Operation: Mr Cat slays the tilt dragon and gets to 25nl

[Monsieur_chat]

OK, so I decided it was finally time I started one of these. Firstly because I'd like to beat 10nl and have fun doing it. I figured that starting an Op was a good way to do this and hopefully get some help through the rocky spots. I will be posting hands, asking for help and all the rest of it. Also though, this is an offshoot of a 10nl 6max hand that I played yesterday:

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/forum/-t86357.html

The hand got me thinking about tilt. Why I personally tilt, and the effect it can have on my game. While I'm thankfully not someone who tilts off 5 BI after a bad beat, I am prone to it. It's something I find interesting and would like to muse over here, with all input welcome. The final aim of course is for the scales to drop from my eyes and to see tilt for what it really is: pretty absurd.

I digress.

About Me.

Been playing seriously now since January 2009. I suck at poker (let's get that one out of the way) but I guess I'm doing OKish, although I haven't progressed nearly as quickly as some people!

I beat 2nl FR for about 27BB/100 and 5nl FR for a somewhat less impressive 6BB/100.

So I moved up with my BR at about $200, and started playing 10nl FR. This was all good however I felt that I was becoming a bit of a robot. I wasn't really thinking about why I do things and that was something I wanted to nip in the bud while I'm still at the micros. SO I decided I'd try 6max and I loved it. Partly because I ran sick hot, but mostly because there's less players, and so I find it easier to make notes, get reads, target fish, all that stuff we want to be doing all the time. I also dropped down to 3 tables max. In my first two sessions I made 6BI (love weekends) but since then been running pretty horrid and thus tilting and thus playing pretty horrid. I really want to stick with 6max as I think I play the kind of poker I want to play there, I just need to come to terms with tilt.

My 6max stats are around 22/13, which I think is about ok?

Goals

* Learn 6max. I think I'm playing well in LP but I fucking suck at blind play where I'm getting totally owned: avg. -42BB/100 from the BB, yuck, and 34/17 in the SB yuck yuck.. . 6max experts - Helpzors!
* Start beating 10nl for a decent rate, and allow for running bad. 6BB/100 is ok but I think with some work I can do better.
* Discuss, muse over and try to conquer tilt. See the big picture and treasure them Sklansky Dollars.
*Don't rush. beat the game at the best rate you can, regardless of what so and so is doing. 5nl took 40,000 hands, 10nl might take more or (hopefully) less.

Christ I just wrote a lot. If you're still here thanks and umm... Wish me luck?

Here goes....

Current BR: $258.

[Keith]

1st and Good luck with your OP. Also quite a big gap between your vpip and PFR . you want to tighten that up a bit. Might be an idea to post your position stats as well,

[DaD01ng]

2nd, and agreed with Keith, try get your VPIP/PFR to something more like 18/16

and also tilt completely kills anyones game. lots of different forms of tilt, try masterring it, and good luck.

oh and btw, if u'd like to do sweat sessions with me then PM me

[Monsieur_chat]

OK so we're saying call less and raise more? I think that having come over from FR (where I play pretty nitty) I'm trying too hard to open up in spots where there's no need to.

I'm also missing HHs on a couple of sessions so only have them for about 4k hands of 6max, a lot of which I was playing bad, so I hesitate to post these positional stats. I'll put them up here but will repost when I've played another 15k hands or so...

BB/100 VPiP Raise AF

BB -56 11% 2% 2.09
SB -6 33% 18% 3.35
BU 17 34% 23% 3.04
CO 37 20% 13% 1.84
+1 52 14% 10% 3.7
UG -40 15% 13% 4.75

Once again please bear in mind this is a small sample and I'm very green at 6max. Oh and please don't rip me too hard for my horrible blind play. Apologies also for the difficult to read table.

Right, think I might go play a session.


Oh and DaDO1ng, site / stakes?

[DaD01ng]

10NL at partypoker

[Monsieur_chat]

Ach, op is off to a pretty crappy start, played 400 or so hands tonight and I'm down a buy in. Ran at about 20 / 13, so a bit better there. Another irritating hand lost me the buy in though.
I think I get tilted hardest where at some stage in the plan, opp has made a horrid play and then they've been paid off with it later on in the hand. A prime example of this is the hand I posted in the Tilt forum yesterday (link above). I mean strictly speaking that was a cooler, not a bad beat, the guy got his money in fine, but his PF call had me screaming.

Here are a couple of significant hands from today. Input most welcome.

Hand 1

No stats on villain, I'd literally just sat down, but he was being pretty aggressive, isolating a lot and generally seeming happy to gamble.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($4.70)
UTG ($8.10)
MP ($10)
Hero (CO) ($11.45)
Button ($14.45)
SB ($2.90)

Preflop: Hero is CO with 5, 5
UTG calls $0.10, 1 fold, Hero bets $0.40, 3 folds, UTG calls $0.30

Flop: ($0.95) 6, 4, 7 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $0.70, UTG raises to $1.80, Hero calls $1.10

Turn: ($4.55) 2 (2 players)
UTG bets $1.90, Hero calls $1.90

River: ($8.35) 9 (2 players)
UTG bets $4 (All-In), Hero folds

Total pot: $8.35 | Rake: $0.40

I'm really never sure quite how to play this. I just can't bring myself to fold the flop or the turn as I think we have massive implied odds against this villain. I'd say his range has a few overpairs in it but considering the checkraise more likely 2pr+. To be honest though, he was playing so Laggy, I found it hard to get a clear range.

Hand 2

Villain is 21/13 over 37 hands.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($9.85)
UTG ($12.65)
MP ($11.60)
Button ($11.05)
Hero (SB) ($10.35)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, Q
1 fold, MP calls $0.10, 1 fold, Hero bets $0.50, 1 fold, MP calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.10) 7, Q, K (2 players)
Hero bets $0.70, MP calls $0.70

Turn: ($2.50) J (2 players)
Hero bets $2, MP calls $2

River: ($6.50) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $3, MP raises to $8, Hero calls $4.15 (All-In)

Total pot: $20.80 | Rake: $1

Ach, I just can't fold sets, I snap loltilt called the river. Looking back on it now, I cant think of many hands he MIGHT play like this bar the flush draw. 77, Maybe KQ or KJ... I just fucking hate folding when the board isn't a bit scarier than this. I dont know. Thoughts?

BR sits at $246.45

[DaD01ng]

Hand 1: I think you played the hand fine, turn decision is tough, pot odds dictate not to call, but then we got certain implied odds, but are the implied odds really big enough? we're calling 20bb to potentially win 40 more, I really need to get my poker maths straight and find out how to calculate this crap...

Hand 2: Well played until river, you should fold on river, there really isn't anything you beat anymore unless this guy is a maniac which judging by his stats and how he played the hand, he isn't

[Keith]

How was it sitting on my left?, Blew the 15$ profit on that table just after you left then went on a massive heater and made $43 . If only I hadnt been a pratt and thought I could make a guy fold by sticking him all in I could easily have been up 6Buyins tonight.

[Monsieur_chat]

Twas fun Keith. Glad you had a successful evening, my last few sessions have sucked. Don't really know if I'm playing bad, running bad or what. Probably both. I mean, if we're having losing sessions and we can identify 2 or 3 hands that are responsible instead of it being a slow leak does that mean we're just not making enough on our big hands? Idk.

Would be interested in hearing anybody else's thoughts on those hands, particularly hand 1...

[Jason]

I don't play 6-max, but I agree with DaD01ng. Hand 1 is fine. On Hand 2, you said you hate folding when the board isn't scarier than that, but that's a pretty scary board. There is a flush AND a str8 out there plus a villain who won't go away and has shoved all-in. You can't be thinking "I can't fold sets". You have to think, "What hands was he sticking around for all these bets and has now shoved over the top allin". Obviously a flush is the most likely holding, but you may have been beaten on the turn with AT or T9. Sure, there are some maniacs who will do this with worse hands or air, but for those villains, you can find a much better spot to beat them and remember that maniacs get hands too from time to time. If there was no str8 or paired board and the action went down in such a way that a backdoor flush completed, maybe you can be a little more frisky because his line will make less sense. But, as played, the river should be a check and hope that you can get to showdown cheaply and fold if not. Think about it - if he actually has a hand like KQ or KJ that you beat, he's not going to want to bet a lot because he's scared of the str8 and flush, too. So, when you put out a decent bet, you chase out and get no value from all the hands that you beat and then lose or invite check raises to all the ones that don't.

[Monsieur_chat]

Another pretty sucky session. Played hands $389 for a loss of just over $2. Not too despondent though, I was down over a buy in at one point, and after the second half of today's session, my graph is at least heading in the right direction.

I really don't want to be one of those micro players who put every loss down to running bad. Firstly because I have some mile wide holes in my game, and secondly because I frankly don't class myself as experienced enough to know a bad downswing if I had one. That said, it does feel like I'm very cold decked at the moment and not really hitting many flops. Maybe my expectations have been set too high by winning 5.5 BI or so in my first 1k hands of 6max when it felt like I literally couldn't miss a flop and was actually surprised when I DIDN'T flop sets with my pps. Still, it sucks to crush a level one minute and to be a slow loser the next.

I guess I just have to keep grinding away and avoid the temptation to start playing like it's FR. I've looked over my biggest losing hands since I dropped these few BIs, and coolers and KK< AA aside, I'm generally getting my money in on a flip at worst (notable exceptions above lol).

BR sits at $244.25

Oh and thanks very much for the input guys. I really need to think clearly all the way through a hand, not just the first 2 streets.

[Gobbatino]

Hello Mr. Cat,

I read what you write and I know exactly what you mean about running bad/having leaks/etc. You (I) grind up slowly, up maybe a buy-in or two then go up with bottom set vs top set, or some calling station makes his flush after calling two PSBs vs your top two pair/set/straight/whatever on two streets and boom, you're (I'm) down to even or worse. I am in the exact same spot. I've been breaking even for ages, until maybe the last 8k hands where I've been very slightly winning. Perhaps we can set up a sweat session or something, help each other out. If you're interested throw me a PM.

Regarding your OP, I'll tell you what everyone told me when I posted very similar stats.
*Tighten up from the blinds.
*Put your PFR% at about 75%/80% of your VPIP%. So something around 20/17 if you want to stay that LAGGy or tighten up to 18/15 TAGGy style.
*Raise your button/CO more, cold call less. Put up your ATS% to 25%+.

[Monsieur_chat]

Weeeeeee, finally booked a nice win, gotta love the weekend

Just played 443 for a profit of $20.40 at 46/BB100. Thank God.

Before I started the session I did some analysis of my positional stats. Realized I need to tighten right up in the blinds, get my VPiP down a bit and my PFR up a tad. I ended up running at a much healthier 15/12. Perhaps a bit tight, but I think it needed to be done. I also reminded myself over and over again being in position is WAY more valuable than the .5 or 1 BB discount we get when we call with prospective hands from the blinds. This is so ridiculously obvious but it seems I need to keep it in mind at all times, and I'm glad that today I did.

It also helped that I stopped running so fucking horribly, and actually managed to get paid off a couple of times lol. That said it was pretty swingy at times, and I lost some big hands as well as winning some.

Some hands

Hand 1

No stats on villain, this was my 14th hand of the session. I think this is relatively marginal. Is he doing this with worse hands that often? I mean I can definitely see QQ and JJ doing this. Perhaps A9 if he is a drooler. We surely cant ever put him squarely on aces or a set. Hrm?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($9.95)
MP ($11.70)
CO ($10.75)
Button ($12.65)
Hero (SB) ($10)
BB ($17.60)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, K
1 fold, MP bets $0.40, 2 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, 1 fold, MP calls $1.10

Flop: ($3.10) 8, 9, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $2, MP raises to $6.50, Hero raises to $8.50 (All-In), MP calls $2

Turn: ($20.10) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($20.10) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $20.10 | Rake: $0.95

Hand 2

Villain is 33/15/1.64 over 100 odd hands. I had to tank for a long time here and was so tempted to take the "fuck you I don't have a whiffed AK" line. In the end I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt for a higher pair, given his PFR (in spite of his obvious wide BU opening range). Thoughts?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($10.25)
Button ($10)
SB ($12.05)
Hero (BB) ($10.65)
UTG ($24.05)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, J
2 folds, Button bets $0.40, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.20, Button calls $0.80

Flop: ($2.45) 2, 3, 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $2, Button raises to $6, Hero folds

Total pot: $6.45 | Rake: $0.30

And a couple of fun ones:

Hand 3

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($9.75)
UTG ($9.45)
MP ($7.40)
CO ($13.05)
Hero (Button) ($10)
SB ($7.95)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, A
2 folds, CO bets $0.40, Hero calls $0.40, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.95) 8, 10, 2 (2 players)
CO bets $0.65, Hero calls $0.65

Turn: ($2.25) 7 (2 players)
CO bets $1.70, Hero calls $1.70

River: ($5.65) 6 (2 players)
CO bets $3, Hero raises to $7.25 (All-In), CO calls $4.25

Total pot: $20.15 | Rake: $0.95

Results:
Hero had 8, A (flush, Ace high).
CO mucked J, Q (flush, Queen high).
Outcome: Hero won $19.20

Hand 4

Villain is 33/33

This one made me laugh, for a number of reasons. Firstly because I think I played it REALLY badly and was pretty lucky to get called, in spite of villain's stats. Secondly because I thought he could well be calling with some sort of massive combo draw and as the turn and river came down, I swore out loud as each of them completed lol. And then thirdly when he turned over what he did.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($12.25)
Hero (BB) ($10.15)
UTG ($15.60)
MP ($9.85)
Button ($20.50)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 7
3 folds, SB calls $0.05, Hero bets $0.40, SB calls $0.30

Flop: ($0.80) 7, 5, 9 (2 players)
SB bets $0.90, Hero raises to $9.75 (All-In), SB calls $8.85

Turn: ($20.30) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($20.30) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $20.30 | Rake: $1

Results:
SB had A, 5 (one pair, fives).
Hero had 7, 7 (three of a kind, sevens).
Outcome: Hero won $19.30

Some people just can't seem to let it go BvB.

Anyway, am still painfully aware of my leaks, but glad to get back to winning ways. My girlfriend and I are getting out of the city tomorrow, so probs no poker for a day or two. Any thoughts on the above hands, 1 and 2 especially, much appreciated.

BR: $264.65

[Monsieur_chat]

Played a quick 200 hand session This morning for just under $4 profit. Had a mate watching over my shoulder. Would have been double that if he hadn't talked me into a call that I knew was a fold but w/e.

Off to enjoy the sun with my girl, BR sits $268 and some change and the tilt dragon seems to have gone back inside his cave.

[Gobbatino]

Hand 1: I'd probably felt this as well, though that may be a leak of mine. His range on the flop is 88-QQ, maybe some draws but that doesn't make sense with the pre-flop action I suppose, and you're ahead of that with 68.472% equity. I'd say cooler, since I'm guessing you ran into a set, not sure what the more regular posters say about this.

Hand 2: What's his ATS%? I think I'd shove. I really doubt he has an overpair here, AA-QQ he would have most likely 4bet pre. On the flop his range could be as wide as TT-77,33-22,ATs,KTs,ATo,KTo. With this range you're a 70% favorite.

[Monsieur_chat]

Just finished up another really nice session. Played 375 hands for $13.55 profit. Made most of it when a fish with mile high stats c/c c/c c/shoved a J4JJ2 board. With his image it was a pretty easy call with my KK and I stacked him for 100bbs or so.

Also for about the fourth time in a row, and completely by fluke I've been sitting on the left of Keith_MM and we're starting to get some quite nice meta game with each other, basing our reads on experience and stats, but also on knowledge we have of each other from FTR. It's a lot of fun.

As for the above hands, hand 1, I actually ran into AA so meh, wp him for flatting my 3bet. Though I'm not folding Kings PF. Need to note that flatting a 3bet pre no longer means we can discount AA as was pretty much the case in 5nlFR.
Hand 2 I tanked forever, then folded and the guy showed me QQ so I was pretty pleased, although I'm aware that that doesn't necessarily mean that folding is the optimum play there.

BR is at $281.60 and things are feeling pretty good.

[Monsieur_chat]

What no replies? Shit I'm gonna have to start serving drinks or putting LOLCats up in here or something.

Played two 350 hand sessions this afternoon, finished up 2 BI. Also played a 210FPP Satty which I final tabled, but had the Supernova table captain next to me for the whole damn thing. Got it in with him on my bustout hand - apparently AKo<AQo but hey w/e. Things are going really well and I feel like I'm playing the best I've ever played, 6 max has definitely been good for me. I'm thinking way more about opponents hand rages based on reads, stats and notes. Instead of getting scared by cards on the board, I'm thinking about how those cards relate to my opponents probable holdings. It makes poker far more enjoyable and the results are showing. And my bankroll has finally broken $300

Still, I did manage a nice Botched Hand Of The Day.

I know, calling the flop is horrible here, I should be raising hard. That said, his line on the flop and turn looks a lot like a FD to me. Should I be raising the turn harder?

Villain is 22/13/2.00

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($12.10)
CO ($10.15)
Hero (Button) ($10.20)
SB ($7.75)
BB ($34.80)
UTG ($13)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, K
UTG calls $0.10, 2 folds, Hero bets $0.40, SB calls $0.35, BB calls $0.30, UTG calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.60) Q, 6, 8 (4 players)
SB bets $0.40, BB calls $0.40, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.40

Turn: ($2.80) 8 (3 players)
SB bets $0.30, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.90, SB raises to $3.50, Hero calls $1.60

River: ($9.80) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $0.70, Hero calls $0.70

Total pot: $11.20 | Rake: $0.50

Will prob play another session tonight for those handful who are reading.

BR - $300.95

[donkbee]

People are always reading, so don't worry too much about replies. Keep writing and the replies will come. GL!

[Keith]

Oh I'm reading , now I can't steal with abandon off the guy sat on my left , gotta find another way to get your money ....erm i mean to play against you.

[Monsieur_chat]

Thanks Courtiebee and lol Keith, maybe you'll get a seat on my left for a change one day.

Just played a v quick 60 hand session and ended up just over a buy in and a half which was great. Stacked one guy when I flopped a set after being min 3bet with 99. I love those situations where you can check the flop and be guaranteed action. Stacked another guy thanks to a note I'd made on him, which is becoming a feature of my game which was sorely lacking before - I'm starting to really target fish and when I get into hands with them with a nice holding I'm using notes, stats etc to play them the best way I can.

So, after a shaky start the opp is running great, I'm up just under $60 in 6 days. I only hope the doomswitch isn't about to kick in lol. Will prob play again this evening.

BR - $316.15

[Monsieur_chat]

OK so 6max has definitely given me one or two "Aha!" moments. I'm clearly running pretty well but the game is just so much clearer to me now, I think I've got rid of some huge leaks and as a result I'm 25% of the way to 25nl in a week and a half. I always thought that those sort of win rates were reserved for dranger and m2m lol.

Still, not gonna take anything for granted, want to keep learning, keep working at it and not let tilt come into my game when the inevitable beats come along.

Played 443 hands this afternoon for a $16.55 win

I wish I had some more hands for you guys but at the moment I'm reading the game pretty clearly and when I make a mistake (and I make plenty) I'm able to look back over the hand, unpick it and work out where I went wrong.

I also think there's a lot to be said at the micros for avoiding horrible situations where you aren't 100% sure where you are. Yes, sometimes you'll lay down the best hand, but with all the fish around you, it doesn't matter, another money making spot will be along soon enough. Anybody else feel this way?

Have a Kitteh



BR - $332.70

[Monsieur_chat]

Pretty swingy day today. Didn't really feel on top of my game. Made a fold on the flop with Kings just because I was 200bbs deep and the guy had me covered which I hated myself for. Meh.

Still, managed to scrape together a $4.05 win over 700 odd hands.

BR is $335.30 and I'm about 20 FPPS from a little $20 bonus which will be nice too.

[Monsieur_chat]

Well I guess the run of winning sessions had to come to an end but fuck me what an irritating session.

Managed to play 800 hands without ever being up or down more than $4. Had to really stay focused not to start pushing value that wasn't there. Would have finished up a whole dollar or so but I ended up down $3.60 after racing AKs with some short stack bitch's 33. Fuck I hate them lol.

On the brighter side I cleared a $20 bonus so the BR is still growing regardless, and currently sits at $351.45.

Will be posting my (fairly sexy by my standards) graph at the end of the month.

[Monsieur_chat]

Hrm.... I just had a perfectly breakeven session. Didn't lose or gain a single cent lol. Rake aside that is.

Tbh it was pretty swingy and i was tilting toward the end. Had started out losing almost a buy in, then worked back up to be up a buy in then made some pretty poor plays, missed some flops and it all got away from me. Part of me wishes I'd quit when I was up, although I also don't really like that mentality.

Here's a spot where I'd like some input...

I played this hand against this 31/8/3.00:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($17.65)
CO ($10)
Button ($12.25)
Hero (SB) ($10.35)
BB ($6.65)
UTG ($11.35)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 7, 7
1 fold, MP bets $0.40, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.35, BB calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.20) 7, 3, 9 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $1, MP raises to $2.75, Hero raises to $9.95 (All-In), 1 fold, MP calls $7.20

Turn: ($22.10) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($22.10) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $22.10 | Rake: $1.10

Results:
Hero had 7, 7 (three of a kind, sevens).
MP mucked J, J (one pair, Jacks).
Outcome: Hero won $21

And then I played this hand with the same villain. My question, is given villain's stats and recent table history does anybody call the river here or do we just put him down as another donk who calls PFR with K8o?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB ($12.35)
UTG ($10)
MP ($9.85)
Hero (CO) ($21)
Button ($5.20)
SB ($11.25)

Preflop: Hero is CO with J, J
2 folds, Hero bets $0.30, 2 folds, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.65) 3, K, 8 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.65) 6 (2 players)
BB bets $0.40, Hero calls $0.40

River: ($1.45) Q (2 players)
BB bets $0.90

Hero?

And lastly, the reason I tilted and didn't make any money this morning. I squarely put villain on 22 or 55 here and yet I called anyway, not because part of his range might include weaker Queens, not because he might be a drooler who is doing this with 99 - JJ or AK, but because "you're a short stacker and I therefore fucking detest you" lol.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG ($10)
MP ($10.20)
Hero (CO) ($10)
Button ($10.10)
SB ($3.90)
BB ($14)

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, A
2 folds, Hero bets $0.30, Button calls $0.30, SB calls $0.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($1) Q, 2, 5 (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.70, 1 fold, SB raises to $1.50, Hero thinks forever and then does what he knows is the wrong thing and raises to $9.70 (All-In), SB calls $2.10 (All-In)

Turn: ($8.20) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($8.20) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $8.20 | Rake: $0.40

Results:
SB had 5, 5 (three of a kind, fives).
Hero mucked Q, A (one pair, Queens).
Outcome: SB won $7.80

Tilted after talking myself into shoving when I knew I was probably behind and then let the rest of my profits get away from me as a result. I suppose the silver lining is that now when I tilt I don't feel as if I'm in imminent danger of losing 3 BIs through spew. I just don't feel like I'm going to pwn like I know I can. So I guess that's an improvement.

BR sits at $350.90

[Monsieur_chat]

Also I suck at getting value OOP. Can anyone help me play this better? I think I'm being pretty obvious here, I found myself praying he had KK lol. Any help?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($18.45)
CO ($11.25)
Button ($9.70)
SB ($10.25)
Hero (BB) ($10)
UTG ($18.70)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7, 7
1 fold, MP bets $0.50, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.40

Flop: ($1.05) 7, 5, K (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $1.30, Hero calls $1.30

Turn: ($3.65) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $1.20, Hero calls $1.20

River: ($6.05) 10 (2 players)
Hero bets $4, 1 fold

Total pot: $6.05 | Rake: $0.25

[Keith]

I think he's on a smaller pocket pair , when you start betting on the river with a T just dropped and he's gone.I'd probably have bet something pathetic like 1.5$ giving him 7:1 to call and impling weakness and hope he shoves over. If he had something that he's willing to call the 4$ with, he's probably going to try and raise it , if he's got nothing he may call with his A highs or fold.

[Monsieur_chat]

zOMG hai der variance, haven't seen you in ages. How are you..?!

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP ($10)
CO ($10)
Hero (Button) ($10.65)
SB ($15.75)
BB ($10)
UTG ($12.80)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, A
3 folds, Hero bets $0.30, SB calls $0.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.70) 2, A, A (2 players)
SB bets $0.50, Hero raises to $1.50, SB calls $1

Turn: ($3.70) 4 (2 players)
SB bets $3, Hero raises to $8.85 (All-In), SB calls $5.85

River: ($21.40) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $21.40 | Rake: $1.05

Results:
Hero mucked 10, A (three of a kind, Aces).
SB had Q, J (flush, Ace high).
Outcome: SB won $20.35

Oh. Right.

16% on the turn is good sir. For fuck sakes.

BR - $334.70.

[Monsieur_chat]

OK, so think I stopped the rot today. Played 300 or so hands for a $6.20 win. To be honest I was feeling good and could have played more but have been a bit tilted after the last few sessions and I'm a believer in booking a win when you're having a hard time. Losing it all on a flip would have probably tilted me for a few days lol.

Here's a situation I sometimes struggle with. c/c all the way here feels horribly passive and like we're underplaying our cards.

Obviously the first way I can improve here is by 3betting, which I'm really not doing enough. When you get a few hands that you can cbet at this level and realize how much villains hate it it makes you realize you should be 3betting a lot more.

Anyway, taking that as read, does anybody like a c/r here on the flop? Or something similar? All thoughts welcome and appreciated.

Villain is 29/11/3.00

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($5.60)
Button ($10)
Hero (SB) ($10.60)
BB ($7.55)
UTG ($10.15)
MP ($10.80)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J, J
2 folds, CO bets $0.40, Button calls $0.40, Hero calls $0.35, BB calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.60) 5, 5, 6 (4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets $0.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.50, BB calls $0.50

Turn: ($3.10) 7 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets $0.70, Hero calls $0.70, BB calls $0.70

River: ($5.20) 9 (3 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO bets $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, 1 fold

Total pot: $8.20 | Rake: $0.35

[Illfavor]

Yea you can c/r for value this flop. Raise at some point or something. I mean jesus fucking christ if you need better betting tells than that then you should just quit.

Not really, but his bets rep air/44/88 or some shit hand like that pretty well, unless he's just a total idiot faggot.

[Monsieur_chat]

Yeah Illfavor, really pissed I didn't find a raise pre or on the flop. The more I look at it the more it sucks. FWIW he did indeed have 88, so go you.

Just had another frustrating 400 hand session. Started out pretty spewy (dunno why but fast tables seem to have this effect on me) and was down just over half a BI. Got dealt a ton of AA/KK/QQs but only got action beyond taking the pot down on the flop once when I got it in pre with AA vs AcKc. No prizes for guessing what colour the flop was. Managed to claw back some of it but stopped afterwards thanks to the tilt dragon.

Hey ho a lot of these beats seem to be me either playing like a donk but realizing my mistakes / asking for help / understanding where i went wrong etc, or getting it in as an 80%+ dog and losing so w/e I guess.

I also played another 210FPP Satty and ignominiously lost with Aces, flipping with a flush draw on the flop. Fucker called my 5.5x PFR over a limper with 7c9c in a turbo format SNG. Really annoying as I used to do ok out of these but the last two have been horrible.

Feeling generally meh about poker now, but it's all just variance I guess. I might have a session this afternoon to try and end the month on a positive note, but if I'm not feeling it will just post my garf and have a day or two off.

[Keith]

did you get silver star with the UK promo last month? If you had you could have been cashing those fpps for cash this month instead of blowing them on a tourney cashed 1500 fpps like all of my fpps ever in for $24 . At least at 10 NL you actually get to earn them regularly , silver star with its multiplier help as well

[Monsieur_chat]

Nah, I was at 5nl for half of last month, was v annoying. Still, the 210 FPPs are soft as shit and I usually cash them. Just keep getting unlucky! Annoyingly unless I can start playing more than 4 6max tables, I doubt I'll get silverstar before 25nl.

Here's the June graph. Note this doesn't include about 8k breakeven hands of FR from the start of the month as I really want to concentrate on 6max for the forseeable future, so this is only 2 and a half weeks work.



I'm pretty happy overall and definitely feel more comfortable and confident at 6max. It seems to have done good things for my game. It just seems a shame about the last 1.5k or so hands as I have (as is always the way) hit nasty variance accounting for about 1.7BI and played poorly, accounting for the rest, hence why I'm a bit tilted today. Still, not a bad start.

Targets next month are to not worry too much about volume and just focus on playing well and making good decisions, which was what I was doing during the nice spike there.

Total winnings for the first 2.5 weeks of 10nl 6m - $80 + $20 bonus.

[Monsieur_chat]

Didn't feel like playing much this last couple of days, but finally got July started today with a nice little session. I see they've made the proposed VPP changes to some tables on Stars, mostly short handed ones. Although the damage that these changes do to high volume FR players has been well publicized on 2p2, I think for low stakes 6max grinders there's a slight improvement. I'll probs earn a few more FPP, although only playing 4 tables max I'd have to still have to put in quite a lot of volume to make silverstar.

Anyway I played just under 300 hands to finish up just over a BI which is good. Will probably play another session later on tonight.

Got a bit lost here. I'm perfectly happy calling the shorty's AI with AKs but not sure what to do with the other player here who is a 51/14. I'm leaning towards a shove? Any input?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (UTG) ($10)
MP ($10.65)
CO ($7.65)
Button ($16.70)
SB ($1.75)
BB ($17.75)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with K, A
Hero bets $0.40, 2 folds, Button calls $0.40, SB raises to $1.75 (All-In), 1 fold

Hero?

BR - $342.75

[Monsieur_chat]

Christ what a swingy session I just had, was up and down more than a whore's drawers.

First 200 hands were torture, I was utterly cold decked. At one point I was running something ridiculous like 9/6, purely because I didn't have a single hand to play. This also wasn't helped by me making UTTER douche plays such as this one against this 52/28:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO ($11.20)
Button ($15.15)
SB ($6.25)
Hero (BB) ($10.15)
UTG ($11.65)
MP ($12.15)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, K
UTG calls $0.10, 4 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.25) 7, 2, 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.30, Hero raises to $0.90, UTG calls $0.60

Turn: ($2.05) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG checks

River: ($2.05) A (2 players)
Hero bets $1.30, UTG calls $1.30

Total pot: $4.65 | Rake: $0.20

Results:
Hero had J, K (one pair, sevens).
UTG had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and sevens).
Outcome: UTG won $4.45

This kind of shit makes me hate myself and tilt horribly. You know there's something wrong when you're yelling at yourself BEFORE he's even called your shitty river bluff.

Things went from bad to worse with this little beauty. I was sitting on a table with Keith_MM and we had the 52/6 table money sitting between us. I was sure I'd landed the fish but apparently not:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB ($10.30)
BB ($18.20)
Hero (UTG) ($10)
MP ($6.85)
CO ($16.25)
Button ($10)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J, J
Hero bets $0.40, MP calls $0.40, 4 folds

Flop: ($0.95) 4, 6, 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.80, MP calls $0.80

Turn: ($2.55) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.90, MP calls $1.90

River: ($6.35) 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $6.90 (All-In), MP calls $3.75 (All-In)

Total pot: $13.85 | Rake: $0.65

Results:
Hero had J, J (two pair, Jacks and sixes).
MP had 3, A (straight, six high).
Outcome: MP won $13.20

Meh.

Thankfully I then got on a nice heater and despite at one stage being down $15 or so managed close the session up a couple of dollars. I won't bore you with the big winning hands as most of them basically involve flopping sets and boats and getting paid, std. That said I'm starting to realize how useful it can be when sitting next to someone with stats like the guy in the second hand to play quite passively pre just to get into hands with him and then to value town them with any piece of the board. Hours of fun.

BR - $344.20 and I'm definitely earning more VPPs on the new tables. Maybe Silverstar might be on after all.....

[Illfavor]

Yea just shove that AKs hand. Don't really want to go to the flop with 3ppl bc you aren't thaaat likely to get paid imo.

KJo-....Yea. Don't do that. The flop raise isn't really good bc a lot of ppl will call with a lot of hands there. When you check the turn again, you are saying "I don't have a 7" which means any pair is the nuts vs. you, so dont fire river bc your range here is a lot of missed FDs, not A2o that got lucky.

JJ- nh.

gl make hands get paaaaaaid stop bluffiiiiiing

[Monsieur_chat]

Thanks for the advice Illfavor. Think I need to print off that last bit and stick it to my monitor when I play.

I just finished a soul numbingly shit session. Absolutely cold decked, I managed to lose 85BB without getting involved in a single pot over 40BB bar once. Endlessly folding, missing flops, getting 3bet with hands I can't continue with and getting AA/KK etc folded round. Progress seems so fucking slow at the moment and tbh I'm pretty fed up. Sub consciously this last week i must be doing something wrong as I'm down a couple of BI from when I peaked a while back and I've been stuck in breakeven purgatory for about 2.5k hands. I usually run about 18/14 but this last week I've been 13/11 and it feels like I'm trying to run through treacle. Feels like I'm playing far too tight but the difference is subtle and hard to guage.. I also just don't feel like I'm thinking clearly at the table and I'm folding way too easily. As you can tell this is all tilting me a lot. I hate sitting at the table KNOWING I'm not playing as well as i can.

I read about Keith_MM and other guys winning or losing 5 or 6 BI for a session, and I seem to constantly finish up or down 1 or 2 tops. Starting to wonder what glaringly obvious problem i have with my game now. Or am I just running bad and this is a breakeven stretch? Hrm I think I'll spend a couple of hours comparing stats and try and work out what's going on as I don't see why I'm killing it some weeks and breakeven or less others.

[Keith]

I read about Keith_MM and other guys winning or losing 5 or 6 BI for a session, and I seem to constantly finish up or down 1 or 2 tops. Starting to wonder what glaringly obvious problem i have with my game now. Or am I just running bad and this is a breakeven stretch? Hrm I think I'll spend a couple of hours comparing stats and try and work out what's going on as I don't see why I'm killing it some weeks and breakeven or less others.

we'll have to do a sweat session Mr c . Come watch me play and we can talk over some hands. In a way my 10 BI dive was beneficial in that I really thought about the shit that i was doing wrong. Having cards helps but generally theres one or two things that I ve really changed thats made a massive difference to my game.

[Robb]

I'll be followin' along on this op mc - glglgl

[Monsieur_chat]

Ahh thanks Robb, really good to know you're following. As you see I was rocking and rolling between 4.5k and 7k hands - but gotten a bit stuck now. It's interesting how easy it is to start playing sliiiightly differently without knowing it...

Anyway will prob get a session in tomorrow, so should hopefully have some hands for you guys then. Had a day off to clear my head and gonna try and get back to basics tomorrow. Make hands. Get paid. Stop bluffing.

Gl all in the meantime!

[Monsieur_chat]

So just played 400 or so hands for $6.55 profit. This is nice, but I was up 16$ at one stage, so I'm actually a little disappointed. I just can't seem to hold a win.

Still, the idea was to get back to basics and just think clearly and make good decisions and I feel like I did this really very well. I've stopped tiling as the tables appear tiny on my 15" laptop lol and that's really helped.

Hand 1

Session started well with this hand against a 58/20/7.00:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

SB ($5.30)
BB ($10.25)
UTG ($13.90)
MP ($10)
CO ($12.60)
Hero (Button) ($10)

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, A
UTG bets $0.40, MP calls $0.40, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.60, 2 folds, UTG calls $1.20, MP calls $1.20

Flop: ($4.95) K, 3, 10 (3 players)
UTG checks, MP checks, Hero bets $3.30, UTG raises to $12.30 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls $5.10 (All-In)

Turn: ($21.75) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($21.75) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $21.75 | Rake: $1.05

Results:
Hero had K, A (two pair, Kings and sevens).
UTG had Q, Q (two pair, Queens and sevens).
Outcome: Hero won $20.70

So I know that for all of you reading this is probably super standard. But there were times in the past when a check raise in this situation would panic me and I'd be like zOMG he has KK. But I thought it through, looked at his stats and the history so far and THEN made the call.

Things continued to go well and I was picking up nice medium sized pots here and there, and managed to grind out another 60BBs. I was sitting with some massive stations and guys who fancied they could run bluffs like Gus Hansen, so a lot of these pots were pretty standard call downs with 2nd or 3rd pair when I knew a big part of their range was air.

Hand 2

Here's a nice pot, although I HAVE to start betting all 3 streets, I'm losing some value here I think. Definitely something to work on, villain is 8/4/1.5:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Button ($17.80)
SB ($5.50)
BB ($9.45)
UTG ($10.65)
Hero (MP) ($10.95)

Preflop: Hero is MP with A, K
1 fold, Hero bets $0.30, 1 fold, SB calls $0.25, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.90) 9, 5, K (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $0.80, 1 fold, BB calls $0.80

Turn: ($2.50) A (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.90, BB calls $1.90

River: ($6.30) 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $6.30 | Rake: $0.30

Results:
BB had 10, K (one pair, Kings).
Hero had A, K (two pair, Aces and Kings).
Outcome: Hero won $6

There's still a part of me that's scared of monsters under the bed. All together now: "He doesn't always have a set".

Hand 3

So anyway, things were going well but then it all just started to get away from me and shit like this started to happen. BB is 8/4/1.50:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Button ($16.35)
SB ($10.20)
BB ($10.55)
UTG ($11.90)
Hero (MP) ($10)
CO ($10.55)

Preflop: Hero is MP with J, A
1 fold, Hero bets $0.40, 2 folds, SB calls $0.35, BB calls $0.30

Flop: ($1.20) 6, 5, J (3 players)
SB bets $0.50, BB calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2, 1 fold, BB calls $1.50

Turn: ($5.70) 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: ($5.70) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $2.50, Hero folds

Total pot: $5.70 | Rake: $0.25

Results:
BB didn't show
Outcome: BB won $5.45

Guess I need to raise more on the flop? Should I bet the turn? I don't think there's any way I can call The river here (is there?!), but it still tilted me quite a bit. Anyway, that and the fact that I felt I'd spoiled a potentially really good session with a number of spots like this. Here's another one, I never ever know what to do in situations like this. Villain is 18/14:

Ummm the HH Converter seems to have gone down so click link for hand:

Hand 4

http://weaktight.com/1278559

So basically I dribbled away a BI with situations like those above and one last one here where I make a loltilt call on the river

Hand 5

http://weaktight.com/1278561

A pretty standard fold methinks.

Any comments on the hands I lost with (or indeed won with, you may not agree with the stack off on Hand 1?) very welcome.

Brags: Winning session. Got up a BI and a half. Played clear headed, logical poker. Targetted the calling stations and the fish.
Beats: Blew more than half of what I'd won (although only partly through my own fault). Kept playing after I knew I was tilting.

Is this a sign of me playing sessions that are too long? Or is it just variance saying "no you're not going to run at 35BB/100, you can have 16BB/100 though". I know it's generally frowned upon but does anyone ever quit while they're ahead a certain amount? I don't want to get into the mind frame, but it kind of sucks to see a nice session turn into an ok session.

BR - $342.20

[Robb]

Be better to know how many HH's we have on villains - for example, the KTo is NOT in the typical flatting range for most 8/4 nits, so I assume this was like 20 - 30 (or less) HH's.

Hand 1: Standard to call shove when crai on the flop with the pot this bloated. With a laggy opponent, this is snap-call/fist-pump territory. I like this hand a lot preflop, though I would cbet smaller (say $2.75ish) on the flop. The smaller flop bet has all the same advantages as the larger one but loses us less money when we're the ones w/ QQ and want to cbet here.

Hand 2: Played well until river - I think you can river value bet almost any river card here given how the suits and values of the first four board cards separate. It's not a problem to check behind on the river with AK on a scary board, if you're desperate not to reopen the betting. But the board would have to be much scarier, or our read on villain would have to be that he'd never check/call (slow play) 2 streets without the immortal nuts.

Hand 3: I would just call the flop. You can't really bet big enough to deny the calling odds to BOTH villains without completely committing yourself to a marginal hand. This is a time to call and reevaluate the turn. As played, I'm calling this river. Nits don't tend to flat with sc's - mostly it's pp's. So I see 77, 88 and TT as much more likely than flushes here, and a turn check doesn't really square with a set line. I'm getting better than 3 to 1 on my river call with top pair, and I might be good. Back to my preferred line, I would call the flop and hope the flush didn't come in. I'm not continuing very far against two villains on drawy board, but I think we have to see the turn card before folding.

Hand 4: AK sucks on a monotone board that missed us. I sometimes cbet this (and hate myself when I get raised) and I sometimes check (and hate myself when I think someone just bet into me with air). This situation just sucks, sucks, sucks.

Hand 5: I think you lost the minimum. You got coolered on this turn card. I would probably go broke on this hand, if he was willing to get it all in.

On some hands were just destined to lose money (i.e. #4 and #5).

[Monsieur_chat]

Thanks for the great analysis Robb, it's good to have you reading along.

Although I was disappointed yesterday, I feel that I'm starting to slowly get my game back together after this breakeven stretch. Just played 180 odd hands for a $6.65 win or 37BB/100. Nothing major, just nice to grind out a steady session and think clearly.

I also only played 2 tables. Although I'd instinctively like to put in more volume (I used to comfortably 6 table FR), my results seem to be better with less. And I suppose if we can win more money playing less hands then that's all good (sexier BB/100 number!). I really feel that I'm at a stage now where the worst thing to do would be anything which encourages autopilot. I have a grasp of the game and now I really need to work tirelessly on my decision making.

BR - $348.60

[Monsieur_chat]

Just played 230 odd hands for a mighty 10c profit. Soul numbing

Still, the only reason I didn't finish up half a BI or even more is this 86/11/1.5 whale who, judging by his 300 BB stack could also walk on water. For example:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Hero (CO) ($13.45)
Button ($31.05)
SB ($11.30)
BB ($10)
UTG ($10)
MP ($19)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, 10
1 fold, MP checks, Hero bets $0.40, Button calls $0.40, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.95) 10, 9, 2 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.60, Button calls $0.60

Turn: ($2.15) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.20, Button raises to $3.50, Hero calls $2.30

River: ($9.15) K (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Total pot: $9.15 | Rake: $0.45

Results:
Button had 2, 9 (two pair, nines and twos).
Hero had A, 10 (one pair, tens).
Outcome: Button won $8.85

Douche.

Aaanyway, I stacked him a few hands later with trip 8s when he slowplayed Kings, so w/e, just a shame to have the session spoiled by that.

Here's a hand I was a little unsure of:

I should be isolating here if I want to play this hand I think, but as played is this ok postflop? UTG+1 is 50/14ish so his range includes an awful lot of junk of which a 2 is only a small part. Obviously the BB could have absolutely anything but his calls on flop and turn suggest he likes it. When I made 2 pair I thought if the BB was thinking the same thing as me (that UTG+1 doesn't have a 2) then there's a good chance I'm ahead? Meh, as you can prob tell I was a tad lost lol.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop

UTG ($10.35)
MP ($18.20)
CO ($19.30)
Hero (Button) ($10.70)
SB ($8.80)
BB ($10)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9, 10
1 fold, MP calls $0.10, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.10, SB calls $0.05, BB checks

Flop: ($0.40) 2, 2, 10 (4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, MP bets $0.40, Hero calls $0.40, 1 fold, BB calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.60) 9 (3 players)
BB checks, MP bets $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, BB calls $1.50

River: ($6.10) J (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero checks

Total pot: $6.10 | Rake: $0.30

[Jason]

I also only played 2 tables. Although I'd instinctively like to put in more volume (I used to comfortably 6 table FR), my results seem to be better with less. And I suppose if we can win more money playing less hands then that's all good (sexier BB/100 number!). I really feel that I'm at a stage now where the worst thing to do would be anything which encourages autopilot. I have a grasp of the game and now I really need to work tirelessly on my decision making.

Yes, keep the tables low until you know you're playing solidly with the number you're at and even when you add more, only do 1 more and try to maintain the same level of proficiency you had with 1 less. Sexy, high win-rates DO beat 20 tabling mediocre win-rates IMO Actually, the best number of tables is different for each person and it is likely a lengthy calibration process where you meet somewhere in the middle, but when you're learning the game, low is the way to go . Robots are for those who are done learning

[Robb]

I would probably raise the T9 hand on the turn (bet total of $4ish) and hate the river card. If I got shoved on, I call the turn. This river card sucks, and I'm not quite sure what I'd do if I raised the turn and called (and there was real money left behind).

[Monsieur_chat]

Thanks for the input guys, top stuff as usual.

So, in tonight's session I learned that while taking 275 hands to grind out $2 profit sucks, grinding out $2 profit from 275 hands and then getting it AI pre with AA and losing for a stack REALLY sucks.

God It's like pulling fucking teeth at the moment, I feel as if I take one step forward and two steps back. I'm still making a LOT of mistakes as can be witnessed from my HHs, I would just rather get my stackings from those mistakes than being down 3 or 4 BI from getting it in as a heavy favorite.

I've had 3000 hands of this breakeven stretch. Not much I know, but when your average session lasts in the region of 250 hands it starts to grate lol.

Thankfully (so far) I'm managing to laugh about it, so I'll stop bitching and move on

Ithankyou.

[Robb]

Thanks for the input guys, top stuff as usual.

So, in tonight's session I learned that while taking 275 hands to grind out $2 profit sucks, grinding out $2 profit from 275 hands and then getting it AI pre with AA and losing for a stack REALLY sucks.

God It's like pulling fucking teeth at the moment, I feel as if I take one step forward and two steps back. I'm still making a LOT of mistakes as can be witnessed from my HHs, I would just rather get my stackings from those mistakes than being down 3 or 4 BI from getting it in as a heavy favorite.

I've had 3000 hands of this breakeven stretch. Not much I know, but when your average session lasts in the region of 250 hands it starts to grate lol.

Thankfully (so far) I'm managing to laugh about it, so I'll stop bitching and move on

Ithankyou.

I know it seems like it's taking forever grinding a few pennies at a time, but you'll get there when you're ready. I think 25nl is the key - once you're there, every session's real money. I've had $500 losses in a single night a couple times (at 100nl), and I've had $400 plus winning sessions about half a dozen times.

But remember, I was breaking even at 10nl and had a $300 bankroll in Sept. '08 and was playing at 100nl in March '09, with some nitty bankroll requirements along the way. Poker promotions can come quickly once you commit to learning to play well.

It's the same game, with the same amount of forwards/backwards and breakeven stretches - probably even more breakeven stretches higher up. So this is preparing you for the big time. Enjoy it, as long as you're not losing, and learn as much as you can.

[Monsieur_chat]

And on it goes. Drip, drip, drip.....

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Button ($5.75)
Hero (SB) ($13.55)
BB ($10)
UTG ($16.65)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, J
1 fold, Button calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.05, BB checks

Flop: ($0.30) K, 10, Q (3 players)
Hero bets $0.20, BB raises to $0.70, Button raises to $5.65 (All-In), Hero raises to $10.60, BB calls $9.20 (All-In)

Turn: ($25.75) 7 (3 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($25.75) J (3 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: $25.75 | Rake: $1.25

Results:
Button mucked 10, K (two pair, Kings and tens).
Hero had 9, J (straight, King high).
BB had A, K (straight, Ace high).
Outcome: BB won $24.50

My preflop play here sucks somewhat, I should really be raising. <Edit>[b]BUTTON[b]</Edit> is an 80/12 whale who I've been trying to see cheap flops against and then stack him with monsters. Which is exactly what happened, it's just that the BB wasn't supposed to have Ace King nor was he supposed to check it through. Either way, the post flop tilts me.

Godddddddddd.

[Monsieur_chat]

So I won some of it back with this hand. Villain's like 15/9/1.50 so I didn't think he's calling a river shove, and I just wanted to get something out of him. How's my sizing? Could I go for more? General comments on the hand would be great.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

UTG ($9.30)
MP ($11.55)
CO ($5.30)
Hero (Button) ($10)
SB ($6.55)
BB ($8.40)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, 7
1 fold, MP bets $0.40, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.40, 2 folds

Flop: ($0.95) 4, 7, 8 (2 players)
MP bets $0.80, Hero raises to $2.40, MP calls $1.60

Turn: ($5.75) 8 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks

River: ($5.75) 5 (2 players)
MP bets $2, Hero raises to $4.70, MP calls $2.70

Total pot: $15.15 | Rake: $0.70

Results:
Hero had 8, 7 (full house, eights over sevens).
MP mucked A, A (two pair, Aces and eights).
Outcome: Hero won $14.45

So I guess this saved the session from being a complete goatf*ck but am still a bit bummed. Meh

P.S Robb, Jason et al I can't thank you enough for your insightful contributions, they're really helping me not to tilt (as much) lol. Thanks

[Keith]

i reckon you could have bet something weak like $1.80 on the turn as he's unlikely to put you on the full house probably more like over pair (which he's beating) flush draw hes beating (but he called your river raise so unlikely thought this) but the pot is bigger at the river so if he bets you can then shove and get it all in .

[Robb]

Boat hand is fine. J9s - you don't HAVE to raise preflop. With an 80/20 to my left, I probably wouldn't. It's gonna play fine in a 3-way limped pot. I'd fold it or 3bet it to a steal attempt (depending on how laggy the BTN was) and just call here. Of course, when the J hits you're in a horrible situation when any Kx hand beats you. So you have to tread carefully, but you're still ahead of TP/2Pr hands so you don't wanna turtle up and fold to every minor aggression. Basically, you're screwed.

[Monsieur_chat]

Gah I'm sorry Robb, I completely screwed up the posting of the hand you just analysed. It's the BUTTON who is the 80/20, not the BB, the BB was a fairly solid 16/12 or so if I remember rightly. Sorry, I know this changes somewhat the complexion of our hand. That said, I think the end of your post is still fairly accurate

[Monsieur_chat]

So anyway I went away for a couple of hours and looked over some hands. Realized that through tilting I've started playing (especially preflop) as if it's FR. Not raising nearly enough, not calling nearly enough, not choosing hands well enough.

Thinking about the mid-micros, it seems to me you have to table select well and then really assert yourself over the fish. If you start getting passive, you're just another one of them, especially at 6m. The money is there to be made, but you have to batter it out of them lol.

So I came back to it and tried to open up my range more, tried to call with hands that I know are calling hands, even if they're not my favorites lol. Played 270 hands for a nice $12 win [44BB/100] and not all of that was won in one pot either which I think is a good sign. So thankfully I actually finished the day up some loose change.

I'm starting to understand now the subtleties of tilt. That something as minor as the difference between clicking one button and another can be subject to tilt. The difference between clicking one part of the screen, or a part 1 centimetre to its right feels tiny, but of course in terms of poker it's huge - it's the difference between a call and a fold or a call and a raise. And so it can be deceptively subject to tilt.

It's like the devil on your shoulder, telling you to do things that you know deep down are -ev. You have to keep tearing yourself away from him and just play the situation that is in front of you, emptying your mind of what has passed and what you hope will come. Don't play with any expectation, play for the satisfaction of making the right decision. The outcome is irrelevant.

I'm out

[Monsieur_chat]

So this guy has shown down AA, KK, AA in the last 3 hands. Earlier on though I've also seen him get it in pre with A7s and he's pretty tricky. He can't possibly have a paint pair AGAIN can he?? I don't think there's anything wrong with this reasoning, however I hate my shove here "to avoid a tricky situation later". Is it as awful as it felt straight after?

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

saw flop | saw showdown

Hero (BB) ($10)
UTG ($13.80)
Button ($2.85)
SB ($11.95)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 10, 10
2 folds, SB bets $0.30, Hero raises to $10 (All-In), SB calls $9.70

Flop: ($20) 7, A, 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($20) 2 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($20) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $20 | Rake: $1

Results:
SB had K, K (one pair, Kings).
Hero mucked 10, 10 (one pair, tens).
Outcome: SB won $19

I have a feeling I may have played this like a total douche. If so, please tell me so, it's the only way I'll learn.

[Keith]

whats going to call a pre flop shove (except shorties just on the table) . probably QQ+,AK ?. with TT not sure whether its a 3 bet an fold to a 4bet .....but that sounds expensive or flat it and hope to hit a set and show down cheap.

[Monsieur_chat]

I know. I guess the A7s hand had me hoping he was more of a maniac than he was.

I'm better than rubbish like this

[Monsieur_chat]

Hrm, so I just realized I've managed to slip into that terribad place where I'm expecting bad things to happen when I sit down and play instead of good. Last month I crushed and made about 10 BI in a couple of weeks. I was expecting this to carry on all the way to 25nl as it has done for certain others. However my last 5k hands have been breakeven - never +/- more than 2 BI. As I've said I'm aware this is just variance over a small sample, but my sessions tend not to last more than 400 hands, so I'm getting fairly frustrated with my inability to string together 2 winning sessions.

It's a classic, but as a result of running like shit I think I'm playing like shit at times too (see above).

Gonna take a couple of days off then come back to it when I'm less tilted. Since I moved up to 10nl and switched to 6m I'm running at about 8BB/100 which is ok but I feel like I really ought to be running at 10 or 11 as I was earlier on in this op. Meh.

Back soon folks.

[Monsieur_chat]

OK so I couldn't resist the juicy weekend games. Played 285 hands and was lucky enough to get it in with AA v KK v QQ although QQ was a shorty. That and a couple of other nice spots meant I finished up $17 which is great. Still don't feel I'm playing great though so still gonna have a couple of nights off, but it will be nice to come back to it on a high note and an upwardly inclined graph!

MC

[Monsieur_chat]

Actually gonna be taking a week or so off - I'm playing pretty horrible most of the time. Also my laptop needs repairs and I start a job next week so it might be a good excuse to stop playing for a while.

MC