halv's blog

Inspired by zook and urged on by goat I've decided to start a new blog. There probably won't be any article-like strategic content in here, but there'll be lots of hands you can chime in on if you want. Quite frankly I've become much too lazy when it comes to working on my game, and this has turned me into a marginal winner/tagfish. So, like I've said to myself a hundred times before, this has to change. So here's the battleplan:

- HEM has a nice feature where you can mark hands in the HUD so you can identify them easily post-session. I'm discussing some but not all of these on AIM/MSN with people, I'm gonna put a bunch of the remaining hands in here.
- get better at watching videos. By that I mean Im gonna pay more attention, and Im gonna start taking notes again. I was doing this before and it was really helpful, but I got lazy and stopped .
- I'm recording every session I play. I've been doing some video sweats with renton, and knowing that every session is a potential candidate for a review should help me keep my thought processes clear.
- Gonna get some more coaching soon, but I think I need to get my off-table work ethic together first.

Right, that's a start I guess. Gonna post some hands then.

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Here's a hand I played vs a nit and a donk. I didn't cbet the flop because the nit probably won't fold any pair and the donk might continue with tons of gutshots and A-high. Turn comes reasonable for a stab and I was planning to bet pretty much all rivers if the nit flats and just give up if the donk called (Id probably vb a rivered pair though).

I'm not sure if this is a good plan vs the nit who most likely has a mid pair if he calls the turn. Since I checked the flop he can put me on either Qx or air, so he should be able to snap off my barrel alot. otoh he is a nit who likes to fold, so it can't be that bad, right?

BB ($418.63)
Hero (UTG) ($390.00)
MP ($101.67)
CO ($609.00)
Button ($457.90)
SB ($389.10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 10, 9
Hero raises to $16.00, 1 fold, CO calls $16.00, 1 fold, SB calls $14.00, 1 fold

Flop: ($52.00) 4, 7, 4 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($52.00) Q (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $40.00, CO calls $40.00, 1 fold

River: ($132.00) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $104.00
----------------
Villain here runs 25/15 and is generally a bit passive. I 4-bet/called JJ OTB vs his QQ in the SB an orbit or two ago, and have a bit of an aggro image. He's a reg but I cant remember any big history between us. Good spot to bet river small to get a crying call from something like a pair+spade? It seems hard for me to be able to call a shove with anything I make a bet of this size with, but I don't think this guy is gonna be bluffraising much at all. Also this should let me start bluffing in these spots for cheap.

CO ($666.90)
Button ($1962.75)
Hero (SB) ($400.00)
BB ($1245.30)
UTG ($828.40)
MP ($0.00)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, 9
3 folds, Hero raises to $12.00, BB calls $10.00

Flop: ($26.00) 7, Q, 9 (3 players)
Hero bets $22.00, BB calls $22.00

Turn: ($70.00) K (3 players)
Hero bets $51.00, BB calls $51.00

River: ($172.00) 5 (3 players)
Hero bets $66.00

good luck on the new blog!

Originally Posted by HalvSame

- HEM has a nice feature where you can mark hands in the HUD so you can identify them easily post-session. I'm discussing some but not all of these on AIM/MSN with people, I'm gonna put a bunch of the remaining hands in here.

Where is this feature!? I haven't used this yet.

Originally Posted by HalvSame

- I'm recording every session I play. I've been doing some video sweats with renton, and knowing that every session is a potential candidate for a review should help me keep my thought processes clear.

So you record every session, and give commentary while playing? Or commentary after?

Hand 1 - It's close. If he's such a nit, he might actually check through the flop with a FD given it went multiway though.

Hand 2 - I like the bet, as long as you are prepared to call a raise, given you might be inducing here.

lol i forced your hand huh

Griffey - to mark a hand do this, when at a table bring up a hand from the last few hands option HM puts in the screen. pick a hand and one pops up along side the table. in the very top left of this popup theres a small box you can tick and untick. tick this and its now ''marked''.

then go into HM ''cash game'' -> ''reports'' and select ''only show marked hands''.

BINGO

Originally Posted by Da GOAT

lol i forced your hand huh

Griffey - to mark a hand do this, when at a table bring up a hand from the last few hands option HM puts in the screen. pick a hand and one pops up along side the table. in the very top left of this popup theres a small box you can tick and untick. tick this and its now ''marked''.

then go into HM ''cash game'' -> ''reports'' and select ''only show marked hands''.

BINGO

sweeet, thanks!

Wow, I didnt know about that either. Thanks .

Sweet, I already thought this forum was the best on FTR and it just got better .

- get better at watching videos. By that I mean Im gonna pay more attention, and Im gonna start taking notes again. I was doing this before and it was really helpful, but I got lazy and stopped

This is something that has always seemed so good and obvious to me, yet I've never done it. Probably because watching videos tends to fall into the "cant be bothered doing anything else" part of my poker. What sorts of notes and stuff do you take when you do it?

so, this is like halv a blog?

Originally Posted by Jack Sawyer

so, this is like halv a blog?

WP sir, WP played

Originally Posted by griffey24

Hand 1 - It's close. If he's such a nit, he might actually check through the flop with a FD given it went multiway though.

There's no FD though.

Originally Posted by griffey24

Hand 2 - I like the bet, as long as you are prepared to call a raise, given you might be inducing here.

I'm not really prepared to call a raise though, I don't think this particular villain is gonna be turning a hand like a pair+spade into a bluff much. What would you do if you weren't gonna call a shove?

Originally Posted by griffey24

Originally Posted by HalvSame

- I'm recording every session I play. I've been doing some video sweats with renton, and knowing that every session is a potential candidate for a review should help me keep my thought processes clear.

So you record every session, and give commentary while playing? Or commentary after?

I just record video of all my sessions, then when we do a sesh (it's kinda sporadic) I'll just play the latest vid and we discuss it on skype+teamviewer while taking notes.

Originally Posted by bjsaust

Originally Posted by HalvSame

- get better at watching videos. By that I mean Im gonna pay more attention, and Im gonna start taking notes again. I was doing this before and it was really helpful, but I got lazy and stopped

This is something that has always seemed so good and obvious to me, yet I've never done it. Probably because watching videos tends to fall into the "cant be bothered doing anything else" part of my poker. What sorts of notes and stuff do you take when you do it?

I just put down general ideas that I want to remember or think more about later. Also if a particularily interesting hand comes up I might write down a pseudo-HH.

Here's a hand where I think I'm valuepwning myself on the river by raising? Villain is unknown, I believe this was my first hand at the table. On blank rivers I'm folding alot, and should probably just flat this one.

UTG ($390)
MP ($236.37)
Button ($480.20)
SB ($524.70)
Hero (BB) ($400)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10 A
3 folds, SB calls $2, Hero raises $14, SB calls $14

Flop: ($36) 10 9 3 (2 players)
SB bets $36, Hero calls $36

Turn: ($108) 8 (2 players)
SB bets $54, Hero calls $54

River: ($216) A (2 players)
SB bets $108, Hero raises $292 (All-In)

-----

UTG limper is a LP fish, calls too much and all that stuff. Isolator is 15/11 nit. I think this is actually close to a fold preflop. Postflop I figure I can vb the shit out of the fish and fold easily to a flop or turn raise by either player. If nit sees the turn I'll have to procede with caution. Probably bet a little more on turn to really deny him odds to call with pair+spade hands. As played, on blank rivers I'm thinking c/c alot.

CO ($400)
Button ($394)
Hero (SB) ($803.50)
BB ($357)
UTG ($479.60)
MP ($194.10)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J A
UTG calls $4, MP raises $18, 2 folds, Hero calls $16, 1 fold, UTG calls $14

Flop: ($58) 5 A 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $42, UTG calls $42, 1 fold

Turn: ($142) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $85, UTG calls $85

River: ($312) 2 (2 players)
Hero check/folds.

------

This is a spot where I'm not sure if I should be trying to get it in on the flop. Villain runs 21/17, 3b% 8, is generally much more aggro on the flop than on later streets, but I've also caught him triple barrelling air in good spots. I think if I do decide to get it in on the flop then I should make a smaller raise to give him more room to shove over the top. With a raise to 180 I'm probably gonna be in pretty bad shape vs his b/3b range.

UTG ($400.50)
MP ($394)
Hero (CO) ($457)
Button ($114.60)
SB ($391.60)
BB ($404)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 10 10
2 folds, Hero raises $14, 2 folds, BB raises $46, Hero calls $36

Flop: ($102) 8 7 6 (2 players)
BB bets $62, Hero raises $180

Originally Posted by HalvSame

Originally Posted by griffey24

Hand 1 - It's close. If he's such a nit, he might actually check through the flop with a FD given it went multiway though.

There's no FD though.

Originally Posted by griffey24

Hand 2 - I like the bet, as long as you are prepared to call a raise, given you might be inducing here.

I'm not really prepared to call a raise though, I don't think this particular villain is gonna be turning a hand like a pair+spade into a bluff much. What would you do if you weren't gonna call a shove?

hand 1 - sorry I'm an idiot. I guess there can't be two 4d's Given how few draws there are, I'd say he has Qx a very high percentage of the time. I don't think this bet will get many folds. Even 56 caught a piece and who knows if that'll call.

hand 2 - If your read is that he won't turn a hand into a bluff, then the small bet and fold is ok.

The other three hands.

Hand 1: yah mega value towning yourself. All flushes and straights got there on turn, so pretty easy flat on river.

Hand 2: If isolator is such a nit, then this is a really easy fold OOP for sure. Sometimes fold even IN position. He's a nit!! As played, given fish its ok. I fold if nit raises flop though.

Hand 3: Probably a very history dependent play. If I was gonna raise, I'd prob make some donk small raise to 130ish and hope to induce shoves.