Operation: Getting a grip on things.

I started playing poker a while ago with little direction but thought I was pretty good at it and was having fun. Now I realize I suck...

I have been stuck at b/e for the last while plying the micro's at 2nl at Stars. It's one of those annoying things where I win some small pots with good cards but lose bigger pots with good cards that run into some guy that stayed in with his 57o and hit 2 pair...I just don't recognize when I'm beat and I dodn't exract enough when I do have the best hand.

As I said, I though I was good until I saw some of the charts that member's have put up here. I realized that some of these players have figured out how to value bet and actualy make some $$ on their hands...while possibly knowing when they are beat and they can get outta dodge. They are making more (even at the lowest of the micro's) than I can ever imagine...
I thought I knew how to value bet.....now I'm not so sure.

My goal is to get a grip on playing 2nl....
Basically I want to figure out how to make some $ on my made hands...
I think its this:
I need to be less fearful and quit thinking that I am always beat. A scared player is a scared bettor...
I need to improve my betting to extract more money from my opponents.
I need to improve on 1000 other things.

I don't have a lot of time to play.....just too many things on my plate so this will be a slow, painful journey....
Here goes...

Good luck. It's much better to try to get a grip @ $2NL than $200NL

me to i need to get a grip i can not or do not see small trips coming at me and tend to loose consistently to them

GL on your goal. I have found a few helpful pieces advice about my game on this site and they may help you out as well:

1. Don't be afraid to bet your good hands because you want them to stay in the pot. You end up screwed more often than ahead.
2. Position and Hole cards are the key factors followed by putting your opponets on hand ranges based of observation. (which I still have trouble with)
3. Watch OPP's closley. Take note on who limps with what (SC's, big pairs, weak any two suited) who raises with what, who checks/calls down med. hands (these are your Value whores)
4. Fancy plays are almost useless at 2nl. Don't think that because you have folded the last 20 hands they will not call a raise from you. Most people simply do not pay attention to your image at micros. Play good cards and be willing to lay them down if the situation becomes unfavorable. (which I still have a lot of trouble with)
5. Post some hand histories that you are questioning your play on here. They have really helped me to see where some of my leaks were. (Take the advice that is given, very important) I have found most of the people that reply actually do want to help you become better.
6. Download the free trial of holdem manager. Even with the 15 day trial you will see problems with your game you never even noticed.

Like I said these are just things that have helped my game out and hopefully will do the same for you.

OK....
This is going to be a bit of a venting operation for me...
Its my operation....so I can vent...

This is one of my largest problems right now. I find a table with a high pot/hand value, a decent number of players/hand etc...
I sit down and find a real fish who is literally willing to stack off with TP med kick...he did it 3 times...and won. The opponents of his went in with even less.
I spend the first part of the session sitting and watching what he limps with and how he bets with TP and I wait for a hand knowing that if I can get even TPTK I can get a nice pot with this guy.
So I wait...and wait...and wait.....nothing happening...

I sat my whole session and my cards were terrible. If I got decent cards, I never hit a flop. If I did get something like pocket Q's, he wouldn't hit anything....
In fact the whole session was bad for cards. I had this guy figured out and I think I was able to play a total of 2 pots against him...

People usually say this is variance....I hope it is. I wish I could have played longer but I had o quit for the night. This has happened to me very often lately and it is not helping my BR...

[x] variance

gl.

[x] variance

Horray! its variance!!

I have another goal that I will probably put up once I hit $50. I would like to get to about $150 and then take some $$ out and get Hold Em Manager. Then I can properly track what the crap I am doing...then I can try to get back to $100 so that I can play 5nl...for now I have to fly a bit blind...

I think the small stakes version of HEM is $55. So grind to $155, withdraw the necessary funds for HEM and BAM!!! You still have $100 left to try 5nl.

Thats cool....however, I meant to say PokerTracker 3...
I think thats about $100 (CANADIAN DOLLARS)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

well relax.....I was just checking the hold'em manager site and it looks good to me...plus the $55 looks even better to me...

I thought that PT3 was the only one with a HUD...

I may have changed my mind. It looks like there are still plenty of stats available with Hold'Em Manager. I just hear people talk about PT3 more so you assume after a bit that its the best one to get know what I mean?

sil693, can you tell me the difference b/w the two programs? Aside from the cost?

Originally Posted by Vinland

This is one of my largest problems right now. I find a table with a high pot/hand value, a decent number of players/hand etc...
I sit down and find a real fish who is literally willing to stack off with TP med kick...he did it 3 times...and won. The opponents of his went in with even less.
I spend the first part of the session sitting and watching what he limps with and how he bets with TP and I wait for a hand knowing that if I can get even TPTK I can get a nice pot with this guy.
So I wait...and wait...and wait.....nothing happening...

I sat my whole session and my cards were terrible. If I got decent cards, I never hit a flop. If I did get something like pocket Q's, he wouldn't hit anything....
In fact the whole session was bad for cards. I had this guy figured out and I think I was able to play a total of 2 pots against him...

Sadly, this is a common, reoccurring problem. You find out your villain's weakness and never get a chance to exploit it and worse yet, you'll see another villain catch a hand to exploit it, bust the fish, and the fish leaves. I remember recently staying on one table JUST because of one fish and stayed there for what seemed like over 200 hands and could never get anything and it wasn't like I needed much

It can be particularly frustrating in live games for me when the entire table is often fishy and I still can't find an opening.

Originally Posted by Vinland

well relax.....I was just checking the hold'em manager site and it looks good to me...plus the $55 looks even better to me...

I thought that PT3 was the only one with a HUD...

I may have changed my mind. It looks like there are still plenty of stats available with Hold'Em Manager. I just hear people talk about PT3 more so you assume after a bit that its the best one to get know what I mean?

sil693, can you tell me the difference b/w the two programs? Aside from the cost?

I guess the best thing for me to suggest is that you download them both and try them out. I'm pretty sure you can get a free trial with both (you definately used to be able to).

HEM has an insane amount of stats, far more than poker tracker it seems.

FWIW I used to use PT3 but it was really buggy / laggy. I switched to HEM and it was possibly one of the best related poker decisions I've ever made. I couldn't go back to using PT3 now.

But yeah, try them both, see what you think.

gl.

PT3 has a 2 month free trial. HEM has 14 day free trial. As many player say, by the time your trials are up for both of these your BR should support buying one of these. I bought HEM cause it was cheaper.

I did'nt see a whole lot of difference in these.

**Warning** I will vent in this operation...

I just don't get this shit sometimes...I play solid values, not garbage, yet routinely my solid hands turn into soiled hands when fish play garbage and connect.
I know its part of the game....its variance but it happens a lot......frequently to me. I know I should be happy when opp's call my pf raise with J2o but when they do and they don't hit, they fold my flop bet and I win what....10cents?
When they call with J2o and hit, I lose probably 60 cents...I need 6 misses and one hit just to break even on garbage.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($0.92)
Hero (CO) ($3)
Call Machine (Button) ($4.13)
SB ($1.28)
BB ($0.79)
UTG ($0.95)
UTG+1 ($1.60)
MP1 ($2.50)
MP2 ($5.32)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero (poster) bets $0.10, Call Machine calls $0.10, 1 fold, BB calls $0.08, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.35) 10, A, 3 (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.22, Call Machine calls $0.22, 1 fold

Turn: ($0.79) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.30, Call Machine raises to $0.60, Hero calls $0.30

River: ($1.99) A (2 players)
Hero checks, Call Machine checks

Total pot: $1.99 | Rake: $0.05

Results:
Call Machine had Q, 4 (flush, Ace high).
Hero had Q, A (three of a kind, Aces).
Outcome: Call Machine won $1.94

Wow, he called my raise with Q4s.....gambool!
On the turn, I called knowing deep down I was beat (thats why I checked the river) Its just that after a while you think that you can't possibly be down again...
It seems like the majority of the time when I have a hand like that the board either has 2 suited on it or its paired....
Of all the combos of suits he could of had....he had the one he needed....know what I mean? I honestly can't remember the last time I hit a flush...
Its one of these annoying things that I have to get my head around so that I can learn to play better without going postal.

Here is another example from my crappy session. this happened about 5 hands later or so:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($1.75)
BB ($5.27)
UTG ($2.52)
Garbage Picker (MP) ($0.95)
Button ($5.62)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, Q
1 fold, Garbage Picker calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero bets $0.10, 1 fold, Garbage Picker calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.22) 2, 5, 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.14, Garbage Picker calls $0.14

Turn: ($0.50) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.78, Garbage Picker calls $0.71 (All-In)

River: ($1.92) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.92 | Rake: $0.05

Results:
Hero had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and eights).
Garbage Picker had 3, 2 (full house, twos over eights).
Outcome: Garbage Picker won $1.87

again...I agree I should be happy that he called with a 2,3o but the problem is once again it hit. After the flop call by him I couldn't imagine that he called my bet with a pair of 2's...

If this is short term variance so be it....its just that I will need to win about 10 small pots holding solid value hands just to make up for the two shitty ones I just showed you.

O.K. I feel better a little. The nice thing is it doesn't ruin me at the table all that much....I still play my cards and I don't get all fishy on everyone...It just drives me fucking insane that these type of holdings will beat trip A's.....WTF?

Another problem in my poker journey is the lack of time. I probably haven't played 10K hands since the summer...
I would love to play 1500-2000 hands/week but its just not possible. I have 2 kids under age 4, work full time and take a university course for upgrading. Its tough to find enough time to play without letting something go that I should't let go (studying, house, kids, wife etc...).

Something I have also decided to do is to make better use of the tips and strategies that are found at this site.

I find that just reading them on the computer isn't a great way to let the material absorb so I have printed many of them out and put them into a binder. I put dividers in there to separate the files and I have a nice 3-ring binder full of poker notes.
I have also read HOH vol 1-2. I made notes on each one and am now typing them out to print off and put in my book as well.

I am also reading H on Cash Games vol 1 and will get vol 2 after. I wil make notes and put them in my book. I unfortunately don't get a lot of time to play poker so I need to make sure I keep up with reading and try to let some info soak in.

Once my new daughter is sleeping through the night, then I can stay up later and be awake and play poker for longer sessions. I have decided that once this starts, I will begin multi-tabling 2 tables to start and then go to three etc...Hopefully I can get to six and play without missing whats going on.

I have only played one table since I began playing poker. I don't mind the slower action b/c I find it relaxing (bad beats aside). However to increase the BR, I will try and increase the number of tables. I think I have been able to figure out the action fairly well and take note on who the maniacs are, who limps in EP with AK and who never raises until the river holding a set, who is ultra tight...things like that.
I am hoping that a jump to 2 tables will not be overwhelming and if I can get to 4 tables, I would have a nice shot at playing 400 hands in a session which would be nice.

Wow, what a session last night. I decided to 2 table and it went very well. It took a few extra hands to pick up on the players but I had no problem following. I will do this a while and then go to 3.

I only played about 100 hands last night at 2nl. After the 100 hands I was up a buy-in (150 big blinds). I got some decent cards but never huge hands. When I did get big hands I didn't get paid off too well.
I found that aggression was key.
Both tables were full of limpers. In the past if there were 3 limpers ahead and I was in LP with AJs, I would limp behind because I didn't like the strength of my hand. Now, I raise, raise and raise....usually one player comes along for the ride and when the flop doesn't hit me, I cbet and more often then not I take it down for a nice easy small pot.

It's nice to see when I can apply principles found on this site...before I was too passive, much to passive. When you play aggressive, something happens, its tough to explain why but things just go better I think.
For the first time I can say that the other players were scared shitless of me which probably accounts for my cbet success. It also makes it easier to read them b/c if they hanf around, you know they hit some of the flop.

The player behind me was notorious for limping. I would raise the pot (with good cards) and he would always call. I would cbet and he would fold. After a few times, when I was in the B blind and he was in the small blind, he would just fold to me knowing that I wouldn't let him just go for free. It was great.

I only have to do this about 60 more times and I will be ready for 5nl.......

Another FTR member who's poker playing is hampered by his pesky kids. I hear ya bro

With regards to going postal, as long as you've put your money in when you've got the best of it then you've gained, even if the short term outcome says different. If fish didn't river you then they wouldn't keep coming back.

Just don't C-bet the calling stations. Also, if a player calls your c-bet he may be on a draw, don't assume his hand is made.

Good luck

Another good session this weekend at 2nl. I two tabled again which is going very well...I think my concentration actually is improved because the action is a touch faster.
Anyway, I was up another buy-in (150 big blinds). This was after only about 30 hands giving me a payback for the sesison of about 450BB/100? (I think I get this whole BB/100 hands thing). Gotta love short term positive variance.
I was in late position with TT. There was a limper in early position, a raise from mid position and I called the raise followed by calls. The pot had 4 players in total. I hit my set and it was checked to me and I bet out. If everyone folded thats fine, I wasnt getting going to make anything anyway. It went around to the player just ahead of me and he shoved. My set was the highest possible and there was no flushdraw or open ended draw available that I could remember.
My hand held up and the player had a gutshot....I don't know....I cant push on a 4 outer gutshot, but I'm happy he did.
I also kept up with the aggression which I noticed is key at these stakes. I have to keep raising PF and I limit the amount of hands I limp with and I only call raises with what I consider quality hands. I am happy that I have made my money the last few sessions with good hole cards. Not one pot has been won by holding 64o and hitting two pair....or something similar.
I will be happy to hit my $50 goal. After that I will make it $100 at which point I will try and move to 5nl. I played there before underrolled and was doing ok until I hit a brutal streak and properly moved down to 2nl. I will keep my same pricinples in 5nl.....except I will have to see about cbetting. I cbet a lot in 2nl vs tight players and hope I can in 5nl. Its such an easy way to take it down, I assume it wont be much different in 5nl....seems so long ago.

Update on me:
I thought I would provide some info about who I am.
31 yrs old. Been a rec poker player for 10 years, but rec is the key word. I didn't know a thing about the game.

I am married with two kids, one is almost 4 the other is 2 months. I work full time (supply management/logistics) and am taking a University course to achieve a professional designation in the field. I have about 2.5 yeras left of this.
I love fishing and I love boxing, both watching and playing the sport. I have managed to create a fishing monster in my son who is constantly asking to go. I'm pretty lucky there...

I have some goals in poker that I want to achieve. Some are monetary and some are what I call micro level goals (specific). I have found this site very educational and I have learned much already.
[/b]Short Term Goals
1) Build BR to $100 and play 5nl
2) Read more poker books - finish Harrington on Cash Games vol 1 & 2 then get some books by Sklansky etc.
3) Get Hold Em Manager - I see that this software is quite crucial.
4) Better understanding of why I should play certain ways and how the situation calls for different plays - e.g. I cbet on the flop to be aggressive but there isn't much thinking beyond that. What kind of flops do I bet at? What am I representing? At 2nl there probably doesn't have to be.
5) Find more time to play/study. My kids make it tough to find time. Evenings are so busy catching up with other things after the kids are down that I don't get a lot of time to play. That leads to:
6) Get to a place where I can 6 table...- that will help me play more hands in my short time sessions.
7) Play more sng's to help increase BR.

Long Term Goals
1) I would love to be able to take away some income....even if its $2000/yr just to do something special here and there.
2) Expand into MTT's
3) Play some live ring games at the local casino...
4) Play 50nl but go as far as I can...

That's all I can think of for now. I will add later...

I for sure want to get Hold'Em Manager. I would love to be able to post my stats and have some better info on players beyond just "gut feeling". I just have some other things to take care of before I can make that investment.

Thanks to all so far who have responded with their 2 cents...It all helps.

Wow....session from hell....Remember that nice buy-in win I had 2 days ago? GONE!
I 2 tabled for only about 50 hands. I wish I could have gone longer. I had one table which was playing snug and I never got a chance to mix things up. The other table was brutal....
I think the reason people here get so mad when donk's and fish hit the jackpot is because we just dont give ourselves the chance to donk out because we know its a stupid play.
I had AQ at the one table 5 times and lost all of them! 4 of them I never connected and I didn't cbet too much b/c I was against call stations.
The one AQ hand where I connected I had 2 pair, well you can look at it...
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com


Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q, A
1 fold, Villain calls $0.02 , Hero bets $0.10, 4 folds, ; Villain calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.23) 10, A, Q (2 players, )
; Villain checks, > Hero bets $0.20 , ; Villain calls $0.20

Turn: ($0.63) 9 (2 players, )
; Villain checks, > hero bets $0.50 , ; Villain calls $0.50

River: ($1.63) 8 (2 players, )
; Villain checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $1.63

Villain had Kh9x for a flush.

This guy was a complete station the whole session and holy shit did he get paid off big for his calls....not just from me. Thats what pisses me off, is how he was rewarded for his atrocious play....
Again, it pisses me off b/c I know it will never happen to me b/c I don't allow myself to suck out like that and I don't overcall on draws or chace aces...
I love this fucktards check on the river.....way to get more $$ in the pot retard. He called 2 pot sized bets and then checks on the end when he basically needs to put me all in to make his calls justified...

The only nice thing about the session is I didn't stop doing what I knew I should.....raise PF!!!
I just kept raising with my good holecards and raised the limpers no matter what....I just couldn't connect or get paid off....
Oh well, a buy-in downswing.....I hate it. I can't wait to get back on there. I pray that I see this guy again because he is one of those special friends we call ATM's...

You don't hit a pothole in the road and call it a crater, you call it a pothole. What you had last session is a blip, not a downswing.

Chin up Vinland, keep fishin

yeah I know its small but the way I played before is I would stop the bleding when I was down $2....now I keep going as long as I feel I am playing properly. So the loss yesterday was probably my second worse ever...

It takes me 1/2 a day then I am cool again.

I logged about an hour and 15mins playing a $1 SnG 2X or Nothing last night. I was able to place so that was nice. Boy did things get tight there. At the beginning I got some nice cards and wons some pots, one real big with a full house and he called me down with his set. Actually the same opponent busted later when he ran into another full house...that sucks for him.
I had a nice amount of chips and was running second for most of it, and even crept into first for a while. I just played my high Aces and high pairs and stole blinds when folded to me in LP. Thats the key, especially late in the game. I had a bad few stretches where I got good cards but ran inot 3 people who all held high pocket pairs so I lost that one once I folded the flop. Another few raised pots I had to let go on the flop and I was in trouble. I just kept the pressure on the blinds who were in worse shape than me but not in pushing mode yet so they folded every time. That kept me up.
The last hand was awful. An opponent who pushed with about 500 chips left got called by 2 players. I was like "great it should be over". The other two players checked it on the flop and turn but then on the river one player raised it up! I was almost yelling at the screen "WTF Man! its called co-operation!!" This guy was such an ass the whole game, a call station who got lucky a few times and had a nice chip lead on everyone.
Thankfully he took the pot and the last player was booted...
Everyone was so passive and scared at the end b/c of the blinds...
People were limping in with AKs, and one even with KK in a multiway pot....unbelievable...

Not much happened this week end. I had an assignment to finish for University so I only palyed about an hour 2 tabling and it didn't go well. I didn't get great cards, when I did they just didnt hold up. But thats fine. At the end I was starting to pick up on a few things.
I had one nice one where I lead out PF with a raise and had the SB call me. The flop was useless and he donk bet fairly high so I just called thinking he would give up on the turn. I called, and of course he checked the turn so I put a good bet out and he folded. That felt nice...usually I fold to donk bets when I have nothing.

I am done my class in 3 weeks and my daughter is getting better at sleeping longer stretches so hopefully I can start playing more. I want to get to 3 tables soon and dont think it will be a problem to follow the action. 2 has been fine....I just haven't had the great results yet.

Played a good session yesterday. Found two tables with at least 2 fish on it. One was a maniac fish...
I got one beauty 3 way pot with KK when we went all in on flop. One good player had QQ and the other had A4s (idiot...) He called the 4 bet PF with A4s.....gotta love the gamble in him. Of course if he hit the A he would have trippled up, but justice was served and I held on.

Played tight, and didn't play marginal hands which I see how that slowly bleeds your BR at the table. I used to win a nice hand and then play a few suspect hands and next thing you know you've bled the earnings away.

I 3-tabled for a bit and it was ok....I want to get to 4 tables and stop there. Without PT3 or Hold'em manager I dont know if I could keep up with the action. I found it alright with 3. I'll try that for a bit.

GL, and play smart! You'll reach your goals in no-time.

Had a nice session on the week-end. I should, barring any horrible variance, reach my goal fairly soon. I wish I knew my win rate. It would be pretty big...I've only played about 500-700 hands during this short operation so I could come up with an estimate once its done.
My very first hand of the session was sick and went as follows:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Call Machine (Button) ($1.98)
SB ($0.98)
BB ($2.98)
Hero (UTG) ($3)
UTG+1 ($1.40)
Victim (MP1) ($1.98)
MP2 ($1.44)
CO ($3.52)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, K
Hero (poster) bets $0.08, 1 fold, Victim calls $0.08, 1 fold, CO calls $0.08, Call Machine raises to $0.14, 2 folds, Hero (poster) raises to $0.30, Victim calls $0.22, 1 fold, Call Machine calls $0.16

Flop: ($1.01) 7, 7, 8 (3 players)
Hero bets $0.78, Victim raises to $1.68 (All-In), Call Machine calls $1.68 (All-In), Hero calls $0.90

Turn: ($6.05) 3 (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($6.05) 8 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $6.05 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Call Machine had A, 8 (full house, eights over sevens).
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and eights).
Victim mucked J, J (two pair, Jacks and eights).
Outcome: Call Machine won $5.75

That was fine....I was a bit ticked but I didn't even swear....I just remember kinda laughing...I just topped up my stack and kept going. Before I would've sat there with my small stack and tried to rebuiled but not anymore. I'M glad I topped it up b/c the poker gods smiled down on me with this doozey of a hand:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($2.26)
Button ($2.50)
Hero (SB) ($3.65)
victim (BB) ($8.23)
UTG ($0.86)
UTG+1 ($0.92)
MP1 ($1.86)
Unfortunate (MP2) ($3.06)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, 10
2 folds, MP1 calls $0.02, Unfortunate bets $0.10, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.09, victim calls $0.08, MP1 calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.40) 4, 10, 6 (4 players)
Hero checks, victim bets $0.20, 1 fold, Unfortunate raises to $0.60, Hero raises to $2, 1 fold, Unfortunate raises to $2.96 (All-In), Hero calls $0.96

Turn: ($6.52) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($6.52) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $6.52 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Hero had 10, 10 (four of a kind, tens).
Unfortunate mucked A, A (full house, Aces over tens).
Outcome: Hero won $6.22

I will take no credit for my play what so ever. I actually almost folded pf if you can believe it. Once the guy made the raise PF I told myself "he's got AA's." I called only for set value, I didnt think my pair would be worth it at all.
That guy left the table immediately. I can only imagine what I would feel if I hit an Aces up full house and then see that I automucked my cards. That doesnt happen very often.
But thats the lesson people learn when they over play AA's in my opinion. People always just assume in a multiway pot that they can just shove them all the time....maybe it makes $$ in long run, I dont know.
Hopefully I can reach my goal by weeks end and then I will be aiming for $100 and a move to 5nl.

Great to hear you're doing well Vinland, however:

Originally Posted by Vinland

I will take no credit for my play what so ever. I actually almost folded pf if you can believe it. Once the guy made the raise PF I told myself "he's got AA's." I called only for set value, I didnt think my pair would be worth it at all.

Why not KK, AK, QQ? Even if this was the opponent's first ever raise ever, you still couldn't snap-read it as rockets. It's not a healthy habit going forward to assume a single hand. And 10s have more than just 'set value' even against a nit range.

Good luck

Just read your whole operation. Things are looking up for you. Don't get discouraged at losing a BI or two. The other day within a 36 hour period i lost about 8-9 BI's Kinda hurt, but i kept the ehad up and here i am with making back more than i lost. had a 7 BI day yesterday. I am 21 have a kid on the way, fiance is about 3 months pregnant. Im sure my poker time will be cut shorter when the day gets here. At the moment i usually 4-6 table for around 2 hours a night. Download PT3(60 days) or HEM(14 days) free trial and see which you like.

IF you can spare 10 bucks you should get a www.grinderschool.com micro membership. Spends has some nice videos on c-betting and PF raising. its helping me alot! Well worth a look into.

Keep on grinding sir.

Last night I played, for me, a long session, mostly on 3 tables. I think I played about 300-350 hands which is the most ever for me...
I wont quit multi-tabling.
I had great cards at the start but didnt get paid too well for them but just kept winning small pots...which is fine.
After the initial run I went brutally dead, and it was too bad b/c 2 tables had some total maniacs on board that never folded. That happens. I had to switch tables a lot. I would find a high$/hand table and slowly it would just slow to a crawl. I dont know how many times I switched.
In the middle stage I was just getting bled...I would raise with good cards and 2-3 stations would call and I couldnt hit. I dont like cbetting against 3 stations and these were passive stations. They didnt bet unless they hit something on the flop so I had to shut things down.
I kept my cool and just waited. Finally I was able to check (was in the BB) with a K7. Flop came Q77 and the biggest maniac staion was in town so I didnt slowplay I just fired out hoping he had hit his queen. He called me, so I fired again almost pot sized. He called again. On river I fired, he min raised and I reraised, he min-reraised and I shoved.
He had something stupid like a Q4 and of course my trip 7's w/K kick totally mangled him.
I just love these players. I had hardly palyed a pot and I keep firing out, what else am I going to have? Will I have a worse Q?

Not even when I was a beginner did I call down like that.
So I ended up in the positive side for about 20 big blinds, I'm happy considering the mess I had on my hands leading up to it.

Well I did it...
I hit my $50 goal. It was a very small goal but it was important for me. I started playing for $$ back in June. I put on $15 and I never got higher than $22 in about 8 months.
After a few months here, reading articles, seeing hand histories etc... I reached my $15 earnings goal in just over a month, playing less than I ever have.
I wish I kept track of how many hands I played but Its probably about 1500 hands. I only started multitabling about 2 weeks ago. I did have some nice flops go my way but I also ran into a couple of beats so it evens out in my books...

I actually hit this milestone by playing 3 sng's. I busted just out of the money in a DON, won a regular SNG and placed 3rd in another. That pushed me to $51...
I decided to go for a quick session in full ring before updating my operation when this happened:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Tool (MP2) ($2.54)
MP3 ($2.94)
Villain (CO) ($4.65)
Button ($5.95)
Hero (SB) ($4.31)
BB ($0.84)
UTG ($0.87)
fishy fishy (UTG+1) ($2.06)
MP1 ($3.12)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K
1 fold, fishy fishy calls $0.02, 1 fold, Tool calls $0.02, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero bets $0.14, 1 fold, fishy fishy calls $0.12, Tool calls $0.12, Villain calls $0.12

Flop: ($0.58) 5, 4, 9 (4 players)
Hero bets $0.46, fishy fishy raises to $0.92, Tool calls $0.92, Villain calls $0.92, Hero raises to $4.17 (All-In), fishy fishy calls $1 (All-In), Tool calls $1.48 (All-In), Villain calls $3.25

Turn: ($13.24) J (4 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($13.24) 8 (4 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $13.24 | Rake: $0.65

Results:
Hero had K, K (one pair, Kings).
fishy fishy mucked Q, 4 (one pair, fours).
Tool mucked 9, A (one pair, nines).
Villain had 6, 7 (straight, nine high).
Outcome: Villain won $12.59

It may have been risky b/c I could have been up against a set or two but I really felt, based on how bad two of them were that I was likely up against worse hands and a draw. The first player only min raised me which to me, given his nature, meant weakness. The two calls behind his raise told me about the same, they didn't have AA's and they had lower pairs or a draw.
The result sucks, maybe I shouldnt have pushed but I was very confident I was ahead and I was right!!
I wasnt too mad, I havent run the math but I think Villain was priced in b/c of the two others that called my shove. Yes sir, a pair of 4's is good enough to take this down....
Oh well. So I jumped back on today and hit some nice hands and really got paid off well.
Thats the whole difference, before, I didnt get paid off, now my bets are getting me more $$. Thats the biggest improvement in my game along with my preflop selection (less limps, raise with better holdings, etc...).

So I will update this: I now want to get to $100 and then move to 5nl...
I hope I can get there within 3 months (I dont play often).

Thanks to all who have helped with feedback!

I think you played the hand fine. I would figure there was a draw out there...but you got your money in while you were still good. You were most likely ahead of all their ranges on the flop as most of them would call your bet with TP (as happened here). Sucks that he hit the 8...twas a monster pot. Good job on reaching 5NL! It gets a bit (a TEENY bit) tighter up there...but you should do just fine. Remember to value bet throughout and beware fancy play. That's what got me stuck in 5NL for an extended amount of time. Play aggressively (within reason). Also, learn to start tables (if you hadn't already done so). I took Spenda's advice on this and it has gone really well thus far. Good luck!

Thanks,
But I'm not at 5nl yet. I just wanted to hit $50 b/c that would be the most I had made in online poker. I now have to get to $100 and I will move to 5nl.
Its been a remarkable progression already...
I have improved so much and its been a very short amount of time. I have, to my knowledge, not lost an all-in pot where I had my money in with the worst hand. Sometimes I play too tight in all-in situations but these last 1500 hands or so have paid me off like never before and I used to play more often last summer. I just didnt bet properly, I limped too often and I played hole cards that should've been mucked.

In a week or so I am downloading Hold'Em Manager and I cant wait. I am done school in 2 weeks and I can take some time to learn the program with the free download before I buy it and then blast away for the last $50 before I move up to 5nl...

Its so fun being this confident...

Well I played in the PS Qualified Member Freeroll and It was fun!
Yeah there were an assload of players but that was the first tourney I played. I never have played more than a 45 man SNG so this 1400 player tourney was cool.

I managed to finish in the money (160th place) without much problem getting there. The beginning I was able to really get some nice value from my hands and I lead the table for a while.
I feel I could have done better except for 3 crucial things.
1) My wife went out and left me the 4 month old who was screaming hungry, so tough to concentrate. I lost some chips on bad calls.
2) When the blinds were juicy to steal I got the 2 laggiest players in the 2 seats next to me, one of which was the chip leader by far, so no blind stealing.
3) Went card dead. Pretty weird. I was ready to shove with an M at 10 with pocket 6's. But the two guys before me both shoved so I got out of the way. They both had TT and QQ and no one improved.

I finally picked up a nice hand to push KT from button (folded to me & M about 8.5) and the chip leader called with AK. I'm never ahead in those spots for whatever reason. Nothing changed and I was out.

I dont think I would have changed much except for my concentration when taking care of the baby. I just couldnt do both and I got involved when I shouldn't have.

So, in summary, it was a nice learning experience.

Ouch...
I didnt do well yesterday... I made one horrible call where the villain hit his straight on the turn and I wasnt paying attention and there was a buy-in gone. If it wasnt for that I would have been just a bit under.
I tried 6max at 2nl and it didnt go well. I should have moved tables or seats but I had a limp/caller to my left. He called just about all my pf raises and I just couldnt seem to connect. I would cbet b/c his range was so wide and he would usually call. It just seemed like he caught a piece of the flop, however small. I just dont know how much you should cbet/bluff into these situations where I would only have a K high...

I really need to improve against these players...If you just check after you miss, they always cbet so you end up having to fold most of the time.
This is my most glaring problem right now...I just cant play these guys with confidence.

Decent weekend. It started well by making up what I lost the other day. Gotta love the fish at 2nl...I'll post a hand or two to show.
Then yesterday I played again and it started rough when I felted with a full house vs a better FH....it happens...
However, I was rewarded by having the same thing happen to me, but I had the high FH...
And a couple of nice hands with TP...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($1.15)
MP3 ($2.48)
CO ($4.97)
Button ($3.10)
SB ($4.70)
Hero (BB) ($3)
UTG ($4.87)
UTG+1 ($3.52)
Villain (MP1) ($3.18)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, K
2 folds, Villain bets $0.04, MP2 calls $0.04, MP3 calls $0.04, 3 folds, Hero raises to $0.18, Villain calls $0.14, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.45) 4, A, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, Villain raises to $3 (All-In), Hero calls $2.42 (All-In)

Turn: ($6.09) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($6.09) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $6.09 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Hero had A, K (two pair, Aces and twos).
Villain mucked A, 10 (two pair, Aces and twos).
Outcome: Hero won $5.79

The villain had played pretty weak. His pf raise told me he had something decent so I wasnt worried when he shoved the flop that he had a set or a flopped str8 b/c he wouldnt raise pf with 22 or 44 and would reraise me with AA...
I really dont like going all in with just TP but in 2nl you just have to in some cases.
I figured he had AQ.

Later on, this doozey happend...

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

SB ($3.42)
BB ($1.50)
UTG ($2.88)
MP1 ($1.85)
WTF? (MP2) ($6.25)
CO ($2.17)
Hero (Button) ($4.54)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
2 folds, WTF? calls $0.02, CO calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.12, 2 folds, WTF? calls $0.10, CO calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.39) K, 5, Q (3 players)
WTF? checks, CO checks, Hero bets $0.30, WTF? calls $0.30, 1 fold

Turn: ($0.99) 9 (2 players)
WTF? checks, Hero bets $0.74, WTF? raises to $1.48, Hero calls $0.74

River: ($3.95) 10 (2 players)
WTF? bets $1.20, Hero calls $1.20

Total pot: $6.35 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
WTF? had A, 5 (one pair, fives).
Outcome: Hero won $6.05

WTF??? I dont know if he was bluffing there or was serious about his pair of 5's.
I JUST about folded the turn b/c I figured he must have hit 2 pair (KQ's)....
In the end I felt he was bluffing, like he had the straight and he held AJ but then he would have raised preflop most likely so I put him on a bluff and made the call.
Its nice to be right...

Well I did it....I downloaded Hold 'Em Manager and have 2 weeks to figure it out. I am pretty pumped. Hopefully I figure it our quick and get it all nicely customized for me (which stats I want etc...) and I can rock and roll with it.

NICE! HEM is great. My favorite feature is the color coding of stats to change if/when a stat is at or above a certain number. For example, I have VPIP turn green when it is over 27. Green means they are in a lot of pots...and that combined with AF helps me figure out if I can value bet this station to oblivion. I'm sure you'll find your own little cool tricks.

Just played my first session with Hold 'Em Manager and wow...its unreal...I love stats and there is no end to them here.
It makes it much easier to see exactly how a player is going about his business.
I just need to figure out what some of the stats mean and what a good number is so that I can make decisions on my opponents.

I forgot to add this nice hand which was at the tail end of the session. Nice bluff son...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 ($9.09)
Tool (CO) ($4.34)
Button ($2.84)
SB ($0.65)
Hero (BB) ($3.23)
UTG ($0.98)
UTG+1 ($5)
MP1 ($4.84)
MP2 ($4.28)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A
4 folds, MP3 calls $0.02, Tool calls $0.02, 1 fold, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.14, MP3 calls $0.12, Tool calls $0.12, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.44) 3, 3, K (3 players)
Hero bets $0.42, 1 fold, Tool raises to $4.20 (All-In), Hero calls $2.67 (All-In)

Turn: ($6.62) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($6.62) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $6.62 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and threes).
Tool mucked 9, A (one pair, threes).
Outcome: Hero won $6.32

I am starting to get quite confident playing in 2nl. I should consider full buy-in just to get paid off a bit better when I get into these spots...

No hand history to show but I did ok this week-end. I absolutely love HEM and will be shelling out the cash the second the trial is over.
I had a slower start to my session and even was downa fair bit due to calling down w/ QQ vs KK on an all undercard board. I slowly made it back a bit and then hit a hand with a set where we got it all in.

I may finish this operation sooner than expected and if so, I may extend it to $120 so that if I lose a few buyins at 5nl I wont need to jump down so fast. I'll probably start at 100bb buy in and move to 140bb buy in when I hit $140.
Its great, I dont even have to question whether I'll get there. Just a matter of time.
I al almost done Harrington on Cash Games vol 1 and I will reread it before my next book. I might get Theory of Poker first before getting Vol 2 of Cash games....I like the Harrington book but some of the advice doesnt apply to micro stakes. He doesnt advocate getting TPTK all in too often and I would agree at $5-10 but at 2nl, your probably ahead 75% of the time against these fish.

Hopefully I can get some hands in, I'd like to play a $3.40 SNG and see how that goes.

Uuuuugggghhhh......

What a session. It was the longest I had played and boy was it shitty...nothing went well.

I can't seem to get the hand history converted so I dont have any hands to show. I lost 2 big ones, one was pretty sick. Had I not lost the one big one, I would have been up for the session so I guess I can be happy overall considering the lost hand was a cooler.
I just had a hard time overall though. I raised like crazy (with good cards) but just couldnt hit and I may have made some cbet mistakes that lost me some $$....not sure. The cbets just werent working.

I'll try to post hands later.

Gator has pm'd the mods about the HH converter.

Keep grinding

WOW!!!! Another shitty session......I have to post some hands from this...I think the converter is still down...

Essentially I ran pretty bad all night and had more probs with my cbets. They were getting called fairly often by stations and I just couldnt figure out what the guy was on given his wide playing tendancies.

I had 3-4 main crappy pots...
1)One was an all-in 3 way where I had A's over T's FH. One opponent had quad 4's on the flop. He was hort stacked so I lost a whole penny b/c I had him covered and won the majority of the 3 players stack...
2) Had AJ on a ATX board. The villain was a complete station and I value bet every street. The turn was another T and on the river the opponent showed AT for a FH. He checked the river and I checked behind, thankfully, so I lost minimal. This guy could of had any AX and he would have called the same.
3) Had AQ vs station. Flop was QXsXs and it was multiway. Everyone folded to my value bet except station and I flt he was on a flush draw. Turn was nothing (a 4) so I bet pot and he called. River was another 4 and the flush didn't complete. I made a nice size bet on river and he called showing J4s.....holy shit......

So I am down a good chunk. I went from running 70bb/100 to about 20bb/100. Still good so I am happy overall. The bad hands didnt really change my play. I still raised pf and I didnt play junk cards and didnt limp out of fear. I kept my game....I just ouldn't hit meaningfully.

I should look at some hands and see if my cbetting is awry....that probably my biggest leak I assume. I probably gave some money away there but no where close to what I lost on the above hands.

Again, I'll try to get some histories up soon...

Alright, I have some histories to show now....
A few crap hands from my losing sessions recently.

Hand one, villain runs about 70/2/ over 40 hands.
He never raises and just hits the call button so his range is large imo.....
I may have gone to war a bit to much bt I'd seen some funky stuff from him.

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

Button ($2.52)
SB ($3.24)
BB ($1)
UTG ($4.70)
MP1 ($6.69)
MP2 ($6.38)
Hero (CO) ($3.80)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, J
3 folds, Hero bets $0.08, Button calls $0.08, SB calls $0.07, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.26) A, 10, 9 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.16, 1 fold, SB calls $0.16

Turn: ($0.58) 10 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.32, SB calls $0.32

River: ($1.22) 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $1.22

Results:
SB had A, 10 (full house, tens over Aces).
Hero had A, J (two pair, Aces and tens).
Outcome: SB won $1.17

This next one was a beauty.....I just laughed when it got shipped to him...
I put him on the draw and figured I'd bet the river in case he had a pai and felt like calling...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($8.89)
UTG+1 ($2)
Hero (MP1) ($3.25)
MP2 ($2.36)
Lucky Sh@t (CO) ($4.77)
Button ($0.75)
SB ($1.32)
BB ($1)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q, A
UTG calls $0.02, UTG+1 (poster) checks, Hero bets $0.10, 1 fold, Lucky Sh@t calls $0.10, 1 fold, SB calls $0.09, 2 folds, UTG+1 (poster) calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.44) 6, Q, 8 (4 players)
SB checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets $0.40, Lucky Sh@t calls $0.40, 2 folds

Turn: ($1.24) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.80, Lucky Sh@t calls $0.80

River: ($2.84) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $1, Lucky Sh@t calls $1

Total pot: $4.84

Results:
Hero had Q, A (two pair, Queens and fours).
Lucky Sh@t had J, 4 (three of a kind, fours).
Outcome: Lucky Sh@t won $4.64

Hand #3 also sucked because once again I was behind. Thankfully I got out when I could.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG+1 ($3.96)
MP1 ($2.81)
MP2 ($5)
MP3 ($0.84)
CO ($5.26)
Button ($2.03)
SB ($0.82)
Hero (BB) ($3)
UTG ($11.18)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.02, 4 folds, Button bets $0.10, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.32, UTG+1 calls $0.32, Button raises $1.93 (All-In), 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $1.69

Flop: ($4.41) 9, 3, 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($4.41) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($4.41) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $4.41

Results:
Button had K, K (one pair, Kings).
UTG+1 had 8, 10 (high card, Jack).
Outcome: Button won $4.21

This one was bad but vs shortstacks so little damage done relatively...
No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 ($8.97)
CO ($1.24)
Hero (Button) ($3)
chump change (SB) ($0.82)
BB ($3.70)
UTG ($7.80)
UTG+1 ($1.20)
MP1 ($0.39)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.02, MP1 calls $0.02, 1 fold, CO calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.10, chump change calls $0.09, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls $0.08, MP1 calls $0.08, CO calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.52) 4, Q, 4 (5 players)
chump change checks, UTG+1 checks, MP1 bets $0.14, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.50, chump change calls $0.50, 1 fold, MP1 calls $0.15 (All-In)

Turn: ($1.81) A (3 players, 1 all-in)
chump change bets $0.22 (All-In), Hero calls $0.22

River: ($2.25) K (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $2.25

Results:
Hero had A, A (full house, Aces over fours).
chump change had 10, 9 (flush, Ace high).
MP1 had 4, 4 (four of a kind, fours).
Outcome: Hero won $0.81, MP1 won $1.34

I only lost one penny on that one. Glad he didnt have me covered.

I clawed back a tiny bit last night....no big hands just regular spots, betting for value etc...
Something I need to change is my aggression....to much of it! I am against a call machine w/ TPTK and when he bets into me I pop it back to him 3x the size...."I got you crushed sucka...take that!" When I should probably just call him for two streets knowing that I am way ahead of his range.
I'll work on it over the next bit. I'm definately not getting my full pot potential on those hands. Part of it is tha generally by the turn and river I automatically start thinking to myself that "why is he still betting? He must have 2 pair against my TPTK!" I get worried after the flop that I'm beat so I automatically just run them over with reraises on the flop.
Hopefully someone can chime in on this. I'm posting some other non-complaining hands in the BC

Nice session today. Made my way back and had some nice hands. No real monsters just reg TPTk type hands. Had one player who was so awful....he will be on my fish list for sure. I'm glad HEM tracks the players for me...he woul readily ship in 1/2 his stack w/ 2np pair...

I've got something new for me to work on. Bet sizing in certain sistuations.
I've read so many threads where the OP is told to bet pot, bet pot, shove river....b/c the villain is a limp/station.
Well I find plenty of players at 2nl w/ stats like 60/3/.5 and I just cant seem to bet the pot.
Part of the problem might be the starting pot value? With 3 limoers in front I typically pump it to $.14 and get lets say one caller. The pot is already at $.32 and when I pot it, they typically fold. Sometimes the board is wet, sometimes dry, it just seems that I am not getting paid for them often when I am confident that I'm ahead.

So on the weekend I tried reducing the size of my bets only when the board is safe (no draws, no overs that frighten me).
It seemed to work better. I started betting about 2/3 the pot and I seemed to get at least a call on the flop and I feel I made some extra money.
I dont know....I'll have to play around with this....
Its just that for the last few weeks, the $$ I have earned from my nonshowdown hands is dismal and I wonder if this is a start to fix it.
I may ask in the BC for advice but if someone reading this can help me out it would be great...

I will note that against a player who calls down with anything, then yes, its pot, pot shove. I just personally dont get many of them at a table. Its a lot of limpers who bet/call light. It seems like if I show too much aggression then they give up.

About your hands above

H1- I'd probably bet more on flop/turn/check river. Wow is he bad.
H2- Meh. sucks. nh though.
H3- Std., but nice fold.
H4- Lol pls run better.

Nice hands in general. You're clearly getting better.

About your hands above

H1- I'd probably bet more on flop/turn/check river. Wow is he bad.
H2- Meh. sucks. nh though.
H3- Std., but nice fold.
H4- Lol pls run better.

Nice hands in general. You're clearly getting better.

Thanks,

H1 - yeah that was bad. I was certain after turn call that I was beat. I love his check....he made minimal IMO.

Do you have any advice on my general quest for proper bet sizing?
I really havent figured it out. I usually bet quite high (close to pot) with my made hands and it just seems that I blow the villains out of the water and they fold on me (on wet and dry boards). I started betting less (2/3 approx) and I seemed to get one more street of value from them. It just seems to be preached here that against micro limpers it should be pot, pot and more pot, but I'm just not getting the results.
Again, I wonder if its b/c of the starting pot. Since there are so many limpers, I raise accordingly (4xbb + 1bb) and the starting pot is relatively big. If they dont hit their garbage, they fold on the flop when I pot it....know what I mean?

Think about this: Bet sizing should be a function of range manipulation.

Originally Posted by Illfavor

Think about this: Bet sizing should be a function of range manipulation.

This really.

I mean, your bet sizes shouldn't just be some robotic amount. Like, "Oh, I haz TPTK, I pot it." That thinking is pretty off. You should think, well that flop is fairly drawy, and this villain calls with horrendous odds, so I should bet pot or close to it (3/4 or so). Or, this villain will call 2/3-3/4 PSB (pot size bets) with TPNK. See what I'm saying? This is where paying attention to villain's tendencies comes into play. If they will call with terribad odds (a lot of them will) then charge the SHIT out of them. If they will call with INCORRECT odds but nothing outrageous, then be more inclined to bet smaller.

Yes, I see....

Thats what I've tried to work on the last few days....and it seems to make a difference, I've got an extra street out of the villains where before I perhaps wouldnt.

I think I was just always betting 3/4 - pot expecting a call but I wasnt getting them...so I've adjusted a little depending on the board and player...

Thx for the help.

gogo Vinland

Another good day. Played a short session and was up a buy-in and a smidge.
Had two real nice hands which I may post in the BC to see if I was naughty during the hands at all.

After that I decided to play a SNG and I busted out in 9th...out of 9. I have never busted first. This game was tighter than any I have played for a $1 SNG. Almost never more than 2 in a pot. Crazy tight except for villain who is the most active.
The villain had already open shoved during the first level and in the second level I opened in EP for 3.5xBB and it folds to him and he open shoves again. I snap call because.....
No-Limit Hold'em, $30.00 BB (9 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($1430)
Hero (UTG+1) ($1420)
MP1 ($1400)
MP2 ($1470)
MP3 ($1540)
CO ($1510)
Button ($1725)
SB ($1370)
BB ($1635)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with A, A
1 fold, Hero bets $100, 6 folds, BB raises $1605 (All-In), Hero calls $1320 (All-In)

Flop: ($2855) J, Q, J (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: ($2855) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($2855) 10 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $2855

Results:
BB had 8, 8 (full house, eights over Jacks).
Hero had A, A (two pair, Aces and Jacks).
Outcome: BB won $3070

lol.....oh well. I said nh to him and moved on...what else can you do...

Well I played next to no poker on the week end on account of Mothers day dinners all weekend.....yikes.
I had one session during the day and I was down a marginal amount. I was pissed and thought I must have played shitty but I looked at the hands on HEM and I really did ok. I was an aggressive raising machine preflop (when i did play a hand) and didn't play scared ever.
There were 3 hands that I lost that accounted for the bulk of my losses on the session. One was me w/ 99 vs Kx where villain rivered his K. Another was me with AJ vs villain with A8 where we both hit our A but he hit is kicker on the river.
The other hand I know he hit his card on the turn I just cant remember the dynamics of the hand.
I am hoping to play a nice amount of hands this week. I really want to get to 5nl this month. It would be nice if I could up my win rate a bit but I know that I cant do much to control that, outside of playing my best...

Over 3200 hads (very small sample I know) I am running 13/9/3.9 with a win rate of 30 bb/100. The last 1200 hands or so I have had very good cards but they just dont connect or my high pocket pairs dont get a lot of action.
I am having lots of fun with this though. I will be very happy once I get to 5nl.
I may change this as well to go to 5nl once I hit $120 instead of $100. I dont want to buy in for 100bb but I'll see. I'd rather buy in at $6 and quickly get to $140 so I can buy-in for $7 which is what I used to do and feel comfortable with. I am expecting to do well there and just keep playing as solid as I know how.

Nice little session today. Had a few real nice pots including this one where I "feel" like I made a hero call, even though I'm sure it wasn't...

Villain was 92/32/3.8 over 30 hands.
Not a lot of hands but it shows a tendancy to over value his hole cards

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2.98)
BB ($1.70)
Villain (UTG) ($1.74)
UTG+1 ($3.03)
MP1 ($3.86)
MP2 ($2.74)
MP3 ($5.24)
CO ($2.23)
Button ($4.97)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, A
Villain bets $0.08, 6 folds, Hero calls $0.07, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.18) J, 6, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero calls $0.08

Turn: ($0.34) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero raises $0.30, Villain calls $0.22

River: ($0.94) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.06, Hero calls $0.06

Total pot: $1.06

Results:
Hero had 10, A (high card, Ace).
Villain had 3, Q (high card, Queen).
Outcome: Hero won $1.01

That may have been totally stupid, but I felt like he had air, and worse than mine. The bets just screamed to me "please leave". I was a bit concerned when he called my turn raise but again, his river bet was so pussy, I felt like he had nothing...

This was another nice pot for me:

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

MP2 ($3.03)
Hero (CO) ($3.40)
Button ($0.84)
SB ($5.85)
BB ($4.96)
Villain (UTG) ($1.80)
MP1 ($1.16)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, Q
Villain bets $0.08, 2 folds, Hero raises $0.26, 3 folds, Villain calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.55) 4, 10, 2 (2 players)
Villain checks, Hero bets $0.44, Villain raises $1.54 (All-In), Hero calls $1.10

Turn: ($3.63) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3.63) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3.63

Results:
Villain had K, A (high card, Ace).
Hero had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $3.48


And this!

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

MP1 ($4.95)
Hero (MP2) ($2.93)
CO ($3.39)
Button ($1.83)
Villain (SB) ($0.85)
BB ($2.59)
UTG ($1.36)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, A
UTG (poster) bets $0.06, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.26, 2 folds, Villain calls $0.25, 1 fold, UTG (poster) calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.81) 2, 8, A (3 players)
Villain checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.70, Villain calls $0.59 (All-In), 1 fold

Turn: ($1.99) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($1.99) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.99

Results:
Villain had A, 8 (two pair, Aces and eights).
Hero had A, A (full house, Aces over twos).
Outcome: Hero won $2.05


I only wish that the Villains would have me covered... I never seem to double, just taking out smaller stacks but Its tough to complain.

I am hoping to reach my goal by months end. I can almost taste it.....but its more of a wiff right now.

Nice little session today. Had a few real nice pots including this one where I "feel" like I made a hero call, even though I'm sure it wasn't...

Villain was 92/32/3.8 over 30 hands.
Not a lot of hands but it shows a tendancy to over value his hole cards

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (9 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2.98)
BB ($1.70)
Villain (UTG) ($1.74)
UTG+1 ($3.03)
MP1 ($3.86)
MP2 ($2.74)
MP3 ($5.24)
CO ($2.23)
Button ($4.97)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 10, A
Villain bets $0.08, 6 folds, Hero calls $0.07, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.18) J, 6, 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero calls $0.08

Turn: ($0.34) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.08, Hero raises $0.30, Villain calls $0.22

River: ($0.94) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain bets $0.06, Hero calls $0.06

Total pot: $1.06

Results:
Hero had 10, A (high card, Ace).
Villain had 3, Q (high card, Queen).
Outcome: Hero won $1.01

That may have been totally stupid, but I felt like he had air, and worse than mine. The bets just screamed to me "please leave". I was a bit concerned when he called my turn raise but again, his river bet was so pussy, I felt like he had nothing...

This was another nice pot for me:

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

MP2 ($3.03)
Hero (CO) ($3.40)
Button ($0.84)
SB ($5.85)
BB ($4.96)
Villain (UTG) ($1.80)
MP1 ($1.16)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, Q
Villain bets $0.08, 2 folds, Hero raises $0.26, 3 folds, Villain calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.55) 4, 10, 2 (2 players)
Villain checks, Hero bets $0.44, Villain raises $1.54 (All-In), Hero calls $1.10

Turn: ($3.63) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($3.63) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $3.63

Results:
Villain had K, A (high card, Ace).
Hero had Q, Q (three of a kind, Queens).
Outcome: Hero won $3.48


And this!

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

MP1 ($4.95)
Hero (MP2) ($2.93)
CO ($3.39)
Button ($1.83)
Villain (SB) ($0.85)
BB ($2.59)
UTG ($1.36)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with A, A
UTG (poster) bets $0.06, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.26, 2 folds, Villain calls $0.25, 1 fold, UTG (poster) calls $0.18

Flop: ($0.81) 2, 8, A (3 players)
Villain checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.70, Villain calls $0.59 (All-In), 1 fold

Turn: ($1.99) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($1.99) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $1.99

Results:
Villain had A, 8 (two pair, Aces and eights).
Hero had A, A (full house, Aces over twos).
Outcome: Hero won $2.05


I only wish that the Villains would have me covered... I never seem to double, just taking out smaller stacks but Its tough to complain.

I am hoping to reach my goal by months end. I can almost taste it.....but its more of a wiff right now.

H1- If I were going to raise somewhere it'd be the flop. Donkbets for <1/2 Pot are not usually hands that withstand raises well (even when we have air).

H2- nh
H3- lol wow coldcalling in SB w/A8o. ez game.

Hi Ill....

H1, I agree in hindsight....On the flop I thought it was a weak bet but I gave it just a little bit respect. The turn bet for the same amount into a now larger pot really rang bells that he had garbage.
I almost never ever call down light like this but something told me I was good. I expected to see him turn up a KT or KQ but not Q high.

H2, I'm just not folding esp to a shortstack. I used to always think "OMG he got a set of Tens" and fold, but that tends not to happen very often. I have to go with the percentages.

H3? yes EZ game....I'm just pissed that I keep getting into these spots with shortstacks. But I guess its usually the shortstacks that shove this crap. Larger stacks will play this crap but not shove I find.

Well I have a few new goals to make. I will make it to 5nl in probably another 4K hands or so (pretty confident). I dont want to just plow through in FR and build my roll while not learning some of the other NL games so starting now, and even once I am at 5nl, I am going to spend part of my time learning 6max and HU. I am bad at both. HU I've done very little but I'm just horrawful at 6mx. Again, its a small sample but its enough to know I suck.

So once at 5nl I will likely 2 table it while I table some 2nl 6max until I get the hang of it and some 2nl HU (by starting tables). I looked at my stats of 6max (when I'm actually on a 6max table or on a FR table that only has 6 players) and I am a losing player at it. I open up quite a bit at 6max but I wonder if tight is still right...

I dont want to be totally reliant on FR and would love to be a juggernaught at 6max...it looks so fun.

I am also hoping to get a few larger SNG's under my belt and maybe some MTT's (micro). I enjoy them but getting the time is tough.

For now, I think I am off to the strategy section to look for 6max advice.

COMPLETE!!!
I hit the $100 mark last night. I wasnt going to play (I was tired) but just had the urge so I thought I would 2 table 6max to try and get the hang of it. One table was dead and the other one had an ultra Aggro player who shoved a few time on the flop.
I had to wait for a hand to go up against him:

Villain was 50/17/3
No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($4.91)
MP ($3.13)
Villain (Button) ($6.35)
SB ($2)
BB ($2)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, K
Hero bets $0.08, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.08, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.19) 9, J, 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.16, Villain raises $6.27 (All-In), Hero calls $4.67 (All-In)

Turn: ($9.85) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($9.85) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $9.85

Results:
Villain didn't show (had JT)
Hero had K, K (two pair, Kings and sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $9.40

OOPS!! Suck out! The crazy maniac actually had a hand. Lets just say my all-in EV took a hit with this one a bit.

After that I decided to play a 27 man $1 SNG. I pretty well folded my way to the bubble and had to shove w/ A9 when I was quite short. I got called by a maniac (more on him later) and another player who had JJ. I hit the A on the turn and trippled up which put me in the top 4. I continued to fold most of the way thru the final table and ended up ITM (5 players) w/o doing much except the occasional shove when I had to.
For the whole tourney a maniac had the lead. He woul announce what cards he had (he never lied) and ran just sick. He went into a pot he had no business in w/ J7 and hit trips to knock a large stack out. Over and over again he would hit the flop, it was unreal.

When we were 3 handed I got into a big hand with him:

No-Limit Hold'em, $600.00 BB (3 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button ($11598)
Villain (SB) ($15102)
Hero (BB) ($13800)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, 9
Button calls $600, Villain calls $300, Hero checks

Flop: ($1800) 6, 8, 8 (3 players)
Villain checks, Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: ($1800) 9 (3 players)
Villain bets $4200, Hero raises $13150, 1 fold, Villain calls $8950

River: ($28100) 9 (2 players)

Total pot: $28100

Results:
Villain had 8, J (full house, eights over nines).
Hero had K, 9 (full house, nines over eights).
Outcome: Hero won $28250

Another suck out! I didnt feel too bad.
1) The blinds were killer
2) He had shoved many times when there was weakness so trip 8's was an unlikey holding.
3) He had been pretty douchey and had run well and sucked out multiple times.

Before this, when 4 handed, there was a short stack to my left who I was prepared to knock out multiple times with a shove. But this maniac kept limping in and when I raised he would call my raise and play independantly. Rather than checking it down he would raise the flop, I would never connect so I'd fold and he would check the turn and river to the shortsrtack w/ nothing. The short stack was able to survive 4 of these scenarios....it was so stupid on the maniacs part.

So, I made it to my goal, but I will extend it to $120. I dont want to go to 5nl quite yet b/c I want to buy in for more than 100bb.

Congrats Vinland!

After talking with a micro reg here at FTR, I may go ahead and play 5nl. My reason to stay back was to uild the roll more and buy-in for over 100bb.
His arguement to me is that 5nl is the last time you can buy for more than 100bb so get used to it there. I have 20 BI for it so I may go for it. I will continue to play 6max at 2nl to continue learning that game and start grinding it out at 5nl. Its been so long since I played there (underrolled and scared) about 6 months ago.

Go for it bro! 5NL is just as horrible!

I've often read thru some Operations here where a player moves up in stakes and it doesnt go well at first. Bad beats, variance, not connecting etc...
Well put me on the list. I played 5nl yesterday and shit was it bad. I got shit cards for one, I got a tonne of low PP in multiway pots (even after I raised) that wouldnt connect and the players played back after a cbet.
When I got good cards they rarely stayed in the hand. One hand I got QQ and was flat called by the SB. The flop came KAX and he donked into me....just cant see how I can call after I was the raiser in EP.
The worst hand was when I was able to check in the BB w/ 53 and I hit 2pair. My opponent had a pair and hit his kicker on the river to beat me.
The players were clearly not good. The ave stats were 22/2/1....just limping and calling bets, raising only when on a killer hand. I just couldnt get anything to exploit them.
I saved some histories and may post them to see if I played poorly, but I will wait for a couple of sessions to pass to see if this keeps up.
It was one session, not the end of the world but when you go up in stakes and play the first one, you want to do well like the level before. I lost a BI and felt like a total rookie, where perhaps I wasn't, I just didnt have things go my way. I had nights like this in 2nl, but after a few killer sessions, not right off the bat.
Helps to write this stuff out. My confidence is still there, I will continue to play solid cards and try to pay better attention to see what hands are being shown down...
I really dont want to have to drop to 2nl.....I just need to get some hands to value bet with rather than always having to cbet or c/f.

As long as you're rolled for $5NL, don't sweat it. Just keep playing your game. And even if you have to drop down to $2NL, which I doubt you will, but you know you can win there, too, so don't sweat that either.

Well thats better!
I actually hit some flops, had my cbets work out better and getting an A over K full house helps too.....and the opponent decides to call down with his 2 pair.
Its just a little weird to see how much more money is involved /pot and I'm only at 5nl!!
I raise to .20, get a caller.....theres 45 cents....I vbet for 40 and get a call now pot is over $1.20....that was someones whole stack in 2nl....
I know its all relative, it just takes some getting used to especially when I'm such a cheap ass.
It was a nice session, I recouped my losses from the previous and then some...Probably wont play much this weekend due to my boys B-day parties....Hopefully I can play one good session and try to carry on.

For me, the biggest adjustment was learning how to represent. At $2nl it's all fit or fold poker and value betting is god.

At $5nl value betting is still god, but you can really start firing on scary flops, turns and rivers. If you see someone with 22%+vpip and 55%+ fold to c-bet, you're going to be taking a lot of flops off them.

Just some food for thought, good luck as always Vinland.

Sweet....enjoying 5nl. Playing a bit nittier than I'd like but its a combo of cards over small sample and I want some time to adjust a bit to how they play. It is a bit nittier than 2nl for sure.
The session got started early with this fun one...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (7 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Villain (CO) ($16.13)
Button ($4.93)
SB ($5.95)
Hero (BB) ($5.80)
UTG ($15.57)
MP1 ($9.86)
MP2 ($8.53)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5, K
3 folds, Villain calls $0.05, 2 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.12) 4, 10, Q (2 players)
Hero bets $0.10, Villain raises $0.25, Hero calls $0.15

Turn: ($0.62) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain checks

River: ($0.62) A (2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, Villain raises $1.50, Hero raises $3.10, Villain raises $4, Hero calls $2 (All-In)

Total pot: $11.62

Results:
Hero had 5, K (flush, Ace high).
Villain had 6, Q (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: Hero won $11.07

I had another nice pot as well but I want to show it in the BC to see if I could get more out of it than I did...

So far (in a small # of hands) so good. I'm raising when I should but I may need to look at how many cards I am playing. My stats (VPIP/PFR) are single digit which maybe that fine but I did well at 2nl and I ran 12/10. Its just a start so maybe I'll naturally open up a bit, we'll see.

Holy fuckin hell I suck at 6max. My results on HEM, when I break out the earnings for 7-9 players is great but my earnings for 4-6 players are all negative...
I'm just glad I'm playing at 2nl so it had minimal effect on my BR.
I won a tonne of small pots....everyone would usually fold to a cbet or fold to a turn barrel. If they called more, they had something usually.
I had a few nice ones where I nearly stacked the same player with TPTK and TT vs his 88 on a Q high board.

for the session I was running 16/12/3.5 with over 400 hands.

In hand one, villain was 81/3/2.2 over 191 hands, however at the point of this hand I only had about 35 hands on him. He called just about everytime and only folded to large pf raises. If he had nothing on the flop he would fold to a cbet/value bet, if he minbet it meant he had something small or was on a draw, if he bet a bit bigger into a passive opponent then he had something decent. If he was against an aggro opponent and he had a hand he would just flat call....

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) ($2.98)
BB ($4.23)
UTG ($4.78)
MP ($2.29)
CO ($1)
Button ($1.94)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 2, 2
UTG bets $0.10, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.09, BB calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.30) 4, 7, J (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks

Turn: ($0.30) 2 (3 players)
Hero bets $0.20, BB raises $0.40, 1 fold, Hero raises $1.04, BB calls $0.84

River: ($2.78) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.64 (All-In), BB calls $1.64

Total pot: $6.06

Results:
Hero had 2, 2 (three of a kind, twos).
BB had 4, 4 (three of a kind, fours).
Outcome: BB won $5.81

God damnit......on the river, I felt committed but told myselft while I was betting "hes got an overset". I dont know if I could slow down on that one or not....usually set are good but his calls on that rather unintimidating board told me he had to have at worst an overpair, maybe AJ. He minraised so I didnt know if he had a FD or was trying to get me of one (which a minraise wouldnt do)...

Hand 2 Villain was 24/19/2 over 204 although this hand happened around 100 hands.


No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($2.46)
villain (Button) ($3.06)
SB ($4.35)
Hero (BB) ($4.59)
UTG ($4.63)
MP ($0.74)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, Q
1 fold, MP calls $0.02, 1 fold, villain calls $0.02, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.08, MP calls $0.08, villain calls $0.08, SB calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.40) 4, 2, 3 (4 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.38, 1 fold, villain calls $0.38, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.16) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.86, villain raises $2.58 (All-In), Hero calls $1.72

River: ($6.32) J (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $6.32

Results:
villain had 6, 5 (straight, six high).
Hero had Q, Q (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: villain won $6.02

My pf raise was off, I think I just palin forgot to add in some of the limpers...
On the turn....I dont know....I just dont know if its a call. Kinda bad luck but usually when a micro opp shoves like that its with a decent hand that beats TP.

Hand 3 was against the same villain as in hand 1...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($2.83)
MP ($12.93)
Button ($5.10)
SB ($4.33)
BB ($1.06)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q, K
Hero bets $0.08, MP calls $0.08, Button raises $0.14, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.06, MP calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.45) 2, 7, 8 (3 players)
Hero bets $0.32, MP calls $0.32, 1 fold

Turn: ($1.09) K (2 players)
Hero bets $0.72, MP calls $0.72

River: ($2.53) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $1.65 (All-In), MP calls $1.65

Total pot: $5.83

Results:
Hero had Q, K (two pair, Kings and Queens).
MP had 8, 8 (three of a kind, eights).
Outcome: MP won $5.58

Betting w/ the 2nd nut FD and hit my K on turn...his flat call had me worried...as mention before, he either folded w/nothing or flat called with something good. He was pretty transparent...and he still made me look stupid...
The Q on the river sunk me.....bloody hell...
I dont know if I could play that different....the guy was 81/3/2.2 for christ sakes.....can I put him on hands that I still crush? Would be call bets like that without a set? I just dont know.
I've got major homework to do on 6max....It's always been my undoing but I'd like to play it for sure...

Wow your OP is pretty long. I'll definitely be following it from now on though. You playing on Poker Stars? I'm considering moving up to $10NL, but for the time being, I'm also a $5NL grinder. Good luck and I'll be seeing you around.

Once again a sick session of 2nl 6max. I havent played a FR session at 5nl b/c I want to improve at 6max but feel I should start back at 2nl.
For the most part, I suck...I think I may need to tighten up a little more. I know most players play more hands but I may need to shorten my starting range. I had 3 real shitty hands. I may have played parts of the hand bad (not sure) but they were just bad spots for me.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($4.07)
BB ($2)
UTG ($2.18)
Villain (MP) ($2.10)
Hero (CO) ($3.09)
Button ($5.29)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 10, K
1 fold, Villain calls $0.02, Hero calls $0.02, 1 fold, SB calls $0.01, BB checks

Flop: ($0.08) 8, 7, 6 (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Villain checks, Hero bets $0.06, SB calls $0.06, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.06

Turn: ($0.26) 6 (3 players)
SB checks, Villain checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.26) J (3 players)
SB checks, Villain bets $0.04, Hero raises $0.16, 1 fold, Villain raises $0.24, Hero raises $0.50, Villain calls $0.38

Total pot: $1.58

Results:
Villain had 4, A (flush, Ace high).
Hero had 10, K (flush, King high).
Outcome: Villain won $1.53

I'm glad he didnt reraise....I dont think I could get away from this...
Villain was 36/2/3 so I think he does this with a Q high as well...

Then this hand happened:

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($4.02)
Villain (CO) ($1)
Button ($0.90)
SB ($2.49)
Hero (BB) ($3.35)
UTG ($5.07)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A, A
2 folds, Villain (poster) checks, Button calls $0.02, SB calls $0.01, Hero bets $0.06, Villain (poster) raises $0.12, Button calls $0.12, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.92, Villain (poster) calls $0.86 (All-In), 1 fold

Flop: ($2.16) K, J, 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($2.16) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2.16) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.16

Results:
Hero had A, A (one pair, Aces).
Villain had K, K (three of a kind, Kings).
Outcome: Villain won $2.06

After it was all in I just kept saying in my head "no king, no king...."
Once the king landed I pretty well assured myself I lost before the showdown was revealed...

I had clawed my way almost back to even for the session and then this happened with same villain as hand #1:

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($0.99)
MP ($0.48)
Button ($1.78)
Hero (SB) ($2.44)
BB ($3)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, J
2 folds, Button calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.07, 1 fold, Button calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.18) 9, 10, J (2 players)
Hero bets $0.14, Button calls $0.14

Turn: ($0.46) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, Button calls $0.40

River: ($1.26) J (2 players)
Hero bets $0.98, Button raises $1.16 (All-In), Hero calls $0.18

Total pot: $3.58

Results:
Button had J, A (three of a kind, Jacks).
Hero had K, J (three of a kind, Jacks).
Outcome: Button won $3.43

Holy shit..... I would like to know If I played it wrong but WTF?
He just limped w/ AJ from the BTN which is worth a raise...
If I was him...on the flop I would raise it b/c of the flush and str8 draw potential...
He just played so f'n passive...I dont get it....
Again, other than him flopping the straight, I didnt think he had me. I basically put him on a worse J b/c if he had the straight, he probably would've (should've) raised to charge for possible flush draws that could catch him...

If it wasnt fot these 3 hands I would have been up on the session a little bit....not good bu t not sucking either. I killed FR but suck at 6max....
I think I'll read some guides here and watch a video or two...
I really want to nail this...

So I made a few adjustments and it seems to be working so far at 6max. For the most part I had to just tighten up which means I went from 16/12 stats to more like 12/9 and really got pickier with my cards in EP.
Its been a small sample but it seems to be working so far; I'm a lot more comfortable while playing...which means you can play like a confident, badass while playing, instead of being scared since you opened with JT from EP....

Heres a couple of hands that worked out for me. I'm not proud of how I played them all but here it is regardless...

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($3.73)
Button ($4.58)
Hero (SB) ($2.98)
Villain (BB) ($4.89)
UTG ($2.24)
MP ($2.82)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K
4 folds, Hero calls $0.01, Villain bets $0.02, Hero raises $0.10, Villain calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.24) J, 7, A (2 players)
Hero bets $0.16, Villain calls $0.16

Turn: ($0.56) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, Villain checks

River: ($0.56) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.20, Villain calls $0.20

Total pot: $0.96

Results:
Hero had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Villain didn't show
Outcome: Hero won $0.96

Why did I limp w/ KK? Just to be sneaky...and of course the A lands on the flop. After his flop call, I felt that he didnt have an A. I checked the turn, hoping to induce a bet....again I dont like it and on the river I felt happy to fire out a small suck bet. I wanted some $$ from him so I put out a little bet that I felt he would call. I wish I made it more like $.30 but thats what I did...

This hand was nice...not much villain could do I doubt:

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($2.20)
UTG ($7.61)
Villain (MP) ($1.34)
Hero (CO) ($3.01)
Button ($1.90)
SB ($5.64)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 8, 8
1 fold, Villain calls $0.02, Hero bets $0.08, 1 fold, SB calls $0.07, 1 fold, Villain calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.26) 9, 4, 8 (3 players)
SB checks, Villain bets $0.02, Hero raises $0.22, 1 fold, Villain raises $0.48, Hero raises $1.70, Villain calls $0.76 (All-In)

Turn: ($2.78) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($2.78) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.78

Results:
Villain had 9, 8 (two pair, nines and eights).
Hero had 8, 8 (three of a kind, eights).
Outcome: Hero won $3.34

This hand also went well for me, I was kinda proud even though it was probably standard...
No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (6 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($3.88)
Hero (CO) ($2.93)
Button ($1.55)
SB ($5.89)
Villain (BB) ($1.23)
UTG ($2.09)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, K
2 folds, Hero bets $0.08, 2 folds, Villain calls $0.06

Flop: ($0.17) 7, K, 2 (2 players)
Villain bets $0.02, Hero raises $0.14, Villain raises $0.24, Hero calls $0.12

Turn: ($0.69) J (2 players)
Villain bets $0.89 (All-In), Hero calls $0.89

River: ($2.47) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $2.47

Results:
Villain had K, 10 (one pair, Kings).
Hero had Q, K (one pair, Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $2.37

I had very few hands on him so I had to go with regular instinct here.
When he raised the flop, I felt he had a FD or was trying to move me off a FD (and he held TPMK).
His turn shove convinced me that I probably had the best hand. Again he either had a FD or a worse K. If he had KK, or AK he probably would've reraised preflop so my KQ was likely the best.
It was possible that he had a set of 2's or 7's but thats a small number out of his possible holdings so I made the call...

I think I will continue with playing 2nl 6max for a while to improve. I would like to play my 5nl FR but I really want to bump up my knowledge w/ 6max. Besides, some of the juiciest tables at 5nl are 6max so I need to improve before taking my stacks to a 5nl 6max table.

I would really like to play some HU tables as well...that will be my next project. Again, I will play them at 2nl and just keep starting tables to practice....I'm terrible at HU...even worse than 6max...

My playing time has reduced which is sad, I have a seminar to study for this month as part of my University course...
Hopefully next month I can put some serious hours into my tables...

I've been thinking about the possibility of delving into 6 max or HU in the future, but for now, I've been limiting that exposure to when I start full ring tables