Operation Micro-Stakes: $2NL to $25NL

Yeah for some reason people just don't seem to have learned that vs most SB limpers you have a profitable raise and c-bet with ATC on the majority of flops. Looks solid man, good work. Thinking about your own game like this is super profitable.

Originally Posted by Carroters

Yeah for some reason people just don't seem to have learned that vs most SB limpers you have a profitable raise and c-bet with ATC on the majority of flops. Looks solid man, good work. Thinking about your own game like this is super profitable.

Thanks dude. Even though it's not a huge money maker, it's one of the (very) few things I do well at this point. Working hard to get better at other things but it's a process for sure. One thing at a time I suppose.

JULY '13 REVIEW

Cash graph for July. I started this blog around the 2500 hand mark. I don't know what the hell I was doing before that. Basically break-even at 2NL right now, which is pretty embarrassing so I won't even bother posting a bankroll update for this month. I'm about 6 buyins below EV and took some horrendous beats (with 90%+ equity) but I should be able to overcome that. I'm not going to make excuses though, I'm just going to have to work harder.




Adjustments

For the past few days, I've increased my bet sizing both pre and postflop and I've found myself happily barreling more turn cards and some rivers. It's not that I'm bluffing or feeling spewy, I've just felt my middle pair (or whatever) is way ahead of what these idiots are calling down with. It's thin value for sure by the river but a lot of these showdowns never cease to amaze me.

Another thing is isolation raises. The standard 3bb + 1 per limper is bullshit at 2NL. All it does is bloat the pot and I get to see a flop with 5 other players where I feel uncomfortable with anything less than top two. Check/fold? Yes please. Anyway, I've finally started to bump it up somewhere between 6-8x preflop when isolating limpers. This does a couple things. One, less people call and it usually gets me HU with a fish or I take it down right there. Two, these fish are rarely full stacked. By raising to 16c preflop, it creates a much smaller SPR against a very wide range of hands where I can happily stack off with top pair by the turn and watch as villains call with all sorts of hands.

Last thing is bet sizing postflop. I was betting way too small. There's times where a 1/2 pot cbet works or even a 1/3 pot cbet does the trick. But I've switched gears a bit and now cbet at least 3/4 pot, if not more. I've also experimented with overbetting the past few sessions. Go for FAT value when I'm ahead, keep the pot small when I'm not. If they'll call bigger bets with worse hands, bet bigger!

Playing 2NL isn't exactly poker in its purest form. But villains still have ranges and adjustments need to made. So it's good (cheap) practice. Hopefully next month will bring better results (and better play).