Originally posted by SirVanek
Nah, you shouldn't sitout when you are in a TAGville, most of the TAGs on ftp 0.5/1 SH are pretty bad, they are giving away $.
If you're playing 50c/1$ FTP your rake is what? 3BB/100?
So to get a +1BB winrate against anyone you need them to be +4BB/100 losing players
Thanks for the input folks, much appreciated!
To completely round out the picture, here is my lifetime $.50/$1 SH:
The rake is always a factor of course. Dissappointingly, I was paying 3.8BB/100 at iPoker (the best part of the first 84k hands above) and I'm now paying 2.8BB/100 at FTP. Which means if you were to extrapolate the FTP hands out as iPoker hands in the above graph, I've been running at -3.77BB/100 for the last 13k hands and would be down another $130. 
@ SirVanek: TB makes an important point. Table selection is probably the most critical thing I've added to my game in the last few months. Don't underestimate how important maximising your win rate is. You are throwing money away every time you play if you do not exercise table selection as best you can. In fact, if there are no optimal tables you shouldn't play, or you should find a site where there are good tables.
It is the fact I've been working so hard on table selection that makes the last few months even more disappointing and demonstrates even more starkly just how bad a shape my game is in.
As for optimal playing times, at FTP, whilst I'm sure it is playing appreciably tighter this month than last month, there are good tables at all sorts of thimes. My sessions are played anywhere between 17:00 GMT and 01:00 GMT so I get to see the ebb and flow of the level of play reasonably clearly. My afternoons (so 23:00 - 06:00 GMT) probably have the loosest games consistently, but there always seem to be a few good tables at any given time.
@ TB: I'm no maths geek, I have trouble tying my shoe laces, but wouldn't you need the other players aggregate win rate to be -4BB/100 for you to make your 1BB? So if you are at a table with five players, each of them with a win rate of -0.8BB/100, you should be winning at 1BB/100?
Tables are full of TAGs at 13-15 ET (Full Tilt time), it gets better at 15:00 when the Happy Hour begins. I think it was looser in November :/
Originally posted by taavi1337
Tables are full of TAGs at 13-15 ET (Full Tilt time), it gets better at 15:00 when the Happy Hour begins. I think it was looser in November :/
When the Happy Hour ends! Yeah, 2x FTP is pretty useful, but 3x FTP is a hard offer to refuse.
Just checked in HEM top 5 players by hands and looked them up on PTR. 4 out of 5 loosing around -1BB/100 so imho is possible to exploit them.
Ofcourse i do table selection to, just i remember a case clearly when i did enter on a table, there still was a 4x/2x fish and a bad tag on the table but you quickly sit out. You didn't have position on them, maybethat was the case.
I'm not sure tbh.
And SirVanek, while it's true you can exploit them you definitely can't win from them at these limits as that -1BB/100 is with the 2.xBB/100 rake so actually they have a 1BB edge over the people they play with.
Originally posted by SirVanek
Ofcourse i do table selection to, just i remember a case clearly when i did enter on a table, there still was a 4x/2x fish and a bad tag on the table but you quickly sit out. You didn't have position on them, maybethat was the case.
Could be a few reasons, but position is the most likely. Next most likely is I recognised you and ran for it!
Why i like to hear being praised and glorified but i don't think we have enough data in each other ,200ish hand maybe. Oh, btw, would be unfair that i know who you , i have Fuzylogic nick on FTP.
TerrorBlade, this is unfair, usually i win my debates and i have the last word, but you have right and i'm speachless. Hm, i try this general truth as last resort : the only way to measure yourself/ know yourself is playing with better oponents . ok, this argument has weakness, hope you don't find them 
Originally posted by SirVanek
Why i like to hear being praised and glorified but i don't think we have enough data in each other ,200ish hand maybe. Oh, btw, would be unfair that i know who you , i have Fuzylogic nick on FTP.
Excellent! I've now updated my "insta sitout" filter list on FTP for the fastest of getaways with what moniez I have left.:f_p:
@ arturaslaur: Thanks for stopping by and lending some support to SirVanek's argument... I think he may need all the support he can get with that line of reasoning. 
Originally posted by SirVanek
i have Fuzylogic nick on FTP.
Ooo, another pokerstrategyst grinding same limits... 
We played couple of hands together, you got my friend request. 
Hey guys, girls and ameoba massed in sufficient quantities to develop, not only sentient thought, but extra sensory powers of telekenisis and sensory powers of seeing (to read the screen of their PC, bought from Dell in all likelihood).
I thought I'd do a fare well 25min session of SH just to see if there really was a Santa Claus.
There isn't. So there won't be any last minute change of mind about the full ring thing. Of course, switching to FR has meant an insta doomswitch has been flicked and I've run pretty badly over the last couple of sessions.
Still, I've cleared the Gold Iron man status, and have no desire to grind the five days required for Iron Iron man status, so my time as a serial grinder has completed. In the manner in which it continued for much of the month.
Since when I play from here it will be for fun or to road test some alteration of play, here are my results at FTP for the month (exludes approx ~1k hands at Mansion for Xmas promo reasons):
$.50/$1 SH: 13 358 hands @ -2.84BB/100 = -$378.85 (out of my starting roll of $600)
$.50/$1 FR: 4 570 hands @ 0.77BB/100 = $35.30 (+VE. AWESOME).
$1/$2 FR: 1 728 hands @ 6.36BB/100 = $219.75 (Variance loved me when I wasn't an FR grinder) 
NL10 (AA doesn't win): 4 147 hands @ -14.44ptbb/100 = -$119.78 (NL is rigged and is a silly game IMO)
Total losings for the month to date: ~$250
So after a couple of days of taking the pain, my BR has dropped, once again, to slightly over $600. I've cleared $260/$600 of the first deposit bonus, which is excellent as I won't feel overwhelmingly compelled to grind out the balance of the bonus, and will let it end where it ends (I have until the end of March '10 to clear it).
I'll pick up $75 for the Iron man end of year bonus, which is nice. I'm just under half way to grinding the FTPs for the poker chip set (which is one of the things I've always wanted to earn from a store. I always thought I'd one day grind out the VC points 'cause I like the style of that particluar iPoker skin, however, seeing as the FTPs can only really be used for getting stuff, this presents an ideal opportunity to get a chipset! Hopefully I'll earn the FTPs required through normal play by the end of March, if not, I'll set up a little grind to get it.
So I'm at FTP till March at least. After that, I'm unsure really. I think my future will depend a lot on how my study goes over the next couple of months. If it is a solid experience, then I'll buy another ticket for the varaiance train again for a couple of months to see if I can finally crack $1/$2 SH. If not, then I'll likely drop FL as my main game, give up mass volumes each month (well, for me 15k hands a month is mass volume) and donk around in MTTs just for fun. And I'll bonus whore my way around the various PS.com affiliates, then start knocking off the trillion or so iPoker skins. SegaPoker FTW!
Dammit, Playboy poker shut down in January. WHY GOD, WHY??? This must have been a happy place. 
Anyway, I want to wish everyone at PS.com - particularly our awesome mods, community managers - including the riff raff they recently got rid of, sorry, "promoted" 
- and of course the cool bunch of humans posting in the English community forums. Love you guys. No man, I REALLY love you. 
(see, love hearts and everything).
So, for the last time this year, so long guys. Eat too much, drink FAAAR too much, enjoy some time with the people you love and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!
out.
Originally posted by stevegold87
Nice reading your blogs, keep up the good work ♠_cool:
Hey Simon! Thanks for reading fella. 
Read all the advice in this forum, all my accumulated wisdom, then DO THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE FTW!
Originally posted by SirVanek
Could you post the stats on the sh hands?
Sure can. Crazy weird thing about these is my career WTS was around 40-41%. I still haven't really worked out why I'm showing down so many fewer hands - especially with a 22.5% VPIP, other than FTP is more aggressive and I'm giving too much credit to villians and folding too often - esp in pots where I've committed 2.5 - 3BB. That requires having more confidence in calculating my equity compared to pot size and cost of calling down than I have currently have (ie None w/o teh nuts).
Anyway:
Hands: 13 358
VPIP: 22.5%
PFR: 18.5%
WTS: 35.9%
W$SD: 56.6%
AF: 1.90
AFq: 52.8%
AF river: 1.4
Are those stats filtered for 5-6 handed?
22.5% is tighter than the gold charts dictate which is probably too tight as well ;P
For comparison since we're playing on same platform and limits and quite same period even the same time:
Hands: 33200
VP$IP: 24,7
PFR: 19
WTS: 39,2
W$SD: 53,2
AF: 1,9
Winning rate: 1,7 BB / 100
And btw, shouldn't be the difference between VPIP and PFR around 6? Meaning if your VPIP is 22,5 your PFR should be 16,5...? It's in the Gold article about stats. Too sleepy at the moment to find that particular column, so feel free to correct me.
@ TB: No, stats are filtered 2-6 handed, but I would guess the number of hands that are 2-3 handed will be insignificant as I generally don't play a lot of hands ultra short handed (maybe 200 max?)
As for VPIP difference, the only possibility for this difference is in BB limping, as I don't tend to limp ugly suited cards (ie 73s, 82s, 94s) with a raise and call + dead SB (ie 5.5:1 pot odds). I've been reconsidering this though, but I've read both the call this and fold worst suited hands schools of thought, and atm I've decided to shelve them. Probably a mistake, but my post flop sucks so hard and the variance increases that I don't have the confidence to play the worst suited hands.
The other place I may be loosing VPIP is playing out of the SB in unraised pots... I haven't been using the Bronze SB calling chart (probably should) which means I fold hands I wouldn't raise v limpers (ie weak Ax type hands) that are calls in the bronze complete SB in unraised pots chart.
Other than those two examples, I'm 100% on the Silver charts (barring the odd action misread). Still, those examples probably make the difference. The bigger comparison there is the difference between WTS/W$SD stats (both within my stats, and by comparison to yours). I'm clearly not showing down enough hands and intuitively that is likely having a substantial impact (allowing that it is a small sample size at 13k hands). Still, at the moment, my study is focusing on pre flop and making sure I'm adjusting correctly (which I know I don't do atm) and calculating my pre flop equity correctly so as to make better flop/turn decisions.
I'm not sure there is a required 6% difference between calling/raising preflop (ie VPIP/PFR) other than we shouldn't be cold calling or overlimping very much more than that.
Add to that I'm fairly certain I've played slightly worse over the month (I'm sure focus issues - although it could be that I have just played sessions with better focus than previously and accordingly this highlights my "normal" slightly lacking focus), and I'm definitely running worse this month, tilt is going to play its part in those stats somewhere too.
The other aspect to consider is the stats kinda don't tell a real picture, they only hint at issues. The leaks will be numerous and multi-faceted and horrible. Some are immediatly obvious mid play, others require a more practiced hand to highlight. With enough study, hopefully I will be able to see those other leaks more clearly, then I'll get some proper coaching and try and maximise my dollars:coaching time. Then $1/$2 SH should be a doddle. 
Hi
I agree with Terrorblade. I think you need to loosen up a bit preflop. You're going to get run over with those stats, and certainly if those aren't filtered for 5-6max.
Personally, I don't know any nits that are decent winners.
But a lot of those 30/20 (and more) guys on my tables are crushing.
Pokerstrategy teaches a rather tight style. I would never want to be tighter than what PS recommends. But I don't see a problem with playing slightly looser.
BTW I'm not so loose myself.
In 5-6max I'm just 24.4/18.2
