ThelVlaster's Blog

[ThelVlaster]

[edit] I just put a link to this page in my signature and am now calling this Operation "Third Times the Charm" for the account of this being my third time getting into poker seriously. I plan to stick with it this time.

Hello everyone,
Welcome to my "Attempt to Become a Thinking Player" Blog. You probably don't know me. My name is Will and I have played winning poker before. The highest my roll has been was $1200 before I cashed some out and stopped playing. That was probably a year ago. Playing winning poker is a milestone for beginners who have plentiful leaks, but looking back it doesn't seem like I know much.

In effect I was a multitable nit and I felt like a robot playing each hand similarly, not really thinking much about my opponents. I bought PT and PAHUD but I didn't fully understand how to use it to my advantage. Thanks to some FTR videos I see some things that are missing from my game. They are:

1.) Making reads when not involved in a hand.
I've heard this is a good thing to do, but with 4 tables up it was hard to pay attention to any one hand long enough to develop my "range finding", if you will

2.) Putting opponents on a range of hands.
A revelation was when I realized that an opponents range has to be consistant with their play throughout the entire hand. More specifically, I need to put the opponent on a wide range of hands PreFlop, and then proceed to narrow down that range as the hand goes on. I should not add hands into that range later in the hand, because there was a reason I didn't put that hand in his range to begin with.

3.) I need to have a plan on how I am going to play the hand.
Far too often I just play the hand by feel; I don't think about what I would do it various situations BEFORE they happen. When something surprises me, I am not ready for it, I get anxious by the beeping of my inaction, and I just make an uneducated decision. (Mike Caro's rule of irrational players)

4.) These are some littler things I would like to fix.
a.) After each session, have a review of my play.
b.) Don't check my winrate, mid session.
[edit]more leaks I plan on fixing:
c.) Dark Tunnel bluffs (betting when I don't know what is happening or when I don't think it will be +ev)
d.) Discipline - Sticking with my reads. Knowing I should play one way yet acting differently


There are some other things that I may edit and add/remove to this list, as my journey goes on.

I have some reviewing of my very first session to do and then I will post again.

[ThelVlaster]

Session 1: 4 tables, 454 hands, 1 hour 26mins, $21.30 won, 23.46 BB/100, 16/12/8.33 VP$IP/PFR/AF
I think after this session I will switch to two tables and try to work on my skills rather than make more money.

My tables were relatively tight, with not many big pots. A lot of times I would be SB and it would fold around to me. I got caught stealing at times, but overall I think it was profitable. It would be interesting to find that in PT, but I don't know how atm.

Position: VP$IP: Button 23.64, CO 25.86, HJ 7.41, UTG+2 14.04, UTG+1 12.73, UTG 11.90, BB 17.54, SB 18.18
I was raising junk on the Button and in the CO, basically to steal the blinds/loosen people up. I think I should still "open my range up" but not play junk because I haven't been delt decent cards in awhile.

Biggest Losing Hand: ($7.50)

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (8 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

SB ($14.45)
BB ($11)
UTG ($4)
UTG+1 ($8.45)
MP1 ($3.85)
MP2 ($1.65)
CO ($3.35)
Hero ($14.10)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 6, 7.
4 folds, CO calls $0.10, Hero calls $0.10, SB raises to $0.55, 1 fold, CO calls $0.40, Hero calls $0.40.

Flop: ($1.65) K, 5, 9 (3 players)
SB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $1, SB calls $1, CO folds.

Turn: ($3.65) T (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB calls $2.

River: ($7.65) 3 (2 players)

Final Pot: $7.65

Results in white below:
SB has 5d 5s (three of a kind, fives).
Hero has 6d 7d (high card, king).
Outcome: SB wins $7.65.

This feels all too familiar from my last stint at poker. I would get caught up in a bluff and start spewing chips without knowing if he can fold or not. To be honest, I don't know why the fact that he raised preflop and then checked the flop, didn't send up a red flag. I need to be able to let my bluffs die and not chase dead money.

Biggest winning hand: $14.10

Full Tilt No-Limit Hold'em, $0.10 BB (9 handed) Full-Tilt Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com (Format: FlopTurnRiver)

saw flop|saw showdown

BB ($12.20)
UTG ($6.25)
UTG+1 ($9.70)
MP1 ($9.90)
MP2 ($19.05)
MP3 ($2.25)
Hero ($13.45)
Button ($13.35)
SB ($1.30)

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, Q.
UTG calls $0.10, UTG+1 calls $0.10, 3 folds, Hero raises to $0.6, 3 folds, UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 calls $0.50.

Flop: ($1.95) A, Q, 8 (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $1.1, Hero calls $1.10, UTG calls $1.10.

Turn: ($5.25) 2 (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 bets $3, Hero raises to $11.75 (All-In), UTG calls $4.55 (All-In), UTG+1 calls $5 (All-In).

River: ($25.80) 5 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Final Pot: $25.80

Results in white below:
UTG has Ac 8c (two pair, aces and eights).
UTG+1 has Jh Td (high card, ace).
Hero has As Qd (two pair, aces and queens).
Outcome:

I was scared that there was a set here, and I was unsure whether or not I should have raised on the flop. As played, on the turn the pot was bigger than both opponents stacks so I put them AI

[ThelVlaster]

The last two days of sessions have not gone well. I will post the results and then have a weep-a-thon and try to re-focus myself.

16 sessions, 11.5 hours, 786 hands (2-4 tabling)
-$42.00, -18.26 BB/hr, -26.72BB/100
22.14/14.5/5.05

I was playing at full tilt during working hours and these tables were TIGHT. I tried to select the best tables I could, but every table had rocks and taggs, many shorties, and majority of hands would fold around to the blinds.

I decided my game plan was to play aggressive and looser, but judging from 5.05 AF, I was too aggressive. I was not giving anyone respect for their raises, (which is stupid, I just said these tables were tight) i thought people were playing back at me because of my image.

Basically I just realized I really suck at poker. I've read a lot more of the beginner digest posts, specifically renton's 169 hand strategy and zook's discipline post.

I feel like zook's post was exactly what i needed, and I plan on referencing it a lot. I hope to come up with my own personalized reminder list to read before starting every session, but for now his is pretty close.

The major things I took from renton (it wasn't the 1st or 2nd time i've read it) were:
1.) You need implied odds of 15 to 1 (not 10 to 1), unless you know more about the nature of your opponents hand.
(Especially at weaktight tables during working hours)

2.) What do all shapes and sizes of donk bets mean?

3.) Conditions to laydown big overpair

There were tons of minor things that gave me a resounding "ah hah" in me when I read, but I'm not going to post all those here.

I realized that a lot of my leaks that I somewhat conquered in the past have been coming back. I ran across an aok post I read before, and that i've even put into practice. It is annoying as hell to follow but that is exactly why it works. I will be keeping of list of things I need to stop doing and perhaps following through with aok's process if I have time.

Thats all for now, time to hit the tables.
REMEMBER!
- I am not as good a player as I think I am.
- When I am re-raised, it is more likely to be a dominating hand than a bluff. PUT HIM ON A RANGE
- Concentration and focus is a must, stop playing if you aren't watching/thinking about EVERY hand (even if your not involved)

[ThelVlaster]

I am trying to review some old sessions from the week prior. I have come to realize that it is best to do a session review right after ending your session, while the information is fresh in your mind (its hard to look up opponents stats while using the PT replayer. I'm still unsure of how I am going to perform my session reviews and what I should be looking for/taking a note of.

I haven't really had many good pots. It seems like my premium hands are winning the blinds, forcing me to get frustrated and "open up" which leads me to playing trash and getting looked up.

Right now I have dropped 5 buyins in the last week, mostly due to trying to push people off their hands. I end up firing 3 barrels with no outs and losing a stack. The hand below is a little different as this was a blind battle, but is similar to scenarios where I float and try to steal but the villian tends to not let the hand go.

$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
7 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($4.25)
UTG+1 ($2.10)
MP ($4.15)
CO ($3.95)
BTN ($2.40)
SB ($17.20)
Hero ($10.25)

Pre-flop: ($0.15, 7 players) Hero is BB
5 folds, SB raises to $0.4, Hero calls $0.3

Flop: ($0.8, 2 players)
SB bets $0.5, Hero calls $0.5

Turn: ($1.8, 2 players)
SB bets $1, Hero raises to $2.6, SB folds

Final Pot: $3.80

Hero wins $5.05 ( won +$1.55 )
SB lost -$1.90

In other news, I wrote down "I will not get impatient and play trash" 52 times in an attempt to plug my leak. It was not the 100 times that AOK suggests because I couldn't take it anymore. We will see what happens.

[ThelVlaster]

Thank goodness its Friday...
374 Hands, 1.4 hours
+$23.10, 30.88ptbb/100
19.52/14.71/3.7

No sh!t... Today I saw a huge difference in the tables at Full Tilt from earlier this week (Tues - Thurs) There were still tight players, but there were also bad players felting TPGK or even TPNK. I was playing so careful that I left a lot of value on the table, because I thought I was being slowplayed. Check out this hand (Villian just sat down at the table, no reads)

$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
6 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($10.00)
UTG 1 ($2.15)
CO ($9.85)
Hero ($26.00)
SB ($6.30)
BB ($2.45)
[UTG posted $0.1]

Pre-flop: ($0.25, 6 players) Hero is BTN
UTG checks, 2 folds, Hero raises to $0.5, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.4

Flop: ($1.15, 2 players)
UTG bets $0.8, Hero raises to $2, UTG calls $1.2

Turn: ($5.15, 2 players)
UTG bets $0.1, Hero raises to $2.1, UTG calls $2

River: ($9.35, 2 players)
UTG bets $0.1, Hero calls $0.1

Final Pot: $9.55
Hero shows:
UTG shows:

Hero wins $8.6 ( won $3.9 )
UTG lost -$4.70

I thought he was trying to induce me to bet big which is why I checked behind on the river.



I posted a few hands that I was unsure of, after reviewing my session in PT:
AJ UTG 122.5BB pot, What is correct play?
10nl QQ, OESD on the turn, your play?
10nl Blind steal turns bad.. What do i do?

Another hand I played badly is as follows:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
7 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($6.45)
UTG 1 ($9.95)
MP ($12.85)
CO ($2.00)
BTN ($7.40)
Hero ($20.40)
BB ($11.45)

Pre-flop: ($0.15, 7 players) Hero is SB
2 folds, MP calls $0.1, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.05, BB checks

Flop: ($0.3, 3 players)
Hero bets $0.2, BB calls $0.2, 1 fold

Turn: ($0.7, 2 players)
Hero bets $0.4, BB calls $0.4

River: ($1.5, 2 players)
Hero bets $0.8, BB calls $0.8

Final Pot: $3.10
Hero shows:
BB shows:

BB wins $2.8 ( won $1.3 )
Hero lost -$1.50
MP lost -$0.10

I didn't lose much but I decided that I shouldn't have bet the river, I knew he wasn't folding.

It seems like one of my leaks is still the dark tunnel bluff aka betting because it feels better than inaction... i need to work on that

All in all a good improvement from earlier in the week.

[ThelVlaster]

375 hands, -$8.95, -11.93 ptbb/100
23.2/15.2/4.2

I had two bad hands today that I could have gotten away from. It was one of those things where I knew I should fold but didn't :/ After these two hands I logged off and wrote "I will never go against a read" 50 times or so. Here are the hands

Hand 1:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($8.50)
UTG 1 ($2.25)
MP1 ($5.45)
MP2 ($4.60)
CO ($1.70)
Hero ($10.00)
SB ($6.10)
BB ($4.00)

Pre-flop: ($0.15, 8 players) Hero is BTN
UTG raises to $0.2, UTG 1 raises to $0.3, MP1 calls $0.3, 2 folds, Hero raises to $1.35, 2 folds, UTG raises to $2.4, UTG 1 calls $1.95, MP1 folds, Hero calls $1.05

Flop: ($7.5, 3 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $3, UTG goes all-in $6.1, Hero calls $3.1

Turn: ($19.7, 3 players)

River: ($19.7, 3 players)

Final Pot: $19.70
UTG shows:
UTG 1 shows:
Hero shows:

UTG wins $17.75 ( won $9.25 )
UTG 1 lost -$2.25
MP1 lost -$0.30
Hero lost -$8.50


Hand 2:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
7 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($3.75)
UTG 1 ($2.00)
MP ($4.60)
CO ($1.35)
Hero ($10.00)
SB ($4.15)
BB ($17.90)

Pre-flop: ($0.15, 7 players) Hero is BTN
2 folds, MP calls $0.1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.5, 2 folds, MP calls $0.4

Flop: ($1.15, 2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $0.75, MP raises to $1.5, Hero raises to $5, MP calls $2.6

Turn: ($10.25, 2 players)

River: ($10.25, 2 players)

Final Pot: $9.35
MP shows:
Hero shows:

MP wins $8.45 ( won $3.85 )
Hero wins $0.9 ( lost -$4.6 )



I'm kinda tired so no late night poker for me tonight. I did post another hand in the FR forum: Why 3bet AK?

[ThelVlaster]

248 hands, -$1.40
Bankroll: $432.89

2 tables
18.1/9.3/2.6

I haven't posted in awhile, and I've had some bad and tilty sessions that I haven't even reviewed in PT. I really don't want to relive those mistakes, but I know I should. When I get on my computer I rather browse FTR and then get some hands in.

I have been noticing a trend. If I spend some time watching Bigspenda's Microstakes videos before my session (even if have already seen the video 4x) it jumpstarts me into thinking more about my opponents and about my play. I end up taking more notes on people, paying closer attention, and I am more able to laydown hands. I don't know what this says about me or how else I can trigger this thought process (without having to watch a 40 min video before every session); I definitely think I need a 'pre-game ritual' before I sit down at the tables.


Session Review
I reviewed all the hands right after the session, and I didn't see anything too horrible. Maybe a couple of sticky situations. I felt really good about this session, even though I lost 14BB, thats not bad for losing two big pots. One was a bad beat, the other a bad call.

Hand 1:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($6.20)
UTG 1 ($6.00)
MP1 ($1.70)
MP2 ($9.25)
MP3 ($10.85)
CO ($5.00)
BTN ($8.20)
Hero ($12.35)
BB ($13.30)
[UTG 1 posted $0.1]

Pre-flop: ($0.25, 9 players) Hero is SB
UTG calls $0.1, UTG 1 checks, 1 fold, MP2 calls $0.1, MP3 calls $0.1, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.05, BB checks

Flop: ($0.6, 6 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, UTG 1 checks, MP2 checks, MP3 checks

Turn: ($0.6, 6 players)
Hero bets $0.6, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.6, 3 folds

River: ($1.8, 2 players)
Hero bets $1, UTG goes all-in $5.5, Hero calls $4.5

Final Pot: $12.80


Hand 2:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($1.65)
UTG 1 ($5.35)
MP1 ($9.90)
Hero ($11.20)
MP3 ($14.80)
CO ($8.90)
BTN ($9.25)
SB ($2.15)
BB ($8.85)

Pre-flop: ($0.15, 9 players) Hero is MP2
1 fold, UTG 1 calls $0.1, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.5, 2 folds, BTN calls $0.5, 2 folds, UTG 1 folds

Flop: ($1.25, 2 players)
Hero bets $1, BTN calls $1

Turn: ($3.25, 2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $2, Hero folds

Final Pot: $3.25

Hand 3:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($3.30)
UTG 1 ($4.00)
MP1 ($5.40)
MP2 ($3.60)
Hero ($13.20)
BTN ($1.70)
SB ($5.95)
BB ($6.30)
[UTG 1 posted $0.1]

Pre-flop: ($0.25, 8 players) Hero is CO
UTG calls $0.1, UTG 1 checks, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.1, 1 fold, SB calls $0.05, BB checks

Flop: ($0.5, 5 players)
SB bets $0.2, 1 fold, UTG raises to $0.5, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.5, SB folds

Turn: ($1.7, 2 players)
UTG bets $0.4, Hero calls $0.4

River: ($2.5, 2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $1, UTG calls $1

Final Pot: $4.50

Hand 4:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
9 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($12.25)
UTG 1 ($9.75)
MP1 ($9.15)
MP2 ($1.45)
Hero ($12.15)
CO ($11.25)
BTN ($10.70)
SB ($6.15)
BB ($3.00)

Pre-flop: ($0.15, 9 players) Hero is MP3
3 folds, MP2 calls $0.1, Hero raises to $0.5, 2 folds, SB calls $0.45, 1 fold, MP2 folds

Flop: ($1.2, 2 players)
SB bets $0.4, Hero raises to $1.6, SB folds

Final Pot: $2

[ThelVlaster]

Focus and Energy Meeting

I recently saw a motivational speaker of sorts, from which I had a lot of takeaways. In actuality, he is just an owner of a local chain of gyms, but his talk of success at business, directly correlated to poker (at least for me).

Basically he can attribute his success to the following:
-Studying & Learning
-Setting Goals (in list form)
-Staying focused (a result of setting goals)
-Never becoming complacent (because that is the beginning of the end) - Always think about what you can do to better yourself

He talked of setting goals and reading them every morning and night. The most important thing about this list is that it contained anything you wanted in the future. It could be anything. By looking at the list morning and night, you refocused yourself and gave yourself purpose. He told an anecdote about how he would see so many people at work wasting their time, and wondered why they were doing so, until he realized that they must not have a list.

Here is my list which I will read every morning and night:

1.) I will be bankrolled for 100NL by the beginning of Fall semester
2.) I will have played 200,000 hands with a lifetime ptBB/100 of 5
3.) I will have profitted $10,000 playing oker when I am 23 years old
4.) I will learn and win money playing MTTs
5.) I will start and develop my own financial planning business
6.) I will travel to every country in Europe

I plan on adding things to my list at sometime in the future.




In order to accomplish the poker goals above, I immeadiately need to do the following:
-Create a pre-game ritual to get me in the right mindset
-Play more hands (but not more tables)! This is where I am really lacking as of late.
-Continue paying attention and focusing on the table, regardless of if i have folded or not
-I need to stay aware of my feelings (good and bad) about hole cards, flops/boards, and badbeats/cardrushes
-I will constantly look at flop texture (and study it)

[ThelVlaster]

197 hands, -$7.80
Bankroll: $425.09

This session remind me of a WSOP episode where a guy cries after losing with the 2nd nut flush, "I did SO good for 3 days! ;( ;( ;(". I was playing so good for like 55 min, it was the last 5 min that killed me. I got really tilted on this hand: Whats your line? Gutshot + FD

The results of the hand were me raising to 2.6 and him pushing, I called, he flipped :Ac: and he held up.

I went on an uber nasty donkey tilt and decided to lose another $6 with this hand, not soon after:
$0.05/$0.1 No Limit Holdem
8 players
Converted at weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG ($5.90)
UTG 1 ($2.20)
MP1 ($10.70)
Hero ($10.30)
CO ($14.80)
BTN ($14.40)
SB ($2.90)
BB ($6.25)

Pre-flop: ($0.15, 8 players) Hero is MP2
UTG raises to $0.3, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.3, 4 folds

Flop: ($0.75, 2 players)
UTG bets $0.3, Hero calls $0.3

Turn: ($1.35, 2 players)
UTG bets $0.5, Hero raises to $1.75, UTG calls $1.25

River: ($4.85, 2 players)
UTG bets $0.4, Hero raises to $3.55, UTG goes all-in $3.15

Final Pot: $11.95
UTG shows:
Hero shows:

UTG wins $11.4 ( won $5.5 )
Hero lost -$5.90


If I folded the flop on the first hand, I would have had a profit of $3.35 for the session. I know its results oriented but the hand above was just uncalled for. Good thing I don't have a wireless mouse because I would have threw it across the room, like I did my cellphone.

My plan is to sit down and write out 100 times, "De-tach yourself from the hand at hand." I don't know if that is the best thing to write.



What was interesting, is that the entire session I was focused and I was aware of my feelings. I was trying to prevent myself from feeling good about being dealt certain hole cards, because I knew that would make me feel bad about folding later, if I had to. I think the same goes for feeling good/bad about a specific session. I was grinding my way up, and I was sitting pretty on some extra chips as the result of the majority of my cbets working.

I had a brief moment when I thought about quitting poker. Then after running some errands I would continue to play, and I would continue to learn. I just am upset about going through the learning curve all over again.

[ThelVlaster]

Ok so I haven't been doing so well.

For my first 4,338 hands, I am down 8 BI (-$84.65, -9.76ptbb/100)

I am trying to control my tilt with this thread: My tilted hands

I will here on out post every single hand where I tilted away money - hopefully by making the consequences transparent, I will finally kick the habit.

Spoonitnow says that to him, tilt = no focus

I almost quit poker and withdrew yesterday... about 30 min after that feeling, I knew I'd be back for more...