The Old Fashioned Way

Good luck with you're new start. Hopefully it will go better than you're last attempt: https://forums.pokerstrategy.com/forum/thread.php?postid=3285722#post3285722

Cheers,
SDK1987

GOTTEM bwaahaaaaa! Ow my pride

Well I played for a couple hours this weekend to get a feel for the pool. Take some notes, get a feel for the action. Figure out what adjustments I need to make if any. You guys ever seen micro stakes billionaire cash games? Yea me either. First time ever seeing $100 on a 5NL table. These straddle and ante games get a little nuts I'll tell you what.......

Roll Update:

Stake: 5NL
Opening: $100
Closing: $131.02
Buy in's:2
Hr's Played: 4
Profit/Loss: +$21.02

I have added a tool to the arsenal as past me was considerate of future me for once. It's a Online Hand Reading Work Book by Smart Poker Study i purchased a few months back when it was on sale for $30.There isn't a link to it in his offered courses section anymore, so maybe he discontinued sale for now? I could email and ask him if people are curious. So far it looks like a solid way to develop how I think while in a hand. It has 6 parts to it with 6 exercises to build the skills I need to effectively hand read in game and off the felt.

I am positive I need to change my approach to how I'm going to learn to play profitably in this Zoom pool. I'm going to use a problem/solution approach. Things sure are different when you don't have a database of hands to stare at and not know what to do with

Problem: No Database. And a not so reg friendly re-player. I guess this is the price we pay for fair games. Oddly enough I'm ok with it. I'm having fun putting together the puzzle pieces. To hell with modern luxuries.

Solution: Pen and paper and note taking on VPIP's / PFR's and hands and build some logical % form ranges in Flopzilla off the felt. There is a (HUD) so to speak when you click a player portrait. It does tell you what a player is VPIP and PFR % is based on their total # of hands played in the pool. So at least we got that! There isn't a 3Bet%, but Nits be Nit's and Lag's Lags. Could always look to some GTO ranges to get an orientation of what it could look like in % form. This is where keen observation and note taking will help alot on Show Down hands.

This will go well with my hand reading skills building as the current exercise I'm doing Is assigning pre flop ranges and the method used is a sheet with what we think villains weakest hands are in a given hand category and history. I'm not doing this while playing as I'm not sure about TOS and if this would lump into RTA at all. I am how ever doing this during my review time with some micro stakes Play and Explain videos I have access to. As well as hands I've played on different sites that i do have in a database. I've discovered something about how I learn, if I write things out by hand I have an easier time retaining the info. I've been this way my whole life, If I can get my hands on it, I can figure it out usually.

Problem: Ranges are fuzzy while in a hand. The solution to my first problem coupled with some drills on the logical ranges and reviewing hands would probably go a long way to helping this. If anyone has some feedback for this I'm all ears. Best I can come up with being my own poker coach.

Problem: My review process. I don't have one ♠_biggrin:
Solution: Hand Reading Work Book. All of the exercises stack on top of each other to build the review process. For $30 this little work book packs a punch I tell you what.

Well, onto the goals for the week. Mondays are going to be a day of review and goal setting. I'm not going to set any kind of monetary goals other then the roll getting reached and the challenge ending. I think this is a sure fire way to disappointment. At least that's how it felt all of the other countless times I've given this a whirl in my usual half arsed fashion. All of my goals are going to be centred around learning and improvement.

This Weeks Goals

1. Build Logical % form RFI, Calling and 3Betting Ranges.

2. Build a poker Journal/Study Plan in One Note to track studies and progress and process hand written notes. Luckily for me past self has this started. Just needs to be reworked now to align with new process.

3. Maintain a 50/50 split to study and play. Shooting for 24 hrs played and 24 hrs studied. 4 hrs of each everyday. This does not include my daily warm up of 1 hr of range drills before I even see digital felt. Family life could get in the way, but I am very supported so just gotta get it done.

4. Post at least 1 trouble hand a day in the forum to get feedback from Tues-Sun.

5. Actually join the BR challenge thread and be active in the community.

6. Take it easy on myself when I make mistakes. I am learning.

Thanks for your time! Hope the start to your week goes well and your trials and challenges are fruitful! ♠_biggrin:

*Edit 9pm.

Well after starting my list of things to do I realized a few things. I'm just repeating past mistakes and complicating the hell out of a simple problem. Typical me.

I've simplified things a great deal now. Because this is hard enough....
Given cash games is where I'm choosing to start my journey to get good at the game, I've changed my learning path. Plenty of good stuff to start with in the Cash Game section here. Not that there is anything wrong with the RYE free course. Got me finally thinking about poker in the right way. Not just blasting a GTO range because they cell is filled in.......
I was trying to make a "lesson" plan, and realized I was missing a bunch of training material to building a fundamentally sound game. Problem solved.

GLGL

Stake: 5NL, $1-3 MTT's(small field) 1$ Spin and go's
Opening: $131.02
Closing: $172.02
Buy in's: yea didn't really keep track
Hr's Played: 12 did keep track of this though
Profit/Loss: +$41

Well, it has been an interesting week to say the least. And we're going to address some things. This might be a bit of a longer one. Shouldn't be to bad though if you have a few minutes to spare.

I decided to take some time to reflect on my experience up until now with poker. The ups and down's and the everything in between. Has my experience been enjoyable or a chore. What aspects of the game truly drew me to it. What aspects of the game did I enjoy studying the most.
Was it just an obsession of "easy money"?

I truly feel sorry for anyone that see's poker as an easy road to money. I really really do, you need to stop now if you see poker as an easy road to money. Yea sure, after you learn how to play I could see it being "easier". You know how to learn from mistakes, digest theory and implement it. Review more efficiently ect. You know how to smile at the 75s 5 bet jam preflop and river straight suck out........ "BuT iT'S mY lUcKY HAAAAAAAANd." Just keep swimming Bruno, we love you, you'll make it....... Your wallet might be lighter at the end of your swim, but you'll make it!

But this game isn't for easy money. Sure you absolutely could have some incredible heater and run $109 to $100k with a smile from the poker gods and a sun burn. It's happened, and I imagine lady variance will keep showing her DD's just often enough to keep us all interested just like she always has. But easy money it is not. But luckily for me there are alot of people who have braved the wilds ahead of me and can help me plot my path to making it "easier".

So, as you can imagine all of this very deep and insightful thinking was a cause for investigation. So I spent some time playing different formats and studying different formats this week. 8 Max 200 straddle Cash, small field tournaments, Global Spin's ( WPT version of spin and go's). I've seen some things playing micro stakes poker. Nothing ever like this. Passive gets up in the morning and call's these fish before it reports to work in the morning in the dictionary. I understand why huds are not allowed.

Tournament's: You guys ever seen KK flatted in the BB 6 ways to a flop? How's about the pocket AA that limped in UTG in that same hand and the QQ in MP that didn't isolate the UTG Limp? Yea me either....... Yea that was ONE HAND. And that is not an uncommon thing. NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT.

Cash Games: JUICY. If you guys can stomach 200+BB poker these are the games for you. I can not how ever. Come to understand I dislike deep stacked poker for now. Never in my life have I seen a $100 pot at a 5NL table until I played at these tables. That was wild I wish I could have snapped the HH or something........

Spin and Go's: I'm not even going to try and explain these at the moment. I don't even know how or where to start, but when I have 2 opponents often jamming to my BTN opens with Q3s and J9o and other similar holdings I generally consider them good. And I do believe this is where my journey with poker is going to "start"..... Again. It's going to address some glaring issues in my past attempts at greatness. I need to punch the tree for a bit......

My reason for spin's:
1. They are easy to learn.Thanks again PS guru's! They can get very complicated, but we'll address that later.
2. I have alot of fun playing them.
3. I'm going to have to learn to be patient if I want to make money. These guys are literally putting their dollar in the middle and saying all-in and turning around most of the time. Yes there are competent players, but even most of them don't understand you can't call off your tournament life with suited crap High cards and 22......
4. I'm going to come to grips with equity and ranges in a real hurry with all of the sim's i'm going to have to run in Power Equilab and HRC.
5. I have alot of fun learning when I'm studying. I find the study aspect of it to be very engaging. Learning it doesn't feel like a chore. I enjoy making the ranges fight each other and using and applying learned knowledge trying to find the "best" answer we can.
6. I'm going to build a very solid in-game awareness. No hud to hold my hand. Some hurdles here, but none we can't get passed. I'll take that smile now
7. I am over rolled and will not even blink at the possible 100+ game swings that can happen. I guess lady variance can crush beer can's with her DD's too. Can't wait to see that.

Well, I have a lot of work to do, so I'll be back Wednesday with a solid game plan update and what to expect moving forward. The more I do this, the more I keep mulling the idea of a Youtube channel over and over again. But it seems like alot to learn at the moment..... Something I am considering for later on though.

GLGL:s_drink:

Well..... Just watched ACR's response to the cheating allegations. Broke my heart to see the man responsible for countless people like me giving it a whirl doing what shills do. Really man? Title of that video should be "How to go from Poker's Hero to Zero in 3:52". ♠_frown:

All the more reason to push forward.

Hi 2outterkiller ,

long time no see? How is it going? I saw that you initially chose WPTGlobal - how is it going there? Do you enjoy the double StrategyPoints here, did you cash in the rake chase?