New month, new challenge. This month we are going to up the ante a bit....

The challenge: For 25 out of 29 days, spend at least 20 minutes per day doing something to improve your poker game. Post it here every day you do something and post what you did.

The additional challenges:

1) Post a hand history in this thread where you talk out, street by street, what you did... what your thoughts were on each street (include reads, ranges etc).... recording this as you are reviewing the hand also counts.

2) Post a short video (a few minutes if fine) of your play and talk out everything that you do and why you are doing it.

3) Post a short video showing how you go about reviewing some aspect of your play in hem/pt.

4) Do a synopsis of a chapter of a book or a video. Explain what you learned and how others could try to implement that into their own game.

post graph. I like to follow long term winners.

I would if I had a graph

My last ~million hands:



I plan to review a video that a friend sent me.

+1

*Arty has graph envy*

I watched the final part of the DC series 'From the Ground Up' and played about 1000 hands today. This one was the most interesting to me, as it's one of the few times I've folded a set on the flop.

you should be ashamed and not pleased with your fold.

edit: bet/call all in FLOP

Missed it in January but I'm in for February. My play has been pretty stagnant since I'm not doing enough to improve it so this is a start. I spent an hour reading recommended threads in the live forums because I'm going to hit up the casino this weekend.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.05(BB) Poker Stars
Hero ($5.87)
BB ($8.80) [22/11 through 35 hands. Haven't noticed anything peculiar from him.]
UTG ($4.93)
UTG+1 ($5)
CO ($5.66)
BTN ($6.06)

Dealt to Hero J J

fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.15, BB calls $0.10

FLOP ($0.30) 6 5 4

Hero bets $0.20, BB calls $0.20

Interesting flop, BB can be calling pre pretty wide (two high cards, low pairs, SCs). I'm betting for value (expecting to be called by top pair, pair+overcards, worse PPs) and to deny him pot odds if he's got a 3 or 7. After his call I can only be afraid of exactly 78 here, I would expect villain to raise with sets to defend against the straight draw.

TURN ($0.70) 6 5 4 T

Hero bets $0.45, BB calls $0.45

Based on my flop read this is pretty much a brick (unless he turned a set, then gg me). Probably could have bet a bit higher, .50 or .55. Probably folding to a raise, but he just calls.

RIVER ($1.60) 6 5 4 T K

Hero checks, BB bets $0.85, Hero calls $0.85

Not ever betting here because that would only get called by kings+. Checking here allows the villain to bluff busted draws or anything other than TP.

Well, not really. Sure there aren't many occasions to fold a set, but there is no straight or flush possible at this point, and 2 villains have shoved. Hero has bottom set, and his read was that he was likely over-setted.

For 60ish bb, I'm not sure I find a fold there tbh, but this game is all about developing reads on your opponents, and acting accordingly. So it was a nice read, and obviously a good fold on this occasion.

The times that you should fold a set on the flop are few and far between, but these spots do obviously come up.

Im going to concentrate on NOT playing when my wife is stomping about the house.

2nl? players do this with second pr and even GS.

Starting the transition from cash games to SNG's today.

Gunna read a couple of ICM articles to start with.

I'm sure they do.

The point still stands that if you have a read then you should go with it if you have a high degree of confidence that you are right.

Otherwise you are just playing your own cards, level 1 so to speak.

The two players that shoved in front of me had pre-flop stats of 10/0/0 and 25/0/0.
They were incredibly passive. They are never getting it all in on the flop with less than a monster. I knew at least one of them had me beat, and made a disciplined fold.
If you want to call shoves when you have 5% equity, be my guest.

got wife off to work, played some poker, made *mostly* good decisions - won money!

If you're going to fold a set on the flop, that's the spot to do it.

That's how it should go.

Have won then lost 20 BIs over past mth, so will b spending the next few days not playing and reading 2+2 and reviewing HHs to work out where I'm spazzing!

"Three bet pots"

You're welcome

Discussed playing selected hands out of the blinds vs. steals with a 50NL Full Ring player where we flat-called preflop. Once again, the turn proved to be the street where most of the important decisions were made.

I'll watch a DC video shortly. Here's today's "interesting" hand:

I was playing a nitty half-stacked style in this session, as I was increasing the number of tables I was playing and wanted to keep variance to a minimum. As it turns out, I really wish I'd bought in full.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.02(BB) Replayer
SB ($1)
Hero ($1.11)
UTG ($1.35)
UTG+1 ($1.51)
UTG+2 ($2.32)
MP1 ($2.62)
MP2 ($1.03)
CO ($0.95)
BTN ($6.20)

Dealt to Hero 8 8

I'm in the big blind with a medium pocket pair. I don't really have the implied odds to go set-mining unless the pot is multiway, but decide I will 3-bet if a late position player tries stealing.

UTG calls $0.02, UTG+1 raises to $0.10, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.08, UTG calls $0.08

UTG limped in and UTG+1 makes a raise to 5bb. I immediately put him (a 20/10 semi-reg) on JJ+ or AK. I'm now fairly sure that I can get stacks in if I flop a set, as he'll be unable to fold an overpair. Calling should also mean UTG comes along too, so there will be a big pot if I hit the flop. Against two villains, check-raising the flop as a bluff is unlikely to work, so I'm taking the "spike or hike" line. I call.

FLOP ($0.31) 8 5 3

A dream flop for me. Top set, and I can get value from all overpairs and AK. I check to the raiser, planning to check-raise to make a turn shove trivial.

Hero checks, UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $0.15, Hero raises to $0.43, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $0.28

The pre-flop raiser makes a standard c-bet. Overpairs and AK remain in his range. I'm only really worried about AKdd. I check-raise for 45% of my remaining stack, hoping villain puts me on the flush/straight draw rather than a set.

TURN ($1.17) 8 5 3 8

And I make quads on the turn! I have the deck crippled. All the money is going in on the river, so I see no point betting here. By checking, it can also look like I was on the flush draw and now I'm scared of trips or a boat. I'm hoping villain makes a boat or flush on the river.

Hero checks, UTG+1 checks

RIVER ($1.17) 8 5 3 8 K

If villain has AK, he might think he has the best hand, since the flush didn't get there. If he has KK he'll be sick.

Hero bets $0.58 (AI), UTG+1 calls $0.58

I shove and villain might think I'm betting a missed flush, or have a lower pair than he has. He calls and I double up.

Hero shows 8 8
(Pre 20%, Flop 91.4%, Turn 100.0%)

UTG+1 shows J J
(Pre 80%, Flop 8.6%, Turn 0.0%)

Hero wins $2.25

Hmm, I don;t think I'm going to do much this month other than play. I am doing some conscientious things like fixing up my PT4 hud and tagging villains on Stars, but I just want to put volume in.

I will finish BlackRains book probably and re-read some parts.

I will try and post some interesting hands though.

Watched a couple of episodes of the "Twee Bets" series by Nolan on Deuces Cracked. It was kinda freaky to see players with $1000 stacks when I'm used to 2NL. I don't think I'll be 3-betting 75s just yet.
Tonight's "interesting" hand was played on a 5-handed full ring table. I joined it because there were 2 players I'd marked as fish and I want to eventually move to 6max, so I thought I'd play a few hands aggressively.

Grabbed by Holdem Manager
NL Holdem $0.02(BB) Replayer
SB ($4.14)
BB ($2.31)
Hero ($1.15)
CO ($0.80)
BTN ($1.01)

CO posts $0.02

Dealt to Hero K T

The 50/0/0 fish in CO posted out of turn. My hand isn't a monster, but it's ahead of the fish's range and I'm confident I can outplay him, even out of position. We're both short-stacked, so I put in a small raise.

Hero raises to $0.05, CO calls $0.03, BTN calls $0.05, SB calls $0.04, fold

FLOP ($0.22) 6 8 5

Flop brings me a flush draw and I also have 2 overs, so I make a standard c-bet.

SB checks, Hero bets $0.12, CO calls $0.12, BTN folds, SB folds

Villain called, so I think he made a pair, or has a straight or flush draw.

TURN ($0.46) 6 8 5 K

I have top pair, so-so kicker. I still have the flush draw and see no point in slowing down, so continue my betting.

Hero bets $0.26, CO raises to $0.63 (AI), Hero calls $0.37

Villain's raise surprises me. The king didn't complete any draws, so I'm slightly worried about two pair, or being out-kicked, but I have such good odds to call (I have top pair and the flush draw after all) that I put the rest of my stack in.

RIVER ($1.72) 6 8 5 K 3

Hero shows K T
(Pre 42%, Flop 19.2%, Turn 72.7%)

CO shows 6 A
(Pre 58%, Flop 80.8%, Turn 27.3%)

CO wins $1.66

Villain was on the nut flush draw all along. After taking the pot down, he writes "Idiot" in the chatbox. I write "You had 30% equity on the turn and sucked out. Well played." and then I go on tilt for 20 minutes.

Hate it when fish hit their miracle out and then berate u, tilts me too!

Why aren't u fully stacked tho? Think pre and flop bet can b bigger, as u have good equity on this board

Story would have been better if u said you'd stayed at the table and felted the maniac!

I played live! 9 hours at 1/2 where I made $175. It was very soul-crushing and not something I'll replicate anytime soon! Also, pretty much all my profit came from flopping a K-high flush vs. a seemingly tight opponent who turned 2 pair and shoved river because he was watching a basketball game he had wagered on and didn't notice the monotone flop.

That was my first long live session ever (never played more than 3 hours before), and while I definitely felt my concentration waning, I think it was a good experience that will help my endurance overall.