Hi 2+2.

I´ve been crushin´ NL5. This took fairly long time from me but seems like it´s time to move up now. There´s few things though that I want to ask from more advanced guys out here:

1st: My winrate is over 15bb/100 in PS NL5 tables. I think it mostly comes from good table select and stacking super aggro fishes and pretty solid postflop game. Is it "easy" to maintain that winrate in NL10 and NL25?

2nd: Sites. Should I try other sites? I´ve heard (I guess you´ve too) that "PS is fcken hard to beat, move to 888, Party etc. etc." Is this true or BS? I´ve tried to find out this from lot of people, but others can´t tell and others won´t tell because best sites are their secrets.

3rd: This is bit hard to explain because i usually don´t write much in english but i hope you guys understand: I´ve tried to study poker and yes, I´ve learned basic things (squeezing, semi-bluffing etc.), but i still feel like i don´t know pretty much anything about poker theory, for example exploiting, building ranges (except preflop).

Every decision just comes from my mind and sometimes i just have "feeling" if it´s right because I´m thinking about previous spots, game flow and HUD reads. It has worked so far. I have never studied hands in equilab, because I can´t.

How to change this habit? I think I must learn more theory and have knowledge to explain my decisions in different spots to compete in higher stakes. I just don´t know where to start.



This all came to my mind while reading threads where people are speculating NL2 hands and they all seem like super high stakes pros when they are talking about different ranges and adjusting their game while they still can´t beat even the lowest stake.

1st: The games get tougher as you move up. Also, as players get more aggressive the variance you'll face will be more extreme.

2nd: Don't know about PokerStars being harder. I'd imagine the player skill level would even out over time.

3rd: This is a bit broad to tackle, but I'll give it a shot.

With exploitation, you already do this probably. You notice a certain tendency of your opponent. If your opponent folds too many flops. You might bet with a hand that you otherwise would have checked back. Versus another opponent, say you have TT on T73tt and are up against an agro opponent while OOP. Instead of taking a standard line of betting or check/raising you decide to check/call, because he can't stop bluffing when checked to.

Building ranges is great for disguising your hand strength. Also, if done correctly, you can be more balanced and harder for opponents to beat you. For example, lets say you open UTG with QQ and get 3-bet by an opponent on the button which you call. Flop comes 422r. You check, he bets and you call. Turn is another 2, he bets again and you call. River is a 7. He bets again and you call.

Let's go back to your flop calling range. Say you call the 3-bet with QQ-99, AK, and AKs-AJs. By the river, your opponent is likely to have either a high pair like AA, KK or he is going to be bluffing. If you fold everything on the flop you'll be folding too much. If you call all your pairs to the river you'll be calling too much. So you want to do something in between. For the flop you might call all pairs and fold the other stuff. On the turn you have QQ-99 and call with QQ and JJ while folding TT and 99. On the river maybe you only call with QQ while folding JJ.

If your opponent is only betting AA and KK 3-streets then you can exploit that by folding QQ. If your opponent can't stop bluffing then you call them down with QQ-99 and possibly even ace high.

Notice that he either has the high pair or he doesn't. So QQ-99 don't differ too much in value. You're creating a frequency so that you aren't easy to predict.

If youre serious about poker and want to move up, you HAVE to study. Congrats on having a good winrate so far(whats the sample size?). That could mean that you have talent. But you need to learn the game properly if you ever want to beat NL50+, which is where you start to be able to make a decent income.

15bb/100 is not sustainable, you are on a heater, what is hand sample?

It definitely is sustainable.

1. I found the steepest skill difference was between 5NL and 10NL. 10NL, 16NL and 25NL are all pretty close in terms of difficulty IME.

2. I've only really had a huge amount of experience with Stars and Party, of which Party was ever so slightly softer. From what I played of other sites, the ones with the worse software seem to be a lot softer, but I just couldn't deal with the worsened playing experience.

3. I'm in the same boat as you, so can't offer help here.

I don't think it's sustainable for someone who hasn't studied

Hubris and poker are a bad combination. When you crash, it's going to be very hard. ...or maybe you're a natural. Only way to tell is to test yourself against better players. 5NL is fun, but you won't learn much there.

TY for good answer. How can I start studying postflop ranges? I think my preflop game is pretty solid and I´d say I already could tell my ranges in different (preflop) spots. In postflop I couldn´t.

How can I start studying I have lots of time and motivation to do that, but I just don´t know where to start.

In general I think best players are the ones who´ve figured out how to study. Most people just can´t even if they had time.

Bit over 50k in NL5. I know that is pretty small sample size, but I have 50k+ hands in NL2 too. I have the motivation to study, but I just haven´t figured out good way to study. I´ve watched some YT videos and tried to figure out what pros think when there playing, but I´m not sure if I´ve learned much from there. Obviously something, but there must be better and faster ways to improve my game.

Over 100k. I think it definetly is. I´ve learned some things and realized really stupid plays afterwards and stopped bad habits, but still I somehow had 15/100 even when I was worse. It also sucks to grind NL2 so i mass tabled and skyped with my friends and played at the same time.

TY.
1: How much time and xp did it take from you to beat NL10?

2: Seems like it would be good idea to deposit to softer sites. Almost everyone more experienced have suggested that.

3: Maybe we should start some kind of study group idk? If you are in one, please invite me

What´s studying poker? I honestly don´t know. Applying things to your game from youtube? Reading 2+2? I´d say no.

I want to start studying seriously. Should I start with softwares like pokersnowie or equilab?

I went busto with my small BR few times when I started until I learned about bankroll management and started playing tightly. And what comes to hubris I would´t say that it´s cocky to admit crushing NL5

Do you guys use PokerSnowie or Equilab? Would you suggest them to me or are those for more advanced players?

Some people have also suggested Run it once subscription for me. Seems like good value for money, right?

I'd suggest buying a decent book or signing up to a training site. I can pm you some recommendations if you want. You then study the theory, play 2 tables and try to apply that theory, go through hands in your tracking software and apply that theory, and also create a study group and discuss with other players. Posting on 2+2 is helpful. Ask questions if something is unclear, some guys will only post one word answers that won't help. Once you have solid fundamentals you can invest in solvers and study game theory, but that is very advanced. Flopzilla or similar software is useful. Snowie is to advanced for you, equilab is a must have!

In more detail: if you go through hands, narrow your opponents range based on stats, notes etc, calculate pot equity (equilab) and or foldequity (flopzilla is useful, you can count the combos you think someone will fold and look what percentage of his overall range that is) and then determine your best course of action. You can then post the hand in a forum or study group and see if your thought process was correct

Equilab is really useful and it is free. Pokersnowie was not that helpful to me to be honest. Their preflop chart isn't too bad though and its HU game is pretty strong.

I don't know if there is a best way to study. I think if you just immerse yourself into poker culture over time you'll get better. Find realistic spots that come up frequently and learn the best way to deal with them by looking them up or asking people.

It is better to find out the proper defending range from the BB versus a button open than to figure out whether to call a bet with KK on 77773 board with 2 other players who checked to the river. The first scenario comes up more often.

Also, observe what players are doing that are better than you. Copy some of their techniques if they are logical.

What the above poster said. Also, posting replies to hands here would help a lot. People may troll you a little bit when you say something obviously wrong but one of the ways that I got decent was giving bad advice and having people correct me.

Thanks. PM me.

Shipped it