Let's do it again

I played the micros a few years back (07/08) mostly for fun and had no intention of really doing much with it. I ran a $50 buy in up to $1000 over about a year of playing "part time" (Im guessing between 200K and 300K hands over a year or so), starting at 4NL eventually moving up to 25NL.

I know a 1K BR is chump change by "online poker standards", but it started to seem real at that point. I felt a sort of obsession creeping in that I did not like. Nearly every day was either filled with anger or anxiety. Anger if I had a losing day or anxiety for not being able to get enough time in at the tables if I was running good.

Eventually I moved up to $50NL. I had a crushing first week and lost $300 right off the bat. Sure, there where a few bad beats and more than my fair share of coolers, but I'm positive I was not playing my A game. I freaked. I withdrew everything and just said F it! I had grown to hate poker. Yep, I said it... Hate poker. I was just BURNT! And this was just the micros... what if I was playing for real $$$. I said No way is this poker thing for me.

So earlier this year I'm thinking... Let's do it again...

Don't get frustrated and freak out, take some pills. My win rate is double when I'm on something and I rarely, if ever tilt. Good luck, hope you stick around.

Edit: I don't mean anything illegal, unless a mellow weed high is your thing. Get a prescription.

I'm starting this blog in hopes of getting some feedback or insight or maybe just self-reflection on mistakes I'm making, whether they be mistakes at the table, lifestyle, goal setting, or just my general approach to the game. The technical books have all been written. The math is all well documented. The ABCs and 123s are easy to find with a quick Google search. I'm sure a few stats will creep in here and there, but I'm hoping to focus primarily on the psychological aspect of the game, more specifically, MY game and why I do what I do...especially when I do something wrong. I've listened to podcasts and read stories of pros who beat themselves up because they were struggling to beat the micros but eventually broke through to become very profitable. I want to be one of those guys.

I had no intention of getting back into the game and then one day earlier this year my wife surprised me with a trip to Vegas for our anniversary. I won't say which anniversary for fear of dating myself, suffice it to say I am no spring chicken. I had never stepped foot inside a real B&M poker room before and had every intention of taking a shot at the small stakes. I needed to freshen up on my skills and what better way than putting a few bucks online. I didn't even know about Black Friday at this point, but quickly found out that my old stomping grounds, UB, was out of the picture, as was my second choice Full Tilt. (Not sure why I never played Stars, but from what I've read lately I think I missed out on the biggest fish pool out there). Stricty based on the FlopTurnRiver review and rakeback I chose Luvin Poker for my new site. I bought in for around $30 and started playing 2NL, just for fun. I didn't do so good at first, but didn't really care that much. I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing. I'm not sure it affected my game at all, but I liked that fact that I could play for an hour or two and walk away and basically just put it out of my head.

Over the next month I donked all of my $30 away... and I was ok with it. At that point I had no real hopes for winning anything in Vegas, but just told myself I'd bring $100 to a table, and just consider it an expense for the trip. About a week after going busto I opened up the poker client to see if there were any freerolls scheduled and noticed I had $0.18 in my account from rakeback. I took my newfound bankroll right to the first 2NL full-game I could find. A couple loose crazies plus a few good hands and I was laughing as I ran it up to $8 within two hours. Ok, so I wasn't ready to quit (again) just yet.

About 5 months have gone by since the miracle comeback from $0 and I'm up around $200. I'm at about 3BB/100 which is ok I guess, but I feel it should be higher at these stakes. I have a full time job and a family so my time is limited. Ive been getting in about 4K-5K hands per month, mostly on weekends and sneaking in some table-time while at the office.

Question...
I've tried, but I really struggle with anything more than two tables at 6max. Occasionally I've run 4 tables at full ring but I end up timing out if I get into more than 2 hands at the same time. How do you guys play 6, 12, or even 24 tables at a time. I just cant even wrap my head around it. I'm somewhat limited by hardware I guess, but even with a larger monitor I can't imagine fitting more than 4 tables on one screen, especially with the HUD running. Maybe thats why 6Max is more appealing to me. Even with just two or three tables I'm in enough action to keep in interesting, if not slightly stressful.

I'll post some stats as soon as I hit the forum minimum-post setting.

i know what you mean about the multitabling. I started out playing 1 table then 2 then settled at 4 for ages. The key is to just add 1 extra table at a time and play fairly tight . stack your tables to reduce mouse movement and most of your decisions revolve around fold fold fold fold AA raise etc.
i have 24 tabled 2nl FR but it was robotic and no time to actually think through a hands play .Now i just 5 table 20nl 6max

I can't play more than 4 tables if I tile them. Way too much mouse and eye movement. Just cascade them to where the buttons aren't on top of each other (so you don't misclick). I can play 9-12 tables of FR with ease.

I never even considered stacking the tables in the past. I always tiled them. I had just seen all the sample videos that way and figured it was better to follow the action. But I think that was the problem, I was trying to follow the action on all the tables.

I went to the 6max 2NLs opened 4 tables, stacked them and it was very doable. There where only 4 6max tables running on Everleaf so I opened 2 more FR and didn't have a single timeout and I came out up for the session.

Scary when you flop top set though and you cant see whats going on on the table... "Is that table ever going to pop back up?" "If someone raises and that thing times out it aint gonna be pretty". I guess that will just take some getting used to.

Thanks StarGrinder and Keith.

I have a second monitor where if I'm playing a big hand or have a big decision I drag the table over and separate it from the pack. If you don't have a second monitor, you can always just leave some room to the right of the screen and drag it there. Once the hand is over I just reorder the tables. Also, I thought not seeing the results was going to drive me nuts but it actually helps. You can always check it in HEM or PT afterwards anyway.

regarding mutlitabling i really think tiling>>>>>stacking/cascading, but if you're feeling overwhelmed by everything right now stacking may be better to ease you into playing more tables. as you add more tables its going to get more difficult to pay attention to tables where you aren't involved in a hand, but just having them up gives you much more of an opportunity to get a vague idea of whats going on as opposed to having tables popping up before you can see everything you want to.

Tried 6 tables today, stacked, and it was so so. The jury is still out I guess.

I had a couple hands I wanted to get opinions on...

Can I get away from this on the river?
Vilan is 55/7 but only over 31 hands...

Everleaf - €0.02 NL - Holdem - 5 players

BB: €1.05
UTG: €0.37
CO: €1.71
BTN: €3.12
Hero (SB): €3.80

Hero posts SB €0.01, BB posts BB €0.02

Pre Flop: (€0.03) Hero has Q Q

UTG calls €0.02, CO calls €0.02, fold, Hero raises to €0.10, fold, UTG calls €0.08, CO calls €0.08

Flop: (€0.32, 3 players) 7 T J
Hero bets €0.20, fold, CO calls €0.20

Turn: (€0.72, 2 players) Q
Hero bets €0.72, CO calls €0.72

River: (€2.16, 2 players) 6
Hero checks, CO bets €0.69, Hero calls €0.69

CO shows 4 A (Flush, Ace High) (Pre 33%, Flop 42%, Turn 23%)
Hero shows Q Q (Three of a Kind, Queens) (Pre 67%, Flop 58%, Turn 77%)
CO wins €3.33

And this one... should ihave slowed down on the river?
Villain is 29/10 (again, only 63 hands)

Everleaf - €0.02 NL - Holdem - 6 players

BTN: €1.35
SB: €2.23
BB: €1.31
UTG: €2.19
MP: €4.44
Hero (CO): €2.00

SB posts SB €0.01, BB posts BB €0.02, Hero posts DB €0.03

Pre Flop: (€0.06) Hero has 5 A

fold, MP calls €0.02, Hero checks, BTN calls €0.02, SB calls €0.01, BB checks

Flop: (€0.11, 5 players) A 5 K
SB checks, BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets €0.11, fold, SB calls €0.11, BB calls €0.11, fold

Turn: (€0.44, 3 players) T
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets €0.44, SB calls €0.44, fold

River: (€1.32, 2 players) 6
SB checks, Hero bets €1.42, SB calls €1.42

Hero shows 5 A (Two Pair, Aces and Fives) (Pre 30%, Flop 74%, Turn 8%)
SB shows T A (Two Pair, Aces and Tens) (Pre 70%, Flop 26%, Turn 92%)
SB wins €3.92

This guy is my hero!
vinivici9586.wordpress.com/
vincewille.com/
forumserver.twoplustwo.com/54/poker-beats-brags-variance/brag-no-variance-670412/

January has been just terrible for me.
I think I have been on soft tilt for the entire month. I can remember one weekend morning after a very good week at the beginning of the month. I was 3 tabling 4NL on Cake and I got it all in PF w KK three times in an hour and got beat by lesser hands. I don’t think I ever really recovered.

Meanwhile, I had been making some steady profit while experimenting with CAP tables on Everleaf, 10NL (CAP $2), so I decided to focus on that for a little while.

I started out playing my normal 6max game. I was instantly amazed at the looseness of the game, especially the F’n crazy Italians on the site. They’d shove PF w just about anything. Initially I was swinging up and down like a yo-yo but I soon learned to tighten up and wait for premium opportunities. The most appealing aspect of the CAP games is that you will get paid off 99% of the time when you make a hand. The least appealing aspect is that you can only win 20 or 25BB. Around mid-month I hit a spell where I was break even for a week or so and just lost my patience… again. I decided to try an experiment.

I noticed a couple players that seemed to have a very simple and efficient style that was suited well for the CAPs. Shove pre-flop AA-JJ + AK and maybe AQ-TT in late pos or after a loose-crazy (a.k.a. Italian) opened. With a few minor exceptions, that was really it. So I figured I’d give it a shot. It was so simple I could easily play 8 tables (which is a lot for me). I ran ok (ok meaning break-even) for the first day and a half, but then everything just fell apart and I spewed 3 buy-ins (15 CAPs) within a two hour period and decided to abort the mission immediately.

So here we are in Feb and I’ve decided to take it back to the basics and just play a good solid tight game. 6Max and/or FR. While looking back at my stats from last year I see that my best BB/100 was at 4NL 6Max. I had a slightly higher $$/100 on the 10NL Cap games, but that has been completely erased by my January CAP Fail.

My goals:
=======
VPIP/PFR:
20/15 @ 6Max, 15/10 @ FR - At the micros I’m completing the SB with a largish range if I have multiple limpers in front and the BB has a PFR < 5. I also will call limpers in late pos w small and med PP. Otherwise my PFR might be closer to VPIP.

BB/100: 3+
I’ve had no trouble achieving this at the Micros in the past.

$$/100: doesn’t matter.

Leaks I need to plug:
==============
Stop bluffing:
It should be obvious that it’s just not profitable at the micros but it’s not. I keep doing it. I get to the river and have totally missed my hand and the only way to win it is to bet at it. Everyone is calling with very marginal hands. The way I see it I have two choices, bluff much stronger or just let it go. My plan is to take the NIT road and just let it go.
Exceptions: Stealing blinds, C-Bets, and against very well known tight players… but keep it to a minimum.

Stop calling down w junk on the river:
Why do I so often feel like I’m being bluffed? Probably because the villain’s line didn’t make any sense… well duh, he’s probably a clueless noob. Just let it go. Don’t bluff at it, don’t call it, just let it go and pat myself on the back for doing so.


BR:
Cake: $47
Everleaf: $180

Came in 5th in FTR Freeroll MTT on Luvin last night. Thanks FTR.
First tourney I have played in months.
Running good on Luvin (Everleaf) and Cake, but very low volume.
Feeling pretty good about the game right now.

Playing 4NL FR on Cake and mostly 6Max 2NL and 4NL on Everleaf, partially due to lack of table selection.
2 to 4 tables when playing FR and just two when in 6Max.
Tiling tables if 2, stacking if > 2.

In my mind Im playing NITy. Stats show 17/10 on Cake and 15/10 on Everleaf. (should be the other way around. Smal sample size I guess). Most "experts" say my PRF should be closer to my VPIP. At the micros though, Im still finding myself at tables where I'm able to get into hands for cheap in late pos and calling small PPs and/or broadway cards. Must keep an eye on this. If anyone can give my some tips on how to use PT3 to see if this is a major leak, let me know. Filtering "Limped w Prev Callers" shows me still on the possitive side.

Just when I'm feeling good about my game, the wife starts making fun of me spending 3 hours to win $8 in a tourney. Then she goes on to say how I should try to pick up some programming projects on the side to make some real money. This kind of shit can really put a guy on tilt...Ho-hum...

Feel free to post some hands in the BC mate.

Things are going in the right direction since my "Total Mental Reset".

Cake:



Luvin:


I've only gotten in about 5K hands in a week. Like I said before, I work full time, and have the family, so table-time is very limited. I really think if I could get more volume in it would help minimize the variance, but that's just not possible right now. So, since I am prone to variance-tilt I am doing other things to minimize the big V. Playing FR whenever possible, playing very tight (15/10 this week, which is the tightest I have ever played), staying out of large pots without nutted type hands... and so far it's been working.

I am also running a little above EV, so I guess I'm just running pretty good for the time being. I ran into a couple coolers right at the beginning of this stretch, but since then it's been pretty much cooler free.

I will post some graphs when I get to 10K hands.

For now, here are a couple "mottos" I like to live by.
PAPO - Patience Always Pays Off.
This should apply to all poker.

WFM - Wait For Monsters - Wait For Mistakes
This may apply more to the micros and small stakes, but we shall see.

After a good session I always find myself reaffirming that these things are extremely +EV. After a bad session I am smacking myself for not living by them.

And lets not forget my latest...
WWVVD - What Would ViniVici do.

I know this has been said many times before. This is just my verification for my notes with an example at the bottom.

Loose (sometimes crazy) Fish:
You don’t make your money by making large/risky calls to crazy bets by these guys. Those are still too big of a gamble. Examples would be stacking off with an over pair or top pair top kicker or even just top pair. Sure, you may win some of these, but in my experience it’s break-even at best.

You make your money when you value bet with these kinds of hands and they call you down with weak kickers, middle pairs, under pairs, etc, and folding if they show aggression… You obviously also get paid when you get a huge hand and they call you down with the same kind of junk.

This is a hand I was not involved in, but the CO was a solid TAG player in a pot with two crazies that where shoving chips all over the place the previous several hands. I felt bad for the CO guy. QQ would have been extremely hard to lay down based on the recent action between the other two players, but it was (~maybe not so~) obviously the right move.

Everleaf - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

CO: $10.20
BTN: $9.16
SB: $5.88
BB: $5.87
Hero (UTG): $11.97

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has 4 J

fold, CO raises to $0.40, BTN calls $0.40, fold, BB calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.25, 3 players) 8 7 2
BB bets $0.40, CO raises to $1.20, BTN raises to $3.20, BB raises to $5.47, CO raises to $9.80, BTN calls $5.56

Turn: ($24.24, 3 players) T

River: ($24.24, 3 players) 5

CO shows Q Q (One Pair, Queens) (Pre 19%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
BTN shows A A (One Pair, Aces) (Pre 66%, Flop 75%, Turn 83%)
BB shows K 8 (One Pair, Eights) (Pre 16%, Flop 16%, Turn 12%)
BTN wins $16.93
BTN wins $6.31


Fish get cards too! Don't pay them off when they do.

folding QQ there is abso absurd. youre being extremely results oriented if you think that is the case.

Over the last week and a half things have been going really well.
I have still not been able to get a lot of hands in, but I have really been making the most of my time. My VPIP/PFR is right where I want it (15/10), my BB/100 > 10. I moved up to 10NL, and had a couple good, albeit short, sessions there too including 2.5 buy-in’s just yesterday. I am in the zone. I couldn’t wait to get on again this morning and continue the climb…

And then...


That’s 80% of my total BR inaccessible, leaving me with just $70 on Cake. Well I guess I’m back to 4NL on Cake for now. I’ve been running good there too, so hopefully it will continue, but I’m afraid to play today because I’m obviously tilted.

I guess I’ve always been a little prepared for this, since Black Friday and all. To be honest, a part of is wondering how ANY sites are still running in the USA.

I want to keep playing. More importantly, I want to keep playing good (well?).
I want to take this opportunity to make notes on all the things I can think of that have improved my game over the last few weeks.

But first the chart I promised.
I still haven’t hit 10k hands since my “Total Mental Reset” on 1/28, but here is what I have so far.



As you can see, I’m running a little above EV, so I have to attribute some of this streak to running on the positive side of variance, but even if I was running the same amount under EV as I am over, I would be moving solidly in the right direction. My red line is flattening out over the last stretch too, which is due, in part, to reading this amazing thread…
Moving Up Through uNL in 2010 - Micro Stakes Pot Limit and No Limit - Micro Stakes Poker Forum

I’m going to take some time to write out my recent changes and post them separately... after I go sit out in my car and let out a few screams of disgust. C'mon DOJ! WTF? Let us play. I'll pay my taxes, I promise.

I hope my tilt (since Everleaf blocked USA players) does not translate into this post. I wish I had written it last night when I was flying hi. But then again, there is always winners tilt, which I was probably getting close to.

Anyway, here are some notes on recent adjustments I’ve made.

I decided to try to play a low variance game. My table time is very limited, so a 10,000 hand bad streak could last weeks, which can be painful and ----EV psychologically. This is what works FOR ME as a part-part-time player. A lot of people will say some of these things will cause you to leave money on the table, but I have made a conscious decision to focus on low variance positive play.

As of late, ViviVici is my hero. Look him up. If I can mimic his style, and maybe one day have the opportunity to play at that volume, the sky is the limit.
“Can’t lose if you fold”: ViniVici9586 Vinivici9586's Blog

#1. Just tighten the F up:
VPIP/PFR has been 15/10 over the last two weeks (7K hands) and if feels just about right. This is tighter than I have ever played before. At higher stakes VPIP will probably be even tighter because at the micros I still find myself calling from the SB in multi-way limped pots on a regular basis with a wide-ish range. I expect this to be much less common as the stakes go up. On a couple occasions I have been sitting at a table with 5/5 stats after 50 hands and winning and it feels kinda good.

#2. Timing:
Get out while I’m ahead.
I’ve got other priorities, so if I hit a good run and make some m's, just go ahead and log that winning session. Then go get some work/family stuff done. If I find myself down during a session I will hang in as long as I can to try to come back.

#3. NO Big Pots without BIG hands.
Post Flop Pot control; only raise ½ pot with over-pairs, etc. if pot is already built (~10BB)
Be VERY careful with full stack (100+BB) confrontations. Unless I have a HUGE hand, be willing to let it go. At least a flopped set, maybe, just maybe AA if other player is fishy.
I’m still willing to get it all in against a short stack (< 50BB) with nut flush draws, over-pairs, TPTK, especially if it was 3bet pre flop, which helps LAG up my image a little, but for a cheaper price.

#4 Stop bluff leaking.
Very, very, very rarely bluff big, and only bluff big in a HU pot with a tightish player.
Value bet bluffs DO NOT WORK. Fish will call you down all day long with middle pair.
If you do bluff, you have to make it at least pot sized. If you’re not willing to do that, then just let it go.
Continue C-bet bluffing the flop when it is appropriate, but even then, don’t over do it.
If you are willing to fire at the flop, know that you may have to fire at the turn too.
Know when to let it go. Be ready and willing to let it go.
Funny thing is, my C-Bet % actually went up during this recent upswing, so I may need to reevaluate this. FlopC%/TurnC% went from 63/57 to 69/69.
Point is, I’m in fewer hands in general, so I’m doing it with better hands to begin with. I think I am also picking much better spots based on users HUD stats.

#5 WFM: Wait For Monsters (or more recently) Wait For Mistakes
This really just goes hand-in-hand with being Tight and PATIENT. If you wait for the right opportunities, the fish will pay you off. At the micros, I strongly believe that you will make more money from bad players' mistakes than anything else.

#6 Play Full Ring whenever possible.
Less Blinds = More free cards
Slower so I can play more tables = even more free cards. (Currently playing 5 FR tables on Cake at 4NL comfortably)
The only reason I played so much 6max lately is because the limited number of tables running on Everleaf, but the play was soooo soft there I just could not pass it up.
Now that it looks like I'll be on Cake exclusively, it should be 100% FR.

I also feel like I’m getting much better at basing my moves on opponents’ HUD stats.
A few Examples:
PF 3bet% > 5 is high. Be willing to 4 bet light.
Flop c-bet vs Turn c-bet. Does their flop c-bet have any credit?
LimpFold% > 90% = automatic raise if last to act and villain limped..

Ok, that’s enough for now.
I’ll post more if they come to me.

(edit)
A couple more items came to me...

#7 Focus on BB/100
If you play low volume and focus on the amount of money your making it will be really hard to not get frustrated that things are not going fast enough. BB/100 is a much better indication of your level of play since it's stake and time independant.

#8 Break Even.
Other than your monsters, just try to break even. If you can break even with your non-monster hands, your monsters will be pure profit. Dont ever make a bad move and say I'll make up for it later when I catch a heater if I miss here. Let those heaters be profit.
To me, more than anything, this means NOT OVERPLAYING marginal and bluffing hands.

4NL FR is painfully NITy on Cake. I’m just getting no action when I flop a monster of any kind. It’s just fold, fold, fold. I WAS able to get my red line moving in a positive direction due to this though. Over the last 5K hands I only got the stack in twice. Once with Top Two (AT)(ATx), which I lost to AK when K hit the river and once with KK which I got in preflop and lost to AQ. Somehow I managed to remain just about break-even over this last week though.

Regarding the red line, I noticed that when I played 5 or 6 tables, it went steadily down, but playing only 2 tables I can pick spots to make moves 100% better and my red line CAN actually move in a positive direction. This depends on the tables being very nitty though.

Today I logged on to Cake and there where only two 10NL FR games running and both where “shallow” buy-in, so I decided to go back to 6Max. There where at least 10 tables running, maybe more. There was a LOT more action on these tables...a Lot. I started out playing just 2 tables and even with just two tables the faster pace and higher aggression took a little getting used to. I made a couple spaz moves and lost 50+BB w TP2K to Top2… and another 50 or so when I tried to bluff my under-pair and got called by TPTK.
Not a good start…

Later I started playing a good solid tight game and made 90% of my losses back. (See #8 from previous post! Stop spazzing!). On Everleaf I was running 15/10 on 6Max and doing very well. With the way the action was today, I hope to be able to do the same on Cake.

So… I guess I’m back to 6Max already. There’s just not enough FR games to choose from during the day.

6Max goals
15/10
No spazzes

Move over to Merge bro 150% dep bonus FTR. Much more traffic and the fish seem to be steadily increasing. There's a few decent regs at 4nl that I can count on one hand but most are so weak tight that steals, 3bets and cbets become your best friends. Even the regs that do call 3bets or defend their blinds, they check/fold to a 50% psb more than enough to be profitable (it's sad it took me a while to realize that). Anyway, keep up the grind.

<1. 80% of hands played on Luvin Poker. Feeling good. A couple good sessions on Cake too.

1. Everleaf closes it's doors to US players.

2. Cake BR is going nowhere. Tilt is setting in. I begin making spewtard moves and things are going in the WRONG direction.

Today I got it all in with an underpair. JJ after K hit board...WTF?
Also got it all in w QQ PF and ran into KK. OK I guess.
Also got it all in w 66 (578 rainbow board) A-hole called with two overs, NO draw, and caught a bigger pair on the river. This one put me over the edge.

I bought in with $50 like 4 months ago and here I am with $60 at the moment. And that's thanks to bonuses and rakeback. It CAN NOT be this difficult. Not at friggin 4NL.

Yeah, StarGrinder...
I've been considering buying in at Merge. I set up an account on Carbon a couple months ago, but never deposited.
How would you compare Carbon vs Lock?
Do either offer rakeback or is it just the Merge VIP system now.
What about depositing? I'll probably only deposit $100 so I'd like to avoid any fees if possible.

4NL is tougher and nittier than it used to be and it probably seems ridiculous to you just getting back in the game (it did to me too at first). But really everyone has leaks to exploit, there just aren't as many people donating their stacks... and why would there be, it's hard enough to get money on the site. I'm running about breakeven over the last 6k hands so I wouldn't feel bad. Just put in more volume. Anyway, I think Carbon might have better/more promos but they're essentially the same tbh. Def no Stars though.

Still struggling on Cake, but had a good, albeit very short, session and wanted to make a quick note. (Up 75ptBB [150BB] Over 300 hands…)

There ARE fish out there to be exploited. It was 8AM and I ran into 3 or 4 very loose passive players and 1 loose crazy. This is just on two 6max tables over about 1.5 hours.

It can be done! I just have to find these guys, and leave the table if they are not there.

I wish there was an easy way to transfer the player notes and “tags” from one PC to another. I know you can copy the files, but you end up overwriting existing records. I just wish it was stored on the server.

I really wish the Cake software had a buddy list too. WTF?

The 6max tables are just far more active. Very rarely have I found loose players at the FR games. I guess the loose passives figure they are going to put the blinds in every hand anyway, so the more-frequent SB and BB are not an issue.

On Cake again this AM.
No fish in the pond. (Well, besides myself. If you cant find the fish at the table….)
There where a couple LAGs, but I never got into a good spot with any of them.
Happy to break even. I can pat myself on the back for playing pretty-mush mistake free.

The last couple days I’ve been looking up the players at the tables I’ve been on using pokertableratings.com and poker-edge.com. The crazy thing is that out of the 20 I looked up only one was a winning player. Even the players with “good ratings” where waaay down. It made my meager loses actually look good. It must be the rake. Thank god for rakeback!

Besides the fact that I am not finding a lot of loose passives, I am wondering lately if I am not playing optimally because I am under-rolled. Having only 15 buyins is probably making me play scared. I think I can move up while playing a little scared but it will be a very slow process, which in itself tilts me.

I continue to struggle on Cake...
I feel like my biggest problem is that I am very rarely able to extract any value from my made hands. People are just way tighter now than I am used to.

Anyway, here are my stats from just Cake. I know it's only about 5K hands, but does anyone see any major problems here?

You should post these in the BC forum. IMO you're not 3betting and stealing nearly enough for 6max and your VPIP and PFR are too far apart (you're cold calling too much and if I had to guess you open limp as well). If the games are as tight as you say they are you should be railroading people from the CO/BU. I would imagine you could defend your blinds a bit more in 6max as well since stealing ranges are wider than FR.

I never open limp. Well, like .01%. Never say never right.

You are right about the VPIP-PFR spread and I am working on that. I just find it very hard to fold the small blind when I have multiple limpers in front and the BB has a PFR < 10. I dont mean to defend my actions, I'm just asking if that is a legitimate place to call.

The tightness I'm finding is more post-flop. I'm wondering if I'm being too aggro or over-betting with good hands. I used to slow play more often, but EVERYTHING I am reading lately says bet for value, and I agree with it. It makes perfect sense. But I feel like I'm struggling to find the right amounts based on villain, board, etc.

I'm feeling like my game in the past must have depended on a spewtard or two at every table, which I am not finding lately. There seemed to be plenty on Everleaf, but not on Cake.

I've been doing better at FR than 6max, and even though I'm realizing I will need to get 6max figured out eventually (because it seems to be where 90% of the action is these days), it's FR for now, which is ok because I need to minimize my variance while I am still under rolled.

I've posted my stats for my last 10k hands in the BC forum and am hoping for some good feedback.

I've been getting very frustrated lately and even though I've not been spazzing, I am finding myself reluctant to start a session because it's going to put me in a bad mood.

I'm feeling like my game heavily depends on bum-hunting and the hunting has just not been that great at the times I'm playing. I need to improve my game anyway before moving up right, so I guess it's good that I am figuring this out now.

Hoping for good feedback...

This guy just continues to blow me away.
vinivici9586 is back on Stars, apparently now playing in Canada.
I checked him out again on PokerTableRatings and the dude is on FIRE!
So I go to the "Hands" tab and can NOT believe the "Know Cards" chart.
The WHOLE fucking thing other than one square is green.
I guess that means his W$SD is like 99.9999%.
Inspiring? Maybe...
Dumbfounding? Absolutely!

The last 3 days may have been the worst run i have ever had over 2.5K hands.
I know this is a really small sample, but it just seems impossible to run this bad at the micros... -17BB/100... Realy???

I think I have a new name for my style of play. It's called SpazTwat!











FML... 1/2 my minuscule BR gone.


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Been thinking a lot about quiting poker lately. At least taking a long break.
Maybe coming back when the US legalities are all worked out, or if/when I get my check from Everleaf.

I'm just spending too much time on it and it's going nowhere.
Not only time at the tables, but all the reading posts and strategies and watching videos and listening to podcasts and eBooks. I have a habit of letting the thing I am most interested in at the time totally consume me. It happened with music, triathlons, surfing, and now poker for the second time, and I end up neglecting other priorities.

I only have about $50 on Cake and I am debating what to do with it.
I can't get a cash out because it does not come close to the minimum check amount. Maybe I can try to do a trade; transfering the money to another Cake user who can pay me via PayPal. I am very tempted to take it to a 50NL table and shove it all in on the first AK or poket pair that comes my way.

I dont know. I'm feeling very melancholy about the whole situation right now.

Re-read your entire OP and then this:

http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...ath-97117.html

Spaz-Twat Returns!!!

Played a few hands this week, but my patience is just not where it needs to be.

Up $7 down $9 today.
Spaz-stacked off twice.
Flopped 4 to nut-flush w 3 spades on board against LAG and got it all in. Fail! He had 2 small spades and I missed it.
Flopped TPTK w 3 spades on board, spazzed it all in on the turn against reg. Fail! 2 small spades.

At least I can blame myself for these hands and I can see the problem. Lack of focus and patience. Head is just not in it (that's what she said). I'll probably continue to play very sparingly, until my last few bucks are gone or I pull my head out of my ass. Whichever comes first.

This is hilarious. It just shows how much I am on tilt and can not get around it.
I’m not even stressing about it anymore it’s so funny. I see a serious break from poker coming soon, so I want to put this in my notes for future reference.

I’ve probably played less than 1k hands this week. I had a little bit of time today so figured I’d get in and just single-table it for a while to see where I am at, mentally that is.

I play solidly for about an hour, avoiding any real tough spots. I don’t make any spaz-bluffs or calls, and I made a few tough folds. I catch a couple monsters and end up winning a little more than one buy-in. Not bad, ~100bb over ~100 hands, right? So I get up to take a leak and get some coffee and piece of yummy chocolate cake; feeling nice and relaxed. I open up a new table and this is the very first hand.

Cake - $0.04 NL (9 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $3.87
MP: $4.00
CO: $4.68
BTN: $4.48
SB: $3.96
Hero (BB): $4.00

SB posts SB $0.02, Hero posts BB $0.04

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero has 5 8

fold, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to $0.12, Hero calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.24, 2 players) 7 K T
SB bets $0.16, Hero raises to $0.36, SB calls $0.20

Turn: ($0.96, 2 players) 5
SB checks, Hero bets $0.60, SB calls $0.60

River: ($2.16, 2 players) J
SB checks, Hero raises to $2.92 and is all-in, SB calls $2.88 and is all-in

SB shows K 4 (One Pair, Kings) (Pre 55%, Flop 94%, Turn 89%)
Hero shows 5 8 (One Pair, Fives) (Pre 45%, Flop 6%, Turn 11%)
SB wins $7.40

Total and absolute SPAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I have heard of problem gamblers that have some sort of mental block and only get satisfaction when they lose. I think it was referenced in the book “Harrington on Cash”. Is it possible that I have gotten to that point? Perhaps. The good thing is that I am too much of a NIT when it comes to finances in general so this will have absolutely no impact on my life. As frustrating as this has been, I have to find the humor in how bad it can make you feel to lose just $4. I think the true frustration comes from the time spent playing, reading, watching, etc. But it's still funny how penny-poker can really piss a person off. Don’t get me wrong, I took this whole operation and poker in general very seriously up until a week or two ago, but my head is just not in it right now and fortunately I’m smart enough to realize it.

WTF.
I'm in the same boat, grinding micros while slowly improving my game, so I'm probably not the best person to give you advice.

That's the kind of hand I immediately and completely removed from my game.
I'm not even defending the blind there.

But you already realized it was a total brain fart.


Just take a break imo, if you find yourself pulling off that kind of shit.
You knew you were doing something retarded right from the preflop, but you didn't stop.
I'd just take a break and come back when my brain is working again.

I know, I know, I know...
I've removed it from my game too, many times. LMAO.
Like a smoker saying... It's easy to quit, I've quit a bunch of times.
It just keeps creeping back in, and I can't figure out how to get rid of it for good.

I've put a post-it note on my monitor with the word Spaz with a circle around it and a line through it. No SPAZ! I'm golden now!

Post-it notes are good but move the note every few days as you will start ignoring it otherwise.

Be more specific in your notes too. I had one that said Spew with the circle around it and line through it. I threw it away and replaced it with two separate notes that said "PLAN?" and "Small Hand-Small Pot". After posting these two notes and a slight run good I was up 10 BIs in a few days.

Somebody mentioned a few years ago to write something over and over that you keep doing wrong and you will quit doing it. (I will not bluff a CS. I will not bluff a CS,etc).

GL

I’ve been very reluctant to post an update because I have been running good and I’m afraid of jinxing myself but then I remembered what I always say about luck. “The only thing that can give you bad luck is believing in bad luck”. So walk under that ladder on purpose, smash those mirrors, go to the animal shelter and adopt a black cat to follow around… but I guess that would mean you have some belief in luck, good and/or bad, and therefore may be giving yourself bad luck just by acknowledging that those things would have any effect on anything, but then if you avoid those… oh FUCK IT!

The sample size is too small to post any real stats (~2500 hands) so I’m just going to make a note of the things I have changed that I think have helped turn things around. I will say that I’m at >20ptBB/100, which is probably not sustainable, but it sure feels good.
(In fact, the sample size is so small I may just be on the good side of variance, but I think these are all +EV anyway)

1. My “Don’t SPAZ” post-it note is still there and I make it a point to look at it regularly while playing. To be honest, I don’t really have a clear definition of what “Don’t SPAZ” means, but at the very least, for me, it means think really hard about that big bluff or that big call before you make it. I think the original meaning may have been, “Don’t bluff big… EVER”, but, I can’t say that I’ve really stuck to that even though a big part of me thinks I should still try to.
2. I stopped reading or listening to ANYTHING poker related. I was just overloading my brain with all things poker. 3Bet, 4Bet, 87Bet. These are the micros and ABC poker should get you out of the basement, IF you don’t continuously SPAZ.
3. Single Table. This can be painful, but if you are leaking chips you need to provide the least number of pipes to leak from while you find the leak(s). I’m still only playing two tables and I’m fine with it. In fact, I have no desire to play any more than 2 right now. It’s comfortable, and I’m winning.
4. Changed my screen name. I didn’t even realize that Cake had this feature but as soon as I found it I jumped on it. Did the micro-regs really have a read on me? I doubt it, but I guess it is possible. Apparently you can change your screen name as often as you like on Cake. I’m sure I will make more use of this in the future.
5. Run Like God! LOL, the first table I sat at after changing my screen name I got it all in PF with AA vs. KK three times and my rockets held up every time. It was like a weight off my shoulders and I started to play better. After that heater I was able to fold an over-pair without much thought when the villain shoved on the turn; I had no trouble folding a set on a 3flush board; while on tilt these things would be virtually impossible for me, no matter the opponent. So, I am still at a stage where running good “allows” me to play better and running bad “makes” me play worse. The best players must be somewhat immune to this or at least figured out how to handle it better. I, on the other hand, still need significant work in this area.

Good good luck at the tables!

Originally Posted by Robb

Good good luck at the tables!

Thanks, uh, I mean... what the...
Same to you! Ha!

6. Table Selection. How could I forget this one? I think this goes hand-in-hand with playing fewer tables. If you're only playing one or two tables you can take the time to pick the best. And if a table seems to be drying up, make the effort to find a better one.

At times I find myself saying "I have to figure out how to beat the regs if I want to move up." But do I?
Is it ok to rely on bum hunting? I don't know, I guess it depends on your goal. My goal is to move up to the next level, and the next. If bum-hunting gets the job done then why not.

Originally Posted by MrE

Is it ok to rely on bum hunting? I don't know, I guess it depends on your goal. My goal is to move up to the next level, and the next. If bum-hunting gets the job done then why not.

Do it. And if you can find fish reliably, spend more time table selecting (and even seat selecting) and less time multi-bot-tabling. A great way to make money at poker is to play tons of hands with players worse than your current skill level. I think the next couple of levels will have enough fish: you can target them and dodge anyone with half a clue. By the time you get to 25nl or 50nl, you'll have to deal with the regs (or some of them), but you'll have the game for it, too.

The hot steak came to an end yesterday, or at least a pause.
I think winners tilt was creeping in and I made a couple bad calls in the moring...
1.QQ in a 4 bet pot, flop comes KKJ, I check, tightish villain shoves, I tank then call. Why? He was telling me he had AA, AK, KK, QQ, or JJ preflop with his 4 bet. I think I called becuase it was like 30bb into a 60bb pot. Terrible call though, imo.
2. Another small stacker limps UTG, I raise 4x w 99, he shoves. I have no read but his limp-shove gives me good reason to think he's a spewtard. He shows AA.

That was enough to tell me I need to get my head straight, but then in the afternoon I ran KK into AA and QQ into KK for a full stack each time. Sigh...
Coolers really. I could have got away from the QQ after the flop, but it would have been really tough. The KK was all-in preflop, so, shit happens.

Here's the QQ hand. Let me know what you think... Cooler? Poorly played?

Villain was 26/20 AF:9 - 3Bet 14% - (4Bet 0% but this is not on my HUD)

Cake - $0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (BTN): $3.94
SB: $5.07
BB: $3.86
UTG: $4.87
MP: $4.23
CO: $7.35

SB posts SB $0.02, BB posts BB $0.04

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero has Q Q

UTG raises to $0.12, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.36, fold, fold, UTG raises to $1.02, Hero calls $0.66

Flop: ($2.10, 2 players) 2 J 8
UTG bets $1.17, Hero raises to $2.92 and is all-in, UTG calls $1.75


Turn: ($7.94, 2 players) K

River: ($7.94, 2 players) K

Hero shows Q Q (Two Pair, Kings and Queens) (Pre 18%, Flop 14%, Turn 0%)
UTG shows K K (Four of a Kind, Kings) (Pre 82%, Flop 86%, Turn 100%)
UTG wins $7.42


So, the test will be if I can play well today. Will this minor bump in the road throw me off the cliff, or can I pull it together and keep things under control and keep moving in the right direction. Lets see...

I'd probably have folded on his 4-bet preflop.
At our microstakes there isn't much creativity going on and this villain seems decent.
I don't think they have AK often enough in this spot to justify your play.

As played pre, I'd have folded to his c-bet because I'm chopping vs QQ, beating AK and dead vs everything else.


Microstakes, UTG non-retarded villain. 4-bet and c-bet.
You are in terrible shape way too often in this spot, imo.

Total F'ing FAIL!

I think I correctly folded this one, but I was stewing over it afterwards...
Cake - $0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

SB: $1.76
Hero (BB): $3.82
UTG: $4.17
MP: $5.38
CO: $5.04
BTN: $4.58

SB posts SB $0.02, Hero posts BB $0.04

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero has K K

fold, MP calls $0.04, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.20, MP calls $0.16

Flop: ($0.42, 2 players) 6 4 3
Hero bets $0.28, MP calls $0.28

Turn: ($0.98, 2 players) T
Hero bets $0.66, MP raises to $4.90 and is all-in, fold

MP wins $2.15


... and that set me up for this...

Cake - $0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: $6.06
UTG: $4.82
MP: $1.76
CO: $4.12
BTN: $0.98
Hero (SB): $3.93

Hero posts SB $0.02, BB posts BB $0.04

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero has K K

UTG calls $0.04, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.20, fold, UTG calls $0.16

Flop: ($0.44, 2 players) T 7 J
Hero bets $0.30, UTG calls $0.30

Turn: ($1.04, 2 players) 4
Hero bets $0.70, UTG raises to $2.33, Hero raises to $3.43 and is all-in, UTG calls $1.10


River: ($7.90, 2 players) Q

UTG shows T J (Two Pair, Jacks and Tens) (Pre 20%, Flop 67%, Turn 64%)
Hero shows K K (One Pair, Kings) (Pre 80%, Flop 33%, Turn 36%)
UTG wins $7.38

.. then a standard suck out....

Cake - $0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

CO: $4.47
BTN: $4.33
SB: $0.92
Hero (BB): $4.00
UTG: $3.94
MP: $8.05

SB posts SB $0.02, Hero posts BB $0.04

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero has J 9

UTG raises to $0.08, MP calls $0.08, fold, BTN calls $0.08, fold, Hero calls $0.04

Flop: ($0.34, 4 players) 9 J 4
Hero bets $0.34, fold, MP calls $0.34, BTN raises to $2.00, Hero raises to $3.92 and is all-in, fold, BTN calls $1.92


Turn: ($8.52, 2 players) 3

River: ($8.52, 2 players) 3

BTN shows 8 T (Flush, Ten High) (Pre 41%, Flop 48%, Turn 32%)
Hero shows J 9 (Two Pair, Jacks and Nines) (Pre 59%, Flop 52%, Turn 68%)
BTN wins $7.96

... and then I get QQ against this lagtard that is 3 betting >20%, like he just learned it.

Cake - $0.04 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

SB: $4.46
BB: $11.52
Hero (UTG): $5.12
CO: $4.77
BTN: $4.80

SB posts SB $0.02, BB posts BB $0.04

Pre Flop: ($0.06) Hero has Q Q

Hero raises to $0.12, fold, fold, SB raises to $0.56, fold, Hero raises to $1.72, SB raises to $4.46 and is all-in, Hero calls $2.74


Flop: ($8.96, 2 players) T A 2

Turn: ($8.96, 2 players) T

River: ($8.96, 2 players) 8

SB shows K K (Two Pair, Kings and Tens) (Pre 82%, Flop 92%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows Q Q (Two Pair, Queens and Tens) (Pre 18%, Flop 8%, Turn 5%)


FML!!!

Originally Posted by Shizu

I'd probably have folded on his 4-bet preflop.
At our microstakes there isn't much creativity going on and this villain seems decent.
I don't think they have AK often enough in this spot to justify your play.

As played pre, I'd have folded to his c-bet because I'm chopping vs QQ, beating AK and dead vs everything else.


Microstakes, UTG non-retarded villain. 4-bet and c-bet.
You are in terrible shape way too often in this spot, imo.

I agree it's a fold to the 4bet pre, but as played if you're calling a 4ball w/ QQ surely you're shipping any non A or K flop? If we haven't got AK in his range wtf are we seeing a flop for?

Man something was in the air today.
Lots of crazies and I think the craziness was rubbing off on the regs.
No "friendly" tables to be found.

Suffered another bad beat when I "correctly" called with an overpair when spaztard shoved the flop with an open ender, and caught it on the river.
I still ended up ahead about 1 buy-in for the afternoon.

So I suffered two big bad beats today and had no suckouts of my own (and I did have a few that could have gone my way). If those two hands had held up I would be up about 1 buy-in for the day. Instead I'm down a little more than 2. Nothing to be ashamed of I guess... or is it?

If I think about it, I would be about even for the day if I had folded in a few key spots.
That's where the focus needs to be when reviewing today's sessions.
Generally....
Good play + bad beats = +-EV
Bad play + bad beats = ---EV
Bad play + no bad beats = -EV
Good play + no bad beats = +++EV

So, there's really only one way to win.
I know this is all very elementary, but this is the kind of thing I need to remember.
Remember it!!! Damn it!!! (Smacking myself in the face)

Edit:
Please don’t overanalyze this.
Everyone knows bad beats are part of the game.
I guess you could say…
(Good play + bad beats) + (Good play + no bad beats) = +++EV
or even better, variance evens out over time so…
(Good play + bad beats) + (Good play + suck outs) + (Good play + no bad beats) = +++++EV
…but let’s not get carried away.

Originally Posted by Lucothefish

I agree it's a fold to the 4bet pre, but as played if you're calling a 4ball w/ QQ surely you're shipping any non A or K flop? If we haven't got AK in his range wtf are we seeing a flop for?

+1

If your hand and your play has a positive expectation against the villain's range then you are playing profitably, the actual results are totally irrelevant and therefore bad beats have zero impact on your expected value.

Focus on your play, not results

Good luck dude