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zolaman

    • zolaman
      zolaman
      Bronze
      Joined: 09.07.2011 Posts: 69
      • 04.02.2013, 05:33
      • This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by zolaman: 04.02.2013 05:50.
      Hi All,

      I have been playing poker for a several years now but have never taken it too seriously. I have jumped from poker room to poker room and haven’t had any great successes but have done alright in most. Learning about BRM has been a huge help in my game but my overall play and decision-making (or lack of) can get questionable at times.

      I used to mainly play SNGs but I found the variance and committing to sitting at a table for 1+ hours hard to deal with at times. I now play NL2 and have had some pretty good success and the question I am asking myself now is if it is worth investing into a tracker at this limit (almost able to play NL5) or should I continue to play and get it later?

      Having been a member for quite some time now and my revived interest in poker, I have decided to start this course since I believe it will be an invaluable resource and tool in helping me improve my game.

      Now, onto starting the course!


      Lesson 1:

      Question 1: What is your motivation for playing poker?

      To learn. My main goal/focus in many activities I undertake is to learn and ultimately become a better person/player. The cash is also a great bonus.


      Question 2: What are your weaknesses when playing poker?

      I find that my main weakness in poker is mindset but in terms of skill areas, perhaps bet sizing/timing and calculations (odds, equity, etc.). I am actively trying to improve my game in these areas every time I play.


      Question 3: What does it mean to play tight aggressive?

      This is very much so my style of play as I find it is the optimal approach in micro-limits since it involves playing only quality hands OOP and slightly widening your range as you get closer to the button. You are typically trying to raise and re-raise preflop to ensure the lead/best hand and continuation betting is important to keep up the pressure.
  • 3 replies
    • zolaman
      zolaman
      Bronze
      Joined: 09.07.2011 Posts: 69
      • 04.02.2013, 05:57
      • This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by zolaman: 04.02.2013 05:57.
      I hope it's OK to continue on to Lesson 2:

      Lesson 2:

      Question 1: What do you think you could play differently than suggested in the BSS Starting Hands Chart and why?

      I find myself deviating away from the SHC and this is also detrimental to my game a lot of the time. I feel like I am bleeding cash unnecessarily too often but must say some it has also probably won me a lot of my bigger pots as well. As for hands that I play a little differently, I tend to play my low PP in all positions while always trying to follow the Call 20 rule. I am also a little more aggressive on the button depending on the type of players at my table.


      Question 2: Do you have questions about your preflop play? Post your hand for evaluation.

      I find my preflop play is pretty solid although I need to work on my 3bet/4bet sizing.Postflop is where I get into trouble most often; especially if I do not connect with the board and playing OOP. Oftentimes a cbet will take down the pot but I think I need to work on dealing with putting my opponent better on a range when I am called or raised.


      Question 3: What is the equity of AKo against the top 5% range? 5% means 88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo.

      I must admit I used Equilab for this:

      AKo = 46.32%
      88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo = 53.68%
    • BogdanPS
      BogdanPS
      Basic
      Joined: 12.05.2010 Posts: 27,588
      Originally posted by zolaman
      Hi All,

      I have been playing poker for a several years now but have never taken it too seriously. I have jumped from poker room to poker room and haven’t had any great successes but have done alright in most. Learning about BRM has been a huge help in my game but my overall play and decision-making (or lack of) can get questionable at times.

      I used to mainly play SNGs but I found the variance and committing to sitting at a table for 1+ hours hard to deal with at times. I now play NL2 and have had some pretty good success and the question I am asking myself now is if it is worth investing into a tracker at this limit (almost able to play NL5) or should I continue to play and get it later?

      Having been a member for quite some time now and my revived interest in poker, I have decided to start this course since I believe it will be an invaluable resource and tool in helping me improve my game.

      Now, onto starting the course!

      Hi Zolaman,

      Welcome to the course.

      If you have the resources to invest in Holdem Manager 2 or Poker Tracker 4 it would be good. The earlier you start to use the tool the better even if it's just for tracking your hands (so you can post them on the evaluation forums).

      Both HM2 and PT4 have free trials so you can try both of them and stick with the one you like most. I personally prefer HM2 but to each it's own.



      Lesson 1:

      Question 1: What is your motivation for playing poker?

      To learn. My main goal/focus in many activities I undertake is to learn and ultimately become a better person/player. The cash is also a great bonus.


      Question 2: What are your weaknesses when playing poker?

      I find that my main weakness in poker is mindset but in terms of skill areas, perhaps bet sizing/timing and calculations (odds, equity, etc.). I am actively trying to improve my game in these areas every time I play.


      Question 3: What does it mean to play tight aggressive?

      This is very much so my style of play as I find it is the optimal approach in micro-limits since it involves playing only quality hands OOP and slightly widening your range as you get closer to the button. You are typically trying to raise and re-raise preflop to ensure the lead/best hand and continuation betting is important to keep up the pressure.
      Well done, homework one complete !

      A TAG is also a player that doesn't play many hands preflop but when he does play a hand he plays it aggressively. That's generally a good style to have when you are starting up as a player because it minimizes the tough spots it gets you in postflop (since we are not opening a super wide range, especially OOP).

      Best of luck at the tables,

      Bogdan
    • BogdanPS
      BogdanPS
      Basic
      Joined: 12.05.2010 Posts: 27,588
      Originally posted by zolaman
      I hope it's OK to continue on to Lesson 2:

      Lesson 2:

      Question 1: What do you think you could play differently than suggested in the BSS Starting Hands Chart and why?

      I find myself deviating away from the SHC and this is also detrimental to my game a lot of the time. I feel like I am bleeding cash unnecessarily too often but must say some it has also probably won me a lot of my bigger pots as well. As for hands that I play a little differently, I tend to play my low PP in all positions while always trying to follow the Call 20 rule. I am also a little more aggressive on the button depending on the type of players at my table.


      Question 2: Do you have questions about your preflop play? Post your hand for evaluation.

      I find my preflop play is pretty solid although I need to work on my 3bet/4bet sizing.Postflop is where I get into trouble most often; especially if I do not connect with the board and playing OOP. Oftentimes a cbet will take down the pot but I think I need to work on dealing with putting my opponent better on a range when I am called or raised.


      Question 3: What is the equity of AKo against the top 5% range? 5% means 88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo.

      I must admit I used Equilab for this:

      AKo = 46.32%
      88+, AJs+, KQs, AKo = 53.68%
      Well done, homework 2 complete !

      Q1: Ideally you want to start with a default/standard range until you know more about your opponents. As soon as you have some information we should use it to make better decisions about what ranges we should play. Thus the stack size of our opponents, the play style of our opponents, the number of players at the table, etc are all important in deciding what ranges to play.

      Q2: When it comes to the size of our bets I normally 3-bet to 8-10 BB IP (based on villains open size, and here I'm assuming 2.5-3 BB) and 10-12 BB OOP (based on 2.5-3 BB raise). If they open 3.5 or 4 BB we can add a couple of BB to our 3-bet.

      As far as 4-bet goes, we should focus only on 4-bet for value at these limits so we can make them larger at 25-30 BB (or even larger versus big fish).


      Q3: Using equilab is better than using nothing and it's a great tool to use and learn equities.

      Best of luck at the tables,

      Bogdan