Operation I: Duece Does 5nl

[Dueces88]

There's not much to say for an introduction. I'm not actually a beginner. I have played this game since high school, but for the most part, I played without proper direction. Playing without proper direction is like tryint to drive while looking through a dirty window. Once you have the proper direction and foundation, the window is crystal clear and things become easier than they were before.

This is where I am at now. I have a good understanding of the fundamentals. Fortunately, I do not bother memorizing ideas and tricks in this game. I've gone over the fundamentals myself and put in some critical thinking about why they make sense and why they make a profit.

So I have the knowledge, but I am lacking in two areas:
A) Experience
B) Proper Bankroll

A. Even though I have been playing since High School (now in College), it has been on and off, so I did not gain an adequate amount of experience in terms of hands played.

B. I played mostly SnGs and I got up to about 1300 before variance along with improper bankroll management raped me back down to 300. I cashed out 250 before I lost it all, then I got up back to about 100. That's about the point I started to really think about this game, the fundamentals, the concepts, and ways to minimize the luck factor and maximize the profit from skill.

That's when I decided to quit SnGs period. Rising blinds and bubble play promote the Push/Fold strategy which increases the luck factor. Deep-stacked is where skill is most rewarded. So my grind will solely be ring games. 6-max ring games to be exact. I feel specializing in one aspect of this game, which will be 6-max (actually shorthand in general), is better than being all over the place.

This is my plan for ring games:
1. At each level, I will put in around 40k hands; Even if I reach a bankroll that is sufficient for the next stake, if I have not put in about 40k hands, I will not move to the next stake until I put in around 40k hands.
2. At each level, I will create a "List of Fishes" and a "List of Regulars." I will also make a list, for each stake level, of common lines at that stake along with commonalities between the 5 major types of players of that stake (Nit, Fish, TAG, LAG, Maniac).
3. After each session, I will go over many hands to practice my reading ability and also to make more precise notes on my opponents.
4. At the end of each week (or every 5-7 days), I will review my stats and pinpoint the unprofitable leaks and think about ways to plug them up without affecting my winrate.
5. I will post hands that made me hesitate at the table. Hopefully, not only will the posters give their opinion on the recommended action, but also give reasons why.

I will follow these 5 guidelines starting at 25nl. At 5nl and 10nl, I'm just going to play until I reach the next stake. I do not think I will learn anything new at these microstakes, although I still will be practicing hand reading and look for any leaks. I just won't bother making lists for 5nl and 10nl.

Now, it's time...

Btw, I know "Deuce" is the correct way to spell it. No need to tell me.

[bigred]

Good luck with your operation!

BTW, you spelled deuces wrong

[Dueces88]

Had a small session so far today. I played a little under 600 hands to be up about 6 BI.

Nothing important really to report, but there were a few hands that I would like some input on, but I'll post them after I get some food.

Progress Report:
Stake: 5nl
Hands: 593
Profit: +$31.17

[Dueces88]

I have two hands from the latest session that I want some feedback on:

1. I do not know anything about this villian yet. I do not have any idea about his image nor do I have any reads.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (4 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

Hero (SB) ($13.49)
BB ($5.09)
Villian (UTG) ($7.63)
Button ($7.49)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, Q
Villian raises $0.20, 1 fold, Hero raises $0.58, 1 fold, Villian calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.25) 2, 10, 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $1, Villian raises $2, Hero ???

Total pot: $3.25


2. Villian is 40/26/5 over 120 hands.

No-Limit Hold'em, $0.05 BB (5 handed) - Hold'em Manager Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

SB ($6)
BB ($6.06)
Villian (UTG) ($15.42)
MP ($8.61)
Hero (Button) ($18.70)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, A
Villian raises $0.15, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.15, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.37) 7, 8, A (2 players)
Villian bets $0.25, Hero calls $0.25

Turn: ($0.87) A (2 players)
Villian bets $0.70, Hero raises $2.90, Villian calls $2.20

River: ($6.67) 10 (2 players)
Villian checks, Hero bets $4, Villian calls $4

Total pot: $14.67

[Monsieur_chat]

Hand 1 is tough and I struggle with these situations too. In my experience at this stake whenever I'm raised here I'm usually behind. These guys tend not to get too tricky. If one of our queens was a diamond and we had position it might be worth floating to see how serious the villain is on the turn, but OOP and with fairly little chance of our hand improving to beat a flush I think I hollywood a bit and then fold it.

Hand 2 Ummmm not sure why you've posted this? As far as I can see, on the river you've got the lock hand here and you've played it nicely. The only thing it might be worth considering is betting more on the river. The fact that he's called your man-sized raise on the turn means he's probably holding what he thinks is a monster, I guess Ax, A7, A8, 77, 88, probably in that order... Do you think you could have got him all in / get more value on the river?

[Dueces88]

In Hand 2, I was worried on the turn that he may have had a better Ace, which is why I posted this hand. In hindsight, he is actually very aggressive post-flop and as a lot of weaker Aces in his range. I was actually surprised to see what he called the river with.

[Monsieur_chat]

I think I'd only be worried on the river if he shoved over my raise. And even then I think I'd find trip aces hard to fold. What did he have?

[Dueces88]

I think I'd only be worried on the river if he shoved over my raise. And even then I think I'd find trip aces hard to fold. What did he have?

KTo

Needless to say I'll probably be looking to join his table again.

[Monsieur_chat]

lol. I would be surprised but having played a while at these stakes..... I'm not. It's astonishing what people will call you down with. Yes occasionally they love to slowplay trips as they think this is the height of smart poker (value? What's that then?) but you get called with junk like this far more often.

Sounds like you're using sensible BR management, just resist the temptation to get bored with terrible players and move up before your BR is ready.