[Closed] Building my poker mindset...Updating

April 2009 was a good month for me both at NL4 at PartyPoker and on MTTs. This month I recieved Silver on PokerStrategy and I started to learn how the game really is played.
I learned SSS and I feel comfortable with it now because until I can reach a limit where BSS is profitable ( my opinion is that BSS should be played starting from NL25 ). At first I didn't like the variance at SSS because even if you did evreything right there is still a chance that you'll lose. This thing happened to me a lot of times on NL4 and I thing it will still happen because this is poker. But I would rather have MATH on my side than LUCK because you can't have LUCK on your side evrey day but you can have MATH on you side evrey day. Of course you need LUCK from time to time but I believe now that poker isn't just a game of luck it's a game of math, patience, knowledge, discipline, and wisdom.

April 2009

Profit/Loss at CashGames : $10.31
Profit/Loss at Tournaments : $15.90

Total Profit/Loss : $26.21

Hands Played : 25350 (I wanna play at least 2500Hands/Day in May)

Bankroll : $76.21

Note: The money from the MTTs came from the Monthly $10.000 Bankroll Builder Freeroll @ PartyPoker

During the last 2 weeks I've suffered a major loss in my bankroll (~$15) but I can't be angry because at one point was down ~$30.

The first week I was moving from 0$ to -13$ back to 0$ then -13$ and then finaly I managed to get at the end of the week with some small profit (0.24$). I know it's little but at least it's not negative.
I just realy don't know what happened the week started perfectly with my A:c A:s

$0.02/$0.04 No-Limit Hold'em (5 handed)

Known players: [tg]BB$2.26:///////;MP3$4.32:///////;CO$3.74:///////;BU(Hero)$2.10:///////;SB$1.70:///////;[/tg]
Preflop: Hero is BU with A:c, A:s.
MP3 folds, CO calls $0.04, Hero raises to $0.2, SB folds, BB calls $0.16, CO calls $0.16.

Flop: ($0.62) 4:s, 7:h, K:h (3 players)
BB checks, CO bets $0.28, Hero raises to $1.07, BB calls $1.07, CO calls $0.79.

Turn: ($3.83) 8:d (3 players)
BB checks, CO checks, Hero raises to $0.83, BB calls $0.83, CO calls $0.83.

River: ($6.32) Q:d (3 players)
BB checks, CO checks.

Final Pot: $6.32.

Results follow:

CO shows a pair of kings (K:s 2:s)
Hero shows a pair of aces (A:c A:s)
BB shows a pair of kings (T:d K:d)
Hero wins with a pair of aces (A:c A:s).

...but then I had bad beat after bad beat then back up and back down again. I have to get evrey hand posted on the hand evaluation forum so that I may learn something out of this mess otherwise it can happen again.

Last week I was down 15$ but I think that things are gonna change from now on for me.Today was a great day I'm up 13.17$(6BI for me) and I'm glad because I played solid SSS and I made only few mistakes like this one :

$0.02/$0.04 No-Limit Hold'em (9 handed)

Known players:
[tg]CO$3.73:///////;BU$1.92:///////;SB$2.22:///////;BB(Hero)$1.90:///////;UTG1$3.96:///////;UTG2$4.33:///////;MP1$2.10:///////;MP2$5.56:///////;MP3$5.08:///////;[/tg]
Preflop: Hero is BB with 2:h, 3:c.
5 folds, CO calls $0.04, BU calls $0.04, SB calls $0.02, Hero checks.

Flop: ($0.16) 3:s, 2:d, A:h (4 players)
SB bets $0.12, Hero raises to $0.24, CO folds, BU calls $0.24, SB calls $0.12.

Turn: ($0.88) 9:h (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.63, BU calls $0.63, SB folds.

River: ($2.14) T:c (2 players)
Hero raises to $0.99, BU calls $0.99.

Final Pot: $4.12.

Results follow:

Hero shows two pairs, threes and twos (2:h 3:c)
BU shows a straight, five high (4:c 5:c)
BU wins with a straight, five high (4:c 5:c).

I admit I've thought that he had Ax or a flush draw and didn't think of a straight.The other big pot I didn't win today was this one :
Hand Evaluation Forum for this hand

$0.02/$0.04 No-Limit Hold'em (10 handed)

Known players:
[tg]UTG1$6.62:///////;UTG2(Hero)$1.80:///////;MP1$2.11:///////;MP2$4.39:///////;MP3$3.86:///////;CO$2.90:///////;BU$9.77:///////;SB$4.69:///////;BB$1.84:///////;UTG$6.40:///////;[/tg]
Preflop: Hero is UTG2 with Q:d, A:h.
2 folds, Hero calls $0.04, MP1 calls $0.04, 5 folds, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.14) Q:h, Q:c, T:c (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.10, MP1 calls $0.10, BB calls $0.10.

Turn: ($0.44) 2:d (3 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.42, MP1 folds, BB calls $0.42.

River: ($1.28) 4:h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.61, BB raises to $1.22, Hero calls $0.63(All-In), BB calls $0.02.

Final Pot: $3.76.

Results follow:

Hero shows three of a kind, queens (Q:d A:h)
BB shows a full-house, queens full of twos (2:s Q:s)
BB wins with a full-house, queens full of twos (2:s Q:s).

I thought he had a Q with a weaker kicker and after I saw 2:d & 4:h I thought I had him beat. My mistake was not raising pre-flop.
Hand Evaluation Forum for this hand

Hi BurlacuCG,

I see that you play NL4 with $2 (50 bb) and you follow the SSS strategy.

SSS is designed for 20 bb, so you raise 4bb + limpers preflop and then very often you could just push the flop because you don't have that much money left. But if you play with 50 bb's then pushing the flop would be a huge over bet and people mostly will call with better hands.

By playing half stack you don't get the advantages of the big stack where you could call with pocket pairs etc, hoping to hit your set and then take down a big pot.

I suggest either buying in for $4 at NL4 and play BSS or buy into NL10 for $2 and play SSS.

And maybe post some of your hands in the forum and re-read some of the articles. You always pick up new information by reading them again. ♠_cool:

Like the AQ call UTG2... from the basic Starting Hands Chart (SHC) it is a fold preflop for both SSS and BSS (FR)...

Good luck!

You could post your BSS hands in this forum:

https://forums.pokerstrategy.com/forum/board.php?boardid=1387

I love playing SSS because I believe that playing BSS Is only profitable from NL25. For NL4 & NL10 on PartyPoker there are little diferences. On NL4 you can find tables with 4-5 BSS and 2-3 SSS but on NL10 I tend to find 2-3 BSS (usualy with more then 10$) and the rest of them SSS with 2$ who are only there to do what I do double up from the BSS so the table is tighter than in NL4.

Thanks for the advice I'll try to post evrey single hand that I don't know how to play 100% on the forum and re-read all the Bronze and the Silver articles.

Regarding the AQo Hand it was a pretty tight table and for some reason I called instead of folding.I was a mistake I know.

I'm curently playing at NL4 and NL10 and I hope that I'll swich to BSS very soon. I'm curently updating my blog ♦

Hello Burlacule :),
Like the way your thread is developing, hope to see more of it in the near future. I say you should follow the SSS strategy of 20 big blinds at a limit and Follow the SHC. It works for me. at least until you feel ready to switch to BSS.
Greetings from a fellow romanian, Vlad.

Well this week has been my greatest week so far reagarding my bankroll and my style of play. 11 May was a good day but the entire week I have been on a masive upswing. The only bad beats I've had were when I ran KK with AA and QQ vs KK and my AA got cracked a few times with some sets all-in preflop but what can you do about it?
The first 3 days of the week I made 40$ (20BI) then on Thursday some variance kicked in but my only day when I came out negative was on Sunday when I reached -11$ quited when for some jogging and then manage to get back to -3,5$. A well a green week is a good week.

I also manage to clear my first 25$ from my 100$ second bonus from PokerStrategy.com and now my bankroll is at his maximum.

11 May - 17 May

Profit/Loss at CashGames : $46.57

Total Profit/Loss : $26.21

Hands Played : 12649

Bankroll : ~$138

Originally posted by Vladoo1001
Hello Burlacule :),
Like the way your thread is developing, hope to see more of it in the near future. I say you should follow the SSS strategy of 20 big blinds at a limit and Follow the SHC. It works for me. at least until you feel ready to switch to BSS.
Greetings from a fellow romanian, Vlad.

I'm following the SHC but sometimes I get stupid and make some funny moves. Sometimes the moves pay up sometimes they don't ♦ hope I don't loose money untill I'll be able to play BSS ♦ thanks for posting man bafta la mese ( good luck at the tables).

Yesterday I had a very interesting session 3 hour session @ PartyPoker. The day started with me lossing to a runner-runner flush draw( my very first I might add ) :

$0.02/$0.04 No-Limit Hold'em (9 handed)

Known players:
[tg]UTG2$3.38:///////;MP1$3.63:///////;MP2$3.00:///////;MP3$2.45:///////;CO$2.36:///////;BU(Hero)$1.76:///////;SB$1.09:///////;BB$2.90:///////;UTG1$3.11:///////;[/tg]
Preflop: Hero is BU with 7:d, 7:h.
UTG1 calls $0.04, UTG2 calls $0.04, MP1 raises to $0.24, 2 folds, CO calls $0.24, Hero calls $0.24, 2 folds, UTG1 calls $0.20, UTG2 calls $0.20.

Flop: ($1.26) 7:c, 8:h, 9:h (5 players)
UTG1 checks, UTG2 checks, MP1 bets $0.90, CO calls $0.90, Hero raises to $1.52(All-In), UTG1 folds, UTG2 folds, MP1 calls $0.62, CO calls $0.62.

Turn: ($5.82) 6:h (3 players)
MP1 checks, CO raises to $0.6, MP1 calls $0.60.

River: ($7.02) J:h (3 players)

Final Pot: $7.02.

Results follow:

MP1 shows a flush, queen high (Q:h Q:c)
Hero shows a flush, jack high (7:d 7:h)
CO shows a straight, jack high (T:c A:d)
MP1 wins with a flush, queen high (Q:h Q:c).

Then I went +4$ with my AA & KK but ran over set vs set :

$0.02/$0.04 No-Limit Hold'em (9 handed)

Known players:
[tg]SB$1.30:///////;BB$6.52:///////;UTG1$5.00:///////;UTG2$5.00:///////;MP1(Hero)$2.26:///////;MP2$1.86:///////;MP3$5.29:///////;CO$12.15:///////;BU$4.64:///////;[/tg]
Preflop: Hero is MP1 with 5:h, 5:s.
2 folds, Hero calls $0.04, MP2 calls $0.04, 4 folds, BB checks.

Flop: ($0.14) T:h, Q:d, 5:c (3 players)
BB checks, Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.04, BB folds, Hero calls $0.04.

Turn: ($0.22) Q:h (2 players)
Hero checks, MP2 bets $0.15, Hero raises to $0.45, MP2 raises to $1.17, Hero raises to $1.89, MP2 calls $0.61.

River: ($3.89) 2:c (2 players)

Final Pot: $3.89.

Results follow:

MP2 shows a full-house, tens full of queens (T:c T:s)
Hero shows a full-house, fives full of queens (5:h 5:s)
MP2 wins with a full-house, tens full of queens (T:c T:s).
Hand Evaluation Forum for this hand

I didn't let tilt run over me so I remained focus and manage to get back up to +6$ then I discovered this "fish" on the table and I think over-played my QQ :

Hand converted with online PokerStrategy.com hand converter:

$0.02/$0.04 No-Limit Hold'em (8 handed)

Known players:
[tg]MP1$4.14:///////;MP2$4.00:///////;MP3$1.75:///////;CO$3.93:///////;BU$2.48:///////;SB$2.72:///////;BB(Hero)$1.94:///////;UTG2$3.18:///////;[/tg]
Preflop: Hero is BB with Q:c, Q:h.
UTG2 folds, MP1 raises to $0.2, 5 folds, Hero raises to $0.6, MP1 calls $0.40.

Flop: ($1.22) 8:h, J:c, 7:s (2 players)
Hero bets $0.80, MP1 calls $0.80.

Turn: ($2.82) 4:d (2 players)
Hero raises to $0.54, MP1 calls $0.54.

River: ($3.90) 9:h (2 players)

Final Pot: $3.90.

Results follow:

Hero shows a pair of queens (Q:c Q:h)
MP1 shows three of a kind, sevens (7:d 7:h)
MP1 wins with three of a kind, sevens (7:d 7:h).

After that I didn't ran into anymore trouble and manage to have a great session and at the end of it I had +12$ in my account.

I now have $150 in my account and I believe next week I'll start my NL25 assault. I need 46 Points so I can clear my second 25$ bonus so I may have enough money to start NL25. So my goals for this week are :

1. Obtain the second $25 bonus from PokerStartegy.com ( 46 PartyPoker Points needed )
2. Read all the articles in the Silver section ( I didn't read then all my mistake )
3. Post evrey hand on the forum that I'm not sure that I've played it profitable. ( there are a few )
4. Play at lest 1500 hands / day
5. Have a total bankroll of $175 at the end of the week. ( ~150$ - May 18)
6. Start SSS on NL25 @ PartyPoker and fry the

19 May

Yesterday I had a good session I got QQ 3 times and doubled each time unfortunatly I got my set of AA cracked on the turn with a flush and my flush cracked by a full house on the river. I the end it was a good session +3.66$ but a short one only 2H and ~1000 H so my objective of 1500H/day in this weak has failed.Hope I'll make it tomorow.

Flush vs. Full House : Hand Evaluation Forum for this hand

20 May

Today I attacked for the first time NL25 at 2 tables and let me say to you it's another game. The players are tighter then in the limits and table selection will become more inportant once I move to higher limits. I played only 120 hands and then I moved to NL4 & NL10 where I think for now I can make more money. I will stay put and try to build my bankroll to about $200 this week if I can then I will try it again.
At NL5 I got QQ vs KK, overplayed my set (KK) and got sucked out on the river(Note : Don't ever slowplay your set on drawy board ) but I still manage to get in the green zone and made a profit of ~6$.

Goals for 18 - 24 May

1. Obtain the second $25 bonus from PokerStartegy.com ( 17 PartyPoker Points needed )
2. Read all the articles in the Silver section ( Reading... )
3. Post evrey hand on the forum that I'm not sure that I've played it profitable. ( done )
4. Play at lest 1500 hands / day ( failed on Tuesday )
5. Have a total bankroll of $175 at the end of the week. ( ~160$ - May 20)
6. Start SSS on NL25 @ PartyPoker and fry the ( I will do this when I'll have my bankroll at 200$ )

21 May