You are playing too loose pre. Try to completely take out any coldcalls pre (with the exception being in the bb when given the right odds). When you are IP (or the sb) try to 3 bet or fold pre. If you think it will not be easy for you to make money postflop with your hand just fold.

Some example of good cc's when you are in LP vs an EP opener would be hands like 77-JJ, JTs, QJs, KQ, AQ. The later the position the open raise comes from the more you want to 3 bet even those pre. Say, CO opens and you are on the button w/ AQ, tend to 3 bet it. You want your stats to look something like 22/20, 24/21, 20/18 with around an 8% total 3bet pre, aggro factor 2-4, cbet flop of around 60%, fold to cbet about 47%

Thank you for the replies.

(It looks like I'm too passive!)

I've been playing less pots (aiming for that 17 - 20 VP) and playing the ones that I do play more aggressively, 3betting and even 4betting a lot of hands I would normally just call with, and folding the rest.

At first I took a wobble, But I felt I was just getting it in well and then unlucky against some fish who love to call me down with terrible odds.

But then I started hitting flops again and managed to get back up to £100 bankroll again. And I felted quite a few fish, gaining back my earlier losses from them plus interest.

It seems my 30% VP loose image has also caught a few off guard when I suddenly shifted into a much tighter PF range following your excellent advice, and I found I was getting calls from good players who simply didn't believe I would shove the river with anything but a bluff! Hugely profitable!

It's scary that I dropped down to £91 at the bottom of the dip and it's a stark reminder of the importance of bankroll management.

I find it impressive that there are people out there taking swings like this at a much higher level! It really is a game of nerves!

But I'm still absolutely loving it swings and all!

I've been getting far too much of this crap lately.

3rd hand I was dealt... Only reason I took a shot at 4NL was because the 2NL tables are full of ridiculously nitty players (18% and less of players at 6max)

=€0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players


Hero (CO): 100 BB
BTN: 121.5 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)
SB: 63.5 BB (VPIP: 37.80, PFR: 14.74, 3Bet Preflop: 1.23, Hands: 265)
BB: 49 BB (VPIP: 23.55, PFR: 12.79, 3Bet Preflop: 4.82, Hands: 267)
UTG: 142 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) T A 7
SB checks, Hero bets 3.5 BB, SB calls 3.5 BB

Turn: (14 BB, 2 players) Q
SB checks, Hero bets 7 BB, SB calls 7 BB

River: (28 BB, 2 players) J
SB bets 14 BB, Hero raises to 86 BB, SB calls 36 BB

Hero mucks T T (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 18%, Flop 89%, Turn 86%)
SB shows K K (Straight, Ace High)
(Pre 82%, Flop 11%, Turn 14%)
SB wins 119.5 BB


I mean this is just sick when the river comes I feel like quitting poker for good.

I almost knew he was going to end up runner runnering me, it's been par for the course for nearly 1k hands so far.

Perhaps I should just shove the turn here and hope for the best? But the result would still be the same, he'd still call and still hit the river for his straight.

My bell luck curve is just ridiculously below EV for 20k hands when it comes to sets.

I'm thinking sets are just no good on this particular site? I'm not hitting them anywhere near as often as I should, and when I do they are being by straights and flushes much more often than I do against them.

Are sets just coolers waiting to happen? Should I just shove the flop any time I hit a set and hope for the best?

I just don't see how I could have played the hand any different, it's just that I'm coming up against this situation so often I'm thinking something MUST be up.

There must be something I can do? Fold anything below QQ pre?

What are you doing, man?

1)you could've bet more on flop and turn, but then you'd gotten his KK to fold, most likely, so you'd gotten less eV value.

2)he donks 50%, why do you even call, yet raise?
Be nuxxx, be the tuff micro reg from Ireland, don't even call
nuxxx would not even call OTR

What I'm saying is, enemy check calls because he has "OK" hand and prob. knows (expects) he's beat on flop and turn but calls because good price and "precious kings"

Once he donks the river, he hopes you're a fish reg and call off with set, 2 pairs etc and lose to his str8. Why do you raise? 1)he's not likely donking w/o Kx 2)he's never calling your re-raise w/o Kx so re-raise loses you value in this meta I'm afraid

I've been getting far too much of this crap lately.

3rd hand I was dealt... Only reason I took a shot at 4NL was because the 2NL tables are full of ridiculously nitty players (18% and less of players at 6max)

=€0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players


Hero (CO): 100 BB
BTN: 121.5 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)
SB: 63.5 BB (VPIP: 37.80, PFR: 14.74, 3Bet Preflop: 1.23, Hands: 265)
BB: 49 BB (VPIP: 23.55, PFR: 12.79, 3Bet Preflop: 4.82, Hands: 267)
UTG: 142 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (7 BB, 2 players) T A 7
SB checks, Hero bets 3.5 BB, SB calls 3.5 BB

Turn: (14 BB, 2 players) Q
SB checks, Hero bets 7 BB, SB calls 7 BB

River: (28 BB, 2 players) J
SB bets 14 BB, Hero raises to 86 BB, SB calls 36 BB

Hero mucks T T (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 18%, Flop 89%, Turn 86%)
SB shows K K (Straight, Ace High)
(Pre 82%, Flop 11%, Turn 14%)
SB wins 119.5 BB


I mean this is just sick when the river comes I feel like quitting poker for good.

I almost knew he was going to end up runner runnering me, it's been par for the course for nearly 1k hands so far.

Perhaps I should just shove the turn here and hope for the best? But the result would still be the same, he'd still call and still hit the river for his straight.

My bell luck curve is just ridiculously below EV for 20k hands when it comes to sets.

I'm thinking sets are just no good on this particular site? I'm not hitting them anywhere near as often as I should, and when I do they are being beaten by straights and flushes much more often than I do against them. (And much more often than they should)

Are sets just coolers waiting to happen? Should I just shove the flop any time I hit a set and hope for the best?

I just don't see how I could have played the hand any different, it's just that I'm coming up against this situation so often I'm thinking something MUST be up.

There must be something I can do? Fold anything below QQ pre?

I'm looking through all my losing hands and I'm thinking, if I had the luck my opponent do I'd be massively up.

Do I have to wait for 100k hands to know for sure? Because I feel too unlucky on this site, and I'm getting suspicious that my best hands (and its really boring not playing many hands) are being so coldly bad beat so often.

But fair enough he had KK pf and I'm sure he feels I got what I deserved on the river.

I think I just need to fold TT and JJ pf as being tricked up hands online, rarely have my JJ or TT been up against anything but another PP and usually it is KK QQ or AA.

It just feels like a mechanic is dealing the cards online, it really does.

But I know I'll get stick for it, so I guess we can just chalk it up to my perception being skewed.

But I can't take much more of this, I literaly had to stop playing after that hand, because I know I'll start playing hands like J5s and start chasing flushes, just because "I must win ONE hand in 1000".

I just know that if I play this guy again I will have KK, he will have TT and he will hit the set on the flop, I will have OESD by turn, and he will hit another T on the river. It's just the way it seems to work.

Unless I flop the absolute nuts I'm reluctant to ever cbet now, because they are getting there no matter what cards they have by the river.

I wish there was a bell luck curve in pokertracker for coolers, because that would put my mind at rest, at least I could see how "unlucky" I've been.

Bankroll now at £96

Everything I am trying is getting destroyed by the most ridiculous outside odds hitting my opponents so often, that I think I've offended the God of random number generation.

To go from 89% fav on the flop, 86% fav on the turn, and then to lose by the river is just the sickest feeling. Especially when its happening so often and caning my bankroll.

Should I double up my bankroll and just accept I have stupidly bad luck and that I get double the variance everyone else does?

How can I keep folding AK by the turn against idiots playing 95 and hitting a 5 and calling to the river, if I don't make it back in hands like above? How do I play through this? How can I possibly play any tighter without just playing AK AA and KK?

I know people are going to kick my behind and say its my fault, but I'm just trying to be as honest as I can.

My head is saying online poker isn't rigged and I can never proove it even if it were, but my heart is teling me there are so many consecutive bad beats one guy can have before you have to start asking people to roll up their sleeves and reveal the hidden aces...

PHEW sorry guys I had to get it out of my system somewhere.

Poker is a tuff job. Imagine boxing. Don't do if you don't have what it takes. Even if you got what it takes, make sure you do it properly and don't end up being one of those guys with talent but only making $1k a month due to personal issues or some other BS.

Be happy he calls like that. If you went to, say, NL10 in dry hours. He'd not even call being 11% dog on the flop. Or he'd call flop but snap give up turn due to field tendencies 2b being Ax or higher vs his KK.

You are right of course.

It's this mental toughness I am struggling with.

I apologise for complaining, but it feels like a festering wound if I don't vent it out.

I need a punchbag or a table to flip because it really does tilt me.

I can and regularly do have AA,KK,QQ,JJ,TT beaten and just shrug it off like it was KJ losing to QT. But when I get 3 or 4 really good hands in a row getting absolutely killed against the odds (and costing me a stack or two in the process) that's when the metal rot sets in.

I guess I wanted this thread to be full of pretty graphs that look like mountain ranges stretching into the sky, instead of a cluster of hills that suddenly end with a huge fall off a 20,000 ft cliff!

Your support and encouragement are really appreciated, and the positive vibes and level headed replies, are definitely giving me an edge.

And thinking about it, it's not the end of the world to go down a few buyin's I'm not even close to going bust at this point, so the BR management is doing its job for sure.

I think the reason I raise is tilt.

At this point I can't even explain my actions other than "FFS another set beatn to a pulp on the river f*** this guy *shove*"

It's definitely a mental problem, I guess I'm praying he has AQ here or something.

But you're right I played it terrible.

Yeah, and sorry for the double post, not sure why the forum is doing that. I think it logs me out and then double posts when it looks like I lost the original post my end (really annoying).

So in summary.

1. My flop play was ok but proly better to 2/3 or pot instead of 1/2 pot?

2. My turn play again too low @ 1/2 pot?

3. My river play, absolutely terrible and should have check/call/folded?

Is my fold good?

I think villain punishes my fear here, I've just had so many terrible situations like this that unless I have the absolute nuts I have no stomach to call...

Of all the rivers in the world why did it have to be that one?

€0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players

UTG: 50 BB (VPIP: 22.79, PFR: 14.07, 3Bet Preflop: 11.90, Hands: 138)
Hero (MP): 100 BB
CO: 111.5 BB (VPIP: 20.66, PFR: 14.41, 3Bet Preflop: 3.57, Hands: 340)
BTN: 108.5 BB (VPIP: 66.67, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 7)
SB: 105.5 BB (VPIP: 20.60, PFR: 17.79, 3Bet Preflop: 7.75, Hands: 549)
BB: 41 BB (VPIP: 23.53, PFR: 12.43, 3Bet Preflop: 5.88, Hands: 172)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (19.5 BB, 2 players) T J A
Hero checks, CO bets 10.5 BB, Hero calls 10.5 BB

Turn: (40.5 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero checks, CO bets 31 BB, Hero calls 31 BB

River: (102.5 BB, 2 players) K
Hero checks, CO bets 61 BB, fold

CO wins 96 BB

AJ Is probably a fold pre. He's only 3 betting 3.5% of his hands. As played I'm probably jamming turn and hope he gets stubborn with an AK,AQ and maybe his 3bet range is a little wider in the Cutoff. That TT hand im potting both streets and probably shoving the river. If he has a King there than oh well make note of it and start value betting super large against that guy.

Thanks!

No, imo flop and turn is OK, because you want to keep him in. Although, maybe a tad bigger would work for your overall range better to extract more from Ax.

I don't think he's likely calling a PSB on the flop or the turn with his KK on Axx flop, but could be wrong. So I think turn and flop is fine. River you prob. fold or at least call. Raise is clearly -EV there, I think.

Well it's been a long grind to get my bankroll back to roughly where it was.

After spinning my wheels between hands 21k and 24k, my hands finally started to hold, and I even put a few bad beats on some players I owed them to!

Total bankroll £106.07

It feels like a major achievement just getting back to where I was before all the bad beats took it away!

The downswings are definitely getting a lot easier to take, and I'm not as excited about upswings as I was.

I've decided to call it a day on this experiment.

I hate to admit failure but I have failed, I'm too embarrassed to show my graph right now.

I felt like I was putting in the effort to my game, I even set up a balanced GTO opening and 3bet 4bet 5bet range, and for a while it worked.

But I just can't help feeling that on the site I'm playing there is something fishy going on, like data sharing, botting or something.

Every time I hit an upswing (usually identifying a bot/robotic play and then exploiting it) it's like I get targeted, 3 players calling me down with any two then peeling off when they out flop me.

After doing some research where I play (iPoker) it turns out this site has a pretty bad reputation that I didn't know about with regard to bots and collusion.

There seems to be obvious bots/assistance software running here on top of really tough regs grinding the lowest micro levels, I can't put my finger on it and I certainly can't prove it, but my gut instinct is that this isn't a good place for me to learn.

Some really fishy stuff, like I did some experiments (fold everything for 100+ hands and watch how the table plays without my action) and it's fold fold fold, button and c/o not even trying to take blinds. Then I think ok now lets make some bets, and suddenly the table comes alive and it's call call raise call on any money I put in the pot with what seems like really weird hands low gappers etc.

I don't know if this is bots or just groups of regs soft playing each other but it really sucks.

Maybe I'm just really bad and the scare stories I've been reading have put me on tilt, I don't know.

Regardless I've made the decision to avoid iPoker skins.

I'm waiting for what's left of my bankroll to be withdrawn, and then I will try Pokerstars.

I'm in poor health at the moment, and playing poker has been like a new lease of life for me, but just lately playing on iPoker I feel like the life is being sucked out of the game.

I'm fully aware this could just be me being terrible at the game, but my gut feeling is the games on the iPoker network are unfair in some way or other.

I'll probably get coated on here, but I felt the need to get it off my chest.

Anyway's I'll try stars for a bit and if that doesn't work out, I'll have to find a cheaper hobby.

My appologies for being too keen in the first place and starting what turned out to be a failure thread.

Think it's best I stick to lurking.

Dm me if u wanna hit up for some poker talks

Have you ever considered the possibility that the regs see you as a fish and want to be in pots versus you and not as much with each other without the goods, instead of jumping to conspiracy theories?

I get your point but it's hardly a conspiracy theory:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/2...antage-1704108

Also even if it is regs seeing me as a fish, soft playing each other and just waiting until one of them fits a flop against me, it's hardly fair or ethical is it? Even if it is fair and ethical it's a terrible and expensive way to learn.

But then I can always choose to play elsewhere, which is what I'm doing.