I slept for 11 hours, feeling fresh now.

Let's grind!

Will post the hands during the day. Hopefully I don't break any rules by posting multiple times per day.

GL!

First tourney:

PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 25 BB
BB: 25 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero calls 0.5 BB, BB raises to 2 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) T J Q
BB bets 2 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

Turn: (8 BB, 2 players) 2
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (8 BB, 2 players) 5
BB checks, Hero bets 6 BB, BB calls 6 BB



I don't think that many people can fold a Tx here. On the other hand, if I want to fold out his small PPs, Kx, Ax, I might bet just half pot otr (I need to experiment with this, as sometimes my small bets gets looked up w Ax, Kx quite often..., but on specific runouts)

PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 28 BB
BB: 22 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero calls 0.5 BB, BB raises to 4 BB, Hero calls 3 BB

Flop: (8 BB, 2 players) T 6 2
BB bets 18 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 18 BB

Turn: (44 BB, 2 players) A

River: (44 BB, 2 players) J



Sometimes all you have to do is sit there and press the call button. Not sure about my preflop call, tho. Need to check it Lucid (and have to take into consideration, that population will ISO less than GTO).

yah can call that pre pretty comfortably.

gto is not really going to tell you much here.

open flopzilla and select Q9s as your preflop range.

it flops a pair or strong draw 46% of the time. if you include GS's its 55%. include overcards and that's 68% of the time you will have at least a pair or a draw or 2 overs.

you are going to be IP post flop. that's a comfortable position to be in

you can all bigger iso's with hands like JTs and Q9s. from a pure chipEV standpoint you could even have a rule of never folding JTs pre in a hyper and be + EV. Q9s is a very standard call here

also you are a few hands in, you should have some reads on villain.

Thank you very much for the insight Teddy! I've just realized, that I don't even know what Flopzilla has to offer. In other words - I was using it all wrong. Time to fix that.

I agree with you, that GTO doesn't matter. But I also want to practice GTO ranges even vs fish (although not in practice, but in my head at least). So that I can be aware - ok, this is the line, that could've been taken even vs a reg.

Oh and you were right. He already ISO'ed 2/3 and he was cbetting 100 % in ISO spots. He also donked once in a limped pot. I don't remember the sizings. But overall seems like an aggro player. Also his SB VPIP was 100 % (3/3).

I should limp a lot vs such player. And probably play back vs his donks (but better to get to showdown first, so that I don't spew my stack off).

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

Update for 9th January

Played: 4.53 h (19.21/100)
Studied: 0.5 h (3/30)
Exercise:

• 25 pull ups
• 40 BW squats
• 40 push ups

Results:

Overall it's alright, but there were a lot of spots where I was thinking - if I play vs a reg now, do I cbet, do I check? How do I play on the turns? Rivers? And so on.

I am still not sure whether battling 15s cartel is the way to go.

If I do the numbers, I make about 10 USD/hour now. That's a good start. But I want to make at least 100 USD/hour.

I don't think, that I can achieve this in HU hypers. But still, maybe it will be better to get to 15s, make a roll there and then probably play some MTTs on the side. Or maybe CG? I really don't know. There are way too many options out there. Even poker apps are available nowadays.

Let's say, that if I play just 7s this year, I would make about 10k USD. That's not enough. I want to save some money, I want to invest some money. 50k a year would be nice.

Now I have to think a lot about the options and not just that. Will have to put a ton of studying! That's out of the question. My free trial on LucidGTO just ends today. But it's very powerful, so I will probably keep going.

I feel like I need to step up my game. GTO could be the way to go. But I want to learn how to play 100 bb+ poker, too.

I have not really decided yet, what would be my next step. I mean, I can still play some small MTTs (or rather satellites to bigger MTTs) on the side, but I don't know whether that will do the job. As variance is huuuuuge. And I am clueless about everything (preflop, postflop... well, especially playing OOP postflop in a 3b/4b pot).

I still think, that there's a lot of money to be made in poker. I just have to put my time+effort in it. And find the right format. Because when I see mid stakes reg open sitting 7s, then I just don't know... I really don't. But I will definitely figure it out.

Anyway, I gotta play about 2k HU hypers until 19th January, if I want to get the 200 USD chest. Probably I will have to play an insane amount of hours/play 3+ tables. Or both? Will see.

Making $100/hr playing husngs is extremely difficult. I'd guess you're much better off playing cash or maybe spins with those sorts of goals. With that said, I think if you keep your work ethic up you can get into $15s and probably come close to doubling your hourly, especially if you can start 3-4 tabling vs recs at that point.

Yeah, I will have to consider my options and go for it. Thank you for the advice!

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

Update for 10th January

Played: 5.07 h (24.28/100)
Studied: 0 h (3/30)
Exercise: 3 km walk
Results:

I misplayed a ton of spots. Will post some hands tomorrow. It was a pricy day, but I learned a lot. Especially which runouts are not worth bluffing. On the other hand I may bomb it with value. Or was I just hitting the top of their range? Not sure.

Anyway, I was a lazy **** the last few days, in terms of exercise. Need to fix that asap!

Alright, here are the hands where I lost the most

PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 25 BB
BB: 25 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero raises to 2 BB, BB calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) 6 3 5
BB checks, Hero bets 1.5 BB, BB calls 1.5 BB

Turn: (7 BB, 2 players) 4
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (7 BB, 2 players) J
BB checks, Hero bets 21.5 BB and is all-in, BB calls 21.5 BB and is all-in

Maybe pot bet does the same job here?

Don't like my hand selection at all. This is definitely "overcreative" lol.

I am not even sure how often they bet Jx, 2p and str8s otr.


PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 25 BB
BB: 25 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero raises to 2 BB, BB calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) 3 4 2
BB checks, Hero bets 2 BB, BB raises to 4 BB, Hero raises to 23 BB and is all-in, BB calls 19 BB and is all-in

Turn: (50 BB, 2 players) A

River: (50 BB, 2 players) 8

Maybe smaller reraise on the flop or just call and play some turns? Thing is, that my hand is quite vulnerable.


PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 26 BB
SB: 24 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 5 7

SB raises to 2 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) 8 T T
Hero checks, SB checks

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

River: (8 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero bets 22 BB and is all-in, SB calls 20 BB and is all-in

Too wide? Or was I just playing against calling stations?

Btw, preflop call might be breakeven. I need to check on a bigger sample.



PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 22 BB
SB: 28 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

SB raises to 2 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) 6 4 9
Hero checks, SB checks

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

River: (8 BB, 2 players) J
Hero bets 4 BB, SB raises to 24 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 14 BB and is all-in

I can't even value catch, and he has all of the straights in his range and better 2ps, occasionally sets too.


PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 21 BB
BB: 29 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8 5

Hero calls 0.5 BB, BB checks

Flop: (2 BB, 2 players) 7 J 8
BB bets 1 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

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

River: (8 BB, 2 players) T
BB bets 2 BB, Hero raises to 17 BB and is all-in, BB calls 15 BB

I am fairly confident, that I can fold out TP and maybe even 2p here. Is it too ambitious to turn weak pair into a bluff?


PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 29 BB
Hero (SB): 21 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero raises to 2 BB, BB calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) 5 8 K
BB checks, Hero bets 1 BB, BB calls 1 BB

Turn: (6 BB, 2 players) 9
BB checks, Hero bets 3 BB, BB calls 3 BB

River: (12 BB, 2 players) A
BB checks, Hero bets 4 BB, BB raises to 23 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 11 BB and is all-in

I was thinking, that my small river sizing might have induced him. Well... I just have to overfold to these river raises. Omg, I misplayed so many hands. No wonder, that I lost so much both EV and money wise.


PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 19.5 BB
SB: 30.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

SB calls 0.5 BB, Hero checks

Flop: (2 BB, 2 players) 5 A 8
Hero checks, SB bets 1 BB, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, SB calls 1.5 BB

Turn: (7 BB, 2 players) 6
Hero checks, SB checks

River: (7 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero bets 16 BB and is all-in, SB calls 16 BB

This was again a guy with wide cbet. Do I wait for better combo to raise the flop with? Thing is, that if somebody runs me over and cbets almost every flop, I tend to x/r wide, as I feel being abused. Thoughts on river play?



PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 25 BB
Hero (BB): 25 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

SB calls 0.5 BB, Hero raises to 3.5 BB, SB calls 2.5 BB

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) K J 2
Hero bets 2.3 BB, SB calls 2.3 BB

Turn: (11.6 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero checks, SB checks

River: (11.6 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero bets 11.6 BB, SB raises to 19.2 BB and is all-in, fold

Bad read again I guess...


PokerStars - 10/20 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 25 BB
Hero (BB): 25 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

SB raises to 2 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

Flop: (4 BB, 2 players) 9 6 7
Hero checks, SB bets 1 BB, Hero raises to 3 BB, SB raises to 23 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 20 BB and is all-in

Turn: (50 BB, 2 players) 6

River: (50 BB, 2 players) Q

Not sure if this isn't too light. I might pick a better combo too, as lot of turns might decrease my equity.


PokerStars - 15/30 NL (2 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 16.33 BB
BB: 17 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero calls 0.5 BB, BB raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) J A K
BB bets 1.8 BB, Hero calls 1.8 BB

Turn: (9.6 BB, 2 players) 7
BB bets 2.87 BB, Hero calls 2.87 BB

River: (15.33 BB, 2 players) A
BB bets 9.33 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 8.67 BB and is all-in

Facing a triple barrel. What do I do? Obv level myself and hit the call button.

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

Time to slow down a little bit. I was just being way too aggressive in the wrong spots. Need to think about the spots more and pick the hands carefully.

A9o everything got there OTT, I think you have better bluffing candidates than A high.
65s, I'm very weary of minclicks on these boards, you can't really fold but I don't think I'll be the one piling the money in.
75o, I'm at a lost here, I'd like to hear your thought process on the turn and river for why you did this play.
T9o bet turn bigger.
85o, I'll be considering folding the river against tight opponents. As played, it looks like a tilt play for some reason.
K8o, no one bluffs that way on a 3 to a flush board in my experience.
J2s, awful check-raise.
A8d, river sizing off for many purposes.
J9d probably a flip at best if you stack off on that board, unless you're playing vs a huge whale.
K9o, you can call vs an aggro, but I'd tend to fold vs unknown.

Anyway, cool thread, keep it up. Not much hyper or spin content in the challenges forum.

In my opinion I think you would be better off transitioning to cash games. Learn to play 6max or full ring, I think there's more money to be made in that format. Or maybe even PLO. I just feel like spending a lot of time grinding and studying for HU SnGs is time that could be better spent elsewhere. Either way, good luck OP!

65s - Agree. It's not very likely, that they play 2p this way. Not even TP+FD. There's still some randomness factor, but I don't think that it's high enough. So yeah, probably just flat the flop.

75o - Majority of check back range is going to be Ax, Kx. And I expect to see a lot of calls ott. Therefore I have to bet again. Thing is, that from my experience double paired boards get hero called way too often. Even vs a pot sized bet. So I figured - let's rip it in.

Well, maybe there was a mistake on the turn. I am not sure. As I experiment with probing super wide (yeah, people check back overs, but also a plenty of air, and then some value and some draws, too). Air folds to one street aggression.

It might be a spew anyway. Let's see how this experiment with probing air goes.

T9o - I was using a plenty of sizings when I was probing the turn. Starting with 50 %, then 75 %, and even 100 %+ on certain boards. I simplified that to 50 %. But I might be losing some value this way. So yeah, I should have at least two sizings. Betting bigger makes sense here. And I should just overfold otr. Not sure here, but in general. I have to keep it in my mind. Because river calls are costing me a lot of money.

85o - Small sizing usually indicates a weak hand. But in this scenario, I might have forgot, that villain lead on three streets on quite a wet board. So yeah, I am not considering calling here almost ever. Either raise, or fold.

So yeah, I agree, that folding is better here. And I manipulate with river raise sizing a lot. If I want to get called, I make it smaller. If I want to get a fold, I just make it bigger like here.

Anyway, I might be leaking money with this line. I am not sure. I should check in my DB and see how I am doing. One thing is certain, it increases variance a lot. Because some people like to station very wide.

K8o - Yeah. Another spot, where I should just snap fold the river.

And it's quite interesting what you said. Maybe we can use this information vs thinking opponents and bluff at certain frequency with good hands.

J2s - This might be a tilt play Because when somebody is very aggro against me, I want to play back at him. And if I am card dead, I am looking for marginal spots, where I can outplay the player. But yeah, this is just a disaster. Board selection, hand selection, everything is wrong.

A8s - Why is that? I don't understand the theory very well (yet).

J9s - I am very passive OOP in limped pots. So I figured I need to up the aggression. But yeah, I have better hands to do it with. C/c should be better.

K9o - Agree 100 %.

Thank you for the comments and GL!

I agree 100 %. Thing is, that HU hypers are the only game that I am confident in. And maybe I am afraid to trainsit elsewhere. But I have to!

PLO seems like a good option, as the competition is probably not going to be as tough as in NLHE (or I might wrong on this one). I played some already and I am totally clueless about ranges (especially preflop). And then totally lost in 3b pots and so on. So yeah, I might give it a shot.

Have you got any recommendations for the start? Preflop charts, basic game plan and so on?

Thank you and GL to you, too!

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

Update for 11th January

Played: 9.35 h (24.03/100)
Studied: 0.5 h (3/30)
Exercise:

• 15 HLLs
• 30 push ups

Results:

Update for 12th January

Played: 3.37 h (27.4/100)
Studied: 0.5 h (3.5/30)
Exercise:

• 14.5 km of cross country skiing (440 m ascent)

Results:

I didn't update yesterday, as I was completely dead after exercise. Majority of yesterday's volume was played before doing sports. Afterwards I felt completely exhausted and I played just a little bit and then I watched PokerStars stream - there was a final table of 530 Blowout. Cool stuff, I definitely need to improve my MTT skill, too.

Thing is, that I want to be good at everything, which means, that I will be just average in every area. So I should go one after the other.

Oh and I am quite obsessed with my redline. Thing is, that it's also villain dependent. And card distribution makes a big difference, too.

I mean, vs a passive villain my graph will look different, than vs a maniac.

It also depends if I get the chance to value bet thin. Or if I go bet, bet, shove with my top range. Or if I bet, bet, bet smaller with good hands on certain runouts. Lots of factors. But to be honest, I should just care about making the best decisions.

Because I might have done stupid things, just to push that red line a little higher. Thing is, that people are incapable of folding in certain spots. So yeah, I have to try a different approach. And stop being an aggro monkey vs the wrong opponents on wrong textures (like the hands that I posted recently... yeah, but there was one spew after another... so I have to pick spots carefully and hands, too)

Update for 13th January

Played: 6.03 h (33.43/100)
Studied: 0 h (3.5/30)
Exercise: 4 km walk
Results:

I was trying to play 4 tables most of the time. I don't think I am ready for it, as I was missing too many spots. And my brain was on a meltdown.

The goal was to clear the 200 USD chest... but I will not be able to do it. I would have to put insane amount of hours, mostly 4 tabling. And therefore I would have to sacrifice a lot of EV.

I just don't enjoy playing when I have too many tables up. I guess I am not very good at multi tabling. So I guess I should focus on the quality.

I didn't study at all, as I was just obsessed with putting the volume in.

Btw, isn't my graph broken? I though, that all-in EV = nonSD+SD winnings. And my SD winnings are just going straight down.

Oh and I felt disgusted as ****. It was Ax vs AA like 3 or 4 times yesterday at the end of the session. People donking straight for 3 streets, obv I had a lower str8. I think I still misplay a lot vs donk bets and vs unorthodox lines. Like a guy open shove Khi flop, I have a King no kicker and I just snap call it without even thinking about it. This is a mistake! And that happens when I am auto piloting.

I should work on my mental game a lot more, as I get tilted easily and then I want to play looser and I do stupid ****. And vs some guys I just feel like I cannot win no matter what I do. Maybe I adjust poorly.

I feel very tired. Maybe it's just too much to put so many hours consistently and even study on top of that. Ok, I neglect studying a lot. I am still not sure if it's +EV for me to battle the cartel. Because if I count all of the hours I have to put in. Then money I have to put in... And when I see 15s regs open sitting 7s lobbies, I am just not sure, whether it's the best thing to do. I have to decide...

I don't use any preflop charts but if you could find some somewhere that might help. I would recommend playing tighter than whatever the charts say though, at least to start since your postflop game isn't going to be spectacular. I mean probably a lot tighter than the charts suggest isn't a bad idea. If you can't find any charts, just start out playing very tight, 6max is a lot tighter than HU and full ring is even more tight.

You can always start at the smallest stakes on whatever site you're playing on. If you're already playing $7 hu hypers you can afford to learn at 2cent/5cent or whatever. Just play tight and aggressive, if you have a strong hand bet big and don't be afraid to fold one pair if someone else raises you. Good luck!

Your green line is redline + blue line, not aiev line. Your aiev line is technically redline + evblueline, so really you just ran pretty terrible.

I will update tomorrow, as I am not at home now.

Will reply to you guys, too.

I played some PLO10 zoom... It was a disaster. I am a massive fish lol.

I found some RFI guidelines on Upswing. Will give it a shot, as I am clueless especially MW.

And you are right. I played a lil bit of 6max and I stationed too much. Apparently middling flushes don't win too often. So I need to tighten up even more. I was like - yeah, you guys can't have it every time. But when they pot it, they usually DO have it

Yeah, hypers can be cruel sometimes. But that's the price I am willing to pay for. Even recs have to win sometimes (but not too often).

And thank you for the explanation. What a graph fish I am

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

Anyway, I managed to clear the 40 % rakeback chest:



But I had to play som HU PLO in order to do that:



I was obviously running like a sun, but the field was insanely soft, too. I will post some funny hands tomorrow.

Will make a bigger update tomorrow with graphs, stats, and some of my thoughts on how to proceed on my journey. As I love HU SnG, but at the same time it just seems like a dead end. Especially when I see how many triers are there, who want to get to 15s cartel. And then I would have to defend the lobbies, even though I disagree with that system...

GL!

Yeah this is why I've been trying to learn cash, play more live, etc myself. Husngs are too much fun but the upward mobility is pretty bad, traffic isn't great, bots are a problem, future prospects don't look good....lot of sad things about husng ecosystem

Yea i have same issue. Playing hu sng for years and trying to switch to other formats but always coming back to husng where i feel most comfortable and enjoy it most. But obviously really feels like dead end... traffic gets every year smaller even at lowstakes.

I am trying to establish myself as a PLO reg. Let's see how it goes.

Will post the final result of this HU SnG challenge soon.

Thank you for reading and support guys.

See you in my other topic and good luck!

So here comes the big update.

March 2020 - October 2020:



November 2020 - December 2020:



January 2021:



Here's the 2020 with spins, HU MTTs and other stuff, too:



And let's not forget, that I was trying to become a NLH CG grinder. First I was trying to establish myself as NL 10 reg, but then I felt like why not try to HU CG?

This is what happened:



So I definitely need to be wiser with my bankroll management and also I need to be sure, that I am ready to beat the games, that I choose to play.

I have my hands in multiple databases, that' why I am posting multiple graphs.

Between March 2020 and October 2020 I was playing without a registration software. So I had a plenty of simul sits with other regs.

Then I bough a software for registering me in empty lobbies and look what happened with my ROI. Obv, I was running hot, too.

Overall EV for HU hypers: 6.13

What a **** fish I was... I mean, playing 3868 tournaments in 8 months?! And it was my only income lol. Need to change this laziness in 2021.

And january. I was considering my options and I felt really disgusted, that I am playing game where I can earn about 10 USD/hour, and my only option (if I want to keep playing) is to battle the **** cartel at 15s and eventually double my hourly to 20 USD/hours. And that's it. **** dead end.

So I am transitioning to HU PLO now.

You can check out my new blog here: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...u-plo-1785471/

Thank you guys for reading and all the best in 2021. GL at the tables!