Gugi's blog: PLAY, LEARN, IMPROVE, MOVE UP - grinding NL25 SH

    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      • 22.08.2010, 18:39
      • This post has been edited 5 time(s), it was last edited by Gugi19: 10.03.2011 01:44.
      Hi everybody,

      I'm from Belgrade, Serbia and I've decided to start my own blog.

      Let me start with some graphs and my career since I am a Poker strategy member.


      By gugi19 at 2010-08-22


      By gugi19 at 2010-08-22

      Well as you can see I am a winning player since I have joined Poker strategy. I do well in tournaments, and I have managed to take my BR up to over 1k.

      On the other hand I am bad in CG, I have lost entire RB (well much of the RB came from CG anyway), first deposit bonus and some of tourney winning in CG. All tough I was somewhere unlucky in CG, my game is still bad, and I really want to improve it.
      Unfortunately, the biggest lose in CG came when I became more serious about my poker and gave a shot in NL25 SH. I have played solid on that stake and my EV line is actually around 3.0 BB/100 hand, but I am down 18 BI at NL25 SH.
      Now I will stick NL10 Rush (will explain later why)

      Also I want to say that my entire BR is based on tourney winnings, all though I have made deposit of 100$ (when my BR was on around 400$, from 50$ starting capital), but I had one withdraw of 250$.

      Why blog?

      Well, two months ago (after second downswing in tournaments) I've decided to get more serious about my poker. You can say I was pretty recreational player before that. So now when my BR is over 1k I think blog will help me to keep better track of game, thoughts and emotions.

      Also, I will set some goals from now on and I will keep track here of the progress.


      Goals

      1* Take BR up to 2k in next two months
      2* Learn and play CG

      1* I will try do this by playing S'n'Gs and MTTs as my main game (mostly rush tournaments, cause I don't have time for very long sessions and I'm doing well in these)

      2* As have mentioned before I will play NL10 Rush. Why? Well I still play CG (all though I suck) cause several reasons:
      - playing CG improves my tourney play (at least I think so)
      - I will never be good enough player if can't beat at least lower and middle limits at CG
      - collecting FTP that I can exchange for tournament tickets
      - maintaining Iron man status so I can receive bonuses and medals (I can exchange for tickets to)
      - will play rush cause of lack of time
      - NL10 rather than NL25 (can play according to my BR) cause I'm not confident enough in my CG skills.


      Poker before and outside PS

      I've first started with poker a year and a half ago when a friend of mine invited me to a home game and I liked it. Well before that I watched it couple of times on TV, but I didn't really know nothing about. We still play home game almost every week (we can say it is NL10, when exchange local currency to USD). I don't really have exact track of home game result but I think I'm up around 50 BI. (from now on I will keep track of it here)

      Also, from time to time I play in some local poker clubs. I have played several tourneys (few of them were freerolls) and my biggest successes are 5th place out of 54 entrants, in 20$ bi tourney, for 90$ cash out, and 3rd place out of 40 entrants in one freeroll (I have won card shuffler and tournament ticket, 20$ BI). All in all I'm u about 100$ up playing tourneys in poker clubs and about break even in CG. (don't have exact track but from now on I will keep track of it here)

      Also I gave a shot at online poker before Poker strategy. I've deposited 50$ on LuckyAcePoker and PokerStars each, played some S'n'Gs, withdraw same amount I've deposited. So, all in all I've lost bonuses.

      So, I think it is fair of me to say that I didn't know much about poker before I found out about Poker strategy. (most of the successes in live game, came after I became a member)


      Today

      Today I've played one session of NL10 Rush (650 hands, two tables), and I am up two BI. My profit and EV lines are at the same level, so I didn't receive or give big bad beats.
      Also, I will play some tourneys later. (will post results)


      S this is it for the start. Sorry if this post is too long (it is first, it will be shorter in the future), and if my English is bad.

      Good luck everybody!
  • 55 replies
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Well, just finished with poker for today and it was quite the opposite of my previous poker days. Today I went well in CG but I was down in tourneys.

      I've played 12 4.4$ Rush S'n'G, 135 players and 3.3$ Rush Rebuy (make one rebuy). In S'n'Gs I was once in the money and one FT but that's it, down 6 BI.

      I had some sick suck outs and coolers, but I'm not happy with my game, had some very bad decisions. I am going now to analyze my session.

      Here is the worst hand:

      Full Tilt - 10/20 NL RUSH - Holdem - 9 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      Hero (BTN): 3,110.00
      SB: 3,010.00
      BB: 1,480.00
      UTG: 1,530.00
      UTG+1: 1,480.00
      MP: 1,500.00
      MP+1: 2,900.00
      LP: 4,720.00
      CO: 1,620.00

      SB posts SB 10.00, BB posts BB 20.00

      Pre Flop: (30.00) Hero has 9:heart: 9:diamond:

      fold, fold, fold, fold, LP raises to 40.00, fold, Hero calls 40.00, SB raises to 100.00, fold, LP calls 60.00, Hero calls 60.00

      Flop: (320.00, 3 players) 4:club: 5:club: 2:diamond:
      SB checks, LP checks, Hero bets 210.00, SB raises to 420.00, fold, Hero calls 210.00

      Turn: (1160.00, 2 players) 6:diamond:
      SB bets 1,160.00, Hero raises to 2,590.00 and is all-in, SB calls 1,330.00 and is all-in

      River: (6140.00, 2 players) 7:diamond:

      Hero shows 9:heart: 9:diamond: (One Pair, Nines)
      SB shows A:spade: A:heart: (One Pair, Aces)
      SB wins 6,140.00

      I knew he had AA but somehow I've managed to talk myself that he is on FD (stupid).


      On the other hand I like this one from CG. There isn't really anything special about it, but I like it cause I think I let villains to push me around to much before:

      Full Tilt - $0.10 NL RUSH - Holdem - 9 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      MP+1: $10.24
      LP: $12.74
      CO: $10.00
      BTN: $14.86
      SB: $14.13
      Hero (BB): $10.96
      UTG: $17.90
      UTG+1: $3.90
      MP: $7.95

      SB posts SB $0.05, Hero posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has A:heart: K:club:

      fold, fold, fold, MP+1 calls $0.10, fold, fold, fold, SB calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.60, MP+1 calls $0.50, fold

      Flop: ($1.30, 2 players) 8:heart: 6:heart: 6:spade:
      Hero bets $0.80, MP+1 raises to $1.60, Hero calls $0.80

      Turn: ($4.50, 2 players) J:diamond:
      Hero checks, MP+1 bets $0.80, Hero raises to $3.80, fold

      Hero wins $5.70

      After flop raise I've thought something like this, his raise is to small for 6x hand, if he has 8x or some PP he would probably try to see cheep SD, so I put him either on FD really small PP, or he just want to push me of my AK. So, I've decided to call and to try to push him on the turn with c/r and it worked.

      Well it's pretty late here now, so I'm off to bed.
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Hi again,

      I'm done for the day.

      Started the day with one session of NL10 Rush, played about an hour and finished with loss of 30bb. Didn't play that bad, but still made some costly mistakes, like when 9/7 guy open raise UTG/4-bet after my 3-bet with KK. I knew he has AA but I went broke any way.

      Then I've switched to tourneys. I have played 9 Rush S'n'Gs, two Rush MTTs and one regular turbo MTT. I didn't start well, on one S'n'G made to FT, but then I've tried to be aggressive and run to AA from a short stack and went out at 8th place. After that I've played solid, but could choose some spots more wisely. Also had some suck outs:

      Full Tilt - 25/50 NL RUSH - Holdem - 9 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      BTN: 4,745.00
      SB: 3,377.00
      BB: 3,485.00
      UTG: 3,375.00
      UTG+1: 3,357.00
      Hero (MP): 1,860.00
      MP+1: 3,165.00
      LP: 5,963.00
      CO: 10,543.00

      SB posts SB 25.00, BB posts BB 50.00

      Pre Flop: (75.00) Hero has K:diamond: K:heart:

      fold, UTG+1 raises to 114.00, Hero raises to 375.00, fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 777.00, fold, fold, UTG+1 raises to 3,357.00 and is all-in, Hero calls 1,485.00 and is all-in, BTN calls 2,580.00

      Flop: (8649.00, 3 players) 7:club: A:heart: T:club:

      Turn: (8649.00, 3 players) 5:spade:

      River: (8649.00, 3 players) 9:diamond:

      BTN shows Q:club: Q:diamond: (One Pair, Queens)
      UTG+1 shows K:spade: A:diamond: (One Pair, Aces)
      Hero shows K:diamond: K:heart: (One Pair, Kings)
      UTG+1 wins 8,649.00

      I know I am not that big favorite with KK againt two, but did he really thought that this is good spot to push AK.

      So with some wrong decisions and some suck outs I couldn't make ITM until the end.

      But at the end I've managed to win one S'nG. I've played this one well. Also I got lucky just before FT when one mid stack pushed his 77 from BU in to my KK. So I've entered FT with small chip lead, then I busted one short stack with JJ and with aggressive steal play managed to take over huge chip lead with 4 players left. Entered HU with 1.5:1 chip lead and we played for some time. He wasn't aggressive pre flop but very aggressive on flop with any two, so I've decided to wait for a good spot to gamble, and everything went well when I picked up A-high FD to his bottom pair:

      Full Tilt - $4+$0.40|2000/4000 NL RUSH - Holdem - 2 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      BB: 128,134.00
      Hero (SB): 141,866.00

      BB posts ante 500.00, Hero posts ante 500.00, Hero posts SB 2,000.00, BB posts BB 4,000.00

      Pre Flop: (7000.00) Hero has A:diamond: 9:diamond:

      Hero raises to 10,000.00, BB calls 6,000.00

      Flop: (21000.00, 2 players) K:diamond: 8:diamond: 6:club:
      BB checks, Hero bets 14,000.00, BB raises to 28,000.00, Hero raises to 131,366.00 and is all-in, BB calls 89,634.00 and is all-in

      Turn: (256268.00, 2 players) Q:diamond:

      River: (256268.00, 2 players) 4:spade:

      BB shows 6:spade: Q:club: (Two Pair, Queens and Sixes)
      Hero shows A:diamond: 9:diamond: (Flush, Ace High)
      Hero wins 256,268.00

      With that I've ended day with a nice boost to my BR.


      By gugi19 at 2010-08-23

      Cheers and good luck all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Just one of those days. I've been playing Rush S'n'Gs last couple of hours with bad results. I've just couldn't get ITM. I was card dead every tourney I've played, couldn't get away with steels... Finally in one tourney managed to come close to bubble with mid stack and finally got KK... you can guess the rest (run into AA). Seven BI down.

      Well, never mind I will play some more later.

      On the other hand had one session of NL10 Rush and I have surprised my self. I've played better than usually, played around 650 hands with 10.5 BB/100 rate, not bad for me and my CG skills.

      Now I am going to review my play and try to think about my biggest leaks (will talk about them latter).

      Good luck all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      • 24.08.2010, 21:47
      • This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Gugi19: 24.08.2010 23:16.
      This one is not about poker, this is just me being euphoric!!!!

      My favorite football team is in UEFA Champions League. FC Partizan, Belgrade won coin flip (penalties) and this is only second time in Champions League history that one Serbian club will play group stage. (first it was Partizan also seven years ago)

      Go, Go, Partizan!!!!!!!
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Hi everyone,

      Here I am after couple of weeks. Well, last two weeks I was in a bad mood that affected my game a little (that's why I've played less and lost my gold status X( ) and also I didn't feel like I have much to wrote.

      Now I'm back. The day before yesterday I've regain my mood for poker and after playing only rush tourneys last two months I've decided to give a shot in regular tourneys again.

      I've entered early doubles on FT and I'm really happy with my play in those. I've managed to finish ITM in both and win a share of jackpot, furthermore in Early B I've finished in 26 place (lost with AQs to another AQs, but I've surprised my self how well I took it) so it was nice amount of $ for me. Even more on the same night I've won one rush SnG with 135 players, so it was very good night.

      Yesterday and today I've played a little of Rush NL10 and finally I had two small but winning sessions.

      So now when I'm ok with my play again I can only say "see u at the tables"!

      Here is my progress from my last post:






      As you can see still playing and running bad at CG, but I hope that with learning my game and luck will get better.

      GL all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Hi,

      Since last post I've moved up limit for S'n'G according to my BRM. Well that is ok for know, made some FT in Rush S'n'G 135 entrants, played ok but still I'm few BI down since change.

      On the other hand CG going fine last two days, what for me means I'm not down. Today I've managed to play around 500 hands and win two BI which is great. What is more interesting in this session I didn't get AA or KK not once, but I head some good set ups for me., like next two.

      Full Tilt - $0.10 NL RUSH - Holdem - 9 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3: http://www.pokertracker.com

      Full Tilt - $0.10 NL RUSH - Holdem - 9 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      BB: $9.60
      UTG: $10.15
      UTG+1: $14.17
      MP: $12.08
      MP+1: $13.16
      LP: $20.76
      CO: $7.63
      Hero (BTN): $15.59
      SB: $10.52

      SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has J:club: J:spade:

      fold, fold, MP raises to $0.20, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.75, fold, fold, MP calls $0.55

      Flop: ($1.65, 2 players) 2:spade: Q:club: 7:spade:
      MP checks, Hero bets $1.05, MP calls $1.05

      Turn: ($3.75, 2 players) J:heart:
      MP checks, Hero bets $2.25, MP calls $2.25

      River: ($8.25, 2 players) Q:diamond:
      MP bets $8.03 and is all-in, Hero calls $8.03

      MP shows 8:spade: A:spade: (One Pair, Queens)
      Hero shows J:club: J:spade: (Full House, Jacks full of Queens)
      Hero wins $22.69


      Full Tilt - $0.10 NL RUSH - Holdem - 9 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      CO: $8.15
      BTN: $9.69
      Hero (SB): $10.18
      BB: $7.40
      UTG: $8.06
      UTG+1: $8.82
      MP: $13.37
      MP+1: $10.27
      LP: $3.85

      Hero posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has 5:spade: 4:spade:

      fold, fold, MP calls $0.10, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $0.05, BB checks

      Flop: ($0.30, 3 players) A:spade: 3:club: 2:spade:
      Hero checks, BB checks, MP bets $0.20, Hero raises to $0.40, fold, MP raises to $1.20, Hero raises to $3.90, MP raises to $13.27 and is all-in, Hero calls $6.18 and is all-in

      Turn: ($20.46, 2 players) K:diamond:

      River: ($20.46, 2 players) J:diamond:

      Hero shows 5:spade: 4:spade: (Straight, Five High)
      MP shows 3:heart: 3:diamond: (Three of a Kind, Threes)
      Hero wins $19.10


      So I'm happy with the results and my game. I will play some more tourneys tonight. This Rush S'n'G with higher BI are much more frequent in the night (well, at least when it is dark here in Serbia).

      GL all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      • 14.09.2010, 22:33
      • This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by Gugi19: 14.09.2010 22:54.
      Here I'm again.

      As I've said before I moved up my BI for SnGs and I have been playing 11$ Rush SnGs for a week now. It didn't start well, I was break even in the start. It took me some time to make adjustments to a new player field. I think now that there isn't much difference in the until you get close to the money. Than you face a little bit tougher and tighter field of players. You have to pay more attention to re-steals and push or fold phase. Until last 30-35 it is pretty much the same as 4$ Rush SnG.

      So, after playing 11$ for five days I've tried 4$ again yesterday to what is different. I've played two and won one, and I think I got information I needed. Latter in the night I've played two 11$ and reached FT on both as a mid stack, but then I've made couple of mistakes and went out fast (8th and 9th). I was angry to myself, so today I've read some articles again and re viewed my play. This resulted with one nice win in 11$ tourney.

      I had to admit I was lucky in couple of spots but on the other hand villains also played bad in those situations. Like this hand:

      Full Tilt - $11+$1|1200/2400 NL RUSH - Holdem - 6 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      Hero (BB): 27,531.00
      UTG: 61,212.00
      MP: 40,040.00
      CO: 7,399.00
      BTN: 65,164.00
      SB: 68,654.00

      Hero posts ante 300.00, UTG posts ante 300.00, MP posts ante 300.00, CO posts ante 300.00, BTN posts ante 300.00, SB posts ante 300.00, SB posts SB 1,200.00, Hero posts BB 2,400.00

      Pre Flop: (5400.00) Hero has 2:club: 6:club:

      UTG calls 2,400.00, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero checks

      Flop: (7800.00, 2 players) 6:spade: 6:diamond: 2:spade:
      Hero checks, UTG bets 7,800.00, Hero raises to 15,600.00, UTG raises to 58,512.00 and is all-in, Hero calls 9,231.00 and is all-in

      Turn: (57462.00, 2 players) J:diamond:

      River: (57462.00, 2 players) 7:diamond:

      Hero shows 2:club: 6:club: (Full House, Sixes full of Twos)
      UTG shows Q:spade: A:club: (One Pair, Sixes)
      Hero wins 57,462.00


      That is my biggest tourney win so far (prize is the same as when I came 3rd on 3$ MTT turbo, 900 entrants).

      Now, I am close to my first goal, moving BR up to 2k.

      In the mean while I've played some CG as well. I've played around 5k hand last week and I'm 1.5 BI up. That is good for me and I think my CG is improving slowly. Soon I will play home CG again after summer break and we will see how that is going to work out for me (I was wining before).

      Here is the tourney graph for last week.




      GL all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      • 01.10.2010, 10:09
      • This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Gugi19: 01.10.2010 10:18.
      Uh, I was lazy with this blog. Well there wasn't much of success or a downswing since my last post. It was more or less brake even period for me.

      I had a little downswing with tournaments about 20BI, and than it started to go up again slowly. But you can't wining all the time, wright, nothing to moan about.



      In CG I still can't find wining game, but at the end of the month I gave a shot to a HU CG and that went well. Somehow I make better decisions when I am up against only one player, and that helped me to end month in positive.



      I've also played 3 sessions of live CG. One in the local casino, NL50 (еuros), and I've lost one BI. Other two were home games, NL10 200bb deep and I've won 2,5 BI in first and 3.5 BI in second. These live CG are much easier for me because I know my opponents, so I make much better decisions then in on line. Especially in home games where I've play with same bunch of friend for a year and a half. In the casino there are same faces every time you play also, but there are more swings cause there are a lot of calling stations, so you need cards and a little bit luck of luck. (you can 3-bet preflop to a 25bb with AA after a 5bb open raise and you can still expect a someone call you with 73s to see a flush or something) But when it is your night you can go out from casino with a bunch of money.

      Any way September is over, and I can say it was a good month for my poker. I've increased my roll for 50%, I'm gold member of PS again :f_biggrin: , and I'm pretty close to my first goal. New month is starting, good luck all.
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      First goal completed, my roll is over 2k :f_biggrin: , I'm one happy fish :f_biggrin:

      Well, since last post I didn't play much but I was successful in rush SnGs. I think I've played them well but I can say on the last one I was lucky to win it.

      I was card dead until we got close to money, I was really short stack jumping between 12 and 16bb and than I was lucky to get Jacks couple of times and to survive. Second time I was against AK and there was a K on flop but J on the river, man I was happy :P .

      So, I've entered FT with 14bb and there were only 8 players and two players with less chip than me (great luck for me). And I was just siting and waiting with maybe one push and we are down to 4 and I have 6bb, and others have 60bb, 60bb and 120bb, so I push UTG with K9s cause I can't wait any more. I got called by CL and he hold 33, double up :f_p: .

      Two hands latter A9s on SB, CL raises, I push, he calls showing AJ but flop 799, how big luckbox am I. Double up again and I'm on 50bb.

      Then I got Jacks again but only won blinds and antes. But few hands after we are down to 3, and Jacks again on BB, previous CL (he lost lead meanwhile) raises from SB and I push again. He calls with KTo, and I survive again. He is down to less than 10bb, so he is out in next 4 hands.

      HU and villain has 1.5:1 chip lead. We made a deal, 300$ to each and winner get 90$ more. I played HU well, he wasn't that good in HU, folds a lot pre flop, so I beat him easily for those 90$.

      Hera are two key hands:

      Full Tilt - $11+$1|2000/4000 NL RUSH - Holdem - 2 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      SB: 125,540.00
      Hero (BB): 144,460.00

      SB posts ante 500.00, Hero posts ante 500.00, SB posts SB 2,000.00, Hero posts BB 4,000.00

      Pre Flop: (7000.00) Hero has K:spade: K:diamond:

      SB calls 2,000.00, Hero raises to 12,000.00, SB raises to 20,000.00, Hero calls 8,000.00

      Flop: (41000.00, 2 players) A:heart: J:club: Q:club:
      Hero checks, SB bets 22,400.00, Hero calls 22,400.00

      Turn: (85800.00, 2 players) 6:club:
      Hero checks, SB bets 82,640.00 and is all-in, fold

      SB wins 85,800.00

      Here I wanted to trap him but it was really bad flop and I think I've made good fold on turn (maybe I could fold on flop). I had enough chips behind to play.

      Full Tilt - $11+$1|2500/5000 NL RUSH - Holdem - 2 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      SB: 135,140.00
      Hero (BB): 134,860.00

      SB posts ante 600.00, Hero posts ante 600.00, SB posts SB 2,500.00, Hero posts BB 5,000.00

      Pre Flop: (8700.00) Hero has 5:diamond: A:club:

      SB raises to 10,000.00, Hero calls 5,000.00

      Flop: (21200.00, 2 players) 3:club: 9:club: A:diamond:
      Hero checks, SB bets 21,200.00, Hero calls 21,200.00

      Turn: (63600.00, 2 players) 5:club:
      Hero checks, SB bets 63,600.00, Hero raises to 103,060.00 and is all-in, SB calls 39,460.00

      River: (269720.00, 2 players) 2:heart:

      SB shows 9:spade: 8:diamond: (One Pair, Nines)


      Hero shows 5:diamond: A:club: (Two Pair, Aces and Fives)
      Hero wins 269,720.00

      On flop I was sure he don't have an ace, cause he was betting small when he had strong hand before. On turn two pairs and flush redraw, I think that is easy check/raise in HU, especially when you think he don't have much considering his bet size.

      Nice win for me... :f_cool:

      On the other hand I've played only two small sessions of CG, one NL50 HU won 20$, and one NL25 SH lost 2.5$.

      Now I have two options:

      1* keep this roll and try higher limits,
      2* withdraw some money (lets say 1k) so I can stay within my comfort zone.

      Well I think I will pick option 2* cause:

      1* I'm not ready for higher limits and want to stay in comfort zone.
      2* I will set a new goal, win this 1k back in one month, (this will motivate me to play and learn harder)
      3* On Sunday I'm going to Milan, Italy, so I can buy something nice for me.

      Cheers and GL all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Long time no activity, but now I don't know where to start from.

      Well, it is time to sum up month. This was my least active month considering my poker since March, and the month with biggest successes. Rush 10+1$ Turbo MTT, 488 entrants second place. This is also by far month in which I have earned most money from poker.

      First this is a graph of my play since last post.



      As you can see not much of play there lot of days with no play. I've also visited Milan, Italy during this time and had some fun there. While I was there I've managed to play one night and I have one one Rush STT. Also I've played two home games NL10 EUR 200bb deep and was break even on those (once 1.5BI up, once 1.5 BI down).

      All in all almost every time I've played during this time I've managed to win some money (usually big money considering my bankroll) so I can say this month is one giant upswing for me.



      As you can see only 3.5 tourney per day in average but sick ROI and $/tourney. All tournament are 11+1$ BI or lower.

      Now I have analyzed my game and definitely I was running good this month but I can say that in ten months, since I've became member of PS my game became so much better :f_cool: . And it's getting better every day, so big thanks to PS for all nice videos and articles.

      I'm using PT and wanted to see if I was luckboxing :f_p: whole month or what. The only way is graph with all hands in all tournament I've played. Here are two, one displays winnings in BB other in chips.





      One shows I'm below EV, on other I'm way above. So my conclusion is that I was definitely lucky, but I think lucky enough to get bad beats and to lose flips in the early and middle stages of tourneys and to get more lucky in late, close to money and on final tables. That way I've managed to finish 1st four times, 2nd two times and 3rd two times in tournaments with 135 or more players. That is the reason for big ROI.

      Well, when I've started this blog my goal was to reach 2k BR by the end of October and my BR is 4k now (didn't withdraw anything, like I've implied in previous post), mission accomplished.

      Now I will have to see what to do with my BR and to set some new goals. I think I will withdraw some money now definitely, so I can stay inside comfort zone. Considering this was huge upswing for me I don't think I'm good enough to play MTT and STT with much higher BI and I have more than enough for my current limits. Any way I am a bit euphoric now so I don't want to tilt my money away with big shots. I will withdraw it and put it away, so I don't get cocky with big BR, and keep grinding.

      Wow I think this post is long enough.

      I wish you all a lot of success at the tables, see ya :D
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      • 03.11.2010, 02:34
      • This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Gugi19: 03.11.2010 02:44.
      Short update on some of my decisions.

      I wasn't so much active last month and I've neglected cash game, considering I've wanted to improve my cash game skills, so I can become at least brake even cash game player.

      As I said before I've decided to withdraw some of money from Full Tilt. I left 2k bankroll there cause it's enough for me to keep grinding on tourneys, considering BI I'm comfortable with. Some of withdrawn money goes a side, and I've transferred 500$ to my new account on Party, to start grinding cash games there.

      I will try cash games on Party cause I've read that there are more weak players, also rake is better in low stakes than on FT (0.01$ per 0.20$ comparing to 0.01$ per 0.15$) and I will receive first deposit bonus, at least part of it, depending on my success and volume.

      I will start with NL10 SH and will try to play at least an hour four tabling, every day I have time for poker. Also, I will post at least two hands on hand evaluation forum after every session.

      I have played my first session and here are results:

      Hands played: 340
      Amount won: 27.17$
      BB/100: 47.63

      I've played ok. Made some mistakes with stupid calls on river I will try to avoid that in future. I had one good call with TT, but I knew guy is tilting, and I had two sets with all in on flop against AK TPTK.

      Here's the hand with TT. I thought guy could go on tilt cause he has lost previous hand with AK against KJ and first sing was size of preflop raise, second push on flop. I knew I could run on to better hand but I couldn't gave him credit for it.

      PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      SB: $13.43
      BB: $6.70
      UTG: $7.20
      CO: $10.25
      Hero (BTN): $19.34

      SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has T:spade: T:club:

      UTG raises to $0.80, fold, Hero calls $0.80, fold, fold

      Flop: ($1.75, 2 players) 7:club: 6:heart: 5:club:
      UTG bets $6.40 and is all-in, Hero calls $6.40

      Turn: ($14.55, 2 players) 2:club:

      River: ($14.55, 2 players) 7:spade:

      UTG shows 3:spade: 3:diamond: (Two Pair, Sevens and Threes)
      Hero shows T:spade: T:club: (Two Pair, Tens and Sevens)
      Hero wins $13.83

      And here is funny call by Villain. I had kings and his min raise on turn looked fishy, but his call is just ridiculous.

      PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      BB: $13.68
      UTG: $3.70
      MP: $22.45
      CO: $10.51
      BTN: $10.40
      Hero (SB): $10.00

      Hero posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has K:club: K:spade:

      fold, MP raises to $0.20, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.90, fold, MP calls $0.70

      Flop: ($1.90, 2 players) 7:spade: 3:heart: 4:diamond:
      Hero bets $1.35, MP calls $1.35

      Turn: ($4.60, 2 players) 4:club:
      Hero bets $2.30, MP raises to $4.60, Hero raises to $7.75 and is all-in, MP calls $3.15

      River: ($20.10, 2 players) 2:club:

      MP shows Q:heart: J:diamond: (One Pair, Fours)
      Hero shows K:club: K:spade: (Two Pair, Kings and Fours)
      Hero wins $19.10


      GL all
    • lozz08
      lozz08
      Bronze
      Joined: 26.06.2009 Posts: 106
      Hello Gugi, congrats on a solid couple of months of poker. It seems that you have applied good reasoning and found games that you are good at. I'm especially impressed with your ability to play a number of different variants and profit from them all. That is one thing that a lot of the best pro players have in common.
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Originally posted by lozz08
      Hello Gugi, congrats on a solid couple of months of poker. It seems that you have applied good reasoning and found games that you are good at. I'm especially impressed with your ability to play a number of different variants and profit from them all. That is one thing that a lot of the best pro players have in common.
      Thanks for your kind words and for being the first one to respond on my blog.

      Well I still suck at on line cash games but I'm going to work hard on it.


      Last night I had funny experience, the first of this kind. While I was playing some tournaments, four to be exact, there was an earthquake. Nothing big but considering I am on top floor of building it was a little bit shaky and in those few seconds I had good hands on three tourneys, AA, AKs and JJ. I didn't know what to do... :f_o: , stay and play them and hope it is minor shake or get out... What would you do?

      Like as said it wasn't big shake here, but in city near epicenter there was couple of casualties. They used to live in some old buildings that couldn't stand this kind of shake. I'm said cause of this.

      Back to my career. I will try to post updates of cash game progress every time I play and post tourney progress once I week from now on. Last night except earthquake there wasn't much to talk about. I've played 6 tournaments and I got busted in middle phase from all of them, no money earned.

      Cheers all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      Hi all.

      Here is a short update on today's cash game play.

      Game: NL10 SH
      Hands: 216
      Winnings: 2.42$
      BB/100: 5.6

      Well, I had one unlucky hand but I think I've misplayed it and another one I think I've misplayed.

      PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      BTN: $10.15
      Hero (SB): $12.51
      BB: $10.06
      UTG: $14.77
      CO: $10.40

      Hero posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has K:diamond: K:club:

      fold, fold, BTN raises to $0.25, Hero raises to $0.80, BB raises to $2.40, fold, Hero raises to $5.60, BB raises to $10.06 and is all-in, Hero calls $4.46

      Flop: ($20.37, 2 players) 7:spade: 3:heart: 7:heart:

      Turn: ($20.37, 2 players) Q:heart:

      River: ($20.37, 2 players) T:heart:

      Hero shows K:diamond: K:club: (Two Pair, Kings and Sevens)
      BB shows A:heart: K:spade: (Flush, Ace High)
      BB wins $19.37

      This was unlucky but I think my 5-bet needed to be a shove. I don't know why did I 5-bet small, when I'm committed anyway and I'm not folding.

      PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      BTN: $14.61
      SB: $20.95
      Hero (BB): $10.00
      UTG: $10.52
      CO: $3.60

      SB posts SB $0.05, Hero posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has K:heart: A:club:

      UTG raises to $0.30, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.00, UTG calls $0.70

      Flop: ($2.05, 2 players) A:heart: 5:diamond: 3:diamond:
      Hero bets $1.46, UTG calls $1.46

      Turn: ($4.97, 2 players) 8:spade:
      Hero checks, UTG checks

      River: ($4.97, 2 players) 5:club:
      Hero bets $2.36, UTG raises to $8.06 and is all-in, Hero calls $5.18 and is all-in

      Hero shows K:heart: A:club: (Two Pair, Aces and Fives)
      UTG shows A:spade: A:diamond: (Full House, Aces full of Fives)
      UTG wins $0.00
      UTG wins $19.05

      Here I don't like the call on river, I don't know if he will shove weaker A often enough here.

      Played some tourneys as well but no big success.

      GL all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      • 04.11.2010, 13:42
      • This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Gugi19: 04.11.2010 15:28.
      Hello.

      I've found some time to play at Party again and I've reached first 1k mark. So here is a short update.

      Game: NL10 SH
      Hands: 494
      Winnings: -8.03$
      BB/100: -8.13

      Not to big to talk about. Got lucky twice, once with TPTK+FD against the straight, other with over pair+OESD against set, both all in on flop. Also unlucky once, AA vs KK all in preflop. But I think this is all standard. Had one big mistake I think will post for review.

      So here are my first 1k hands.

      Hands: 1050
      Winnings: 21.56$
      BB/100: 12.75

      Basic stats

      21.52 / 13.62 / 2.74 / 5.28 / 75 / 32.04
      VPIP / PR / AF/ 3-bet / F to 3-bet / Att to steal

      I would appreciate if anyone have any comments on my stats.

      I thing I should tighten up a little bit, but still it's a rather small sample.

      GL
    • lozz08
      lozz08
      Bronze
      Joined: 26.06.2009 Posts: 106
      • 04.11.2010, 15:19
      • This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by lozz08: 04.11.2010 15:22.
      Those stats seem decent but I think its always a good idea to close the gap between VPIP and PFR. Perhaps raising instead of calling in a lot of those situations is a good idea IE. 3-bet more. Gives you initiative postflop and gives you more information on your opponent's possible holdings or you make money from a fold. And just makes you seem more aggressive overall. Which can help you get paid off when you have a monster.
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      @ lozz08
      Thx for comment, I'll try to be more aggro.

      Yesterday I've re watched some of "Move it, move it up to the sky" so I can found my leaks and also to try to be aggro. Also I've reviewed my cash game sessions I've played in last two months and I've managed to found some new ideas. I have applied some of ideas in to my thinking process and went to my friends house for some home game.

      As usual we played NL10eur 200bb deep, five handed last night, and I've killed them. I was controlling my game very well and finished it with nice profit of four BIs.

      Now I am usually good at live games in low stakes but I can't find my cash game online. But, today after implementing new ideas I've sat down at Party and I've played very good I think. I was aggressive and was able to put villains on hand range better then before. Also my image today helped me when I had big hands to put villains all in way behind twice. More interesting for me is that I had only two really big pots but I've manged to win a lot of pots between 10-35bb with no showdown. So here are results.

      Game: NL10 SH
      Hands: 308
      Winnings: 27.73$
      BB/100: 45.02

      Future will show if this was only good run or my game is getting better.

      GL all
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      So no post for three days, well I wasn't so active during weekend. That is more time for family and friends for me. I'm not married but I'm in a long nice relationship and my girlfriend works a lot during week, so on weekend we can spend some quality time together. Also I play tennis during weekend and do some other fun stuff with friends, like going out, make small parties at home, etc. Any way I had a nice weekend and I've only played some tourneys on FT.

      Yesterday I went to my friend's house for some home game. We played, as some of you already know, our standard game NL10 200bb deep. I've played well again IMO. I was up 1.5BI, but that is not really matter, I'm really satisfied with the way I've played, my reads and thinking process during game.

      Today, I had a small session on Party again after few days. I've played well here again and I'm satisfied with my game. I think that I'm finally improving my on line cash game. It really helps to watch and re watch videos, read articles over and over and to review your every session.

      Still, I had one stupid mistake today. I've tried to bluff a fish on the river, X( I'm so stupid when I'm still trying to do this! And what is more funnier he had a really god hand this time. I can never guess :f_cool: 's range.

      PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      UTG: $9.85
      CO: $10.00
      BTN: $10.35
      SB: $9.90
      Hero (BB): $12.88

      SB posts SB $0.05, Hero posts BB $0.10, CO posts DB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.25) Hero has 8:heart: J:heart:

      fold, CO checks, BTN raises to $0.20, SB calls $0.15, Hero calls $0.10, CO calls $0.10

      Flop: ($0.80, 4 players) 5:club: T:heart: 3:heart:
      SB bets $0.30, Hero calls $0.30, fold, fold

      Turn: ($1.40, 2 players) K:club:
      SB bets $0.30, Hero raises to $1.30, SB raises to $2.30, Hero calls $1.00

      River: ($6.00, 2 players) 9:club:
      SB bets $0.80, Hero raises to $3.50, SB calls $2.70

      Hero shows 8:heart: J:heart: (High Card, King) (PreFlop 49%, Flop 26%, Turn 16%)
      SB shows 5:diamond: 5:heart: (Three of a Kind, Fives) (PreFlop 51%, Flop 74%, Turn 84%)
      SB wins $12.35

      I guess, WHO IS THE :f_biggrin: HERE! I'm OK with flop and turn play, but I should really give up on the river.

      Any way this was the biggest pot I've lost.

      I had one more questionable play today, but this could really go either way. His min raise was suspicious, he was either trying to push me away or he had a good hand. Still in second case I had outs and he was short stack, so I think I'm OK with this hand considering fold equity and my outs.

      PartyGaming - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
      Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

      CO: $13.98
      Hero (BTN): $10.30
      SB: $9.74
      BB: $4.76
      UTG: $13.69
      MP: $3.59

      SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

      Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero has 5:heart: A:heart:

      fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $0.40, fold, BB calls $0.30

      Flop: ($0.85, 2 players) 6:club: 8:heart: 4:heart:
      BB checks, Hero bets $0.50, BB raises to $1.00, Hero raises to $9.90 and is all-in, BB calls $3.36 and is all-in

      Turn: ($9.57, 2 players) 9:spade:

      River: ($9.57, 2 players) 5:club:

      BB shows 8:spade: 8:diamond: (Three of a Kind, Eights) (PreFlop 66%, Flop 67%, Turn 77%)
      Hero shows 5:heart: A:heart: (One Pair, Fives) (PreFlop 34%, Flop 33%, Turn 23%)
      Hero wins $0.00
      BB wins $9.10

      To sum up session:
      Hands: 325
      Winnings: 6.65$
      BB/100: 10.20

      When it comes to tourneys it didn't went well last week, but hey that was expected after huge upswing in October. I don't want to post a graph cause there isn't much on it. I had some cashes and one final table but I'm still 178$ down (15BI, play 11+1$ tourneys most).

      So that's it for now, thank you if you got this far and GL!
    • Gugi19
      Gugi19
      Bronze
      Joined: 08.01.2010 Posts: 325
      I'm one happy :f_biggrin: !!!!

      Why? Well, I was arranging my trip to Vienna for the last week of November, about the same time TT announced his party. When I sow that, I've posted my application for attending, with no big hope considering I'm not well known in community. But TT replied to me that I'm more than welcome. I'm really thankful for that! :D

      Yeeaaahhh!!! Now I'm really looking forward to meet other PS members and to party with them. :f_cool:

      Second reason is new success in tournaments, nothing big won one Rush SnG and one ITM. So no big deal, but after one week my roll is going up again.

      Didn't have time for CG today.

      I'm off now, going to watch new episodes of WSOP.

      I hope I'll meet some of you in Vienna! GL