Hi Everyone. I'm a 30something who plays poker for fun. I started playing poker a few years ago when I was having a rough time personally. Live poker quickly became an escape from the real world. For anyone who has read Vicky Coren's book, she describes this much more eloquently than I ever could.

I've managed to do pretty well until now, although most the success has been live (which is obvs much easier than online!). The last couple of years I have played more online because 1) I find it more engaging, 2) because it takes less time and doesn’t involve staying up late (yes, I am an old man). I play 100 and 200zoom on stars and played about 150k hands last year. I'm lucky to be in a decent financial position—winning or losing a few thousand $$ is fairly irrelevant to me. But I am quite competitive with myself, and so wins and losses are a way to keep score. This brings me onto why I am starting this thread… this year has been a bit of a disaster. This has been a combination of running bad but also definitely playing bad. Hopefully this thread will help me more focused improving. Although I am a 'rec', I spend quite a bit of time studying and going over hands. I even have a notebook full of poker notes I have made (more evidence that I am an old man, I keep notes on pieces of paper not on a computer like everyone else).

Graphs for this year…



Ugly red line, even uglier blue line recently...



Very ugly and definitely not beating 200z

For now I'm just going to play 100, but hopefully will be back to 200 soon. Some hands from today…

1. Ambitious from villain.

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

BTN: 187 BB
SB: 100.5 BB
Hero (BB): 111.02 BB
UTG: 46.2 BB
MP: 216.28 BB
CO: 145.78 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero raises to 12 BB, BTN calls 9 BB

Flop: (24.5 BB, 2 players) K 8 T
Hero bets 12 BB, BTN calls 12 BB

Turn: (48.5 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero checks, BTN bets 29 BB, Hero calls 29 BB

River: (106.5 BB, 2 players) K
Hero checks, BTN bets 57 BB, Hero calls 57 BB



2. Failed bluff.

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

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 114.16 BB

Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 106.5 BB
MP: 121.7 BB
CO: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.55 BB, fold, Hero raises to 10 BB, BTN calls 7.45 BB

Flop: (20.5 BB, 2 players) 7 4 T
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (20.5 BB, 2 players) 3
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (20.5 BB, 2 players) J
Hero bets 15 BB, BTN calls 15 BB



3. Nice river.

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

Hero (BTN): 129.99 BB
SB: 99.77 BB
BB: 366.85 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 116.89 BB
CO: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, CO raises to 2.4 BB, Hero raises to 8 BB, fold, fold, CO calls 5.6 BB

Flop: (17.5 BB, 2 players) 4 T T
CO checks, Hero bets 5 BB, CO calls 5 BB

Turn: (27.5 BB, 2 players) Q
CO checks, Hero checks

River: (27.5 BB, 2 players) 6
CO bets 11.62 BB, Hero raises to 41 BB, CO calls 29.38 BB

GL

H1 - 3bet is okay, just make sure you don't 3bet ATo in this spot too much, can be mixed as a 3bet or call, both are fine. Postflop is good as well.

H2 - I think a bluff might be OK (would of course prefer having a heart) but you should be more cognizant of what you're trying to get him to fold. I think with villain's line you're more likely to see him with Ace high, and so a smaller bet would be more efficient. Not sure I see him folding a T or J, and even though you might take this line with some flushes/two pairs etc, a lot of players will simply not believe you, thinking "well if he had something good he would have bet the flop". Not saying this reasoning is sound, that's just how I feel a lot of players think.

H3- Well done

Thanks. On H2 I wanted to make sure I got through vs Ax. Maybe smallers sizing achieves this? People do like to be heroes though

Didn’t manage to play that much this week. Lost a little bit. Felt I played fine.



More hands...

1. Bluff gets through vs weak player. Not sure this is that sensible though.

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

BTN: 194.4 BB
SB: 163.79 BB
Hero (BB): 102.72 BB
UTG: 94.61 BB
MP: 103 BB
CO: 104.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 3.54 BB, Hero calls 2.54 BB

Flop: (7.08 BB, 2 players) 3 9 K
SB bets 5.18 BB, Hero calls 5.18 BB

Turn: (17.44 BB, 2 players) T
SB checks, Hero bets 11 BB, SB calls 11 BB

River: (39.44 BB, 2 players) T
SB checks, Hero bets 25 BB, fold



2. Hero (or dubious) fold vs reg.

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

BTN: 118.21 BB
SB: 101.5 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 67.81 BB
MP: 18.1 BB
CO: 57.01 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 8 BB, SB calls 5 BB

Flop: (16 BB, 2 players) Q 6 Q
SB checks, Hero bets 5 BB, SB calls 5 BB

Turn: (26 BB, 2 players) T
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (26 BB, 2 players) K
SB bets 35 BB, fold



3. Nitty check back on the river. Maybe should raise turn? PIO says its a mix between call and raise.

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

BTN: 107.17 BB
SB: 198.18 BB
BB: 122.29 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 317.2 BB
Hero (CO): 110.44 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 7 BB, fold, fold, fold, MP calls 5 BB

Flop: (15.5 BB, 2 players) 9 T 6
MP checks, Hero checks

Turn: (15.5 BB, 2 players) 8
MP bets 7 BB, Hero calls 7 BB

River: (29.5 BB, 2 players) 6
MP checks, Hero checks

Some more hands. Will post graph at the end of the week.

1. Cooler. Could x back turn?

PokerStars - $1 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
BTN: 112.16 BB
SB: 175.66 BB
BB: 169.53 BB
UTG: 330.09 BB
Hero (MP): 106.71 BB
CO: 103.5 BB
SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T K
UTG raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 6 BB
Flop: (19.5 BB, 2 players) 7 8 7
UTG checks, Hero bets 6 BB, UTG calls 6 BB
Turn: (31.5 BB, 2 players) 9
UTG checks, Hero bets 26 BB, UTG raises to 315.09 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 65.71 BB and is all-in
River: (214.92 BB, 2 players) 4
Players agreed to run it twice.
River #2: (214.92 BB, 2 players) Q



2. Think turn raise is okay?

PokerStars - $1 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
Hero (BTN): 112.21 BB
SB: 111.68 BB
BB: 329.07 BB
UTG: 108.6 BB
MP: 108.92 BB
CO: 99.42 BB
SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A 5
fold, MP raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, fold, MP calls 6 BB
Flop: (19.5 BB, 2 players) 9 4 6
MP checks, Hero checks
Turn: (19.5 BB, 2 players) 7
MP bets 14.45 BB, Hero raises to 36 BB, MP raises to 99.92 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 63.92 BB
River: (219.34 BB, 2 players) K
Players agreed to run it twice.
River #2: (219.34 BB, 2 players) 2


3. Got owned

PokerStars - $1 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
BTN: 117.4 BB
Hero (SB): 104.51 BB
BB: 237.65 BB
UTG: 206.8 BB
MP: 100 BB
CO: 100 BB
Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8 J
fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, BB calls 1.5 BB
Flop: (5 BB, 2 players) J A 4
Hero checks, BB checks
Turn: (5 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero checks, BB checks
River: (5 BB, 2 players) 3
Hero bets 1 BB, BB raises to 2 BB, Hero calls 1 BB

More hands.

1. Hard to beat a straight flush.

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

Hero (BTN): 100.88 BB
SB: 114.14 BB
BB: 144.89 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 147.46 BB
CO: 67.25 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 8 BB, SB calls 7.5 BB, fold, UTG calls 5.5 BB

Flop: (25 BB, 3 players) T 5 8
SB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: (25 BB, 3 players) J
SB bets 7.33 BB, fold, Hero calls 7.33 BB

River: (39.66 BB, 2 players) 9
SB bets 17.36 BB, Hero calls 17.36 BB



2. Failed bluff.

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

BTN: 100 BB
Hero (SB): 112.43 BB
BB: 122.18 BB
UTG: 104.12 BB
MP: 105.24 BB
CO: 332.46 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5 BB, 2 players) T J 6
Hero checks, BB checks

Turn: (5 BB, 2 players) Q
Hero bets 8 BB, BB calls 8 BB

River: (21 BB, 2 players) 2
Hero bets 33 BB, BB calls 33 BB



3. No idea what villain was thinking.

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

Hero (BTN): 103.12 BB
SB: 135.08 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 114.95 BB
MP: 107.56 BB
CO: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) T 9 T
SB checks, Hero bets 2 BB, SB calls 2 BB

Turn: (10 BB, 2 players) 7
SB checks, Hero bets 9 BB, SB calls 9 BB

River: (28 BB, 2 players) 8
SB checks, Hero bets 18 BB, SB raises to 36 BB, Hero calls 18 BB

Update since last graph--about 2 1/2 weeks of play. Super gross run below EV. Feel like I am playing fine and pleased I haven't got that tilted.



Some hands.

1. Hero fold vs tight reg.

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

BTN: 127.38 BB
Hero (SB): 100 BB
BB: 110.17 BB
UTG: 154.65 BB
MP: 104.14 BB
CO: 106.48 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, BTN calls 7.5 BB

Flop: (21 BB, 2 players) 6 3 4
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (21 BB, 2 players) T
Hero bets 10 BB, BTN calls 10 BB

River: (41 BB, 2 players) T
Hero bets 19 BB, BTN raises to 107.38 BB and is all-in, fold



2. Probably should have found the hero found here. Villain was unknown (so probably weak player).

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

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 109.33 BB
BB: 154.75 BB
UTG: 103.72 BB
MP: 110.5 BB
Hero (CO): 101.5 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, SB raises to 10 BB, fold, Hero calls 7.5 BB

Flop: (21 BB, 2 players) 7 8 J
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (21 BB, 2 players) J
SB checks, Hero bets 10 BB, SB calls 10 BB

River: (41 BB, 2 players) 2
SB checks, Hero bets 26 BB, SB raises to 89.33 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 55.5 BB and is all-in



3. Hero call from weak player (a terrible call imo).

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

Hero (BTN): 103.74 BB
SB: 120.53 BB
BB: 149.11 BB
UTG: 174.41 BB
MP: 414.71 BB
CO: 181.82 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 6 4 9
BB checks, Hero bets 3 BB, BB raises to 9 BB, Hero calls 6 BB

Turn: (23.5 BB, 2 players) 2
BB bets 11.16 BB, Hero calls 11.16 BB

River: (45.82 BB, 2 players) J
BB bets 21.77 BB, Hero raises to 81.08 BB and is all-in, BB calls 59.31 BB

Hello. I've played both on z100 and z200 and I can say that z200 is much much tougher. Regs on z200 are almost gto bots and there are very few rec players. A good reg crushing z100 could be breakeven or even loosing on z200.

z100 field is reasonable, many weak and tight regs, quite a lot of true rec players
As I can judge by your hands, you are a rec player only by volume, your logic is solid and better than many reg at that field.

Hope variance will turn and you will run good soon. Gl!

Btw, have you ever received Stars personal rakeback challenges? They give it mostly to Zoom players

Me to. I've played online for 10 years. I'm financially secure so a couple thou would mean nothing to me either.

So hopefully you might take a little notice of me, maybe not, here goes...

Don't do this. To beat 200 nlz on Stars requires skills and motivation you won't have and you probably won't be willing to work for.

Not just poker study, solvers and all that jazz. But also population reads and (because Stars is -EV as a site to play) deep knowledge of how the online enviroment works. You'll need some coaching and/or video courses. Increasingly you need to know how to play Apps profitably and relatively safely. You need to understand how to beat local rules with VPNs and online financial transaction options like bitcoin of other money transfer apps.

And then you need to nail your ass to the keyboard and pump volume.

WTF bother?

Stay a rec, pick a level you can be huge bankroll nit and play for fun. Keep poker firmly in you box as nothing more than hobby.

Go down this road, you'll end up hating poker in no time flat.

GL whatever you decide.

Thanks for your advice. As I said before I like a challenge. Poker is a hobby, but I want to do my best to improve--I think many people feel this way about their hobbies, for example a lot of people want to run marathons and try and do PBs even though they are obviously not professional athletes and there is a lot of pain involved! And I suppose I was a misleading suggesting I am a rec who is losing loads at these limits. I have had coaching in the past and watched a load of RIO videos and life time I am up over 200k hands at 100z on Stars and down a bit (~-2BB) at 200z. So I don't think I am that far off the mark. I'm actually only playing 100z at the moment since I have been struggling this year.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice, but for now, I am going to stick with it.

Fair enough but one question

Why Stars?

It is now the nut low worst poker site to play on in terms of EV because of its terrible RB and Nit/Reg/GTO population.

I get it is fishy (ish) just now due Covid, but that's not going to last. Why not play on a more profitable site?

I play on Stars because I like the software and I'm all about the fun.

If I was in anyway serious about making winning/money (and showing graphs on here etc) I'd never play another hand on Stars.

nice mate, good luck

I agree Stars is def not the most profitable place to play. However, as you point out the software is the best--I've tried a couple of other sites. The other major advantage is the convenience. I play quite a lot of poker, but I have other stuff to do and want to play when it is convenient for me--this is very valuable for me. 100z and 200z is always running, I can just jump in when I want. To be clear about my ambition it is not about winning $$, it is about doing the best I can do--ideally one day showing a graph of beating 200z over a decent sample! To put numbers on this, if I play 100k hands this year and could pay ~2BB/100 less rake on another site, this only 2,000BB which is only a couple of $k.

Also you are right that the number of really terrible players has gone up a lot in the last few months!

Thanks.

good luck, eagerly waiting to see how you do

Thanks. Hoping not to run 14BI under EV every month!

Managed to get back comfortably into the +ve with the yellow line for the month (the green line is still far below 0!). Some more hands. Realised I am bluffing off too often in bad spots. I feel subconciously I want to win every pot. I never used to have this sort of 'entitlement tilt'. Need to keep a check on it.

1. Failed bluff vs reg. No idea what I am trying to rep on the river.
PokerStars - $1 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 71.5 BB
SB: 100 BB
Hero (BB): 115.2 BB
UTG: 131.3 BB
MP: 280.37 BB
CO: 110.04 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) 2 8 K
SB bets 1.71 BB, Hero calls 1.71 BB

Turn: (9.42 BB, 2 players) Q
SB checks, Hero bets 6 BB, SB calls 6 BB

River: (21.42 BB, 2 players) 2
SB checks, Hero bets 16 BB, SB calls 16 BB



2. Cooler vs weak player. Good to start winning some again.
PokerStars - $1 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 104.72 BB
SB: 153.42 BB
Hero (BB): 100 BB
UTG: 55.01 BB
MP: 100 BB
CO: 54.85 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 2.2 BB, Hero calls 1.2 BB

Flop: (4.4 BB, 2 players) 2 6 7
SB bets 2.34 BB, Hero raises to 7 BB, SB calls 4.66 BB

Turn: (18.4 BB, 2 players) 5
SB checks, Hero bets 15 BB, SB calls 15 BB

River: (48.4 BB, 2 players) 9
SB bets 25.75 BB, Hero raises to 75.8 BB and is all-in, SB calls 50.05 BB



3. Not sure if I should raise river?
PokerStars - $1 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 222.11 BB
SB: 100 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 101.7 BB
Hero (MP): 108.82 BB
CO: 103.4 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, BTN calls 2.5 BB, fold, BB calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (8 BB, 3 players) 2 4 2
BB checks, Hero bets 3 BB, BTN calls 3 BB, fold

Turn: (14 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero checks, BTN bets 4.39 BB, Hero calls 4.39 BB

River: (22.78 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero checks, BTN bets 21.5 BB, Hero calls 21.5 BB

definitely raise h3. you'll get looked up more often and by worse than you think. vs unknown I would size to something like ~54bb. gl op

Thanks for your post, I only just saw this.

I agree with your assesment about the strength of 100zoom and 200zoom regs--the regs are much better at 200. At 100 there are a lot of regs who seem to be staying out of the way of other regs just waiting to stack recs. They are playing stats like PFR 17% and F23B 70% so it is easy to exploit them.

I am unsure about the proportion of rec players in each pool. It is quite hard to see this easily now because Stars have stopped you seeing the number of entries per player in the pool--before seeing single entry players was a good indication that they are recs.

I got offered a rakeback challenge that had a prize of $2400 a while ago. It seemed like a good deal (40% rakeback). Unfortunately, I was quite busy at the time with other stuff so could not make the number of hands. I did get a $50 spin and go box a few weeks ago that I managed to convert into a $250 win

Thanks, you are right. I am only realistically losing to 1 combo of 22 and 1 combo of 54s (and the later might not bet turn). Obviously most likely to get called by 44 or A2s both of which make up only 5 combos, but people also do stupid things and call with even worse.

More hands.

1. Gave up on the river vs reg. After the hand I thought I had made mistakes on both turn and river. My PIO sim suggests that my play was fine though. Obviously, I realise that PIO is not optimal vs reg at 100z, but I think it is a good benchmark.

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

BTN: 98.65 BB
Hero (SB): 102 BB
BB: 1470.08 BB
UTG: 101.21 BB
MP: 100 BB
CO: 61.39 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP raises to 2.25 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, MP calls 7.75 BB

Flop: (21 BB, 2 players) 2 3 9
Hero bets 10 BB, MP calls 10 BB

Turn: (41 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero bets 23 BB, MP calls 23 BB

River: (87 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero checks, MP checks



2. Big fold. Assume he must have KQ? And I can have KQ as well.

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

Hero (BTN): 214.34 BB
SB: 69.15 BB
BB: 282.18 BB
UTG: 101.5 BB
MP: 119.51 BB
CO: 139.02 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.5 BB, fold, BB raises to 8 BB, Hero calls 5.5 BB

Flop: (16.5 BB, 2 players) T 9 J
BB bets 9 BB, Hero calls 9 BB

Turn: (34.5 BB, 2 players) 8
BB checks, Hero bets 25 BB, BB raises to 66.39 BB, Hero calls 41.39 BB

River: (167.28 BB, 2 players) J
BB bets 164.78 BB, fold



3. Failed bluff vs reg. Maybe shouldn't be 3b this pre? But I think his F23B was quite high.

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

BTN: 416.86 BB
SB: 117.74 BB
BB: 114.78 BB
UTG: 114.5 BB
Hero (MP): 103.92 BB
CO: 106.73 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 8 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 5.5 BB

Flop: (17.5 BB, 2 players) A T K
UTG checks, Hero bets 8 BB, UTG calls 8 BB

Turn: (33.5 BB, 2 players) 4
UTG checks, Hero bets 25 BB, UTG raises to 98.5 BB and is all-in, fold

June graph, probably won't have time to play any more, so this is it. Feel I played okay overall. Things to try and improve:

1) Make sure I don't bluff off in bad spots vs regs. I think I need to try and review all bluffs, even if they get through to keep a check on this.

2) Think a bit more about how to get max value from weak players--this can include using non-standard sizing etc. I have marked a few hands for review on this.

3) Work on strategy in 4bet pots. I have spent almost no time studying this and these are often the hands I feel most lost while playing. They obviously happen quite infrequently, but they happen much more at 200z as regs both 4b more and call 4bs more.

Going to stick to 100z next month. Hopefully try to get back into 200z in August.

Came across this thread. Enjoying reading your journey! What do you think helped you as a part time rec to get to 100z

Tom


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

?redline?

Thanks Tom. To answer your question, first, to be clear, I don't think I am playing at a super high level. I would guess I could beat 100z at about 2BB/100 right now, whereas the best players in the world would be at 12BB/100 or even higher, and this is a huge difference. I think my (moderate) success at poker is down to the following factors:

1) Discipline. I don't really tilt and if I do I usually quit my session quickly. My observation of recs (mainly in live poker), even ones who seem to understand the game well, is that they can go nuts when things don't go for them and this kills any chance of them beating the game. Also, more recently, I stick to playing 3 tables and make sure I am not going to be distracted whilst playing. I have to admit in the past I would often have the TV on or try and play more tables (even though I knew I struggled with this).

2) Recognising that I make mistakes. I've noticed a lot of recs (again in live poker) who have been successful in other walks of life think they must be successful in poker. They put down losses to luck, they refuse to believe that they are being outsmarted by other people. Every poker player makes mistakes, and you aren't going to get better unless you accept this, try to figure out what the mistakes are and try to not make them in future.

Also, I benefited a lot from watching training videos and a bit of coaching. In hindsight I would have done more of this at an earlier stage. This being said, my advice would be--as with many other things in life--you need to try and take time to figure stuff out and properly understand things on your own. You are only going to get so far being spoonfed.

I think it is quite normal to have a redline below 0 at this level where you are paying high rake and most the money is being won from loose and passive players. I think this month I was about -8BB/100 for the red line which is about consistent with my long term average.