Ramble's Ramblings

Bankroll Challenge Update - First ~5000 Hands

Stakes: NL5
Hands Played: 4881
Net Won + Bonuses: +$44.28
bb/100: 13.24
Bankroll Challenge Roll: $144.28
Goal Completion (from $100 --> $500): +11%

Legend: green is Net Won, orange is All-in Adjusted, and yellow is with Rakeback/Bonuses...

A few points of interest...(at least to me :f_tongue:):
~hand 2300: started a bit of a gradual upswing and feeling good about my game
~hand 2700: win a few big pots with and bankroll gets a nice bump, feeling like I am dominating this stake
~hand 2800: lose a couple big hands, disappointed but after review I would play them the same.
~hand 2850: clear the rakeback and feel like I'm freerolling... start gambling (chasing draws, and bluff-catching) and lose a big chunk of my bankroll - I need to be conscious of this and watch for it next time.
~hands 3200 - 4300: somewhere in here I change my table selection a bit to find some looser games and it works really well at the start, but after awhile I start losing big.
~hand 4300: I stop playing and review my game to see what is happening... discover I am not adjusting to the increase in multi-way pots appropriately.
~hands 4300-4900: go on a bit of a heater... definitely had some run-good, but feel that my adjustments and confidence are big contributors as well.

Closing Thoughts:
Overall, despite some setbacks, things have been going very well with the bankroll challenge. I've improved my game in a few areas (bet-sizing, table selection, multi-way pots, etc...) and I have a short list of other areas I want to explore. I find there is so much to learn with this game. I can study something like blind-defense and learn a lot and incorporate it into my game, but when I go back and review it again later, I discover more to improve on... it is definitely a game where you build up layers of competence over time. I think that's what I like about it the most - there is always work to do to improve and if you do the work, you can usually see the results pretty quickly.

Good luck all!

Ramble is still going strong after all these years!

GL fella!

Best,
UPAY4DINNER aka
The artist formerly known as HollyMichelle13

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Ramble is still going strong after all these years!

GL fella!

Best,
UPAY4DINNER aka
The artist formerly known as HollyMichelle13

Hahaha - yeah there's a few of us old dogs still around. I took a break for awhile and have switched from SnG's to cash games. I really loved the SnG's but the change was good for me.

I just checked out your blog and found out I missed your streaming days - I'm pretty disappointed about that honestly. You've always been one of the friendliest members here and I miss battling it out with you back in the days of the PokerStrategy Home Games...

Moving back up to NL10
Had another good session at NL5 last night and quickly made a couple of buy-ins so I decided to use that to take another stab at NL10... I played a few hundred hands and found I was very comfortable playing those tables. So much so that I'm going to make a permanent switch to it unless I go on a real downswing. I've been properly rolled for it for a long time, but was lacking the confidence. My work at NL5 though seems to have built a pretty good foundation and I feel I'm ready for the move.

As for the session, I was up almost a buy-in and was just getting ready to log off for the night when I ran into a cooler KK vs AA to end on a slight loss. Not deterred at all, let's gooooo!

Another Good Session

Played another 500 hand session last night at NL10 and it went well, finishing up a couple of buy-ins. I know I haven't played that many games at this stake yet, but it feels like there are more fishes at this level than at NL5 so far... hopefully that trend continues.

Here's a few hands from my last session that I thought were funny...

Hand 1: Sometimes you're glad villain is short-stacked
PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3

UTG: $17.75 (177.5 bb)
CO: $12.14 (121.4 bb)
BTN: $3.01 (30.1 bb)
SB: $17.87 (178.7 bb)
Hero (BB): $11.50 (115 bb)

SB posts $0.05, Hero posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has K♣: A♥:
UTG raises to $0.30, fold, BTN raises to $1.10, fold, Hero calls $1.00, fold

Flop: ($2.55, 2 players) Q♠: K♥: T♦:
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.91 and is all-in, Hero calls $1.91

Turn: ($6.37, 2 players) 8♥:

River: ($6.37, 2 players) K♦:

Results: $6.37 pot ($0.29 rake)
Final Board: Q♠: K♥: T♦: 8♥: K♦:

Hero shows K♣: A♥:: (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 74%, Flop 9%, Turn 3%)

BTN shows A♠: J♣:: (Straight, Ace High)
(Pre 26%, Flop 91%, Turn 97%)

BTN wins $6.08

Hand 2: My worst played hand of the session
PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3

CO: $10.00 (100 bb)
BTN: $10.67 (106.7 bb)
SB: $12.72 (127.2 bb)
BB: $11.07 (110.7 bb)
Hero (UTG): $10.50 (105 bb)

SB posts $0.05, BB posts $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♠: 5♠:
Hero raises to $0.25, CO raises to $0.90, 3 folds, Hero calls $0.65

Flop: ($1.95, 2 players) 2♦: A♥: 9♥:
Hero checks, CO bets $1.00, Hero calls $1.00

Turn: ($3.95, 2 players) K♦:
Hero checks, CO bets $1.70, Hero calls $1.70

River: ($7.35, 2 players) 5♦:
Hero checks, CO bets $2.00, Hero calls $2.00

Results: $11.35 pot ($0.51 rake)
Final Board: 2♦: A♥: 9♥: K♦: 5♦:

CO shows 7♣: 6♣:: (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 45%, Flop 4%, Turn 0%)

Hero shows A♠: 5♠:: (Two Pair, Aces and Fives)
(Pre 55%, Flop 96%, Turn 100%)

Hero wins $10.84

Hand 3: What do you do on this hand?
PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3

CO: $10.37 (103.7 bb)
BTN: $8.71 (87.1 bb)
SB: $13.43 (134.3 bb)
BB: $14.26 (142.6 bb)
Hero (UTG): $11.61 (116.1 bb)
MP: $9.77 (97.7 bb)

SB posts $0.05, BB posts $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♦: A♥:
Hero raises to $0.25, 4 folds, BB calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.55, 2 players) 6♣: 4♦: 7♥:
BB checks, Hero bets $0.35, BB calls $0.35

Turn: ($1.25, 2 players) Q♣:
BB checks, Hero bets $0.80, BB calls $0.80

River: ($2.85, 2 players) 4♥:
BB bets $2.72, Hero ???

Good luck all!

Not a cash gamer so genuine and likely silly question.

Why the 2.5x raise from CO and UTG? Is this the standard opening size these days and does starting position dictate the size?

Hand 3 seems interesting. BB calling range is obv super wide here.

His check call on flop and turn and then bet on the river is super suspicious as would expect he is nutted here and flopped a straight or trips or something crazy.

Either that or a complete air ball bluff. I would probably call one time for information and then use that knowledge against them in future.

Cash fish here so I probably should keep my mouth shut ♦

Looking at the HH again a straight seems unlikely actually unless he had 53s or 75s.

Leaning more towards two pair with 64s 74s 76s or 76o his PF holdings

Or ofc random draws that he tries to bluff when missing on the river

This hand looks preeeetty crazy. You pile 100bb into 2bb pot on flop. If villain has any sense in his stack off range there are two possibilities. You are flipping versus combo draw or you are crushed by better made hand.

Once villain 3bet it should be either call or fold. If calling we are basically looking for safe turn to stack off. Advantage is that if turn is blank we have evaded considerable amount of equity combo draws had. If it's especially club we can pretty happily give up if villain continue betting. But other ok side in calling is that if turn is draw completing one villain might also slowdown with some hands that had us beat already.

Plus on case villain has some weird low equity bluff going on we allow him to continue it and possibly getting some extra value on blank turns.

But yeah I would say you were probably in best possible shape this time being even bit ahead.

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Not a cash gamer so genuine and likely silly question.

Why the 2.5x raise from CO and UTG? Is this the standard opening size these days and does starting position dictate the size?

Yes 2.5 x is pretty standard, a bit more if opening in the SB.

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Cash fish here so I probably should keep my mouth shut ♦

Not at all - I love it when people comment or ask a question... it makes things a lot more interesting.

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Leaning more towards two pair with 64s 74s 76s or 76o his PF holdings

Give the man his prize - he was defending with 64s and I paid him off.

Originally posted by ghaleon

Spoiler

Originally posted by Ramble
Feeling Discouraged

I'm a bit bummed out with my results lately... feel like I'm playing ok but I keep running into absolute top of villain's range very often or they keep hitting their outs. I should take solace, that long term my play will be profitable, but the past few days I seem to be hung up on winning the hands as the measure of success.... which isn't good for my mental game (or bankroll) so I'm thinking it might be a good study day instead of a play day.

I wish they could all be this easy and hold up:
PokerStars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3

CO: $7.95 (159 bb)
BTN: $5.57 (111.4 bb)
SB: $14.52 (290.4 bb)
Hero (BB): $5.30 (106 bb)

SB posts $0.02, Hero posts BB $0.05

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.07) Hero has 4♦: 2♠:
2 folds, SB calls $0.03, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.10, 2 players) 6♠: 2♣: 4♣:
SB bets $0.05, Hero raises to $0.20, SB raises to $0.90, Hero raises to $5.25 and is all-in, SB calls $4.35

Turn: ($10.60, 2 players) J♥:

River: ($10.60, 2 players) K♥:

Results: $10.60 pot ($0.44 rake)
Final Board: 6♠: 2♣: 4♣: J♥: K♥:

SB shows K♣: 5♣:: (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 68%, Flop 45%, Turn 27%)

Hero shows 4♦: 2♠:: (Two Pair, Fours and Twos)
(Pre 32%, Flop 55%, Turn 73%)

Hero wins $10.16

Anyways - have a great day all!

This hand looks preeeetty crazy. You pile 100bb into 2bb pot on flop. If villain has any sense in his stack off range there are two possibilities. You are flipping versus combo draw or you are crushed by better made hand.

Once villain 3bet it should be either call or fold. If calling we are basically looking for safe turn to stack off. Advantage is that if turn is blank we have evaded considerable amount of equity combo draws had. If it's especially club we can pretty happily give up if villain continue betting. But other ok side in calling is that if turn is draw completing one villain might also slowdown with some hands that had us beat already.

Plus on case villain has some weird low equity bluff going on we allow him to continue it and possibly getting some extra value on blank turns.

But yeah I would say you were probably in best possible shape this time being even bit ahead.

Thanks ghaleon - really appreciate the feedback. I learn a lot from hearing more experienced players thoughts on hands. Especially a hand like this because my line of thinking was so different from yours. I don't think I'm ever folding to a 3-bet in this situation, but I really like your thinking with just calling the 3-bet and your plan on the turn.

I wish I could tell you exactly what my thoughts on the hand were at the time - but I'd be making it up at this point... I think it was probably as simple as I have 2 pair and it's extremely unlikely he has a set so he probably has a strong hand or a draw, and he is likely thinking my 4-bet is an overplayed hand or draw ... and I think he'll put it all in here and pay me off...

I do remember thinking I was in trouble when I saw he had both the straight and flush draws. It turns out I was still ahead but he was much stronger than I thought he'd be.

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Leaning more towards two pair with 64s 74s 76s or 76o his PF holdings

Give the man his prize - he was defending with 64s and I paid him off.

Hard to get away from here then, tbf to villain he played it well imo. Maybe they should protect themselves from draws more by raising the turn.

Not really sure what else you can do here that will save you some $.

I guess checking back flop isn't really an option as it's just giving them a free card for potential straights and on the turn a free card for potential flushes right?

Sizing wise I think the $0.25 flop bet and $0.80 turn bet are good.

Think we know that nobdoy bluffs rivers at the low limits so maybe you can make a hero fold on the river but that would be pretty insane too considering the 4 counteracts his 2p if he had 76s or 76o.

This is a spot where making notes on the player is key I guess.

Yeah on micros or small stake population probably overplay fair amount of top pairs but imo that spot is so extreme and also quite scary board. I would be surprised if we can assume average player 3bet plain top pair or even overpair. But of course I might give too much credit for players

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Leaning more towards two pair with 64s 74s 76s or 76o his PF holdings

Give the man his prize - he was defending with 64s and I paid him off.

Hard to get away from here then, tbf to villain he played it well imo. Maybe they should protect themselves from draws more by raising the turn.

I agree completely - I think we both played the hand well, although my river call is close (I think)... it's just one of those hands that crack pocket aces and make you :censored:!!!

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
Think we know that nobody bluffs rivers at the low limits

This hasn't been my experience, but I know everyone with waaaay more hands says that's the case... They don't bluff enough for sure, but I see river bluffs every session... maybe it is my table selection and the type of villains I like to play against... I'm not sure. I know that I look for spots where I think I can get a bluff in and it has been a decent contributor to my win-rate. Exploring the whole bluffing / bluff-catching side of the game as I move up the stakes is something I'm looking forward to (I think...:f_eek:).

Week 3 - Bankroll Challenge Update

Stakes: NL5 and NL10
Hands Played (total since start of challenge): 7428
Bankroll Challenge Roll (started with $100): $172.75
bb/100 over all stakes: 8.53
Goal Completion (goal is $500): 18%

The move to NL10 continues to be a very positive experience from both a results point of view and, more importantly, a confidence point of view. I tend to be very conservative with my bankroll management and am "afraid" of taking shots at higher levels because I always feel that I'm not ready. The Bankroll Challenge was a great motivator to take a stab at NL10 again... My plan now is to keep playing NL10 until I finish the challenge and then celebrate by taking stabs at NL25.

Here's the graph for the bankroll challenge so far: (yellow line is with rakeback+bonuses)

The last big dip (just after 7000 hands) is entirely due to some bad play on my part (entitlement tilt), but I realized what was happening, stopped playing for an hour and re-focused and then good things happened after that.

Looking forward to what the next few weeks bring and if I can keep the line moving upwards.

B-Game and The Deal

Played a small session last night (~200 hands) and found I was on auto-pilot and definitely playing my B-Game (maybe worse) so I decided to quit for the night.

I've also been thinking about what to do with my Stars Coins and decided to play "The Deal" and see how that goes... Based on this forum thread "The Deal", it seems it is +ev compared to converting coins to cash... so I started spending my coins on that. I'm tracking my results and will share my experience.

Back to A-Game and The Deal pays out

Since my last post I've played a few more sessions and they went well. No huge wins to report, just some good profitable grinding sessions. I'm starting to build some small samples on a few of the regs and had a quick study session reviewing the 5 villains I've played the most hands against... found a few small things to watch for and see if I can exploit.

The Deal Jackpot was won today and it turned out to be a pretty +EV decision to play it. Normally 1 Stars Coin = $0.01 USD (i.e.1 cent) if you redeem them for cash.

The pay-out today was $6.24 for a total cost of 41 coins, so I earned $0.15 USD per Stars Coin. (I had only been playing for 4 days so this is a lucky outcome.)

Some numbers for later reference:

Queens

Just a quick rant... to get it out of my system...

Since the bankroll challenge started, I've been dealt pocket queens 50 times. I've won with them 44 times... and lost with them 6 times... 4 of those losses to pocket kings...

and despite that winning ratio, I'm down a couple of buy-ins with them... frustrating...

phew... ok, I feel better...

I can move on...

oh wait... just one more thing...

There's a saying about Aces -- they win small pots and lose big ones.
I'm guessing the same applies to Queens

Queen Wars - A New Hope

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3

MP: $21.58 (215.8 bb)
CO: $18.66 (186.6 bb)
Hero (BTN): $12.30 (123 bb)
SB: $10.21 (102.1 bb)
BB: $18.38 (183.8 bb)
UTG: $10.59 (105.9 bb)

SB posts $0.05, BB posts $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has A♠: 5♠:
fold, MP raises to $0.30, fold, Hero calls $0.30, fold, BB raises to $1.50, fold, Hero calls $1.20

Flop: ($3.35, 2 players) 9♠: 3♠: 5♦:
BB bets $1.06, Hero calls $1.06

Turn: ($5.47, 2 players) 5♣:
BB checks, Hero bets $2.25, BB raises to $15.82 and is all-in, Hero calls $7.49 and is all-in

River: ($24.95, 2 players) 4♦:

Results: $24.95 pot ($1.12 rake)
Final Board: 9♠: 3♠: 5♦: 5♣: 4♦:

BB shows Q♥: Q♦:: (Two Pair, Queens and Fives)
(Pre 66%, Flop 47%, Turn 5%)

Hero shows A♠: 5♠:: (Three of a Kind, Fives)
(Pre 34%, Flop 53%, Turn 95%)

Hero wins $23.83

Queen Wars - The Empire Strikes Back

PokerStars - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by Holdem Manager 3

MP: $22.58 (225.8 bb)
CO: $18.26 (182.6 bb)
Hero (BTN): $23.43 (234.3 bb)
SB: $10.00 (100 bb)
BB: $10.00 (100 bb)
UTG: $13.82 (138.2 bb) (only 16 hands --> VPIP: 44 / PFR: 38)

SB posts $0.05, BB posts $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has Q♥: Q♣:
UTG raises to $0.30, 2 folds, Hero raises to $0.90, 2 folds, UTG calls $0.60

Flop: ($1.95, 2 players) 7♦: 5♣: 2♦:
UTG checks, Hero bets $1.20, UTG raises to $3.33, Hero calls $2.13

Turn: ($8.61, 2 players) 8♥:
UTG bets $7.50, Hero raises to $19.20 and is all-in, UTG calls $2.09 and is all-in

River: ($27.79, 2 players) 4♠:

Results: $27.79 pot ($1.25 rake)
Final Board: 7♦: 5♣: 2♦: 8♥: 4♠:

UTG shows 7♥: 7♠:: (Three of a Kind, Sevens)
(Pre 19%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)

Hero shows Q♥: Q♣:: (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 81%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)

UTG wins $26.54

I really hate my turn play here... Villains pre-flop position and action, check-raise on the flop and large turn-bet were clear signs of a set.

I tanked for a long while before shoving and if it was a tighter player I would have found the fold a lot quicker/easier. At the time I thought villain's range included some smaller overpairs, A7's, draws, and bluffs ... still not enough (I don't think) to make this a hand to continue with, but I was letting villain's loose stats cloud my thinking.

Now that I've had more time to think about it, I think the only hands villain is likely to play like this are: 77-55,22,Ad5d,Ad4d,Ad3d... if that's right, I'm a 60:40 underdog and should have listened to my gut...

I would love some insight from the pros on this one.