Ah yes Th9h will just be in the range, too, and he could play it that way. (Though if it's the only hand he can play that way it's not easy to balance). I think once turn flush card arrives (and given we called large flop raise) we can assume that his bare overpairs, if any, no longer call any River lead from us, even blank. So I'd prefer to target flushes with ~1/2 pot, forcing him to call. This still allows him to value raise 88 and maybe nut flush.
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Boom! Made it. Got BR to required level $3k for an aggressive NL200 shot. Played the first few hands just now, one-tabling like a fish. Met a known recreational from NL100 who got me off to a good start:
$2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
Hero (CO): $250.76 (125.4 bb)
BTN: $200.00 (100 bb)
SB: $112.10 (56.1 bb)
BB: $200.00 (100 bb)
UTG: $200.00 (100 bb)
SB posts $1.00, BB posts $2.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $3.00) Hero has J♠: T♣:
fold, Hero raises to $4.00, BTN calls $4.00, fold, BB calls $2.00
Flop: ($13.00, 3 players) 9♠: J♥: 7♦:
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $10.40, fold, Hero calls $10.40
Turn: ($33.80, 2 players) 8♣:
Hero checks, BTN bets $27.04, Hero calls $27.04
River: ($87.88, 2 players) 9♦:
Hero checks, BTN bets $87.88, Hero calls $87.88
Results: $263.64 pot ($6.00 rake)
Final Board: 9♠: J♥: 7♦: 8♣: 9♦:
BTN shows 5♠: 8♠:: (Two Pair, Nines and Eights)
(Pre 36%, Flop 29%, Turn 3%)
Hero shows J♠: T♣:: (Straight, Jack High)
(Pre 64%, Flop 71%, Turn 97%)
Hero wins $255.64
Quite a gross river but my notes said something about "bluffing off stacks", so I closed my eyes and called.
I will continue at NL100 with 3 tables, and 1 at NL200, until I have a bit more of a buffer. It's quite likely that I'll have to drop down again one or more times. Games are very tough - I'm only b/e pre rakeback at NL100 after 40k hands so not expecting the world...
Takeaway and couple of beers tonight and then seeing Russel Brand live tomorrow evening 
Cheers!
-Tim64
Originally posted by Tim64
I will continue at NL100 with 3 tables, and 1 at NL200, until I have a bit more of a buffer. It's quite likely that I'll have to drop down again one or more times. Games are very tough - I'm only b/e pre rakeback at NL100 after 40k hands so not expecting the world...Takeaway and couple of beers tonight and then seeing Russel Brand live tomorrow evening
Cheers!
-Tim64
Nice hand to start that buffer indeed!
Russell Brand should be a great show - I find him a very engaging and humorous personality for sure... I love this clip and how he handles himself in it.
September Monthly Update - Bumper edition with lots of lovely data ♠_drink:
Feels strange (in a good way) to be doing these again. I guess I stopped because:
a). I didn't have much to write about that seemed 'new' in an ongoing sense (or...had I just lost the spark??); and
b). The monthly wrap-pup seemed to involve a progressively smaller profit amount; and
c). [Insert unnecessary third padding item to justify a, b, c... layout].
Monthly profit: $1019.42
Playing hourly: $12.4 (82 hours).
Given I started playing cash (somewhat regularly) in April and this is the best monthly profit amount since then (actually, last month was about the same, but let's pretend is wasn't) I'm going to (arbitrarily) use this as a reason to start posting monthly updates. If next month is crap, I reserve the right to cancel the updates. 
April profit: -$3.98
May profit: $711.69
June profit: -$43.00
July profit: $703.45
August profit: $1055.49
September profit: $1019.42
It could all have been very different. Yesterday morning my BR was slightly less than at the start of the month. Such is the swinginess of this game we love that in 24 hours I've made a grand 
BR on new site now a smidge over $3.4k and I'm rocking two tables of nl200 and two of nl100. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm still only B/e at NL100, pre rakeback:
But given I started with $20, I'm definitely not unhappy at where I am now. It is good to know that with enough patience and if you can build a BR without needing to withdraw, the dream of turning nothing into something playing online poker is still more or less alive!
Plan for October will be to establish myself at NL200 and also to finally have a holiday. We're due to go to Croatia during half term, Inshallah. Pretty please let us pass our Covid LFTs, and, Jet2, do try to keep solvent until November at least. Egypt 2019 was cancelled due to TC bankruptcy (or as I'm calling it, "Thomas Cooked"). Croatia 2020 was likewise a no-show due to that which shall not be named (the, ahem, Scottish Play of virology).
I got the chance to watch someone tilting in real time today. My notes already said "Goes on 3b tilt", which is why I went for the 4b in the first place. I got very lucky with the first hand:
$1 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
SB: $104.17 (104.2 bb)
BB: $38.50 (38.5 bb)
UTG: $20.00 (20 bb)
Hero (CO): $162.38 (162.4 bb)
BTN: $100.00 (100 bb)
SB posts $0.50, BB posts $1.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has 5♥: 6♥:
fold, Hero raises to $3.00, BTN raises to $9.00, 2 folds, Hero raises to $23.00, BTN calls $14.00
Flop: ($47.50, 2 players) 7♠: 8♠: 4♥:
Hero checks, BTN checks
Turn: ($47.50, 2 players) 2♣:
Hero bets $15.68, BTN calls $15.68
River: ($78.86, 2 players) 3♣:
Hero bets $78.86, BTN calls $61.32 and is all-in
Results: $201.50 pot ($5.00 rake)
Final Board: 7♠: 8♠: 4♥: 2♣: 3♣:
Hero shows 5♥: 6♥:: (Straight, Eight High)
(Pre 23%, Flop 97%, Turn 100%)
BTN shows K♦: K♣:: (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 77%, Flop 3%, Turn 0%)
Hero wins $195.50
20 hands later I got a legitimate hand and did the same thing:
$1 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
SB: $110.24 (110.2 bb)
BB: $40.00 (40 bb)
UTG: $103.20 (103.2 bb)
Hero (CO): $251.88 (251.9 bb)
BTN: $103.20 (103.2 bb)
SB posts $0.50, BB posts $1.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has A♥: K♥:
fold, Hero raises to $3.00, BTN raises to $9.00, 2 folds, Hero raises to $23.00, BTN raises to $102.00, Hero raises to $181.00, BTN calls $1.20 and is all-in
Hero shows A♥: K♥:: (Two Pair, Aces and Twos)
Board #1 : (Pre 64%, Flop 78%, Turn 95%)
(Flush, Ace High)
Board #2 : (Pre 63%, Flop 82%, Turn 100%)
BTN shows 9♠: Q♠:: (Two Pair, Nines and Twos)
Board #1 : (Pre 36%, Flop 22%, Turn 5%)
(One Pair, Queens)
Board #2 : (Pre 37%, Flop 18%, Turn 0%)
Hero wins $202.90
After this, villain (who is a reg, btw) 3b me every time I opened. So I started limping and he iso'd me every hand. So I just left the table. I feel a bit sorry for him because I know how it is when you try to trap and get f***ked over by the deck. On the other hand, I also understand that you cannot win long term if emotion so regularly brings down the red mist in front of your eyes. Of the progress made over the last few months of which I'm most proud, it's not becoming a wannabee GTO bot, but rather doing a better job at coping with the cruelty of the game and not descending into tilt at a moment's notice! 
Thanks and see you next month,
-Tim64
$20 to NL200 in 6 months... not too shabby. 
That's a whole new form of tilt for me that I've never heard of - 3-Bet Tilt!!! LOL
How was the Russell Brand show?
Originally posted by Ramble
How was the Russell Brand show?
Honestly he was brilliant. Arrogant but self aware, and becoming less judgemental as he gets older. Also bloody funny.
Originally posted by Tomaloc
why did you leave the table? feeling merciful? ♦
No, never that. It's actually quite hard to play someone really unpredictable, especially when they have position. Also I realised I had $1k in profit and wanted to secure the 'win' so I could feel good about myself and write a positive monthly wrap up. 😀
Originally posted by Tim64
Also I realised I had $1k in profit and wanted to secure the 'win' so I could feel good about myself and write a positive monthly wrap up. 😀
this is especially relatable ♦
Well that I think is mental game leak too, getting comfortable and not willing to risk after securing a nice win. Better than tilting problems for sure 
If opponent really starts playing superaggro every hand, I think that is super-profitable and that's usually when those people donk all their long made profits in short period of time. I would not start limping against a player in such mental state, but tighten my playing range and go 4b for value much lighter. Of course I'm PLO player, dont know about NLHE
Good to see you back Tim and nice results!
Originally posted by SeagalSteven
Well that I think is mental game leak too, getting comfortable and not willing to risk after securing a nice win. Better than tilting problems for sure
If opponent really starts playing superaggro every hand, I think that is super-profitable and that's usually when those people donk all their long made profits in short period of time. I would not start limping against a player in such mental state, but tighten my playing range and go 4b for value much lighter. Of course I'm PLO player, dont know about NLHE
Good to see you back Tim and nice results!
100% agree; protecting the win is clearly a metal game leak.
You're partly right about strat vs tilting guy, but bear in mind your overall plan is to win $ from the recreationals. So if another reg is stopping you doing that by 3betting your CO opens or your isos, it can get rather marginal.
Originally posted by Tim64
100% agree; protecting the win is clearly a metal game leak.You're partly right about strat vs tilting guy, but bear in mind your overall plan is to win $ from the recreationals. So if another reg is stopping you doing that by 3betting your CO opens or your isos, it can get rather marginal.
There is a time and a place for everything.
If you notice any of the following it's time to leave:
Some player goes into vendetta mode (as above)
You start getting no action at all after you have built a 200+ BB stack -- yeah you can pick up the blinds a lot, but you aren't getting full value for your hands.
Everyone leaves except one or two strong players.
It's lunch time 
One of the worst things I do it stay too long and wipe out a nice stack trying for a bit more.
Good and bad news since starting at nl200. NL100 graph is recovering a bit and now shows slightly positive winrate:
On the other hand, getting beaten up at NL200 quite badly over small starting sample. Still, only 3.5k hands total, so although being down 8BI is no fun, it's also not really a useful indication of anything yet.
Two hands, one missplayed by reg opponent, bvb at NL100 and one by me, at NL200:
$1 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
CO: $109.46 (109.5 bb)
BTN: $47.91 (47.9 bb)
Hero (SB): $100.00 (100 bb)
BB: $183.37 (183.4 bb)
Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts $1.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has J♥: J♦:
2 folds, Hero raises to $3.00, BB calls $2.00
Flop: ($6.00, 2 players) J♠: J♣: 2♣:
Hero bets $1.50, BB calls $1.50
Turn: ($9.00, 2 players) A♥:
Hero checks, BB bets $6.75, Hero calls $6.75
River: ($22.50, 2 players) 6♠:
Hero checks, BB bets $14.00, Hero raises to $41.00, BB calls $27.00
Results: $104.50 pot ($5.00 rake)
Final Board: J♠: J♣: 2♣: A♥: 6♠:
Hero shows J♥: J♦:: (Four of a Kind, Jacks)
(Pre 72%, Flop 100%, Turn 100%)
BB shows A♣: 8♦:: (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks)
(Pre 28%, Flop 0%, Turn 0%)
Hero wins $98.50
Everything seems ok until Turn. Mostly WA/WB scenario and he blocks nfd, so x/b turn seems good for villain. On the river I'd probably nit check back myself with this Ace but betting can't be terrible (though this size seems kind of greedy). But bet/calling can't be great vs another reg itlr.
$2 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
BTN: $203.55 (101.8 bb)
SB: $294.83 (147.4 bb)
BB: $344.00 (172 bb)
UTG: $515.15 (257.6 bb)
MP: $209.61 (104.8 bb)
Hero (CO): $206.55 (103.3 bb)
SB posts $1.00, BB posts $2.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $3.00) Hero has A♣: K♠:
fold, MP raises to $5.00, Hero raises to $18.00, fold, SB raises to $47.00, 2 folds, Hero calls $29.00
Flop: ($101.00, 2 players) Q♣: 7♦: 6♠:
SB bets $27.00, Hero calls $27.00
Turn: ($155.00, 2 players) A♦:
SB bets $220.83 and is all-in, Hero calls $132.55 and is all-in
River: ($420.10, 2 players) 8♠:
Results: $420.10 pot ($6.00 rake)
Final Board: Q♣: 7♦: 6♠: A♦: 8♠:
SB shows Q♦: Q♥:: (Three of a Kind, Queens)
(Pre 57%, Flop 98%, Turn 100%)
Hero shows A♣: K♠:: (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 43%, Flop 2%, Turn 0%)
SB wins $412.10
Again, no mistakes until flop. Felt I needed to defend my range vs this cbet sizing but seems villain's range just too strong. My turn call is basically b/e once we've got to this point. These 'fake' good turn cards suck, don't they?
Small update: Back at NL100 exclusively for the time being. ~$2k downswing just too hard on the nerves and confidence. This is a good reason why 10bi bankroll shots aren't reccommended!
Anyway I'm feeling ok about things again right now. Need to grind NL100 for a while longer, both to increase the BR and improve my fortitude against downswings. There are also plenty of mistakes that need correcting, such as these:
$1 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
BTN: $199.40 (199.4 bb)
SB: $15.50 (15.5 bb)
BB: $100.00 (100 bb)
Hero (CO): $100.00 (100 bb)
SB posts $0.50, BB posts $1.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has Q♠: A♠:
Hero raises to $3.00, BTN raises to $9.00, 2 folds, Hero raises to $24.00, BTN raises to $199.40 and is all-in, Hero calls $76.00 and is all-in
Flop: ($201.50, 2 players) K♦: 4♥: 6♠:
Turn: ($201.50, 2 players) 5♠:
River: ($201.50, 2 players) 6♣:
Players agreed to run it twice.
Flop #2: ($201.50, 2 players) 3♥: 4♣: 2♦:
Turn #2: ($201.50, 2 players) 6♥:
River #2: ($201.50, 2 players) 9♣:
Results: $201.50 pot ($0.00 rake)
Final Board: K♦: 4♥: 6♠: 5♠: 6♣: 3♥: 4♣: 2♦: 6♥: 9♣:
BTN shows K♥: K♣:: (Full House, Kings full of Sixes)
Board #1 : (Pre 68%, Flop 96%, Turn 84%)
(One Pair, Kings)
Board #2 : (Pre 64%, Flop 73%, Turn 88%)
Hero shows Q♠: A♠:: (One Pair, Sixes)
Board #1 : (Pre 32%, Flop 4%, Turn 16%)
(High Card, Ace)
Board #2 : (Pre 36%, Flop 27%, Turn 12%)
BTN wins $97.75
Yes, villain is a reg. Yes, he's been 3betting in position alot against me. Yes, 4betting this hand is 'ok' (though it seems calling is much superior), but No, you can't just make frustration calls like this unless you've actually seen the guy putting it in light.
Hi Tim,
great to read from you again!
As usual, the hands are very exciting and seeing you going up so quickly with just a minor downer now - that's very pleasant...
btw, join our bankroll challenge!
Originally posted by SvenBe
Hi Tim,great to read from you again!
As usual, the hands are very exciting and seeing you going up so quickly with just a minor downer now - that's very pleasant...btw, join our bankroll challenge!
Ok!
Made back $500 since last update so feeling a little less sorry for myself. Still an alarming gap between my A game and my C game. I'd say C game is in the range (0bb to -5bb/100) while A game is in the range 2bb/100-5bb/100. It's pretty hard to determine the causes of finding oneself playing one's C game - but in my case its usually a combination of:
1. Things not going my way (bluffs being caught/draws missed/villains at top of their ranges etc.); and
2. Getting played back at a lot in a short time period (btw, this is usually just the subjective manifestation of villains in fact being at or near the top of their range in any given spot).
This has to be the the main focus of efforts to improve over the coming weeks.
Two bluffcatch spots - one consumated, the other not ♦. Same villain. Never show your bluffs - it makes people click call in subsequent hands, even when they shouldn't:
$1 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
BTN: $103.20 (103.2 bb)
SB: $111.40 (111.4 bb)
Hero (BB): $101.18 (101.2 bb)
UTG: $105.18 (105.2 bb)
MP: $98.00 (98 bb)
CO: $271.76 (271.8 bb)
SB posts $0.50, Hero posts BB $1.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has 5♦: 6♦:
4 folds, SB raises to $3.00, Hero raises to $9.00, SB raises to $23.00, Hero calls $14.00
Flop: ($46.00, 2 players) 8♥: Q♦: 5♠:
SB checks, Hero checks
Turn: ($46.00, 2 players) 3♥:
SB bets $28.00, Hero calls $28.00
River: ($102.00, 2 players) T♥:
SB bets $60.40 and is all-in, Hero folds
Results: $102.00 pot ($5.00 rake)
Final Board: 8♥: Q♦: 5♠: 3♥: T♥:
SB shows A♣: J♥:: (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 0%)
SB wins $96.00
$1 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3
SB: $100.00 (100 bb)
BB: $35.87 (35.9 bb)
Hero (UTG): $160.18 (160.2 bb)
MP: $194.47 (194.5 bb)
CO: $129.68 (129.7 bb)
BTN: $108.66 (108.7 bb)
SB posts $0.50, BB posts $1.00
Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has 9♠: 9♦:
Hero raises to $2.50, 2 folds, BTN calls $2.50, fold, BB calls $1.50
Flop: ($8.00, 3 players) 5♦: J♣: 7♥:
BB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $2.64, fold, Hero calls $2.64
Turn: ($13.28, 2 players) 6♣:
Hero checks, BTN bets $11.46, Hero calls $11.46
River: ($36.20, 2 players) 2♦:
Hero checks, BTN bets $47.06, Hero calls $47.06
Results: $130.32 pot ($5.00 rake)
Final Board: 5♦: J♣: 7♥: 6♣: 2♦:
BTN shows T♣: 9♣:: (High Card, Jack)
(Pre 39%, Flop 33%, Turn 34%)
Hero shows 9♠: 9♦:: (One Pair, Nines)
(Pre 61%, Flop 67%, Turn 66%)
Hero wins $124.32