[Completed] Holiday & Tankroll BRMs in Practice: €300 -> €1500 mostly in €10 Twister

My career has just become more promising due to Coral's new Twister Club promo

In short, it offers cashback on Twister losses, e.g. 20% on €5-10 Twister if I win at least 50 games in a week.

I've launched SwongSim to see how much I'll get on average if my expectation is exactly breakeven pre-rakeback, i.e. if the ITM is 35.8%, assuming that I grind hard, 1K tourneys a week:

Applying the trapezoidal rule to the blue lines, we arrive at the figure of 20% * (0.05*€33 + 0.1*(€190+€331+€473+€634) + 0.075*€871 + 0.0375*€1035 + 0.0175*€1194 + 0.015*€1374) ~ €62 average cashback per week, which would itself provide a good living in a developing country Plus I'll be able to keep the usual rakeback too.

Of course, the higher the expected ITM, the lower the expected cashback, but winners can't really complain because they still get more in total than breakeven players.

Ironically, I had just decided to quit, for non-poker reasons, a previously beloved forum where I had been spending a lot of time. But as it turns out, every cloud has a silver lining because now I have more energy left for poker degeneracy

that is a nice promo.btw thw numbers you ran above are sick,i just scrolled down for the final result ♦..t?t

today played 5 10euro twister with the tokens from the promo.i was bit unlucky but managed to win 40euro.the sad fact is that money are stuck there because if i withdraw i lose my bonus right?

i am following you and gl!

Thanks!

On a second thought, I need to ask Coral's support tomorrow on how exactly the promo works because the 'total stake' might mean the low point (in terms of the above simulation), e.g. if I lose €200 and then win €1500, then my 'total stake' (total amount risked) will be €210 (including the €10 buy-in wagering which started the winning streak) and hence the cashback will be up to €42; if so, the average cashback amount in general is going to be somewhat bigger than the one I've calculated above - around €100 a week if I'm not mistaken.

I need to overcome the fear of grinding tomorrow, and this kind of promo is perfect for that because it reduces losses in worst-case scenarios (including spewing)

The challenge must end this or next week, one way or another, if I stop slacking But you'll of course be welcome to send PMs to me anyway after that.

Originally posted by epok522
today played 5 10euro twister with the tokens from the promo.i was bit unlucky but managed to win 40euro.the sad fact is that money are stuck there because if i withdraw i lose my bonus right?

I'm not an expert on this particular promotion, and you can ask Pokerstrategy's support for safety, but usually on iPoker, winnings obtained by using Twister tokens are withdrawable with no strings attached.

The standard first deposit bonus isn't lost upon withdrawal, though a fee (up to 5%, I think) can be subtracted from the withdrawn amount if you haven't raked enough (in practice, I withdrew after having raked somewhat less than the total deposit amount, on a few occasions, and still was charged no fee), to compensate for the fees that the room pays to ewallets for processing.

If you got the free money bonus from Pokerstrategy instead of the first deposit bonus, then you need to consult the PS-gy support, but I'm afraid you'll have to meet the playthrough requirement.

But in any case, you'll end up raking way less on average than the playthrough requirement if you apply the hit-and-run strategy - wager whatever is left in your account until you either 1) bust the balance or 2) meet the playthrough requirements. You'll bust it early most of the time (even if you play the €2s with that €40) and won't be obliged to redeposit and pay the remaining rake; whereas those times when you don't bust it, you'll end up in the big green on average.

Oops...

Last week, I was introduced to the concept of maladaptive daydreaming, a yet unrecognised mental disorder - dreaming so much and so unrealistically that it takes too much time away from the normal activities (though it's been shown that even ordinary people space out for 30-47% of their waketime ). It goes without saying that I'm likely suffering from it. Here's a Scientific American article on the subject, for those who're interested.

In fact, this thread owes its existence to an ill-advised daydream

In good news, I've just discovered that Gunnar Optiks now have official distributors in Moscow :f_drink:, unlike a year ago, so I hope I have enough energy to order their gaming glasses this week.

Weekly graph:

Get Rich or Die Tryin' report

28 tournaments
+€115
€540
6 weeks
______________________________________________

I wasn't too eager to play again because I learned on Friday that my astigmatism (literal tilt of the lenses ) had got somewhat worse, and I believe that's why I had had moments of drifting off for a few seconds sometimes during sessions when the picture in my brain was messy like I'd be getting new glasses anyway, but that's good to know.

Take intense care of yourself, folks!

The most memorable hand of the week (or should I say, of the Sunday? ):

iPoker - €1.86+€0.14 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 455
BB: 1,045

2 players post ante of 5, Hero posts SB 15, BB posts BB 30

Pre Flop: (pot: 55) Hero has K♦ A♣

Hero raises to 75, BB raises to 120, Hero raises to 450 and is all-in, BB calls 330

The highest hand of the week:

iPoker - €4.65+€0.35 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 895
SB: 605

2 players post ante of 5, SB posts SB 30, Hero posts BB 60

Pre Flop: (pot: 100) Hero has 8♠ T♥

SB raises to 120, Hero calls 60

Flop: (250, 2 players) A♠ T♠ T♦
Hero checks, SB checks

Turn: (250, 2 players) 5♥
Hero checks, SB bets 120, Hero calls 120

River: (490, 2 players) T♣
Hero checks, SB bets 360, Hero calls 360

Hero shows 8♠ T♥ (Four of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 45%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)
SB shows 2♠ A♦ (Full House, Tens full of Aces)
(Pre 55%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
Hero wins 1,210

The heater of the week:

iPoker - €9.30+€0.70 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 498 [a meh former Rio jackpot reg whom I was facing in Twister for the first time]
Hero (SB): 1,002

2 players post ante of 5, Hero posts SB 30, BB posts BB 60

Pre Flop: (pot: 100) Hero has 9♠ 8♠

Hero raises to 997 and is all-in, BB calls 433

I'm becoming a bigger nit over time.

Tonight's Coral's 'Summer Challenge' was to play casino games in the poker client, and had I lost £25 (~€35), I'd be credited with 2x€5 Twister tickets tomorrow. So I obviously hit the Jacks or Better pit

On my fourth €2.50 stake (that's Coral's limit for JoB ), I managed to get two pair and spin the €5 up to €80 by doubling up but then chickened out and didn't take the final allowed double-up (50% chance of €160, 50% chance of €0) That is of course non-poker profit and not included into reports.

In other news, I'm going to play a few MicroMillions events, mostly the Omaha ones. Tonight, I didn't do well in event 002 ($11 NLHE). I was getting a lot of premium hands, but in this hand vs a certified nit, I still suspect I could have taken his entire stack by triple barrelling, opted for two streets of value instead via the bet/check/bet line, but his river call was instant so I don't think I got the maximum.

PokerStars - $10+$1|75/150 Ante 20 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP+2: 2,997 (VPIP: 30.77, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
CO: 12,923 (VPIP: 31.58, PFR: 14.04, 3Bet Preflop: 5.26, Hands: 57)
BTN: 7,136 (VPIP: 24.56, PFR: 14.04, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 57)
Hero (SB): 9,809
BB: 5,199 (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 12.28, 3Bet Preflop: 19.23, Hands: 57)
UTG: 16,212 (VPIP: 19.30, PFR: 7.02, 3Bet Preflop: 5.88, Hands: 57)
UTG+1: 2,267 (VPIP: 30.36, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 57)
MP: 9,847 (VPIP: 15.79, PFR: 3.51, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 57)
MP+1: 3,610 (VPIP: 12.28, PFR: 10.53, 3Bet Preflop: 5.26, Hands: 57)

9 players post ante of 20, Hero posts SB 75, BB posts BB 150

Pre Flop: (pot: 405) Hero has K♦ K♣

fold, fold, MP raises to 450, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 1,275, fold, MP calls 825

Flop: (2,880, 2 players) Q♠ T♦ 4♣
Hero bets 1,650, MP calls 1,650

Turn: (6,180, 2 players) 6♠
Hero checks, MP checks

River: (6,180, 2 players) 2♠
Hero bets 2,550, MP calls 2,550

To clarify, I'm not including any of my Pokerstars action into the reports because it would make taking screenshot proofs twice harder. (But the main reason is that I occasionally play games of higher variance there )

Get Rich or Die Tryin' report

35 tournaments
+€27
€567
7 weeks

Weekly graph:

Meanwhile, I was the Hero (or, rather, a patient) at Moskvyak's Silver+ coaching of the Russian community on Saturday, and quite predictably, he pulled my Twister game to pieces apart I had been expecting to get depressed as a result, and so I did.

What do you think I did next?

I started looking into iPoker MTTs as a backup option and watching some 180-man SnG content because they're similar

However, I do still believe that Twister / Spins are going to have a higher attainable hourly winrate threshold (over $50) for at least a year, whereas the small-field MTT opportunities are pretty scarce (once again, I don't want to play in tough Stars.com fields, therefore I'd be able to have like 16-20 full ring MTT tables running across all networks, which is probably the threshold of my multitabling ability anyway, but I hope to improve it and also would like to have opportunities for longer breaks than 5 minutes) and the formats that are grindable continuously - MTSnGs - don't really run above the $15 limit and, obviously, have dried up because of Spins. I think I'll just finish the career if even the €1 Twister stops being profitable (as in, for €0.10+ per game after rakeback), but I don't think it's going to happen any soon, so I'll just go down stakes if the skill gap starts calling for it; learning a bit of the science of beating tougher fields is also a decent option

My new prescription glasses are due tonight, so hopefully I'll no longer be afraid of eye strain. I keep saying this every week, but it's time to go big or go bust by the end of the month I should become sure that I can squeeze enough grinding hours out of myself when needed :fouet:, even though the summer is such a dead season in poker that not much profit is expected.

so nice you got a review/analyse from Moskvyak, can you share us what mistakes did he find in your game and what advices you received ?

The main leak was not adjusting well enough to an overly loose-aggressive player. I didn't notice while playing that he was potbetting on every flop, so I was advised to treat Ax and good Kx hands as if they were premium and flat or check behind preflop for deception, then bluffcatch on all the three streets postflop against such a reckless opponent. I.e. ace-high and, in some cases, king-high have enough showdown value vs such a player, especially HU.

At another table that I showed, I faced two overly tight and straightforward recreational players, so I should have been stealing a lot preflop and postflop. Ironically, I did misclick-open junk in the first hand on the button, but didn't make a good use of the hint that they both made by folding.

In general, focus is key, and of course your ROI is going to drop when you play more at than two tables. I still think that the hourly (risk-adjusted) can increase, though; in my case, it can definitely increase despite my fishiness because these stakes are like play money to me (the announced BR is far from my whole net worth) but I don't want to clash with Stars regs regardless.*

* Except perhaps $3.50+R 180-mans starting next month, but that's about the only SnG format I'd be comfortable grinding at Stars because the rake is relatively small if you make a lot of rebuys (i.e. play LAG in the rebuy period in order to end it with a deep stack more often and increase your chance of getting into the top 3). This is however going to be outside of this very challenge because obviously $600 is not a sufficient BR for those, downswings can easily be $1-2K there.

That's not to say I'd have no hope for being profitable at Stars' Spins, but I still believe they're suboptimal to me as the same format is offered on iPoker, whereas 180-mans are pretty much unique to Stars - I mean, there are obviously MTTs of similar field size on euro networks with €20+ BIs and I'll play the softest of those with pleasure from time to time, but they're available only at certain times and don't contribute much to the volume.

how you doing Tony? did you try your new glasses yet?

I'm surfing the forums with them on, and I'm definitely feeling less strain and pain Also, they have a cool blue tint

In case you wondered, the lenses are Essilor E-Lens 1.56, are a cheap alternative to Gunnar - cost under $50 each.

Meanwhile, I'm almost not playing, mainly studying various MTSnG material for fun, including videos by the Moshman-Dozier family. I know it's not effective when it's not applied in practice immediately, but it's better than doing nothing, don't press me.

I'm yet to bust or yolo up playing Twister at the weekend. And of course I'll continue playing it in the long run because I won't be getting enough action otherwise (when I do have the determination to play, lol).

Edit: oops, I've seen only now that my humble thread was mentioned in the news, so I'll do my best to rewatch the recorded coaching with Moskvyak and do a more detailed write-up on what happened there.

You aren't going to translate the video into English, are you? It wasn't very good, just an ordinary weekly leakfinder, you know.

Actually, anyone who understands Russian can send a video of a Spin / Jackpot (FTP) / Twister session to Moskvyak (except the $30/60 stakes, I think) and have it reviewed promptly at one of his nearest coachings because there's almost no queue of volunteers. (The coaching is Silver+ 3 times out of 4 and Gold+ - dedicated to more advanced analysis with CREV - 1 time out of 4, on Saturday August 1 it's Gold+.)

Starting next week (essentially August 1), my Pokerstars action is going to be included into the challenge.

I'm going for Silverstar in August because it makes little sense to play a lot in the dead season. If things go OK in the trial month, then from September on, I'll switch into the eternal Goldstar mode for a few months.

The MicroMillions Main Event is the last insane variance game for the foreseeable future that I'm playing there

Next Sat & Sun, there's going to be a rare sighting of a Bronzestar sitting at a double-digit number of $3.5+R/5KO/11KO MTSNG tables at peak hours, check that out (Twister is still going to be played at the start and the end of such sessions, to keep the amount of action fairly constant. This is surely contradictory to the Russian proverb 'Don't mix highs' ["Кайфы не мешают"] but we'll see how it goes.)

I'm going to update the financials tomorrow evening when I have the time to do cashback calculations.

Out of MM ME (I agree that the preflop flat was spewy and made out of boredom ).

PokerStars - $20+$2|350/700 Ante 85 NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP+1: 33,464 (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 8.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)
MP+2: 9,733 (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 8.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)
CO: 22,221 (VPIP: 25.00, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 12)
BTN: 29,270 (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 20.00, Hands: 12)
SB: 10,611 (VPIP: 8.33, PFR: 8.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)
Hero (BB): 13,135
UTG: 21,273 (VPIP: 8.33, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)
UTG+1: 10,738 (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 3)
MP: 33,204 (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)

9 players post ante of 85, SB posts SB 350, Hero posts BB 700

Pre Flop: (pot: 1,815) Hero has A♥ 4♥

fold, fold, MP raises to 1,736, fold, fold, fold, fold, SB calls 1,386, Hero calls 1,036

Flop: (5,973, 3 players) 8♥ 5♣ 7♥
SB bets 8,790 and is all-in, Hero raises to 11,314 and is all-in, fold

Meanwhile on iPoker...

iPoker - €9.30+€0.70 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 3 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 480
BB: 730
BTN: 290

Hero posts SB 10, BB posts BB 20

Pre Flop: (pot: 30) Hero has T♥ J♦

BTN raises to 60, Hero calls 50, BB calls 40

Flop: (180, 3 players) K♥ 9♦ 8♥
Hero checks, BB checks, BTN bets 120, Hero calls 120, fold

Turn: (420, 2 players) 5♦
Hero checks, BTN bets 110, Hero calls 110

It looks as though I'll have to move the iPoker action to somewhere like Winner soon

It's a pity because I didn't get enough time to enjoy the hospitality of the Gala Coral group.

I've won exactly 50 €10 Twisters in the week that has ended (the last one - at server time 23:51, just before the week's end ), so I expect to get €17 from the Twister Club promo, if I take it right I'll see tomorrow.

More iPoker lolz.

iPoker - €9.30+€0.70 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 3 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 630
Hero (BB): 450
BTN: 420

SB posts SB 10, Hero posts BB 20

Pre Flop: (pot: 30) Hero has Q♠ J♥

fold, SB raises to 630 and is all-in, Hero calls 430

iPoker - €9.30+€0.70 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 3 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 510
BTN: 510
SB: 480

SB posts SB 10, Hero posts BB 20

Pre Flop: (pot: 30) Hero has K♥ K♦

fold, SB raises to 80, Hero calls 60

Flop: (160, 2 players) Q♦ 7♠ 8♥
SB bets 160, Hero calls 160

Turn: (480, 2 players) 2♠
SB bets 240, Hero calls 240

iPoker - €9.30+€0.70 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 845
Hero (SB): 655

2 players post ante of 5, Hero posts SB 30, BB posts BB 60

Pre Flop: (pot: 100) Hero has T♦ K♠

Hero raises to 120, BB calls 60

Flop: (250, 2 players) 4♦ 6♦ K♦
BB checks, Hero bets 150, BB raises to 720 and is all-in, Hero calls 380

iPoker - €9.30+€0.70 | NL (3 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 700
Hero (BB): 800

2 players post ante of 5, SB posts SB 20, Hero posts BB 40

Pre Flop: (pot: 70) Hero has 8♠ 7♥

SB calls 20, Hero checks

Flop: (90, 2 players) 5♠ 6♣ 4♠
Hero checks, SB bets 46, Hero calls 46

Turn: (182, 2 players) 7♣
Hero checks, SB bets 83, Hero calls 83

River: (348, 2 players) 7♦
Hero checks, SB bets 194, Hero calls 194 (doesn't x/shove for value because of the nuts aversion instinct coming from the PLO past )

Hey Tony you won $10 in the weekly raffle! : )

Get Rich or Die Tryin' report

138 tournaments
-€47
€520
8 weeks

Graph:

But guess how many €10 Twister tokens I've found in my Coral account today...

Originally posted by FlyingDutchm1n
Hey Tony you won $10 in the weekly raffle! : )

Hey, it doesn't really matter yet, I'm going to wait until I win $30 more because the minimum for a TaF -> ewallet cashout is $50 and the other options of spending my TaF $20 don't satisfy me.

sweet so now we know what total stake means

Do not repeat this at home!

The Summer Sales on iPoker are expected to attract so many recreationals that I have to ignore the 'bankroll' numbers that I write itt and just register into all of them in full accordance with my actual net worth, even though there are no overlays this time. I think all of the remaining discounted tourneys, except Grand Tuesday, Grand Friday and Big Sunday, can be easily played even with a €5K BR, as they're essentially 180-mans that are softer than their Pokerstars counterparts (the $35s), I had three 35/25+ players at the first table of the Grand Monday.

I just thought I'd be finished with the thread playing lower variance games way before this juicyish week (and even before the MM).

iPoker - €92.00+€8.00 | NL - Holdem - 9 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 2,350 (VPIP: 14.71, PFR: 15.15, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 35)
BB: 2,902 (VPIP: 11.43, PFR: 5.88, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 35)
UTG: 8,867 (VPIP: 25.71, PFR: 17.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 35)
UTG+1: 4,180 (VPIP: 5.71, PFR: 5.88, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 35)
MP: 9,092 (VPIP: 25.71, PFR: 14.71, 3Bet Preflop: 7.14, Hands: 35)
MP+1: 5,495 (VPIP: 34.78, PFR: 30.43, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 24)
MP+2: 15,006 (VPIP: 25.71, PFR: 11.76, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 35)
CO: 6,212 (VPIP: 12.00, PFR: 8.00, 3Bet Preflop: 15.38, Hands: 25)
Hero (BTN): 6,043

SB posts SB 100, BB posts BB 200

Pre Flop: (pot: 300) Hero has A♥ K♣

fold, fold, fold, MP+1 raises to 400, fold, fold, Hero raises to 1,000, fold, fold, MP+1 calls 600

Flop: (2,300, 2 players) 5♥ T♣ Q♦
MP+1 checks, Hero bets 920, MP+1 calls 920

Turn: (4,140, 2 players) K♠
MP+1 checks, Hero bets 1,400, MP+1 raises to 2,800, Hero raises to 4,123, MP+1 calls 775

Hi Tony,

unfortunately we can't translate individual hand review videos in english, main focus here is to translate main series and very highlighted content that our community don't have it at the moment

Just one opinion about you Ah4h hand from the ME, looking at your stack this could be a push PF here since the MP is so deep and SB has very few better hands than your with what he complete there and call the push. I'm not an MTT expert, pls if my opinion is wrong don't throw rocks at me

Hi mates!
I am really glad that my videos were translated!

It is so sad that English community misses the opportunity to view the whole range of strategies discussed during my training sessions. Tony, thx for the feedback!

About the last hand with AK: it is better to make a 3bet around 1400-1600.
The reason why it is more effective is that:
1) SB and BB are shorts with 2300 and 2900 chips. Any call/shove from SB or BB would put MP in a very difficult position.
2) MP has quite high PFR for 9max. Therefore, you have a lot of FE here (you need 70%). I will be really hard to defend against that kind of 3bet with a range wider than {88+, AQ+}. AK is a good hand to get info if you could use safe and effective semibluffs with hands like A2-AT or even worse. In case MP is afraid of 4betting with wide range we have enormous FE.
3) In case MP did not fold to 1400-1600 the pot would be around 3100-3500 and eff stacks around 3800. So there is no really postflop here just showing on any flop. If MP folds in any of possible flops than you get additional EV.

Summarizing #2 and #3, you would have 2 options: force MP to play all-in OR get useful read and use bluff3bets
If semibluffs work you would have an idea how to get more value with monsters like QQ+

When you make a 3bet 1000 do not do cbet on that kinds of flops: you neither get value here from weak hands nor force to fold stronger hands. Opp has hands like KQ, KJ, QT, QJ, AT. Waste of money. Just check.