PerryPlaysPoker - $50 to $10000 - Amateur to.....really good amateur.
Hey everyone.
I'm Perry, a 28 year-old male from England who is a born-again keen recreational player. From 2006-2012 I loved the game and started a blog/vlog series along with it. I had the small successes that any casual players get, the small profits over the month and the occasional cashes in MTT, my passion for the game even got me a job as Head Writer for PokerVIP and PokerUpdate. However, personal issues made my love for poker wane and since then I've only played the odd game.
Now I am itching to play once more and I've started to work on the very same challenge that I began with way back when, turning $50 into $10000 and finally prove that I can be a winning player at this game. I am starting with Full-Ring Cash Games at 2NL on Pokerstars and will continue with that number of buy-ins until I get to 25NL, where I will re-evaluate what game I will play. I have Equilab and PokerTracker 3 on my PC right now (I'll get PokerTracker 4 when I know how to play this game), a hard drive with every poker video and book I ever kept and DragTheBar is free (BlackRain79 videos FTW).
I've started the challenge already and......I've lost 5 buy-ins in less than 700 hands.....great.
I stopped playing for a couple of days to figure out what was going wrong.
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
SB: $2.01
Hero (BB): $2.00
UTG: $2.00
UTG+1: $3.78
MP: $1.35
MP+1: $2.22
CO: $2.00
BTN: $3.71
SB posts SB $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has A:diamond: A:heart:
fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to $0.06, fold, Hero raises to $0.20, BTN calls $0.14
Flop: ($0.41, 2 players) J:heart: J:club: 9:club:
Hero bets $0.32, BTN calls $0.32
Turn: ($1.05, 2 players) Q:heart:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.51, Hero calls $0.51
River: ($2.07, 2 players) 6:club:
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.20, Hero calls $0.97 and is all-in
BTN shows A:club: 7:club: (Flush, Ace High) (Pre 12%, Flop 35%, Turn 20%)
Hero shows A:diamond: A:heart: (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks) (Pre 88%, Flop 65%, Turn 80%)
BTN wins $3.87
Should of perhaps continued to bet on the T because of the limits, definitely should have folded on the River. Before this challenge I was doing that, but not now. Nor in this hand:
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
CO: $2.00
Hero (BTN): $2.00
SB: $2.00
BB: $1.55
UTG: $1.26
UTG+1: $2.18
MP: $1.80
MP+1: $4.31
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has Q:spade: Q:club:
fold, fold, MP calls $0.02, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.10, fold, BB calls $0.08, MP calls $0.08
Flop: ($0.31, 3 players) T:club: 2:diamond: 3:spade:
BB checks, MP bets $0.14, Hero raises to $0.50, BB raises to $1.45 and is all-in, fold, Hero calls $0.95
Turn: ($3.35, 2 players) A:heart:
River: ($3.35, 2 players) 4:spade:
BB shows 2:heart: 2:club: (Three of a Kind, Twos) (Pre 18%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows Q:spade: Q:club: (One Pair, Queens) (Pre 82%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
BB wins $3.23
Or this hand:
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
UTG: $4.19
UTG+1: $0.83
MP: $2.23
MP+1: $0.33
CO: $2.00
BTN: $2.59
Hero (SB): $2.18
BB: $3.70
Hero posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has Q:heart: J:heart:
fold, fold, fold, MP+1 calls $0.02, fold, BTN raises to $0.04, Hero calls $0.03, fold, MP+1 calls $0.02
Flop: ($0.14, 3 players) Q:diamond: 9:club: 4:diamond:
Hero checks, MP+1 checks, BTN bets $0.14, Hero calls $0.14, fold
Turn: ($0.42, 2 players) 6:spade:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.30, Hero calls $0.30
River: ($1.02, 2 players) 3:heart:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.70, Hero calls $0.70
BTN shows K:diamond: K:heart: (One Pair, Kings) (Pre 83%, Flop 81%, Turn 89%)
Hero mucks Q:heart: J:heart: (One Pair, Queens) (Pre 17%, Flop 19%, Turn 11%)
BTN wins $2.34
OK, this hand I feel like I was unlucky:
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 9 players
SB: $2.01
BB: $2.15
UTG: $1.45
Hero (UTG+1): $2.26
MP: $2.00
MP+1: $2.02
LP: $2.38
CO: $2.00
BTN: $2.08
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has 7:heart: 7:spade:
UTG calls $0.02, Hero calls $0.02, MP raises to $0.06, fold, fold, fold, BTN calls $0.06, fold, fold, UTG calls $0.04, Hero calls $0.04
Flop: ($0.27, 4 players) 7:diamond: T:diamond: 4:spade:
UTG checks, Hero checks, MP bets $0.15, fold, UTG calls $0.15, Hero raises to $0.50, MP calls $0.35, UTG calls $0.35
Turn: ($1.77, 3 players) 6:club:
UTG checks, Hero bets $1.70 and is all-in, MP calls $1.44 and is all-in, UTG calls $0.89 and is all-in
River: ($5.54, 3 players) 9:club:
Hero shows 7:heart: 7:spade: (Three of a Kind, Sevens) (Pre 29%, Flop 56%, Turn 21%)
MP shows 9:diamond: 8:diamond: (Straight, Ten High) (Pre 29%, Flop 41%, Turn 79%)
UTG shows J:club: Q:club: (High Card, Queen) (Pre 43%, Flop 3%, Turn 0%)
MP wins $5.35
But this one seems the same as the other ones:
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
Hero (SB): $2.01
BB: $2.27
UTG: $2.00
UTG+1: $2.00
MP: $2.04
MP+1: $1.93
CO: $2.08
BTN: $2.08
Hero posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has K:heart: A:heart:
fold, UTG+1 raises to $0.06, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.05, fold
Flop: ($0.14, 2 players) 9:diamond: 6:heart: K:diamond:
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $0.08, Hero calls $0.08
Turn: ($0.30, 2 players) 7:diamond:
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $0.21, Hero calls $0.21
River: ($0.72, 2 players) 5:heart:
Hero checks, UTG+1 bets $0.51, Hero calls $0.51
UTG+1 shows A:diamond: 5:diamond: (Flush, Ace High) (Pre 30%, Flop 37%, Turn 100%)
Hero mucks K:heart: A:heart: (One Pair, Kings) (Pre 70%, Flop 63%, Turn 0%)
UTG+1 wins $1.68
I was making these folds before, I swear I was. I am guessing it's the change of mindset. Before I started to do this challenge again a loss was just a loss, I moved on and took notes from when I made mistakes. For whatever reason, I'm now in a fit of rage every time I lose a hand. I'm taking this too seriously because I want to succeed so badly. The couple of days off this has given me an idea on what I need to do:
1) Play for the enjoyment, not for the money - Should be easy now because I'll be playing for change, but it's good to remember that later on when I get the ball rolling. I just need to take losses positively and learn from them. I'll also look for ways to keep calm off the tables, as the stress of work does have it's negative effects.
2) Keep It Simple - At 2NL, I am against a lot of players who can only think about their hands. With the QJ and AK hands above, I call because I wanted to try and keep the hands that they bluff with in the hand, in the hopes they hit something that they'll call later on or they bluff in later streets. I like that, but at these limits it's not needed. If they're betting, there's a good chance they call a raise or raise further (if they're bad). At this level it's about maximising my value, I'm going to get more aggressive against the bad players. Now, if the player seems to be pretty good (for the level) I'm going to consider calling for the above reasons....then just probably shove the nuts because it's 2NL, they can't all be learning the game.
3) Learn - I am going to figure out the fundamentals. Starting Hands, Position, Bet Sizing, Pot Odds, I am going to make sure I have this and more figured out. Red Chip Poker had an article and podcast that is useful for this:
- I'll take a concept.
- Read a couple of articles.
- Watch a video.
- Give it extra thought when playing
- Repeat with new concept.
From what the podcast said, it should be possible to get to 25NL with free learning resources. By that point, I'm going to have to spend money to improve and get to better stakes (which I'll be OK with, because by that point I'll be making it rain...with, well, just dollar bills to begin with....but a lot of them.)
That's it for now. I'm going to start with a bit of the studying and look into some of the other threads.
Starting Bankroll - $50.01 (Thanks exchange rate)
Current Bankroll - $41
Good luck at the tables.
Perry.
Update, still losing......is that an update?
Previous Bankroll - $35.08
Current Bankroll - $
http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/t...psp4fwvhdv.jpg
That's the current sessions thus far, it's only 2652 hands but that's also a cause for concern. 11 buy-ins down at such a short space of time is worrying. I am looking at the big pots that I've played thus far and see whether it's bad luck or if there are major leaks in these spots.
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
BB: $2.37
UTG: $1.97
UTG+1: $1.70
MP: $2.00
MP+1: $2.13
Hero (CO): $2.00
BTN: $5.51
SB: $2.00
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has A:heart: Q:heart:
fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.06, BTN calls $0.06, fold, fold
Standard raise with a premium hand in late position, this guy is a 22/11/2 after 36 hands. My range on him would be a lot of broadway hands, any mid to small pair, some suited connectors.
Flop: ($0.15, 2 players) Q:club: 5:spade: 5:diamond:
Hero bets $0.10, BTN raises to $0.20, Hero calls $0.10
My thoughts here is that I have this flop and his range crushed. so I am surprised when he min-raises me. I can't see a lot of 5's in his range, but I do see a lot of players min-raise monsters. My decision was to call down:
1) If he is going to bluff at me, or do this with 99-66 or a weak Q, I think raising now would push him off the pot. By calling, I might be able to get some more value by being able to bet when he checks or see him 2-barrel.
2) If he is slowplaying a 5, I at least save a little from just calling as opposed to shoving in, he does only have an aggression factor of 1, so he isn't going to be betting/raising with anything light.
Turn: ($0.55, 2 players) 8:spade:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.26, Hero calls $0.26
River: ($1.07, 2 players) 4:diamond:
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.51, Hero calls $0.51
BTN shows Q:diamond: 8:diamond: (Two Pair, Queens and Eights) (Pre 29%, Flop 22%, Turn 91%)
Hero mucks A:heart: Q:heart: (Two Pair, Queens and Fives) (Pre 71%, Flop 78%, Turn 9%)
BTN wins $2.02
That 8 was nasty. I think raising the pot on the flop would have either won me the pot there and then, or I would have got it in on the turn when he calls and I see that suckout. I like how I played it as I get him to continue betting into me or I can bet for another street of value on the turn or river. At the same time, am I thinking too much in a 2NL spot. 23 hands is not a lot of info to go on, I kind of disagree that 20 hands is all you need to determine a players VPIP/PFR as Nathan Williams says, as I wouldn't have expected Q8o to be in that player's range. What do you think?
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 6 players
CO: $2.03
BTN: $2.00
SB: $3.02
BB: $2.00
UTG: $2.59
Hero (MP): $3.63
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has 8:spade: 8:heart:
fold, Hero raises to $0.08, fold, BTN calls $0.08, fold, fold
Flop: ($0.19, 2 players) J:club: 8:diamond: 5:club:
Hero bets $0.14, BTN calls $0.14
Turn: ($0.47, 2 players) A:heart:
Hero bets $0.35, BTN calls $0.35
River: ($1.17, 2 players) K:club:
Hero bets $0.80, BTN raises to $1.43 and is all-in, Hero calls $0.63
BTN shows A:club: Q:club: (Flush, Ace High) (Pre 47%, Flop 26%, Turn 18%)
Hero shows 8:spade: 8:heart: (Three of a Kind, Eights) (Pre 53%, Flop 74%, Turn 82%)
BTN wins $3.89
At this point, my opponent was 0/0/0 after 15 hands. Jeez, how do you make the fish call, these winning players make it look so easy.
Anyway, I liked the betting on the flop and turn, but I should not be calling after he shoves over me. It's a flush, he isn't shoving two-pair on this spot because he only gets called by worse. At this point I remember being a little tilty because of many other losses and after this hand I stood up after it got to the BB on all tables. I had done that a few times, calling when I knew I was beat. Saving 31.5BBs can add up over time.
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
UTG: $2.50
UTG+1: $1.36
MP: $0.73
MP+1: $1.39
Hero (CO): $3.41
BTN: $2.00
SB: $1.93
BB: $1.60
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has A:heart: T:spade:
fold, fold, fold, MP+1 calls $0.02, Hero raises to $0.10, fold, fold, BB calls $0.08, fold
Flop: ($0.23, 2 players) 6:heart: J:heart: Q:spade:
BB bets $0.08, Hero raises to $0.28, BB calls $0.20
Turn: ($0.79, 2 players) A:spade:
BB bets $0.18, Hero raises to $0.55, BB raises to $1.22 and is all-in, Hero calls $0.67
River: ($3.23, 2 players) 9:heart:
BB shows A:diamond: K:heart: (One Pair, Aces) (Pre 73%, Flop 81%, Turn 93%)
Hero shows A:heart: T:spade: (One Pair, Aces) (Pre 27%, Flop 19%, Turn 7%)
BB wins $3.12
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
UTG: $2.50
UTG+1: $1.36
MP: $0.73
MP+1: $1.39
Hero (CO): $3.41
BTN: $2.00
SB: $1.93
BB: $1.60
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has A:heart: T:spade:
fold, fold, fold, MP+1 calls $0.02, Hero raises to $0.10, fold, fold, BB calls $0.08, fold
Flop: ($0.23, 2 players) 6:heart: J:heart: Q:spade:
BB bets $0.08, Hero raises to $0.28, BB calls $0.20
Turn: ($0.79, 2 players) A:spade:
BB bets $0.18, Hero raises to $0.55, BB raises to $1.22 and is all-in, Hero calls $0.67
River: ($3.23, 2 players) 9:heart:
BB shows A:diamond: K:heart: (One Pair, Aces) (Pre 73%, Flop 81%, Turn 93%)
Hero shows A:heart: T:spade: (One Pair, Aces) (Pre 27%, Flop 19%, Turn 7%)
BB wins $3.12
Pre-flop is standard, he can call or raise AK there. On the flop, he donk-leads small and I bet close to pot. I'm surprised he calls here to a raise, but it's to my downfall on the turn. Again, I bet, get raised, need to fold, I don't beat anything. This spot is too common for me.
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 9 players
SB: $2.00
BB: $1.38
UTG: $0.92
Hero (UTG+1): $2.00
MP: $0.64
MP+1: $2.83
LP: $2.86
CO: $2.00
BTN: $2.00
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has A:heart: A:spade:
UTG calls $0.02, Hero raises to $0.08, fold, fold, LP calls $0.08, fold, fold, SB calls $0.07, fold, UTG calls $0.06
The short-stack UTG is 53/0/1, so I am raising to keep him in, I just wasn't expecting a SLP (23/8/4 - 26 hands) and a nit (9/3/na - 32 hands) join in.
Flop: ($0.34, 4 players) 6:diamond: 8:club: 2:club:
SB bets $0.24, fold, Hero raises to $0.68, fold, SB raises to $1.92 and is all-in, fold
The nit leads out and I'm confused with what to do. This is kind of like having JJ preflop to me, I have 3 options, all of them wrong:
a) Fold - A nit has donk-bet into 4 opponents, that usually smells of a set. But, what if he is passive with 99-JJ or has a small chance of having a flush draw+overcards?
b) Call - Could do this if I think I have enough hands to beat, but I do worry about a number of cards (flush card, 9,T,J mainly) and what if he continues to barrel, am I just bleeding money.
c) Raise - Prevents the few marginal hands he could possibly have, but if called I can't see myself ahead here and could have perhaps just called and folded the turn.
I elect to raise, and fold to their shove. I can only see sets in this guys range, and I don't think he'd go crazy with TT/JJ. Hands like QQ/KK he would likely raise pre-flop.
SB wins $1.64
So, while there has been a number of bad beats and cooler spots, these hands show that I am not helping myself with loose calls in spots where my top-pair or set is just not going to be good.
The next time I play, I'll be recording it to post on YouTube, if any of you kind-hearted people can watch it in the future, that would be great. In the meantime, I have a question.
How do I maximise the use of PokerTracker and Equilab? Can anybody link me to a decent post on FTR or elsewhere, I am going to keep looking but so far what I have found is very vague stuff.
Thanks for reading. Good luck at the tables.
Perry.
Slowly making my way back to breakeven
Hey guys,
Thanks for all the posts thus far, I've been away for a little bit as I had a minor eye operation. Poker was put on hold cause, you know, couldn't see shit.
Eye all sorted now, so I played the last couple of days and things have really gone well.
Current Bankroll - $46.55
http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/t...psdcvf0dmk.jpg
Having gone down around 12 buy-ins, I'm almost back to breakeven. So yeah, let's pretend this first month never happened.
A nice session last night where I won close to 5 buy-ins, it was the first time where I saw large numbers of fish on tables and it really does make a difference. I have recorded two videos of how I played a session and I will upload them onto my YouTube page, I'll then go through them and look at key hands to post my thoughts on here.
Will be back on this once it's done.
December Review - Breakeven never felt so good
http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/t...psbtiidb50.jpg
Current Bankroll - $63.11.....?
OK. I started with $50(.01), I got $10.00 from the VIP reward with my Stars coins - and a T-shirt - I'm up $1.10...
...so where has the extra $2 come from??? Don't care, I'm up for the month and that feels like a major victory.
Having been down 12 buy-ins pretty much from the start, I am happy to make a small profit this month. The big hands are starting to win and more importantly, I've listened to your comments. I'm nowhere near perfect, that's for sure, but I feel confident that I'll crush 2NL and 5NL soon enough and move on from there.
AQ/KQ/AJ/AT lose too much for me - Checking my Poker Tracker hands, I can tell I overplay this group in some spots. Either raising when I should just call, or call too many streets against the wrong player. Against the solid player, I'm trying to do more with pot control, or just fold pre-flop when they are real tight. I need to work on playing these better post-flop.
Not just bet/bet/jam - Sometimes, you got to check a good hand to get an extra street of value. Convince a weak player their middle pair is good, instead of 2-barrelling and forcing them off. The last session I played was awesome for this and those small-to-mid sized pots soon add up.
Play as much as you can feel comfortable with against the fish - Now and then, there would be a fish or whale and I knew I had to play as much against them as possible. I weren't the LAG I know many can be, but if I was in position with a somewhat playable hand, I called in position or isolated their limp. The profit made from these players are awesome. No matter how good your pre-flop game is, you make the money post-flop and I need to work on that.
Keith the mod linked my vids - Thanks man.
Right. For January, I have 3 targets.
1) Play 15000 hands.
2) Finish Crushing the Microstakes
3) Practice to not tilt.
Past midnight where I'm from, so I am going to head off.
Good luck at the tables and have a happy new year.
First Session of the New Year - Got a little bit up
Hey everyone,
Played 411 hands again to get into the grind once more and was up $3.49 by the end of it. Alright session, the majority came from KK vs AK all-in pre-flop, but there were some other spots where I would like your input.
This was a smallish lost pot, but there was a number of these against a similar type of opponent, tell me what you think.
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 5 players
BTN: $1.96
SB: $2.00
BB: $0.78
UTG: $2.57
Hero (CO): $2.25
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has K:heart: T:spade:
fold, Hero raises to $0.08, fold, fold, BB calls $0.06
Flop: ($0.17, 2 players) A:heart: 8:spade: K:diamond:
BB bets $0.04, Hero calls $0.04
Turn: ($0.25, 2 players) 8:diamond:
BB bets $0.06, Hero calls $0.06
River: ($0.37, 2 players) 6:club:
BB bets $0.10, Hero calls $0.10
BB shows A:spade: 3:club: (Two Pair, Aces and Eights) (Pre 57%, Flop 80%, Turn 95%)
Hero mucks K:heart: T:spade: (Two Pair, Kings and Eights) (Pre 43%, Flop 20%, Turn 5%)
BB wins $0.55
My opponent was 64/14/3 after 14 hands and no notes at this point. My thought process at this point was that while I don't have a lot of hands on him, the fact that he has got to over 60% VPIP would suggest he is calling very wide. He bets small on 3 streets and I think if he has a Kx, or QJ/JT/QT or any pocket pair he might do this. The 8 isn't great if he has that on the turn, but it also makes it less likely his hand range consists of an 8. One more small bet on the river and I call, he turns over a weak Ace and he wins the smallish pot of 7BB's. But I had 5 pots that were similar to this. A couple I won, a few I didn't.
In this particular hand, are you calling down here, or are you folding to a 2-barrel/3-barrel?
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 8 players
SB: $2.05
BB: $1.97
UTG: $4.20
UTG+1: $0.88
MP: $1.96
MP+1: $1.11
Hero (CO): $2.40
BTN: $1.44
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has Q:spade: K:spade:
fold, fold, MP raises to $0.07, MP+1 calls $0.07, Hero calls $0.07, fold, fold, fold
Flop: ($0.24, 3 players) 4:heart: Q:diamond: 6:club:
MP checks, MP+1 checks, Hero checks
Turn: ($0.24, 3 players) J:heart:
MP checks, MP+1 bets $0.06, Hero raises to $0.16, fold, MP+1 raises to $1.04 and is all-in, Hero calls $0.88
River: ($2.32, 2 players) 4:diamond:
MP+1 shows J:spade: K:diamond: (Two Pair, Jacks and Fours) (Pre 25%, Flop 4%, Turn 5%)
Hero shows Q:spade: K:spade: (Two Pair, Queens and Fours) (Pre 75%, Flop 96%, Turn 95%)
Hero wins $2.24
The fish/target in this hand is 46/10/3 after 48 hands and the notes I remember having on him that he's fit-or-fold post-flop, and this shows in his bet sizing. He checks, he has nothing. He bets small, marginal hand, he bets big, he's likely to have a big hand. I had previously called down with Ace-high as he was betting small to the pot on all three streets and wound up showing 3rd or 4th pair.
The 2nd opponent is 12/7/1 after 43 hands and we hadn't got into a hand at that point to place notes on him.
I call pre-flop as the fish initially raises and I have a hand that is likely good against his raising range in the hi-jack, but would do awful to a 3-bet calling range. On top of that, the fish has opted to call and I don't want to drive him out of the pot when I have position.
The flop gives me top-pair strong-kicker and both players check to me. Considering the tight player is passive post-flop and based on the notes I had on the fish, I opted to check because few cards give me something to worry about, with the exception of an Ace.
The nit checks again on the turn, and the fish bets 1/4 pot. With my notes, I deduced that he had J-X at best in this spot, but do I flat or raise. I opted to raise small, as I felt this would still drive out the nit and get a little extra from the fish's marginal hand. I was not expecting the shove from my opponent. As I had never seen him check top-pair at this point, my thoughts were that he either had JX and was turning it into a bluff (as we would see it, he's likely thinking I'm bluffing), he either has some draw he's going crazy with (flush draw, KT/T9/57/35, or I might have got unlucky against his QJ, or something like J6s/J4s. Seeing as I felt there was a lot of hands I still beat against his range, I called and he turns KJ.
These sessions can give a lot of variance. I won some nice pots but I lost a few smallish pots here and there, where I had a hand I felt was good enough to call, but they ended up showing the better hand. But I feel i am playing them the right way, as opposed to this hand against two opponents:
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 9 players
UTG+1: $1.97
Hero (MP): $3.87
MP+1: $2.00
LP: $2.00
CO: $2.00
BTN: $2.00
SB: $2.00
BB: $2.00
UTG: $8.83
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has K:club: 4:diamond:
UTG calls $0.02, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, SB calls $0.01, BB checks
Flop: ($0.06, 3 players) 2:club: 9:diamond: 8:spade:
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $0.06, SB calls $0.06, fold
Turn: ($0.18, 2 players) 5:diamond:
SB bets $1.92 and is all-in, UTG calls $1.92
River: ($4.02, 2 players) A:diamond:
SB shows J:heart: 6:club: (High Card, Ace) (Pre 37%, Flop 28%, Turn 14%)
UTG shows 7:spade: J:diamond: (High Card, Ace) (Pre 63%, Flop 72%, Turn 86%)
UTG wins $3.88
The fish was 73/26/3 after 31 hands and had got it all-in pre-flop in a 3-way pot with 73o. The opponent had only played 18 hands, but was 11/6/3! Despite the fact he had tight solid stats, he got stacked against a nit with TPTK (Pair Tens - A-T) and got stacked on a four-flush board with a Q9, holding just a pair of queens. Some players overestimate their hands to such an extent that their losing 100BB's with them. Even if my call downs are wrong from time to time, I at least only lose 7BB's when I do it. There were some spots where I folded a decent hand.
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 7 players
CO: $1.90
BTN: $2.00
SB: $1.91
BB: $2.00
UTG: $1.20
UTG+1: $2.51
Hero (MP): $2.07
SB posts SB $0.01, BB posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has K:club: Q:club:
UTG calls $0.02, fold, Hero raises to $0.08, CO calls $0.08, fold, fold, BB calls $0.06, UTG calls $0.06
Flop: ($0.33, 4 players) 2:heart: 5:diamond: Q:diamond:
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $0.24, CO raises to $0.52, fold, fold, fold
CO wins $0.78
22/7/0 after 27 hands, I must admit I didn't know what to do here. I just couldn't see many hands my opponent would raise where I was strong (A-X flush draw, I am close to 50/50 a lot of the time, if he has a set I'm crushed, does he raise Q-X, possibly, but how many Q-X hands does he raise here?) I folded in the end, but I am not sure if that was the right move.
PokerStars - $0.02 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3
UTG+1: $4.30
MP: $1.89
MP+1: $3.11
LP: $3.97
CO: $1.60
BTN: $1.22
SB: $1.06
Hero (BB): $2.30
UTG: $1.22
SB posts SB $0.01, Hero posts BB $0.02
Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero has 4:spade: 7:diamond:
fold, UTG+1 calls $0.02, fold, fold, fold, fold, BTN calls $0.02, fold, Hero checks
Flop: ($0.07, 3 players) 8:club: 5:club: 6:club:
Hero bets $0.05, UTG+1 calls $0.05, fold
Turn: ($0.17, 2 players) 6:heart:
Hero bets $0.10, UTG+1 raises to $0.28, fold
UTG+1 wins $0.36
Opponent in question is 22/5/2 after 37 hands, no notes off the top of my hand (I write them in PStars, and there isn't a way to import them into PT3). I bet out immediately because a player with Ac or Kc will call, and the other opponent on the flop was fishy. The fish folds and the tighest player calls. The board pairs and I bet again as I don't want to let Ac or Kc get free cards and the opponent raises. Even with timid flushes the opponent might be worried to a full house, so I cannot see my straight good on a flush board when the turn pairs the board too. Shrug, fold, next hand. What are your thoughts?
In other news, I bought a new desk:
http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/t...psxh27hsie.jpg
It's nothing special, just a basic one. But man, ergonomics matter. I have a new desk that gives a lil more space and puts my main screen in front of me and not an awkward angle and a new chair means I am at a better height my legs are less sore. I am hoping this helps with being to grind for longer in the future. I also want to do some Twitch streaming too, along with YouTube videos.
And yes, the secondary monitor is old. It's a £10 monitor from a charity shop, because it does the job I need it for. I will certainly be looking at better monitors, even improving, but I want to do it from poker-related profits, not just from my pocket.
That's my post for now, good luck at the tables.
Pez.