English is not my first language so pardon me for any spelling errors.

I've played poker online casually since 2006, i was a winning player in microstates (up to NL25 full ring) but never took it seriously due to not having time/money, as I was in college at that time, in 2020 I decided to play more but I was to lazy to grind and study poker, this year I want it to be different.

My current BR is $252.41 on PS, my 2020 graph:




I will start from NL2 since I need to play some hands to warm up as I'm not that used to playing 6 max yet, that's why I will not be playing zoom for now, once I reach $300 in BR I will move to NL5. The goal is to beat z200 (min 3bb/100) by the end of the year, in order to do that I will set myself weekly challenges.

1- Study 15 hours
2- Play 18,000 hands
3- Post sessions results
4- Move up to NL5

From January 1st to the 6th I need to accomplish this, I'm currently reading The Grinder's Manual by Peter Clarke for the second time, after that I have two more books in mind.

The Mental Game of Poker by Jared Tendler
100 Hands by Peter Clarke

Will be reading the 2p2 forums too, post some hands in this thread and ask for advice.

Happy New Year Everyone

Happy New Year and good luck!

Subbed and good luck. Will follow your progress.

Correction: The first week will be from January 1st to the 7th.

Day 1

New year, got to bed late, had about 4 hours of sleep, in the morning went to visit a friend in the hospital, started playing poker early afternoon and only managed to play 504 hands of NL2 for a profit $7.68, didn't study.

Goals

Study 0/15h
Hands 504/18,000

A couple of hands that were interesting.

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 83 BB
UTG: 94 BB
Hero (CO): 125 BB
BTN: 160.5 BB
SB: 216 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 5 BB, Hero raises to 15 BB, fold, fold, fold, UTG raises to 94 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 79 BB

Flop: (189.5 BB, 2 players) 3 4 5

Turn: (189.5 BB, 2 players) 7

River: (189.5 BB, 2 players) 9

UTG shows K J (High Card, King)
(Pre 25%, Flop 13%, Turn 11%)
Hero shows A K (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 75%, Flop 87%, Turn 89%)
Hero wins 183 BB

Villain had 43/10/9 stat line and was playing very aggressive with mediocre hands, that's why figured that at best he had low pocket pairs in this hand or a weaker Ax.

Hand #2

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 74.5 BB
SB: 108.5 BB
Hero (BB): 207 BB
UTG: 201 BB
CO: 181.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, BTN raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero raises to 11 BB, BTN raises to 33.5 BB, fold

BTN wins 22.5 BB

Villain had stats of 27/23/0 and a 75% fold to PF 3bet after raise, that why i folded after the 4bet, i put him on QQ+.

What do you guys think about the hands?

Hand 1 is fine, just a bad run out for you, wp.

Hand 2 could be ok imo but worth noting that he started on a 75bb stack. I often will have these kind of guys tagged as fish if they are below a 100bb stack. Fold is probably fine but I have shoved here in the past, BTN vs BB and vs a less than 100bb stack.

I actually won hand #1, in regards to hand #2 i tag players under 100 bb as a fish too, villain was very passive and he 4bet quickly so i folded.

Gl buddy wish you the best for this challenge!!

Thank you, good luck too you too.

Thank you, i will try my best.

Thank you, this challenge will not be easy but ill work hard and smart.

Sorry! Misread it as a fourflush - too used to 4 colour decks.

No worries, happens to me too from time to time.

Day 2

Started paying before studying which I don't like but my sleep schedule is messed up right now so I just need to power through, the day went relatively well +$11.54 and I wanted to play more hands +1,659 but was not focused anymore after 4 and a half straight hours so I called quits shortly after with the intention to take a shower and come back to play in an hour or so but instead went two study for 2 hours and read a bunch of poker related content that I wouldn't necessary categorize as studying.

Goals

2h/15h
2,163/18,000

Hand 1

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

BTN: 75.5 BB
Hero (SB): 104 BB
BB: 90 BB
UTG: 121 BB
MP: 102.5 BB
CO: 169 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 3 BB, MP calls 3 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 2.5 BB, fold

Flop: (10 BB, 3 players) 3 5 4
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP checks

Turn: (10 BB, 3 players) 3
Hero checks, UTG checks, MP checks

River: (10 BB, 3 players) A
Hero checks, UTG bets 5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 20 BB, UTG calls 15 BB

Hero shows 2 2 (Straight Flush, Five High)
(Pre 50%, Flop 59%, Turn 61%)
UTG mucks K T (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 50%, Flop 41%, Turn 39%)
Hero wins 48 BB

I called with deuces because of the two other players involved but what can I say, a Straight Flush is pretty rare so it was nice, I don't know if I could've gotten more money in the pot.

Hand 2

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

SB: 189.5 BB
BB: 111.5 BB
UTG: 97.5 BB
MP: 70.5 BB
CO: 72 BB
Hero (BTN): 108 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero raises to 9 BB, SB calls 8.5 BB, fold, MP calls 6 BB

Flop: (28 BB, 3 players) Q 6 2
SB bets 13.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 13.5 BB

Turn: (55 BB, 2 players) 7
SB checks, Hero bets 17.5 BB, SB calls 17.5 BB

River: (90 BB, 2 players) 7
SB checks, Hero bets 30 BB, SB calls 30 BB

Hero shows A Q (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 50%, Flop 68%, Turn 100%)
SB mucks A Q (Two Pair, Queens and Sevens)
(Pre 50%, Flop 32%, Turn 0%)
Hero wins 145 BB

Standard 3bet, SB calls after tanking and donks the flop, after reviewing the hand I realize that the highest frequency play was to raise his donk bet and push all in the turn. Definitely left money on the table on this one.

Hand 3

PokerStars - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 36.5 BB
Hero (BB): 132.5 BB
UTG: 96 BB
CO: 50.5 BB
BTN: 142 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 4 BB, fold, fold, SB calls 3.5 BB, Hero raises to 16 BB, UTG calls 12 BB, fold

Flop: (36 BB, 2 players) 8 3 J
Hero bets 11.5 BB, UTG raises to 80 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 68.5 BB

Turn: (196 BB, 2 players) 2

River: (196 BB, 2 players) 4

Hero shows Q Q (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 57%, Flop 77%, Turn 86%)
UTG shows K A (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 43%, Flop 23%, Turn 14%)
Hero wins 189 BB

In this hand the only thing I didn't like was my 3bet sizing, it should've been lower.

Good luck. I am also looking to start something similar to this. Currently finishing university in my end in June, but will be looking to play micro and study.

Let’s connect.

Thanks, I would recommend you start reading some beginner friendly books like The Grinders Manual

Day 3

Had a very long session and managed to play 3,003 hands and played relatively well making +$24.83, studied for 1h 20 mins, definitely need to study more but I'm having trouble with my sleep. Bankroll is near $300 so today I will start my first shot an NL5 with a stop loss of 10BI.

Goals

3h 20min/18h
5,166/18,000



Hand #1

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

UTG: 141.5 BB
MP: 113.5 BB
CO: 98.5 BB
Hero (BTN): 105 BB
SB: 151 BB
BB: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, CO raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, BB calls 8 BB, CO calls 6 BB

Flop: (27.5 BB, 3 players) 2 3 6
BB bets 8 BB, CO calls 8 BB, Hero raises to 28 BB, BB calls 20 BB, fold

Turn: (91.5 BB, 2 players) 2
BB checks, Hero bets 68 BB and is all-in, BB calls 63 BB and is all-in

River: (217.5 BB, 2 players) 8

BB shows 5 5 (Two Pair, Fives and Twos)
(Pre 19%, Flop 24%, Turn 14%)
Hero shows K K (Two Pair, Kings and Twos)
(Pre 81%, Flop 76%, Turn 86%)
Hero wins 210 BB


BB was unknown but I had him at 55 to TT, AJ+, he donks the flops and I raise knowing that sometimes he has as set but more often than not that wont be the case, turn comes and I push all in since the 2 doesn't improve any of our range, was very happy to see 55 there.


Hand #2

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

CO: 57.5 BB
BTN: 100 BB
SB: 100 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 197 BB
MP: 177 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP calls 1 BB, fold, fold, SB calls 0.5 BB, Hero raises to 6 BB, MP calls 5 BB, fold

Flop: (13 BB, 2 players) A 3 6
Hero bets 8 BB, MP raises to 22.5 BB, Hero calls 14.5 BB

Turn: (58 BB, 2 players) 6
Hero checks, MP bets 14 BB, Hero raises to 71.5 BB and is all-in, MP calls 57.5 BB

River: (201 BB, 2 players) 7

Hero shows K A (Two Pair, Aces and Sixes)
(Pre 47%, Flop 2%, Turn 9%)
MP shows 3 3 (Full House, Threes full of Sixes)
(Pre 53%, Flop 98%, Turn 91%)
MP wins 194 BB

What can I say?, MP limps and calls my squeeze , after reviewing the hand I realized he had all the pocket 33 and 66 , A3/A6, calling his raise was not bad but after the second 6 got there I should've check/fold.

Hand #3

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

Hero (CO): 113.5 BB
BTN: 82.5 BB
SB: 97.5 BB
BB: 116.5 BB
UTG: 118 BB
MP: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, BTN raises to 10.5 BB, fold, BB calls 9.5 BB, Hero raises to 113.5 BB and is all-in, BTN calls 72 BB and is all-in, fold

Flop: (176 BB, 2 players) 9 T 5

Turn: (176 BB, 2 players) J

River: (176 BB, 2 players) 5

Hero shows K K (Two Pair, Kings and Fives)
(Pre 88%, Flop 95%, Turn 91%)
BTN shows 8 3 (One Pair, Fives)
(Pre 12%, Flop 5%, Turn 9%)
Hero wins 170 BB


Villain was 89/23/20, fun hand

Hand #4

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

BTN: 99 BB
SB: 103.5 BB
BB: 100 BB
Hero (UTG): 100 BB
MP: 110.5 BB
CO: 166.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, BTN calls 3 BB, SB calls 2.5 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (12 BB, 4 players) K 9 8
SB checks, BB bets 3 BB, Hero raises to 11 BB, BTN calls 11 BB, fold, BB calls 8 BB

Turn: (45 BB, 3 players) 2
BB checks, Hero bets 32.5 BB, fold, BB calls 32.5 BB

River: (110 BB, 2 players) J
BB bets 53.5 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 53.5 BB and is all-in

BB shows 6 7 (High Card, King)

Hero shows Q K (One Pair, Kings)

Hero wins 209.5 BB

In this spot villain can have most of the flushes and some straights, after both flushes miss ended up making a hero call hoping to bluff catch a miss flush which I did.


Hand #5

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

CO: 83.5 BB
BTN: 140 BB
SB: 57.5 BB
Hero (BB): 150.5 BB
UTG: 131.5 BB
MP: 85.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8 9

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) 7 4 J
SB checks, Hero bets 3 BB, SB calls 3 BB

Turn: (12 BB, 2 players) Q
SB checks, Hero bets 7 BB, SB calls 7 BB

River: (26 BB, 2 players) T
SB checks, Hero bets 30 BB, SB raises to 44.5 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 14.5 BB

SB shows K 9 (Straight, King High)
(Pre 69%, Flop 81%, Turn 75%)
Hero shows 8 9 (Straight Flush, Queen High)
(Pre 31%, Flop 19%, Turn 25%)
Hero wins 111 BB


Two days in a row with a straight flush.

Day 4 Monday

Took my first shot at NL5, the session was up and down but I didn't play to the standard I know I can, after 4h 30mins I started to lose focus so in the future I will play two sessions a day, only studied for 20 mins and have not reviewed my hands yet.



Day 5 Tuesday

Only studied 1h 30 mins and didn't play as I was trying to get my sleep schedule in order.

Goals

5h 10 mins/15h
7,696/18,000

Pretty huge and fast success on 2NL. Wish you luck!!

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Why you dont like your bet? You usually raise a bit smaller when there is just a bet(9/11 BB), now the bet is 4BB from UTG + 1 call. I lke your raise! If it was smaller you can have calls with A10O or pocket 6,7 etc. With this raise you can check where are you in the hand and how many equity you does have. Nice play.q

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