Grinding to Freedom and sticking it to the man!

[Andrew]

I figured my previous operation is now null and void since I actually have a bankroll now! (Thank you wife!)

So this is about me learning the ropes at 2NL and the life-and-times of a grinder aiming to make poker his living. Started off with a bankroll of $50 and over the last two weeks I'm up to just over $60. I'm playing tight - AOK's 19 hand list - and with some great advice from Chopper I'm going to gradually open up my range once I've gotten this style down pat.

I'll be keeping a log of hands and what not in here as well as my general thoughts on the play around me.

[Andypandy]

Good luck!

[Jack Sawyer]

gogogogogogogo

[XTR1000]

(Thank you wife!)

must be love


good luck dude, keep learning and you´ll be at 0.5/1 NL in no time

[Andrew]

Had a good 3-hour session last night/this morning and might put some hands on here later (had them ready, closed the notepad file without closing ). Mostly they were winning hands were I felt I've bet too much and not really got full value out of the hand.

I've reached 1,500 hands so here's my stats. I'll most likely post them again when I reach 3K

[Andrew]

Instead of starting a new OP I'm going to bring this one back and make sure I at least keep a monthly update.

Bankroll:

Party - $70.
UB - $30
Stars - $50.

I'm looking at a grinding up a 50 BI per level. Huge I know and a lot of the regs will wonder why I need a roll that big for anything less than 50/100NL. Well the simple answer is that I don't want to be a winning poker player, I want to be a good winning poker player. And for me that means deliberately grinding it out at each level for longer than needed until I a) Own it and b) learn everything I can there.

UB is mostly, if not completely, going to be about SnGs, MTTs and Rebuys. If I earn a 3-digit+ placing I'll be withdrawing half of the win each time to use where I need it for my cash tabling. I'm not a big fan of multi-tabling, in fact I only go to 2-tables if I am feeling like having some fun. I'm going to mostly focus on 1 table until I feel I can completely read the situation, environment and/or players by "instinct". Again, most regs will say I prolly don't need to do so and lower my winrate but I am focused on making poker a major part of my lifestyle and I don't want to miss any stone unturned.

So that's it for now. Let's see how everything goes. I'll start posting my stats from PT and anything else which needs to be focused on.

[wesrman]

GL man.
I would suggest you post hands regularly.
Like every day or two.

[Andrew]

If there's one thing my last session has taught me it's to stop playing when I start feeling off. Had a headache on and off the entire day and it came back with a vengeance a few hands before this one and basically went from +1buyin to down a 20bbs.

#1
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (7 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP1 ($2.87)
MP2 ($3.86)
Hero ($5.50)
Button ($5.96)
SB ($5.88)
BB ($5.73)
UTG ($7.29)

Preflop: Hero is CO with , .
1 fold, MP1 raises to $0.2, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.20, 3 folds.

Flop: ($0.47) , , (2 players)
MP1 bets $0.2, Hero raises to $0.6, MP1 calls $0.40.

Turn: ($1.67) (2 players)
MP1 checks, Hero bets $1.4, MP1 calls $1.40.

River: ($4.47) (2 players)
MP1 bets $0.67 (All-In), Hero calls $0.67.

Final Pot: $5.81

#2
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

BB ($3.63)
UTG ($4.40)
UTG+1 ($10)
Hero ($9.07)
MP2 ($5.95)
CO ($5.57)
Button ($6.56)
SB ($5.06)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with , . UTG+1 posts a blind of $0.05.
1 fold, UTG+1 (poster) checks, Hero raises to $0.25, MP2 calls $0.25, 4 folds, UTG+1 folds.

Flop: ($0.62) , , (2 players)
Hero bets $0.4, MP2 calls $0.40.

Turn: ($1.42) (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.85, Hero ??

#3
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (7 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($4.17)
BB ($9.24)
Hero ($8.49)
MP1 ($6.10)
MP2 ($5)
CO ($6.12)
Button ($7.54)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , .
Hero raises to $0.2, MP1 calls $0.20, MP2 calls $0.20, 3 folds, BB calls $0.15.

Flop: ($0.82) , , (4 players)
BB bets $0.05, Hero raises to $0.6, MP1 calls $0.60, MP2 folds, BB calls $0.55.

Turn: ($2.62) (3 players)
BB bets $0.05, Hero calls $0.05, MP1 calls $0.05.

River: ($2.77) (3 players)
BB bets $0.6, Hero calls $0.60, MP1 calls $0.60.

Final Pot: $4.57

#4
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($4.13)
BB ($8.95)
UTG ($6.29)
Hero ($4.80)
MP1 ($2.95)
MP2 ($5.95)
CO ($4.67)
Button ($8.40)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with , .
UTG calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.25, 2 folds, CO calls $0.25, Button calls $0.25, 2 folds, UTG folds.

Flop: ($0.87) , , (3 players)
Hero bets $0.6, CO folds, Button calls $0.60.

Turn: ($2.07) (2 players)
Hero bets $1.5, Button calls $1.50.

River: ($5.07) (2 players)
Hero ??

Final Pot: $5.07

#5
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($11.24)
UTG+1 ($6.73)
MP1 ($3.17)
Hero ($4.91)
CO ($4.22)
Button ($2)
SB ($1.75)
BB ($7.20)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with , .
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.2, 1 fold, Button calls $0.20, 2 folds.

Flop: ($0.47) , , (2 players)
Hero bets $0.3, Button raises to $0.9, Hero raises to $1.5, Button raises to $1.8, Hero calls $0.30.

Turn: ($4.07) (2 players)

River: ($4.07) (2 players)

Final Pot: $4.07

#6
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($6.61)
BB ($5.71)
UTG ($5.05)
UTG+1 ($3)
Hero ($6.07)
MP2 ($2.19)
CO ($7.34)
Button ($2.93)

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with , .
UTG calls $0.05, UTG+1 calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.3, MP2 calls $0.30, 2 folds, SB raises to $0.55, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls $0.25, MP2 calls $0.25.

Flop: ($2.30) , , (4 players)
SB bets $0.8, UTG folds, Hero calls $0.80, MP2 calls $0.80.

Turn: ($4.70) (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $4.72 (All-In), MP2 calls $0.84 (All-In), SB folds.

River: ($6.38) (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $6.38

#7
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver Cards)

saw flop|saw showdown

CO ($5.21)
Button ($5.64)
SB ($4.57)
BB ($2.95)
Hero ($3.88)
UTG+1 ($6.08)
MP1 ($7.34)
MP2 ($2.93)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with , .
Hero calls $0.05, 2 folds, MP2 calls $0.05, CO calls $0.05, 1 fold, SB completes, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.25) , , (5 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $0.2, MP2 calls $0.20, CO raises to $0.4, SB folds, BB calls $0.40, Hero raises to $1.6, MP2 folds, CO raises to $5.16, BB folds, Hero calls $2.23 (All-In).

Turn: ($8.51) (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($8.51) (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $8.51

Good points out of the session:
*First time 4-tabling and it wasn't so bad. Had a bit of problems keeping track of how everyone was playing but that will take time. I folded a lot of hands that I otherwise would have played and generally didn't get myself into too many sticky situations.
*Lost half a BI on 2 tables within the first 5 hands on both but stayed calm and ended up being up on all 4 tables until near the end.

Bad points:
*Totally messed up on a few hands. Being "card blind" (ie not reading the texture of the board in relation to the other guy's actions) is still an issue with me.
*A crazy player is able to take me off my game. There was a player who, it seemed, was playing any two cards, raising and reraising the pot whenever the urge took him. Possibly if I was playing less tables he wouldn't have affected me as much seeing as I've been able to deal with these types by biding my time.

All in all a decent session in regards to my learning curve. Pulled out just under 400 hands in 2 hours and apart from the headache/blowup at the end never felt like I was really in too many sticky spots.

Over 600 hands so far:

VPIP - 9.33
PFR - 4.84
AF - 1.32

[XTR1000]

#1 AQ likes to 3bet unless villian is a nit. As played call flop. Don´t inflate the pot with 2nd pr and no outs

#2 Hero folds. Don´t even think about playing bare overs oop on this turn. Any JQKA turn would be great to double barell but here u should give up without thinking twice

#3 Ugly. I rather raise turn to $3 and slow down on river.

#4 Hero check/folds.

#5 I hate it but play same vs shorties. 3bet AI on flop, no point in leaving him .3 behind

#6 This is weird. By calling SB´s 3bet pre u decide to setfarm. Don´t put anymore money in when no J hits, especially with an overcaller behind

#7 nice hand sir

[Andrew]

#6 This is weird. By calling SB´s 3bet pre u decide to setfarm. Don´t put anymore money in when no J hits, especially with an overcaller behind

Pretty much my wtf did I just do moment of the night. I'm actually disgusted with the way I played it. SB had been playing strange all night and once my headache hit I had no idea what I was doing.

[Andrew]

Quick Update:

Laptop crashed and I am having to reinstall everything, it's taking a while and I'm staying a little bit away from the game until I finish with the stupid machine.

[wesrman]

I was wondering where u went.

[Andrew]

Everything died on me, rebooted to factor settings and it all messed up again (Vista clashing with other software). I'm back on the messenger and will be getting back to the game this weekend.

[Andrew]

At 2NL, decided to play a little today (weekends are usually my SnG/MTT days) and three hands that caught my attention.

I think I have a tendency to overplay Nut-flush draws.

Hand #1
$0.01/$0.02 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($1.79)
UTG+1 ($0.86)
MP1 ($4.04)
MP2 ($3.74)
MP3 ($2.42)
CO ($3.39)
Hero ($2.37)
SB ($4.98)
BB ($6.09)

Pre-flop: ($0.03, 9 players) Hero is BTN
UTG calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP1 calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP3 calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.14, 1 fold, BB calls $0.12, UTG calls $0.12, MP1 calls $0.12, MP3 folds

Flop: ($0.59, 4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $0.35, BB raises to $0.7, UTG folds, MP1 folds, Hero calls $0.35

Turn: ($1.99, 2 players)
BB bets $1.54, Hero goes all-in $1.53

River: ($5.05, 2 players)

This hand I wasn't in but two things came out of it. It's a great lol/wtf moment and it was instrumental in hand #3.

Hand #2
$0.01/$0.02 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($2.41)
UTG+1 ($2.21)
MP1 ($2.92)
MP2 ($1.74)
Hero ($2.00)
BTN ($4.96)
SB ($2.98)
BB ($2.61)
[MP2 posted $0.02]
[Hero posted $0.02]

Pre-flop: ($0.07, 8 players) Hero is CO
UTG calls $0.02, UTG+1 calls $0.02, MP1 raises to $0.04, 1 fold, Hero folds, BTN raises to $0.06, SB calls $0.05, BB calls $0.04, UTG folds, UTG+1 calls $0.04, MP1 raises to $0.08, BTN raises to $0.1, SB calls $0.04, BB calls $0.04, UTG+1 calls $0.04, MP1 raises to $0.12, BTN raises to $0.14, SB calls $0.04, BB calls $0.04, UTG+1 calls $0.04, MP1 raises to $0.16, BTN raises to $0.18, SB calls $0.04, BB calls $0.04, UTG+1 calls $0.04, MP1 raises to $0.2, BTN raises to $1.18, SB calls $1, BB folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls $0.98

Flop: ($3.96, 3 players)
SB checks, MP1 checks, BTN bets $0.58, SB calls $0.58, MP1 calls $0.58

Turn: ($5.7, 3 players)
SB checks, MP1 checks, BTN bets $0.52, SB calls $0.52, MP1 calls $0.52

River: ($7.26, 3 players)
SB checks, MP1 checks, BTN bets $0.8, SB goes all-in $0.7, MP1 goes all-in $0.64

Final Pot: $9.30
BTN shows:
SB shows:
MP1 shows:

BTN wins $0.1 ( lost -$2.98 )
SB wins $0.12 ( lost -$2.86 )
MP1 wins $8.78 ( won +$5.86 )
BB lost -$0.18
UTG lost -$0.02
UTG+1 lost -$0.18

Hand #3
I think I played this wrong but the amount of money in the pot, the small bets MP2 was throwing out and the J2s guy being almost "dead money" seemed to lead me to thinking I could c/c to river and try to win with my 9s if I miss the set.

$0.01/$0.02 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($0.86)
UTG+1 ($2.76)
MP1 ($1.72)
MP2 ($2.33)
MP3 ($1.73)
CO ($8.85)
BTN ($3.31)
Hero ($1.96)
BB ($1.00)

Pre-flop: ($0.03, 9 players) Hero is SB
UTG calls $0.02, 1 fold, MP1 raises to $0.06, MP2 raises to $0.1, MP3 calls $0.1, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.09, BB calls $0.08, UTG goes all-in $0.86, MP1 folds, MP2 calls $0.76, MP3 calls $0.76, Hero calls $0.76, BB folds

Flop: ($3.6, 4 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.06, MP3 calls $0.06, Hero calls $0.06

Turn: ($3.78, 4 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.1, MP3 calls $0.1, Hero calls $0.1

River: ($4.08, 4 players)
Hero goes all-in $0.94, 2 folds

[Andrew]

I'm working slowly towards 5nl. Right now my PT isn't working (having more issues with my software, so I'm having to sort that out before I can really get everything in place). Out of all the sessions I've played this week - 9 for a total of 21 hours so far - 3 have been in the am and 6 in the pm. All since have come out a winner, only 1 of the am's have though. So I'm thinking that perhaps it might be best if I do all my playing in the pm and see how that works out.

I'm 6hours a day 1-tabling until next Monday whereby I 2-table. Each week I'll be add another table until I'm 4-tabling. My laptop will pretty much only cope with 4-tables. I'll be moving back down to 1-table for a week every time I move up a limit and so starting the cycle again. I'm not worried about messing up my winrate doing this as I've noticed I can bring in a decent amount with only one table to focus on. Focusing is a nightmare at times, my attention does seem to wander but I am playing it slowly. I'm not in a race, I'm in a lifelong lesson to learn everything I can about the game I'm playing.

At the beginning of this week I dropped down to $35 from my initial $50. I've been calling too much and getting too frisky but I'm up to $84 now after an additional addon of $30 from my bank (it was just lying there). This evening I walked away from a 4 hour session up 3 buyins and feeling really good about my game for this level. I've probably playing around 1,200 hands so far.

Things I've learned:
*Don't think about how much I'm up/down until the end of my session. Being down a buyin doesn't matter. Playing 1-table has shown me that 100 hands (2 hours of play) is really nothing in the bigger scheme of things. In fact I've been down 2 buyins in 15 mins and finished up 1 buyin at the end of the day.

*I'm tilting less. In fact I've hardly tilted the last two days. Yes, I've still donked a bit of money away by doing loose calls but that was after sitting back saying "this isn't the right move, I should be patient, however I've seen him do this with subpar hands and I want him to know I'll call with a decent holding so he doesn't do it again". Probably not the wisest thinking at such a low stakes but I am still working on that.

*Position. Basically where will I be post flop in regards to my actions. Is it better to call this raise or reraise. This questions I'm asking myself, which means I'm thinking ahead.

*Pot sizes/how many people in the hand. Is starting to dictate how I'm playing, whether I want to limp on the button or raise.

*Betting. I can't always get value on all three streets and I am starting to change my betting style, although not TOO much. I am a "loose" and "aggressive" playing and have no problems pounding at pots over and over until people start playing back with marginal hands. The variance will most likely be bigger swings but it's my personality and my style so it's something I will have to deal with.

I'm about halfway there in bankroll terms until I get to 5nl. No doubt I'll have to shed some "habits" and learn some new ones but that is part of the course.

Incidentally I am playing SnGs and MTTs. Any win 3-figures+ will automatically be withdrawn leaving only my br+initial buyin. I'm going to use my cash table play to get me to knew levels. This keeps me "honest" in knowing where I am and how far I have to go to improve.

[Andrew]

Two tabling for six hours today, this hand and board came up so I had to post it here before I do a proper update.

$0.01/$0.02 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
Hero ($2.28)
UTG+1 ($2.94)
MP1 ($1.31)
MP2 ($2.23)
MP3 ($3.26)
CO ($1.98)
BTN ($2.67)
SB ($4.94)
BB ($2.28)

Pre-flop: ($0.03, 9 players) Hero is UTG
Hero folds, 3 folds, MP3 calls $0.02, CO calls $0.02, 2 folds, BB checks

Flop: ($0.07, 3 players)
BB checks, MP3 checks, CO checks

Turn: ($0.07, 3 players)
BB checks, MP3 checks, CO checks

River: ($0.07, 3 players)
Hero says "daym", BB bets $0.06, MP3 calls $0.06, 1 fold, Hero says "I folded 96"

Final Pot: $0.19
MP3 shows:
BB shows:

MP3 wins $0.09 ( won +$0.01 )
BB wins $0.1 ( won +$0.02 )
CO lost -$0.02

[swiggidy]

[Andrew]

Absolutely crazy hand I tell ya.

Well one thing I haven't learned yet is to think through why my opponent is doing what he is doing. That and to stop playing when I'm not focused/at 100%. I had to cut my second session from the 4 1/2 hours I planned to just 3 hours. A headache between the eyes and lack of following the action being the main reasons.

My first "real" day 2-tabling and I felt I did half-decent. I came away this last session up 6 buyins ($12) and up just over 4 for the entire day (~$8.40). Really pleased with this but I know that without about 4 or 5 dumbass plays I could have been up a lot more.

Total backroll since last week I'm up 13 buyins to bring my br to $90. Just $60 more to go before it's 5nl time!

[Andrew]

Here's how I've been playing this last week or two.

[Andrew]

Just played 5hours today (12pm-5pm).

I've increased my aggression, I know at this level it probably isn't completely the best thing but I want to get my style and rhythm in place so that I have my natural game/foundation in place as I move up limits. Since I'm playing loose-aggressive, my swings are extremely wild. For some people this would send the brain reelin' and rockin' but for me I'm completely comfortable having a 5 hour, 1-tabling session where I drop down 3 1/2 buyins only to come out on top 3 1/2.

Today: Played 247 hands with a BB/100 of 147.37.

Total hands: 3,991
BB/100: 20.98.

I'm over $100 for the first time! YAY!

[Andrew]

Haven't been playing much the last couple of days. My main windows of play is 12-5 and then 7-12. The 7-12 is swingable and depending upon how I've been feeling throughout the day but the 12-5 is a lock....

...apart from yesterday and today. Champions League Quarter Finals and since I've been in the US (2 years) it's the only football I get to watch since I don't subscribe to any of the PPV channels. United won at a canter but I have a feeling we're going to meet Liverpool in the finals. Gonna win 3-1 if that's the case.

Played around three hours today at a lose. No focus and came up against a whole bunch of LPAs (Loose-Passive-Aggressive). The tables were full of them and I never got any momentum going. To those reading this thinking of playing a LAG style, momentum is KEY.



I'm hovering between the $90 and $100 mark this week. I have two days to really push and build up a head of steam. The weekends I play SnGs and MTTs to give me a change of pace and to keep me fresh. Hopefully I'll be right back in the groove tomorrow.

Biggest hand today:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.02 BB (8 handed) Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

Button ($1.90)
SB ($3.87)
BB ($5)
UTG ($1.81)
Hero ($3.54)
MP1 ($4.85)
MP2 ($1.46)
CO ($0.85)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with 3, K.
1 fold, Hero raises to $0.08, 5 folds, BB calls $0.06.

Flop: ($0.17) 5, 7, J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.15, BB calls $0.15.

Turn: ($0.47) 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($0.47) 5 (2 players)
BB bets $0.7, Hero raises to $2.1, BB raises to $4.77, Hero calls $1.21 (All-In).

Final Pot: $7.09

[BankItDrew]

"because of some great advice from chopper..."

what!??!

u da man choppah

[JL]

Hey Andrew,

When do you plan on moving up in stakes?

Regarding the K3s hand:
You made two mistakes in that hand.
First, you should definitely fold preflop from that position.
Second, you should bet that turn 100% of the time.

My 2 cents...

Good luck with your Op.


JL

[Andrew]

Hey Andrew,

When do you plan on moving up in stakes?

Regarding the K3s hand:
You made two mistakes in that hand.
First, you should definitely fold preflop from that position.
Second, you should bet that turn 100% of the time.

My 2 cents...

Good luck with your Op.


JL

Hey, JL.

I figured I'll hit 5NL when I get to around $120/$150. I want to be super focused on Bankroll management so that I have a good cushion to experiment with. The K3 had was me trying to put together a rush of hands together. The tables were all uber-loose preflop and once someone caught SOMETHING they weren't going out no matter what, but they (mostly) weren't betting with it either. You're right about the turn, I almost never slow play my hands but this goes to show how off my A-game I was to do it and then get it in there with a paired river.

[Andrew]

Just about to break the 5K hands (yeah I know, I'm really racing through the hands!). Here's a breakdown of my positional stats:



Oh, I'm using Photobucket to host my pictures and to be honest it sucks eggs. So whoever posts a lot of stat images I'd love to know what you use to have them so clear to see.

[Muzzard]

Just a quick pointer you roughly want ur PFR%to be about 3/4ths of you VPIP in all positions and overall. Your 26/14 overall, you need to stop limping and calling so much.

[Andrew]

Just a quick pointer you roughly want ur PFR%to be about 3/4ths of you VPIP in all positions and overall. Your 26/14 overall, you need to stop limping and calling so much.

What's the thinking behind having PFR% being 3/4ths of VPIP? Why is that a good ratio?

My stats are very back-weighted. This week has been a total change around so my stats are going to be changing to reflect that. Pre this week I really was limp/calling too much.