Info

I'm Tom, 19 and from the UK. I'm on a gap year until I start university in September 2016. I don't plan on travelling to SEA or anywhere fancy so if you've come to see that this isn't the blog for you. I play chess, I ran a marathon, I work at a restaurant part time. I'm a pretty boring person with a comfortable upbringing, what else needs to be said?

Poker Background

So I started underage (I'm such a badass I know) when I was 16/17 on full tilt and managed to grind up a big bankroll and even played some FTOPS events with some mild sucess. But, I wasn't like Annette or whoever else, I'm more than happy in admitting I was a massive fish clicking buttons thinking I was good. Anyway, they finally froze my account and things ended there.

As time went on I played a bit on the side and when I turned 18 I deposited on stars and was still awful. I feel it's only been over the last 6-12 months that I've started improving and every time I play I feel that I learn something new.

I am in a couple of skype chats where we talk hands and you'll seem me on the Micro stakes NL thread probably posting some crappy line. I also "help" (I'm not going to use the word coach) a few people who have just started out and want to improve.

The Challenge

So over the past few weeks I grinded up enough of a bankroll to purchase PT4. Now that I can accurately track my progress in cash I thought of nothing better to do than start from the bottom at 2NLz 6 max and see how I do. I'm starting with $40 and seeing how we go from there. I'll be taking shots and 20BI ($100 for 5NL).

Let's go!

Day One

A combination of 3 small sessions which added up to 1800 hands. I guess I ran decently but also felt that I played well.I had a lot of spots where I feel that I managed to get maximum value.

+$9.14



PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 67.5 BB
SB: 97.5 BB (VPIP: 13.33, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 14.29, Hands: 15)
BB: 556.5 BB (VPIP: 60.00, PFR: 60.00, 3Bet Preflop: 100.00, Hands: 5)
Hero (UTG): 487 BB
MP: 129 BB (VPIP: 4.00, PFR: 4.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 25)
CO: 132.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (7.5 BB, 2 players) J 8 J
Hero checks, BTN bets 3 BB, Hero calls 3 BB

Turn: (13.5 BB, 2 players) T
Hero checks, BTN bets 4 BB, Hero raises to 8 BB, BTN raises to 12 BB, Hero raises to 19 BB, BTN calls 7 BB

River: (51.5 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero bets 462 BB and is all-in, BTN calls 42.5 BB and is all-in

Hero shows 8 8 (Full House, Eights full of Jacks)
(Pre 53%, Flop 77%, Turn 84%)
BTN shows Q J (Three of a Kind, Jacks)
(Pre 47%, Flop 23%, Turn 16%)
Hero wins 131.5 BB

Obviously a great cooler spot for us. ^

PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 113 BB (VPIP: 27.27, PFR: 27.27, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 11)
SB: 246 BB (VPIP: 9.09, PFR: 9.09, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 11)
BB: 305.5 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 40.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 10)
Hero (UTG): 119 BB
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 75.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
CO: 90 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)

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, MP calls 3 BB, fold, BTN calls 3 BB, fold, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (12.5 BB, 4 players) A 6 8
BB checks, Hero bets 7 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 7 BB

Turn: (26.5 BB, 2 players) 3
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (26.5 BB, 2 players) J
BB checks, Hero bets 11 BB, BB raises to 72 BB, Hero raises to 109 BB and is all-in, fold

Hero wins 164.5 BB

A spot where I should of been betting turn, I made a mistake here and even though this guy spazzed out due to our check turn I feel it's definitely more profitable to bet turn there. As played I actually like our river sizing. I feel it's quite a tilting one for him and one which we see him play back at a lot as it seems pretty weak. ^

Well that's the first day! I'll be sure to keep this updated and feel free to ask me anything!

Best of luck buddy! I imagine you won't have too much trouble if you've already grinded a copy of PT4

In that first hand I hate our bet-sizing on the turn. Raise bigger and just get it in when he 3b your check-raise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFjWR7X5dU

gl

Agree, turn sizing can be a lot bigger and we should just be looking for a spot to get it in there. Thanks for the support

Much appreciated!

Good luck, on hand one why are you checking the flop? Just bet, bet , bet. Also when you check raise turn, sizing should be bigger.

On other hand, like you pointed out got to bet turn there and river sizing is ok I probably make it a bit bigger at like 17 BB.

Keep posting and studying and you'll start to crush

Cheers man! I agree that the clickback turn was not needed.

River sizing can be bigger for sure!

Best of luck Labax, I'm sure we will meet on the zoom tables soon!

I look forward to seeing you in good time

Day Two

-$1.09

Finally got 3k hands into the challenge!

Graph so far



Pretty swingy session with a couple bad plays from me calling off bets with sets when I realised all they had in their range was flushes. I just wanted to double check and make sure, I was right..

Anyway a lot of standard spots like this

PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 122.5 BB (VPIP: 19.05, PFR: 9.52, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 22)
SB: 123.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
UTG: 100.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)
MP: 97 BB (VPIP: 66.67, PFR: 55.56, 3Bet Preflop: 50.00, Hands: 9)
Hero (CO): 174 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 2 K 8
BB checks, Hero bets 3 BB, BB calls 3 BB

Turn: (11.5 BB, 2 players) A
BB checks, Hero bets 7 BB, BB calls 7 BB

River: (25.5 BB, 2 players) 5
BB checks, Hero bets 15 BB, BB calls 15 BB

Hero shows A K (Two Pair, Aces and Kings)
(Pre 74%, Flop 87%, Turn 100%)
BB mucks K T (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 26%, Flop 13%, Turn 0%)
Hero wins 53.5 BB

This I may of misplayed, thoughts?

PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 159.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
Hero (SB): 110 BB
BB: 279.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
UTG: 260 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 33.33, Hands: 3)
MP: 134 BB
CO: 213 BB (VPIP: 23.53, PFR: 17.65, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 18)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 2.5 BB, BB raises to 9 BB, fold, Hero calls 6 BB

Flop: (21 BB, 2 players) 2 7 6
Hero checks, BB checks

Turn: (21 BB, 2 players) Q
Hero bets 11 BB, BB calls 11 BB

River: (43 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero bets 21 BB, BB calls 21 BB

Hero shows J J (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 63%, Flop 87%, Turn 2%)
BB shows J Q (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 37%, Flop 13%, Turn 98%)
BB wins 82 BB

I plan to play a bit more today, have had work past few days and other stuff going on!

Hey Tom

My thoughts on hand two...

As you are OOP I would prefer to re-raise this hand pre-flop to take it down there or have the initiative in a 3bet pot. Playing JJ OOP vs UTG is tough as he can just barrel you off it.

I understand you probably flat called because he is UTG and believed he had a strong range, but his range will likely include AT, KQ, Suited Connectors and small pairs etc. So JJ is still in good shape.

If he is super strong and has QQ,KK,AA then he will most likely be 4 betting and you can get away from the hand.

By 3betting the UTG will often call with small/medium pairs & suited connectors which you can get value from on certain low flops and he may also call with high broadway hands which will identify themselves post-flop.

As played, when the BB squeezes, I'm putting him on a range of 99-AA, AJ+,ATs+, KQs, and some suited connectors 78s,9Ts,JTs,JQs.

This is around 8.5% of hands and your JJ has 57% equity against this range, so I think the call is good.

On the flop we have to think about how it hits his range. Most of it is overcards, with the exception of overpairs. This is a great flop for you, your equity against his range increases to 65%.

You could donk bet to protect your hand against his over-cards here, or check to let him c-bet and then raise him. I don't mind either. I know some people will say why raise as he can only call with better hands, but firstly he can still call with 78, 99, TT which you beat... but secondly a large part of his range is overcards and with the pot being quite big now I think you need to protect your hand and take it down now, if he has AA, KK, QQ (only a small part of his range) then so be it.

When you check and the Q comes it does hit a portion of his range (AQ,KQ,JQ, - QQ discounted because he would likely have c-bet flop).

If you are going to bet here you need to think about which parts of his range will call that are worse than your hand.

The only hands in his range that are worse than yours that can call are 78, 99, TT - all of which likely bet the flop to protect their hand.

So I don't think there is any value in betting here at all. You could be betting to protect your hand against more overcards coming, but if you wanted to do that you could have done it on the flop instead.

When you do bet and he calls on the turn, his range narrows to just JQ, AQ, KQ, and flush draws from his suited hands. So I think the chance of the river bluff getting through is close to 0 and this is also a bad bet.

I know that's a lot to think about in the hand, and I've made a lot of mistakes similar to this too. I think the key mistakes in this hand are the turn and river bets, so remember while in hands to always ask yourself:

Why am I betting? For value from worse hands, to protect against future streets, or to get better hands to fold.

Hi Phil!

A mistake I am definitely making is just flatting with hands like JJ to UTG and +1 opens. I feel that since they're at the top of the range they're less likely to raise fold. I actually agree with 3 bet folding. At least then we see where we stand and can narrow down his range a bit more if he flats us. I feel I should be 3 betting more EP raises since more people seem to fold then I once thought.

Agree I shouldn't be betting turn as I never get called by worse in that spot.

As a result I should never be betting river either. Makes complete sense. With a hand like JJ there I should just be trying to get to a cheap showdown.

In regards to the flop I think checking is fine? I don't tend to like donking on boards like that. I just prefer check calling.

I should of really been able to put him on Qx after he checks back flop and flats our turn bet.

Misplayed by me and hopefully something I wont do again

Just played a really weird session which I cut short just to post some hands on here. I just see a bunch of donk leads on flop with all sorts and find it impossible to put people on ranges. It was like a 200 hand session so no point posting graphs. Just need some help on hands.. I started up this challenge to pick up on micro stakes tendencies but I've seen all kinds of bs today..

Classic donk lead on the flop. I've been told to counter this with aggression by a few people as they usual rock up with bs. I just put him on bs here the whole time. Thoughts?

Just seems like a bit of a nightmare and I'm not really sure what to do. People limping and donking all sorts? What am I meant to do..

PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 122.5 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
SB: 179 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 50.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 2)
BB: 170.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 6)
UTG: 60 BB
Hero (MP): 100 BB
CO: 107 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 50.00, 3Bet Preflop: 50.00, Hands: 4)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) 8 9 8
SB bets 7 BB, Hero raises to 19 BB, SB calls 12 BB

Turn: (45 BB, 2 players) 6
SB bets 43.5 BB, Hero raises to 78 BB and is all-in, SB calls 34.5 BB

River: (201 BB, 2 players) 4

SB shows J A (One Pair, Eights)
(Pre 28%, Flop 15%, Turn 5%)
Hero shows K K (Two Pair, Kings and Eights)
(Pre 72%, Flop 85%, Turn 95%)
Hero wins 194 BB

I just don't know what to say about this one. Same thing happens and instead of air he has TP on the flop

PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 164.5 BB (VPIP: 40.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)
SB: 148.5 BB
BB: 104.5 BB (VPIP: 10.53, PFR: 7.89, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 40)
UTG: 100 BB
Hero (MP): 100 BB
CO: 138 BB (VPIP: 18.52, PFR: 18.52, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 27)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) J A 4
SB bets 6 BB, Hero raises to 17.5 BB, SB calls 11.5 BB

Turn: (42 BB, 2 players) 2
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (42 BB, 2 players) J
SB checks, Hero checks

SB shows A 4 (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks)
(Pre 33%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)
Hero mucks K K (Two Pair, Kings and Jacks)
(Pre 67%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
SB wins 40.5 BB

Just another weird one

PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 100.5 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 100.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
BB: 119.5 BB (VPIP: 42.86, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 7)
UTG: 90.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
MP: 101.5 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 3)
CO: 75 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, CO calls 1 BB, Hero raises to 4 BB, fold, BB calls 3 BB, CO calls 3 BB

Flop: (12.5 BB, 3 players) A 8 7
BB checks, CO checks, Hero checks

Turn: (12.5 BB, 3 players) 6
BB checks, CO bets 2 BB, Hero calls 2 BB, BB calls 2 BB

River: (18.5 BB, 3 players) 7
BB checks, CO bets 4 BB, Hero calls 4 BB, BB calls 4 BB

CO shows Q A (Two Pair, Aces and Sevens)
(Pre 39%, Flop 80%, Turn 81%)
Hero mucks J J (Two Pair, Jacks and Sevens)
(Pre 44%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
BB mucks T T (Two Pair, Tens and Sevens)
(Pre 17%, Flop 11%, Turn 14%)
CO wins 29.5 BB

gl mate, some leaks here and there but well on your way. Just my 2cents, but focus more on your own game than helping other people if you wanna skyrocket up, although I do enjoy helping out too ha..

Im doing a very similar challenge, come say hi

Hi

The people I'm helping either have very limited conceptual understand or people that I bounce hands off.

I'm not a coach by any stretch but I do feel that reinforcing and talking about spots I am reasonably confident in does help my game a fair bit!

Yeah, I disagree with that. Helping people out is a great way to solidify your own knowledge.

Yeah I agree that helping people helps your own game, but teaching people absolute basic stuff, doesn't really help.

Although there will be some similar tendencies it's important to play against the player and not make generalised rules.

This is an example of a generalised rule that can be dangerous. There are a few reasons why players donk imo:

• They have a draw and they want to build the pot
• They have a medium strength hand and want to find out where they are
• They have a nutted hand and don't want the raiser to check back
• They have a top pair hand on a low board and want to protect it
• They have a good hand but missed the board and they are not confident check calling or check raising without a pair

Unfortunately there is not one thing to do, but many depending on what you think the player is doing from the list above.

Do you use a hud? If so you can check their stats to put them on a range, then see how that range hits the board and then decide what they are most likely doing based on my list above.

Also with a hud you can check their donk stats, and their 'vs flop raise' stats to help you make a decision.

But really it all comes down to putting them on a range (however wide that is) and understanding how their range hits the flop compared to your range.

On the three hands specifically:

Hand 1: You played this one well, raised the donk bet for value.

Hand 2: This one you turned a good bluff catcher into a bluff, I don't think there is any need to do this. I would just call once and see if he shuts down betting (fearing that you have a better kicker as the PFR), in which case get to a cheap showdown. If he continues aggression just fold, there are plenty of better spots.

Hand 3: You played this well too, could maybe find a fold on the river but he makes it so cheap that the call is fine.

I mean I was going to write counter-arguments to this list, but my main issue is They have a medium strength hand and want to find out where they are I hope you aren't doing this yourself, it achieves absolutely nothing.

The list wasn't 'reasons why I donk'

Tom was asking why players are donking and so I gave him some options to think about.

You really don't believe lots of rec players think like this?

I believe recs may have this thinking. I was just hoping you didn't ha.