Hey,

I'll play HU PLO at stars. Starting from the bottom.

I don't have any prior experience with this game.

I will set the goals as I go.

Let's roll.

Gl! What stakes are you gonna play?

Thanks!

Starting at PLO 50.

It seems like a huge rake trap. So let's see if I can make it.

Today:



I definitely made some questionable plays. Will need to check it out in PLO trainer before I start the session today (as it's already past midnight now).

I might post some hands, too.

There are some players in the pool who cbet 90 %+ and they 3b a lot, too. I need to figure out how to construct my x/r and 4b ranges. Also, I should make some exploitative adjustments in 3b pot, as when they 3b frequently, they cbet close to 100 %, too. And I guess they will miss a lot of boards. I have to observe their tendencies carefully and watch what they show up with in showdown.

I am going for walk+run with my dog. Might post some funky hands later.

Subbeddd! You say players are cbetting 90%, do you know what a good frequency would be in HU? (6 Mac is like 50% from BTN on most boards so 90 seeems crazy).

Glgl

Thanks!

It should be about 50 %, too. I don't remember the exact number now.

GL, too!

Sounds like games are good in that case!!

Well, some people cbet close to 100 %, other cbet close to 0 % and then there are those in between, who cbet alright and then barrel very aggro.

Here are the results for 29th January:



Very small volume, because I wanted to spend some time with my GF.

Also I was running for about 10 km, mostly in a fresh snow (it was snowing most of the time, but idk if that expression makes sense). And I did a little bit of stretching, too.

Time to grind now. Will update in the evening.

Good luck Vvvvv,

Following your progress up through the stakes.

I myself am primarly a 6-max player but I am trying to get more comfortable starting games so I am working on my headsup game also.

Thank you Humble. Good luck to you too

Learning a little bit of HU always helps. I'd consider it a starting game for any format. But that's just me, because I love HU. I'd probably have to transit to 6max anyway.

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Results for 30th January:



Obv sun run got activated in the end.

I lost a huge pot today, I think that I might've misplayed every street. I need to stop overvaluing blockers (especially when I have only one of them). And I should give the player credit when he fires 3 barrels in a 3b pot.

Anyway, guy is 3b 34 %, and he cbets 80 % flops in 3b pot. So I should review the hands versus him. One of the adjusts will be to open tighter and 4b wider vs him. I might mix in some limps, too. But rake is the killer, so I'd rather tighten up preflop.

Here's the hand:

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 277.76 BB
BB: 152.38 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8 6 T J

Hero raises to 3 BB, BB raises to 9 BB, Hero calls 6 BB

Flop: (18 BB, 2 players) 5 A 9
BB bets 12.82 BB, Hero calls 12.82 BB

Turn: (43.64 BB, 2 players) Q
BB bets 35 BB, Hero calls 35 BB

River: (113.64 BB, 2 players) J
BB bets 95.56 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 95.56 BB

BB shows 6 J K T (Straight, Ace High)
(Pre 68%, Flop 79%, Turn 85%)
Hero shows 8 6 T J (Straight, Queen High)
(Pre 32%, Flop 21%, Turn 15%)
BB wins 303.26 BB

###############

Exercise: 5.4 km of cross country skiing and full body stretching.

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Overall I feel very tired. Need to go to bed asap.

Hand is absolutely fine on each street

Subbed! Playing some 6 max, similar stakes, at the moment. Don't mind some HU, for sure, at times, when starting tables. Intuitively, I'd say that's a river call for 96bb, but, yeah, you are deep there. You have c-bet and 3bet stats on the villain, but what about turn and river? Technically, you're bluff-catching with the 2nd nuts (I'm assuming) so what are the bluffs? You block club combos with the J, but he can have some KcJxyc hands. Maybe you having clubs and a J could be reasons for not calling, although, like you say, having the Tc encourages you to call, so I'm struggling to be conclusive here.

Is the straight bottom of our calling range otr?

Can/should we call down some 2p+ straight blockers vs competent opponents, too?

Thanks!

I was lost ott and otr. I felt very uncomfortable, because I felt like my flush outs might be dead.

Good point on flush blockers. I really don't know how much it matter. I think, that I should get into solver work asap, because I play readless most of the time, so I have to build up a strong foundation. And move on from there.

For example, if I know that their ranges will be capped in certain spots, I will atack it mercilessly (tough to pronounce this).

I am still observing a lot and trying lots of different lines vs different opponents.

But anyway, I am still losing the most EV preflop imo. Not sure about stack off range at 100 BBs. It seems, that people don't 4b very light. Usually it's AAxx.

I was watching some mid stakes action yesterday and I realized, that I was giving my opponents too much credit. Because first few days I saw so many nutted hands and I figured - oh, when they do this, they probably have at least set+FD. I was so wrong

My nonSD winnings are negative and that could be why. I was just folding way too much in spots where I am supposed to shove (I think).

I have a lot of interesting hands vs regs, but there's a chance, that they might be reading this. And I don't want to reveal too much from my strategy against thinking players. Because tbh, I am not sure if I have edge over the field yet. And I am pretty certain, that regs are way better than me. But that's expected.

+1 It's definitely a cooler. You just have to go with your hand unless you have some super human read.

I have not seen many bluffs, when people fire 3 barrels. Especially in 3b pots. Maybe I should always call in this spot, but I should probably start folding some hands in certain spots.

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I really wanted to clear the 200 USD chest today. But I just can't take it anymore. I am not going to complain, I probably made a lot of questionable plays and people just don't bluff enough. So I have to adjust to their tendencies and don't go too crazy.

Thing is, that I can't say, if I was making spewy plays, or I was just hitting the top of their range. Anyway, I will post some hands tomorrow. Need to rest a little bit.

Results for 31st January:



Also, I shouldn't play all day. I will try to play mornings/evenings and see what works better for me. But I definitely don't want to grind during the nights.

Anyway, I should hit the study lab once again. Ton of leaks needs to be fixed.

I was trying to make people fold very strong hands. Because I had good blockers and board was paired... but they just don't fold. Lesson learned. I have to be very selective with my bluffs. And I can just bomb it with value in those spots, where people don't like to fold.

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Exercise: 8 km of cross country skiing (will probably do the stretching in the evening, but I will not be online tonight)

glgl!

^^ Thanks. GL to you too!

Failed! Because I was visiting my GF and her family and they were pouring wine to me. So yeah. Have to fix it today.

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Some hands where I lost the most EV yesterday:

Solver is mixing a lot on the flop. And I am not sure whether we bet the turn. I would probably check it without flush blocker. And river is whatever I guess. But if he never bets worse there, then I am screwed. But those odds are insanely good

What surprised me is how much equity he has ott :O

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 100 BB
Hero (BB): 216.14 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J 6 A A

SB raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, SB calls 6 BB

Flop: (18 BB, 2 players) 2 K 5
Hero bets 12.96 BB, SB calls 12.96 BB

Turn: (43.92 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero bets 42.42 BB, SB calls 42.42 BB

River: (128.76 BB, 2 players) A
Hero checks, SB bets 35.62 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 35.62 BB



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Vs a fun player. I went for max value ott. Or did I?

I have to learn how to fold even VERY STRONG hands to these river raises. As they don't know how to bluff (unless I am playing vs a competent player).

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 346.32 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 2 Q J 4

SB raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) 5 7 2
Hero checks, SB bets 4 BB, Hero calls 4 BB

Turn: (14 BB, 2 players) 2
Hero bets 10.08 BB, SB calls 10.08 BB

River: (34.16 BB, 2 players) Q
Hero bets 32.66 BB, SB raises to 130.64 BB, Hero calls 50.26 BB and is all-in



---------------------------------------------

I was not sure here if I am supposed to call preflop or not. It seems, that it's alright preflop. But then again, they will 4b less than GTO I suppose, so maybe I fold here? They seem to play very straight forward in 4b pots, too and my hand doesn't have perfect connectivity.

And then ott, I was like - 4b ranges are AA heavy (from what I've seen) and I figured, maybe he is shoving some AA+FD here and I should be good vs that.

I am going to check out what Equilab says...

http://www.pokerstrategy.com
Board: 6c7s9sTc
Equity Wins Ties
MP2: 65.05% 65.05% 0.00% { AhTdKs9h }
MP3: 34.95% 34.95% 0.00% { AcAd3c2h }

Well, but I am still quite bad in hand reading, and I am not sure if he would shove OP+FD on such a drawy board.

Obviously I was tanking for like 20 sec and I was like - I think I gotcha! And I was totally wrong on this one.

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 251.78 BB
Hero (BB): 111 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

SB raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, SB raises to 27 BB, Hero calls 18 BB

Flop: (54 BB, 2 players) 6 9 7
Hero checks, SB checks

Turn: (54 BB, 2 players) T
Hero checks, SB bets 52.5 BB, Hero raises to 84 BB and is all-in, SB calls 31.5 BB

River: (222 BB, 2 players) 4





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This was against a guy with 34 % 3 bet and 87 % cbet in 3b pot. And he continues with barreling just 43 % of the time. So I figured his range is going to be pretty capped. Oh how wrong I was once again.

One important fact: guy is folding 39 % of his range to my open, calls just 27 % and 3 bets 34 %. So, yeah, his BB range is pretty tight and I should be careful. But anyway, I should limp some vs him and 4bet a looooot wider.

Also, I might attack some of his cbets in 3b pots, because what he is doing is quite easily exploitable, but I just need to get my balls out and do it!

But can I really fold to his shove ott? With TP+FD.

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 100 BB
BB: 118.9 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8 8 7 A

Hero raises to 3 BB, BB raises to 9 BB, Hero calls 6 BB

Flop: (18 BB, 2 players) A 5 4
BB bets 8.56 BB, Hero calls 8.56 BB

Turn: (35.12 BB, 2 players) 2
BB checks, Hero bets 25.46 BB, BB raises to 101.34 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 56.98 BB and is all-in

River: (200 BB, 2 players) 4



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Alright, this was quite obvious, but still, I am on top of my range and it's friggin hard to find that fold button. But he x/r and barrels T+R. What do I expect?

I got this not below my display. It says: OVERFOLD RIVER. And this is one of the spots, where I should read it out loud, show my cards and send them to the muck.

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 142.54 BB
BB: 101.86 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J J 3 3

Hero raises to 3 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) 3 8 5
BB checks, Hero bets 4.32 BB, BB raises to 11.5 BB, Hero calls 7.18 BB

Turn: (29 BB, 2 players) 5
BB bets 13.78 BB, Hero calls 13.78 BB

River: (56.56 BB, 2 players) Q
BB bets 55.06 BB, Hero calls 55.06 BB



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So conclusion: give them credit when they show aggression on multiple streets and overfold a lot. People are very uncreative and when they pot it, they have it. There are just few solid players in the pool... But I am not going to post hands against them.

Update for 1st of February:



So many spots, where I probably spewed my stack off.

Also, I got insanely deep and there were guys with whom I played about 300 bb effective. I felt totally lost. I mean, I should have more edge deeper, but I just suck even at 100 BBs.

Similar spots today as yesterday. I just kept paying them with strong hands when they raised big. But they just had it. Well, I am still not good at reading hands.

Need to hit the lab tomorrow and review a lot of the spots.

My nonSD line is going to ****. I need to figure out why is that. Well, I played against a lot of guys, who were pot cbetting almost every flop. Yeah, I should attack that, but I cannot do it with any four.

Also, need to limp some hands vs aggro opponents and 4b them wider.

Then there were some spots, where I was facing a 4b and I was not sure if my hand is a call or fold.

I stacked off with questionable hands w 50 BBs. And apparently people are not stacking off very light. So I need to adjust to that, too.

Then there was this hand where I flopped the nut str8+nFD and I had just about 60 % equity vs the bottom set. Gotta love PLO it was actually quite surprising to me. I guess I need to play with some boards and plug in all sort of ranges there. Because obviously, I am a fish. Playing is probably not as +EV for me.

I can't say how bad, or how good I run, and at this point it's not even very important, as I can play probably 85 % of spots much better.

Thing is, that I will really need the solver. As there are not many people playing HU nowadays and it's really hard to find a study partner. But I guess I just have to keep looking. Not just that. I need to study by myself with whatever software I got.

I managed to clear this one, too:



Two more remaining.

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Exercise: 6 km of walking+running (mostly shirtless) in a freezing temperature. Need to test the limits of my body, too.

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So goal for tomorrow is to improve my preflop game, as I might've 3b little wider or I've called 3bets wider than I am supposed to and then there were a bunch of 4b spots, where I just missed the board, so that's expected that nonSD will go to ****. But still, there must be some sort of a leak (well definitely not just one).

The common theme to all those hands seems consistent with what you say, that is, your opponents are nutted on turns and rivers when showing extreme aggression (standard for low stakes, of course). I’m not a study/solver type so I can’t really say what to do apart from making exploitative folds (in the absence of obvious bluffing and/or overvalued combos). Interesting, too, how some assumptions aren’t correct, like the hand where you shove top two on the turn because villain’s 4bet hand should be AA heavy and not contain much QJ. Is that an outlier or are you just missing something? I mean, your assumption about the 4bet range seems reasonable to me.

Anyway, enjoying the HU hands!

@DrTJO: I really don't know. But yeah, I might be missing a lot of things. I guess I should just stick to my read, that when pot it, they have it. Even when I have a questionable hand and their line doesn't make much sense to me, I should listen to my intuition.

Because honestly, I am quite bad at hand reading apparently. And there are just few players, against whom, I am trying to play differently (balanced I guess). But it's so far away from being balanced haha.

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Update for 2nd of February:

So I was doing cross country skiing - combination of classic style+skating style - for 25 kms (15. 5 miles) with 550 m ascent (1804 feet). I am a former biathlonist (if such word even exists), so I was alright. But anyway, I used to do cross country skiing on a daily basis 15 years ago. So my aerobic threshold is way different today. Never mind, I am still not that old. So I am slowly getting back to it.

And then I studied preflop spots and this happened:



I was training the situation where I am facing a 4b and I can either: fold/call/raise.

This spot is not so frequent, but as you can see, there's a lot of EV that can be wasted. So I need to get my ranges right. And I think, I can raise less and call less than GTO, too. Because people are very straight forward with their 4bets (most of the time).

So I studied this for 30 minutes over and over again. I start to notice some patterns in how GTO plays. I am not trying to mimic it, but understand it.

Like why is KQ42ds preferred call vs 4b, but AJ42ds is a fold? Could it be, because KQ is more connected? And we won't be dominated as often as with AJ? But another interesting thing is, that we will flop more straigths and straight draws w AJ, compared to KQ. KQ42: 4 straight shapes. AJ42: 5 straight shapes.

Equity vs AAxx is definitely better for KQ:

Equity Wins Ties
MP2: 66.66% 66.07% 0.59% { AA }
MP3: 33.34% 32.75% 0.59% { AhJs4h2s }
Equity Wins Ties
MP2: 62.93% 62.79% 0.14% { AA }
MP3: 37.07% 36.93% 0.14% { KhQs4h2s }

Alright, time to grind. I went to bed at 21:00 and it's 6:49 now, so there will be plenty of guys from South America and Canada.

One more thing: I should play tighter from the BB and I should massively x/r their cbets and overfold a lot. Because when they cbet, they will follow up with a cbet ott as well. So I can't really call flop cbets with hands, that don't have good playability on future streets.

Edit: lobbies are empty rn

One thing is certain - table selection matters a lot! Yes, it's zoom, but I can still choose the times I play. I have to experiment now... For me it's almost whatever, BUT I definitely won't play nights. Maybe the action will be the best, but I don't want to live a degen life at least not now.

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 329.6 BB
BB: 117.64 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A A 5 2

Hero raises to 3 BB, BB raises to 9 BB, Hero raises to 27 BB, BB calls 18 BB

Flop: (54 BB, 2 players) K 3 6
BB checks, Hero bets 11.66 BB, BB raises to 87.48 BB, Hero raises to 302.6 BB and is all-in, BB calls 3.16 BB and is all-in

Turn: (235.28 BB, 2 players) K

River: (235.28 BB, 2 players) 4



People calling 4 bets light. Weeeeeeeee.

Running hot today.

And yeah, my nonSD winnings are going to ****, because I am way too pussive... Need to ramp up my aggression. But I have to be careful too, when they pot cbet and I have some mediocre hand. I feel like I should overfold a lot on the flop and watch what they show up with in the showdowns.

Also, I need to take preflop ranges into consideration. I will play differently vs a guy who limps some, raises some. And I will play different vs a guy who has close to 100 % SB VPIP and 3x all of it.

Very interesting hand. This was villain's first 3bet.

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi FAST (2 max) - Omaha Hi - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 170.1 BB
BB: 238.62 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A 8 2 8

Hero raises to 3 BB, BB raises to 9 BB, Hero calls 6 BB

Flop: (18 BB, 2 players) 9 2 4
BB bets 17.1 BB, Hero calls 17.1 BB

Turn: (52.2 BB, 2 players) 2
BB bets 50.7 BB, Hero calls 50.7 BB

River: (153.6 BB, 2 players) 3
BB bets 152.1 BB, Hero ???

Update for 3rd of February:



Going to visit my GF now.

Might post some funky hands tomorrow.

I definitely made some questionable plays. And I need to get better at playing deep.

Also, my nonSD still sux. Need to figure out how to outplay the pool. Cause I am definitely way too passive in various spots.

Obv running hot today.

Given what you’ve been saying about the player pool thus far it’s a fold, especially as you block nut clubs. I can’t see many bluffs here, except maybe 94, i.e., a very unlikely AA94 or KK94ds. Thoughts about raising turn? Can you put 56 in his v narrow value range on river?