I went back and analyzed 3-4 postflop spots in that 250 turbo run and a few preflop spots in that one as well. Just didn't feel great about dusting down from 900k->0 and finishing 7th.

Turns out all of the decisions were debatable and I played them reasonably close to solver optimal. Poker is just a tough game and it's nice to be able to confirm these things afterwards.

Can u share some of the above hands ? GG and gl to the rest

Hey Grammen, yes here they are:

Winamax - 12500/25000 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

SB: 16.02 BB
BB: 29.83 BB
CO: 38.37 BB
Hero (BTN): 37.12 BB

4 players post ante of 0.12 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.98 BB) Hero has Th Qh
fold, Hero raises to 2.1 BB, fold, BB calls 1.1 BB

Flop : (5.18 BB, 2 players) 4s Ks Ac
BB checks, Hero
**************************

Winamax - 15000/30000 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

SB: 13.15 BB
BB: 35.68 BB
CO: 26.13 BB
Hero (BTN): 26.16 BB

4 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.03 BB) Hero has Qc Jc
fold, Hero raises to 2.1 BB, fold, BB raises to 6.92 BB, Hero calls 4.82 BB

Flop : (14.88 BB, 2 players) 9s 4c 9d
BB bets 3.32 BB, Hero
********************************************

Winamax - 20000/40000 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (SB): 11.39 BB
BB: 40.92 BB
UTG: 17.21 BB
CO: 18.84 BB
BTN: 22.28 BB

5 players post ante of 0.13 BB, Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.12 BB) Hero has 7d 2d
fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 0.5 BB, BB checks

Flop : (2.62 BB, 2 players) 8c 3c Ts
Hero
*******************************************
Winamax - 30000/60000 NL (7 max) - Holdem - 7 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

CO: 38.99 BB
Hero (BTN): 2.83 BB
SB: 11.53 BB
BB: 11.31 BB
UTG: 20.69 BB
UTG+1: 15.06 BB
MP: 30.93 BB

7 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.43 BB) Hero has As 7h
fold, fold, MP raises to 3 BB, CO raises to 38.86 BB and is all-in, Hero
**************************************************

This last one is at the final table. Just noticed you can see the bleeding of my stack from hand to hand, lol

Some Sharkscope ability score numbers from that first day. The soft games like the Big 44, Bounty Builder 109, and such fall into the 77-78 region mostly.

I don't mind posting this stuff. I think it's in my best interest that regulars don't fire the reg-infested games to leave spots for me to slide in.

SKIPS

1K Daily Cooldown: 88 (for context)
$530 BBHR: 85
Big 215: 85
Hot 215: 84
Big 109: 83
Fat Thursday: 83

Hot 82: 81
109 Hyper 8k: 81
Hot 109: 80
109 6M PKO: 77. This one is always a good game but I don't have space to play it usually since I have medium to deep runs around this time. Surprised it was a 77 though on that day.

888 109 Mega Deep: 82
888 215 PKO: 84

PLAYS

Stars.FR Galactic-57 250 Jupiter PKO Turbo: 81
Winamax 250 KO Championship: 81
Winamax 250 Turbo Championship: 81
109 Hyper 10k: 80
$215 BB: 81
$82 Hyper: 82

So looking over this list I think I made good decisions overall but there were a few inconsistencies.

I thought Winamax would have a tougher time supporting a 250E 60k with natural strong regulars as compared to the Stars Fat Thursday 75k, which honestly I didn't even check the guarantee on that one.

I do realize I need better color coding. Didn't think the Hot 82 and the Hot 109 would fall in that type of range. We are paying full rake for a turbo, which isn't ideal, but I think those could be plays for sure. Just need to color code more regulars so I have a better idea.

QTs I cbet

QJs kinda lame spot he will barrel tons with that sizing but I call and just call clubs and Tx turns.

BvB I feel clueless a lot of time OOP in limp pots and even single raised pots I just stab there though.]


A7o I call maybe if blinds are bad and too loose and will call super wide I'll fold.

Are QTs and QJs vs same villain(any reads in him) and is that FT buble??
72s give up
A7o fold vs 3xbb open and jam

Thanks for playing Ricky <3

QTs, turn is a 2h in case you don't open fold on flop in position.

QTs/QJs are versus same opponent, yes. Reads are he is VPIP around 40/35 over 22 hands 4-handed, blocked on Scope, and fits a "tough Winamax HS reg" profile. 38 games, $150 ABI. Has 3b 1/8 times at the time of QJs.

My plays pretty much line up with what you guys are saying which I'd expect mostly.

A7o is easily solved with a program such us icimizer. In game i proly fold.
72s we can bet or x/r.
Qts i agree w cbet, not sure about size ,
qjs im not realy sure its tough.

can u comment the stage that u are in 3hands that are not ft ?

-I am probably going banana with QT there emtying clip ( smal bet flop /big turn/ jam rivers )
-QJs it really depends of what happen in that QT hand (i asume is after QT hand and that he won it but idk what was the action) i probaly sigh fold pre for stack perservation, also with those reads on villan i think limping btns with some range should be reasonable strategy to impliment

Wtf with 72?? Why u want to do that with 11bb stack on that board??

xaxa my bad missread the stack so deffo not x/r

First Sunday Update



Hands: 21,040
All In Adjusted: 5.21
Actual: 1.11

First Sunday in the books. It's not going great but I think I'm running quite poorly, even outside of just the raw EV numbers. Have a lot of very strong hands that are getting drawn out on future streets for very big pots. Also bubbling quite a few events even though I'm very conscious of bubble ICM and mincash considerations. I look at this WCOOP stretch like I'm a running back trying to grind out solid yardage. Sometimes the hole won't be there and I'll drip down 5-6k or whatever but it's just important that I'm in the game and taking advantage of all of the great tournaments that pop up around this time.

Showing up is half the battle. I'm getting into really good spots overall and my approach is so much better this time around which makes me feel good about my progress. I'm taking good shots when warranted but otherwise erring on the side of solid game selection. Dusting infinite money trying to qualify for the $215 Phase and also playing the $5200 seat added satellite on most days. This has let me keep my morale high and losses down even when things aren't going great. I've final tabled two tournaments so far. The 250e Turbo on Winamax where first was 20k+ and a Hot 33 on a weekday.

Coming back for day two of the Sunday Million today. Pretty exciting stuff! About middle of the pack with 34bb but I assume the blind levels will move up and my effective stack will shorten. Let's look at some Scope scores:

BBHR 500k- 85
Felt quite iffy about skipping this one due to the prize pool. I played the offpeak WCOOP 530 500k with no re-entries. And then passed on this one at peak with 2x re-entry. I think this one was fine to take a shot on but 85 is a pretty high score.

Bigger 215- 86
Just an obvious skip. More for context here.

Hotter 215- 84
Clear skip at full rake for a HS turbo. It is softer though which I perceive when reading lobbies

215 Supersonic- 82
Possibly a fire here at 82. Think the field is quite poor at Hypers. Think this might be too conservative.

109 Hyper Sunday Edition 20k- 81
Same thoughts here

109 Hyper 18k- 80
Same thoughts here. Might make it a rule just to fire every Hyper around this time. Still not playing them at peak since they don't contribute to my grind.

WCOOP Events- Skipped $1K 500k. Skipped $1K 750K with re-entries. Going to have a close decision with the $1K 1M today with 2x re-entries. It starts at the same time as the Million Day 2.

If I had some bigger scores for some bankroll padding I would be feeling momentum and taking more shots at some of these. But for now I'm really just trying to keep a solid grind and stay flourishing in the game. It's really a marathon, not a sprint.

That's a solid way to look at a Sunday, you're playing well and about to print $$$. Appreciate your game selection, I've been deciding to fire certain tournies based on ability scores, regs in top 10 (small fields obv) and prize pool and it's helping a ton.

What is the ability scores for the tournaments? Is it just the average player ability from Sharkscope in the event? I do not use Sharkscope much so not too sure.

Good luck in the Day 2 of the $530 WCOOP mate.

Literally searched up "ability sharkscope" and this popped up.

https://www.sharkscope.com/SharkScop...ics-sharkscope

Just finished 16th in the Sunday Million for ~6.9k. A bit gutted but I think it would have come too easy if I binked this one. Would have basically wrapped up all of my life goals and financial security in one neat package. Never comes that easy does it.

Ran super obnoxiously hot in this one, sucking out multiple times on suckas. Unfortunately couldn't hold it forever and lost two massive hands:

18 left, 17 players get ~$6.9k with $202k up top.

PokerStars - 125000/250000 Ante 32500 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG+1: 17,601,003
Hero (MP): 4,595,303
MP+1: 4,103,738
MP+2: 7,849,572
CO: 3,569,318
BTN: 5,853,450
SB: 1,170,646
BB: 3,795,000
UTG: 5,690,465

9 players post ante of 32,500, SB posts SB 125,000, BB posts BB 250,000

Pre Flop: (pot: 667,500) Hero has A Q

fold, fold, Hero raises to 4,562,803 and is all-in, fold, fold, CO calls 3,536,818 and is all-in, fold, fold, fold

Flop: (7,741,136, 2 players) K 7 4

Turn: (7,741,136, 2 players) 3

River: (7,741,136, 2 players) T

Hero shows A Q (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 43%, Flop 25%, Turn 14%)
CO shows J J (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 57%, Flop 75%, Turn 86%)
CO wins 7,741,136

***************************************

PokerStars - 150000/300000 Ante 37500 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG+1: 23,190,503
Hero (MP): 2,346,970
MP+1: 3,763,738
CO: 5,222,072
BTN: 7,247,136
SB: 5,464,450
BB: 2,843,161
UTG: 4,150,465

8 players post ante of 37,500, SB posts SB 150,000, BB posts BB 300,000

Pre Flop: (pot: 750,000) Hero has Q 8

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2,309,470 and is all-in, MP+1 raises to 3,726,238 and is all-in, fold, BTN raises to 7,209,636 and is all-in, fold, fold

Flop: (10,511,946, 3 players) T K Q

Turn: (10,511,946, 3 players) T

River: (10,511,946, 3 players) 2

MP+1 shows K A (Two Pair, Kings and Tens)

Main Pot [7,678,410]: (Pre 38%, Flop 54%, Turn 74%)
Side Pot#1 [2,833,536]: (Pre 45%, Flop 71%, Turn 79%)

BTN shows J J (Two Pair, Jacks and Tens)

Main Pot [7,678,410]: (Pre 37%, Flop 27%, Turn 21%)
Side Pot#1 [2,833,536]: (Pre 56%, Flop 29%, Turn 21%)

Hero shows Q 8 (Two Pair, Queens and Tens)

Main Pot [7,678,410]: (Pre 25%, Flop 18%, Turn 5%)

MP+1 wins 10,511,946

*******************************************

It looks like my stack was worth about $32k on the AQ hand vs $26.7k for my opponent so that was a pretty huge flip. I can run as hot as I want but at the end of the day I see Chips Won: -50,000

I haven't had a rush playing poker in a very long time. So this was quite welcome and refreshing. I'll probably take a day to recharge my batteries but I'm coming back for more.

Got back on my horse today and grinded out another day 2 in the $530 1 Million. Coming in 77/184 tomorrow with 46.5bb and 175k up top. This one is not the Sunday Million and has 2x re-entry so I expect the mid and endgames to be much tougher. We'll see.

Also managed to win a WCOOP Main Event Seat in one of the $5200 added satellites so I'll be locked into playing that. Should be pretty exciting!

Overall I'm playing quite well and feel I have a pretty good edge on the fields. Very emboldened by how this series is going compared to SCOOP. It seems like a new approach and some more care has paid dividends, along with a ton of study during the downswing.

Reviewed a lot of spots in the 10k Progressive KO with my friends and I felt like I had a pretty good handle on correct decisions in each spot while running PIO (+ICM) on the spots that were tougher to understand. Again, it's a confidence boost knowing some of the best in the world are playing similarly. And I'm looking forward to watching more replays as they come out, especially with the guys who are absolutely destroying it right now.

I'm still hoping for the best with WCOOP and would really like to bink some big tournaments. But I know my destiny is in my hands and regardless of how the short term goes, I will get to my goals if I keep trying hard enough.

Curious why you chose to open shove 18bb with AQ in that spot. Not sure if you have special reasons for open jamming (whether due to ICM or table dynamics), as by opening to a standard raise you allow yourself to open raise a lot wider in this spot having AQo in your r/c range, and I'd think r/c AQ is higher EV too. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to publicly explain it as I am very interested in your thought process in the hand.

Good run regardless and big ups on winning a sat to the WCOOP Main!

R/x definitely higher ev. This was a very heavy ICM spot (18 left, 17th payjump) and my internal engine told me shoving probably wins out due to covering many of the remaining stacks. Could be wrong though.
*************************************************

Got 70th or something in the $530. Also managed to wrangle up a 17th in the $215 Battle Royale. Pretty exciting stuff though everything pales in comparison to that Sunday Million run . I'm happy with how I'm playing and feel pretty good about the grind. I've been going a little too hard lately though due to the day 2's and probably need a day off at some point. I might just tough it through Thursday and then take Friday off for sure.

Not sure where you're getting advice about diet but most fruits are almost purely sugar. Personally the only fruits I eat regularly are berries (mainly blueberries) due to their nutrients, but forget about oranges, apples, bananas, etc. unless you're working out really hard, trying to put on muscle, and need some quick sugar afterwards.

I could also opine about the benefits of red meat, but that's a lot more controversial...

WCOOP Halfway Point Update

Today is a good point to mark the halfway point to WCOOP. As of today I've qualified for the Main Event and both the $22 Phase and the $215 Phase. Unfortunately I only have 5bb in the $215 Phase and I'm unable to replay it so I sure hope I can squeak into the money!



I feel like there were three ways WCOOP could have gone. Either super hot, super cold, or something like this. I'm putting in great work, playing some really strong sessions, and coming really close to victory. Highlights:

16/2770 in Sunday Million for $6.9k, $200k to 1st
17/1305 in Wednesday Battle Royale for 2k, winner got $38k
21/826 in Stars.ES Super Thursday for 1600e, 1st got 30k
7/338 in Winamax 250 Championship for 2.4k, 20k+ to 1st

And so on. I've also picked up a win in the 200e Battle Royale on Winamax and a win in the $33 Big Fish on 888. These are keeping me afloat as I go dream chasing. I find this WCOOP to be rather odd. The daily guarantees on Stars seem super weak and withered, almost like they're doing it intentionally or they see a lot of risk this time around. When I scroll through the lobby I don't see any misses with WCOOP events so I'm curious why this is the case. But it makes the grind a lot less exciting to not have inflated daily prize pools.

Honestly I'll be a bit disappointed if WCOOP ends and I'm +/- 10k or so. I'm putting a lot of effort into this grind and it would be nice to have something massive happen. I suppose 16/2770 in the Million was about as good as it gets though. That one had me quite excited and I haven't felt that way while playing poker in a very long time.

Idk how you can stay sane on the large field tourney grind. The variance between results of players with the same skill level is just sick. So much out of your control even over very large samples. The joy of a win is obv an amazing feeling but the stress of deep runs fizzling over and over isn't lol. Did you ever consider focusing on other formats over your career or do you just really love large field mtt despite the negative aspects of it? Loving the thread though per usual and hope you bink one of the big ones tmrw.

By the way, somewhat thanks to this thread (and other reasons), I played my first session of online poker for over a year last night (I've played a lot of live MTTs/Cash for the past few years). It was also my first try back at Stars for over two years, I think. I started too late to catch the WCOOP events, but enjoyed a few MTTs including the $55 Bounty Builder, where I finished around 60/1500.

Echoing Tyman's post above, the frustration of seeing a deep run peter out, especially when the Bounties were getting juicy, is certainly there, although I feel now that I'm generally in a calmer, better place in my life it doesn't hurt nearly so much as it used to (once had 18/several thousand in the SM back in the day, which hurt a lot).

General observations (after just 3 MTTs on Stars, so maybe some short-term variance here):

1) Quality of the players was significantly worse than I expected. I saw many players making huge mistakes / punting pretty badly. Honestly I was expecting a bunch of Eastern European GTO Bots and I got a bunch of Eastern European Spewtards!

2) Well-timed light 3-bets got through far more often than I expected. My 3B sizings were what I think are "correct" per RYE (i.e. 3-4X the raise size), whereas I saw many other 3-bets sized at 2-3X, which I think is generally pretty-bad and clearly they got called a lot more.

3) Stars' runouts, lol:

a) Managed to lose with JJ versus ThTx after flopping Jh4h2x. This pot was the start of my demise from a comfortable Top20 stack to out in 15 mins. I opened 2.5X and correctly figured out his 40X jam couldn't ever be AA/KK, rarely QQ, and was heavily weighted to 88-TT. Same old Stars when "a good decision never goes unpunished".

b) One light 3B that didn't quite work out, but gave me so much hope / too many outs: loose HJ opens 2.5X, Hero raises BU 8X with Ad5d, BB shoves 12X, opener folds, Hero calls and can't beat JJ on JdQd2c...4s....blurrrrghhh!

Anyway, I might fire a WCOOP Event today if I get back from my Sunday Brunch in time for late reg...it's nice to know that I don't have to and can just do it for fun.

well like u just try not to be result orriented? I personally always saw this as an challenge rather than ''how can i keep my sanity variance so huge''... like u still see same ppl running them fields over quite constantly, obv big deviations are more often than in other formats but you can work your way certainly. ppl are in mental dispair over this mostly because a)they don't understand what they are playing and/or are very result orriented b)they get into staking deal only when busto (/they dont have liferoll) c) they play limits that are way over their head.

gl today OP

I'm not in any of those categories, but after 13 years of liveaments not cracking a $50k score after so many near misses I keep trying to tell myself the big one is coming, but it certainly does test my sanity, or at least my self belief (and that's coming from someone that makes a comfortable living outside of poker, so it's not so much the money as the feeling that I'm just unlucky at poker to offset all the other blessings in my life).