Day 12
Start: $414.8
End: $366

Rough day today, but had some decent volume. Apart from a bit of frustration creeping in causing some pretty avoidable punts in the begginning of the last cash session for the evening my cash game felt pretty solid. I am noticing that some of the stuff I have been focusing on recently has started to implant itself. I am defaulting to better decisions, have better awareness and not tilting as easily as I was a week ago. Essentially, my A, B and C games are getting closer to oneanother, and I think it shows. So even though i failed to book a win at the cash tables for the day, I am feeling fairly confident. Running well below EV helps with that, though some of the all ins were punts that I wasn't getting the right price for and should have just avoided to begin with.

I also loaded up a few 6-Max hypers which... did not go well at all. I think I am going to put them to the side for now, since I am able to get in good volume at 10NL which should clear the RB challenge goals by the end of the month. I'm just not rolled properly for the 6-Max's and don't really need the volatility of bubbling 6 in a row through stupid, unavoidable stuff largely dictated by variance and my opponents misplaying the ICM (which is a good thing really, except when it involves a guy who covers you by 0.3bb calling a shove with A2o with a super short stack who has folded.)

I'm going to just go to bed now I think, will leave some hand analysis for the morrow. I am feeling more and more optimistic about my results so far being in part the product of mistakes I am progressing well toward fixing and variance.

10NL 6-Max (zoom + regular). -1.34bb/100 @ 14.17 EVbb/100



Total for the Month in BB's won



Just a couple decent sessions away from getting unstuck.

6-Max Hypers - Nosedive


BB's won is ok though... annoying

Day 13
Start: $366
End: $314.2

In short... I played like absolute manure today. Like a total fish. No ifs or buts about it. Sure, I got hit by the deck quite a bit, and every single value hand I made seemed to not get any action, but it would just be delusional of me to suggest that this is the reason for this absolute catastrophic result.

...sigh... refocus and reset I guess.

Todays session... 10NL 6-Max Regular tables. -98bb/100 @ 82.7 EVbb/100



Going to post the big losers here in descending order of bb's lost, because that's how I filtered them in PT4.

... sigh

----

This was an obvious fold on the river. It was obvious to me at the time but I still called like an absolute fish. I don't mind how the hand played out otherwise.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 156.2 BB
UTG: 115.5 BB
MP: 113.1 BB
CO: 177.6 BB
BTN: 113.7 BB
SB: 117.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 5 5

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

Flop: (27.5 BB, 3 players) 5 9 9
Hero checks, UTG bets 2 BB, CO raises to 12 BB, Hero calls 12 BB, fold

Turn: (53.5 BB, 2 players) J
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (53.5 BB, 2 players) K
Hero bets 51.1 BB, CO raises to 156.6 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 84.1 BB and is all-in



----

This one I don't.... hate. Obviously I should have raised the button. i think this was a misclick. I use hotkeys. Anyway. As played I think villain folds pretty much all of his other holdings. I happened to run smack into a 6 here. But what do I know, I don't feel like I have anything of value to add right at this moment. Massive punt, should have raised the btn and not committed to the hand.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 119.1 BB
UTG: 216.5 BB
CO: 190.3 BB
Hero (BTN): 137 BB
SB: 132.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 2 2

fold, fold, Hero calls 1 BB, fold, BB raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6.5 BB, 2 players) 4 K 7
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (6.5 BB, 2 players) 5
BB bets 4 BB, Hero raises to 13.5 BB, BB calls 9.5 BB

River: (33.5 BB, 2 players) 8
BB bets 20 BB, Hero raises to 120.5 BB and is all-in, BB calls 82.6 BB and is all-in



---------

This was just fcken stupid as ***. I hate every single part of this hand except for calling the 2bet pf. Should fold to the 3bet, should fold the flop. Instead this happened. Like an absoute turbo fish.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 119.1 BB
UTG: 216.5 BB
CO: 190.3 BB
Hero (BTN): 137 BB
SB: 132.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 2 2

fold, fold, Hero calls 1 BB, fold, BB raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6.5 BB, 2 players) 4 K 7
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (6.5 BB, 2 players) 5
BB bets 4 BB, Hero raises to 13.5 BB, BB calls 9.5 BB

River: (33.5 BB, 2 players) 8
BB bets 20 BB, Hero raises to 120.5 BB and is all-in, BB calls 82.6 BB and is all-in



----

This is just unneccessary. At the time I got it into my mind that he would essentially be a lot, but honestly I failed to consider that it was an EP raise/3bet and his range was too strong to merit this massive punt, or even a call PF. he snapped called too, which was doubly annoying, as at these stakes this should have been at the bottom of his range and probably a fold.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 197 BB
BB: 223.5 BB
UTG: 101.3 BB
Hero (CO): 120.9 BB
BTN: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J K

UTG raises to 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, fold, fold, UTG raises to 24.5 BB, Hero raises to 120.9 BB and is all-in, UTG calls 76.8 BB and is all-in

Flop: (204.1 BB, 2 players) 4 K Q

Turn: (204.1 BB, 2 players) T

River: (204.1 BB, 2 players) 5



----

My flop descision here is incomprehensible and indefensible and I should be punished for it, which I was. This is a x/c flop depending on bet size and then a x/f to any further aggression from villain at these stakes.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (UTG): 144.2 BB
CO: 88.6 BB
BTN: 107.6 BB
SB: 205.8 BB
BB: 102.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T T

Hero raises to 3 BB, CO raises to 5 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 4 BB, Hero raises to 20.5 BB, CO calls 15.5 BB, fold

Flop: (46.5 BB, 2 players) 8 A 7
Hero bets 123.7 BB and is all-in, CO calls 68.1 BB and is all-in

Turn: (182.7 BB, 2 players) K

River: (182.7 BB, 2 players) 3



----

This one should also have been an easy fold on the river. I knew it at the time, I just didn't listen. Probably on tilt, even though i didn't really feel like it at the time. I need to just listen to myself. My intuitions here tend to be on point, but I don't listen, especially when stuck. Which hardy helps to get me unstuck. So yeah... on second thought: definitely tilt. Back to my day one issues all of a sudden.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 139.2 BB
SB: 95.8 BB
BB: 100.5 BB
Hero (UTG): 106.1 BB
MP: 104.6 BB
CO: 121.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K Q

Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, SB calls 2.5 BB, fold

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) 9 3 5
SB bets 3.4 BB, Hero calls 3.4 BB

Turn: (13.8 BB, 2 players) K
SB checks, Hero bets 4.4 BB, SB calls 4.4 BB

River: (22.6 BB, 2 players) T
SB bets 21.6 BB, Hero calls 21.6 BB



---

Let's end it with some of the depressingly few good hands.

This one was pukey. It was literally just a handful of hands after the 55 vs JJ hand posted above, and I almost folded to the raise on the river due to being on a bit of tilt.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 375.5 BB
MP: 327.3 BB
CO: 234 BB
BTN: 101 BB
SB: 127.1 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q Q

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

Flop: (20.5 BB, 2 players) Q K 4
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: (20.5 BB, 2 players) J
Hero bets 13.1 BB, CO calls 13.1 BB

River: (46.7 BB, 2 players) 2
Hero checks, CO bets 85 BB, Hero calls 76.9 BB and is all-in



---

This is literally my second biggest hand of the session, and I find it a bit too sticky. I basically decided he had enough AK/AQ, heart draws with KQ etc in his range that he would reasonably 2 barrell with that I called down 2 streets of aggression with an underpair. I binked the river, and bet trying to get calls from his value range such as AA/KK/AJ. I was planning on folding to a jam at this point to be honest, which is totally exploitable as ***, but it says something about my mindset. But no. He may have folded AJ here. Maybe I got lucky. Who knows?

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (CO): 108.3 BB
BTN: 107.4 BB
SB: 100 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 101.5 BB
MP: 156.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8 8

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

Flop: (21 BB, 2 players) 2 5 J
SB bets 6.6 BB, Hero calls 6.6 BB

Turn: (34.2 BB, 2 players) 9
SB bets 18.6 BB, Hero calls 18.6 BB

River: (71.4 BB, 2 players) 8
SB checks, Hero bets 73.1 BB and is all-in, fold



---

This was the literal last hand of the session. Pure power poker here exploiting the fact that a x/r in this spot looks SUUUPER strong. I am indifferent to the move to be honest. I think it is far too volatile, but then again, with 34bb in the pot the raise only has to work about 22% ish of the time in order to be profitable.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 123.5 BB
BTN: 256.7 BB
SB: 165.3 BB
BB: 183.8 BB
Hero (UTG): 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 4 4

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

Flop: (28.5 BB, 3 players) A 9 K
Hero checks, CO bets 3 BB, BTN calls 3 BB, Hero raises to 14.9 BB, fold, fold



----

So... 1,400bb in the hole over 13.5k hands since the start of the thread. EV is breakeven, which is the only light at the end of the tunnel. That being said, making seriously -EV punts with 20% or less equity does tend to put ones actual winnings below EV....

I am feeling super low at the moment.... but! 31BI at 10NL remain. I will not move down to 5NL till I hit 20BI @ 10NL in order to maximise my chance of pulling out of this slump if and when I get my head straight and my game back on track.

Interestingly, it's been the regular tables that have been crushing me. Zoom has been going ok.

BB's won (lost) since start of thread. -10.4bb/100 @ 0.5 EVbb/100

in

Day 14A
Start: $314.2
End: $314.4 (inc. $15 leaderboard score)

500 Hand 10NL 6-Max Session to start off the evening. Tried to incorporate some advice received from wiser minds since yesterday, and in general I felt the session was ok. I did elect to go for some bluffs which in hindsight appear needlessly aggressive, and sadly ran into the tops of villains ranges in pretty much every instance, which is a bit frustrating. On the one hand, I think they were mainly marginal spots to go for to begin with, on the other I feel that electing not to basically makes my game too weak and passive. That might be solid at 10NL, but I think at higher stakes against tougher pools moving in the passive, abc direction will probably be too exploitable to make me profitable.

Today so far:


----

This was one of these marginal bluffs I mentioned above. Calling down to the river in itself is fairly optimistic I think, with just the T kicker to my top pair, but I had a feeling villain had enough bluffs on the turn to warrant the call. The shove was targetting his QJ+, overpairs and 2 pairs. I don't think I should have many bluffs here, and would shove the straight, which makes me feel I need to have some bluffs. The move is super strong, and I think I had a very large chance of it working against anything other than the straight here. Probably some sets call, but I imagine a flopped set would raise otf and a turned set would either check or bet larger on that board Texture. That being said, he should be checking back most hands that my shove targets, which makes me like my move less.

All in all I think this should be a fold, since villain probably doesn't have enough folds to make the shove +EV in this spot. I dunno....

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 105.3 BB
BTN: 136.3 BB
SB: 100.5 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 40.1 BB
MP: 128.1 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T Q

UTG raises to 3.5 BB, fold, fold, BTN calls 3.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 2.5 BB

Flop: (11 BB, 3 players) 4 Q 5
Hero checks, UTG bets 10.5 BB, BTN calls 10.5 BB, Hero calls 10.5 BB

Turn: (42.5 BB, 3 players) 6
Hero checks, UTG checks, BTN bets 10 BB, Hero calls 10 BB, fold

River: (62.5 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero checks, BTN bets 32 BB, Hero raises to 76 BB and is all-in, BTN calls 44 BB



----

This is just a bit unfortunate, and I think funamentally stems from thinking villain was someone else at another table, also directly to my right, also tagged as a fun player with similar stat structure who I had seen was willing to get it in with AJo. So probably it is just a bet/call PF which I would have gotten away from on this board without much difficulty.

If I were to elect to 4 bet here then I prefer just jamming, as I feel a larger portion of his 3betting range is willing to call off rather than jam over a 4bet. This is an example of how I tend to play worse against fun players. Definitely a leak I need to address asap, as these players represent the part of the pool I should be generating my profit from.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 107.6 BB
SB: 214.3 BB
BB: 80.1 BB
Hero (UTG): 251.4 BB
MP: 100 BB
CO: 75.7 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, BB raises to 10.5 BB, Hero raises to 32 BB, BB raises to 80.1 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 48.1 BB

Flop: (160.7 BB, 2 players) 8 3 3

Turn: (160.7 BB, 2 players) J

River: (160.7 BB, 2 players) 5



----

This is another marginal one. Again, I think my line reasonably includes a lot of flushes/top sets here, so I expect villain to fold the vast majority of his value betting range to the turn x/shove. Villain had solid, somewhat PF call happy stats over a 74 hand sample. Obviously the float/fold line is good, but it just doesn't sit well with me. Thoughts on this welcomed.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 16.6 BB
BB: 60.9 BB
UTG: 207 BB
Hero (MP): 115.4 BB
CO: 71 BB
BTN: 160.9 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A Q

fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, CO calls 3 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (9.5 BB, 3 players) 7 5 4
BB checks, Hero checks, CO bets 7 BB, fold, Hero calls 7 BB

Turn: (23.5 BB, 2 players) 4
Hero checks, CO bets 16.5 BB, Hero raises to 71.9 BB, CO calls 44.5 BB and is all-in

River: (145.5 BB, 2 players) J



--------

I hate the bet on the river. Absolute punt. My hand plays much better as a check where, as played using it as a bluffcatcher against a medium sized bet is possible expecting the majority of his missed range to fire a bluff on this runout.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 208.3 BB
SB: 100 BB
Hero (BB): 185.8 BB
UTG: 101.4 BB
CO: 63.1 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J 9

fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 10.5 BB, BTN calls 8 BB

Flop: (21.5 BB, 2 players) Q 8 9
Hero checks, BTN bets 7.2 BB, Hero calls 7.2 BB

Turn: (35.9 BB, 2 players) K
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (35.9 BB, 2 players) K
Hero bets 23 BB, BTN calls 23 BB



----

This was the hand that in part made me misplay my AK described above.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 151.2 BB
BB: 51.4 BB
Hero (UTG): 189.7 BB
CO: 116.6 BB
BTN: 73.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A Q

Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, BB raises to 5 BB, Hero raises to 20 BB, BB calls 15 BB

Flop: (40.5 BB, 2 players) 2 5 5
BB bets 31.4 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 31.4 BB

Turn: (103.3 BB, 2 players) 8

River: (103.3 BB, 2 players) 5

Day 14B
Start: $314.4
End: $283.8

.... sigh... Well... regular tables are absolutely crushing me, and it really screwed over my game. I started playing scared and timidly, expecting to get snapped or raised every time I even thought about entering the pot. I got outdrawn, none of the times I was ahead I got value and every time I went for value I was put in nasty spots where I ended up not being able to fold. This in turn led me to playing weak and missing obvious spots. And every time I tried to snap out of it villain had the top of their nut range, which kicked me right back into the funk.

Serious confidence catastrophy underway and ended the day -450bb.

I'm struggling to keep my spirits up. Well... let's face it, as I write this I have failed entirely to keep my spirits up. Feel the desperation tilt tickling the back of my mind making me want to load up 4 zoom tables. I will not do that at this moment.

Anyway, enought whining. All I can do right now is to try to take a step back, see what lessons can be learned and try to implement them going forward.

Evening Sesh


Month to date


hopefully my journey so far has been interesting to some of you. Maybe some, like me, are struggling with the same confidence issues. Maybe my posts help someone realise that they aren't alone in this. Who knows. They help me decompress and think about my sessions and the way I play and approach the game, so it's +EV all round I think.

800bb remain before I have to move down to 5NL. Hoping I can pull it back over the next couple days so I don't have to move down. Moving down will essentially kiss my RB challenge goodbye...

Day 15
Start: $283.4
End: $194.7

Sigh.. I can't even... Ugh

So, I had a very productive coaching session this morning, where we identified and laid out specific fixes to help plug my main, massive leaks. Sadly, this process has resulted in me having to fundamentally change my approach to the game, and as such there has been some adjustment as I incorporate the new ideas and guidelines into my strategic package. So, the start of today was a bit rough as I fumbled around a bit, but I think I started getting into the hang of things.

Then the deck decided to keep doing what it has been doing all week to me and absolute roundhouse kick me to the face, resulting in a session where I felt like I was entirely hamstrung, unable to even get anything resembling a flop I could even reasonably take a stab at, and when I had a value hand villain either had absolute air or the coconuts. I also ran like absolute dogshite in all ins, including getting KK in PF vs QQ only to see them flop a set both times in the literal course of 4 hands.

So.... not a great start to a new start and a new strategy. I frikkin ran 700bb below all in EV with an average All in equity of 60 frikkin percent today... meaning in another universe I played IDENTICALLY and am very happy, ending the day a solid 300 or so BB's in the black without even having to do anything other than win when ahead.

Anyway... below $200 now, so that's it for NL10 for the time being.... Time to demoralizingly grind out NL5 and hope I manage to clear at least one RB chest in time to move up to 10NL again and maybe take a shot at the last one before the end of the month. $47 bucks in rake needs to be gotten in order to do that. I will start mixing in 10NL again at $300, moving up 100% once I pass $350. (If I pass... the poker gods need to give me some serious love if anything is going to change at the moment.)

To put it in perspective a bit: Over the course of 3100 played hands on the 11th of December.... only 305 of them involved Top Pair+, and my winrate with these hands was -107bb/100

I mean... christ... Is this **** normal? **** me man...

Sigh.... Deep breaths. Step back, reset, build back stronger.

Today... disaster



Month so far in bb's won (lost)


Since start of thread in bb's

Day 16
Start: $194.7
End: $177.6

The cold deck continues. As mentioned in my last post I have moved down to 5NL. 2 tabling Zoom today since I didn't really have a lot of time and wanted to get some hands in. Annoyingly the start of my session was not particularly bueno. Tried to make some moves, but had to fold to aggression on bad runouts a lot in the early parts of the session, as well as monumentally punting off a stack like an absolute donkey. That kind of snapped me out of it a bit, but perhaps I overcompensated a bit and left some value on the table PF. I think I missed some clear 3-Bet spots, but at these stakes being conservative and value heavy is probably the best way to go. That doesn't make for exciting poker when you never get anything of value.

I had one spot in the first session that was weird though. unknown villain opens to 9x UTG, which is a super fishy move. I have JJ in the CO and get a bit weirded out by the 9x, so elect to just CC in position. Rest of the table folds and we see a J x A flop. Villain checks and I umm and ah a bit about what to do with my set of jacks. On the one hand, it is a coordinated board where I should see a lot of calls from a variety of holdings. On the other hand villain 9x opened PF and I have absolutely no idea how they think. A part of me is thinking AA or nothing, so I decide to roll the dice on the dicey board and check behind, hoping to at least keep the majority of a wide range I am absolutely crushing in and maybe catching some punts on later streets or getting called a bit light on certain boards.

Turn comes the Q ... wonderful. literally the worst card in the deck. Villain checks and I can do nothing other than check behind.

Brick on the river and villain jams for 91bb. This was so polarized it took me entirely off guard, and I end up spew calling due to how polarized and how confused I am about his line. He shows KT for the turned Royal. the absolute coconuts. So... I guess it was worth 91bb to see my second royal? Basically, villain played so badly that it ended up being good.

After a short break I decided to load up Twitch Studio and record my next 300 or so hands. This would allow me to have something to look back on, and force me to articulate my decision process. Ended up getting in about 330 hands which were largely breakeven @ a modest 2.5bb/100. I have linked to youtube where I uploaded the recorded session, and will be adding to this playlist as I progress, as I think it is a super useful study tool and may be interesting for some to see and interact with.

Last 320 hands - Recorded


Total for the day. 5NL Zoom @ -40.18bb/100 *cries in a corner*



----

Only generated $1.4 dollars in rake, so RB challenge is pretty effed at the moment. Might see if I can justify adding 100$ to the roll this month in order to get back to 10NL just to clear the challenge chests, but it's marginal.

Only way is up though! Must not get discouraged. I know I have the ability to play at a high level, I just need to weather the storm and take any and all learning opportunities that arise.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfTE2vNmV04

So, this is my one value hand of the day and I think I left quite a bit of it on the table.

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

BTN: 101 BB
SB: 93.4 BB
Hero (BB): 105 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 100.8 BB
CO: 90.2 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB calls 0.6 BB, Hero raises to 3 BB, SB calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) 9 A 8
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (6 BB, 2 players) J
SB bets 4 BB, Hero calls 4 BB

River: (14 BB, 2 players) 6
SB bets 9 BB, Hero raises to 31.6 BB, SB calls 22.6 BB



I think i should be betting this flop BvB. The marginal nature of my A with the 4 kicker caused me to check back, but on second thought I think it warrants a bet. In that case villain probably calls flop, checks turn and I probably continue now that I have the nut flush draw. Probably another small bet where I probably find a call to a reasonably sized x/r. That way I think we may get it in on the river. But then again... usually the river just bricks and I end up having to fold a pair of aces or check back. I dunno. Shoulda/woulda/coulda.

As played, I was targetting the straight with my raise, but I always find it hard to judge what sizing to go in these spots. Does he call off here against a Jam? 50bb? I know I probably can find a fold here if I am dialled in. I dunno... Learning opportunities to be had though.

Day 17
Start: $177.6
End: $174.7

Got in 1k Hands today. The mid part of the session was pretty decent, but a bit of fatigue snuck in right at the end without me noticing it, which had a negative impact on the result. I need to be more strict about when and for how long I play. I feel like things are coming along though. I am working on finding a balance between my aggressive nature and avoiding punts, allowing me to maintain my stack better between value hands whilst still avoiding the silliest unts and being able to make some good folds where previously I would have punted off.

I feel like I am getting somewhere, but my mental game keeps getting in the way. I spent the majority of the day travelling back from the north of norway though, so that probably didn't help my ability to stay focussed. Wanted to play though, as I spent most of the journey reading about poker, watching coaching videos and thinking through the adjustments I am trying to incorporate.

Baby steps.

Today's session.



Noticing that my SB play is consistently producing poor results. I think I may be a bit too aggressive when it comes to betting vs steals and squeezing, which tends to get me into some marginal spots when called. I think i will try tightening up my range here for the forseeable future.

---

Worst hand of the day was probably this one:

As played I don't particularly mind it, as the line on this board should definitely fold out a large portion of villains continuing range if they are solid. As it turns out he made a hero call with a turned 6nd pair from a missed open ender on the flop.

At the end of the day it was an unneccessary spot to put myself in. Should probably cbet the flop and maybe continue on the turn. Or just check fold, but that really doesn't sit well with me. something I need to work on I guess.

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

BTN: 132.6 BB
Hero (SB): 116.8 BB
BB: 105.2 BB
UTG: 332.8 BB
MP: 100 BB
CO: 280.6 BB

Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP raises to 2.4 BB, fold, BTN calls 2.4 BB, Hero raises to 12.4 BB, fold, MP calls 10 BB, fold

Flop: (28.2 BB, 2 players) 6 Q 5
Hero checks, MP bets 17.8 BB, Hero raises to 40 BB, MP calls 22.2 BB

Turn: (108.2 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero checks, MP checks

River: (108.2 BB, 2 players) 3
Hero bets 64.4 BB and is all-in, MP calls 47.6 BB and is all-in



----

This was also silly and avoidable

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

Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 128.6 BB
BB: 36 BB
UTG: 38 BB
MP: 117.6 BB
CO: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP raises to 2 BB, fold, Hero calls 2 BB, fold, BB raises to 3 BB, MP calls 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (9.4 BB, 3 players) T 9 3
BB checks, MP bets 4.6 BB, Hero raises to 10.6 BB, BB raises to 33 BB and is all-in, fold, Hero calls 22.4 BB

Turn: (80 BB, 2 players) Q

River: (80 BB, 2 players) K



----

And this was an absolute punt toward the end of the session, so I was getting too tired as I had played way past the point where I should have called it a night.

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

Hero (BTN): 180.8 BB
SB: 101.8 BB
BB: 141.6 BB
UTG: 98.6 BB
MP: 123.2 BB
CO: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 5 6

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.8 BB, SB raises to 9.4 BB, fold, Hero calls 6.6 BB

Flop: (19.8 BB, 2 players) A Q 9
SB bets 7 BB, Hero calls 7 BB

Turn: (33.8 BB, 2 players) K
SB checks, Hero bets 21.8 BB, SB raises to 53 BB, fold



-----

Another one of the late hands where I should have saved 20 ish bb's

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

Hero (BTN): 216.4 BB
SB: 121.4 BB
BB: 140 BB
UTG: 107 BB
MP: 103.2 BB
CO: 101 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 5 5

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.8 BB, SB raises to 12 BB, fold, Hero calls 9.2 BB

Flop: (25 BB, 2 players) 4 A K
SB bets 8 BB, Hero raises to 21.2 BB, SB raises to 109.4 BB and is all-in, fold



----

Just got lucky here. I think the call on the turn is a spewy.

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

BTN: 105.4 BB
SB: 702.8 BB
BB: 98 BB
Hero (UTG): 123.4 BB
MP: 135.2 BB
CO: 81.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero raises to 2.8 BB, fold, CO calls 2.8 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 1.8 BB

Flop: (8.8 BB, 3 players) 4 2 J
BB checks, Hero bets 2.8 BB, CO raises to 9.8 BB, fold, Hero calls 7 BB

Turn: (28.4 BB, 2 players) Q
Hero checks, CO bets 27.2 BB, Hero calls 27.2 BB

River: (82.8 BB, 2 players) A
Hero bets 83.6 BB and is all-in, CO calls 41.8 BB and is all-in

Day 18A
Start: $174.7
End: $184 ($200 behind)

Played a short 2 table session of 10NL 6-Max Reg tables this morning. Recorded the session to make sure I articulated my thought process and have something for review. Video linked below for those who want to give it a watch.

This session felt good. Nice and controlled, and the format of recording myself definitely helped to solidify my decision process. This will definitely be a regular thing I do. Ran into a couple unfortunate spots vs a player who turned out to be pretty whaley, which was my suspicion early on, but he just happened to have it. I will post a few hands below.

I ahve decided to place $200 in reserve in order to stay at 10NL. Mainly for the RB challenge, but also because I feel I am right on the cusp of sorting out my main issues, and if I do I feel fairly confident that I am beating the level.

Morning Session - 10NL 6-Max Reg



Week thus far in BB's


---

This was an interesting one. both villains were players I had flagged as weak, with the initial UTG limper being weak passive and the SB 3 bettor being extremely loose and aggressive over the tiny sample I had of him (12 hands). I felt at the time that just 4 bet jamming in this spot is better vs these players as I expect to get called by a wider range than what I will face if I 4 bet to say 33bb and face a 5 bet jam from SB. At the time of playing I was very uncertain about this move, especially when SB turned up with AA, and I thought maybe I had been overextrapolating a read from a small sample size where villain had just been sun running. Later orbits confirmed my initial position however, and he earned the whale tag.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 112.7 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 141.4 BB
MP: 101 BB
Hero (CO): 104.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A K

UTG calls 1 BB, fold, Hero raises to 4.5 BB, fold, SB raises to 15.5 BB, fold, UTG calls 14.5 BB, Hero raises to 104.3 BB and is all-in, SB raises to 112.7 BB and is all-in, fold

Flop: (225.1 BB, 2 players) 7 9 T

Turn: (225.1 BB, 2 players) 2

River: (225.1 BB, 2 players) Q

SB cashed out 187 BB for a fee of 1.9 BB



----

Vs same villain as last hand, I elect to just CC from the SB with ATo figuring it has such good equity against the wide range this particular player is opening from any position. I didn't have many more hands seen from him, but enough that I felt confident that he was going to be very wide here.

On the flop I think a loose aggressive player such as this will c-bet almost his entire range, so the float seemed fine. When I hit the A on the turn I went into call down mode and the river brings trip A's. I check to let him bluff, and he bets pot. At the time of playing I was contemplating a raise, though during review and reflection later in the session I sort of berated myself for even considering that line with ATo. Ended up calling and for the second time I ran into the top of his range, as he showed AK.

Later hands showed that villain was quite happy to run big 3 barrel lines with air, so I was happy with how I played it.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 112.7 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 141.4 BB
MP: 101 BB
Hero (CO): 104.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A K

UTG calls 1 BB, fold, Hero raises to 4.5 BB, fold, SB raises to 15.5 BB, fold, UTG calls 14.5 BB, Hero raises to 104.3 BB and is all-in, SB raises to 112.7 BB and is all-in, fold

Flop: (225.1 BB, 2 players) 7 9 T

Turn: (225.1 BB, 2 players) 2

River: (225.1 BB, 2 players) Q

SB cashed out 187 BB for a fee of 1.9 BB



----

Final hand of the session.

Villain was fairly unknown, but was playing 65/55 over a tiny sample. I open from MP with T9hearts, but postflop I forgot the initial line and thought I had cold called a UTG Open due to a seated player between the blinds. This confusion messed up how I approached the hand somewhat, but at the end of the day I felt there were too many bluffs that made sense for villains line. I think, even though I was warring a bit with my emotions in during this hand I was landing on the right decisions and basing them on the right kind of thinking. That was the final hand of the session and it felt spectacularly good.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 76.7 BB
UTG: 144.4 BB
Hero (CO): 251.5 BB
BTN: 50 BB
SB: 128.1 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T 9

fold, Hero raises to 2.8 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 1.8 BB

Flop: (6.1 BB, 2 players) K 2 T
BB checks, Hero bets 3.9 BB, BB raises to 10 BB, Hero calls 6.1 BB

Turn: (26.1 BB, 2 players) K
BB bets 20 BB, Hero calls 20 BB

River: (66.1 BB, 2 players) 2
BB bets 43.9 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 43.9 BB



----

Session video: https://youtu.be/_d5CEaGbMQA

Best of luck brother! Nice to read - love th euppdates. Dream very much alive!

Thanks man! definitely alive, though it has been a rough journey so far. I feel I am getting close now though and trying to not be too results oriented

Thanks for dropping by

Day 18B
Start: $184
End: $197.1 ($200 behind)

Finished the day with a another recorded session (youtube link below) which went fairly well. Had a bit of a dicey start, but I managed to take a few deep breaths and refocus. Ended the day with my first solid result in a while, a nice and steady 220bb profit @ 41bb/100

As I mentioned in my last post, I really feel like things are coming together a bit. I identified at least one spot where old me would have punted off his entire stack at some rather large frequency. Definitely misplayed a few spots, including an open ender OOP vs the table fish. I iso vs his MP limp from the BB with JTclubs and flop the top OESD. C-bet flop is called, and then I barrel on a blank turn card for half pot. Villain raises majority of his stack and I don't have the pot odds to call. I really wish I had taken a check/call line on the turn, but it was one of those instant learning situations and old me would have probably stacked off in frustration vs what was most likely 2 pair plus. Hand posted below.

Result for the day. 41bb/100



Week thus far. Moving in the right direction.



---

JT Hand

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 134.7 BB
UTG: 196 BB
MP: 67.5 BB
CO: 115.6 BB
BTN: 150.1 BB
SB: 128.2 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T J

fold, MP calls 1 BB, fold, fold, SB calls 0.5 BB, Hero raises to 4 BB, MP calls 3 BB, fold

Flop: (9 BB, 2 players) 8 2 9
Hero bets 5.8 BB, MP calls 5.8 BB

Turn: (20.6 BB, 2 players) 4
Hero bets 10 BB, MP raises to 39.7 BB, fold



----

Session Recording: https://youtu.be/uqAB9F707Dg

GL
subbed!

Day 19
Start: $197.1 (+$196.7 added on = $393.8)
End: $427.4 (ink. $105RB Bonus)
Result: -$69.3 mainly from 18-man sng's

Right... today was... not good. Not good at all.

I started with a session of 10NL 6-max where I felt... meh. definitely not my A game. Kept making mistakes and not getting away from hands which resulted in an initial decent start bleeding away into a 100 odd bb hole. That was annoying, since I know I am capable of trivially folding most of those spots when I am tuned in and actually thinking clearly. managed to put my scrappy hat on and redlined myself to about -50bb for the morning session by the end of it.

I have been speaking with an affiliate group and will be getting a RB deal on GGPoker, so my plan is to transition over to GG, and as such i just wanted to clear this damned RB challenge chest. I also was in a bit of a weird mental state this evening, but wanted to play. Decided to take the opportunity of not being at work on call 24/7 to load up some 18-man SNG's. That did not go well. Like... way beyond expectation poorly. 11 tourneys entered, zero cashes. I misplayed a few crucial spots, including a seriously bad all in call on the bubble with AQo. Villain had A6 but binked the flop and turn, which left me crippled and unable to do anything, resulting in a stone bubble. That was annoying as I had entered the mid stage of the FT as the chip leader, but ran into variance in unavoidable spots before making the blunder with AQo. Anyways... $65 in the hole from SNG's was not really on the agenda today... so for some reason I decided to stupidly shot take at 25NL zoom.

Luckily I ran well in the beginning, and was feeling fairly dialled in. Until I wasn't. And before I knew it I had loaded up another 2 tables of zoom just gunning for the RB chest and my Z game slid firmly in to take the helm. From a high of 280bb I found myself treading water at -20bb in what seemed like no time. I managed to snap out of it though, and settled back in to a grove 2 tabling. Losing one 77% all in with a straight vs a flopped set which got there with a board pairing river had me seriously doubting my life choices. Luckily I managed to check back a flopped set of aces to let villain bink a set of 8's on the turn a few hands later and got back to even.

As soon as the RB chest cleared I sat out the session, ending my 25NL degen escapade at a solid profit of 5bb's won over 1600 hands. I am officially going to declare that I am beating the level and move on with my life.

On a serious note. Today was a shitshow. It was full on gamble mode with little to no discipline or planning. It was idiotic and going forward I am going to be extremely strict with myself about avoiding nonsense like this. I was under rolled, not in the right mental space, tired and frustrated. It's a no go, and the fact that I somehow managed to keep a bit of the RB was just luck.

So... the plan is as it has been. Work on my game. Put the nonsense aside. Focus on actually playing solid poker and developing myself into the player I want to be. The plan is to move to GGPoker as soon as the affiliate link comes through and play 10NL regular tables there. Bonus rakeback from the affiliate will be 35% flat based on net rake generated. I will take that any day over the chests offered by stars as it removes the urgency of feeling like you have to put in a certain volume. It will be an adjustment to go hudless, but at least they have their own integrated one with the basic stats for the session. It will challenge me to stay present during play and to take solid notes on the others at the table. +EV all round I think.

Today in BB's. There is a prize for the one that can point out when my Z game moved in



Week so far in BB's

day 20
Study and reflection day

No play today. I think I need to give myself a break in order to resettle a bit. Real life and poker has been a bit of a whirlwind over the past couple days, and I feel myself sort pf chasing multiple dragons.

Those dragons are a combination of a lingering anciety over whether I have anything to offer with regards to poker and a slurry of real life issues regarding how to be a good dad, how to be a good husband, how to be a good person, who am I now, adjusting to the absolute atomic bomb that is parenthood etc.

As for the poker front I really need to get out of my own head and get aome perspective. It's better than it was 20 days ago at the start of this thread, but I am still feeling a bit in the dark as to whether I am actually capable of being a winning player. Am I in the valley of despair? Or have I yet to reach mt. Stupid? Am I just a baboon clicking buttons, arrogantly labelling the others around me as fish whilst oblivious to the fact that I am one of them?

The known unknowns are all fine and good, it's the unknown unknowns that are the issue. Luckily, through engaging here and elsewhere I am getting in touch with more and more likeminded people in the poker world. All the training courses in the world pale in comparison to the +EV of having a group of people far wiser than oneself that one can reach out to for advice and insight.

I think, at the end of the day a positive spin can be put on everything so far. This thread has forced me to be brutally honest with myself. I have tried to not hide anything, even though at times it is tempting, and this has helped me identify the problem spots. The mists are clearing somewhat from obscuring the road ahead, and that at least gives me the confidence to plow on.

I'll probably be reducing the amount I update this thread, keeping it to some general thoughts and reflections on the day, and then providing a fuller, weekly rundown on sundays.

As an aside: if anyone reads this and is interested in running through some hands/talking poker/etc etc please feel free to reach out on discord: robinbjerke#4222

Toodles

Sent friend request, would love to study some hands.

Thank Chris(t) for that!

Day 21
Start: $427.4
End: $369.2

Well, the cycle of disappointment and miscontent continues. As usual, I start off the sessions well. I manage to pick off a stack or two, and then something happens, usually coinciding with a run of cold cards and whiffed flops, or spots where I have to call a bet or two only to be forced to fold or run into the tippy top of villains range. And as a result I start getting exhasperated, and my c,d and E games kick in, involving stationy call downs whilst my subconscious is yelling at me to "fold goddammit, he has nothing you beat!"

And all of that then combines into a mishmash of personal issues. The sensible thing I think would be to give poker a break. But in a way, poker is the only "me time" I have. It is sort of my refuge.

Anyways... it is frustrating to feel like I am treading water, rehashing the same mistakes, all the while aware of them. I think had I been able to record my sessions today that would have helped, but alas I was unable to do so. No excuse, I know, but I find it helps ground my thought processes a bit.

Additionally, I had a little looksie at the 16z pool on pokerstars. It's an interesting place. People tend to skip this level and hop straight from 10NL to 25NL, so the zoom pool played much more like a regular table. This can swing both ways, but I was doing fairly well and was pretty dialled in for the first half of the zoom session. Then the thing happened again and I just couldn't get away from several spots, and the deck froze up and the cycle started anew. And I didn't end the session.

So... A total of 360bb's in the hole today. With no one to blame but myself.

Todays sessions 10NL and 16z


some of the stupid, avoidable ****

: Should have gotten away from this on the flop. Probably not even a c-bet tbf. on the turn and river I just couldn't bring myself to place a 5 in villains range. Stationy, punty madness and I remember swearing at myself as I called the river, for some strange reason. mesmerized by my TPTK like a day 1 fish.

PokerStars - $0.16 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 87.19 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 104.94 BB
MP: 100 BB
Hero (CO): 125.56 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 3 4 2
BB checks, Hero bets 2 BB, BB raises to 12 BB, Hero calls 10 BB

Turn: (29.5 BB, 2 players) A
BB bets 28.19 BB, Hero calls 28.19 BB

River: (85.88 BB, 2 players) 9
BB bets 57.31 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 57.31 BB



----------

This was also stupid. Called the flop because I felt a tingle about the bet size from villain, that combined with the wheel outs caused me to peel one. When I hit my set I'm buzzing. No way in my mind villain has a 2. I should never have called the 3bet on the turn. Knew it at the time that nothing good could come from it. Problem is I didn't take the time to really think through villains possible range, and I am ashamed to say I was gobsmacked when I saw 56. Anyway, avoidable as hell. And punting off against the turn 3bet was fishy as ***.

PokerStars - $0.16 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 87.19 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 104.94 BB
MP: 100 BB
Hero (CO): 125.56 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 3 4 2
BB checks, Hero bets 2 BB, BB raises to 12 BB, Hero calls 10 BB

Turn: (29.5 BB, 2 players) A
BB bets 28.19 BB, Hero calls 28.19 BB

River: (85.88 BB, 2 players) 9
BB bets 57.31 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 57.31 BB



----

this was just annoying

PokerStars - $0.16 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 75.19 BB
Hero (SB): 159.88 BB
BB: 129.06 BB
UTG: 126.13 BB
MP: 70.63 BB
CO: 106.69 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q A

fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5 BB, 2 players) J 4 T
Hero checks, BB bets 3.56 BB, Hero calls 3.56 BB

Turn: (12.13 BB, 2 players) 2
Hero checks, BB bets 7 BB, Hero raises to 15.44 BB, BB calls 8.44 BB

River: (43 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero bets 27.5 BB, BB calls 27.5 BB



----

Not sure what I was trying to represent here. Stupid and avoidable.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 100 BB
MP: 226.5 BB
CO: 100 BB
BTN: 89.5 BB
Hero (SB): 110.1 BB
BB: 166.6 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9 A

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 2.5 BB, fold

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) K 4 K
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (7 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero checks, BTN bets 4.4 BB, Hero calls 4.4 BB

River: (15.8 BB, 2 players) 4
Hero checks, BTN bets 18 BB, Hero raises to 52.2 BB, BTN raises to 82.1 BB and is all-in, fold



---

All right. Enough self loathing. Deep breaths...

Day 22 - Week 4
Start: $369.2
End: $367.1

Officially I played 3 sessions today, though the first started at 1 am yesterday whilst I was on a bit of tilt. Because of that first session, the day was officially a slight loss, but the 2 sessions I played "today" were how it's supposed to be.

I recorded them and stayed focussed. I stuck to my goals and managed to maintain what I think is probably close to my A game throughout the 2 and a bit hours played. I had a planned 30+ break in the middle and everything went as it was supposed to. This was a massive boost to my confidence, and whilst I definitely identified some mistakes and had some issues with some hands, these were all at a much higher level than usual. Hopefully this is a trajectory I can maintain moving forward.

This week has been rough. Really rough. Not just for poker but real life also. I have been spirally and struggling with massive holes in my mental and life games, and everything has bled into everything else. As I write this I am alone in the flat for the first time in what feels like months. We decided that my wife and kid should go to my parents a few days ahead of me for christmas, so that I can spend some time just getting out of my own head and sorting out my mental state, which has not been good. Poker has during this time been both a positive and negative factor. On the one hand, my passion for it as a serious hobby has given me something that was "me", has been grounding a bit and a safe space. On the other, my inability to be rested, to have a clear head has massively affected my play across all areas, which in turn has bled over into real life.

It has been an enlightening week to say the least, and I think over the past couple days a few things have started crystallising to the point where I think I am getting better at plugging my mental game leaks. Recording my sessions has been massively +EV, and I will continue doing this for the forseeable future. The videos are not flashy or high production value, but they are real. No edits, no highlights. Just the grind. I hope they can be of interest to some, though their purpose is not to be entertainment.

I am hopeful for next week. I think I have it in me to dramatically alter course. Below is a rundown of todays sessions (the 2 ones that "count") and links to the recordings, as well as the weekly and aggregate graph in bb's won (lost).

Todays sessions: 10NL 6-Max. 32.5 bb/100 @ 39.5bb/100 EV



Recorded Sessions:
https://youtu.be/P-tRNviafQc
https://youtu.be/L6dCt51GCVM

Week result in bb's


Since start of thread in bb's lost

Day 23
Start: $367.1
End: $372

A decent start to the week overall, with a few annoying and avoidable spots that cost me around 200bb that I should have easily been able to avoid.

The day started with some Zoom, which went... meh. I wasn't quite switched on and I got some unfortunate variance to boot. One clear punt in the first session, but I managed to recoup most of the initial loss, and even with an unfortunate 3bet Blind v Button spot where villain slow played the top of his range I think all in all it was an ok start to the day.

After a quick break and some coffee I loaded up 2 regular 6 max tables and had a very enjoyable hour hunting and categorizing recreational players. The latter end of that session saw me stack a few guys in quick succession.

After dinner and some tidying I had sort of decided to call it a day, but decided to play another session. I loaded 3 tables of 6-max and was feeling pretty dialled in early on, getting an absolute gift from a whale in the early stages and then just maintaining my stacks until one unfortunate hand just suddenly caused a bit of tilt to sneak in undedetected. undetected till I absolutely monkeypunted off a stack with AQ. Looking back at the hand it's... meh... not horrendous I guess, but I definitely should have saved about 35bb's at least that hand. (AQ in squeezed pot on an AKxhhs board facing heavy flop and turn (xs) aggression by 3bettor, and I just donk jammed the turn like a baboon into his AK). I then spanked off 2 more stupid spots in quick succession before being able to catch myself. The second was utterly and perplexingly stupid, and the last was sort of ok but NOT vs that opponent. Sadly he had just sat down, so I did not realise that he was the bluewhale of the session, calling down pretty much anything if he connected with the board.

After that I managed to pull myself together a bit, closed out two of the tables and just focussed on the one with the fun player. Traded some large pots there, including getting a gift from one of the other players when they shoved the river with 2pair into my nut straight. So the day ended in the black, barely.

*** Learnings: Stick to 2 tables for now. Make sure I am rested and dialled in before I play. Don't be a donkey vs unknown players in multiway pots.

Result for the day.



This was the hand that triggered the tilt:

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 109.6 BB
UTG: 137.8 BB
MP: 148.9 BB
CO: 117.3 BB
BTN: 78.1 BB
SB: 111.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T 8

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2 BB, fold, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (4.5 BB, 2 players) 6 3 5
Hero checks, BTN bets 4.3 BB, Hero raises to 8.6 BB, BTN calls 4.3 BB

Turn: (21.7 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero bets 20.7 BB, BTN calls 20.7 BB

River: (63.1 BB, 2 players) Q
Hero checks, BTN checks



----

These were the results of said tilt:

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 106.7 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 101.4 BB
Hero (MP): 100 BB
CO: 129.1 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q A

fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, CO calls 2.5 BB, fold, fold, BB raises to 14 BB, Hero calls 11.5 BB, fold

Flop: (31 BB, 2 players) K 9 A
BB bets 12 BB, Hero calls 12 BB

Turn: (55 BB, 2 players) 3
BB bets 39.4 BB, Hero raises to 74 BB and is all-in, BB calls 34.6 BB and is all-in

River: (203 BB, 2 players) 4



----

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 110.3 BB
UTG: 121.7 BB
CO: 152.8 BB
BTN: 100.6 BB
SB: 112.7 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 6 5

UTG raises to 2.2 BB, fold, BTN calls 2.2 BB, fold, Hero calls 1.2 BB

Flop: (7.1 BB, 3 players) 7 J T
Hero checks, UTG bets 2.2 BB, BTN raises to 13.4 BB, Hero calls 13.4 BB, fold

Turn: (36.1 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero checks, BTN bets 34.5 BB, Hero calls 34.5 BB

River: (105.1 BB, 2 players) 6
Hero bets 60.2 BB and is all-in, BTN calls 50.5 BB and is all-in



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This was the last spew which happened to be vs the whale mentioned earlier. I managed to reign myself back in after that and refocus.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (MP): 100 BB
CO: 120.3 BB
BTN: 151.3 BB
SB: 87.1 BB
BB: 191.1 BB
UTG: 109.2 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A Q

fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, SB calls 2 BB, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (7.5 BB, 3 players) 8 J 6
SB checks, BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (7.5 BB, 3 players) K
SB bets 1 BB, BB raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 14.2 BB, SB calls 13.2 BB, fold

River: (37.9 BB, 2 players) 2
SB checks, Hero bets 48.1 BB, SB calls 48.1 BB

Recorded my sessions today.

Available here for anyone interested:

https://youtu.be/HdckYq_IVEo
https://youtu.be/IOtJEnTdWCY
https://youtu.be/ew5KgbPiarY

The AQdd hand, if we don't raise he can certainly show up at showdown with some AJs depending on how wide he is 3betting. I imagine all AJ checks the river as well, because what else calls for value in your range? Also you represent such a narrow range by raising, literally just AK & 99, and he obviously blocks a lot of AK, and 99 is few combos. Also his whole range is nutted so I think he calls like near 100% of the time. If he's good, and thinking about how you see his range, he can maybe have some QQ that you fold out, but that's it.

AQcc hand I don't think is awful actually. Flop is a standard check back, and I don't think turn is a bad raise as you have 12 good outs. River is a decent spot to bluff, but I don't think you need to overbet. I think 1/2 pot accomplishes 95% of your fold equity there? You probably won't fold out a K, but will fold out all missed draws and Jacks.

Positive red line and negative blue line is often due to one or all of the following:


1)You're not folding enough rivers.
2) You're making bets on the river that will only get called by better hands. Having probably the best hand on the river is not a good enough reason to bet or raise. Think about villain's calling range to that bet. If no worse hands will call you, it's a -EV bet. This is a very common leak.
3) You're not getting enough value from your good hands. - This is often due to choosing bet sizes and lines that are causing villain to fold his worse hands and sometimes even call with better. Example, if you hit top set on a dry flop and CB a pot-sized bet, sure you'll win the pot but you win very little money.
4)You're bluffing too much.


It's most likely to be numbers 1, 2 and 3 IMHO.


Remember, the objective is not to win the most pots. It's to win the most money.

Yeah, this is entirely on point. It has been a combination of all 4 actually, with varying emphasis, but as you can see over the last couple K hands the trend has changed a bit as I am making adjustments to my game.

Currently trying to dial in a decent balance between 1, 2 ,3 and 4 to where we have a positive blue line without tanking our redline completely.

Whoda thought that it's an actual hard game to be good at, this game people literally make a living be8ng good at?

The learning journey is pretty fascinating and rewarding in itself actually, and even though I am currently losing money I think the EV gain of the insights I am getting about how I work and how I learn and how I respond to adversity is huge. It's been a while since I felt it. Been cruising in the confort zone for too long.

Cheers for the comment and your thoughts.