I was really nervous as this was my first time. I checked out all players on my table on pokerprolabs.com. The table was full of regs and tough regs (as I classed them due to total winnings, recent plays and how they played in-game). Such players raise big and often, and I often feel as if everybody is bluffing me.

I kept getting 3-bet by a a reg 3 seats away from me twice in a row. The first time I was holding KJs, and he 3-bet and then C-bet 1/2 pot on flop, where I folded.. The 2nd time I was holding QTs on a T976 board and bet 75% of flop, when he raised all-in. I called. Villain turned over K and busted me. I felt totally smashed, and didn't rebuy although it was still early in the tour. I will post both hands for review.

[Hand review: Bounty Builder $7.50, Key hand 1, early stages before freeze-out]

How was my play?

PokerStars, $6.69 + $0.81 - Hold'em No Limit - 35/70 (11 ante) - 8 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

misike101 (UTG): 3,003 (43 bb)
ALEX GUTEV (UTG+1): 5,060 (72 bb)
Tilted9042 (MP): 4,452 (64 bb)
hiflyer_ib (MP+1): 5,273 (75 bb)
AWOWSMATOWS (CO): 9,814 (140 bb)
jackhend (BU): 6,099 (87 bb)
rodsferraz (SB): 3,776 (54 bb)
DWM10 (BB): 6,824 (97 bb)

Pre-Flop: (193) Hero (Tilted9042) is MP with J♦ K♦
2 players fold, Tilted9042 (MP) raises to 157, 1 fold, AWOWSMATOWS (CO) calls 157, jackhend (BU) 3-bets to 420, 2 players fold, Tilted9042 (MP) calls 263, 1 fold

Flop: (1,190) Q♣ 5♣ 5♦ (2 players)
Tilted9042 (MP) checks, jackhend (BU) bets 595, Tilted9042 (MP) folds

Total pot: 1,190
jackhend (BU) wins 1,190

[Hand review: $7.50 Bounty Builder, Key hand 2, early stages before freeze-out]

How was my play?

PokerStars, $6.69 + $0.81 - Hold'em No Limit - 35/70 (11 ante) - 8 players
Replay this hand on Upswing Poker

ALEX GUTEV (UTG): 5,049 (72 bb)
Tilted9042 (UTG+1): 4,021 (57 bb)
hiflyer_ib (MP): 5,262 (75 bb)
AWOWSMATOWS (MP+1): 9,646 (138 bb)
jackhend (CO): 6,858 (98 bb)
rodsferraz (BU): 3,730 (53 bb)
DWM10 (SB): 6,743 (96 bb)
misike101 (BB): 2,992 (43 bb)

Pre-Flop: (193) Hero (Tilted9042) is UTG+1 with T♣ Q♣
1 fold, Tilted9042 (UTG+1) raises to 157, 1 fold, AWOWSMATOWS (MP+1) calls 157, jackhend (CO) 3-bets to 420, 3 players fold, Tilted9042 (UTG+1) calls 263, AWOWSMATOWS (MP+1) calls 263

Flop: (1,453) T♦ 6♥ 9♦ (3 players)
Tilted9042 (UTG+1) checks, AWOWSMATOWS (MP+1) checks, jackhend (CO) checks

Turn: (1,453) 8♥ (3 players)
Tilted9042 (UTG+1) bets 1,090, AWOWSMATOWS (MP+1) calls 1,090, jackhend (CO) raises to 2,332, Tilted9042 (UTG+1) raises to 3,574, AWOWSMATOWS (MP+1) folds, jackhend (CO) raises to 4,816, Tilted9042 (UTG+1) calls 16 (all-in)

River: (9,723) 2♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: 9,723

Showdown:
jackhend (CO) shows K♣ K♠ (a pair of Kings)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 83%, Flop: 80%, Turn: 75%, River: 100%)

Tilted9042 (UTG+1) shows T♣ Q♣ (a pair of Tens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 17%, Flop: 20%, Turn: 25%, River: 0%)

jackhend (CO) wins 9,723