the davenpoker project

I read Tommy Angelo's article on reciprocality being the cause of profit in poker. http://www.tommyangelo.com/articles/reciprocality.htm
It made a lot of sense.
I have also been thinking about tilt a bunch. Tilt is simply any deviation from a-game.

And then in the TA article, the gem of advice that winning $ in poker is a simple forumula:
1) a winning a-game
2) a game against players your a-game wins against
3) play your a-game every hand.

So no IRC, no browsing the web, no phone calls, no steaming over beats, no replaying hands for any reason other than note-taking on villain's tendencies.

And then I thought more about what 1, 2, & 3 above entail.

1) Learn poker basics, continue to work on imrpving. An a-game cannot be static, it needs to always be a work in progress
2) Combination of stake, table, and seat selection. I'm sure there are occasional mid-stakes tables where my a-game would do ok, but that is not the norm. I'm sure there are occasional 25nl tables where my a-game would struggle, but this is likely to be uncommon. Choose good tables and seats at the appropriate stakes.
3) A-game every hand. This is about discipline. This is about quitting a session. This is about not starting a session. Waiting until your a-game fades before stopping is playing hands without your a-game at the end of a session.

So, yeah, I'm going to work hard on 3 particularly for the next while - a-game every hand is the grail.

It almost feels like it's unfair when I apply full focus. Oh well, sucks to be them.

I've also been thinking about how to make money. Regs - you need to be at least breakeven against these guys, and the ideal is that you make money against them longterm. Fish - dead money is great, how to maximise your portion of this dead money? immediate position on them, maximise numbers of pots with them, get max value against them.

All sounds so easy

damn shortstackers

my A-game is the best it has ever been.
My stats vary by table conditions, hovering between 18-15 and 13-9.
I understand what tilt is better, and am learning how to quit sessions.
I have done some analysis of my strengths and weaknesses. A quick list.

Strengths of my a-game
1) value-towning fish for stacks
2) pot-odds and judging implied odds
3) positional play
4) folding

Weaknesses
1) playing on tilt (this is easy to work on) - i.e. not playing my A-game
2) FPS/mixing it up with regs too much
3) calling
4) 3-bet ranges
5) High pairs on overcard flops
6) ^ a bunch of standard situations I haven't yet studied.

Today's was a fun session, except for the beats. I've ranted a bunch about beats and coolers not mattering if you really own the games you play. I think this morning was a good example. I was set-over-setted once for stacks (22<TT) and when i finally got a set over set we got all in on the turn and he hit his one outer...
But, I took a two minute break. I made sure i was on good tables, good seats. I didn't look at HEM, go internet browsing, IRC except during the break, etc.
And it was a breakeven session, and could easily have been a session with a decent earn.

Some hands from the session, fun and not so fun. I'll include results this time - but not too much commentary...
first, a session summary


Before anyone asks, all these hands are Full Tilt, today.

Hand 1) villain was a 32-0 tagged fish over a 300hand sample, with very low fold to cbets on any streets. This became an immediate value line, and I bet pot on the turn to punish any draw he might be playing to. Standard.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($132)
UTG ($157.90)
MP1 ($111.40)
MP2 ($87.60)
CO ($85.90)
Hero (Button) ($100.85)
SB ($49.55)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 7, 7
UTG bets $3, 1 fold, MP2 calls $3, 1 fold, Hero calls $3, 1 fold, BB calls $2

Flop: ($12.50) A, 3, 7 (4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $9, BB calls $9, 1 fold, MP2 calls $9

Turn: ($39.50) 2 (3 players)
BB checks, MP2 checks, Hero bets $39.50, BB calls $39.50, 1 fold

River: ($118.50) 2 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $49.35 (All-In), BB calls $49.35

Total pot: $217.20 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
Hero had 7, 7 (full house, sevens over twos).
BB had A, 3 (two pair, Aces and threes).
Outcome: Hero won $214.20


Hand 2) Villain was unknown 42-11 over less than 25 hands. Pre-flop this is sometimes a raise. Flop I figure that with the board so drawy he's going to be calling the c-r with his entire range. Turn I check cos flop c-r turn lead is way too strong here and if he's drawing I want to give him a chance to hit. River shove is obviously the best play against this type of fish, it looks bluffy and he's calling if he hit the flush or a straight.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($110.40)
CO ($108.75)
Button ($171.20)
SB ($96.30)
Hero (BB) ($105.90)
UTG ($137.20)
UTG+1 ($20)
MP1 ($89)
MP2 ($14.15)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 7
2 folds, MP1 calls $1, MP2 calls $1, 4 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($3.50) 7, 4, 8 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets $3.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $11, MP1 calls $7.50

Turn: ($25.50) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

River: ($25.50) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $93.90 (All-In), MP1 calls $77 (All-In)

Total pot: $179.50 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
Hero had 7, 7 (full house, sevens over fours).
MP1 had 9, 9 (two pair, nines and fours).
Outcome: Hero won $176.50


hand 3) Another one of those spots against an uber-fish where the tools of micro-stakes come in handy. Villain 72-22 over small sample and obviously dead money. When I shove the turn he knows I'm on a draw...
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($19.55)
Hero (Button) ($101.85)
SB ($19)
BB ($100)
UTG ($74.50)
UTG+1 ($30.20)
MP1 ($48)
MP2 ($69.95)
MP3 ($94.10)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, 8
2 folds, MP1 calls $1, MP2 bets $3, MP3 calls $3, 1 fold, Hero calls $3, 2 folds, MP1 calls $2

Flop: ($13.50) 8, 3, Q (4 players)
MP1 checks, MP2 checks, MP3 checks, Hero bets $11, 1 fold, MP2 calls $11, 1 fold

Turn: ($35.50) 2 (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $56, MP2 calls $55.95 (All-In)

River: ($147.40) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $147.40 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
Hero had 8, 8 (three of a kind, eights).
MP2 had Q, A (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $144.40

Hand 4) People are too scared of stacking off light against uber-bad players. Hell, overpair light against a fish? whatever. The turn is the best card possible for me, almost. And as to checking river behind? This type of fish is unable to check three streets for value with the nuts.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($82.25)
CO ($73.90)
Hero (Button) ($100)
SB ($20.35)
BB ($358.05)
UTG ($40.35)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, Q
2 folds, CO calls $1, Hero bets $4.50, 2 folds, CO calls $3.50

Flop: ($10.50) 4, 5, 10 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $9, CO calls $9

Turn: ($28.50) 5 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $24, CO calls $24

River: ($76.50) 7 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $62.50 (All-In), CO calls $36.40 (All-In)

Total pot: $149.30 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
Hero had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and fives).
CO had Q, 10 (two pair, tens and fives).
Outcome: Hero won $146.30

Hand 5) I was asked about my habit of donking gutshots/crazy draws in limped pots. My reasoning, fold equity is huge, and when you are called and hit....
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (3 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($65.10)
Hero (BB) ($107.75)
Button ($106.50)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, 9
1 fold, SB calls $0.50, Hero checks

Flop: ($2) 3, 7, 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB calls $2

Turn: ($6) 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $6, SB raises to $24, Hero raises to $77, SB calls $38.10 (All-In)

River: ($130.20) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $130.20 | Rake: $1

Results in white below:
SB had 8, 4 (straight, eight high).
Hero had 8, 9 (straight, nine high).
Outcome: Hero won $129.20

Hand 6) Villain and i have some history. He's good and loose and aggro. He knows I'm fos here sometimes so he has fold equity. Easy game, shame he hit. Meh, I flip bad.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($104.45)
MP2 ($230.40)
Hero (CO) ($100)
Button ($215.35)
SB ($99)
BB ($215.75)
UTG ($323.30)
UTG+1 ($100)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 10, 10
4 folds, Hero bets $3.50, 2 folds, BB raises to $11, Hero calls $7.50

Flop: ($22.50) 10, 7, Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $13, BB raises to $204.75 (All-In), Hero calls $76 (All-In)

Turn: ($200.50) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($200.50) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $200.50 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
BB had A, 5 (flush, Ace high).
Hero had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: BB won $197.50

Hand 7) Villain here is relative unknown. Stacking off here is kinda light vs a decent reg, but he's not, so he can have QQ+ here a bunch. Shame that he didn't. Happens.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($172.10)
CO ($17)
Button ($40.30)
SB ($20)
BB ($102.20)
UTG ($18.50)
UTG+1 ($116.30)
MP1 ($233.85)
Hero (MP2) ($100)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 2, 2
1 fold, UTG+1 bets $3, MP1 calls $3, Hero calls $3, MP3 calls $3, 4 folds

Flop: ($13.50) 10, 2, 6 (4 players)
UTG+1 bets $8, 1 fold, Hero raises to $21, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $13

Turn: ($55.50) 3 (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $47, UTG+1 raises to $92.30 (All-In), Hero calls $29 (All-In)

River: ($207.50) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $207.50 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
UTG+1 had 10, 10 (full house, tens over sixes).
Hero had 2, 2 (full house, twos over sixes).
Outcome: UTG+1 won $204.50


Hand 8) My turn to set over set. I like everything about this hand except the river card. Villain has a very low fold to c-bet and will even float oop.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP3) ($101.65)
CO ($110.85)
Button ($214.95)
SB ($69.70)
BB ($199.80)
UTG ($101.40)
UTG+1 ($292.30)
MP1 ($253.65)
MP2 ($37.90)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with K, K
4 folds, Hero bets $3.50, 2 folds, SB calls $3, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($10.50) K, 3, 6 (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $8, SB calls $8, 1 fold

Turn: ($26.50) 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $23, SB raises to $58.20 (All-In), Hero calls $35.20

River: ($142.90) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $142.90 | Rake: $3

Results in white below:
SB had 6, 6 (four of a kind, sixes).
Hero had K, K (full house, Kings over sixes).
Outcome: SB won $139.90


Hand 9) and now the most complicated hand of the session, deep and we're both kinda aggro at this table. Zwifti to my right. Flop is usually a raise with top pair, FD and gutshot. But timing and bet sizing tell suggests zero fold equity. When villain pots the turn I put him on 88/55/56/AcKc/KK/AA - he's not on a weak range at all. So, what to do?

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($74.65)
MP2 ($45.70)
MP3 ($15.50)
CO ($100)
Hero (Button) ($214.60)
SB ($100.50)
BB ($94)
UTG ($195.25)
UTG+1 ($20)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 7, 8
UTG bets $3.50, 5 folds, Hero calls $3.50, 2 folds

Flop: ($8.50) 5, 8, 4 (2 players)
UTG bets $8.50, Hero calls $8.50

Turn: ($25.50) 2 (2 players)
UTG bets $25.50,

cross post from july graphs.
Now time for a few week long poker hiatus

July poker is finished for me - off to scandanavian climes for a few weeks. So, here goes:



a month with loads of learning. On a-game, on variance, on improving my a-game, on tilt.
21 buyins behind on AIEV, about another $1k blown through bad/tilty play.

So, net:
+ $700 FR
+ $525 iron man mid-year
+ $1150 rakeback
+ $400 learning 6-max
+ $125 party bonus

= $2900, plus a coupla hundred worth of fpps at various sites

Not as bad as it could have been I guess...

think i'll play some poker again around mid-august.
right now the break is loving the sunshine!
done some thinking and writing about some simple standard spots and lines too.
excited about playing again when i get back to bonn.
life is good

Originally Posted by daven

life is good

Have to quote this. Where you currently at dude? Im back in Goettingen right now, killing time and getting over possible swine flu until we head off for France. Still waiting to grab a beer with you!

good luck for august, and 2.9k is a solid month for july and you made a good recovery - well done!

I'll be back in bonn in a few days, norway and sweden have been nice...

i posted this in robb's blog, and felt like repeating it here:

understanding the game better <> playing better. I understand the game infinitely better than when i wrote my whispered words of wisdom post about nine months ago http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...om-t76292.html - but that hasn't always translated into better results.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I think we move into interesting territory as we learn, understand, and start to apply new concepts (=better) but before we comprehend the full implications.

I'll be back in online poker world in a few more days, so i'll write more then. Kinda nervous cos i've decided that it's about time to play the stakes i'm rolled for. So i'll likely be writing a lot. Plan is one day at 50nl to check my feel for poker, a few days at 100nl to check on my game, then 200nl for a while. Well, that's the plan anyway. Looking forward to seeing what ends up happening.

sounds like a very reasonable plan!
i agree about more knowledge, we need to just be patient and take one step at a time.

Oh hey...
If you wanna do another sweat session or set a challenge or something, drop me a line in skype. I kind of need an incentive to grind right now. I played like 6k hands this month so far... even with a week of vacation this is kind of pathetic

I'm back in the ring...
The break was magic and now i'm super-psyched on playing this crazy game.

Included in the trip was my first ever casino poker, 200euro nl with 2/2 blinds. I played a donk-beginner session of nl where i managed to call when i wanted to raise, much when i could have checked, etc. That session cost me about 60euro. I went back a few nights later, played three tables over 4hrs. First session was all good - up just over a buyin but then half the table left so i left too as those remaining were all local reg types. I then joined a PLO table. Left pretty quickly after paying a few orbits of blinds - I was out of my league/bankroll. It was a hyper aggressive combo of regs and gamblers, all of whom knew the game. I mentioned to the guy to my right that i figured this was a bad place to learn PLO, he looked genuinely concerned at my plight... So i went back to a NL table and won some more money . Net, these two casino sessions paid for most of my week in Sweden and flight back to germany. Live poker is fun, kinda tiring though - plus i need to learn some chip tricks.

Now it's online poker time.
Started the grind on Monday (now it's wednesday am).

I played ca. 1500 hands at 50nl feeling pretty rusty and playing pretty meh initially. Won a little and moved back to 100nl. So now I've played 7k hands at 100nl for a miserly 2ptBB/100 - should easily be 4... The games aren't tough.

I'm also clearing a FT 'big bonus' at about $30/hr. Happy about that, shame it will be gone soon (i got $500). Debating the when and how of my move to 200nl. Perhaps this weekend. I may purchase a $600 ironman bonus to pad the transition (i have a couple up my sleeve).

Originally Posted by oskar

If you wanna do another sweat session or set a challenge or something, drop me a line in skype. I kind of need an incentive to grind right now.|

sure, sounds good.

Originally Posted by daven

plus i need to learn some chip tricks.

This is key for gettin' better at pokerz, imo.

Originally Posted by daven

I'm also clearing a FT 'big bonus' at about $30/hr. Happy about that, shame it will be gone soon (i got $500).

I only got $200!! (and it was gone in like 3 days).

Originally Posted by daven

I may purchase a $600 ironman bonus to pad the transition (i have a couple up my sleeve).

GLGLGL at rejoining the 200nl grind. Show 'em your chip tricks.

BTW, saw your "work out" post in my op. I'll get back to you. I ran the beast again Sunday after some time off from it, and it SUCKED big time. LoL. We'll work something out, but I need a day or two to put together a training schedule that has me ready for a half marathon on Halloween.

Up about $1k including bonus since i restarted the grind a few days ago. Running into a few coolers, but about b/e on AIEV and the coolers balance out longterm...

i didn't play this morning's session as well as i should have, although a five minute break 2hrs in worked wonders for my headspace



some magical hands in the mix.
This one is my favourite, villain is a decent aggro player. I figure he was betting most of his range on the river, and his calling range was JT+ (ie JT/JQ/JK/AJ/AA), so the shove was pretty thin from a value perspective. Bet-fold was possibly a better river line, but nah, i can't bet fold that
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($64.50)
MP3 ($98.50)
CO ($128)
Button ($15.50)
Hero (SB) ($105)
BB ($137.05)
UTG ($109.85)
UTG+1 ($80)
MP1 ($15.50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, Q
3 folds, MP2 calls $1, 1 fold, CO bets $4, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $3

Flop: ($13) J, 2, J (3 players)
Hero checks, MP2 checks, CO bets $6, Hero calls $6, 1 fold

Turn: ($25) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $12, Hero calls $12

River: ($49) A (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $25, Hero raises to $83 (All-In), CO calls $58

Total pot: $215 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (full house, Queens over Jacks).
CO had J, J (four of a kind, Jacks).
Outcome: CO won $212

here, villain reads my soul. I should feel kinda bad about the suckout

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($66.80)
CO ($137.60)
Button ($56.30)
SB ($100)
Hero (BB) ($100)
UTG ($111.85)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, 9
1 fold, MP calls $1, 1 fold, Button bets $4.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.50, MP calls $3.50

Flop: ($14) 5, 2, 2 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, Button bets $6, Hero raises to $21, 1 fold, Button calls $15

Turn: ($56) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $56, Button calls $30.80 (All-In)

River: ($117.60) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $117.60 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 8, 8 (two pair, eights and twos).
Hero had 10, 9 (flush, King high).
Outcome: Hero won $114.60

standard
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($40.10)
UTG ($122.85)
UTG+1 ($21.45)
MP1 ($18.50)
MP2 ($190.10)
CO ($94.50)
Button ($15.50)
Hero (SB) ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
4 folds, CO bets $3.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $9, 1 fold, CO calls $5.50

Flop: ($19) 6, 5, 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $17, CO raises to $85.50 (All-In), Hero calls $68.50

Turn: ($190) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($190) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $190 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
CO had K, 2 (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: CO won $187


more against a fish
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (5 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($18)
SB ($103.50)
BB ($176.80)
UTG ($144.45)
Hero (MP) ($100)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 10, 10
1 fold, Hero bets $3.50, 2 folds, BB raises to $7, Hero calls $3.50

Flop: ($14.50) J, 10, K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6, BB raises to $12, Hero raises to $93 (All-In), BB calls $81

Turn: ($200.50) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($200.50) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $200.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
BB had K, A (one pair, Kings).
Hero had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: Hero won $197.50


reads come in handy
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($72.80)
MP2 ($62.40)
Hero (MP3) ($121.35)
CO ($125.70)
Button ($20)
SB ($20)
BB ($100)
UTG ($20)
UTG+1 ($92.20)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A, 10
2 folds, MP1 calls $1, 1 fold, Hero bets $4.50, 4 folds, MP1 calls $3.50

Flop: ($10.50) 10, 7, 6 (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $8, MP1 calls $8

Turn: ($26.50) 6 (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $26.50, MP1 raises to $60.30 (All-In), Hero calls $33.80

River: ($147.10) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $147.10 | Rake: $3

Results:
MP1 had 5, J (one pair, sixes).
Hero had A, 10 (two pair, Aces and tens).
Outcome: Hero won $144.10


this one vs a nit i was really confused about on the turn...
his range is AK/44/33. Obviously should have bet-fold river.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($69.40)
MP2 ($105.95)
MP3 ($37.50)
Hero (CO) ($114.55)
Button ($98)
SB ($255.05)
BB ($117.05)
UTG ($103.10)
UTG+1 ($26.05)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, K
5 folds, Hero bets $3.50, Button calls $3.50, SB calls $3, 1 fold

Flop: ($11.50) 4, K, 3 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9, Button raises to $18, 1 fold, Hero calls $9

Turn: ($47.50) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $22, Hero calls $22

River: ($91.50) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Total pot: $91.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had K, A (three of a kind, Kings).
Hero had A, K (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $88.50

Played my first two sessions at 200nl.
Seems to play weaker than 100nl... less aggro too, and the decent regs are mostly the same decent regs - what's with that!

vs a loose aggro fish - tagged as dead money so gotta be happy getting it in here, right? especially cos my hand is near the very top of my range.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($200)
BB ($220.55)
UTG ($223.75)
UTG+1 ($516.80)
MP1 ($114)
MP2 ($191.80)
CO ($28)
Hero (Button) ($202)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, A
3 folds, MP2 calls $2, 1 fold, Hero bets $9, 2 folds, MP2 calls $7

Flop: ($21) 7, 3, 5 (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $16, MP2 calls $16

Turn: ($53) 5 (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $53, MP2 raises to $166.80 (All-In), Hero calls $113.80

River: ($386.60) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $386.60 | Rake: $3

vs an ok LAG, we have 100nl history. 16-13 ish and high c-bet and W$WSD. Spew or nice?

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($194)
MP1 ($207)
MP2 ($200)
Hero (CO) ($345.90)
Button ($40)
SB ($34)
BB ($144.80)
UTG ($197.50)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 9, 9
2 folds, MP1 bets $6, 1 fold, Hero calls $6, 3 folds

Flop: ($15) 5, 10, 3 (2 players)
MP1 bets $11, Hero raises to $32,

vs an unknown, seems TAG-nittish
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (CO) ($205.10)
Button ($200)
SB ($202)
BB ($200)
UTG ($205)
MP1 ($39)
MP2 ($203)

Preflop: Hero is CO with J, 10
3 folds, Hero bets $6, Button calls $6, 2 folds

Flop: ($15) Q, 9, 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $10, Button calls $10

Turn: ($35) 2 (2 players)
???? barrel?????

J T
Sklansky's bible says to be less inclined to bet the flop in this situation IIRC

Just thought I'd pop in to say that 18/15 isn't all that loose, it's more like the loose end of TAG than it is LAG imo. And prly you're losing money at least partially because you think you've got to stack off lighter. If you're against a nit, they aren't adjusting to you. They just hit sets a lot because they only play pocket pairs.

edit: just realized there are two pages and my post is retardedly late

Played my biggest pots of my poker career during the last couple of days. Numerous for $400+ and one of $600+.

I'm not that comfortable deep at 200nl, I'm now getting used to being bad-beat for $200, but it's going to take a few more hours to develop the dollar-calluses necessary to prevent a loss of $400 in one hand causing me to be a little upset. So I'm mostly leaving tables when I get proper-deep and I'm at all uncomfortable about the players who cover.

I have now played a few sessions of 200nl. I've noticed myself tightening up quite a bit, the subconscious kicking in and pointing out that those chips can be exchanged for a decent amount of goods and services...
Ran pretty bad for a while, sets cost me a few stacks, KK<AA, that kind of thing. I actually got close to a move-back-down mark I had set for myself, not my overall stop-loss, but definitely a stop-loss if it was reached too quickly. Good news is that I bounced back a little, still a couple of buyins down over my 200nl hands so far, but the stop-loss doesn't seem so close any more.

Overall impression is that there is less difference between 100nl and 200nl than i had anticipated.

Originally Posted by TwoSmeets

Just thought I'd pop in to say that 18/15 isn't all that loose, it's more like the loose end of TAG than it is LAG imo. And prly you're losing money at least partially because you think you've got to stack off lighter. If you're against a nit, they aren't adjusting to you. They just hit sets a lot because they only play pocket pairs.

18-15 sure felt loose to me. Remembering that this is Full Ring we are talking about, but yeah i see what you mean by calling it loose TAG.

200nl equals a bunch of hands played and i'm down about 4buyins. I haven't bought a bonus or included any rakeback in that total, so I still have those aces up my sleeve. I'm just on breakeven if you figure in the stupid AIEV stat. Which means I have a lot of work still to do, breakeven is crap.

I've experienced a bunch of luck
I've made some plays that felt inspired
I've made some absolute drooler calls/plays
I've thought a lot about the spots that matter beyond the "big-pot-don't-make-obscene-mistakes' spots
I've tried to figure out which regs also reg at 2-4, 3-6, and 5-10 (there are a couple)
I've coolered and been coolered
I've sucked out and been bad beat
Ive started thinking about the math (a la Robb's squeeze work) behind a bunch of standard spots and it's fun to work on
I have a lot of notes on regs
I have even more notes on fish

Monday. I'm going to do an uber-session review - the session in question is all hands played at 200nl. I'm also going to do some good old fashioned leak-finding, I'll probably start playing AT differently...

I'm quite psyched about the move up. Sure, it's cost me about a grand, but that's just a trivial swing in the 200nl context of things. It makes me stop and pause for a moment, and think of the magnitude (in absolute dollar terms, not big blinds) of the swings experienced at, for example, $5k nl...

I'm also psyched on getting better, and thinking back on my poker goals. It feels more and more likely that I'll keep doing this thing until December 2010. If I stick at Full Ring then I want to be a reg in the 3-6 and 5-10 games. But, based on 100 buyin bankroll management, that's going to be tight. The other goal is still to learn 6-max, which has been completely on the backburner. I seem to remember being a winning player at 50nl, and sorta 100nl, on party 6-max a month or so ago, but i've kinda forgotten about it.

i'm also excited about the next six months. I'll be in Europe another six weeks or so. Plan is to mostly base here in Bonn, but throw in a quick trip to Berlin to party with some friends, and a trip to Paris/Fontainebleau for Eiffel Tower photos and climbing some sandstone.

And then home. New Zealand is all about I'm going to have a month of getting setup in a new place, play some poker, hang out with friends, and then a summer of outdoors and building wind turbines. Already getting some transalpine trips penciled in with people needing to arrange time off work.

breakeven over my first 10k hands at 200nl.

funny thing is that i'm up $1500 over the 9 days i have played this month - bonus and rakeback are great for masking over general deficiencies as a poker player.
it's kinda cool, but most definitely not at the same time...

<daven> i'm stoopid
<daven> a-game
<daven> instead, my girlfriend calls panicing from nz
<daven> cos she's on a paranoid trip
<daven> sounds like some arsehole spiked something with angeldust/pcp
<daven> i spend 3hrs on the phone trying to talk her through her heavy paranoia trip
<daven> as the drugs slowly wear off
<daven> and finally she feels ok to go to sleep,
<daven> so i play poker
<daven> and lose 6 buyins

considering 100nl again for a bit.

Stop playing 200nl when your head isnt right!

Wait, why didnt someone tell me that same thing? Why didnt I tell myself?

Anyway, good luck man.

i took a day off poker, and then decided to spend today crazy-grinding 50nl to prove a point or two.
the goal was 10k hands at a decent winrate, talk of 10ptBB/100 floated around irc, but i settled at 7.5.
http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...ck-t88706.html

anyway, always nice to have a +15bi day...
back to 100nl tomorrow i guess. Confidence back.

My liquid poker bankroll just decreased by 66% - but it's not as bad as it sounds

ok, until yesterday my poker bankroll far exceeded my poker ability.
Put that down to too much volume (=rakeback/bonuses) and not enough getting better.
So, I just indulged in some creative accounting. All poker $$ offline are no longer counted as part of my poker bankroll. My liquid=cash poker bankroll is 1/3 of what it was yesterday.

Time for a quick tally of what is sitting online.

Just under $7k spread across poker sites (liquid bankroll)
IronMan medals worth a little over $1k when i bother to switch them for bonuses sometime
Party points worth $1k, same story

600k Full Tilt fpps, (I told you too much volume!) worth, i dunno, hard to say. They trade at about $3.5/1000pts. So I guess another $2k in value, or I could just buy a 50" plasma tv and a 37" LCD...

Ignoring the fpps and including the bonuses not yet shipped (i.e. more accounting magic) and that leaves me with $9k in poker bankroll. More than enough for the stakes I should be playing right now. It feels good to no longer be rolled for stakes far above those I am comfortable playing.

So, time to make some $$ goals.
I want to take another stab at 200nl soon, I think I'm close to good enough for those stakes. I will be comfortable taking a shot with 55 buyins behind. $2k more and I'll take a 6 buyin shot. Good.

About time I got me a stars account too.

Was thinking about the role of poker in my life while swimming this morning. Poker has allowed me to comfortably work half-time for one year, and then come to Europe with my girlfriend. Here, the money from poker has allowed me to do pretty much whatever I want, and at the same time the flexibility of poker has lead me to be doing a whole lot of things that aren't poker. I'm far fitter/healthier than I was six months ago. I'm enjoying the end of a summer in Europe and looking forward to a spring and summer in New Zealand. I have projects that i am excited about working on when i get back home, and savings from poker allow me the time to work on these projects without the stress of worrying about money - hell, poker should mean that my savings continue to increase while these projects get past germination.

it's a crazy game we play. One that can easily have negative impacts on our everyday life, but one that can allow lifestyles to dream of. Poker is like the system, it can consume you or it can allow you infinite opportunity - depending on how you understand it, use it, and stay outside of it.

time to play some hands.

Inspiring stuff man. Reminds me why I play this game when things are going shit. Poker offers so much to us if we're only willing to give it our discipline and time, and better ourselves in the process.

Sounds like you're doing a good job of not getting stuck in a non-improvement rutt and keeping a healthy life outside of the game. Which like you say is essential.

Good luck with your next 200NL shot.

Played a 4-tabling session with Dranger sweating.

A few interesting spots that i normally might not have noticed, and some revelations in post-session stats analysis.

Recently I've been running a little bit LAG pre-flop, but LAG isn't only a pre-flop style... 4-tabling, I found myself 3-betting a little more, c-betting a lot more, and folding more appropriately. All this while talking through most of the decisions as they were being made. Basically, less tables made me more appropriately aggressive. I grabbed a few orphan 6bb pots that I might normally have missed, I folded when I might have normally called.

So, what does this all mean? It means that, for me anyway, an 18-15 type of pre-flop game is inappropriate if I'm heavily multi-tabling. It also means that I can far better adapt to tables and individual opponents when playing less tables - allowing me to better play situations rather than just my hole cards.

So, I'm going to play two types of Full Ring from now on. Multi-tabling more standard TAG styles, the 14-11 type of game that is so ideally suited to quick decision making, and where i can play a postflop game that suits the situations I find myself in.
And not-so-many-tabling, where I can play looser because I will have the liberty of taking time over decisions and the benefit of making better decisions.

Cool, that sweat session was invaluable, for surprising reasons.

There were also a couple of interesting hands

1) Villain is known and 3-bets a little more than most. He's decent by the standards of the stakes. I think flop and turn are standard, and that the river provides an interesting spot. We have the second nuts, I considered checking behind here - but a voice from skype was outraged - convinced that Jc is calling. I like this line.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($55.10)
UTG ($86.05)
MP1 ($39.55)
MP2 ($31.15)
CO ($124.25)
Hero (Button) ($66.10)
SB ($55.65)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Q, Q
4 folds, Hero bets $1.50, 1 fold, BB raises to $4.50, Hero calls $3

Flop: ($9.25) 4, J, 2 (2 players)
BB bets $5, Hero calls $5

Turn: ($19.25) A (2 players)
BB bets $10, Hero calls $10

River: ($39.25) 10 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $17.50,

2) This hand is another interesting river spot. We talked about this a bunch. Versus an aggressive player I think a fake block of about $5 to induce is best. Checking is bad as so many hands will relish checking behind. Versus this villain, who hadn't raised or bet yet in thirty-something hands it is instead all about value.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($40)
Hero (UTG+1) ($66.30)
MP1 ($47.15)
MP2 ($50)
MP3 ($95.45)
CO ($36.60)
Button ($29.40)
SB ($53.20)
BB ($41.95)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 8, 8
1 fold, Hero bets $1.50, 3 folds, CO calls $1.50, Button calls $1.50, 2 folds

Flop: ($5.25) 3, 6, 7 (3 players)
Hero bets $3.50, 1 fold, Button calls $3.50

Turn: ($12.25) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $9, Button calls $9

River: ($30.25) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $9.50,

3) We had talked earlier about calling small pocket pairs from the blinds vs steals. We typically call these hands for set value, but we don't really get much set value vs a range that is so ill-defined and weak - in this spot villain steals 50% from the button. We hate so many turn cards, we just wanna get as much money in the middle as we can. Donking is better than a c-r cos it looks so donkish After he raises it gets interesting... wide range vs wide range, yuck. Guess we gotta keep on betting.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (6 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($60.90)
UTG ($50)
MP ($32.65)
CO ($32.70)
Button ($50)
SB ($43.20)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4, 4
3 folds, Button bets $1, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.25) 4, 2, 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, Button raises to $5, Hero raises to $14,

4 - This hand received a 'why bother posting, it's obvious!' from the denizens of irc. C-bet is standard, and vs a 50% fold/8% raise cbet type then it's obviously a call with decent implied odds. Somehow I managed to bet-fold the flop cos I suck. Put him on a range when he raises, think about how well our hand is disguised, etc.

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($23.80)
Hero (CO) ($78.55)
Button ($48.20)
SB ($50)
BB ($79.95)
UTG ($53.75)
UTG+1 ($14.65)
MP1 ($50.20)
MP2 ($41.55)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, Q
5 folds, Hero bets $1.75, Button calls $1.75, 2 folds

Flop: ($4.25) 7, 10, J (2 players)
Hero bets $3, Button raises to $8.10, Hero folds

a lot of people don't like shortstacks. They aren't so bad though

$0.25/$0.5 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG Hero ($68.70)
UTG+1 lawnmowerboy ($19.00)
MP1 Teaspoon Willie ($21.55)
MP2 maxencep ($25.00)
CO Darsno ($20.00)
BTN WillDonkeyy ($95.25)
SB zeebo1 ($11.60)
BB BalkeStelleR ($23.30)
[Darsno posted $0.5]
[maxencep posted $0.5]

Pre-flop: ($1.75, 8 players) Hero is UTG
Hero calls $0.50, lawnmowerboy raises to $1, 1 fold, maxencep calls $0.50, Darsno calls $0.50, 2 folds, BalkeStelleR calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($5.25, 5 players)
BalkeStelleR bets $5.25, Hero calls $5.25, lawnmowerboy calls $5.25, 1 fold, Darsno calls $5.25

Turn: ($26.25, 4 players)
BalkeStelleR goes all-in $17.05, Hero calls $17.05, lawnmowerboy calls $12.75, 1 fold

River: ($73.10, 3 players)

Final Pot: $73.10
BalkeStelleR shows:
Hero shows:
lawnmowerboy shows:

Hero wins $70.10 ( won +$46.80 )
BalkeStelleR lost -$23.30
lawnmowerboy lost -$19
maxencep lost -$1
Darsno lost -$6.25

i need to study poker more.
I will start using this op to record the study i am doing - be it sweat sessions, videos, ftr & 2+2 browsing, range work, hand history review, whatever.

Aim is to put in 1hr of solid study a day for the next ages. About time really.

Today - AEJones Well on 2+2
http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/show...t=1&vc=1&nt=26

one of the first things i noticed is that he said he spent 4hrs a day studying poker for quite a while....

sometimes i play almost every street terribly but get lucky...
better to play every street well - i'll work on it.

This is an ugly way for the uber-nuts to get paid.
Flop check is pretty weird.
Donk turn bigger obviously.
and wtf at river sizing leaving $2 behind

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($51.35)
Button ($52)
SB ($54.25)
Hero (BB) ($67.70)
UTG ($8)
MP1 ($19.50)
MP2 ($64.85)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, J
3 folds, CO bets $1.50, 1 fold, SB calls $1.25, Hero calls $1

Flop: ($4.50) 9, 7, Q (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($4.50) K (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1, CO raises to $7.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $18, CO calls $10.50

River: ($40.50) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $29.50, CO raises to $31.85 (All-In), Hero calls $2.35

Total pot: $104.20 | Rake: $3

Results below:
Hero had 10, J (straight flush, King high).
CO had 6, A (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $101.20

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($15.25)
MP2 ($14.15)
MP3 ($17.10)
CO ($10)
Button ($10)
SB ($85.60)
BB ($26.75)
UTG ($13.45)
Hero (UTG+1) ($56.85)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 10, Q
1 fold, Hero bets $1.75, 5 folds, SB calls $1.50, BB calls $1.25

Flop: ($5.25) 6, 10, 10 (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $4, SB calls $4, 1 fold

Turn: ($13.25) 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $9, SB calls $9

River: ($31.25) 8 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $31.25 | Rake: $1.55

Results below:
SB had 10, A (three of a kind, tens).
Hero had 10, Q (three of a kind, tens).
Outcome: SB won $29.70

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($65.40)
CO ($31.95)
Hero (Button) ($165.25)
SB ($19.50)
BB ($20.20)
UTG ($27.40)
UTG+1 ($10)
MP1 ($71)
MP2 ($30)

Preflop: Hero is Button with J, K
4 folds, MP3 bets $1.75, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.75, 2 folds

Flop: ($4.25) 3, 9, 6 (2 players)
MP3 bets $3, Hero raises to $9, MP3 calls $6

Turn: ($22.25) Q (2 players)
MP3 checks, Hero checks

River: ($22.25) 4 (2 players)
MP3 bets $15, Hero raises to xxx,

I agree with your analysis of the first hand.

The second one I don't like the flop bet unless our opponents are very untrusting.

Third hand I probably time down and shove. History helps, but it's either that or a power minraise and it's hard to believe a small raise would make more over time.

Originally Posted by dev

I agree with your analysis of the first hand.

The second one I don't like the flop bet unless our opponents are very untrusting.

Third hand I probably time down and shove. History helps, but it's either that or a power minraise and it's hard to believe a small raise would make more over time.

3rd hand shove is the obvious line. Or a bet size that leaves him with like $8, but that would be silly he called with his 5c7c = i was ahead on every street...

as for the QT hand, I'm going to post some discussion about it here. I don't care if it proves that i didn't understand some pretty simple poker concepts, I'm a better poker player than i was earlier today.

That was a big chunk of my study today, that and writing that annoying 'AQ utg at micros' analysis

<suspenders> um
<suspenders> reads, where we're going we don't need reads
<suspenders> (but really we do)
<daven> 29-22-3, 60% attempt to steal, 50% fold to 3-bet, 45% cbet, 0% fold to cbet (0/4), 120 hands
<daven> is what my hud told me
<daven> he knows that sb is calling atc
<suspenders> PF standrad for you?
<daven> depends on table
<daven> usually i open fold
<daven> obviously, but sometimes...
<daven> the nits were respecting my ep opens although i guess it is a kinda marginal play to iso the sb
<daven> sorry, bb
<daven> like, i was ubernit this morning session
<daven> 2k hands at 15-11
<suspenders> let's say the river is a 2-5
<suspenders> what's your decision and sizing
<daven> ok, villain's range is good to know here
<daven> and that's kinda wide pre-flop
<daven> 22-JJ, scs, broadways, Axs
<daven> calling the flop with any piece/made hand and even some draws
<daven> turn he folds a lot
<daven> by the river the value is kinda thin
<daven> but without thinking i bet-fold
<daven> if 2-5
<daven> or Q-A
<daven> river J/9/8 i check behind
<daven> 7/6 i bet-call ldo
<daven> hand on, bet-call q
<daven> sizing for both is $13
<kiwiMark> daven: ouchies, re: riots
<kiwiMark> Anyway, I'm off now
* kiwiMark is now known as kiwiMark|drinks
<daven> have fun, watch out for upstairs windows
<suspenders> I don't get $13
<suspenders> are you trying to rep thin value b/c that's silly with our hand
<daven> um, it is thinner than it first appears
<suspenders> right but your bet sizing reps your hand
<suspenders> silly billy
<daven> yeah, true.
<daven> but nobody cr bluffs like ever
<daven> it also reps scared overpairs
<suspenders> right
<suspenders> which sucks if on like a 2-5 river he has 99/JJ/etc
<suspenders> hard to put you on Tx opening UTG+1
<daven> and also reps scared AK
<suspenders> and most players would assume you aren't getting 3 streets from JJ+
<daven> ok, so sizing then?
<daven> like, i check KK any river here
<daven> but i bet TT the same size
<suspenders> upper 20s probably
<suspenders> right
<suspenders> so ppl should look you up somewhat lightish here
<suspenders> with a bigger bet
<suspenders> smaller bet as I said reps hands like KK
<suspenders> I might bluff with those sizes if somehow I got here with one
<suspenders> I think that's a mistake
<daven> why?
<suspenders> b/c w/ $13 you're never bluffing
<daven> on a blank river he's only raising hands >> T9 here
<daven> and he's likely c-r all hands > T9
<suspenders> we're still discussing a 2-5 river
<suspenders> right
<daven> if i bet small with TT = max value line? or ?
<suspenders> no
<suspenders> look his range seems fairly week on a 2-5river
<suspenders> 88/99/JJ
<suspenders> stuff like that makes by far and away the most sense
<daven> 66/77
<daven> 66/77/88/99/JJ
<suspenders> ok fine w/e
<daven> or?
<suspenders> we're valuebetting
<daven> i guess he donks river with a good hand
<suspenders> so let's forget about 66/77
<suspenders> and talk about maximzing value from 88/99/JJ
<suspenders> perhaps even QQ
<suspenders> I mean your'e opening UTG+1, I'd flat QQ there
<daven> um, are we going to give him a range ?
<suspenders> lol
<suspenders> that's what we're doing boss

<daven> don't get a tat
<daven> get a scar
<daven> way cooler

<dranger_libertyinsandiego> and lolagreed daven
<dranger_libertyinsandiego> but the Corps is a lil more lenient on tats than brands lol
<daven> so, you like it as played? based on river - but we gotta think about other rivers?
<daven> so, ok with flop and turn play?
<daven> cos they own you and a brand is someone else may own you?
<suspenders> what else were you supposed to do
<daven> good, just checking!
<daven> ok, so river 3-5 are the only interesting scenarios then
<suspenders> nah J-A
<daven> J i check behind, Q i go broke
<suspenders> checking back the jack seems like a mistake
<daven> i just don't see him calling much on a jack river
<dranger_libertyinsandiego> ok
<daven> and it's bet-fold
<dranger_libertyinsandiego> g2g
<dranger_libertyinsandiego> ill post some pics of my new tat tomorrow probx
<dranger_libertyinsandiego> probs*
<dranger_libertyinsandiego> later

<suspenders> against 66-QQ on the river
<suspenders> on a 6TT7J board
<suspenders> with half the 88/99 combos taken out
<suspenders> you're dead even
<daven> sure, now, split that into 3
<daven> hands he calls, hands he folds, hands he raises
<daven> and add some JT/T9/AT
<daven> he calls QQ
<suspenders> really not expecting him to have those Tx hands ever
<suspenders> pretty stunned at ATo tbh
<daven> um, T9/JT/AT are in the agreed pre-flop range
<suspenders> "agreed"
<daven> so when do they disappear
<daven> 22-QQ/SCs/Broadways/Axs
<suspenders> disagree there
<daven> ok, i took silence as agreement
<suspenders> i mean I like that range were he on the button
<suspenders> I think it has to be tighter/stronger from the SB
<daven> hmm, i would if the bb wasn't dead money
<suspenders> I'd say that's a much better argument if he's the BB and fish is SB
<daven> true
<daven> ok, make it suited broadways
<suspenders> my main point is
<suspenders> no matter his range
<suspenders> when we bet the river it's clearly for value
<suspenders> but when you bet $13 on the river it's never as a bluff
<suspenders> so it's fairly easy to play perfectly against a $13 bet
<daven> i'm stuck on whether there is any value to be had now
<suspenders> 2-5 river
<daven> ja
<daven> ok,
<daven> JJ/QQ/99/JT/T9
<suspenders> 88=99
<daven> &88, yep
<suspenders> like if he has JJ
<suspenders> and you bet $13 on the river
<suspenders> you're repping a wider value-betting range than had you bet like $27
<suspenders> I think we can agree on that
<daven> which means i get more calls?
<suspenders> ?
<suspenders> why
<daven> cos villain isn't thinking about range so much, he's like, hmm, i gotta call
<daven> whereas vs $27, he's thinking uhoh i don't like 99 much anymore
<suspenders> you're never going to get anywhere in poker thinking like that
<suspenders> c
learly what your bet-size represents is huge here
<daven> yeah, and $13 reps weaker than $27 = he is calling the hands we get value against way more often
<suspenders> $13 does NOT REP WEAKER
* badgers has joined #flopturnriver
<daven> in his mind it does
<daven> badgers - a hand, assuming river 2-5, betsizing and why
<daven> http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...00.html#934793
<daven> also, villain is <daven> 29-22-3, 60% attempt to steal, 50% fold to 3-bet, 45% cbet, 0% fold to cbet (0/4), 120 hands
<oskar> (11:53:18 AM) dranger_libertyinsandiego: what do we think ^?
<badgers> the 2nd hand?
<oskar> like omg theres an eagale inside u
<suspenders> let's look at your "range" for betting $13 vs something in the upper 20s
<suspenders> gimme your range for betting $13
<daven> yep
<badgers> it's a pretty tough spot...
<badgers> basically the only T you get value from is JT
<suspenders> the hand with the river as is, is not a tough spot
<badgers> JJ+ probably 3bets preflop
<daven> ok, say 2-5 river
<badgers> ohhhh
<badgers> sorry :S
<daven> as played it's easy check behind
<daven> i think
<badgers> yeah I agree
<badgers> sorry too early in morning lol
<daven> so, river 4h
<daven> for example
<daven> we're debating bet sizing etc
<badgers> $24 minimum
<daven> and we gotta split his range into 3, right = calling range, folding range, cr shove range
<suspenders> I really doubt we're getting c/r'ed ever on the end
<daven> why? i'm lost here, you both agree, = i'm gonna learn something
<suspenders> dude
<daven> yeah, he's leading the river with his monsters most of the time
<suspenders> i've said it 20 times
<badgers> 99/88/jt/t8/t9
<suspenders> by betting small you reps hands you normally wouldn't be valuebetting
<suspenders> with a big size
<badgers> it looks more like air
<suspenders> ^^^^^^
<suspenders> and we've opened UTG+1
<suspenders> to Tx is not a part of our typical range
<daven> does it look more like air? is my question i guess
<suspenders> you're repping a hand like QQ by betting small, which is not what you want to represent against 88/99/JJ
<daven> like, assuming a typical villain here
<daven> he's more likely to bluff catch vs a big bet?
<badgers> it looks more like a full house/air given your EPopen
<badgers> he may fold slightly more frequently to a big bet
<suspenders> not likely to bluffcatch, but your range is crazy polarized
<suspenders> with a big bet
<badgers> but not enough to make up for the time that you win more by betting bigger
<daven> i dunno if i barrel AK here
<badgers> does he know that?
<suspenders> probably should barrel a lot here
<suspenders> EP open against his SB calling range
<daven> i probably don't 3-barrel air enough
<suspenders> seems like a pretty simple spot of our range is lolstronger than his
<daven> yeah, we agree on everything but sizing
<daven> and i'm starting to get it
<daven> he's calling JJ both sizes, same with JT/T9
<badgers> idk if I would barrel AK here, it's hard to get him to fold 88/99 when he picks up the gutshot and I think that's a decent part of his range
<daven> QQ on river?
<badgers> unless we plan on 3barrelling a lot but I would want more reads before I did that
<daven> play
<badgers> same thing
<badgers> $24
<badgers> min
<badgers> oh wait
<daven> even when our range suddenly became weaker against his?
<badgers> idk it depends if he's bad enough to call Tx here
<daven> cos there are twice as many Tx hands
<badgers> which he is apparently
<badgers> preflop I mean
<daven> 9T/TJ mostly, and AT, maybe Kts/QTs
<daven> TT
<daven> i check QQ behind, awful?
<badgers> no i think it's ok
<suspenders> if you check back QQ then you'll def want to bet big with Tx
<suspenders> I'd bet $27+ with Tx/boats/air and $9 with JJ-AA
<suspenders> this is on the low-card river
<daven> I'm going to post the low card version in FTR FR forum
<suspenders> lol
<badgers> I guess he pretty much never has air here
<daven> cos i definitely gained something from this
<badgers> so vbetting JJ is fine
<badgers> since he'll never turn a hand into a bluff
<badgers> and we're marginally ahead of his range
<suspenders> basically with JJ-AA on the river I'd bet w/e size I bet on the turn
<badgers> 79/78 also possible
<daven> 89 also then
<badgers> as is like A6/86/96
<badgers> some combos
<suspenders> nah
<suspenders> i mean flatting from the sb against EP open with those seems like a stretch
<badgers> 86s can definitely play this way
<suspenders> 78/89 work postflop, but should be discount PF a bit
<daven> 29-22
<badgers> I'm not really thinking offsuit
<daven> suited for sure
<suspenders> you'd get better advice in the SH forum
<suspenders> sowwy but it's true
<daven> but the mod would move the hand...
<suspenders> cuz this is a creative kind of spot
<suspenders> ya I'm not saying to do it
<suspenders> this is one of dem outside the box kinda thangs
<daven> ok, another one that's kinda similar
<daven> but completely different

i moved back to 100nl today
i was welcomed back with open arms

+$600 at the tables and about $75 in rakeback accrued.

I like when heaters happen at appropriate times. Just a shame this didn't hit when i moved to 200nl. But I'll take it

and yesterday I played 9k hands at 100nl for a winrate that is just fine by me.
Today I will study more and play less.

also, funds on my FT account were getting higher than i am comfortable with. So I withdrew a bunch again. Fingers crossed against the doomswitch being triggered.

some of those $$ will have to go to stars for new account $600 bonus I figure.

9k hands..man you are a machine

study = watched another vid, reviewed a bunch of hands, read another well.

and it seems as though the poker-deities approve. I even withdrew money without being doom-switched - moved back down to 50nl for the first post-withdrawal session and ran 14ptBB/100 over 2k hands

i love positive-reinforcement, even in the form of unsustainable heaters. A graph of the few days since I started this study kick:

toshiba laptop and whiteout fail.

I think I've gotten so desensitized to my results lately that I'm incapable of getting any kind of positive reinforcement from the game. It's ok when I'm running well, but that's not the case ATM. I'm thinking I'll do some kind of lower-limit winrate mini-op followed by some mandatory study time. As usual Daven's op = motivation and inspiration.

a few months ago nutsinho made a comment on my sig and the focus on a-game - something like "TA would suggest working on your b-game"

I have been thinking about what that means.
Sometimes I will want to play when I am for some reason unable to play my a-game. Today for example. So I have done some analysis on where my b-game falls over when I'm not in the zone.
So, rules for b-game:
1) Sit out HU when i'm b-game. This is interesting. I am usually happy to be HU with any FR reg at my stakes, and any unknown. But HU play can get a little complex.
2) Avoid complex 3/4 bet spots. These are high enough variance even when i feel I am unbeatable
3) Play even tighter ranges oop and from the blinds
4) Play made hands fast and weak hands carefully and draws less aggressively
5) bluff less
6) play implied odds hands less
7) basically make the game simpler so that my b-game won't have to deal with situations that it is not well-equipped to deal with...

Today's session and i was feeling pretty jaded = b-game time. So, played 1500 hands, didn't win more than 60bb in any one hand, ran kinda bad in coolers and, based on the winrate, I feel like I should play my b-game more often. Seriously though, regs don't notice cos the hands in the session have neglible impact on HUD stats. Fish don't notice. What I need to do is compare styles and see what it tells me about leaks in my a-game. Small blind play seems to be the most obvious spot.

Originally Posted by dev

toshiba laptop and whiteout fail.

that's kinda funny. It's an asus..

deleted cos of bad advice

dropped 10 buyins.
stink

bet sizing/stack sizes stupid
Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) ($133.85)
SB ($72.75)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, A
SB bets $2, Hero calls $1

Flop: ($4) 7, Q, J (2 players)
Hero bets $3, SB calls $3

Turn: ($10) K (2 players)
Hero bets $7, SB raises to $19, Hero raises to $39, SB calls $20

River: ($88) K (2 players)
Hero bets $88, SB calls $28.75 (All-In)

Total pot: $145.50 | Rake: $0.50

Results:
SB had 7, K (full house, Kings over sevens).
Hero had 10, A (straight, Ace high).
Outcome: SB won $145

woot
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($201.35)
UTG ($20)
UTG+1 ($167.15)
MP1 ($215.75)
Hero (MP2) ($141.55)
CO ($117)
Button ($119.70)
SB ($95)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, A
3 folds, Hero bets $3.50, CO raises to $10, 3 folds, Hero calls $6.50

Flop: ($21.50) 10, 5, 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($21.50) K (2 players)
Hero bets $14, CO raises to $40, Hero raises to $131.55 (All-In), CO calls $67 (All-In)

River: ($235.50) A (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $235.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (three of a kind, Aces).
CO had Q, J (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: CO won $232.50


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($115.50)
Hero (SB) ($111.20)
BB ($114.20)
UTG ($194.90)
UTG+1 ($200)
MP1 ($152.55)
MP2 ($106.50)
CO ($150)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
4 folds, MP2 bets $3.50, CO raises to $10, 1 fold, Hero raises to $24, 1 fold, CO raises to $150 (All-In), Hero calls $87.20 (All-In)

Flop: ($226.40) 9, K, 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($226.40) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($226.40) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $226.40 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
CO had 9, 9 (three of a kind, nines).
Outcome: CO won $223.40


Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($104.45)
SB ($105.80)
BB ($108.10)
UTG ($50)
MP1 ($140.15)
MP2 ($100)
Hero (CO) ($119.30)

Preflop: Hero is CO with K, K
2 folds, MP2 bets $3, Hero raises to $10.50, Button raises to $26, SB calls $25.50, 2 folds, Hero raises to $119.30 (All-In), 1 fold, SB calls $79.80 (All-In)

Flop: ($241.60) A, J, 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($241.60) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($241.60) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $241.60 | Rake: $3

Results:
SB had A, Q (one pair, Aces).
Hero had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: SB won $238.60


etc

shove turn w/ AT ldo, sup with donkleading frop?

Meh. Gaybet flop is prob nice w/ AA, keeps him from potcontrolling a high/99, board is dry enough to see him raising JJ-KK anyways. Dont be greedy.

KK hand is funny.

stop being a station please. kthx
Like, seriously!
you want directions to the fold button you dumb fuck? it's not that hard, see that well worn button that is marked :call: ? Glance left a little. See that shiny, brand new, obviously unused button? that's the fold button. You should try it sometime
but
yes, i know that when you press that button you don't get to see villain's cards, and maybe you just got bluffed. I don't care. Are you in poker to make money, or to catch occasional bluffs?
Right, you found the button then? now ffs use it!

I think the games right now are beatable for 3+ptBB/100. Take today's session. A few buyins of calling spew, and still up.

a couple of good folding spots:

hand 1: just flat pre, as played...

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($98.50)
MP2 ($49.50)
MP3 ($66.30)
CO ($423.30)
Button ($79.90)
SB ($113.05)
Hero (BB) ($104.60)
UTG ($113.35)
UTG+1 ($50)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, J
UTG bets $2, 1 fold, MP1 calls $2, 2 folds, CO calls $2, 2 folds, Hero raises to $10, UTG calls $8, 2 folds

Flop: ($24.50) 4, 6, 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $15, UTG raises to $30, hero ...

hand 2:
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($60.60)
UTG+1 ($194.25)
MP1 ($103.80)
MP2 ($100)
MP3 ($14.65)
CO ($100)
Hero (Button) ($119.15)
SB ($54.20)
BB ($110.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 3, A
2 folds, MP1 calls $1, 1 fold, MP3 calls $1, CO checks, Hero calls $1, SB calls $0.50, BB checks

Flop: ($6) K, 3, A (6 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP1 checks, MP3 checks, CO checks, Hero bets $5, 1 fold, BB calls $5, MP1 calls $5, 2 folds

Turn: ($21) 7 (3 players)
BB checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $16, 1 fold, MP1 raises to $97.80 (All-In), hero...

hand 3:
folding in small pots is fine too
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($100)
BB ($65)
UTG ($134.45)
UTG+1 ($112.75)
MP1 ($65.05)
MP2 ($103.65)
CO ($114.60)
Button ($107.30)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 9
3 folds, MP2 calls $1, 1 fold, Button bets $4.50, hero folds or raises... obviously

Without reads I think I stack off in hand 1. With players behind who's flatting there with JJ+?

In hand 3, I raise there most of the time. If BU is a nit AND limper stacks off light I might just call.

reading a couple of samoleus posts on 2+2 and they're interesting, but not as obviously groundbreaking as they must have been a few years ago. Interesting to see how the games have morphed

Originally Posted by old school party player

voluntarily put in pot percentage....aka % of hands you play
pfr is preflop raise, 20%vpip and 10%pfr would be considered 'tag' and anything beyond maybe 35vpip / 18pfr would be considered 'lag'

this thread is still interesting though
http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/show...0&fpart=5&vc=1

i'm getting kinda bored of being a 0.5-1ptBB/100 winner, and the sick variance that brings. I'm also over the fact that my rakeback/promo earnings exceed my earnings at the table.
$2-$3k a month is nice, sure, but $30-$40/hr isn't the reason I play poker, or at least it isn't the goal. This month, case in point. So far I'm up about $1k at the tables, a little over $1k in RB, currently looking good for a couple hundred bucks in some rake race, as well as accruing $x in ironman medals etc.

I'm kinda scared about moving back to 200nl, my game obviously has fundamental flaws and the higher in stakes i move the more these flaws are going to cause me problems.
Ok, a couple of things i can do about this. Sessions where i play well and get hit by variance should be fine - these balance out. Sessions where i play poorly are not fine. Replace 'sessions' with 'hands' in that sentence and we're talking about a-game again.

I think my biggest leak is sessions where i play badly. Loads of others obviously, but I think my a-game is more like 2-3ptBB/100 winning at these stakes. Bring the a-game. Another huge leak is 10-40bb pots, i'm going to look at these more closely. I'm also in need of sorting out a couple of the laggier regs who seem to have good reads on me.

anyway, just ended one of those annoying sessions where people always folded to my aces pre, except for once (see below), where i couldn't hit shit, where villains calling down with KQ on Kxxx vs my AK hit their river three outers, etc.

UTG+1 has ATC, sb has JJ-KK/AK so the line is good etc

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($159.05)
UTG+1 ($72)
MP1 ($279.80)
MP2 ($134.90)
MP3 ($144.30)
CO ($101.10)
Button ($98.50)
Hero (SB) ($100.50)
BB ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, A
UTG bets $2, UTG+1 calls $2, 4 folds, Button calls $2, Hero raises to $11, BB calls $10, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $9, 1 fold

Flop: ($37) 3, 7, 6 (3 players)
Hero bets $37, BB raises to $89 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $52

Turn: ($215) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($215) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $215 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and threes).
BB had K, K (full house, Kings over threes).
Outcome: BB won $212

looking horribly like another $2.5k month.
time to rip it up.
bring it

i have only now discovered the joys of HU cash games... The regs sit out pretty fast cos they're all too scared to play poker - this is a shame cos they suck. Some stay though

what was that about adequate rope?
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (2 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($56.90)
Hero (SB) ($50)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, K
Hero bets $1.50, BB calls $1

Flop: ($3) K, 4, 9 (2 players)
BB bets $3, Hero calls $3

Turn: ($9) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $9, Hero calls $9

River: ($27) 2 (2 players)
BB bets $43.40 (All-In), Hero calls $36.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $100 | Rake: $0.50

Results below:
Hero had Q, K (one pair, Kings).
BB had Q, 8 (one pair, eights).
Outcome: Hero won $99.50

Originally Posted by daven

looking horribly like another $3k month.
time to rip it up.
bring it

fmp
ended up getting schooled HU though....
so it's back to Full nittery again for a while

i got vindictive against someone who refused to sit with me after referring to my PTR etc. I'm an arsehole sometimes.

Originally Posted by FT Support

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i'm getting a bunch of value out of going back to the basics of session review, every session. And going to IRC with a handful of pre-chosen hand histories each time. Gotta be good.

september 2009 is done and dusted.
Study is going well, the break in berlin was great.
I wrote a poker article that is kinda boring and empty - all about pre-flop play from the SB. Ended up realising that the whole thing applied to every street in every position. I recommend that everyone try writing a "SB play - pre-flop" article for the games that they play. Loads to be learned by doing so.

anyway, september, oh dear, swings much?



+$1550 at the tables
also:
+$1500 in rakeback
+ $200 in rake race, $50 Take2 bonus
- $100 learning how to lose in donkaments

net +$3100

I also accrued about $150 in bonus medals, but won't count them until I cash them in I guess.

You played nearly 10x as many hands as I did

The thing about writing an article is very true imo. I've just been writing out my thoughts lately and it's helped me quite a bit. Keep up the good work sir.

tomorrow I fly from Europe.
The time here has been great.

I am disappointed with the lack of poker progress i have made while I have been here. I guess I am ok with the profits I have made, I'll return to New Zealand with more money than I left with - so Europe has been net profitable even taking flights and insurance into account. Shame about that $2k hit at 200nl and the -$800 start to October. Thanks rakeback and bonuses.

When I am winning at an ok rate I am typically running 7.5-7 from UTG, when I am playing badly it tends to be more like 12-11. Easy game.

I will miss a lot of what is Bonn.
I'm excited about exploring Malaysia some, and even more psyched on being back in New Zealand for another summer. Being with my girlfriend again (she left mid-August!), friends, and places I know and love.

Bye bye poker set-up in the sky

have a good trip back.

try to focus on what's good about your game and your accomplishments and just keep working on the things you're not happy about. We can almost always find positives around us we try and concentrate on those.

were you born/raised in NZ?

in my sister's oil mansion
looks like i won't be playing much poker between now and leaving in a couple of weeks.

Originally Posted by bspahn

try to focus on what's good about your game and your accomplishments and just keep working on the things you're not happy about. We can almost always find positives around us we try and concentrate on those.
were you born/raised in NZ?

yeah, there are a bunch of positives.
born and raised in nz indeed.

Doesn't bode well for the month, I'm stuck about 8 buyins. I'd like to win them back.
no big pots today, but managed to lose a bunch. I don't think i played very well

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($140.75)
Button ($204.30)
Hero (SB) ($102)
BB ($69.50)
UTG ($71.55)
MP1 ($282.15)
MP2 ($193.30)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, J
4 folds, Button bets $3.50, Hero calls $3, 1 fold

Flop: ($8) A, 10, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $4, Hero raises to $11, Button calls $7

Turn: ($30) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $13, Button calls $13

River: ($56) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $11, Button calls $11

Full Tilt Pot-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($147.90)
UTG ($28.25)
UTG+1 ($96.50)
MP1 ($135.10)
MP2 ($128.05)
CO ($74.70)
Button ($10.25)
Hero (SB) ($113.10)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 10
2 folds, MP1 bets $3.50, 3 folds, Hero calls $3, 1 fold

Flop: ($8) A, 7, Q (2 players)
Hero bets $5, MP1 calls $5

Turn: ($18) K (2 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks

River: ($18) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $8, MP1 calls $8

[

so i have been convinced that playing here is likely to be ok. The intense study I have been doing instead was something i should be doing more of anyway. Couple more days and i'll be taking another 5-7 days off, exploring east.

So it's back to the roots for the moment, 6-tabling full ring on my laptop, no extra monitor. 6-tabling again is interesting, i end up involved in so many more thin +EV spots, loving it!

some interesting/deepish hands from today

1) UTG is kinda nitty 13-5 50bb auto-top-up player, but aware that i squeeze so his call means that there can be all sorts of levelling going on. The button is 30-16-5 wannabe lag but too loose.
I'm unsure about the 3-bet sizing, flop is pretty standard against utg's range i think.
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($72.20)
CO ($101.35)
Button ($103.50)
Hero (SB) ($112.40)
BB ($129.40)
UTG ($48)
UTG+1 ($132.50)
MP1 ($126.55)
MP2 ($63.10)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K
UTG bets $3, 5 folds, Button calls $3, Hero raises to $15, 1 fold, UTG calls $12, Button calls $12

Flop: ($46) 9, 7, 3 (3 players)
Hero bets $26, UTG raises to $33 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $7

2) Villain is 37-17 over 100hands, high c-bet, 50% fold to c-bet, generally pretty aggro post flop. On the river i'm toying between check-call, bet-call, and bet-fold. I think c-c is best?

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($34.35)
SB ($32.35)
BB ($183.85)
Hero (UTG) ($110.60)
UTG+1 ($46.85)
MP1 ($34.35)
MP2 ($82.60)
MP3 ($108.70)
CO ($58)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q, K
Hero bets $3.50, 3 folds, MP3 calls $3.50, 4 folds

Flop: ($8.50) 10, 6, 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

Turn: ($8.50) K (2 players)
Hero bets $6, MP3 calls $6

River: ($20.50) K (2 players)
Hero bets $13, MP3 raises to $59.50,

3) villain is a posting 45-15 fish
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($20)
MP1 ($100.50)
MP2 ($39)
Hero (MP3) ($107.90)
CO ($40)
Button ($98.50)
SB ($123)
BB ($130.85)
UTG ($56.60)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with A, A
4 folds, Hero bets $4.50, CO calls $3.50, 3 folds

Flop: ($10.50) K, J, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $6, CO calls $6

Turn: ($22.50) A (2 players)
Hero bets $12, CO raises to $29.50 (All-In), Hero calls $17.50

River: ($81.50) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $81.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (full house, Aces over Jacks).
CO had Q, 10 (royal flush).
Outcome: CO won $78.50

4) first hand at the table and i post in late position cos of a fish. On the turn i'm frantic in hem trying to remember what i know about the open-raiser, i know i know something, but have no notes...
pretty standard i think?
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($102.65)
UTG ($121.95)
UTG+1 ($79.95)
MP1 ($157.20)
Hero (MP2) ($100)
CO ($246.65)
Button ($121.55)
SB ($91.50)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, K
1 fold, UTG+1 bets $5, MP1 calls $5, Hero raises to $16, 4 folds, UTG+1 calls $11, MP1 calls $11

Flop: ($49.50) A, K, 4 (3 players)
UTG+1 checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $29, UTG+1 raises to $58, 1 fold, Hero raises to $84 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $5.95 (All-In)

hand 5) villain is decent, thinks i'm fos a lot of the time. He also knows that i auto-felt KK+ pre. He's 20-18-7 over 1.5k
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP3) ($100)
CO ($108.05)
Button ($113.80)
SB ($20.50)
BB ($17)
UTG ($48.95)
UTG+1 ($103.40)
MP1 ($92.40)
MP2 ($283.45)

Preflop: Hero is MP3 with K, K
3 folds, MP2 bets $3, Hero raises to $10, 4 folds, MP2 raises to $27, Hero calls $17

Flop: ($55.50) 6, 9, J (2 players)
MP2 bets $39, Hero raises to $73 (All-In), MP2 calls $34

Hand 6) villain is 40-9 or so over almost 100 hands. I'm table-selecting ok at the moment. Pre-flop is huge implied, although the maniac (80-30-15) in the big blind makes it less obvious. If I'm not happy stacking off here then i should probably be folding pre. I think most of his shoving range is KQs/sets and AsK/Q type of hands. I think he folds most of the possible Asxs hand combos preflop - board blocks most of them.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($202.60)
SB ($54.90)
BB ($185.95)
UTG ($105.15)
UTG+1 ($100)
MP1 ($242.50)
MP2 ($272.85)
MP3 ($109.90)
Hero (CO) ($248.80)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 7, 6
2 folds, MP1 bets $3, 2 folds, Hero calls $3, 1 fold, SB calls $2.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($11.80) 5, Q, K (3 players)
SB checks, MP1 bets $5, Hero raises to $22, 1 fold, MP1 calls $17

Turn: ($55.80) 4 (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $45, MP1 raises to $217.30 (All-In), Hero calls $172.30

it's 10:45pm and i'm in kota kinabalu sitting in a hostel as the wet season rain comes down outside. Today has been feasting in cheap local restaurants, exploring the city, soaking the afternoon rain. My sister and i are gonna spend a few days tripping the west coast of borneo back down to miri in sarawak - a few islands, an oil sultanate (brunei), boats, trains, whatever. Tomorrow is phillipino market styles, fresh pawpaw/mangosteen/rambutan/mango next to the ocean, maybe some shopping. Next day south china sea diving perhaps. No poker, although free internet here = maybe some ftr and study time in between noodle and rice feasts!

This month has been trivial for volume, i think i'm still under 10k hands. I'm also net in the red somehow, a couple of buyins after rakeback i guess. I expect about five sessions during the rest of this month, along with some downtime in singapore, longish flight back to nz, arriving there, etc. Enjoying where life has brought me, and psyched on what next.

i just read my way through my four op threads here on FTR. Starting way back when in late August 2007 with $200. The daven pseudo grind and micro-stakes grinding plus bonus whoring a bankroll. Two months to turn $200 into $1k.

More than 2 years of my life with poker playing a consistent and often big role. Enough hours devoted to it to become proficient at pretty much anything. Reading through it and four things stand out. One is the big volume/grinding trip I have generally been on, second is that I have always been intending to improve the studylay ratio, but have continued playing more and studying less. Third is that i post a lot of coolers and bad beats. 4th is something that is easy to forget. 4th is that, for better or worse, for fpp pro or for tilt spew, for grinding or whatever, I've made an ok amount of money playing this crazy game that has felt like entertainment pretty much the whole time. Kinda mad to be able to seriously expect to have made $50k net profit over less than two and a half years, all starting out from a tiny deposit...

Amazed at my 20-10 TAG stats only 2 years ago. And laughing that i thought that min-raising and min-bets were an evolution - the FTR regs put me straight immediately, but it took me a little while cos I needed to prove them right through experience. Miffed, deanglow, chopper, meeloche, wufwugy, et al were right and the noobie was wrong. Hardly surprising!

Originally Posted by 26 september 2008

It's funny, I still suck at poker yet seem to do ok. I'm hoping to be almost a good player around a year from now.... there's a lot of leaks cascading under the bridge for the moment, but at least I can see some of them

well, it's a year later. And I still suck... Almost a good player? the next 6 months should answer that.

Originally Posted by 5 october 2008

I've decided to stick to 100nl for a while now, so there's no point in having more than $5k online. I'll withdraw a bunch more over the next couple of weeks. My plan is to get to $6k, pull $2k, rinse, repeat... If I ever decide it's time to hit 200nl then I'll stop withdrawing until roll equals $10k and then move up

I should have been moving up to 200nl a year ago. WTF was with that. Oh well, at least i've moved up once now (at last) and will be moving up properly again soon.

7 November 2008
getting it in with the second nuts 330bb deep for my then biggest pot of $662 - scary thing is that I think that it's still my biggest pot played. A year later. Lack of progression much?!?


and, to end this post: I think I'm ready to move into and through mid-stakes. Since I "went pro" i haven't really treated it like a career, more like a job where i turn up for my hourly wage. And it shows. Part of that is cos I wasn't really sure what i was doing in europe - was I travelling with poker, was I going pro, was I???? etc. If I stop poker late 2010 I don't want to look back and wonder if I could have made it. I've been studying a lot more recently, and it feels like it's working.

oh, and a hand. Cos hands are pretty.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($215.60)
MP1 ($89.95)
Hero (MP2) ($111.15)
CO ($68.70)
Button ($100)
SB ($105.10)
BB ($50)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 7, 7
2 folds, Hero bets $4.90, 1 fold, Button calls $4.90, 2 folds

Flop: ($12.70) 5, 7, 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $8, Hero calls $8

Turn: ($28.70) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets $28.70, Hero raises to $57.40, Button raises to $86.10, Hero raises to $98.05 (All-In), Button calls $0.80 (All-In)

River: ($202.50) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $202.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had A, A (two pair, Aces and sevens).
Hero had 7, 7 (four of a kind, sevens).
Outcome: Hero won $199.50

here's the article i decided not to enter in the ftr essay competition. Already getting the hoodie i want anyway

A light-hearted guide to abandoning 1/4BB every orbit.
Yep, it's paying the small blind. Maybe playing it too, most likely not very well.

First up, check your winrate from the small blind – or rather, you lose-rate. Cos about nobody wins from the samml blind in full ring play. Small blind play is typically focused on winning enough small pots to avoid the pay-to-play destroying your overall win-rate.

If you auto-folded every small blind hand in 9-handed play then your winrate would be -1/4BB every time = -25ptBB/100. If you are losing more than this over a reasonable sample then you'd be better to simply auto-fold all hands from the small blind. You could still loosen up a little, folding everything except AK/QQ+. These you would obviously always be raising.

The aim of small blind play is to move away from -25BB/100 and towards breakeven. To do this we have to address the standard leaks, considering the obvious dos and don'ts of the small blind.

1)Completing in limped pots
“It only costs 1/2bb to call, of course I'm completing with any two cards”
Too many people think like this. It costs them more money than they imagine. 93 is not a good hand, suited or not. Auto-fold. What type of boards are you happy to play vs resistance? And playing vs resistance is the only way to win big pots. What sort of ranges are people open limping or limping behind? Pairs, suited connectors, Axs, broadways comprise a lot of these ranges. Your T3suited is rarely going to flop hard, hitting top pair is no good, reverse implied odds are huge, etc.
However tempting it it to auto-complete, just don't. Complete with hands that have good potential. Always consider whether raising is a better option.

2)Calling vs steals
This topic has been discussed over and over. So why do people insist in calling 55 from the small blind vs a steal? You flop a set about 1/9 times. The rest of the time you are going to struggle to win the pot. When you do hit a set you're up against a weak/wide range and out of position. You're going to struggle to win a pot big enough to justify your pre-flop call. And if you don't flop a set then your only opportunity to recover your money is to splash even more money trying to win a pot with a weak holding from out of position.
Calling vs a steal leaves you playing out of position vs an incredibly poorly defined range. The weaker your post flop play, the less you should be calling from out of position.

3)Stealing any two cards.
This is good vs an 8-5-0.5 type of player. Unfortunately, your seat selection is rarely this good.
Even the blindest of droolers may become suspicious when the last player left to act tries to take 'his' money = big blind. And if he is the type of player who is trying to incorporate 3-betting to his game then life gets even more complicated. Even if he's not 3-betting, he is going to start calling wide. Wide calling ranges are great when your range is strong, and not so great when you have any two cards. Here, again, it results in playing a weak range out of position.
Steal more vs auto-folders
Steal less once players start to adapt. Of course, if they are 100% fold to c-bet types who only adapt pre-flop then continue to steal, with a grain of awareness thrown in.

4)Calling vs an EP raiser.
The more multiway the pot, the more calling vs an EP open can become profitable. But note that an aware pre-flop aggressor is not going to be stacking off with overpairs 5-way very often! Whenever a spot exists where yo could call multiway you are also in a good squeeze spot. Anyone who has 3-bet AA from the sb into a multiway pot will already know how effective this play is at winning the pot there and then = disappointing in some ways. So maybe it's good to occasionally play other hands the same – using this AA fold equity.
If you are about to call from the SB you should first ask a simple question. Would I call this from the button? If the answer is no, then fold. There is only a tiny difference in the cost of calling and the advantage of the relative cheapness is easily outweighed by having to play the whole hand out-of-position.

5)3-betting/squeezing wide
Everyone knows that 3-betting any two cards vs a button steal vs a 30% steal/80% fold to 3-bet is profitable. Yet people are still reluctant to do this with hands other than monsters and hands dominated by a button calling range. This last comment reflects that 3-betting 89s is usually better than 3-betting A7o.
3-betting profitably with a wide range relies on villains perceiving your range as strong and your ability to represent/give up as appropriate. These are good skills to learn, but you must learn when to give up! Against a serial 4-better, don't 3-bet wide, it's that easy. Against a caller of 3-bets, only 3-bet when you know how to exploit the caller post flop

6)Target stats from the small blind
Don't. It's that simple. 9-5-3 can be as effective as 18-11-4 as..... Depends on your image, your style, the games you're in, and many other factors.

Some hero plays almost breakeven from the small blind with 19-15-5? So what. You don't try to mimic his 21-17-6 overall game (*you're a 13-11-3 nit, right?), so why should his small blind game work for you? Hell, if you're anything like me then you've only just realised that the term smart-LAG involves post-flop play. You're a TAG-nit and it works? Use that to your advantage.
The only stat you should be focusing on is winrate. How you get there is your business.

So, here are my suggestions to improve your pre-flop small blind play in Full Ring unlimited holdem.

1)Complete less often
2)Call vs steals less
3)Steal with a purpose, not at random
4)Call less vs EP raises
5)Squeeze/3-bet a little more often
6)Do not aim for some holy grail VPIP/PFR/etc stats.

Nice article, I'd like to just highlight your point about calling small pairs in the sb. It's basically a massive leak that I notice not many small stake/micro guys are aware of. I see it alot where the SB will call 44 to a CO open from a guy who's stealing 40% and then only get like 1 street of value when they hit a set, or fail to steal the pot on the turn or river and end up checking down only to see the CO showdown 3rd pair to the board with this 75s.

So if calling sucks, our options then are fold or 3bet. Folding is probably often going to be fine. 3betting will of course be dependant on our image/game flow/perceived range/villains tendencies etc. (as you mentioned) so for anyone who want's to know what to do with small pairs oop you'll need to just think for yourself!

Again great article, daven.

500 hands. Down 5 buyins. I logged out pretty fast. Reviewing the hands now. Maybe, just maybe, I could have limited it to 3 buyins. I woulda had to be reading souls though. Pretty gross. Happens.

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

great article

cheers!

back in nz. Feels good. Even hit the water for some fun point break waves. Poker is going meh. This month may end up being net losing, see how tomorrow goes.

i feel like i'm playing pretty well. Some hands from the last 12 hours and what should be a huge profit session but isn't

weeeeeee
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($259.90)
UTG ($19)
UTG+1 ($218.50)
MP1 ($112.90)
Hero (MP2) ($243.80)
CO ($42.60)
Button ($205.75)
SB ($249.05)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q, 10
3 folds, Hero bets $3.50, 1 fold, Button calls $3.50, 1 fold, BB calls $2.50

Flop: ($11) 5, J, 9 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $7, Button calls $7, BB calls $7

Turn: ($32) 7 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, Button bets $9, BB calls $9, Hero calls $9

River: ($59) K (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $37, Button raises to $74, 1 fold, Hero raises to $224.30 (All-In), Button calls $112.25 (All-In)

Total pot: $431.50 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 7, 7 (three of a kind, sevens).
Hero had Q, 10 (straight, King high).
Outcome: Hero won $428.50


woot
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($245.85)
Button ($199.80)
SB ($100)
BB ($206.60)
UTG ($204.40)
UTG+1 ($66.05)
MP1 ($146.20)
Hero (MP2) ($215)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with 10, J
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1, MP1 calls $1, Hero calls $1, 1 fold, Button calls $1, 1 fold, BB checks

Flop: ($7.10) 7, 9, 8 (5 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 checks, MP1 bets $4, Hero raises to $12, 3 folds, MP1 raises to $45, Hero raises to $213.80 (All-In), MP1 calls $100 (All-In)

Turn: ($297.10) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($297.10) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $297.10 | Rake: $3

Results:
MP1 had 6, 5 (straight, nine high).
Hero had 10, J (straight, Jack high).
Outcome: Hero won $294.10

gross turn vs fish
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($240.95)
MP3 ($20)
Hero (CO) ($192.35)
Button ($101.30)
SB ($15.50)
BB ($58.30)
UTG ($44.25)
UTG+1 ($94.70)
MP1 ($102.55)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, K
3 folds, MP2 bets $3.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $11, Button calls $11, SB raises to $15.50 (All-In), 2 folds, Hero calls $4.50, Button calls $4.50

Flop: ($51) 3, K, 9 (3 players, 1 all-in)
Hero bets $20, Button calls $20

Turn: ($91) 10 (3 players, 1 all-in)
Hero bets $66, Button calls $65.80 (All-In)

River: ($222.60) 6 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $222.60 | Rake: $3

Results:
Button had 10, 10 (three of a kind, tens).
SB had Q, K (one pair, Kings).
Hero had A, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Button won $219.60

get it in good then hold on tight
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($95.50)
MP2 ($129.80)
CO ($132.60)
Button ($14.35)
SB ($56.75)
BB ($20)
Hero (UTG) ($100)
UTG+1 ($209.35)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, A
Hero bets $3.50, UTG+1 calls $3.50, 1 fold, MP2 calls $3.50, 4 folds

Flop: ($12) 4, 9, 10 (3 players)
Hero bets $10, 1 fold, MP2 calls $10

Turn: ($32) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $26, MP2 raises to $108, Hero calls $60.50 (All-In)

River: ($205) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $205 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
MP2 had 10, J (straight, King high).
Outcome: MP2 won $202


meh beats 90-10 blah blah
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (7 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($270.90)
MP1 ($100)
MP2 ($104.50)
CO ($137.15)
Button ($46)
SB ($22.20)
Hero (BB) ($111.85)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A
UTG bets $3, 5 folds, Hero raises to $9.50, UTG raises to $30, Hero calls $20.50

Flop: ($60.50) 9, 4, J (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $40, Hero raises to $81.85 (All-In), UTG calls $41.85

Turn: ($224.20) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($224.20) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $224.20 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
UTG had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: UTG won $221.20

dunno about my pre-flop sometimes. This flop and i'm at worst 33% against realistic ranges i figured...
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($116.10)
BB ($216.70)
UTG ($172.95)
UTG+1 ($131.55)
MP1 ($239.50)
MP2 ($134.45)
MP3 ($374.95)
CO ($136.60)
Hero (Button) ($118.55)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 5, A
4 folds, MP3 calls $1, CO calls $1, Hero calls $1, SB calls $0.50, BB checks

Flop: ($6.80) 4, 2, 3 (5 players)
SB bets $5, BB calls $5, MP3 calls $5, 1 fold, Hero raises to $28, SB raises to $114.90 (All-In), 1 fold, MP3 calls $109.90, Hero raises to $117.35 (All-In), MP3 calls $2.45

Turn: ($361.40) J (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($361.40) 3 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $361.40 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 5, A (straight, five high).
SB had K, 6 (flush, King high).
MP3 had 3, 3 (four of a kind, threes).
Outcome: MP3 won $358.40


and what a river... cry me a river... whatever. this is fine dollar wise, nice to not be deep for it
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($17.80)
MP3 ($92.75)
CO ($18.50)
Button ($17)
SB ($23)
BB ($60.90)
UTG ($57.20)
UTG+1 ($26.30)
Hero (MP1) ($153)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q, K
2 folds, Hero bets $3.50, 1 fold, MP3 calls $3.50, 2 folds, SB calls $3, 1 fold

Flop: ($11.50) Q, J, K (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $11, MP3 calls $11, 1 fold

Turn: ($33.50) 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks

River: ($33.50) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $27, MP3 raises to $67.75, Hero raises to $108.50, MP3 calls $10.50 (All-In)

Total pot: $190 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had Q, K (full house, Queens over Kings).
MP3 had 10, A (royal flush).
Outcome: MP3 won $187

allhands look fine, last hand is particularly brutal

so somehow i thought the 6c was the 4c... haven't made a mistake like that in ages. I'm imagining the grin on the fish's face!
the session was good though. I seem to be playing a little better, time will tell. The FTOPS warm-up meant that the site became laggy unplayable though = I had to cut the session short at just under 3k hands.

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($67.60)
Button ($18.50)
SB ($100)
Hero (BB) ($100.20)
UTG ($69.95)
UTG+1 ($37)
MP1 ($16.35)
MP2 ($15.15)
MP3 ($22.50)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 5
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1, MP1 calls $1, 2 folds, CO calls $1, 2 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($4.50) 6, 3, 6 (4 players) - masquerading as 4 (4 players)
Hero bets $3, 2 folds, CO calls $3

Turn: ($10.50) J (2 players)
Hero bets $7, CO raises to $14, Hero raises to $63, CO raises to $63.60 (All-In), Hero calls $0.60

River: ($137.70) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $137.70 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 7, 5 (two pair, Jacks and sixes).
CO had 6, 6 (four of a kind, sixes).
Outcome: CO won $134.70

5 buyins behind ev this morning's session. Net down 2buyins. Had to finish cos tilt was stampeding through the tables...
sick thing was that i was playing well until my overset got one-outered. I shoulda been able to get away from aces deep shortly after, think i would have normally = 1.5 bi of tilt = bad.

Hands all look good, cards can be brutal. I might have shoved those aces pre when when UTG limp raised.

this month i have played a lot of hands already. And falling into the trap of tilt induced by running like crap. The games are looking/seeming really good but I'm not getting the profit to show it.

I'm down about 6 buyins at the tables (accrued just under 3bi in rakeback so far, so not even breakeven after rakeback) and i don't like that. I have been thinking a lot about my future in poker since arriving back in New Zealand, I think it is timely.

Something I'm very tempted to do is withdraw most of what i have remaining online = about $10k, leaving $1500 on. I would remain at FT playing 25nl or 50nl and purchase and clear the medals bonuses I have available = $1200. Then head over to kickback-heaven clearing all the i-poker bonuses. I could even sell all those FTPs I have, rather than continuing to save for the mini...

Main benefit of this is that I would have a whole bunch more money outside of the ether of online poker. It would also mean that I would have cleared out most of the free poker $ available to me before I sit down for the davenpoker project review in March 2010. Part of me would hate quitting when all that free money remained there for the taking. Main cost is the opportunity cost of not continuing to play at 100nl, but seems that this isn't even a factor based on results the last ages.

Decision pending. I'll look at it around November 20.

and a pretty hand where an 80-20 held
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (8 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) ($100)
SB ($100)
BB ($100)
UTG ($234.35)
UTG+1 ($98.60)
MP1 ($140.85)
MP2 ($100)
CO ($359.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, Q
UTG calls $1, 3 folds, CO calls $1, Hero bets $5, 2 folds, UTG calls $4, CO calls $4

Flop: ($18.10) J, A, 10 (3 players)
UTG bets $5, 1 fold, Hero raises to $15, UTG calls $10

Turn: ($48.10) 2 (2 players)
UTG bets $5, Hero raises to $79.80 (All-In), UTG calls $74.80

River: ($207.70) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $207.70 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had K, Q (straight, Ace high).
UTG had 9, 7 (high card, Ace).
Outcome: Hero won $204.70

and one for all the slowplayers out there, where this fish gets lucky
Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) - Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 ($120.05)
MP2 ($100)
MP3 ($39)
CO ($123.65)
Button ($83.85)
Hero (SB) ($100.50)
BB ($20)
UTG ($100)
UTG+1 ($39.25)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 8
5 folds, CO bets $3, 1 fold, Hero calls $2.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($7) Q, 9, 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($7) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $7, CO calls $7

River: ($21) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $15, CO raises to $35, Hero raises to $90.50 (All-In), CO calls $55.50

Total pot: $202 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 9, 8 (full house, nines over sixes).
CO had A, 4 (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $199