Mastering Dueling - A History of Future Pwnage

Welcome to blogs AtrociousNightmare, very glad you took the plunge!

You may be surprised at how useful a blog can be, so good luck with the heads up play, far too tough for me.

Best regards and have fun,

Mal.

17/10/2013:

Not so good, saw a lot of river'd big hands by villains.
Red line is particularly low (it is usually kind of low because I play almost only vs fish or very bad regs for now) mostly because a terrireg I'm playing against in these days, who is usually very passive, sported a streak of slowplay and river all-in-raises against my top pairs or whatnot, that I eventually folded.

Felt like I played well though and minimized the losses.

Regarding posting hands I initially decided to post only big hands [50+ bb] for the sake of time, and 2 won, 2 lost. For each, 1 showing what is IMO obvious (good) play from me, and 1 showing a hand I was in doubt.
However, I realized that for HU is different as I'd need to provide villain's stats and history since I play 100% adaptive play, and given the amount of time this would take, considering also that I'm still learning everyday new stuff, I just don't see it as +EV ♦
So I'll post only hands that gave me a headache.
I'm also late this morning with the schedule and I want to get to Rasko's videos.

Important Notes:
I use Gender Neutral Pronouns (instead of he/she).
So get used to it, and start using them too.

Also, on Pokerstars I have preset hotkeys to bet a % of the pot, however it doesn't take into account rake, making my bets smaller on paper while bigger on tables. I've got to think about that.

Hands:
Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

BB: $33.32 (133.3 bb)
Hero (SB): $25 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J T
Hero raises to $0.75, BB raises to $2.25, Hero calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.50) 7 5 J (2 players)
BB bets $2.75, Hero calls $2.75

Turn: ($10) 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $4.72, BB calls $4.72

River: ($19.44) 6 (2 players)
BB bets $23.60 and is all-in, Hero calls $15.28 and is all-in

Results:

I didn't really know what that river donk meant from xem, and considering the fact I excluded the possibility of 43/98 on the turn, and the fact that xyr play felt a lot like a busted FD, plus I had to call less than pot size, I just went for it.
Xyr AF for F/T/R is 2/2/5 with the R having the highest frequency.
Generally fish like to donk in that way to get value out of their big hands because they are scared of my check, but xe wasn't too fishy and didn't think xe was capable of such a thing.
Noted. Bad call?
IMO yes, and I think it comes mostly from the hands before that, too many emotions involved maybe. Not sure.

Fun Fact: xe got 4 stacks out of me, and I eventually got back 5. mwuauhwuhwuhaahha
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

BB: $46.02 (184.1 bb)
Hero (SB): $68.02 (272.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with K 8
Hero raises to $0.75, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.50) 9 6 5 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.13, BB calls $1.13

Turn: ($3.76) 9 (2 players)
BB bets $2.25, Hero raises to $7.89, BB raises to $16, Hero raises to $66.14 and is all-in, BB folds

Results:

Same person.
On the turn I decided to build up the pot as we were deep, also, didn't want xem to fold any 9 or straight on a scary river. When xe 3b me, I just went for it as I didn't think xe would have been able to fold.
Was this ok? Too aggressive? Only FH/nut flush/str8 flush calls me like that?

EDIT: I just finished Champions Part 1 and I'm gonna try to apply the new system to the 2 hands, retroactively. [this is mostly for myself unless you know what I'm talking about]

So, for both hands we are on level 2, with only 180 hands for stats on level 3, and no empirical evidence.

My level 1) assumption was that villain is not the typical super fish, as xe entered with a Full Stack.
2), after seeing a couple of hands xe's capable of raising preflop and doing a somewhat not too terrible postflop play with some bets here and there.
I also noticed xe was particularly active on the river.

Given 1) and 2), that's probably why I called the river with my top pair, believing xe's the type of fish that does random stuff to get you off hands because xe doesn't believe you. Going into 4) and 5), my assumption was wrong and we adapt by folding in the future in similar spots, and assuming on the river if xe donks very big xe's gonna do it with more than a top pair, 'cos xe's afraid to lose value.
For hand #2, given how xe's been playing Hand #1 and the ones after that, I just close my eyes a bit and just hope xe's fishy enough to call with worse. We gain no empirical evidence and can't say if it was right or wrong.

Originally posted by gadget51
Welcome to blogs AtrociousNightmare, very glad you took the plunge!

You may be surprised at how useful a blog can be, so good luck with the heads up play, far too tough for me.

Best regards and have fun,

Mal.

Thank you very much for the warm welcome!

2 Days of Hell.

The day before yesterday I played IMO very well against easy opponents, but
in particular against one I lost a bunch because in all honesty I've never seen a player boarding so much stuff. Xe was limping/calling about 85% of hands, and I swear I don't recall a single board xe didn't have at least a pair on. Brutal, really. It consumed me a lot until xe got a big hand and left.

Yesterday I didn't do much for poker because my wife wasn't feeling well and I took care of her, but I still played. Knowing to have a low bankroll I decided to play only vs recreational easy passive players until I get some BIs back, and so I did. Yet I got exploded countless times, the most notable ones being at 70%, 80%, and hear hear 91%. All 1 stack or more each. Not even much to report really, it was just very easy and I got owned by variance [Just in these 2 days I increased the difference between my line and the EV one by 4 stacks].

So now I can't really play regs or anything, I just need to get some BIs back by playing only vs passive fish that do not know what a value bet is, and luckily there are many of them at this limit. Wish me luck, send good thoughts, please let this downswing that is now plaguing me since about a month end once and for all.

On a sidenote, I'm trying to fix the problem I previously mentioned of the sizing vs rake vs Pokerstars hotkeys thing. So my sizes now shouldn't be lower than intended.

Only 2 hands got marked since most of it was all straight forward easy play:

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

BB: $13.35 (53.4 bb)
Hero (SB): $27.25 (109 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 8 4
Hero raises to $0.75, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.50) J 8 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $1.25, BB calls $1.25

Turn: ($4) 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $3.50, BB calls $3.50

River: ($11) 5 (2 players)
BB bets $7.85 and is all-in, Hero folds

Results:

I had only 37 hands [no empirical evidence] from villain but xe was the typical passive fish and I thought the donk all-in is the typical "I'm afraid to lose value with my nuts so I bet", given that any 6 had a straight and a 6 is very likely in xyr range IMO, and a bunch of other hands (all probable) beat me, I just folded.
Too weak?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $39.73 (158.9 bb)
Hero (BB): $25.70 (102.8 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9 K
SB raises to $0.50, Hero calls $0.25

Flop: ($1) 7 8 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $0.75, Hero raises to $2.25, SB calls $1.50

Turn: ($5.50) K (2 players)
Hero bets $4, SB calls $4

River: ($13.50) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $7, Hero folds

Results:

160 hands vs xem. WTSD 19%. AF 1.3.
Xe was stealing 78% but xe was a fairly passive "abc" player that lacked knowledge in many fields.
Xyr flop cbet was 47% (decreasing until 0% on river), so generally I expect xem to have something when xe cbets, yet the 2 previous times in which I check/raised (with value!) xe folded.
With a gutshot+BDFD+overcards I therefore decided to bluff raise (is that ok?) and see what happens.
Xe calls, so I put xem minimum on a decent draw or 2nd pair+. Yet I get my TP and bet for value(/protection).
A not-so-blank river comes but given how tight xe was for showdowns so far I don't see xem calling with a worse hand, and a draw is now dead.
Xe didn't show any will to steal pots so far with busted draws or anything so I just decided to check/fold.
Too weak? Did I have a value bet on river? What calls me?

Now I'll go study (for poker!), read thee anon mortals!

Ooooh yeah a breath of fresh air yesterday!
I kept to my restriction to play only vs recreational players (except for the last guy I played who was a nit reg of 6max that I knew and I was overworking) and got some of those EV stacks back ♦ I can win 66%+ and explode too yeeeeey!

20/10/2013:

Feels so good to learn new things everyday that go straight into my basic game from Rasko's videos!
Loving it.

Hands:
Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $16.19 (64.8 bb)
Hero (BB): $33.27 (133.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with J J
SB completes, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($2) 6 K K (2 players)
Hero bets $1, SB raises to $4.25, Hero calls $3.25

Turn: ($10.50) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $10.94, Hero folds

Results:

First of all I know I played this wrongly.

Only 28 hands on villain.
We can assume xe's a fish due to stack and limps.
Limp 21
Steal 57
3B 28.6(14) [0(2) limp/3b]
Flop FtCB 50(4) [no info on raised limp pot]
AF 2.8 [3/5/1]

So I believe the only choice here is to either get it in in some way or folding on flop.
Is folding even to be considered?

If we choose to get it in, is it generally better (vs this type of unknown) to 3B immediately on flop (con: xe folds all the bluffs instead of a chance of betting them on turn) or slowplay it?

I ask for the folding because somehow I always get screwed when I get it in on paired boards vs fish at this limit. They seem to like bluffing them once and give them up (or raise/continue with trips+) but sometimes they do both and hence why my (supposedly) bad play.

So what are your experiences?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $23.26 (93 bb)
Hero (BB): $33.87 (135.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q K
SB completes, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($2) 3 K 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, SB raises to $3.25, Hero raises to $9, SB raises to $22.26 and is all-in, Hero calls $13.26

Turn: ($46.52) A (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($46.52) 4 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results:

Only 34 Hands.
Limp 59
Steal 12
Flop Raise CB 25(8)
Flop Check/Raise 33(9)

No empirical evidence.
Is this right?
I think getting it in is ok, the question is how?
I picked up the road "3b wider for value" instead of the passive road.
This way I give xem the illusion of having FE w/ a 4b or making xem feel committed with draws.
Another option would be to call xyr raise on flop and raise it up on turn but I didn't have any stat on CBets and didn't want to deal with a drawy turn without it.
Also what about the sizing of the 3b?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $87.12 (348.5 bb)
Hero (BB): $32.89 (131.6 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 2 6
SB completes, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($2) 9 7 Q (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, SB calls $1.50

Turn: ($5) K (2 players)
Hero bets $4, SB calls $4

River: ($13) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $7, SB raises to $80.62 and is all-in, Hero folds

Results:

This was against the only nitty reg I played yesterday.
261 hands [not sure I had so many a the time of this hand]
Limp 21 ; Steal 38 ; Call Steal 30
3B 20 ; Ft3B 63(8)
WTSD 10
AF 2.7 [2/3/9]
Postflop:

No empirical evidence due to low WTSD and other things.

My lowish CBet on river was to make Q pay, as I didn't believe much the K due to limp/c, and to give myself room to fold but watching all stats now tbh I don't know why, really.
I guess I got scared by the only 6 high flush + paired board w/ xem being generally nitty and with the all-in for 130bb on the river...
Did I screw myself? [I think so]
Any comment on Flop & Turn sizing?

That's it for today!
Read thee anon, mortals!

P.S. I'm too late to study theory now, I took too much time for this post and other necessary RL things this morning. I gotta fix that.

Interesting day.
I met some interesting fishy regs and instead of playing only vs recreational in favor of my BR, I played in favor of my game.
Bad thing, but not too bad. [yet this is a MISTAKE! Stick to my Plan!]

21/10/2013

I wouldn't say I found myself too much in difficulty.
I probably could have exploited more leaks but I tried to focus on 1 or 2 maximum since I'm new to this shiny new HU stuff! ♦
I might have been bluffed out a couple of times but I'm learning that.

I don't have much time to write as I'm doing lots of theory and hand evaluations!

Today's Hand:
Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $66.64 (266.6 bb)
Hero (BB): $52.72 (210.9 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K A
SB raises to $0.75, Hero raises to $2.75, SB calls $2

Flop: ($5.50) T J A (2 players)
Hero bets $3.25, SB calls $3.25

Turn: ($12) A (2 players)
Hero bets $7, SB calls $7

River: ($26) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $17, SB calls $17

Results:

Steal 64
Ft3B 0 [!!! that's why I 3B so big]
Postflop:

IMO I should have bet bigger every street.
If I bet 4.5 on flop and around 12 on turn I can just shove river w/ less than pot size.
If instead I bet the way I bet, is it ever a bet/fold [river]?
A possible relevant note is that usually xe's passive w/ pairs and trips but donks (potsize) and raises w/ nutFD and straights.
Don't know in 3 bet pots tho.
I wouldn't really know what a raise means here on river according to my notes.

Read thee anon, Mortals!

Small [yet super important] update.
I finished the Psychological part of Champions Part 3 and for today I'm done as I've been studying for almost 4 hours and my mind is simply not ready to study practical stuff (also 'cos I gotta stick to schedule).

I got 2 new habits I have to create now, I'll copy them from the comments on the video:

#71 AtrociousNightmare, 22 Oct 13 12:15
I worked previously to start having a precise scheduling (wake up x time, work for x time, go to bed at x time etc) and I succeeded.

My next step is to improve what I'm doing in the theory part of my day.

I don't want to just study these videos, I also need to:
-keep up with the new blog every day by posting graph, small summary of what happened and why IMO, and some hands I need help with [more details in blog]
-post in HH evaluation forum daily

I'll add about studying villains when I stop playing only vs recreational players I'll never see again to recover my BR.

#72 AtrociousNightmare, 22 Oct 13 12:37
But I'd say that counts for 1 habit.

The 2nd I want to have is to first do the theory session, AND THEN after I finished, I check my updates [ya know emails and the like]. Which is the opposite of my current habit.
This way, if theory requires more than 3 hours, then FINE I'll do some extraordinary work for the day.
Work > Updates.

My accountability partner will be my wife, the terms will be kept private.

I am AtrociousNightmare's wife, and I approve of this blog. ♦

I'm a pretty strict wife, so I'll be cracking down whenever he misses something (and You know that's not an empty promise).

Though honestly, I know how much hard work you put into this. My job will more than likely be pretty easy. That doesn't mean I won't be watching your every move. ♠_love:

Originally posted by Aratal
I am AtrociousNightmare's wife, and I approve of this blog. ♦

I'm a pretty strict wife, so I'll be cracking down whenever he misses something (and You know that's not an empty promise).

Though honestly, I know how much hard work you put into this. My job will more than likely be pretty easy. That doesn't mean I won't be watching your every move. ♠_love:

Hahaha epic pressure from the wifey!!

Do you also play and if so, who taught who?

22/10/2013:

Yeah.
Right?
And by playing only vs fish.
I'm gonna write an official petition to prevent the river card to come down.
And I'm gonna write it with red-hot metal on the face of every fish who rivers my point+1, especially when I HAVE to bet again.

I mean I don't assume I'm the best HU player out there, I just began, but hell I'm playing well, or at least I'm 100% sure not bad enough to see this shit continuously.

On a brighter note, I have 525 euros worth of rakeback points.

The Champions series is called "Champions Stand Up One More Time Than The Rest" for one reason.
And I won't give up, as I never did.
I'll just learn from my mistakes and go forth.
Except I'll probably die when my wife wakes up and sees this.
Soooo yeah it was good meeting you all, cya in hell!

Hands:
Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $30.17 (120.7 bb)
Hero (BB): $25 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q Q
SB completes, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($2) T 4 7 (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, SB raises to $3, Hero raises to $7.50, SB raises to $29.17 and is all-in, Hero calls $16.50 and is all-in

Turn: ($50) 8 (2 players, 2 are all-in)
River: ($50) J (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Results:

Limp 47
Steal 13
This fish had a Check/Raise of 25 and was generally acting maniacally, especially on dry boards.
So I adapted 3betting lightly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

BB: $40.61 (162.4 bb)
Hero (SB): $31.19 (124.8 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with J T
Hero raises to $0.75, BB raises to $2.25, Hero calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.50) Q Q J (2 players)
BB bets $4.25, Hero calls $4.25

Turn: ($13) 4 (2 players)
BB bets $6.25, Hero calls $6.25

River: ($25.50) 9 (2 players)
BB bets $12.25, Hero calls $12.25

Results:

This one had a 3B of 45.5(55). And F/T/R Cbet 69/100/67.
That's why I went calling 3 streets.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $23.62 (94.5 bb)
Hero (BB): $31.78 (127.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A A
SB raises to $0.62, Hero raises to $2, SB calls $1.38

Flop: ($4) K 3 Q (2 players)
Hero bets $3, SB calls $3

Turn: ($10) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $6, SB calls $6

River: ($22) K (2 players)
Hero bets $12.62, SB calls $12.62

Results:

This one was a bit nitty.
Limp 1 [xe limped once in 286 hands, IMO it's a misclick or an AA]
Steal 45
Ft3B 11(9) [I probably should have 3B bigger because of this]
Postflop relevant to situation:

On the river I wasn't sure to have a vbet as I was blocking AQ and I'm not sure with what else xe pays me.
But as Rasko says keep it simple. Xe likes calling, I have the best overpair, and xe can't have QQ 'cos xe 4b it. Bet.
Plus xe has basically no stack left on river and they generally feel committed even with shit.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

When I tried to post this it told me there were too many images so the post will continue down here.

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

BB: $20 (80 bb)
Hero (SB): $25 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9 7
Hero raises to $0.75, BB raises to $2.25, Hero calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.50) T 2 6 (2 players)
BB bets $4.25, Hero raises to $22.75 and is all-in, BB calls $13.50 and is all-in

Turn: ($40) K (2 players, 2 are all-in)
River: ($40) A (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Results:

This was the FIRST (and last, xe left after it) hand I played vs this one, however I knew xem from 6max and xe was marked as "Santa Claus", aka how I call those particular fish that just throw stacks at you for no reason and that is worth staying at the table even if the other 4 people are sharks.

Given my FD+GS on flop and xyr 80bb stack I just decided to ship it.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $11.69 (46.8 bb)
Hero (BB): $25.77 (103.1 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with K Q
SB completes, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($2) T 8 Q (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, SB raises to $3, Hero calls $1.50

Turn: ($8) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $3, Hero raises to $21.77 and is all-in, SB calls $4.69

River: ($23.38) 7 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results:

And this is the kind of stuff I got yesterday all day long.
And as you can see I actually ran over EV!
Most of my losses came from sucked out commitments like the hand before.

That's it for today.
Now I'll go study.
[btw so far I stuck to all my new habits]

Read thee anon, Mortals!

P.S. Yesterday I noticed that I kept raising PF atc vs limps, and I'm wondering if that's what I'm supposed to do. I figured it's not the best thing as they call a lot and like calling postflop too, but this time I'm OOP, so yeah... I think that might have screwed me for a while. Fixed that at more or less half session.

hi.
did stars start nl25 hu tables.?
or m i missing something here..

Originally posted by satishvasoya
hi.
did stars start nl25 hu tables.?
or m i missing something here..

Hello!
Yeah Pokerstars has NL25 HU tables.

Originally posted by justkyle88

Originally posted by Aratal
I am AtrociousNightmare's wife, and I approve of this blog. ♦

I'm a pretty strict wife, so I'll be cracking down whenever he misses something (and You know that's not an empty promise).

Though honestly, I know how much hard work you put into this. My job will more than likely be pretty easy. That doesn't mean I won't be watching your every move. ♠_love:

Hahaha epic pressure from the wifey!!

Do you also play and if so, who taught who?

I play casually but not on Pokerstars. It might be a possibility in the future though, depending on how my new career goes.

We both learned individually at different times in our lives. I grew up near Las Vegas, and knew how to play poker since I was a little kid, but I simply don't have the time or patience to study it seriously just yet. We enjoy a good HU together every now and then though. If only I could transfer my luck to him when he works! The cards on the river and coin flips have not been kind to him lately.

Originally posted by AtrociousNightmare

Originally posted by satishvasoya
hi.
did stars start nl25 hu tables.?
or m i missing something here..

Hello!
Yeah Pokerstars has NL25 HU tables.

lol i have been looking for like 20 min n i still cant find them..

Originally posted by satishvasoya

Originally posted by AtrociousNightmare

Originally posted by satishvasoya
hi.
did stars start nl25 hu tables.?
or m i missing something here..

Hello!
Yeah Pokerstars has NL25 HU tables.

lol i have been looking for like 20 min n i still cant find them..

Hmmm it also depends on where you live probably.
In any case, in the interface is "Hold'em" -> "No Limit" -> "Micro".
And remember to use the filters so that you can see only "Max Players" -> "2 (1-on-1)". Remove every other filter to be sure you are not filtering them out with some strange option.

Quick update!

Didn't hear me for a day because Thursdays are now my weekly holiday w/ Friday morning included (skipping theory).

It's a good day to take free because Fridays and Saturdays are the most profitable days to play [loads of fish] and I want to be fresh and rested when I play.

Oh and Wednesday was a fairly unexciting day with not so many people to play and I eventually broke even.
An exciting thing to notice was that thanks to the last video I studied I managed to completely obliterate a nitty person who gave me problems a few days ago, yey!

That felt so good!
I love applying freshly acquired knowledge and see how it works perfectly <3

Wish luck to my BR for today!
Read thee next morning, Mortals!

25/10/2013:

Got caught with my wife yesterday so I didn't play much but it was a good day and despite getting exploded I went up and away ~
And at the end my favorite santa claus joined and donated me some money.
Xe'll be my 1st official opponent analysis target for today's homework!
I already pwn xem but I feel like I can pwn xem MOAR.

No hands to review today but here is the explosion:
Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $16.44 (65.8 bb)
Hero (BB): $26.12 (104.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with A J
SB completes, Hero raises to $1, SB calls $0.75

Flop: ($2) 9 3 A (2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, SB raises to $3, Hero calls $1.50

Turn: ($8) 5 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $2.50, Hero raises to $22.12 and is all-in, SB calls $9.94

River: ($32.88) 9 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results:

And this is an example of Santa Claus:
Poker Stars, $0.10/$0.25 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (BB): $25 (100 bb)
SB: $34.18 (136.7 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8 8
SB raises to $0.75, Hero calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.50) 6 2 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $0.75, Hero raises to $2.35, SB calls $1.60

Turn: ($6.20) 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $4, SB calls $4

River: ($14.20) K (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $8, Hero calls $8

Results:

Time to study now,
Read thee anon, Mortals!

Yey finished Part 4 and did my opponent analysis!

These are my player notes, which include:

• generalized observations
• ways to exploit them
• work that lead me to the first two

(In xyr case that's not all the work, I had a lot of SD hands, the rest of the hands were all confirmations to the rules I found, so I didn't write them.)

pretty random, yet:
slowplays/lure bets str8+
aggro 2P
c 3 streets 2ndP
b [or d] <pot TP [bluffs too on dry, call xyr flop bets]
psv str8 draws, aggro decent FD draws
careful w avg/low SDv
most bluffs don't go over 2/3
calls 4b w shit, turns it into bluff even w SDv
bluffy on 3b pots

= open 2bb 90%, play str8forward, 4b ligher for value, watch out for big and min bets

JJ mr, 226r3s7s xb, c, c = slowplay OP on dry low, no light vr on 3s

+T7 mr, K53snK5 b <pot, xb, xb = bluff and give up + size exception
=98 rc, QT6r[2GS]KJ c, c, cai = psv 2GS 3b pot
+K3 r, 28Ks7sJ b <pot, xb, b <pot = TP = <pot
=J7s rc, 38Tr9sn6 cD = psv GS, slowplay str8
Q7s r, 94JsnKsQ b 1/2, b <2/3, xb = b FD, careful w SDv
ATs rc, 235rTsn9 c, b >1/2, bai = psv GS 3b pot, b TPTK[+GS]
=JJ mr, 226r3s7s xb, c, c = slowplay OP on dry low, no light vr on 3s

=84s cc, 4QArJsn8sn xc, x, b <pot = bets big 2P+ [+passive w light SDv]
87s cc, 45AsKA x, b 2/3, b <1/2 = aggro FD small sizes R bluff
=T7cc, KT6sn95 xcD = 2ndP c 3 streets
K5 cc, 88KrTsQ d <pot, b <2/3, x = TP = <pot
Q8 cc, 9J8s96 xc, xc, x = 3rdP+draw psv
ss, K6 cc, 36Ksn2 xr = T2P aggro

65s >m3b, 684sn8Ksn b >1/2, b 1/5, xc = b 2ndP small
97 >m3b, 246r2sn3 b 1/3, b 30%, b 3/4 = exception to small R bluffs, maybe on obvious low dangerous boards vs psv play
=J5o >m3bc, 536sn7 xc, d >1/2 cai = c 4b w shit, turns 3rdP into bluff
Q4 >m3b, 9K3sn36 x, b <pot, b >1/3 = BOP v xb continues on nothing
=T8s >m3b, JT2rAs9s b <1/2, b 20%, b <1/5 mr = lure bet on R flush
J9 m3b, K82rTsn3sn b <1/2, b <1/2, b <60% = b OESD, R bluff <2/3
=55 m3b, 27As9ssKss x, xc, x = psv w light SDv
=66 <m3b, T96ssn b <pot cai = bets big 2P+