"Well, it's ever so funny. 'Cause I don't think you're special, I don't think you're cool. You're just probably alright, but under these lights you look beautiful and I'm struggling, I can't see through your fake tan. Yeah, and you know it for a fact that everybody's eating out of your hands. But what do you know? Oh, you know nothing"



Fancied listening to a bit of music from back in the day. I normally play without music for some reason. Don't know why as I'm always listening to something usually, whether it's at work or out running etc. Arctic Monkeys are from my home city. They were a breath of fresh air when they first came out. Recent stuff has been too mainstream and dulled down for me but the old stuff is still exceptional. Each album/song used to tell a story, not enough of that in modern music.

Short 2 hour session before the F1, will have another later this evening. Quite a slow one, was only 2 tabling and got ~800 hands in. Was a swingy session but I came out a winner so I'm happy .

Got off to a bad start when I lost got my QQ allin pre BTNvsSB and unfortunately he had KK. Then I opened J9s UTG and made a questionable call when the BB 3bet pre. Left myself in an awkward spot as he was under 100BB and I flopped a gut shot and a flush draw. Turn gave me a pair too and he jammed, I was priced in. Had 34% equity but he held up. Bottom line is that I should have folded pre usually. Still felt okay-ish with him being a fishy player. Rest of the session was super solid and managed to win it all back plus a bit more.

This hand happened right at the end of the session. I hate these spots on the river but QQ was too high up in my range to fold. I definitely tanked before calling but was too high up in my range to fold.. felt pretty close though. Fair play to him for 3 barrelling.


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

BTN: 392.2 BB
SB: 138.6 BB
BB: 128.4 BB
UTG: 143.8 BB
Hero (MP): 274.8 BB
CO: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, Hero raises to 2.4 BB, fold, BTN calls 2.4 BB, SB raises to 13 BB, fold, Hero calls 10.6 BB, BTN calls 10.6 BB

Flop: (40 BB, 3 players) 8 7 9
SB bets 17.2 BB, Hero calls 17.2 BB, fold

Turn: (74.4 BB, 2 players) 3
SB bets 32.2 BB, Hero calls 32.2 BB

River: (138.8 BB, 2 players) 4
SB bets 76.2 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 76.2 BB

Another solid couple of sessions today, overall very happy with my play. Hopped on again just now to play a couple more hours before bed but this hand happened within the first 10. Just going to walk away for the day . Thought we were rounding the corner with the run bad but clearly not, absolutely awful call by V. Kinda sickening tbh, played so well today so losing a stack to this is pretty ****.. Now running 850BB under EV over the last couple of days.. We go again tomorrow..

The most frustrating thing about it all is I would be rolled for 10NL now if I was running =EV. Hopefully get there soon. We finished the day up a few buy ins still, so pleased with that. Just really wanna book that big 10BI upswing, gotta make sure I keep my play in check and don't try and force it.



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

BTN: 90.4 BB
SB: 102.4 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 124.2 BB
MP: 126.8 BB
CO: 177 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, SB raises to 27 BB, Hero raises to 100 BB and is all-in, SB calls 73 BB

Flop: (200 BB, 2 players) T Q 8

Turn: (200 BB, 2 players) 5

River: (200 BB, 2 players) 8

Posted too soon and then missed the window to edit! On the plus side I'm definitely improving my redline play bit by bit, used to be a 45° downwards trend on the graph, getting there bit by bit. The Upswing Lab was without a doubt an excellent purchase, even if a lot of the first modules were written in 2017/2018 they still help with today's game. Graph from the last 3-4 days. Would like to get more volume in but I'm only 2 tabling zoom and have a bias towards study over playing right now.

Might need to start running it twice for a week or two!

Fitness - Knees are much better now. Got myself analysed at a local shop. Turns out the new shoes I had were causing a large pronation due to the sole being too soft. I'm a neutral runner but these were causing my whole ankle to bend over at a significant angle, I was shocked when I watched the slow-mo video they recorded. As soon as I got of the treadmill and replicated the movement stood still I could feel the pain I've been suffering with. Got some new shoes and so far no issues, still running with wraps though just to be safe. Going to start running with my partner tomorrow as she wants some support whilst getting into it, so can take it easy still whilst my knees fully recover.

Study - Flying through the Upswing lab. The further I get into it the more interested I get. Sometimes a bit difficult to grasp what they're talking about, as they're so much more advanced than most but they explain it well. Taking a lot of notes.

Mental game - Pretty much finished with the audiobook of "the mental game of poker". Usually listen to it whilst chilling in bed or when running. It's sunk in a lot more this way than through reading, just the way my brain works, never liked "book learning".

GTO+ - Trying to use this more and more. I've constructed most of my ranges and I'm trying to run a couple spots through it each night, at the moment I'm just interested in learning the software properly. I like the modern look much more than other solvers, plus it links well with Flopzilla and is very well priced. Last ranges I'm working on are villain cold calling ranges. These are bit harder for me as I don't really have a cold calling range in my game, so having to look at lots of different spots and different V's. I'm also reviewing my RFI/3-bet charts, comparing Upswing's to Zenith's after seeing a few people on here saying the latter are slightly better for today's games.

Can only get short sessions in during the week at the moment, work is mad busy and I'm knackered when I get home. Up 5BI's tonight after an hour or so. Nothing too special to share, I got the right cards at the right time against the right players and they held up. Had a guy cold 5bet jam JJ into my KK towards the end for 100BB, some serious stones in a zoom game . Nice to have such a smooth session after the last week or so being a bit brutal, calling it early and enjoying it. Taking the rest of the evening off to finish up some of the Upswing Lab blockers modules. Biggest hand of the night below.

Got eem ! The x/raise on the turn was always my plan, wanted to bet enough to induce a shove. Was 100% sure we were up against TT-QQ or a flush draw. I think I could have bet raised a bit less leaving me slightly more behind to call with but same result. V tanked a 40 second time bank before jamming. Always nice when you only have to watch one card roll off in these situations .

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

BTN: 126.8 BB
SB: 100.4 BB
Hero (BB): 272 BB
UTG: 374.2 BB
MP: 144.8 BB
CO: 288.2 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 2.4 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 10 BB, UTG calls 7.6 BB

Flop: (20.4 BB, 2 players) 7 5 9
Hero bets 6.4 BB, UTG raises to 17 BB, Hero calls 10.6 BB

Turn: (54.4 BB, 2 players) 2
Hero checks, UTG bets 46 BB, Hero raises to 150 BB, UTG raises to 347.2 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 95 BB and is all-in

River: (544.4 BB, 2 players) 7

Had a strange week at the tables. My free time has been quite limited, work is manic and I've been trying to enjoy the nice weather before it ends. Been MTB'ing and running loads this week, been great fun . None of my previous injuries has reared up again, so that's a win in my eyes.

As I've only had 1-2 hours free in the evening I decided to play and not do any studying. I feel this had a pretty detrimental effect on my level of performance. I never got tilted but regularly found myself button clicking, floating spots that are -EV, calling too many raises and making some very questionable bluffs. I basically played like a maniac for a few thousand hands and don't really know why! Must have been like watching a really **** Tony G for my opponents . Somehow I've come out on top over the last few days, it's definitely been more luck than skill, at least it felt that way. For now on if I have limited free time in the week I'm going to use it to study and work on solver stuff. Then I'll dedicate the weekends to the grind. Once I get through a bit more of the Upswing Lab content I might start to tweak the balance towards more play but for now I just want to improve my overall understanding of the game.

On a positive note - I took a shot at 10NL today (after studying, playing with the right mindset) and was up 4BI for the majority of it. My initial experience was that there were actually more short-stackers and fish then at 5NL. Few of my all-ins against weaker players led to some truly interesting results when they turned over their hands . Overall happy with the result, mixing in 5NL with some 10NL for now. Eventually I'll fully switch if I continue to be +EV. However right now I want to refocus on study (over play) and figure out a proper training plan/schedule for during the week.

Fitness - Managing to increase the running mileage again now, still pain free.

Study - Finished off the blockers module of the "beyond core strategy" section of Upswing Lab, now onto BB specific section. Some really interesting insight and filters for PT4. Again, very enjoyable but I really want to skip ahead to the solver based modules. I know the course is designed to be watched in a specific order, so I'm sticking with it but getting typically impatient . Will be focussing mainly on study this week, as I don't think I'm going to get a huge amount of free time again.

Poker - Stuck to 5NL today, got off to an extremely rough start but managed to fight all the way back from 5BI down to finish 1BI up. Did a little bit of 4 tabling for a couple of hours as I was feeling well rested/studied. Very pleased overall, few spots I'm going to post up for comment in the micros section. Didn't tilt and put in a solid grind, in the last 2 weeks I've really noticed my mental toughness improving. Also hit a milestone today, I'm officially back in the green, I'm a winning player... by an incredibly small amount but still it's progress . I had a bad start to this PCG, half the time I've had to battle just to break even in sessions. At one point I was down $80 at 5NL, well now I've managed to win it all back. Another couple of decent sessions and I'll be properly rolled for a full on shot at 10NL, which I'm hoping to take next Sunday.

Rakeback - Hit gold chests on Stars, not the best but better than nowt.

I'm in. Hopefully see you on the zoom streets soon!

Have you tried RIO's subscriptions? If so, what do you think is better between that & Upswing?

Hey Jord, thanks man GL at the tables.

I was a long term subscriber to RIO 3-ish years ago. I thought the content was excellent and the team of coaches are clearly very talented. However as I microstakes player I found it a bit to overwhelming, I actually benefited from 1 on 1 coaching far more.

When I recently returned to poker I wanted to try something different. So far I prefer the Upswing Lab, I think it's linear structure/progression help me more than RIO did. I also like the fact that Upswing's videos normally have 2 people in them discussing the hands/spots/theories. Whereas sites like RIO usually only have one. Again, for my learning style a fluid conversation suits me much more than being "talked at".

All in all I prefer Upswing but both are great options if used correctly. From what I recall RIO is cheaper than Upswing, which may factor in for some people.

Took my first proper shot at 10NL tonight, unfortunately didn't go to plan. I feel I played well overall other than one very poor decision in a BvB situation, I made an undisciplined call on the river when I knew I was beat. Instead of just folding and saving myself 40BB I took my full timebank and convinced myself to call. Other than that though just couldn't hit any flops, every 3-bet pot I would completely miss. Had a guy 5bet jam JTs into my AA and flop 2 pair, which kinda rubbed salt in the wounds as it was for 300BB pot . He had really solid stats so was surprised he did it. He must have ****ed himself when the flop came down .

Ended up losing 5BI's so going to move back down to 5NL for the rest of the week. Hopefully can rebuild quickly and take another shot soon . Bit gutted but I feel I played 7/10, so happy with my first proper effort, just a shame about the result. On the plus side didn't tilt. Will keep pushing, as long as I'm improving my game and my mental strength then I'm happy, results will come naturally.

That's the right attitude, my man! GLGL

Cheers, same to you . I can see myself improving, so I’m happy overall. I do think I should switch even more of my time to study, rather than playing. I usually have good intentions but once I’m at the PC I just want to play poker.

Quickly ground back the roll to £300 and took another shot at 10NL today. Unfortunately got my **** pushed in . Did not go according to plan haha, mixture of poor decisions from me and then a few coolers. I chose some poor spots to x/raise, I had equity but continuously underestimated V's ranges/hand strengths. Found myself pot committed in questionable spots. I like trying to raise my aggression but need to study the spots better and maybe take into account that 10NL is an unknown pool for me. My poker graphs look like a rollercoaster over the last week or so! On the plus side got $20 back in rake, so small silver lining. Still pretty frustrated with myself, I crushed 10NL a few years ago and have genuinely been struggling this time round. I feel like I have the ability to do better, as a competitive person that's the main thing that bothers me.

I'm in a strange spot now. I lost almost 10BI's today, so should be dropping back down to 5NL. However when I'm playing 5NL I don't feel like I'm being pushed or improving, whereas I find 10NL genuinely challenging and find interesting spots more often. I can afford to top up my bankroll, so I'm considering rolling myself properly for 10NL and taking some more shots with a little "less pressure" - not sure that last bit is true! Going to mull it over for the evening whilst I'm chilling with the missus.

Haven't studied at all this weekend as saw family before lockdown is tightened even further. Probably didn't help as I find I play much better if I study for an hours or two first, puts me in the right mindset. All in all had a great weekend though, so can't complain . Nobody to blame but myself for the poker results. On the plus side I didn't tilt off any stacks or go play stupid spin and go's etc, which I have done in the past. So far I really feel my mental game has improved drastically. Now I just need to try and bring the poker up to a better level.

Looking at buying a new car soon, got my eyes set on an Audi RS4 Avant B8. Found a few decent examples and going to start test driving them this week.

Finally fully tilted today. Was having my first really solid 10NL session and was up 4BI's. I'd been trying to get involved in pots with a guy I'd seen hovering around with a 600BB stack, he was a whale shoving some ridiculous hands pre-flop. Lost 2 consecutive massive all-ins where I was the massive favourite. My KK vs his KJo and then he 5-bet jammed ATo into my AKs. Can't be arsed, literally got no motivation to play at all. Almost just threw the whole bankroll onto a big spin up.

Back to 5NL we go, official 2p2 micros yoyo.

Unlucky man, when I shot take I don’t usually like to sit at 200bb deep precisely because of that situation.

It’s gonna be difficult to get a good mental game on when you place so much emotional investment on each individual session. Poker is a long game.

subbed, gl OP.

IF profiting is important to you, I don’t see why you wouldn’t sit deep with whales at your normal stake.

It’s a little different if you’re also shot taking or something.

Also, it’s something you‘ll to have to do eventually and with regularity anyways— unless you plan on leaving (ratholing?) mostly heh.

Just don’t get too caught up in the meta and stay composed when they suck out on you etc. standard stuff.