Some hands from yesterday:

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Is the river a fold? Would you call? Not sure if I played this fine. Villain is a Russian, FWIW.

Hand 1: PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $3.26 (VPIP: 27.34, PFR: 15.82, 3Bet Preflop: 2.75, Hands: 522)
SB: $2.13 (VPIP: 29.55, PFR: 25.00, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 89)
BB: $7.30 (VPIP: 36.36, PFR: 27.27, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 22)
UTG: $2.34 (VPIP: 28.57, PFR: 21.43, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 14)
Hero (MP): $3.57
CO: $6.87 (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 7)

SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has A Q

UTG raises to $0.06, Hero calls $0.06, fold, fold, fold, fold

Flop: ($0.15, 2 players) T A 4
UTG bets $0.07, Hero calls $0.07

Turn: ($0.29, 2 players) A
UTG checks, Hero bets $0.09, UTG raises to $0.32, Hero calls $0.23

River: ($0.93, 2 players) J
UTG bets $0.90, fold,

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The next 3 hands are incorporating the changes I made to my 3betting strategy, in order to exploit the player pool. Did not realize how much I could get them to spazz out. Even my bluffs are getting called by worse lol. Of course, I got outdrawn in all three of these. But I was just laughing; it didn't bother me at all.


Hand 2: PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.31 (VPIP: 27.59, PFR: 13.79, 3Bet Preflop: 25.00, Hands: 30)
SB: $0.40 (VPIP: 11.11, PFR: 11.11, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 9)
Hero (BB): $2.20
UTG: $2.28 (VPIP: 19.67, PFR: 11.48, 3Bet Preflop: 4.35, Hands: 63)
MP: $2.04 (VPIP: 20.51, PFR: 7.69, 3Bet Preflop: 5.56, Hands: 42)
CO: $2.79 (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 100.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)

SB posts SB $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has Q Q

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to $0.06, SB calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.24, BTN calls $0.18, fold

Flop: ($0.54, 2 players) A 6 Q
Hero bets $1.96 and is all-in, BTN calls $1.96

Turn: ($4.46, 2 players) 5

River: ($4.46, 2 players) J



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Hand 3: PokerStars - $0.02 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $2.65
SB: $2.91 (VPIP: 42.86, PFR: 38.10, 3Bet Preflop: 35.00, Hands: 43)
Hero (BB): $2.00
UTG: $1.05 (VPIP: 25.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
MP: $2.07 (VPIP: 15.56, PFR: 11.11, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 46)
CO: $2.64 (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)

SB posts SB $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has K K

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to $0.06, Hero raises to $0.24, SB calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.48, 2 players) 5 5 Q
SB checks, Hero bets $1.76 and is all-in, SB calls $1.76

Turn: ($4.00, 2 players) 3

River: ($4.00, 2 players) A



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

BTN: $2.61 (VPIP: 18.46, PFR: 15.38, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 67)
SB: $9.11 (VPIP: 44.44, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 9)
Hero (BB): $2.03
UTG: $1.08 (VPIP: 22.86, PFR: 11.43, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 35)
MP: $1.22 (VPIP: 21.43, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
CO: $2.03 (VPIP: 25.95, PFR: 20.89, 3Bet Preflop: 1.69, Hands: 161)

SB posts SB $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.03) Hero has T T

UTG raises to $0.06, fold, fold, fold, SB calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.24, fold, SB calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.54, 2 players) 6 A 4
SB checks, Hero bets $1.79 and is all-in, SB calls $1.79

Turn: ($4.12, 2 players) K

River: ($4.12, 2 players) 3

Hand 1 - probably fold with no reads. Deffo fold versus a Russian
Hand 4 - Kinda weird, would be careful using this combo for this.

Interesting flop strat, probably works better on reg tables where you can really target the fish with this.

Move to 5nlz with 32bi's. I haven't played 2nlz but I imagine it isn't going to be that much of a step up, probably just more aggressive all round with slightly less fish/slightly better regs. Your learning curve should go up so probably best trying to accelerate this progress.

Be selective about cold calling, easy to bleed money in zoom doing this. Choosing hands like suited Aces/broadways helps, hands that can make the nuts and apply lots of pressure with draws.

Thanks 291. I did play some nl5z, but decided today to start playing some nl10z to see if I can get things going there again. Played one hand today that I thought I just had to share. How often do you see someone lose when having 99.6% equity on the flop? Well, ok, the math says 1 in 2500 times lol. And I guess I didn't lose; I split the pot. But entertaining nonetheless hahaha.

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.15 (VPIP: 35.29, PFR: 35.29, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 17)
SB: $10.30 (VPIP: 13.33, PFR: 6.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
BB: $17.03 (VPIP: 62.50, PFR: 50.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 8)
Hero (UTG): $10.93
MP: $19.21 (VPIP: 24.27, PFR: 22.33, 3Bet Preflop: 9.52, Hands: 108)
CO: $13.81 (VPIP: 14.29, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 21)

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A K

Hero raises to $0.25, fold, fold, fold, fold, BB calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.55, 2 players) T Q J
BB checks, Hero bets $0.17, BB raises to $0.74, Hero raises to $2.50, BB raises to $8.03, Hero raises to $10.68 and is all-in, BB calls $2.65

Turn: ($21.91, 2 players) K

River: ($21.91, 2 players) A



Is this punishment for trying to be too aggressive with the BRM lol?

calculate again pls.

Sorry, 1 in 250. Close enough lol

Arrrgh, I had a post mostly typed up and ready to go, but lost it from accidentally clicking on another link. So I'll just sum it up:

-Got new job (more steady hours); will probably start soon
-Less I need to be worried about withdrawing from poker
-Went back to nl2z to try and play around with a more aggro approach, opening up ranges considerably and using exploitive lines in spots (from database analysis). Will be interesting to see how opponents adjust (if they do), and how I might be able to take advantage of that to make more money.
-nl10z over the past week wasn't too great; down about 3 BIs

If you´re not worried about withdrawing anymore, I think now is the time you should focus on moving up aggressively. Not extremely aggressive like the last one some time ago but something like 15 BIs and 3 BI stops. And obv focusing on developing your A-game and exploits and improving.

Thanks Fazendeiro, not sure at this point if I'll need to withdraw or not. Depending on how the transition goes between jobs, there may be a chance I still might need to withdraw a smallish amount this month. And also depends on my weekly hours there. If I still manage to work 1 day a week at one of the current jobs, then I'll definitely be fine without withdrawing. If I get at least 40 hours/week at the new job (and quit the current jobs), then it might be close. If I get graveyard hours (which pay more), then I should still be fine. If not, maybe I might need to withdraw $100/month or something still. I don't know, I'll have to see how it works out. But it'll definitely be a lot better than it is now lol.

Also, got an email saying my RIO account was credited with a $10 bonus (as long as I rake $1 before Jun 20), so will try to see how much I can run that up.

Just a quick update. Still been busy last few days with new job stuff while still working current jobs. That part should settle down soon though lol. Still not sure if I'll need to withdraw from poker going forward. Chances are I still might. If I do, I will just play nl2z solely for that purpose, as the amount I need won't be that much (I hope). And nl2z should suffice for that. The rest of my poker time, I'll try to probably take some aggressive shots (or study of course).

But, I'm gonna split my free time between poker and game development. I'm not gonna lie, I do prefer the creative side of making games over grinding nanostakes online poker. I do still enjoy poker though, which is why I keep playing. Although, partly, I kind of play out of necessity of needing to make a little extra money lol. But I'd like poker a lot more if I could play less (less tables, less hours), and for more money. Or live. I really would also like to get back into live play at some point if I have the money.

Over last week or so, been doing database analysis to figure out the player pool's frequencies in common spots. And adjusting ranges (pre and postflop) to account for that. Playing quite a bit tighter overall, but calling more from the BB than I was before. Think that might help more whenever I go back to nl5z/nl10z.

Will keep updating here, but updates may be less frequent than before. I'll still try to post graphs here and there. Again, not leaving or quitting; just gonna reduce volume. I'll try to aim for 15-20 hours a week of playing, and then 20 or so hours for game development as well. Too lazy to go back and check, but I think this might be the longest PG&C thread I've had so far hahahaha.

EDIT:

Oh, forgot to mention. Lost the RIO 10 EUR bonus lol. Got it up to $20-25, played nl20, and lost it. Obviously terrible BRM lol, but meh. Plan was to be aggressive with that until I got it to something more substantial, or went broke.

Even though most (serious) players play poker with the ultimate goal of making money, I think if you always come to your sessions with this mentality "I need to make money to cover my expenses", you´ll burn out very quickly. Maybe you´re already there.

I was thinking about this the other day, and came to the conclusion that to win and achieve something good at this game, what we really need is an (un)healthy dose of obssession, to win, to improve, to be the best, to get the maximum winrate, to bumhunt 110% of the time etc. Being healthy, sleeping well, eating well, having some life etc are all good ofc, but they are secondary: you need it bc they will help you to be the best, but poker should be the priority. Think about Bobby Fischer (the chess player) during his preparation, as a somewhat extreme but still maybe the best role model for an aspiring grinder in 2019.

I think you should meditate deeply about this and figure out if you really love poker that much, if you really want to win at all costs. Bc you´re smart, but maybe you´re wasting your time with something that you´ll quit in a few weeks/months (again).

I don't need to meditate at all about that. I don't love poker that much that I'd want to win at all costs. I'm a very competitive person, but poker is not something I see myself enjoying enough to be the best. I do enjoy poker though, and want to improve, but there are other things I enjoy more. For example, I did kind of have that drive to be the best at certain videogames in the past. Videogames are more fun in that respect, because those games are just more fun to play. They're designed to be fun. Poker isn't designed to be fun; it's designed as a gambling game to make money.

I very much enjoy trying to improve as a player, but I don't quite enjoy the grind quite as much. I still have fun playing, but it's not something I really want to do 60 hours a week (just to pick a ballpark number lol). However, that doesn't mean I'm going to quit, or stop playing. I'll still try to improve, and move up. Maybe once I move out of the micros, I'll start having that win at all costs mentality because then things will become more real.

I'm not wasting my time though. And I don't agree that achieve something good at poker, you need that kind of attitude and dedication. As with anything, the more hours you can devote to something, the quicker it will (most likely) be to achieve success. But you can still achieve success with less devotion. Maybe by splitting my time, the time I devote to poker will be more productive.

I should add one thing though. I've really enjoyed live poker, and I could see myself with a bigger drive to succeed there. But I'll keep trying to improve at online poker for now.

Haven't had much time to play last little while, cause I'm working 60 hours a week at the moment. Gave my notice to one job now, so after the next couple weeks, work will go down to a more reasonable 45ish hours. But that also means I probably won't have to worry at all about withdrawing for quite a while. So I can just focus on improving and moving up again.

From my limited volume though, it seems like my plan to tighten up is paying dividends. Maybe it's best to be tight in the micros. Will keep exploring that route and see if it leads to more success in getting past nl5z/nl10z.

About tightening up, it´s happening quite naturally at 10nl, bc it´s so difficult to be the first to enter the pot while on the button (or co etc), while ep ranges are already tight. But I think the "secret" to beat my nemesis at 10nl is to really play tight in all streets.

Interesting that you included 5nl tho. Don´t have a well reasoned opinion on 5nlz obv, but playing tight don´t seem to be the best option at fr when ppl are already so nitty.

I keep what I said about obssession, but would be happy to be proven wrong, as I´m not that obssessive either

glgl

The reason I included nl5z as well is because I really don't think there would be that much of a difference between nl5z and nl10z. Everyone always says nl5(z) is a lot nittier than nl10(z), but I can't imagine that actually being the case to that great of an extent. I think the population (in general) still calls too much at any of those stakes, so that tightening up in most spots is better. Of course, there are spots where you should overbluff at any of those stakes as well.

I remember looking at nl2z/5z/10z, and noticing similar trends in the areas that I looked at. The biggest difference I saw was in calling frequencies for small turn/river cbets in single raised heads up pots. They folded more at nl2z. The one thing I want to look at more is vs turn/river overbets, when I get more of a sample. I'm overbetting a bit sparingly at the moment, so may take a while for me to get a sample to analyze. Might increase my frequency slightly if I start noticing that they may be folding too much, and see if the trend continues.

Haven't done much playing over the past little bit. Had a problem with the Stars update, where Pokerstars just wouldn't open. Finally got that taken care of, but been so busy at work. After the next week and a half or so, should start getting more consistent volume, as I'll have left the previous jobs and will just be working at one place.

Been so busy with work last few weeks; especially this past week, where I've been working close to 70 hours. Good news is, one more week until I've worked my last shift at the old jobs. So should be able to play/post more regularly after that.

The year is half over now, so time to look at my results up to this point.



Disappointing, but also an improvement. I think this thread has been my most successful so far (which isn't saying much lol). NL2z has been going better than it ever has before. I've finally had a large winning sample at nl10z, although not by much. However, I've had a lot of spew and bad decisions at that level, so I think the ability to beat it solidly is there if I can avoid that.

BR is currently somewhere around $150. The plan for this month is to focus on nl10z. Will drop back down to nl2z when BR dips below $100, and then move back to nl10z at $120. Will continue playing my tighter, more disciplined style, and hope it leads to a higher winrate at nl10z.

My first goal of the second half of 2019 is to log 50k (more) hands at nl10z, and see how I do there playing tighter.

Belated response, but at the micros, with tons of hands, my observation of this hand: Either fold (should have never checked the turn) the river, or shove the flop. Do you think A3s will call the flop? This also changes the rhythm of the pseudo rng. I, however, play on ignition (no pokerstars here), where villains are anonymous, and I can only work on my own game. JMO.

Lol, zoom rake is absurdly high. I pay a little over 4bb/100 at both 5 and 10nl fr and think it´s already too much. So, big respect to you and the zoom guys for being able to overcome this and still win

Thanks FutureInsights, although I don't really think this hand is too important anymore, because such situations are not going to occur too often. I can't really remember the hand too well anymore, but maybe betting is better than checking.

Fazendeiro, I don't think the difference in rake is a result of zoom vs regular, but rather a result of 6max vs FR. But yeah, rake for me is around 6-7 bb/100.

Fazendeiro, you may want to switch to zoom lol. Just looking at the stakes available for playing on Stars... Zoom goes to nl200. Regular tables only go to nl50 (after the latest updates). Is that the same for you?

Same thing here. Highest cash limit being nl50, or even nl200, would be really sad, must be some glitch. Hopefully

Yeah, next tilt I’ll switch to zoom again, but from past experiences I’m pretty sure this change won’t last more than maybe 1k hands lol.

Yeah, hopefully a glitch lol. At least there's still the possibility to make a lot of money at nl200. But nl50 being the highest for reg tables seems kinda low.

On another note, my first shot into nl10z didn't go so well. Lost 3 BIs over 1k hands. Looking back at that session, it was either bad luck (hitting a set only to lose to them binking a higher set), or complete spew. And the prospect of grinding back those BIs at nl2z seems discouraging. So not sure if this is the best way to go. I'll maybe try to just play nl5z for a while and try to turn my fortunes around at that level first. That way, I'm not feeling discouraged from playing lol. I do have about 22 BIs for nl5z, and even if I bust that, I can easily deposit enough to go back to nl2z. So maybe that's a better path for right now.

Regrind nl5 and use a stop loss. Pretty sure 30 usd in 2nl would be easy, but I don’t think it’s a good training for your next 10nl shot to be grinding that low.

Agree. On Ignition, lowest is 5nl, next is 25nl. I was going to suggest that the 2nl thing is way too long and hard. Solidify that play at 5nl before going to 10nl. If possible, put in 100k hands. Unless on heater, and reach that 10 nl 30 buy in sooner

Thanks guys. Been playing a small amount of nl5z (cause I was still working so much), and I think it's going pretty well. Did have this disaster of a hand though:

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

BTN: $7.08 (VPIP: 13.67, PFR: 8.98, 3Bet Preflop: 4.85, Hands: 260)
SB: $4.78 (VPIP: 13.33, PFR: 6.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 18)
Hero (BB): $13.64
UTG: $13.79 (VPIP: 20.27, PFR: 16.22, 3Bet Preflop: 3.13, Hands: 77)
MP: $2.95 (VPIP: 26.80, PFR: 19.79, 3Bet Preflop: 9.68, Hands: 99)
CO: $9.53 (VPIP: 22.22, PFR: 17.41, 3Bet Preflop: 5.21, Hands: 285)

SB posts SB $0.02, Hero posts BB $0.05

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.07) Hero has 4 4

UTG raises to $0.15, MP calls $0.15, CO calls $0.15, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.62, 4 players) 4 3 5
Hero bets $0.68, UTG raises to $1.95, fold, fold, Hero raises to $13.49 and is all-in, UTG calls $11.54

Turn: ($27.60, 2 players) J

River: ($27.60, 2 players) Q



-----------

I don't know if my play here is good or bad. I think there are a lot of worse hands they will call with. The only thing I'm really worried about is 55. If they have a straight, I still have pretty decent equity. But I think I'll get a lot of calls with overpairs, FD + overcards, maybe some combo draws.. At any rate, that set me back a bit, but am still winning with the tighter style.

A New Start:

Ok, not really a new start poker-wise lol, but today is the last day of my old jobs. It feels so good to not have to work 60-65 hours a week anymore! Finally will have more time to play poker again, and my mind is starting to feel "fresh" again, and not so tired from all the work (knowing that I'll be back to a normal work week again after today).

So, to celebrate, I'm just going to be really aggro for a bit, and see if I can get to nl25z quickly. I'll keep 50 BIs for nl2z to fall back on, but just gonna see if I can get on a run and reach nl25z quickly. Kind of a reward to myself for all the hard work during the past few weeks.

Call flop. Don´t like 3bet shoving here. Villain seems your standard 5nl TAG, so unless a 2 comes and he keeps firing, imo better to just call flop and station turn and river depending on what he does.

Not every reg opens 33 from utg in 6-max, or MP in FR (I don´t ), esp 3x, so keep that in mind also.



While I´m not into aggro shots, cool that you´re thinking about doing it again (try to be at least a little bit conservative pls), and will be waiting for your updates. Do not forget your followers

Cheers!

Thanks Fazendeiro. My thought process behind the 3bet was that I think a ton of worse hands (not just 33) will put in the money on the flop that wouldn't put in the money on a lot of turns/rivers. And I'm still gonna lose the money either way if he has 55 or a straight (where I don't boat up). My thought process might be wrong, but that's what I was thinking.

Anyway, as to the second part of your post.. I'll be conservative in that I'll have 50 BIs to drop down to at nl2z each time the shots fail. But otherwise, I'm not gonna be conservative at all lol. But there's no risk to me except time lost. And I don't care about that right now, cause I'm rewarding myself for all the hard work over the last few weeks.

Basically, using $100 as a starting point, this is the rough idea for moving up:

nl2z: 0 - 110
nl5z: 110 - 120
nl10z: 120 - 132
nl16z: 132 - 150
nl25z: 150+

If I lose more than a BI (from the starting number for that stake), then I drop back down to the stake that fits the BR number.

For example, if I'm at nl25z, and the BR dips down to $122, then I drop down to nl10z.

Super, super aggro. But this is just to have some fun and relax after those hard weeks, with no risk to my BR. But, it's also to get a few hands in at slightly higher stakes and see how comfortable I am with the tighter strategy. And to see if I can catch some run-good and get a jump start. But realistically, I don't expect to be any further ahead BR-wise without some luck on my side. But I also won't be behind either.