i know this is a small sample size - but it's not variance. it's my own incompetence. i generally sit out if the table gets down to heads up unless i feel like i have a considerable edge against the player so basically all of these hands are from 3 or 4 handed play. i feel like i'm just clueless as to how to construct ranges especially 3 handed. what hands i should be playing... what hands my opponents will be playing... and how much hand rankings go up in value since it's hard to make hands. my red line is the only one that is profitable because i barrel off non showdownable hands when they pick up equity... on the flip side tho, this inflates the pot and it hurts when they pick off a bluff. but that blue line... oh my god i'm just lost in the sauce. how thin do i value bet? how light do i call down?? i feel like i'm relearning poker and it's painful.

can anyone point me in the right direction? advice? strategy threads, youtube videos, anything??

here's my results for march


here's my results from 5 and 6 handed games


heads up to 4 handed


i took some shots at 200 and 500 nl this month. my biggest losses occurred playing these stakes head up through 4 handed


this is my graph for heads up through 4 handed at all of the my normal stakes (100nl and below)


the good news is is did pretty well this month at my usual stakes (excluding hands from 500 and 200nl)

I will just keep sitting out when there are less then 5 people if I were you. It cost you a lot of money and your game isn't strong enough (yet) to beat the game.

HU and 3 way is a different game. You have to start at the beginning with that. Ranges become way wider and calling/cbetting happens more frequently. It's like you play SB vs BB.

I'm sadly no expert, only played HU sng for a while which is still a lot different.

GL figuring it out, but until you have a gameplan for those spots i would just not play it if i were you.

yeah.. i mean i'm definitely done playing it at higher stakes than i'm rolled for .. i'm trying to get some help coming up with a gameplan tho. i'm not necessarily seeking out short handed games, but there are some really bad players that play late at night on these new jersey sites and after 3 am the games usually run short handed. i really think i could crush which probably sounds crazy since i'm saying that right after openly admitting that i have no idea what i'm doing... but that's the reason i'm interested in learning about short handed play for the most part. trial and error is frustrating and costly.
i'm somewhat comfortable playing 4 handed at least. i'm profitable over my entire database but last month i lost at around 11bb/100 4 handed probably due to playing in tougher lineups. 3 handed is a HUGE leak tho.

anyway i appreciate the feedback.

I'd say buy PokerSnowie for a year subscription. Play against the computer bot with suggested ranges and gives you advice where your ranges need work and how to defend. Just set it for 3 handed or 4 handed and play. Or HU. Whatever size game you want to work on first. I would probably say for for 4 handed. Then maybe work on a slight HU game.
If you can understand how to play against an AI like Snowie in those short handed games you can beat most of your normal games or at least hang tougher until your strong game which is full table can flourish.

I always think this is the cheapest best active learning tool out there. It might be dated by now but it is still SUPER strong software that could crush most players using a GTO approach, which obviously you use as your base while you play in a real game, and exploit players when their stats/style allows other higher EV plays in that situation

More players is better.
Perhaps move up to full ring where they respect your aggression.

You use the same ranges playing 3 handed as you would 6max.
You just are never in ep. your BTN, SB, and BB ranges are still the same. Some people think you have to open wider since less people, but it doesn’t work like that.

This.

Also, your postflop strategy will work the same way it would if playing with 6 opponents. To have that big a discrepancy makes me think that you are over adjusting way too far and becoming bluff happy or thinking your opponents are bluffing too much, both of which could explain the tanking blue line.

You really only need to change your strategies when you are playing heads-up.

that's not a sample, you might as well not post the graphs

This. Your button play should be as loose as you can tolerate if they aren't 3 betting you a ton. 3 bet the crap out of the buttons raises. Call wide and 3 bet wide from the bb. Adjust your game (tighter or looser) as they adjust to your aggression.

thanks for the feedback everyone. much appreciated.

i feel like i need to compensate for the blinds coming around so fast and open up a little but obviously what i feel like doing isn't working so i'll give it a shot.

also going to look into pokersnowie.

@isolated - full ring literally never runs in NJ where i'm playing or but even so i much prefer 6max. i can't imagine what the lobby even looks like on a site like stars for the rest of the world compared to what i see here.

would you recommend the intermediate or pro version?