My Trip among the Stars; a 12 month chronicle through SnG…

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

30.05.2009, 18:31 0

Hey everyone, after a few months of SnG exile I'm back at it, this time on PokerStars. I've already written a blog about my SnG exploits, I played 11$ games on the OnGame network, where I held a ROI of about 4% over 5k games (had an awesome rakeback deal there too so my ROI was actually closer to 10% ). I discontinued to write that blog because I got bored with playing SnGs and switched to NL SH which I played for the past 4months with quite some success (nothing spectacular but there was a few thousand euros in it for me). Also the old blog more or less sucked as it lacked any kind of decent info.

Recently I grew tired of the NL SH game (a reasonably brutal downsing might have had something to do with that :P) and I decided to again return to playing SnGs and try to add MTT games to my poker experience. I've been randomly playing MTTs here and there but lack the experience and knowledge to play them successfuly over a large sample (made it to the final table a handful of times, managed to place top 3 but haven't won yet, so it's likely my ROI is negative at MTTs). I decided to pick PokerStars as the room for my next poker endeavours simply because Stars seems to be SnG and MTT heaven. The abundance of action at any give hour of the day played a big role since I like to play at various times of the day, depending on what I feel like doing.

The past few days I've watched several videos on pokerstrategy about SnG and MTT play, reread most of the articles in the strategy section and discussed tactics with a friend (who's name I will mention only after he says it's ok ) to try and get the feel for SnG play again. This culminated in me uploading some loose change I had lying around on my moneybookers account (more accurately it was 200€) which I decided to start with. I thought about what level to pick and ultimately settled on turbo 6+.5$ SnGs. Some eyebrows might've gone up regarding BRM but as soon as the cashouts from the other sites come in I will boost my bankroll to 700$ if needed. Effective bankroll could cover games up to 27$ but I doubt I have the experience to play those games yet and I'm rather sceptical about beating 16$ SnGs with a solid ROI as well. In all honesty my SnG game was never brilliant and I have a big desire to improve it as well as MTT play.

I've already played 8 SnGs finishing 1st twice as well as 2nd and 3rd. The other 4 times I didn't break ITM. Start was VERY encouraging but there is still much to learn. And I hope some might learn from my mistakes as well. Now to set some goals:

-continue to analyze questionable hands (have to add this here: Chenny8888 demonstrated a great way of doing so in his recent silver videos, he copied the hands he wanted to reevaluate to a text document and then simply reevaluated his moves after his session with the help of this http://www.holdemresources.net/hr/sngs/icmcalculator.html very awesome calculator, I will be doing my reviews the same way)
-post interesting hands in my blog
-attend at least one coaching every week with a few questions prepared before the coaching starts
-play over 1000 SnGs in the month of June

These are some of the short-term goals that I will use to help set future, more long-term goals. Right now my bankroll stands at: 312.14$
To conclude this monster of a post , this will be Atoks, playing 6.50 SnGs on PokerStars sharing my experiences with you Cya at the tables! ♦ :f_eek: :f_o: :f_o:

213 replies

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

31.05.2009, 01:55 0

So I've played quite a bit today, over 40 SnGs. After experimenting a bit with how many tables to play at once I decided to play 6 at a time and will continue to play only 6 tables at the same time throught june. Here's some moderately interesting hands:

1.)Stealing the blinds from CO is a good thing to do... :

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t1377)
BB (t2350)
UTG (t2230)
MP1 (t1500)
MP2 (t1475)
HERO (CO) (t1395)
Button (t3173)

HERO's M: 9.30

Preflop: HERO is CO with A, J
3 folds, HERO bets t250, 2 folds, BB calls t150

Flop: (t550) A, 8, 2 (2 players)
BB checks, HERO bets t325, BB calls t325

Turn: (t1200) 6 (2 players)
BB checks, HERO checks

River: (t1200) 8 (2 players)
BB bets t1775 (All-In), HERO folds

Total pot: t1200

... but sometimes u get into nasty spots like this one and that's when it's good to just shut down. I don't see a hand in villains range that I'm beating on the river so there's no point in calling.

2.)Sometimes u find urself in wierd situations like this one:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 (t1190)
MP2 (t1440)
MP3 (t1650)
CO (t1515)
Button (t1080)
SB (t1960)
Hero (BB) (t1635)
UTG (t1970)
UTG+1 (t1060)

Hero's M: 10.90

Preflop: Hero is BB with K, A
3 folds, MP2 calls t100, 3 folds, SB bets t300, Hero raises to t1635 (All-In), 1 fold, SB calls t1335

Flop: (t3370) 5, 4, 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t3370) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t3370) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t3370

SB held A8o

The reasoning behind my push was simple ... I noticed SB had a very loose raising style while the EP limp made no sense at all. I figured I had a lot of fold equity but looks like I didn't have enough after all ... Got the SB in with a weaker hand but our hand doesn't hold up ... comments appreciated

3.) A mistake I made, thought about it for a while but I sort of regreted pushing the moment after I did it ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds 25 Ante (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t1045)
MP (t4475)
Button (t1755)
Hero (SB) (t2300)
BB (t3925)

Hero's M: 5.41

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, 9
1 fold, MP bets t600, 1 fold, Hero raises to t2275 (All-In), 1 fold, MP calls t1675

Flop: (t4875) 10, 6, 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t4875) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t4875) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t4875

MP held JJ

4.) Postflop skillz :

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds 25 Ante (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (Button) (t3970)
SB (t1995)
BB (t3070)
UTG (t4465)

Hero's M: 9.93

Preflop: Hero is Button with K, A
UTG bets t400, Hero raises to t1200, 2 folds, UTG calls t800

Flop: (t2800) 4, 10, 10 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: (t2800) K (2 players)
UTG bets t1000, Hero calls t1000

River: (t4800) J (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

Total pot: t4800

UTG held QJo

UTG was raising loose a lot on this bubble so I decided to give him something to think about. If UTG would reraise I'd make a crying call realizing it was a bad one. The board didn't make things much easier, but I figured he'd protect his pocket pairs unless he slowplayed a monster and turn was a simple call. Was happy with his river check however

So this much on day 1 of my SnG trip on Stars. It's been a lovely day all in all, started at 283$ and worked my way to 365.5$ ... feel free to bet on how long this awesome ROI lasts, I'm not collecting tho

_Anonymous_

31.05.2009, 02:12 0

Hey Atoks, good to see you blogging

I've also started grinding the SnG's (both Full Tilt & Stars), but concentrating most effort on Full Tilt, so only doing $3 stars ones.

Wish you every success and look forward to reading regular updates ♦

Good luck,

Bart

Flows

Joined: 09.03.2006

Posts: 410

31.05.2009, 22:01 0

1) nh!

2) I like that push too because you sort of teach him to stop stealing blinds. -> good for future game!

3) that's too aggressive against the chipleader

4) very tough spot.... but I have to say, i really like this play. preflop is fine because his minraise doesn't mean strenght. If he reraises again I fold it.
the flop is probably bad for both of you... you might conti-bet but this requires BIG balls so checking is ok! turn and river are fine!

GL and keep playing like this!!

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

01.06.2009, 12:30 0

First off Thanks to EagleStar88 for encouragement, such posts only help me motivate to work on my blog

Thanks to Flows for taking the time to evaluate my hands, his input has been invaluable throught my SnG career and I am ever so grateful to him for offering SnG coaching in the first place! Big respect Flows, hope the time u spent talking with me about SnGs wasn't a total waste

OK played a lot more on day 2, somewhere around 65 SnGs. Did pretty well, BR stands at 484.34$. I made some mistakes tho and I'm not overly happy with my play, tho the result is more satisfying. Playing 6 tables at a time gives me enough opportunity to observe the other players and take down notes, tho I have to say the 15second warning tone on stars is rather stressful, wish there was a way to change it ... it sends a jolt through my body that thing ♠

Anyway some more hands and comments about them:

5.) This was one of the first hands I played yesterday, have to post it

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (CO) (t1500)
Button (t1480)
SB (t1480)
BB (t1500)
UTG (t1540)
UTG+1 (t1500)
MP1 (t1500)
MP2 (t1500)
MP3 (t1500)

Hero's M: 50.00

Preflop: Hero is CO with 8, 7
UTG calls t20, 4 folds, Hero calls t20, 1 fold, SB bets t100, 1 fold, UTG calls t80, Hero calls t80

Flop: (t320) 2, Q, 5 (3 players)
SB bets t240, UTG calls t240, Hero calls t240

Turn: (t1040) 6 (3 players)
SB checks, UTG bets t100, Hero raises to t1160 (All-In), 2 folds

Total pot: t1240

OK so I decided to limp in my 87s after several other limpers, flop cards and flop action are ok so I make a call. Turn presented an interesting option tho. I got my OESD along with my FD and I decided to use my Fold Equity to try and take it down there. If I got called I still had plenty of outs to win it on the river.

6.) Played this hand against a guy who always seemed to chase stuff

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (CO) (t1685)
Button (t2270)
SB (t1570)
BB (t2670)
UTG (t1360)
MP1 (t2225)
MP2 (t1720)

Hero's M: 11.23

Preflop: Hero is CO with A, 7
3 folds, Hero bets t250, 2 folds, BB calls t150

Flop: (t550) 8, 10, 2 (2 players)
BB bets t200, Hero raises to t1435 (All-In), BB calls t1235

Turn: (t3420) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t3420) 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t3420

Villain held 97s

And he did the same this time. I shoved on his raise because I have a strong read that it means he's drawing (he bought turn cards a few times this way) so I decided to stick it in with my A high. Sadly he gets there on the turn but I wasn't too down because it just confirmed my read on this guy even more. A question here:, if we know we have such marginal equity is it ok to fold in such spots?

7.) Being super card dead sucks and after getting a load of Q4 J3 and T2 type hands I decided to make a super loose push into the big stack hoping to end up with 2 live cards against him

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t1110)
BB (t6516)
UTG (t1370)
MP (t3514)
Hero (Button) (t990)

Hero's M: 4.40

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, 9
2 folds, Hero bets t990 (All-In), 1 fold, BB calls t840

Flop: (t2055) 7, 4, 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t2055) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t2055) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t2055

Villain held QJo

And it worked ... it was a gamble and according to the equilator a -EV gamble. But the blinds were approaching fast and I decided to intentionally make a bad push. This won't be standard practice however.

8.) Having a small stack against 3 average stacks sucks. U just have to make a move and I decided on this one ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t4135)
Button (t3895)
Hero (SB) (t1505)
BB (t3965)

Hero's M: 5.02

Preflop: Hero is SB with 4, 9
2 folds, Hero bets t1505 (All-In), BB calls t1305

Flop: (t3010) 10, 2, 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t3010) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t3010) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t3010

Villain held KJs

Only this move was a bad one. Not only because of the result but because it is just outside of my +EV range. Need to learn my ranges a bit better.

9.) This is just the type of hand u want to see villain holding whenever u decide to resteal

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t3255)
Hero (SB) (t1245)
BB (t1890)
UTG (t1700)
MP1 (t1670)
MP2 (t1120)
CO (t2620)

Hero's M: 4.15

Preflop: Hero is SB with Q, A
3 folds, CO bets t600, 1 fold, Hero raises to t1245 (All-In), 1 fold, CO calls t645

Flop: (t2690) 2, A, 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t2690) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t2690) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t2690

Villain held 23o!

Granted he had 2 live cards but come on ... he likely got bored on a surprisingly tight table where I decided that enough was enough and punish blind stealing.

10.) Simply overenthusiasm for pounding on the short stack

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds 25 Ante (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t1365)
UTG (t3635)
Button (t6185)
Hero (SB) (t2315)

Hero's M: 5.79

Preflop: Hero is SB with 5, 2
2 folds, Hero bets t2290 (All-In), BB calls t1140 (All-In)

Flop: (t2780) A, 7, K (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t2780) 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t2780) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t2780

Villain held 99

I just ran the hand through the Nash calculator and surprisingly it wasn't THAT bad of a move. In this spot it is ok to push with a range of 82%. I was off by a bit and I was considering folding, but I decided to stick it in and run it through the calc to make sure of this move. It's a no no

11.) I like and dislike this next hand

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t2695)
Button (t1450)
SB (t1310)
Hero (BB) (t3935)
UTG (t1370)
MP1 (t1465)
MP2 (t1275)

Hero's M: 26.23

Preflop: Hero is BB with J, J
1 fold, MP1 bets t300, 4 folds, Hero raises to t750, MP1 raises to t1465 (All-In), Hero calls t715

Flop: (t2980) 7, A, 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t2980) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t2980) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t2980

Villain held AQo

The reason I like it, even love it is because I made the correct decision that I have a good resteal here. Even if I hold JJ I saw enough of this guy that I knew my hand was good against his range. The reason I don't like it is because I should've just stuck my chips instead of making a 7.5BB raise.

OK this is it in terms of hands this time. I've had a lot more to analyze and I'm happy to say about 96% of my decisions right now are correct. I do not practice with an ICM manager but I am considering doing that as well. I have a problem with ICM managers because they use the exactly correct ranges and I prefer to use "perceived" ranges that I assign with reads and tells. However I might just try to stop being such a wise-guy and give a shot at playing the best mathematically correct game I can. Probably won't hurt to learn to do that either.

One last thing, right now I'm not too sure about MTTs yet. I don't feel too confident and I really like the way I'm runing on STTs so it's possible MTTs will be on the back-burner for the next few days... there is a desire to play them ... but my past experience isn't that good and I'll take any words of encouragement and advice my readers have for me Till next time!

shivas80

Joined: 24.12.2008

Posts: 573

01.06.2009, 13:06 0

Any chance i can see you playing those? I mean Sweat Session or few?

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

02.06.2009, 12:39 0

Originally posted by shivas80
Any chance i can see you playing those? I mean Sweat Session or few?

Right now no. But I think once June passes and once I get a decent sample of SnGs in to see where I am at I will try work out the best option for linking up with other players. I really need to establish my self-confidence and a solid style of play. More on that in the next post.

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

02.06.2009, 14:10 0

Righty then, let's look at how day 3 went (I don't think I'll recap every day but this one was quite interesting as u will notice). I played quite a few SnGs, round 70 I think (not keeping track of the exact daily number or places I finish in because I don't know how to do that). The result was rather ... mindblowing. But before we get to that let's take a peek at a few hands:

12.) This is an interesting one, almost looks pro from a distance ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP1 (t1305)
MP2 (t1905)
Hero (CO) (t1145)
Button (t1370)
SB (t4995)
BB (t1155)
UTG (t1625)

Hero's M: 7.63

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, A
3 folds, Hero bets t250, Button raises to t600, 2 folds, Hero raises to t1145 (All-In), Button calls t545

Flop: (t2440) K, 4, 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t2440) 6 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t2440) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t2440

Villain held AJo

Why pro? Because we both got our ranges right. He commited with the right hand (according to the math anyway) and so did I.

13.) Questionable hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 75/150 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t655)
Hero (SB) (t1535)
BB (t1190)
UTG (t1295)
MP1 (t5550)
MP2 (t1705)
CO (t1570)

Hero's M: 6.82

Preflop: Hero is SB with 2, 8
5 folds, Hero bets t1535 (All-In), BB calls t1040 (All-In)

Flop: (t2380) A, 8, 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t2380) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t2380) 7 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t2380

Is it OK to push any2 here? ICM Calc says my range is 64% but I figure it's likely bigger because surely he doesn't want to get knocked out because of calling with a marginal hand? Or is it too early for these assumptions? Comments much appreciated!

14.) Very tough spot...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 (t2755)
CO (t1765)
Button (t1585)
SB (t3030)
BB (t1510)
UTG (t1490)
Hero (MP1) (t1365)

Hero's M: 18.20

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with Q, Q
1 fold, Hero bets t150, 1 fold, CO calls t150, 3 folds

Flop: (t375) 8, 4, 5 (2 players)
Hero bets t200, CO raises to t1615 (All-In), Hero calls t1015 (All-In)

Turn: (t2805) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t2805) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t2805

Villain held 99

Here I was beating only a narrow range of possible hands and I took my time taking my decision. I decided to call because I figured anyone would reraise AA/KK preflop on this level and that if he actually had a set he'd likely slowplay it.

15.) An interesting hand from early stage

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 10/20 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP3 (t2850)
CO (t1460)
Button (t1470)
SB (t1480)
BB (t340)
UTG (t1500)
UTG+1 (t1500)
Hero (MP1) (t1500)
MP2 (t1400)

Hero's M: 50.00

Preflop: Hero is MP1 with K, K
1 fold, UTG+1 calls t20, Hero bets t100, 2 folds, CO calls t100, 3 folds, UTG+1 calls t80

Flop: (t330) 8, J, 9 (3 players)
UTG+1 bets t120, Hero raises to t320, 1 fold, UTG+1 calls t200

Turn: (t970) 6 (2 players)
UTG+1 checks, Hero bets t1080 (All-In), UTG+1 calls t1080 (All-In)

River: (t3130) 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t3130

Villain held 86s (diamonds)

T7 and QT type hands were the only ones I was in trouble against and his call on the flop indicated to me that he possibly held it. Turn was a blank for me and I realized this is likely my last chance to get any weak hands to commit to the pot, so I stuck my chips in. I was reasonably shocked when I saw his hand and quite relieved when river came

16.) Coinfilpping is bad mkay...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t1255)
UTG (t1530)
Hero (MP) (t2230)
Button (t3320)
SB (t5165)

Hero's M: 7.43

Preflop: Hero is MP with 10, 10
UTG bets t1530 (All-In), Hero raises to t2230 (All-In), 3 folds

Flop: (t3360) 5, 2, J (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t3360) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t3360) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t3360

Villain held AQo

But still my push is good. ICM Calc confirms my range to even be a bit wider then this. Still I really try to stay away from coinflips if possible.

Thread continues in the next post due to the image per post limits.

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

02.06.2009, 14:12 0

17.) Not the best hand I've ever played ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 25/50 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t2405)
SB (t2590)
Hero (BB) (t1410)
UTG (t1935)
MP1 (t1850)
MP2 (t1965)
CO (t1345)

Hero's M: 18.80

Preflop: Hero is BB with 6, A
5 folds, SB calls t25, Hero bets t200, SB calls t150

Flop: (t400) A, 7, 9 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets t250, SB calls t250

Turn: (t900) 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (t900) J (2 players)
SB bets t400, Hero calls t400

Total pot: t1700

Villain held A8o

I figured I'd get reraised preflop if he had a better ace and I wanted to see if he really had the 7.

18.) Tough decision for me here ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

MP2 (t1280)
CO (t1320)
Hero (Button) (t1470)
SB (t1160)
BB (t1855)
UTG (t5080)
MP1 (t1335)

Hero's M: 9.80

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
3 folds, CO bets t1320 (All-In), Hero raises to t1470 (All-In), 2 folds

Flop: (t2790) 6, 7, Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t2790) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t2790) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t2790

Villain held ATo

But turns out it was the right one. After analyzing a few other hands I'm starting to notice I have an issue figuring out my correct calling ranges.

19.) Good push, good call ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds 25 Ante (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

UTG (t4185)
Button (t4575)
Hero (SB) (t1920)
BB (t2820)

Hero's M: 4.80

Preflop: Hero is SB with A, 8
2 folds, Hero bets t1895 (All-In), BB calls t1695

Flop: (t3890) 4, K, 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t3890) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t3890) 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t3890

Villain held ATo

But river brings relief. I was running quite good yesterday

20.) Sweet sweet poker ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 50/100 Blinds (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t1470)
BB (t1220)
UTG (t1840)
UTG+1 (t2590)
MP1 (t1725)
MP2 (t1560)
CO (t1545)
Hero (Button) (t1550)

Hero's M: 10.33

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, A
UTG bets t250, 4 folds, Hero raises to t600, SB raises to t1470 (All-In), 1 fold, UTG raises to t1840 (All-In), Hero calls t950 (All-In)

Flop: (t4670) 8, 2, 8 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Turn: (t4670) 7 (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: (t4670) 4 (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: t4670

UTG held AQo
SB held QQ

It's the spot u want to be in every time if possible. UTG had to hope for a straight and SB had 1 single out alone.

21.) Like I said ... was running pretty good yesterday ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds 25 Ante (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t3590)
BB (t1885)
UTG (t2030)
MP (t530)
Hero (CO) (t3370)
Button (t2095)

Hero's M: 7.49

Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, K
2 folds, Hero bets t3345 (All-In), Button calls t2070 (All-In), 2 folds

Flop: (t4590) 6, 3, K (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t4590) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t4590) 2 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t4590

Villain held AQo

Correct moves by both players.

22.) Sweet sweet poker again ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 15/30 Blinds (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t1645)
Button (t1395)
SB (t875)
Hero (BB) (t1560)
UTG (t2280)
UTG+1 (t1470)
MP1 (t1445)
MP2 (t1465)
MP3 (t1365)

Hero's M: 34.67

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, A
2 folds, MP1 calls t30, 2 folds, CO bets t120, 2 folds, Hero calls t90, MP1 calls t90

Flop: (t375) 4, J, 6 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 bets t150, CO raises to t375, Hero calls t375, MP1 calls t225

Turn: (t1500) 5 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP1 checks, CO bets t1150 (All-In), Hero calls t1065 (All-In), 1 fold

River: (t3630) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t3630

Villain held KK

Sometimes ppl will be falling all over themselves to give u their chips ... make sure u give them that chance with the nuts

23.) But things were not all good yesterday ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 25 Ante (2 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Button (t4620)
Hero (SB) (t8880)

Hero's M: 13.66

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9, Q
Button calls t200, Hero checks

Flop: (t850) 7, J, 10 (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks

Turn: (t850) K (2 players)
Hero bets t400, Button raises to t800, Hero raises to t1200, Button raises to t4195 (All-In), Hero calls t2995

River: (t9240) 3 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t9240

Villain held AQo

I had a few similar setups HU. I found it rather hard to win yesterday. I hope this improves in the future ...

This godzilla of an update continues in another post

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

02.06.2009, 14:17 0

24.) I hope to continue to make such solid decisions....

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds 25 Ante (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t4655)
BB (t1240)
Hero (UTG) (t2305)
MP (t3215)
Button (t2085)

Hero's M: 5.42

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, 9
Hero bets t2280 (All-In), 2 folds, SB calls t2180, 1 fold

Flop: (t4885) 3, K, 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t4885) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t4885) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t4885

Villain held AJo

Even if I don't win every time. Push was good, tho I wonder how long it will take for me to use the very edge of my ranges in situations like this. I doubt I could push hands like QJo, K9s or T9s in this spot ...

25.) Some bad ITM play

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 25 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t5245)
Hero (BB) (t4900)
Button (t3355)

Hero's M: 7.26

Preflop: Hero is BB with 9, A
Button bets t3330 (All-In), 1 fold, Hero calls t2930

Flop: (t6935) 2, 7, 8 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t6935) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t6935) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t6935

Villain held ATo

I have to admit I really am not sure what I was thinking in a few hands yesterday. I think this all points to my issues with calling ranges.

26.) Another prime example of my issue with calling ranges ...

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 300/600 Blinds 50 Ante (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t2343)
UTG (t4361)
Hero (MP) (t2104)
Button (t2102)
SB (t2590)

Hero's M: 1.83

Preflop: Hero is MP with 4, 4
UTG bets t4311 (All-In), Hero calls t2054 (All-In), 3 folds

Flop: (t5258) 8, 8, 9 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t5258) 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t5258) Q (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t5258

Villain held 66

OK anyone else starting to see a pattern here? Honestly I'm starting to get a bit scared.

Now I think I need to explain something here. It occured to me, that I didn't explain another reason for writting this post after I went over this godzilla of a post. Not only do I want to make an interesting blog for the readers and those who want to actively seek success in SnGs, I also want help with the hands and most of all follow my own progres! U see when I went over my first blog I realized there was very little useful information even for me in it. Sure I made a few notes about bankrolls and if I tried hard I could probably make a pattern of how my swings went but not much more then that. This time I plan to make this blog with as many hands as possible, which will point out my mistakes so I can more easily figure out if I'm making the same mistakes over and over again. So to everyone who's taking one glance at this and thinking "TLDR" the long stuff is mostly for me However I'm pretty sure there will be plenty interesting stuff going on in this blog for the casual reader as well

This blog already helped me identify one leak of my game, playing ranges after one push in the ICM stage. This is quite alarming since knowing what to play with when u defend ur position is essential I now need to figure out a solid way to improve this quickly. As I think about this the first thing that springs to mind is SnG wizard that will be putting me into such positions. Time to get to work!

Oh ... right my balance. Well first off let me say that it took me 3 days and about 170 SnGs to get my 50$ upload bonus which happened yesterday. My bankroll currently stands at 788.94. Quite impressive considering I've playing for only 3 days now and considering the major leak I've found. Cya on my next update I hope

LuborC

Joined: 20.04.2008

Posts: 1,243

02.06.2009, 14:56 0

12) I don't think raising with 11,5 BB is very pro-like. It's ok when he reraises but you will get into a world of trouble when he calls..

13) This is pretty close. You can push looser than Nash because he will not call you with some A-high, K-high, never with Q-high and also with fewer pocket pairs than he should. 82o is a bit loose even for me though..

14) I agree. I would snapcall in this spot.

15) No comment on this. These kind of plays always surprise me and there isn't much you can do to prevent them. Nor should you want to.

16) Coinflip is not so bad, mkay? Folding and doing nothing is bad. Winning a coinflip gets you ITM. And you are ahead of his range with TT.

17) I don't raise weak aces PF but I think you actually played the hand ok.

18) The only thing that is tough about this is deciding if you want to call right away or wait 0.097s and then call.

19) Good push, good call ...

20) Just make sure you always reraise to the same amount. Don't raise less with your monsters or you will become readable.

21) Good push, good call ...

22) You should think about folding AQ to a raise PF. It is so easily dominated. He was raising from a late positon here so unless he was a total nit, NH..

23) It's hard to comment on HU play because it is so read dependant.. This is obviously a setup and there's nothing you could have done..

24) Use the equilator. Hands like QJ, K9s do better against his calling range than A9 because he is always calling you with better A or a high pocket.

25) Good push, good call ...

26) 44 is an easy push first in but it's definitely a fold against UTG push. Especially if UTG is the bigstack so you won't even bust im if you win..

I see a pattern of you praciticing with the ICM trainer more often if you want to improve. Generally I wouldn't say you made any huge mistakes but you should get more confident about the right ranges in each spot..

DISCONTINUED:Should I stay or should I Sit'n'go? LuborC's blog...

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

03.06.2009, 13:10 0

Hey Lubor, thanks for ur input, much appreciated It's always nice to get comments, hope to get even more!

No hands today, decided that I'll do some ICM training to work on my calling ranges. Already done a few normal tests with the SnG Wizard today but it wasn't all that fruitful. Best I got was a 92%. For me certain things are very read dependant and the most mistakes I made were with the calling ranges.

Another awesome thing that happened yesterday, Flows took some time and we went over a few SnGs together which also helped no end. After the 2hrs we spent talking I found a few awesome ways to improve my game even further and I'm confident that pretty soon I'll be able to take it to the next level. The main things I learned was:
-be affraid of the chip leader more then of the other players
-be the chip leader
-use the chip leader powers to gain even more chips and an even bigger share of the prize
I already am quite aggressive at the table but it seems there's still room for more aggression. This review session gave me lots of food for thought and I will try incorporate as many of the things Flows taught me in my game as soon as possible. Big thanks mate, u da man! ♠_cool:

All in all yesterday was not a very productive day. I felt a bit ... messed up. Like my head was floating somewhere in space and it reflected quite a bit in my play. For example in one hand where the blinds were 25/50 I actually thought they were 75/150 and when the SB open completed I promptly pushed my QJs all in from the big blind :f_confused: I managed to hit a runner runner straight tho and all was well. Till I noticed in the next hand that the others were posting blinds of 25/50 at which point I was ♠_confused:

Still even with the awful in me coming out yesterday things were good. My BR got another boost and it now stands at 933.74$. Going to try to break the 1k$ limit today and I hope by the end of tomorrow I'll have made a profit of 1k$ in a week. Which will likely be one of the best weeks of my career. Which is kind of odd since before playing 6.5$s on stars I played 22$ SnGs, NL SH 50 and 100 and yet it was always hard to make 1k$ a week. Kind of awesome when it happens tho ♠_cool:

This is Atoks, enjoying his time on PokerStars and hopes this good run goes on forever ♠_biggrin: Good luck ppl and cya next time

LuborC

Joined: 20.04.2008

Posts: 1,243

03.06.2009, 15:45 0

What? You made 1K$ in a week? OMG my goal is to make this kind of money in a month! Very nicely done!

DISCONTINUED:Should I stay or should I Sit'n'go? LuborC's blog...

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

05.06.2009, 14:04 0

Originally posted by LuborC
What? You made 1K$ in a week? OMG my goal is to make this kind of money in a month! Very nicely done!

Well it's not 1k$ pure profit yet, managed to get over the 1k$ yesterday but then I had a run where I didn't get ITM and played some really poor poker on top of that. Things are rather confusing for me. I spent the first few days analyzing my game with the help of ICM Nash calculator, but yesterday and the day before I spent practicing with the SnG Wizard. I have to say the whole SnGW practice only made me confused. I think it will be best for me to stick to the Nash ICM calculator, even if it makes a massive pressumption that everyone plays the perfect game. I don't think it is that important because most of my opponents are unknown or tighter then they should be. The tighter they are the bigger my edge and if I don't have any reads on them the only reasonable action I can use against them is one based on solid math.

Either way one looks at it, ranges are all good and well, but judging from my own play I will rarely stick to my designated range when I am first to act for various reasons. It is therefore difficult for me to use the SnGW test mode because I will often push any2 because I want to use what little fold equity I have or because I want to exploit the bubble. These are the situations SnGW just doesn't seem to consider. So from now on I think I will stick to analyzing my game purely with ICM Nash Calculator. It seems to be the least erroneous of options for analysis and I'll alwas understand the reasons why pushing or folding is correct ...

I doubt I'll play much over the weekend as I'm spending more time with my girlfriend, but today I will play normally, 3 sessions with 6 tables each for over 50 SnGs. Bankroll decreased since two days ago and now stands at 900.44$. I mainly blame SnGW for this, as it managed to confuse me quite a bit and as a result I played a very weak game. My calling ranges have in some ways improved but I still make a few errors so this is still my main focus.
I have been able to employ the chip leader bully tactics a few times and I have to say the more I use it to more I understand it. It will be a nice adition to the SnG weaponry I've also started to pay more attention to where the blinds are and will be in the next few orbits to give myself an even bigger edge. It's always good to put someone in a desperate situation before they realize they will be in it.

So much for today ... I'm rather angry at myself for the way I've played the past 2 days and the only reason the result isn't better is me being confused and more in doubt as to what the correct action is. I hope returning to analysis using only the nash calc will help boost my game again. Cya next time!

Flows

Joined: 09.03.2006

Posts: 410

05.06.2009, 16:59 0

Originally posted by Atoks

Either way one looks at it, ranges are all good and well, but judging from my own play I will rarely stick to my designated range when I am first to act for various reasons. It is therefore difficult for me to use the SnGW test mode because I will often push any2 because I want to use what little fold equity I have or because I want to exploit the bubble. These are the situations SnGW just doesn't seem to consider. So from now on I think I will stick to analyzing my game purely with ICM Nash Calculator. It seems to be the least erroneous of options for analysis and I'll alwas understand the reasons why pushing or folding is correct ...

I'm sorry to say that, but this is exactly what sng-wiz does! do you really know how sng-wiz works? it should be expained somewhere because it really helps to understand decisions! but: not every spot is a good spot. could you post one or two hands that show this situation?

Nash is good, but the wizard is better don't give up because of two bad days!!!

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

06.06.2009, 01:18 0

Originally posted by Flows

Originally posted by Atoks

Either way one looks at it, ranges are all good and well, but judging from my own play I will rarely stick to my designated range when I am first to act for various reasons. It is therefore difficult for me to use the SnGW test mode because I will often push any2 because I want to use what little fold equity I have or because I want to exploit the bubble. These are the situations SnGW just doesn't seem to consider. So from now on I think I will stick to analyzing my game purely with ICM Nash Calculator. It seems to be the least erroneous of options for analysis and I'll alwas understand the reasons why pushing or folding is correct ...

I'm sorry to say that, but this is exactly what sng-wiz does! do you really know how sng-wiz works? it should be expained somewhere because it really helps to understand decisions! but: not every spot is a good spot. could you post one or two hands that show this situation?

Nash is good, but the wizard is better don't give up because of two bad days!!!

Hey Flows mate I will try to explain my disdain for SnGWizard further. The average opponent on my level has no experience with ICM play and only feels comfortable pushing say top 6% of the range. Everything else he will try to avoid unless it will be absolutely unavoidable. The ranges that SnGW offers are way to broad for the 6.5$turbos on Stars. There are almost no players that will be willing to call or push according to those ranges when they have ~10BI left. This is exactly why my edge over them is way bigger and why I've made such a nice profit in the past week. If I adjust my playing range to that of SnGWizard I simply pass up on too much $EV, because I become too tight. Only once the bubble breaks is when the Wiz becomes useful for me.

It is possible however that I am using the SitnGo Wizard the wrong way. Perhaps u could show me what kind of settings u use when u use it in the "test" mode. The only useful option of the wizard (for me right now) is the fact that u can play with ranges. Apart from that, I'll talk the calculator over SnGW for now ... perhaps we could talk more of this in our next session?

Played over 50SnGs so far today, went really well, up almost 150$. I reverted to my LAG style and the results were good. I've actually made even less money because some geniuses on the bubble did't want to push when the shortstack at the table had like <3BB. It was incredibly frustrating and I was watching in disbelief when the shorties blinded down to nothing, while the blinds went up forcing me to blind down to nothing. They would win with their crappy hand while my crappy hands didn't hold up. It almost made me loose my cool and moan at those bigstacks ...

All in all however I'm really happy with the way things are going. I think I will start to prepare myself to take shots at the 16$ games. I'm not really sure what to expect there tho so if anyone has any experience, please share

So much for now, next time I'll post some hands, the usual mix of interesting, funny and just plain stupid. Watch this player cause I'm going places ♠_cool: ♠_biggrin: ♠_cool: :f_biggrin:

BR atm: 1043.94$

Atoks

Joined: 01.06.2008

Posts: 1,434

09.06.2009, 17:29 0

Well I'm finally back after an extended weekend with the girlfriend. We had a great time, went to a The Killers concert among other things. For all you hard working people out there, be it jobs or poker, always remember this: no matter how hard u work always make time available for having fun and taking a break from your routines. It will do wonders for your motivation and productivity!

I didn't play any poker since friday night so I decided to go over the hands I saved from the previus session to get a feel for the ranges again. Here's some of the hands:

27.) Good push (had doubts about this one) and good call:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

SB (t2560)
BB (t2750)
Hero (UTG) (t2370)
MP (t4840)
Button (t980)

Hero's M: 7.90

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A, 10
Hero bets t2370 (All-In), MP calls t2370, 3 folds

Flop: (t5040) 5, K, K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t5040) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t5040) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t5040

Villain held TT

I wasn't too sure about this hand as it plays poorly against other aces that would call and quite a few other hands so the best I could hope for was a really bad call or collecting the blinds... watcha gonna do eh

28.) Bad call:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t2405)
UTG (t1245)
MP1 (t2370)
MP2 (t2780)
CO (t1910)
Hero (Button) (t1115)
SB (t1675)

Hero's M: 3.72

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, 8
UTG bets t1245 (All-In), 3 folds, Hero calls t1115 (All-In), 2 folds

Flop: (t2530) 4, 7, 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t2530) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t2530) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t2530

Villain held JJ

I'm not sure what I was thinking at the time I was playing this hand... I guess I was hoping he was pushing with any two here but against an unknown this is still a bad call, only when having a good read would this possibly be a good move

29.) Good push, not such a good call:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (7 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t2405)
UTG (t1245)
MP1 (t2370)
MP2 (t2780)
CO (t1910)
Hero (Button) (t1115)
SB (t1675)

Hero's M: 3.72

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8, 8
UTG bets t1245 (All-In), 3 folds, Hero calls t1115 (All-In), 2 folds

Flop: (t2530) 4, 7, 6 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t2530) J (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t2530) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t2530

Similar mistake to the one I made in hand 28, only made worse by the fact this guy had a much bigger stack then me in the previus situation.

30.) This is what happens when noone else wants to call at the table I play (I actually tilt in this situation would u believe it!!)

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (SB) (t3115)
BB (t2910)
UTG (t5577)
Button (t1898)

Hero's M: 10.38

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, Q
1 fold, Button bets t1898 (All-In), Hero raises to t3115 (All-In), 1 fold

Flop: (t3996) 5, 2, A (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t3996) 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t3996) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t3996

Villain held A2o

I had an eye on taking over chip lead and wanting to pop the bubble. Turns out this was one of the worst moves I ever made since playing SnGs and may it be a warning to me for the future!

31.) Another poor call:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 100/200 Blinds (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

CO (t910)
Button (t1530)
SB (t1655)
Hero (BB) (t1725)
UTG (t6260)
MP (t1420)

Hero's M: 5.75

Preflop: Hero is BB with 8, A
2 folds, CO bets t910 (All-In), 2 folds, Hero calls t710

Flop: (t1920) Q, 7, 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t1920) 9 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t1920) 5 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t1920

Villain held QT clubs

I figured he was pushing anytwo here and that I had better odds then I figured. Looking back and at the ICM calculator this is a poor decision.

32.) Not a great call here:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 25 Ante (3 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

BB (t4920)
Button (t2755)
Hero (SB) (t5825)

Hero's M: 8.63

Preflop: Hero is SB with K, 7
1 fold, Hero bets t5800 (All-In), BB calls t4495 (All-In)

Flop: (t9865) 10, 5, 8 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Turn: (t9865) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: (t9865) 5 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Total pot: t9865

Villain held A6o

But not a terrible call. He stole my BB a few times before and my hand was always very bad. Made a call as I figured I get good odds when I put him on an any two range.

33.) I thought about this one for quite some time and made a few quick calculations in my head:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $6.00+$0.50 Tournament, 200/400 Blinds 25 Ante (4 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com

Hero (BB) (t7665)
UTG (t2195)
Button (t1165)
SB (t2475)

Hero's M: 10.95

Preflop: Hero is BB with Q, J
UTG bets t2170 (All-In), 2 folds, Hero calls t1770

Flop: (t4640) 8, 3, 10 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: (t4640) 4 (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: (t4640) Q (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: t4640

Villain held AK spades

I came to the conclusion he will be pushing any ace and king and that I'm only in real trouble against QQ, AK and KQ type hands. So I went with the call and the calc says good call.

[Closed] My Trip among the Stars; a 12 month chronicle through SnGs, now concluded