WARNING!!! Going pro... If you don't like hard work then GTFO!!!

What kind of study group are you looking for 6max or headsup?

I've been playing headsup for 6+ years now, and if you want info on things to study pm me on here and we can talk on skype (not looking for any money here just want to help.) would also be nice to have a study buddy as i havnt had one for awhile now.

I had a nice little upswing the last few days so I am moving up again!!! Still not back to 100% health wise but definitely improving. Let's take a look at the run good and the NL25 Zoom shot so far...

Results

Profit = +$168
Hand played = 6266
Hours played = 11.9

Profit includes $70 rake back cashed in @ Stars

Graphs

NL10 Only

NL25 - Moving Up Time!!!

Combined

Moving Up

As you can see in the NLZ10 graph above I ran really nicely these last few days winning at nearly 20bb/100!!! I "think" I have had a massive AHA moment which is helping me play my ranges better but of course it is too early to be sure. Let's just say I have a better feel for what I am doing in certain spots and hopefully it will improve my win rate quite a lot! I am a bit more confident about moving up this time anyway!

I cashed in 7000 Starscoin to get me back up to where I was when I took my last (failed) shot and started last night on another 3 buy in shot. It was pretty hectic and I was down 2 buy-ins at one point fearing the worst but I was enjoying it and feeling confident.

I got QQ all in preflop versus KK and flopped a set but then it ran out to make a straight for villain so joy went to disgust in seconds! Also I split my AA v KK that we got all in preflop and ran it twice. To make up for it I flopped a boat with JJ on J22 in a 3bet pot and villain could not get away with his KK.

Fun Poker Hands

Had some crazy hands these last few days, let's take a look...

#1 - Funny hand

That's why 3 barrel bluffing fish can be very expensive!

#2 - Yay, let's slow play!!!

There is a time and a place for a slow play and this board was not it! Karma!

#3 - Biggest Winner Part I

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.60
Hero (SB): $17.75
BB: $14.34
UTG: $13.48
MP: $15.91
CO: $13.17

Hero posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♦ T♦

fold, fold, CO raises to $0.30, fold, Hero raises to $1.05, fold, CO calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.20, 2 players) 2♦ T♠ 6♠
Hero bets $1.05, CO calls $1.05

Turn: ($4.30, 2 players) T♥
Hero bets $2.05, CO raises to $11.07 and is all-in, Hero calls $9.02

River: ($26.44, 2 players) Q♣

Hero shows A♦ T♦ (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 70%, Flop 87%, Turn 86%)
CO shows T♣ 7♣ (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 30%, Flop 13%, Turn 14%)
Hero wins $25.25

That's a bit of a wide called preflop for me - unlucky!!!

#4 - Biggest Winner Part II

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.95
SB: $21.45
BB: $10.00
UTG: $5.00
Hero (MP): $10.32
CO: $10.63

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has 5♠ 7♠

fold, Hero raises to $0.30, fold, fold, fold, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.65, 2 players) 7♣ 5♣ 5♦
BB checks, Hero bets $0.46, BB calls $0.46

Turn: ($1.57, 2 players) 2♦
BB checks, Hero bets $1.20, BB raises to $3.26, Hero calls $2.06

River: ($8.09, 2 players) J♦
BB bets $5.98 and is all-in, Hero calls $5.98

BB shows A♦ T♦ (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 62%, Flop 1%, Turn 0%)
Hero shows 5♠ 7♠ (Full House, Fives full of Sevens)
(Pre 38%, Flop 99%, Turn 100%)
Hero wins $19.15

Obviously a dream river for me!

#5 - Biggest Loser Part I

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): $14.22
SB: $10.00
BB: $20.79
UTG: $10.00
MP: $19.42
CO: $9.62

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has 9♦ 8♦

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.25, SB raises to $1.00, fold, Hero calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.10, 2 players) 9♥ 9♣ 4♥
SB bets $1.04, Hero calls $1.04

Turn: ($4.18, 2 players) Q♠
SB bets $2.07, Hero calls $2.07

River: ($8.32, 2 players) 5♠
SB bets $5.89 and is all-in, Hero calls $5.89

SB shows 9♠ K♦ (Three of a Kind, Nines)
(Pre 68%, Flop 80%, Turn 86%)
Hero shows 9♦ 8♦ (Three of a Kind, Nines)
(Pre 32%, Flop 20%, Turn 14%)
SB wins $19.20

Was not expecting many 9's but calling down anyway.

#6 - Biggest Loser Part II

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $33.32
SB: $7.35
BB: $10.87
UTG: $31.27
MP: $3.99
Hero (CO): $10.00

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♣ A♠

UTG raises to $0.30, MP calls $0.30, Hero raises to $1.30, fold, fold, fold, UTG raises to $2.75, MP raises to $3.99 and is all-in, Hero raises to $10.00 and is all-in, UTG calls $7.25

Flop: ($24.14, 3 players) 3♦ K♥ 3♥

Turn: ($24.14, 3 players) Q♥

River: ($24.14, 3 players) 2♦

UTG shows Q♠ Q♣ (Full House, Queens full of Threes)

Main Pot [$12.12]: (Pre 15%, Flop 9%, Turn 95%)
Side Pot#1 [$12.02]: (Pre 18%, Flop 9%, Turn 95%)

Hero shows A♣ A♠ (Two Pair, Aces and Threes)

Main Pot [$12.12]: (Pre 67%, Flop 87%, Turn 5%)
Side Pot#1 [$12.02]: (Pre 82%, Flop 91%, Turn 5%)

MP shows 9♦ J♦ (One Pair, Threes)

Main Pot [$12.12]: (Pre 18%, Flop 4%, Turn 0%)

UTG wins $23.05

Standard!

Summary

Poker is going great. Looking forward to moving up to NLZ25 permanently (fingers crossed)!!! I have got quite a lot to work on as I build my ranges differently (the non BPC/CFP way!). It might not be the best or easiest way to crush fish but I enjoy it way more and I am not really here for the money anyway!

We had my son's 5th birthday party on Saturday! Was really great seeing the kids have so much fun. They had a magician/entertainer and he was brilliant! Unfortunately my son is ill as well now so we are both off school today.

Have done NOTHING health and fitness wise as not feeling too good still. Really hope it is just the end of this flu and nothing terminal!!! (That was a joke okay!?) Dare not risk getting on the scales to weigh myself as I have not done any exercise and not eaten too brilliant either! Oh well, I can soon get back on track!

This coming week I have got a 40th birthday party on Saturday and should get a load of the houses back from students ready for renovating for the next lot. Hard work coming up!!!

Have a good few days amigos! Wish me luck at NLZ25!!!

Chris.

Hi Chris, I have a bit the same experience with cfp. I am tired of those open-ranges and the play-lines. Often they do not work at all and causes me loss instead of profit. So just like you I decided to stop with those ranges. I decided to turn back to the ranges of weazle. And to adapt to the players on the table.

I am at the half of My Courses ( unit 38) now and I do not have any progress at all. So that programm is very disappointing. And you get crazy of filling in the daily result reports.
I hope that the second half of My Courses will finally bring me results.

I wish you luck at NLZ25.
Nice picture.

Best regards, Laura

Originally posted by Eatyourpeas
Have a good few days amigos! Wish me luck at NLZ25!!!

Good luck! Except you'll be in the pot with me!

Originally posted by Alleen86

Originally posted by Eatyourpeas
Have a good few days amigos! Wish me luck at NLZ25!!!

Good luck! Except you'll be in the pot with me!

Hey man! Thanks for the good luck message - really appreciate the kindness!

(Side point: If you have got a coach get him to look at that pot you won against me with 77 last night as that was the last hand I expected you to have, turned out you were value betting against ME but I am not sure what you were doing?)

The shot went to pot!!! Lost ~$125 at the tables whilst getting $20 rake back so ~4 buy ins have gone. I know I was only going to play for 3 buy-ins but I was running a couple under EV and was actually feeling really confident (and bank roll is not an issue).

These were the first games I have played where people actually were 3 betting me enough. Some of the hand choices were pretty shocking (but maybe not against me ).

At BPC we were playing super tight v 3bet (as playing fish?) so I need to open up when facing 3bet a bit (no, a lot) more. I also need to tighten up preflop RFI ranges for a while while I get used to this (I play ~29/23/10 atm). Tbh if I was at my tables I would 3bet me 100%!

Got some videos to watch for postflop after calling 3bet that will help too.

Enjoying this so much! Let's go!!!

This is an interesting blog, i will follow, goodluck!

Originally posted by Eatyourpeas
(Side point: If you have got a coach get him to look at that pot you won against me with 77 last night as that was the last hand I expected you to have, turned out you were value betting against ME but I am not sure what you were doing?)

Hmm, I can't find the hand because I don't know your PokerStars nickname. What happened?

The "wierdest" 77 yesterday was this:

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $28.71 (114.8 bb)
Hero (BB): $34.77 (139.1 bb)
UTG: $9.97 (39.9 bb)
MP: $21.36 (85.4 bb)
CO: $29.45 (117.8 bb)
BTN: $26.78 (107.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 7♦: 7♠:
3 folds, BTN raises to $0.56, SB folds, Hero calls $0.31

Flop: ($1.22) 9♣: 2♥: K♦: (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: ($1.22) K♣: (2 players)
Hero bets $0.58, BTN calls $0.58

River: ($2.38) K♥: (2 players)
Hero bets $1.13, BTN calls $1.13

Results:

If that's the hand, turn bet was mostly a protection bet (don't want to see any overcard to 7 OTR), but also a thin value bet. I expect K or 9 to cbet the flop most of the time. The river could be a check, I believe, but I decided for a thin value/blocking bet because expect 66-22 to call sometimes given how the board developed + I don't want to face a big bet. What did you put me on to call the river?

I can't find another 77 hand where I bet the river...

Originally posted by Eatyourpeas
Tbh if I was at my tables I would 3bet me 100%!

Good to know! I just can't remember your nickname...

And.... There we go again!!! Another failed shot at NL25 Zoom!!! However, there is no success without failure - this is just a lesson. I get back up, clean off the dust and go again... Let's do this!!!

Results (3 days)

Profit/loss = -$123 ($20 RB)
Hands Played = 5117
Hours played = 11.9

Graphs etc

All Hands (3 days)

Failed Shot (NL25 Zoom only)

(As you can see, the last NL25 Zoom session was grotesque!)

Lessons From Failed Shot

This is the first time I noticed the player pool 3 betting me with a decent FREQUENCY. So far I have been able to play very tight facing a 3 bet as the average 3 bet stat at NL10 was less than 6. I need to improve my game in this area in order to not get exploited and I am doing quite a lot of work on that already.

The other thing I am trying to adapt to at the moment are the different flop ranges I am now playing. In fact my whole approach to the game has changed so much in the last week there are bound to be new errors in my play as I adjust, but overall I am feeling super confident about how it is all moving forwards.

Hopefully I can win 12 buy-ins at NL10 Zoom back fairly quickly and take another shot. It does not really matter though. I am working on my game a lot (it is not "work" it is fun) and as long as I continue to do that the shots will come and they will eventually "succeed".

There really is no need to cry over this and shoot oneself in the head...

Fun Poker Hands

Hand #1 - Biggest Winners Part I

Poker Stars $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players

BTN: $10.42
SB: $10.00
Hero (BB): $12.01
UTG: $10.18
MP: $25.57
CO: $10.78

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with K♥ A♠
1 fold, MP raises to $0.30, CO calls $0.30, 1 fold, SB calls $0.25, Hero raises to $1.90, MP calls $1.60, 2 folds

Flop: ($4.40) K♦ T♥ 3♠ (2 players)
Hero bets $2.31, MP calls $2.31

Turn: ($9.02) 8♥ (2 players)
Hero bets $7.80 all in, MP calls $7.80

River: ($24.62) 3♦ (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $24.62
Hero shows K♥ A♠ (two pair, Kings and Threes)
MP shows Q♥ A♥ (a pair of Threes)
Hero wins $23.51
(Rake: $1.11)

Went a bit big preflop as nearly timed out. How big would you go?

Hand #2 - Biggest Winner Part II

Poker Stars $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players

Hero (BTN): $25.00
SB: $172.04
BB: $27.78
UTG: $25.00
MP: $25.92
CO: $26.43

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BTN with A♠ J♥
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.56, SB raises to $1.79, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.23

Flop: ($3.83) 9♣ A♣ 3♦ (2 players)
SB bets $2.01, Hero calls $2.01

Turn: ($7.85) 3♥ (2 players)
SB bets $4.12, Hero calls $4.12

River: ($16.09) J♠ (2 players)
SB bets $164.12 all in, Hero calls $17.08 all in

Final Pot: $50.25
Hero shows A♠ J♥ (two pair, Aces and Jacks)
SB shows K♦ Q♣ (a pair of Threes)
Hero wins $48.25
(Rake: $2.00)

Hitting the Jack on the river was nice. If river was 2 instead of J should I still call it down? I am thinking AJ is the worst I would call in that case.

Hand #3 - Biggest Loser

Was unsure if preflop was okay (I think so 3 way) and how big to raise on the flop. I should just jam it in I think???

Hand #4 - What is worst hand you call river raise here?

Not sure about calling this one at these games! River raises are THE NUTS!!!

Other stuff

Well I am still not back to 100% health. I considered going to Kung Fu last night then started feeling sick so cancelled it. Kinda weird as not feeling terrible but just not quite right you know?

I did weigh myself and only 2 pounds above my lowest so that's cool. Not done any exercise for over two weeks now though.

Other than that, everything is fantastic. Kids have had great reports from school (I do not care about results in subjects, I just care about teacher comments that they are happy - actually results are amazing too!). One house has come back from students in good condition which is a huge bonus. Still waiting for 4 others to be returned.

Have a good weekend amigos! Flopzilla & Equilab here I come!!!!

Chris.

Edit: @Alleen86 - As I am failing at NL25 Zoom and you are my hero and seem to be killing it lately I feel it is not my place to comment!!! Ask somebody who plays NL100+ about that 77 hand as it looks completely bonkers to me!

Poker is so beautiful!!! For the first couple of days I thought I have totally lost my mind and cannot play poker at all and then for the next couple of days I think I am Phil Ivey again!!! Of course these swings are all part of the game, the hardest part is actually realising it and not panicking when it is going down and keeping working on the game when it is going up!

Results (4 days)

Profit/loss = +$93 (+$5 at tables and +$88 previous error in accounts!)
Hands Played = 3554
Hours played = 8.55

Swings Graph (4 days all NL10 Zoom)

The downswing at the start of this graph is an immediate continuation after losing 5 buy-ins at NL25 Zoom so it was 13 buy-ins downer! It has been nice to turn that around (partly) as I was getting doubts about my new thought processes/what I have learned recently, but I have regained confidence thanks to a bit more study and improved understanding.

I have included red and blue lines today as recently my red line dropped dramatically (always sloped down anyway). I am fairly convinced this was due to making some changes to how I am playing my ranges and not having a good enough understanding of how to play turns and rivers. I have studied this (trying not to use the word "work" as it is fun again lately!) a lot now so I am hoping to stop losing at non showdown winnings (redline).

I am bluffing parts of my range on later streets than previously and also learning to call down in spots where I was previously too weak to. I think it is something to do with frequencies which could well be unnecessary at these games but will make me a better player overall and studying it is really a lot of fun to me. I have not enjoyed studying poker for over 2 years now so it is really great to be "back"!

Fun Poker Hands

Hand #1 - Biggest Winner Part I

Not sure I like my turn play in this hand. I should keep betting being OOP and with so many possible action killers to come.

Hand #2 - Biggest Winner Part II

Villain's turn check seems a bit weird to me here. I know the 8 is a weird card but with nut flush draw I would definitely be betting there.

Hand #3 - Biggest Loser Part I

Poker Stars $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $17.27
SB: $10.34
Hero (BB): $10.00
UTG: $7.61
MP: $10.13
CO: $16.74

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with 6♣ 5♣
3 folds, BTN raises to $0.25, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.55) 4♣ T♥ 3♣ (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.29, Hero raises to $1.05, BTN raises to $2.49, Hero raises to $9.75 all in, BTN calls $7.26

Final Pot: $20.05
BTN shows 4♠ 4♦ (three of a kind, Fours)
Hero shows 6♣ 5♣ (a pair of Fives)
BTN wins $9.58
BTN wins $9.57
(Rake: $0.90)

Okay, I dunno what happened to the turn and river in this hand history but as you can see I missed. I was due a straight flush as well!!!

Hand #4 - Biggest Loser Part II

Poker Stars $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $5.94
SB: $10.93
Hero (BB): $10.15
UTG: $52.04
MP: $15.35
CO: $28.80

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with A♦ K♣
UTG raises to $0.20, 4 folds, Hero raises to $0.70, UTG calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.45) 6♠ K♠ 4♠ (2 players)
Hero bets $0.91, UTG calls $0.91

Turn: ($3.27) 8♥ (2 players)
Hero bets $2.07, UTG calls $2.07

River: ($7.41) A♥ (2 players)
Hero bets $4.71, UTG calls $4.71

Final Pot: $16.83
Hero shows A♦ K♣ (two pair, Aces and Kings)
UTG shows 6♦ 6♣ (three of a kind, Sixes)
UTG wins $16.07
(Rake: $0.76)

Not sure about this one. I think betting flop and turn is okay as villain is calling two with 77-JJ with a . On the river it was a bit thin but I bet for value from Ace of which is probably getting a bit hopeful???

Study

Fold v 3bet - I was folding too much here so I have tweaked my preflop RFI ranges a little so that I am not opening so many hands and, therefore, not folding so many facing a 3 bet. I have studied some videos of playing post flop as the preflop caller in 3 bet pots and have started to 4 bet bluff a bit more often (whist trying to remember not to do this when they 3bet 3%!!!).

Flop ranges - I am picking 4 or 5 flops each day and then choosing random positions as the preflop raiser versus one caller and defining my value bet, check and bluff ranges for practice. I then try to think how I will play those different parts of my range on future streets (on different cards) or when facing raises etc. This is fun!

Mental - Playing and studying for fun makes this game so much easier! I do not care about results because I know they will improve in the long term and I am confident in what I am learning. One thing I do need to keep reminding myself is that while I am making these changes to my game (and they are quite big changes imo) my win rate is going to suffer. I am just two tabling lately to focus on decisions better.

Summary.

Poker is going REALLY well due to loving it again! Life is great and I am back to 90% health wise. From today I will start exercising and training again and will get back on the scales!

We got some photos from our friends wedding a couple of weeks ago. Here is a nice pic...

Left is my mate Kev (the groom), then my daughter Francesca (Kev is her godfather), then yours truly. This was before the free bar

Run good amigos!

Chris.

So, no pics after the free bar?

Hand 1: yeah open ended straight and flush draw - what can you do?

Hand 2: Risky game with his set & good for you to not get it in with your twopair vs his set. I mostly like the betsizes, but would probably make the flop a tiny bit bigger (FD calls anyway)

Last few days it is going nicely again. Steadily grinding the NL10 Zoom games to get back to another shot at NL25 Zoom and I am riding along a nice 10 buy-in upswing right now. Shame about the 13 buy in downswing right before it eh!?

Results (3 days)

Profit = +$28 (includes $10RB)
Hands played = 2659
Hours played = 5.75

Graph (3 days)

Keeping my eye on the redline again lol!

Study

Flop Ranges As PFR - Took 8 random flops and defined my value bet, check and bluff ranges as the PFR. Also balancing these ranges so that I know what hands will become bluffs on turn and river and which will become value bets on turn and river (I was seriously unbalanced here before but of course "getting away with it").

Facing Preflop 3 bet - Fold v 3bet has come down a little but not enough yet. I am definitely continuing more but still finding folds against the "3 bet 5%" guys so I think it is okay. I still need a lot more work on playing postflop as the preflop caller in 3bet pots but I cannot do this just yet due to time!

Flop Ranges As PFC - I am just starting to work on this. This is another area of my game that was terrible and got worse over the last two years (hint: too passive obv). I am working on developing a balanced range and for me that means calling a lot of hands I was previously check/raise bluffing and now check/raise bluffing weaker hands that I was previously folding or making an OOP float with.

Totally loving all of this study!!!

Fun Hands

Hand #1 - Fish Do Stupid Things!

Do not try and work that one out!

Hand #2 - Karma Time!!!

Hand #3 - Sick Cooler

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): $13.60
SB: $14.74
BB: $12.39
UTG: $14.90
MP: $11.76
CO: $10.00

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has 2♣ K♣

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.22, fold, BB calls $0.12

Flop: ($0.49, 2 players) K♥ 4♦ 2♦
BB checks, Hero bets $0.35, BB raises to $1.22, Hero calls $0.87

Turn: ($2.93, 2 players) K♦
BB bets $2.10, Hero calls $2.10

River: ($7.13, 2 players) A♦
BB bets $4.90, Hero raises to $9.95, BB calls $3.95 and is all-in

Hero shows 2♣ K♣ (Full House, Kings full of Twos)
(Pre 47%, Flop 11%, Turn 2%)
BB shows K♠ 4♠ (Full House, Kings full of Fours)
(Pre 53%, Flop 89%, Turn 98%)
BB wins $23.71

Do what!?!? Only gave him that one combo of K4 for preflop action and so was rubbing my hands when I jammed river expecting to see one of the 3 combos of 44 LMAO!!!

Hand 4 - Calling Range?

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $7.26
SB: $19.57
BB: $10.42
UTG: $10.72
Hero (MP): $11.63
CO: $10.00

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♠ K♥

fold, Hero raises to $0.30, fold, fold, SB calls $0.25, fold

Flop: ($0.70, 2 players) 3♦ K♠ 8♠
SB checks, Hero bets $0.44, SB raises to $1.40, Hero calls $0.96

Turn: ($3.50, 2 players) 8♦
SB bets $1.60, Hero calls $1.60

River: ($6.70, 2 players) J♦
SB bets $4.16, fold

SB wins $6.40

What is the worst hand you would call this river with? What about if it was not a three flush river (but still a J)? I am not sure if I should call AA if it is off suit J.

Other Stuff

Property

Just got 5 houses back from students and have to say they are in really good condition. Just some cleaning up to do behind sofas and under beds and then other general maintenance which is really just fair wear and tear. Respect to those students! I think only one mattress has had the drunk student treatment if you get me!!!? Fair bit of work to do over next month or so but have had it a thousand times worse!

Health etc.

Trained at Wing Chun one night but was not really up to it. Enjoyed it immensely though. I will have to miss out a little over the next six weeks whilst working on the houses. I might do some squats or push ups today and see how the body holds up!

Summary

Could not be better! Nothing troubles me, poker is fun again, work etc goes well and my mind is totally free of ego! Enjoying every minute!

Have a great weekend amigos!

Chris.

P.S. Secret for how to beat NL10...

Flop quads yo!!!

Originally posted by SvenBe
So, no pics after the free bar?

Hand 1: yeah open ended straight and flush draw - what can you do?

Hand 2: Risky game with his set & good for you to not get it in with your twopair vs his set. I mostly like the betsizes, but would probably make the flop a tiny bit bigger (FD calls anyway)

Hey! Certificated for 18 years and over only!

Thanks for the help amigo!

Do you have any information on this player, if not i would rather fold to a flop raise, why did you fold to the river bet on a none spade, if you thought it was more semi bluff heavy?

BTN: $7.26
SB: $19.57
BB: $10.42
UTG: $10.72
Hero (MP): $11.63
CO: $10.00

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♠ K♥

fold, Hero raises to $0.30, fold, fold, SB calls $0.25, fold

Flop: ($0.70, 2 players) 3♦ K♠ 8♠
SB checks, Hero bets $0.44, SB raises to $1.40, Hero calls $0.96

Turn: ($3.50, 2 players) 8♦
SB bets $1.60, Hero calls $1.60

River: ($6.70, 2 players) J♦
SB bets $4.16, fold

SB wins $6.40

Originally posted by FrozenElf
Do you have any information on this player, if not i would rather fold to a flop raise, why did you fold to the river bet on a none spade, if you thought it was more semi bluff heavy?

On the flop I do not assume it is more bluff heavy or value heavy. If I make an assumption he is in some way balanced between the two then AK (TPTK) is a fantastic bluff catcher.

On the turn this is not a great card for him if he is in some way balanced as it means it is LESS likely he has 88 and K8 in his range and MORE likely he is bluffing. Easy call with AK assuming villain is on some way balanced on the flop.

River. I am folding here FIRSTLY because I do not THINK that many NL10 players have got the balls to bluff XR the flop and then triple it off when the back door flush draw completes. However I agree that I am possibly folding too much in this (rare) spot. SECONDLY it is a mistake to not narrow our calling range as the streets progress against bets (as is it a mistake for him to not throw out some bluffs on the turn and some more on the river - otherwise he would be over-bluffing).

I think calling here could be good but I hope you can see my reasoning?

SB calls a raise OOP vs MPs, I think his range would be quite strong here, do you think?

If the player is balanced in his bluffs to value range, what would be a balanced range, here as this flop doesn't have any strong combo draws, if he raises any flush-draws, wouldn't that be unbalanced?

In this scenario, i think its more value heavy on the flop because of the cold call SB vs MP, and i would prefer a fold on the flop. How many draws are in his range, i dont think any if he is a tag, i think K8 is a bit loose even for a LAG.

I've been meaning to ask some people the answer to this question, should we make adjustments to players based on assumptions. I.E in this case, assuming the player semi bluffs draws like this? Should we give them credit until we see them semi bluff raise the flop then take a note of it? then make an adjustment when we know?

Overall July was a bit of a strange month productivity wise. I had an illness which rendered me "lazy" for over two weeks and poker results were very poor. I took two shots at NL25 Zoom and failed (miserably) both times even though I felt very comfortable. I spent quite a few hours over the month looking at potential mentors, stakers and coaches and have decided that it is time to get some coaching and get good!!!

Results (4 days)

Profit/loss = -$53
Hours played = 10
Hands played = 6340

Graph

(4 Days - NL10 Zoom)

Fun Hands

Hand #1 - Hitting The Money Card

Not much went right at the tables these last few days but this turn card was a real beauty!!!

-------------------------

Hand #2 - Whoopsie!

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.21
SB: $11.00
BB: $20.83
Hero (UTG): $10.00
MP: $10.00
CO: $14.64

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has 6♦ 6♥

Hero raises to $0.30, MP calls $0.30, fold, fold, fold, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.95, 3 players) 5♥ 8♦ 7♥
BB checks, Hero checks, MP bets $0.63, fold, Hero calls $0.63

Turn: ($2.21, 2 players) 9♦
Hero checks, MP bets $1.30, Hero raises to $4.00, MP calls $2.70

River: ($10.21, 2 players) 3♦
Hero bets $5.07 and is all-in, MP calls $5.07 and is all-in

Hero shows 6♦ 6♥ (Straight, Nine High)

MP shows Q♦ A♦ (Flush, Ace High)

MP wins $19.43

Damn! I was sure he had a set!

-------------------------

Hand #3 - Dem Fish!!!

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): $10.00
SB: $11.43
BB: $11.05
UTG: $10.93
MP: $19.81
CO: $22.51

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♣ K♦

UTG raises to $0.30, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.90, fold, fold, UTG raises to $2.20, Hero calls $1.30

Flop: ($4.55, 2 players) K♣ 6♦ 5♣
UTG bets $2.17, Hero calls $2.17

Turn: ($8.89, 2 players) 2♥
UTG bets $6.56 and is all-in, Hero calls $5.63 and is all-in

River: ($20.15, 2 players) 7♥
Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: ($20.15, 2 players) Q♣

UTG shows J♦ 8♦ (High Card, King)
Board #1 (Pre 38%, Flop 8%, Turn 0%)
(High Card, King)
Board #2 (Pre 38%, Flop 7%, Turn 0%)

Hero shows A♣ K♦ (One Pair, Kings)
Board #1 (Pre 62%, Flop 92%, Turn 100%)
(One Pair, Kings)
Board #2 (Pre 62%, Flop 93%, Turn 100%)

Hero wins $9.62
Hero wins $9.62

And this time I was sure he had AA!!!

Summary

I think I ran terribly these last couple of days. I made some big hands and ran into better hands on many occasions OR I got folds. I know this is part of the game so it is no problem. On the other hand I think something is not right, something basic. It is time to get coaching and find out what the hell is going on...

Coaching

I have been looking around for somebody suitable for a couple of months. Finding the right deal has not been easy! I have gone for another Coaching For Profits (CFP) type deal with a gentleman from 2+2 called BananaPanda. He was not doing CFP (having been scammed previously) but I managed to talk him around. The deal he has given me is fantastic for me and he was not even going to take a deposit from me but there will be one. I won't disclose the profit split but we agreed on it immediately and he does not want to take any split until I move up and start making some dollar anyway.

So I consider myself very lucky to have found BananaPanda. I immediately feel like he has a real investment in me. I am already sure we will work well together and I hope we can improve together and have some fun and make some moneyz!

We are going to go back to some basics to start with so over the next few days I will be sorting out new preflop ranges (and learning them!) and hopefully brushing up on a bit of maths.

Other Stuff

Wife and kids were on Brownie's Pack Holiday at the weekend so I went on a pub crawl with some of my friends. Just around the corner from me there is a road with 6 pubs on it which are all decent so we had a pint in all of them and one extra in a couple of them! Was a great laugh and feel like doing it again already!

Here are a couple of photos...

Me, Denzel, Josh & Les in pub #2!

Pub #3!

By the time we got to pub #6 the pics got too blurred to post!!!

Have a great couple of days amigos! Really looking forward to getting going with the coaching and I have got a strong feeling August is gonna be AWESOME!!!

Chris.

Looks like you are having a blast! I am sitting here in the office and get this sudden need of having a beer - right now!
You are all drinking different kind of beers?

Let us also know how happy you are with the coachings, maybe you can refer Banaja Joe (R.I.P. Bud Spencer), i mean Banana Panda to become a coach here :-)

See you,SvenBe :-)

Tilt has never really been much of an issue for me at the tables but these last few days I TILTED LIKE CRAZY!!!! I was somewhat fortunate to be able to shut down and not spew off more money...

Profit/loss = -$26
Hands played = 1624

I could not even look at it so here is a picture of a tilted me instead!!!!

Ugly huh!?

Hand #1 - Tilted and not paying attention...

CO ($10) 100bb
BTN Hero ($9.70) 97bb
SB ($9.90) 99bb
BB ($23.88) 239bb

Pre-Flop: (0.25, 4 players) Hero is BTN 2♣ 2♦
[CO posts $0.10]
CO checks, Hero raises to $0.40, 1 fold, BB calls $0.30, CO calls $0.30

Flop: Q♦ 9♣ 2♠ ($1.25, 3 players)
BB checks, CO checks, Hero bets $0.88, BB calls $0.88, CO calls $0.88

Turn: J♦ ($3.89, 3)
BB bets $3.65, CO folds, Hero calls $3.65

River: 8♦ ($11.19, 2)
BB bets $10.50, Hero goes all-in $4.77

Final Pot: $26.46

BB shows
10:club: A♠

Hero shows
2♣ 2♦

BB wins $31.19 (net +$15.76)
CO lost $1.28
Hero lost $9.70

Never folding, just jam turn I reckon. Didn't see stacks, didn't follow action. Tilted!

--------------------

Hand #2 - Not Tilted Just Unsure...

This does not feel right to me. I know I could bet bigger flop and turn and make an easier river jam but I just feel he is going to fold so much with flushes and straights on the board. I am not even sure he has 22 in his preflop range so it is pretty hard to get value on that river. What you reckon?

---------------

Hand #3 - Is It Just Me!?

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.60
SB: $4.78
BB: $10.00
UTG: $11.20
MP: $12.77
Hero (CO): $10.47

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has 9♦ 9♣

fold, MP raises to $0.30, Hero calls $0.30, BTN calls $0.30, fold, fold

Flop: ($1.05, 3 players) T♠ 8♣ 9♥
MP checks, Hero bets $0.75, BTN calls $0.75, fold

Turn: ($2.55, 2 players) 5♣
Hero bets $1.70, BTN calls $1.70

River: ($5.95, 2 players) 5♦
Hero bets $7.72 and is all-in, BTN calls $7.72

Hero shows 9♦ 9♣ (Full House, Nines full of Fives)
(Pre 54%, Flop 73%, Turn 82%)
BTN shows J♥ T♣ (Two Pair, Tens and Fives)
(Pre 46%, Flop 27%, Turn 18%)
Hero wins $20.43

I really dunno! Maybe I am just giving villains too much credit! In the 22 hand above I am thinking "what the hell will call me?" and then look at this! Is this a terrible call from villain or am I losing (lost) my marbles???

As I was not doing so hot on the Zoom tables I decided to play some reg tables. This meant I could also do a bit of fish hunting and I kinda forgot how to do that! My mind was not on the action at the tables and I really struggled because of that. Many times I lost track of what was going on and made (very) bad decisions.

On the positive side I was really surprised how bad some people were playing. Not saying I am going to be the best at exploiting that at the moment but it was encouraging to say the least! I need to have a good think about Zoom or Regular at the moment, not sure what to do right now and many pros and cons.

As for the mental state and the tilt hopefully it was just a blip due to table selecting. I will keep an eye on it and pray it disappears!

Trained at Wing Chun Kung Fu last night and my daughter went too which is great! I have not done any exercise outside of training for a month now I think so will bang some squats out today and some push ups tomorrow. Still feel a bit weak to be honest.

There is plenty of work to be done on the student houses but a lot of it is going to be done by tradesman now so hopefully not too much graft for this old man!

Got on the scales this morning and was pleasantly surprised to weigh in at 13 stone 4 pounds. I go on holiday in 9 sleeps (that's how we count it with the kids!) so could be interesting for the weight that one (more excuses I know!)!!!

Still looks good I reckon! This is the weekly graph of my weight since I got back into looking after my health. Thursday will be the weigh in day now as it is a blogging day and is not so depressing as looking at my weight on a Monday morning after weekend shenanigans!!!

Got plans for a few beers this weekend with my mates as I go on holiday the weekend after. Other than that, it's back to the grind!

Have a good weekend amigos!

Chris.

Originally posted by SvenBe
Looks like you are having a blast! I am sitting here in the office and get this sudden need of having a beer - right now!
You are all drinking different kind of beers?

Let us also know how happy you are with the coachings, maybe you can refer Banaja Joe (R.I.P. Bud Spencer), i mean Banana Panda to become a coach here

See you,SvenBe

Yh it was a great night! All drink different. These days I stick with the common lager that every pub in UK sells. Denzel had some ales, some premium lagers. Les had premium lagers all the way. Josh had different ales in each pub.

Bad session, none of this tilted me at all though so that is good

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $11.90
Hero (SB): $12.57
BB: $11.77
UTG: $16.55
MP: $25.95
CO: $4.28

Hero posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♣ A♠

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to $0.20, Hero raises to $0.70, BB raises to $1.95, BTN raises to $11.90 and is all-in, Hero raises to $12.57 and is all-in, BB calls $9.82 and is all-in

Flop: ($35.57, 3 players) 9♠ K♣ 3♥

Turn: ($35.57, 3 players) T♦

River: ($35.57, 3 players) J♦

Hero shows A♣ A♠ (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [$35.31]: (Pre 67%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
Side Pot#1 [$0.26]: (Pre 80%, Flop 89%, Turn 5%)

BTN shows T♠ T♥ (Three of a Kind, Tens)

Main Pot [$35.31]: (Pre 16%, Flop 2%, Turn 2%)
Side Pot#1 [$0.26]: (Pre 20%, Flop 11%, Turn 95%)

BB shows K♠ K♥ (Three of a Kind, Kings)

Main Pot [$35.31]: (Pre 18%, Flop 89%, Turn 93%)

BTN wins $0.26
BB wins $33.81

-----------------------------------------------------

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $15.58
SB: $26.72
BB: $6.95
UTG: $8.67
MP: $9.10
Hero (CO): $11.30

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♠ A♥

UTG raises to $0.30, fold, Hero raises to $0.90, fold, fold, BB raises to $6.95 and is all-in, fold, Hero calls $6.05

Flop: ($14.25, 2 players) 7♦ 6♦ 2♣

Turn: ($14.25, 2 players) 9♠

River: ($14.25, 2 players) J♥

BB shows J♠ J♣ (Three of a Kind, Jacks)
(Pre 19%, Flop 8%, Turn 5%)
Hero shows A♠ A♥ (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 81%, Flop 92%, Turn 95%)
BB wins $13.61

--------------------------------------------

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.71
SB: $6.87
BB: $17.40
UTG: $4.95
Hero (MP): $11.65
CO: $13.40

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♥ A♣

UTG calls $0.10, Hero raises to $0.50, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG raises to $4.95 and is all-in, Hero calls $4.45

Flop: ($10.05, 2 players) 6♣ K♠ 2♥

Turn: ($10.05, 2 players) 3♦

River: ($10.05, 2 players) 4♥

UTG shows K♣ K♦ (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 18%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows A♥ A♣ (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 82%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
UTG wins $9.60

---------------------------------------------

This guy looked bit spazzy so thought I would let him do his thing...

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: $14.22
UTG: $4.71
MP: $15.49
CO: $3.02
Hero (BTN): $10.00
SB: $11.94

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has K♠ K♥

UTG calls $0.10, fold, CO calls $0.10, Hero raises to $0.60, SB raises to $1.70, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $1.10

Flop: ($3.70, 2 players) Q♠ 3♦ J♦
SB bets $1.75, Hero calls $1.75

Turn: ($7.20, 2 players) 7♥
SB bets $6.84, Hero calls $6.55 and is all-in

River: ($20.30, 2 players) A♦

SB shows A♥ A♣ (Three of a Kind, Aces)
(Pre 82%, Flop 90%, Turn 95%)
Hero mucks K♠ K♥ (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 18%, Flop 10%, Turn 5%)
SB wins $0.29
SB wins $19.30

--------------------------------------

PokerStars - $0.10 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: $10.00
Hero (SB): $10.00
BB: $15.76
UTG: $8.01
MP: $19.22
CO: $29.83

Hero posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has Q♦ A♣

UTG raises to $0.35, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.30, fold

Flop: ($0.80, 2 players) Q♣ A♦ 7♠
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.40, Hero calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.60, 2 players) 8♦
Hero checks, UTG bets $0.80, Hero raises to $2.40, UTG calls $1.60

River: ($6.40, 2 players) 9♠
Hero bets $4.99, UTG calls $4.86 and is all-in

Hero shows Q♦ A♣ (Two Pair, Aces and Queens)
(Pre 45%, Flop 17%, Turn 9%)
UTG shows 7♦ 7♥ (Three of a Kind, Sevens)
(Pre 55%, Flop 83%, Turn 91%)
UTG wins $15.39

(Not sure if that is played ok?)

----------------------------------------

On another day they could have gone my way! Been a good couple of days mentally, just the poker sucked tonight!!!