Micro stakes grinding

I've been reading the Poker Mindset, which has been an excellent read, and you mentioned something that reminded me of something they specifically address.

Originally Posted by nibbles

The poker gods are smiling on me. I think I will play my first $2 MTT today as it seems luck is finally on my side.

I'm not sure how serious you were about saying that, but it's not a good idea to try to quantify your luck and especially not to try to use it as justification to do or not do something. Luck can be good. Luck can be bad. You cannot predict how it will be in the future. You can also lose AA versus KK many times in a row without a large sample. The cards have no memory.

I know all of that is easier said that done, but it's good to keep in mind and congratulations on bouncing back.

Thanks Jason. The "poker gods" thing was just my way of saying I'm running good. I am not used to coming from behind to win pots after the money has gone in. And that's a good thing because it means I'm not putting my money in "bad" often. It just feels good to do unto others as has been done unto me, soooooo many times.

As far as my KK running into AA, come on now. How often can that happen? Technically it can happen every time, but at what point can you chalk it up to bad luck. I'm starting to get gunshy over here. It's killing my confidence. I used to get happy when dealt QQ and KK, now I get uneasy. And my AA keeps getting cracked. Don't get me wrong, I get it. All you can do is play those cards and live with the results. No other action can be taken. You can't fold em pre-flop, and post-flop resistance at these stakes is often weaker hands (unless running bad like I am).

But like you said, keep in mind it is not luck but variance. I just need the experience to grasp what the normal swings of the game actually are. I haven't played as much poker as most people here have. I am just now realizing how often big pocket pairs are dealt at the same time in full ring games. I used to think it was rare. I am now starting to develop the long term perspective of the game. Believe me, i no longer look at my AA hands and think "yes, I've won"!

Played a short ring game session and won most of a buyin for $1 MTT. Didn't cash and ran bad. KK flopped top set but luckbox ran down his flush (2nd time today). Most of my stack went there. I understand why so many players just open shove their big pocket pairs. Better to win a small pot than lose a big one. But I wont go there. Playing for long term results. Stay on course. Can't be results oriented. No stress. I will just grind 1 ring game for rest of the night. If I lose 1 buy in, I am done for the day.

I thought about playing the FTR tourney, but nah. Not feeling it. I'll catch the next one. I'll watch from the rail.

You would dare risk not playing in a freeroll when the great Bigred is making an appearance? Fool!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 142 hands and saw flop:
- 13 out of 21 times while in big blind (61%)
- 8 out of 19 times while in small blind (42%)
- 30 out of 102 times in other positions (29%)
- a total of 51 out of 142 (35%)
Pots won at showdown - 7 of 11 (63%)
Pots won without showdown - 14

Pretty solid session. Ready for bed. End of day roll is $77.37. I can smell $80. 5NL is right around the corner, baby!

I played the $0.25 90 man Sit & Go on Pokerstars today. I like the setup cos you start with 2000 chips, the blinds increase at lesser increments (10/20, 15/30, 20/40, 25/50, etc.) so it allowed for more actual poker. Downside is it is much longer in duration. Waay to long for the payout. I finished in 6th and won $1.18 and had been playing a little over 3 hours. I wont play that one again. The 10 cent 360 man turbo that I took second in lasted just over 2 hours. So I have had success at the change games, now for success in the $ bills games. Will play the $1 MTT tonight (no, I'm not going out, spend NY in NY in MY apartment). Broke.

Played in two $1 MTTs last night and failed to cash in both. Played a short ring session and won back the MTT buy ins. To end the day I played a $1 S&G single table and won 1st place. Roll is at $80.66.

Today I will play a little bit of everything. Ring, S&G, and MTT. Hope run continues.

Failed to cash on 50 MTT. Just maintained at ring game. After almost 200 hands I was down some 30 or 40 cents. I only played 1 S&G but I did finish 2nd. End of day roll was $82.13.

I find myself folding alot more in the ring games, but I'm not sure it is a good thing. I feel I am getting bluffed alot. Too many players severely over betting pots. Sure, its great when you are hitting strong hands, but when your hand is decent (worth calling pot sized bet) and villain makes a 5 x pot bet I have to fold. I will be outta the penny games soon enough. And yes, I am aware that there are players like that at every stake, but there aren't AS MANY maniacs to contend with. I will not move up 5NL until I hit the $90 mark. I feel like moving up now, but having discipline is part of being a long term winning player. Stick to the plan, achieve the goal. Part I of my micro stakes grind is almost complete.

Had a decent night and morning. Great hands, moderate profits. I hit several sets but nobody had hands to pay me off. Oh well. Grinded / ground my roll up to $87.90. So as I was preparing to move up to $5nl I saw the recommended roll is $100, so I will wait until I hit that mark. There is no rush to move up so no big deal.

Still not having much success with MTTs though (10 cent turbo final tables don't count). I cash often enough, but I am not going deep enough. Maybe it is because the fields are so large at these stakes. When I move up to 5NL I will move up to $2 / $3 MTTs.

$5 into $87 in 2 months. Pretty good % wise. I hope I am not developing a problem though. I think about poker all the time. Really. I'm not in a relationship anymore, and I don't socialize that much cos I'm saving money and paying off debts. I'm using poker to fill that void. And what if I start making real money playing? I hope its like a light switch I can just turn off. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge...

$5 into $87 in 2 months. Pretty good % wise. I hope I am not developing a problem though. I think about poker all the time. Really. I'm not in a relationship anymore, and I don't socialize that much cos I'm saving money and paying off debts. I'm using poker to fill that void. And what if I start making real money playing? I hope its like a light switch I can just turn off. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge...

lmao i am in a relationship she is not happy lol

good 2months of grinding there m8 wp

lol Nibbles, anyone that grinds in any way, shape or form has a "problem." Don't worry about thinking about it all the time. I do it all the time myself. For example, I'm a security guard at a plant that is currently shut down for the holidays, i.e. I don't have much to do. So in my free time I constantly think about poker. If it's a hobby you enjoy then I wouldn't too much about it unless you're losing your rent money playing.

BTW keep up the good work man. You're spanking me roll wise now lol. I havent played much do to being on break/being sick and all so roll is sitting at $40. I gotta get back on the horse lol. Later dude!

Thanks AA. I hear ya Dranger. Today started good but is ending terribly. Worked my way up to $91, but since then I can't hit a flop to save my life. Not pairing any hole cards at all. The more I play the more I see things that I didn't know was possible. I've gone through periods where I just don't make good hands, like forever flopping bottom pair. But right now I am not hitting flops in any way, shape, or form. Wow! Tried to play through it and roll dropped to $85.74. I want to keep playing, but will take a break. When I come back will just set hunt and watch the game. Crazy game. And people actually do this for a living.

Just got eliminated from 50 cent MTT. Finished in 129th outta 2700+ winning $1.68. Pissed cos my rockets got cracked by QQ knocking me out. Even though I win somtimes with my rockets, I'm not realizing the 80/20 advantage I have in those situations. But nothing anyone can do about it so..

Roll is at $86.78. I'll play a ring game until I fall asleep. Pissed off!

Had a good ring session last night. Roll sits at $89.38. Was a hot seat. My premium cards were hitting hard. My two big pots were when I hit top 2 pair with my AQ and a luckbox hit his Q on flop and chased until his 9 hit on river giving him 2 pair and so he went all in. It felt good taking his money. The other I had AA early and flopped top set when villian hit bottom set. Needless to say I stacked him too.

Now that a have a healthy roll for these stakes, the profits are coming alot quicker. I am loosening up (not LAGing but no longer NITing) and taking advantage of situations more. That is a big reason I am no longer in a rush to move up in stakes. I am still learning the GAME. I am still learning how to take advantage of weaker players, and that is the GAME. I want to improve my poker game, recognizing and taking advantage of players habits and patterns and not just play the cards and percentages. It's been said you can't bluff at these stakes, but you can. I've been running bluffs here and there recently. What's the point of establishing a solid image if you don't bluff? When opponents see you showdown strong hands consistently, even at these stakes they will stop calling that big river bet, unless they are a donk calling station. The skill is identifying who you can and can't bluff, and that holds true at all stakes.

Grinding from $5 has been a great experience for me. I treated that $5 as if it were all the money I had in the world. Redepositing was not an option. And I've learned alot on the cheap. Obviously I still have a ton to learn, but I my recent success has been a real boost to my confidence in my game. The lessons to be learned at 2NL are discipline and tilt control. And you will be thoroughly tested in both at this stake. Turning a profit despite all these maniacs is something I've come to appreciate, and is something that will benefit me as I progress and move up in stakes later on. Sure I've belly-ached here at this forum, but I've never let it affect my play at the tables. I've gone on tilt, but I haven't played on tilt. Has really been a great experience, and I'm ready for more.

Played two MTTs and failed to cash in both. Then played a $1 S&G and took 1st. Played about 100 hand ring game session and made another buck or so. Sleepy. Going to bed. Listening to Negreanu radio show on PokerRoad. Pretty good stuff. Roll is at $92.01. Till tomorrow.

Big pockdet pairs are my gat damned leak. They wont hold up. Opponents either fold pre-flop or beat me. No matter what. I am not BSing you guys. Not even you multitablers playeing thousands of hands a day go through this many. Domination means nothing. It is almost like I need to fold big PPs ore-flop. I don't know what to do. It is crazy! I don't think I am even 50/50. Whatever my opponent needs. Screw it. Destined to grind.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00+$0.10 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (CO) (t1940)
Button (t2910)
SB (t1460)
BB (t3310)
UTG (t1470)
UTG+1 (t2260)
MP1 (t4000)
MP2 (t1400)

Hero's M: 64.67

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, A
3 folds, MP2 raises to t60, Hero raises to t200, 1 fold, SB calls t190, 2 folds

Flop: (t480) 2, 3, 5 (2 players)
SB bets t180, Hero raises to t500, SB raises to t1260 (All-In), Hero calls t760

Turn: (t3000) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t3000) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t3000

Villian had AK diamonds. Screw it. Every gat damned day. And I'm still winning. Screw it!

LOL TILTAMENTS!!! Quick go to 100nl with your entire bankroll and shove the first hand with an ACE in it!!! GAMBOOL!!!!!

After I spent two mos grinding this up? LOL! This 90 bucks is worth more to me than $90. BTW, I grinded my way back up to 1450 chips from 420. I'm a playa! Never quitting, in spite of the beats.

You might be a playa, but you whine an awful lot. You obviously don't understand as much as you think if you continually say stuff like:

Big pockdet pairs are my gat damned leak. They wont hold up.

Not even you multitablers playeing thousands of hands a day go through this many.

I don't think I am even 50/50. Whatever my opponent needs. Screw it. Destined to grind.

Cursing a bad play on your part is one thing, and it's something I can see feeling bad about, but cursing "bad luck" (which isn't bad luck.. It simple odds) isn't going to get you anywhere.

You are right Stacks, I do whine a whole bunch, but I gotta get it out. I got AA twice last night and both times they went down. One player turned his set of JJ and the other player hit top pair with his KJ and rivered another K. I get upset, but am no longer surprised. I'm not joking when I say I'm not even 50/50 in these situations. It really gets under my skin when I grind out nice profits and then lose it (and then some) cos I get dealt the best starting hand in the game. I see so many donks mini raise AA getting 4 or 5 callers down to the river and taking down a sweet pot. I iso an opponent and they catch whatever they need. It just really gets under my skin that the times I have players dominated, the times I am dumping my money into the cos I'm so far ahead, the times my opponent has only a 10% chance of even flopping a draw (much less hitting it), and me losing my $$. I'm not whining about losing. I am whining about losing consistently when I have my opponent dominated.

Again, I know there is nothing anyone can do about it, just argh! This is a new experience that I didn't think was possible. I'll just press on and hope things turn around soon. But this is not a perception problem. My AA, KK, QQ are not holding up. Really, for a long time. I now understand why I see so many people open shove these cards.

Yesterday I got my stack up to a little over $96 and now I'm back down to $91.44. No stress. Serenity now. Serenity now.

OK, started my 5NL adventure today. Up a buy in. Roll sits at $96.16. My stats for the day:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 146 hands and saw flop:
- 13 out of 20 times while in big blind (65%)
- 9 out of 21 times while in small blind (42%)
- 18 out of 105 times in other positions (17%)
- a total of 40 out of 146 (27%)
Pots won at showdown - 9 of 14 (64%)
Pots won without showdown - 10

Felt good about my play today. My play was tight but not passive (well, maybe a little). I didn't play any speculative hands. Looking back I saw I missed out on a few opportunities, but hindsight is always 20/20. Taking a break right now. Will do another session in about an hour. Hoping for continued success. Oh, I did suckout on an opponent (feels good). JJ vs 88 on a low board, but the turn was very kind.

Originally Posted by nibbles

I got AA twice last night and both times they went down. One player turned his set of JJ and the other player hit top pair with his KJ and rivered another K. I

twice, yep, you're right. Multi-tabling players never get aces beaten twice. Oh, and only whine if the money went in with you as better than 80% favourite please.

fwiw, I've had aa 26x this year in 10k hands. AA is a losing hand thus far in 2009. What does this mean? i know, you may figure it out.

Woo Hoo!!! Just hit the $100 mark! Roll sits at $102.38. Things are still going well at 5NL but I haven't even cleared 400 hands at these stakes so its really still too early to tell. Taking a break. Play another session later.

As for the whining, its just something I am working through. I have never played poker everyday before. I used to be a casual player and would take the occasiional beat. Didn't know it could get this bad. I guess I haven't suffered enough beats to become immune. I'm working, I'm learning, I'm growing.

Slow weekend, didn't really feel like playing. Played some fixed limit 5 cent 10 cent hold em, a few $1 S&Gs, and a little 2NL 6-max. Roll dropped down to $98.43. I want to play a real 5NL session, but I don't feel like it. A little down with Giants loss. I will probably play a $1 MTT and call it a night. I gotta remember to take breaks from poker every now and again.

gj getting past 100$ man!

Thanks XPT. It has been a tough grind. It seems you and I now share the same goal. $1000. Good luck to you too.

Ugghh! Still don't feel like playing poker even though I want to. Played three $1 S&Gs yesterday and finished 4th in all. At crunch time I couldn't win races (same ole story). Forced myself into a mini session today (5NL 82 hands) but still not feeling it. Won close to a buck playing small pot poker and quit. Why force it? Roll sits at $96.01. Might play some more later. Gonna watch some more FTR poker videos and Entourage on the Internet. The chinese subtitles are a little distracting, but I never saw season 2. Whatamigonnado, buy the DVD? HA!

Played a 50 cent MTT tonight. Finished 296 outta 2285 players. Frustrated as hell. I'm gonna hafta look for some sort of lucky charm or something cos I need help. Took a bunch of tough beats after grinding up a healthy stack. Anyway, played a little 2NL session earlier today and made a buck after like 200 hands (talk about grinding). The way I'm running I didn't want to play 5NL. Confidence is shot. Add that progress to my MTT double up and my roll sits at $97.57. Will probably play another 2NL session before I go to bed.

Hey man don't give up. You should be proud of your accomplishment so far. At least you don't run as bad as I do lol. My BR is still at $40 That might have something to do with me not playing all Christmas break but even since I've been back I can't seem to get anything going.

I had a buddy sweat me last night, and in all honesty it was probly the best session I've had in a LONG time. I went back to the basics. Played about 900ish hands 4 tabling and made a BI ($2) lol. Now THATS a grind lol.

But I'm not even mad. Cuz honestly, if I'm even up .30 cents or 15bb's I'm HAPPY because it could be so much worse. I have experienced more bad beats than I care to mention in the last week. It isn't all bad variance I know. I put myself in a lot of marginal/bad spots, thats why I've taken it back to the basics.

Good work on the $100 roll man. I'm trying to get there (maybe sometime next year if I keep playing as badly as I have been lol.) See you at 5nl!

Dustin

You made it!!!! Congrats!!!! Now you sound unhappy because you lost a few sngs but if your playing 1 dollar sngs its going to swing like that. One first place finish and you have it all back. So Breath e-z.

how many tables you playing man?

hope u get back to the 100$ mark soon!

I still have trouble making bets on the river for value when scare cards come. The two players in this hand were loose calling stations and I saw them suck out runner runner more than once this session. I only had $1.78 after turn bet so I thought about betting $1 on river, but decided against it (NIT moment I guess). Is river check acceptable or is it NIT play? I've written about this b4 on this thread and I don't think I've made any improvements. Hindsight is always 20/20, but how would you guys play this?


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($5.52)
UTG ($5.55)
UTG+1 ($0.66)
MP1 ($5.67)
MP2 ($4.20)
CO ($10.09)
Button ($1.43)
Hero (SB) ($3.73)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, A
2 folds, MP1 calls $0.05, MP2 calls $0.05, 1 fold, Button calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.30, 1 fold, MP1 calls $0.25, MP2 calls $0.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($1) Q, 2, J (3 players)
Hero bets $0.40, MP1 calls $0.40, MP2 calls $0.40

Turn: ($2.20) K (3 players)
Hero bets $1.25, MP1 calls $1.25, MP2 calls $1.25

River: ($5.95) 2 (3 players)
Hero???

Total pot: $5.95 | Rake: $0.25

Originally Posted by xptboy

how many tables you playing man?

hope u get back to the 100$ mark soon!

I only play one table at a time. I am working on my overall skills I guess. Paying attention to betting patterns and such. Plus, the few times I've multi-tabled I didn't have much success. I'm cool with one table.

I appreciate the words Prodigy! e-z breathing. No stress.

Um... well u turned TPTK, BUT theres a straight and a flush draw on the board. But he pot is so bloated, that you almost either have to check/call a bet or shove. In my opinion shoving is the best option, it gives you more outs. Sure, they're calling stations, but whos to say they aren't going to show up with a weak J or Q? Idk, just my thoughts.

Ok, so check / call is acceptable in long run. In this case I lost out on some money as river checked down. 1 player had KT and would have definite called me, while other player had QT and might have called me. But can't be results oriented, right?

Played a quick $1 S&G this morning and took 1st place. When it got heads-up, villain had a 3-2 chip advantage (roughly). Long story short, I sucked out twice to beat him. This got me thinking about the difference between the times I suck out vs when I'm sucked out on. Here, villain has been a bully since game got 4 handed. Raises almost every hand and fires 3 barrels regardless of board. Other players were weak and I was card dead for a while. The two times I sucked out, I had a pair and couldn't give him credit for top pair (which he had both times). My mentality was "if I hit, we are going to showdown", and his LAGG play forced me to play that way. When I get sucked out on, I am playing solid and my hand should be apparent, especially to those with all that damned tracking software. I want to scream "what the hell did you think I had"? They could never think they were ahead, just relying on luck. We all suck out, but there is a difference. Amiright?

Up and down weekend, but I have maintained. Roll sits at $102.60. Didn't play as many hands as I wanted to, but that will change today and tomorrow. I am going to do some long sessions. Will throw in a few S&Gs and a MTT or two. Gotta get back to the grind. Break is over.

Another long nothing day. Lost all my 2NL profits playing MTTs and S&Gs. Cant win races. Poker wasn't always this hard. I cracked $100 on the 9th of this month and still there. I know, better than losing. Trying hard to maintain patience. I have re-typed this post several times cos it kept turning into a whine post. Long/short, I'm pissed, I'm done playing for night, hoping for better tomorrow. Roll sits at $102.11.

Today isn't going much better. Played well in a session today, won a buy in. Stayed a little too long and lost my profits and then some. Played a $1 S&G and came in 4th yet again. This finished pissed me off cos big stack was feeling himself and donated chips to the short stack 3 times with horrible cards. Short stack got hot and outlasted me. Oh well. About to play MTT. I haven't cashed in a while. Haven't gone deep even longer. After MTT I will play a 5NL session. Need to make some progress here.

Fell asleep playing poker. Woke up to "Poker After Dark". Check out the Sharkscope site and looked myself up for s&g.
Games played - 931
avg profit - $0
avg stake - $2
avg ROI - 10%
total profit - $71 lol

I looked up a friend of mine and found out he is a lying little sucker. He has dropped over $1000 lol. And he almost never plays cash games. Why people lie about their poker status is beyond me. Anyway, I feel bad about my S&G stats. $71 after 900 games is bad in my book. It is better than losing, but not much better. If I could win races at crunch time I would crush S&Gs.

Since I'm up, will play a little ring until I fall asleep again.

Hey dude. Been a while since I looked you up. Seems like it's been a while since you've looked me up too. :/ Anyways, just keep grinding that roll out man, you are still doing good. You've turned $5 into $100+ by playing a solid game, and following strict BankRoll Management. You are on your way to huge success in poker if you keep it up.

For me, I've been having some troubles lately, but if you look me up in my blog you can read about me bitching if you really want lol . But yea good luck man. You're already at 5nl, I'm stuck at 2nl for now lol. Not for too much longer I hope .

See you in the nosebleeds,

Dustin

Still with the up and down. Now on the down. A little harder getting paid on hands. I think I'm playing predictably tight. I should have gotten paid below.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($10)
MP3 ($10.13)
Hero (CO) ($4.68)
Button ($10.27)
SB ($10.41)
BB ($6.01)
UTG ($2.28)
UTG+1 ($2.73)
MP1 ($4.72)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, A
2 folds, MP1 calls $0.05, MP2 calls $0.05, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.25, 3 folds, MP1 calls $0.20, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.62) 10, 3, 3 (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.62) Q (2 players)
MP1 bets $0.10, Hero calls $0.10

River: ($0.82) 4 (2 players)
MP1 bets $0.30, Hero raises to $1, MP1 calls $0.70

Total pot: $2.82 | Rake: $0.10


Villain had KK. Hindsight shows me c-betting would have gotten me paid but with that board I was very likely way ahead and could allow opponent to catch up. I think I need to loosen up some. When I re-raise people they usually fold. Everyone is using that HUD crap at 5NL I guess, so they see I don't re-raise with marginals. Gotta give action to get action I guess. 2NL players give me action but suckout, 5NL wont give me the action.

I've been playing the "what does he have" game and I'm getting pretty good at it (me tinks), but on this hand I'm clueless.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($6.22)
Hero (CO) ($5)
Button ($4.96)
SB ($10.05)
BB ($6)
UTG ($10.78)
UTG+1 ($9.06)
MP1 ($2.06)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 7, 7
UTG raises to $0.15, 3 folds, Hero (poster) calls $0.10, 2 folds, BB calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.47) A, 7, 6 (3 players)
BB checks, UTG bets $0.20, Hero raises to $0.50, BB calls $0.50, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.67) K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.65, BB calls $1.65

River: ($4.97) K (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $2.70 (All-In), 1 fold

Total pot: $4.97 | Rake: $0.20

I figured him for flush draw, but could he be bad enough to chase in spite of bad odds, but good enough to fold his flush cos board paired? The other thing I thought he had was Ax (If AK then merry x-mas) but he wouldn't fold this river. I guess he could have had 89 as well, but that would make his calls that much worse. I see alot of slow playing at 5NL. Everyone is trying to be tricky and that is contributing to my up and down results. I've lost more than a few pots where mt TPGK went down to limped overpairs. This is just an adjustment period. No stress.

Playing a MTT donkament. Test my luck. Still stuck at $100.

Why oh why do I insist on racing when I know I don't win them? Cos I know I have to win them to win a MTT. Failed to cash, knocked out by some push and catch donkey. U gotta be lucky to win those things. I should stick to ring games.

About to do another ring session. Sick of being stuck in neutral.

Hey dude, did you block yourself from search on Pokerstars? I've tried to find you on there a couple times just to say wuts up but ur never on there. Also, if you have Teamviewer, and MSN/Aim I was wondering if you would wanna do a sweat sometime? I could watch you play your game. I know I'm not exactly the best, but maybe I could help you open up your game a lil bit. A friend of mine and I do a sweat about once or twice a week, or at least teamview each other just to see whats up and how we're doing.

It's pretty good getting other players perspectives on a hand while being IN the hand in question. Just shoot me a PM or look me up on aim or msn, my stuff is listed at the bottom of my posts. Later man!

Dustin

Yeah, I did block the search. People who had success against me kept showing up. I'll look you up.

Here's a hand I just played. The play itself is standard. What got me was villain's comment afterwards.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($4.68)
Hero (UTG+1) ($4.88)
MP1 ($4.26)
MP2 ($3.56)
MP3 ($3.51)
CO ($4.93)
Button ($3.59)
SB ($2.45)
BB ($4)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with K, K
1 fold, Hero raises to $0.25, 3 folds, CO raises to $0.65, 3 folds, Hero raises to $1.60, CO calls $0.95

Flop: ($3.27) 2, 6, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.95, CO raises to $3.33 (All-In), Hero calls $1.33 (All-In)

Turn: ($9.83) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($9.83) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $9.83 | Rake: $0.45

Villains said "I don't know what I was thinking". He had QQ. Villain thought long and hard before each action too (going into think tank). If that is not a sign, nothing is. Gotta open up. Gotta mix it up. 2NL nut camping doesn't seem to be as effective. My game needs work.

I haven't moved up to 5nl yet (obviously), and I don't think you can play the EXACT same way you did at 2nl. It is virtually the same game, but you HAVE to be a little more aggro with big hands that missed. Bet into the paired flops against one opponent for starters when in position of course. If he checks bet a little more than half pot, you will take it down a lot of the time. Show down a weak holding early on in a session.

Think about how opponents are perceiving you at the table (i know it's only 5nl, but even fish will realize you are only showing down JJ+, AK). If you havent played a hand in a while, just do something that SEEMS spewy, but in reality isn't.

Like say you are in LP and theres a bunch of limpers. You have a REALLY speculative hand like 75s. Just limp along. If someone raises obviously get out. And if the flop comes, and you don't have anything check it around along with everyone else, otherwise fold. Turn, same thing. If on the river no one has bet yet, throw out a SMALL bluff. Like ok say there are 3 limpers+ you. Thats 4BB in the pot. Bet like 2BB. That is ALWAYS going to get a call, which is what you want. When the more "observant" players see that, they will start to think "WTF? DID THAT NIT JUST BLUFF" and the next time they are in a hand with you they will remember it and you gain a stack .


(BTW: This might be horrible advice lol. Just something I thought you might like to experiment with. Any regs or higher stakes players, or people who know generally more about the game than I do, feel free to completely bitch me out for being a fucktard lol.)

Good luck man!

BTW: This might be horrible advice. ROFLMAO!!! Thanks Dranger. I see what you mean. My bluffs almost never worked at 2NL, so it forced me to remove bluffing from my arsenal. I guess I need to take advantage of my tight image and start raising with SCs and medium PPs. I should be able to expand my game at 5NL cos there are fewer multi-way pots when there is a pre-flop raise. This is something I will hafta ease into.

Yea man, definitely don't just dive into the shit. You don't want to add too much too fast otherwise you will just end of spewing chips to everyone and become the average donkey. Now get out there and stack dem fish!

Finally a decent day to break up my dry spell. Made $9 today between ring games and the 90 man 25 cent S&G. I played two of these S&Gs. In the 1st one my AA got cracked bu A4 soooooted on an all in pre-flop. The next S&G I finished in 2nd place and won $4.17. It has a great format (2000 starting chips, better blind structure) that allows for more poker play. Most of the donkeys were gone in the first half hour. It was fun. Only thing is it was long, over 3 hours.

Gonna take a break and do another ring session. This one will be 2NL though. Profit protection.

Ok here is a hand where I think I made the right choice by trying to "bluff" at it. In all honesty I didn't care whether or not he called. I was hoping he would fold obviously, but now I'm hoping next time he has a hand similar to this one, I'll have trips and he'll think, "O, I remember the last time this happened" so hopefully he will call a much larger bet with one pair.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($1.50)
MP1 ($2.73)
MP2 ($6.35)
CO ($0.74)
Button ($5)
SB ($1.68)
Hero (BB) ($1.34)

Preflop: Hero is BB with ,
UTG calls $0.02, 4 folds, SB calls $0.01, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.06) , , (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks

Turn: ($0.06) (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.05, UTG calls $0.05, SB calls $0.05

River: ($0.21) (3 players)
SB checks, Hero checks, UTG checks

Total pot: $0.21 | Rake: $0

I searched how to successfully grind my bank roll or something similar to this and found this thread. I must say, although informative, it was a very interesting and fun read. Seeing the progression of nibbles and the cranky attitude of xxstacksxx, lol. Made the read quite fun. I myself am in the same sort of grind. I started with 50 dollars on January 3rd and have since made my way to 109.44. I stick to the 5.50 sit n go 9 person. I find it easier to succeed when new players arent constantly being rotated do to table breakdowns. Don't get me wrong, I love a good MTT, but as of right now, ive moved to 9 man SnG's. Whats the update nibbles? BR and next step?

Hey Rurso! Welcome to FTR! I'm glad you found my operation interesting. Congrats on your double up. Hope it continues. Are you only playing S&Gs or do you play cash / ring games as well?

As for me, I just moved up from 2NL to 5NL so I'll probably be here for a while. I am no longer in a rush, as I'm playing to learn and not a source of income, obviously. So my next step is, and always will be, keep learning.

Good luck and I look forward to your contributions to this great forum. Alot of good info here. Later.

i play the occasional low limit cash tables. .5/.10 at most. i dont like to risk more than 10% of my bankroll. I know good sources say risk even less than that but i enjoy a little bit of excitement to the game now and again. but id say 95% of my game consists of tournament and sit n go's. IMO, the best money is made there if you are a TAGG. Hard to win a tournament with a loose style of play.

Knocked out a 100 hands session and made a little over a buck (5NL). I feel good about that $1 because I had dropped $3 on some really good second best hands. But I stuck it out and left the table with a little over $6. Small victories. Decided to play 50 cent MTT and got knocked out in a harsh manner, but hey, that's poker. Gonna take a break and churn out another 150 hands or so and see if I can win a buyin. I need to make some progress. Keep grinding.

Second session last night was dead cards. Blinded off a dollar then called it a night. Card dead again today so far. Only one hand, JJ UTG+1, raised, got 1 caller. Flop was AKx, c-bet took it down. Aside from that, nothing. Played a 25 cent 90 man S&G, finished 40th. Still card dead.

I'm gonna take a stab at multi-tabling tonight. I will drop back to 2NL for that. Start off with two tables and possibly add a third if things are going well. Should be interesting. I've never turned a profit doing this, but hope tonight will be different.

Played for an hour and it was pretty much as I remembered it. I won 75 cents on one table and lost 37 cents on the other. So 38 cents / 19 BB profit in an hour, not bad. Gonna take a break. Gonna grind all night. Stats for the session:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 125 hands and saw flop:
- 11 out of 14 times while in big blind (78%)
- 5 out of 14 times while in small blind (35%)
- 19 out of 97 times in other positions (19%)
- a total of 35 out of 125 (28%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 7 (57%)
Pots won without showdown - 8

I've been feeling the itch to go down to Atlantic City. I can spare $1000 for the trip (could stand to lose it but wouldn't like to). The 200NL live games at casinos are very soft (at least that is how I remember them). I've had success at those tables in the past nutcamping (once played a table for 29 hours), but in our current economic state the games are likely tougher. I don't know. Should have gone last weekend. Holiday weekends always made for packed poker tables. Oh well. Still debating.

Hey nibbles, good to see ur trying out the multi tabling thing. That's the best part about multitabling, imo. You can lose on one table, but be up more on another. (or up on both, or down on both obviously). Just keep doing what you are doing. Every once in a while if you get bored of one table, just throw up another one. Two tables isn't that much more to pay attention to, imo. At least not when you've been grinding 2nl as long as we have .

Alright man, have fun in Atlantic City (if you go ) go make some monies!!!

Thanks Dranger. If I make just a few hundred buck I'll be happy. Maybe test my luck at the craps tables. I might go next weekend. Still debating.

Anyway, I fell asleep during the second session last night and I was down close to $1. Today I played two 10 cent 360 man turbo S&Gs. Didn't cash in the first one, but took 4th in the next game. Got $2.80. Microstakes trash talkers crack me up. I took a huge pot off one guy and he's telling me what a donk I am, when I had 2 overs, a gutshot, and a flush draw. Me hitting the gut pissed him off. I guess he would have felt better had I hit the flush or one of my two overcards??? Anyway, he's telling me how I'm gonna lose my chips and blah, blah, blah. I look him up on sharkscope, and dude has dropped over $1500 in S&Gs with a -59% ROI. Goldfish jumping out of the bowl, lol. The biggest trash talkers are usually the worst players. It was just funny to me.

Roll is up to $111.13, but will see how the rest of the day goes. Back to the grind.

Just got knocked out of 25 cent MTT. Finished in 49th place outta 3600+ players. Won $1.50. AQ went down to AT. I kept missing the other MTTs. I wanted to play the $2 MTT. Maybe tomorrow. Hopefully my bad run is officially over.

Didn't play much poker today, just about 30 hands of ring. Wasn't into it. Watched the basketball games on ABC and surfed the web. Stumbled onto the Official Poker Rankings website and registered. Pretty cool. For the 3 months I've been back playing poker I am ranked higher than 85% of ranked players on stars (pat the back), 94,000+ outta 635,000+ ranked players. Yeah baby! It shows your performance for years. And the performance of others. Good for tracking your success.

Gonna force a session here in a few. Gotta put the hands in. Shame I can't do a MTT. Got a really early morning tomorrow. I thought my 2nd hundred would come alot faster than my 1st hundred, but I realize poker doesn't work that way. Back to the grind.

Just got knocked out of my 50 cent MTT. Finished 90 something outta 2600+ field. Can't win races at crunch time. Anyway, I lost a buy in at 2NL earlier today when my AA got cracked, but I've been able to recover most of it as I cashed in my MTT and an earlier 25 cent 90 man S&G. Roll sits at $112.45. Gonna call it a night.

I might hafta take a break from poker cos I am getting really upset. I see so many luckboxes playing push 'n catch poker while I grind away. I know they are long term losers but I need a big win cos I'm upset. Even in this MTT tonight, it wasn't a bad beat. It was my 99 vs KQ off. Dude hit his Q, but it was an all spade flop and I had one. So I was pissed he caught his card, then super pissed when I didn't catch mine. If I could have 1 session where I ran good, I'd feel better. I guess it is just not my time. Close, but no cigar. I know I am better than the people I play against. I look them up on sharkscope and the poker rankings and they are all losers. But when they play me it becomes lucky lotto day. I am tired of the luckbox catching against me, then donking the chips off to everyone else. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. Hopefully it will be my day.

Short suck ass session. Only making hands when I'm beat. Flush lost to bigger flush, stacked. Set lost to bigger set, stacked (and it has been so long since I hit a set too). Roll down to $107.33. Calling it a night. Even though I feel like playing, I have to call it a night. Can't play through. That is something I said I would stop doing. I have a tendency to play longer when I am losing, walking away to protect my profits when I am winning. And I really, really feel like playing too. Those losses came fairly quickly. I haven't even played 100 hands. Normally I would try to play through, but I have been on tilt for a short while and I am pissed. So if I keep playing I'd probably just be donating. Steaming over here.

Originally Posted by nibbles

Set lost to bigger set

Don't worry about losing to set over set - it happens like 1% of the time you flop a set. Obviously it sucks and is little consolation when it happens, but keep it in mind. Only against a REALLY predictable player with a GREAT read could you lay that down in a cash game in my opinion. And don't forget that half the time, you'll have the higher set.

Originally Posted by nibbles

Calling it a night. Even though I feel like playing, I have to call it a night. Can't play through. That is something I said I would stop doing. I have a tendency to play longer when I am losing, walking away to protect my profits when I am winning. And I really, really feel like playing too. Those losses came fairly quickly. I haven't even played 100 hands. Normally I would try to play through, but I have been on tilt for a short while and I am pissed. So if I keep playing I'd probably just be donating. Steaming over here.

If you're tilting, it IS time to quit. However, in my opinion, if you're not tilting, don't quit when you're losing unless you lose 5% of your roll. Also, DO NOT walk away BECAUSE you're winning either to protect your profits. That's a different kind of tilt, too, that you want to avoid.

Good luck turning it around.

Thanks Jay. Gotta learn to cope with the swings of this game. Tonight (since I can't play in the freeroll) I'm just gonna play fixed limit hold 'em. At the micros it is pretty much no fold 'em hold 'em, but second best wont cost me as much. Probably play the 50 MTT as well.

Originally Posted by nibbles

Thanks Jay. Gotta learn to cope with the swings of this game. Tonight (since I can't play in the freeroll) I'm just gonna play fixed limit hold 'em. At the micros it is pretty much no fold 'em hold 'em, but second best wont cost me as much. Probably play the 50 MTT as well.

1. Stop being so short-term result focussed.
2. Read 'Poker Mindset' (will help with 1)

Couldn't do the limit thing. No fold 'em hold 'em it was. Took my little 42 cents profit and ran. Played a $1 S&G and took second. Played the 50 cent MTT and finished 180+ place winning a buck fitty. What pisses me off (always pissed off) is I went out the same way in both games. Heads up, blind vs blind, I am dealt Ax and villain is dealt bigger ace, and the ace hits. Poker really is a b*tch. There is always something. If it is not one thing it's the next. Anywho...

Stayed away from the cash tables tonight, but I am wide awake so I might do a session on the penny tables until I fall asleep.

Played 1 single table S&G (finished 4th AK vs A4) and played one 25 cent 90 man S&G paid 12 places (finished 16th AA vs KQ). No griping. Not even posting in my vent thread. But in the short term, I am just shoving my AA/KK pre-flop. Better to win a small pot than lose a big one. I am doing just fine profit wise until I get premium hands lately. Lost half buy in at ring game. Roll back down to $107. Till tomorrow. I can't believe how crazy this is.

Just keep going dude. I've been grinding 2nl for THREE MONTHS almost now. I'm not quitting. I'm just gonna keep going. I've been stuck at $40-50 for all of January. Literally, I've made maybe $2 profit in January. Even talking to a friend who has sweated me multiple times told me he can't believe how often I get sucked out on/lose when I'm ahead.

Obviously, I don't play perfect poker, no one does, but I do a fair job, and know I can crush 2nl. Just like you can crush 5nl. Just gotta play through these BE stretches man. I'll be there with you in no time. You wait. Then we can see who the bigger nit is

Good luck buddy! Seems like we're both having our fair share of BS.

WHAT THE FUCK NIBBLES!!! Where you at dude? I'm sittin here grinding my ass off (well not really but you know what I mean ). Seen you havent posted in about 2 weeks. Just checkin in on ya. I'm just reached $70+ tonight. Ship the $15 upswing imo. Hope you haven't quit on me man. GLGLGL

I'm baaack. Took a real break from poker and accomplished some serious drinking while I was away. Spent a bunch of money though. Anyway, I'm back to the grind. 1st real day back so I decided to ease into my game and played the good ole' 25 cent 90 man S&G. I took 1st place and won $6.20. Roll is back up to $113.

It felt good to play again. The break was well needed. Going from a casual player to an everyday grinder had taken its toll. I burned out and was no longer enjoying the game. I was so close to playing on tilt and donking my hard earned roll away that I had to get completely away from the game. I didn't read a poker book, I didn't come to this site, I didn't even watch poker on tv. All I did was catch up with friends and go out drinking. That was just what the doctor ordered and I am ready to resume my grind.

BTW, in this S&G I was dealt 3 big pocket pairs and they all held up, twice flopping top set, so it seems my bad run with them is over.

Till tomorrow

Nice one nibbles, well done on taking that mtt down, a nice way to break yourself back into the grind! I'm with you on the whole taking a break aspect as well, they should be compulsory every couple of months!

Didn't play yesterday, and just got eliminated from a $1 MTT. Got knocked out a little over 100 from the money. Mad at myself cos I lost a huge portion of my stack to a LAG that just HAPPENED to have a hand the same time I did. His LAG style made me call his pre-flop open shove with JJ (he had KK), then it was just a matter of time till I got eliminated.

I will play a ring session a little later at 5NL. Only 1 buy in for this session.

I am really wondering if I have the right temperament for poker. I am as pissed off now as I was 3 weeks ago, and I didn't even lose today. Won a ring game buck then played a $1 S&G and took 3rd. But the tough beats are stuck in my head. So many of villain's desperation plays work against me. Anywho, gonna do another ring session b4 I call it a night. It feels like I will be stuck at 100 for a while.

Played a 150 hand ring session and won just under $5. Decided to play the $1 MTT and got knocked out on a bluff. I am so pissed and I need to control my emotions when I play. I am pissed cos villain made a bad but correct call. I'm not an experienced bluffer (pretty much a NIT). I've been trying to dial up my aggression so I can actually win one of these MTTs. I'm tired of just cashing for the essential double-up after 2+ hours of play.

Villain has had success with his push and catch style of play. He has raised from various positions with broadways, including from BB with KJs.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00+$0.10 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (MP1) (t1970)
MP2 (t2260)
MP3 (t2500)
CO (t1245)
Button (t3555)
SB (t2975)
BB (t4155)
UTG (t4230)
UTG+1 (t590)

Hero's M: 26.27

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with K, Q
UTG bets t200, 1 fold, Hero calls t200, 1 fold, MP3 calls t200, 3 folds, BB calls t150

Flop: (t825) 6, 10, 4 (4 players)
BB checks, UTG bets t300, Hero raises to t600, MP3 calls t600, 1 fold, UTG calls t300

Turn: (t2625) 7 (3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets t1170 (All-In), 1 fold, UTG calls t1170

River: (t4965) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t4965

What got me so mad was how long and hard this guy thought about calling me with his AK. When the time clock started I knew I ran a successful semi. Does my bluff scream "draw"? I dunno. All I know is I'm pissed, and I shouldn't be as I'm up for the day (so far). Should be able to shake it off. It is never easy.

Gonna hit the cash games again a little later. See if I can squeeze out another double-up. Still grinding.

I'm actually surprised that he waited to call. That means he was actually thinking about it. (Or perhaps looked away). You can almost never get someone to fold TPTK at the microstakes. I find that bluffing only works at these stakes if the villain has hit nothing and even then sometimes it won't work. That's what makes it profitable. When you hit two-pair or a straight, these guys will pay you off big time.