hey everyone,

i've been playing poker for few years with friends at our home game and wanted to take my game to the next level lately.
i started teaching myself online in various ways as iv'e always been autodidact
i think i improved a lot in the few weeks iv'e been doing it but there is a long way to go

i found out this forum is a great source of information (after registering a few years ago and never logging in) and saw this section is pretty much the most active and fun one.
i decided to make an aspiring challenge and try beating the 0.25/0.5$ online which is something i understand i am statistically should fail.
*so maybe you'll be seeing me going down in stakes if i see it's a no go*

i'm from israel so finding sites to play is a little harder - for start i'll be using 7xl which is one that works here but i'll appreciate any tips for others sites that might be available to Israelis

there will be no graphs as i see in other threads as i don't use a hud yet caz 7xl doesn't support it

goal is to be winning - no specific amount, just to be winning

first hand will be posted today or tomorrow

HERE WE GO

so, i did a lot of poker reading and video viewing last couple of weeks - main thing iv'e learned is to play in ranges, which is very useful - so i'll try to use it when talking about hands
BTW, if any of you guys have a poker learning site/tool/service you love please recommend it here and i'll try to update how it was for me

i deposited 500$ which is 10 buy ins and i ended the session with about the same



to the first hand - 7xl doesn't have a written hand history so i'll have to paste the image they let you save from the hand history:

because it's a rather long image i'll put the talking above it.

so i made i standard raise to 3BB with 8d8h in my hand, and got called by the blinds.

flop came 9s36dd, i made a 50% pot on a flop with draws i likely have the best made hand in.

big blind called and at this point i start having a range for him, i guess he would get there and call flop with this range:

45s & 78 for open handed
57dd(sometimes fold it pre) & T7dd (i guess he would also check raise these once a while)
98os+, 97s+
AXdd, kK7dd+, QTdd+,JTdd
33, 66, 99, 77
96s
maybe 6X sometimes

i think that's about it, which is a range i run good against and will rarely stop betting turn

turn came 8c !, now i only lose to 57dd & T7dd & 99 which is 8 combinations of his wider range.

i bet 66% pot and he made almost a 3X raise which means its either fold, call or all in. i only lose to 2 combinations and winning against his entire other part of the range which is now:

33, 66 (12 combinations)
98 maybe (4 combinations)
A7dd, K7dd (2 combinations)

with the money in the pot already, and the fact i lost to 8 combinations and win against 18(which 4 of them might fold to all in) i decided it's best to shove to get value from all the hands i beat so they wont fold river, if i only called i would fold on any 5, T or a diamond if he would shove

he called and had T7dd which is the absolute nuts (till the river)

do you think i was wrong about the ranges? about the actions i took? anything else? give it all, don't be too subtle

finished another session now, killing them

started with 400- this is where we are now:



will post a hand later on, to tired now

spoiler - i played a little 100NL

wish you the best of luck.

i think your thought process is very good already - if you can think like that during a hand!

just a word of caution: even some of the worlds best players who i have seen do bankroll challenges and start at the the lowest limits, start with at least 25 buy ins. Doug Polk, who is actually one of the best Heads Up players in the world, started his 100 to 10000 BR Challenge at 0.01/0.02 and was 50$ down some days in! Keep that in mind.

1 bad session in 100NL and you're done. If you want to minimize the risk please try to play 25NL with that bankroll, unless you're 50bb/100 kind of player it's highly possible to get busted.

Good luck!

thanks u guys - taken into my attention

let's say i will deposit 600$ more to make it 1000$ total starting bankroll if needed - i just see no point in depositing it if not needed so i started with 400$

so it's 20 buy ins for 50 NL, sounds about right?
it's just to hard for me to play 25 NL, i get bored and play too lose - even 50NL feels that way sometimes

have 1 or 2 nice hands to post later on today

BTW - have you got any recommendation for somewhere i can learn skills relevant directly to online cash games? i think i have many leaks in terms of ranges pre flop and bets on the flop

yesterday i went to play live in an underground game near home - earned 2000$

will try and stick to 50NL though based on your advice - here is another hand:


kinda wired hand

fish opens UTG, another fish calls and then another. i of course call with KTs from the BB
flop is not the best 4 way but with back door nuts flush and str8, second pair and 2 and a cheap price i decided it's worth calling

turn come the very interesting ten of hearts for my 2 pair
original opening fish keeps c betting and fish #2 shoves his 44 BB

it's not a very defined range in my eyes but maybe you guys can help me define his range, what i can think of:
AT
KT
QJ
AJhh
AQhh
22
A2?

if this is the range, guess i should fold - right?

where would it be most comfortable to see how my hand runs against his range?