Whining around micros - GRODT Completed, but still on micros (NL5,NL10,NL25 6MAX)

Dear friend and followers,

I have opened a new thread due to recent flood disasters that have hit my country and neighboring Bosnia and Croatia.

Serbia and Bosnia flood disasters

If You can help in any way, even in suggestions, please do, all support is appreciated

So a long story short.

I`m back. BR~400$ (withdrew some, spent some on gambling ), will play NL10, sometimes add one table of NL25 with table selection. Getting a coaching from money left aside for that purpose, will try to update blog as I used to with graphs and hands regularly.

GL @ the tables

So far still trying to find time to play some normal sessions.

I managed to do some 1hr sessions, but mostly during day time (so less fish, more daily regs) but using that time to mark a lot of players, take some notes. Also improved my HUD, added some missing stats with help of a coach.
July so far:

So struggling and adapting, like many times before, but hopefully it will take me less time for that (If I improved as a player over the last two years).

I missed to update on one amazing day poker wise during last month:

Played a solid 2 hour session on NL25 regular 6Max, and finished 4BIs up ♠_biggrin:

hopefully I will get back in couple of months to NL25, and do graphs like this on daily basis

In the meantime still swimming with the fish @ NL10, so come, toss me a bate and I will take it with my TPTK, cause that's how I

roll.

Still have plenty of $$$ left for poker saved on my Chinese tour, but saving those for coaching when I get more into a grinding mode.

GL @ the tables

Had a real weekend fun on and off poker.
Spending all days with friends BBQing, drinking(water, staying off alcohol for 10 days now ♠_biggrin: ) and spent evenings grinding and playing some MMs events. Cashed in 2/2 with small profits, losing AQ<AK, and 99<KJ this one with a runner, runner straight. I had a very good table selection for cash tables, while playing MMs, with nice results:

Had an interesting SF:

And flopped quads, but no money there:

It might be that I am fooling myself, but could it be true that my game is for higher limits, and not micros??? Why is it hard for me to play ABC poker and run good? Always trying to find the catch, read players and catch their bluffs (note to myself: no one is bluffing @NL10), getting bored after 1h of playing normal ABC poker!

This could me my biggest motivation so far, to get out of micros and see if my game is really for higher limits, or am I just not good enough for this game!

These are my stats by limits since I started this blog! Losing money on NL5, running in green NL10 regular, but having worst results @NL10 fast, and combined results for NL25 are positive over a small sample ♠_confused:

All in all still around 200$ short for NL25 (by my BRM), but I will get there, trust me!

on catching bluffs:

- why do you think they are bluffing? what about their likely bluffing frequency?
- when you call and they weren't, what was wrong in your thought process, if anything? go over the ranges you give them for each street

you also always could just deposit and try the higher limits out

Originally posted by Tomaloc
on catching bluffs:

- why do you think they are bluffing? what about their likely bluffing frequency?

That is the problem, they are not, it's just my stupid mind telling me I should go to showdown with my TPTK...

Originally posted by Tomaloc
- when you call and they weren't, what was wrong in your thought process, if anything? go over the ranges you give them for each street

I actually overvalue my hand, I need to work on my postflop game a lot...

Originally posted by Tomaloc
you also always could just deposit and try the higher limits out

Yeah, or I could donate that money to charity, and feel better about myself (I would end up donating money anyways, so better to the needy, rather than the greedy )
As I said, no depositing of my own money, and I hope to stick to it, I can only use money to buy coachings, and learning material!

Thank You very much for Your observations, I will try to focus myself on +value hands, and not potential bluff catchers!

So we can call this one: "Monthly recap & weekly update"

As for July I can say that the volume was pretty poor, so many times getting ready for a session, starting it, and then being forced to quit due to some work stuff (taking about daytime sessions). Evening sessions were very rare, due to late shows, going out with friends, cursing at the lousy summer weather we are having here. So to summarize it...

Pokerstars:

Had a nice heater at one moment, but got back to BE very quickly!

24h:

At first I was playing blaze poker, for some stupid cannon game in which I never won a thing, but later transferred to regular tables due to low traffic on blaze. Graph is just regular tables cause HM2 does not import blaze (it does, but only random hands, so graph looks like an insane giraffe ♠_biggrin: )

Also, on the good side, got some FDB and RB from 24h, but of course there is a bad side as well (there always is with me ) lost approx 100$ while playing ZOOM on my phone (again, and again, and

)

As for the weekly update, I can say that the month did not start as planned, but at least I am putting in decent volume for my standards! Hoping to play a month with 20k hands combined!
24h August

All this while working on my homework of creating realistic open ranges from all positions, and trying to lower my calling 3bet stat!

This shit is still a lot of fun, no matter winning or losing money, and that's the only thing important (and now hit me with a hot streak )

and GL @ the tables to all of You

So really focused on improving my stats. Opening carefully by selected ranges from all positions, stealing where HM2 says so, folding to a 3bet with average hands oop, and having fun stacking off lighter against guys in green( )...

Combined graph looks like this:

Really kept my focus, strongly keeping away from fast format games (for now ), just following the old check suspiciously, bet strong, fold brave (actually, i think I just made this up )

Off poker, still working like crazy, season is @ its peak, but just another month and a half and I'll be off to FABULOUS LAS VEGAS , before starting a 45 days US tour with my group.

That reminds me, I totally forgot to share some pics from our Chinese tour so here is a tiny bit of it:

I actually haven't been dancing since then, so in order to be able to dance again in US I was on a strict diet for the last 30 days.
That includes 0 alcohol for the entire period, 0 sweets for last 21 days, no meals after 7PM, and whole first month of Focus T25 Alpha workout everyday...
Gladly it resulted in losing 5kgs, getting in shape, and feeling good and fresh when I wake up in the morning
Will spoil it all a little bit this weekend with BeerFest in town, but I deserved it!!!
Off to grind, work and get wasted after that ♠_cool:

GL @ the tables

just wanted to drop by and ask support a few questions in your blog, hope you don't mind.

Originally posted by DrDunne
just wanted to drop by and ask support a few questions in your blog, hope you don't mind.

Spoiler

actually i don't have any questions for support

have to say i've never seen cauliflower on a kebab before

It's perfectly fine, You can come and whine about me stealing Your blog. Everybody knows this is the blog with the most whining around here

Actually You can find almost all food (eatable and non-eatable) on a stick BBQing in China. I tried tons of food there, cause I am a real street food addict, and I can say there are some pretty good things on a stick there.

Drop by and whine any time You like

GL @ the tables

Wow, consistent play for almost a month! Good boy

Not too much profit (except knowledge ), but consistence is the biggest improvement in my game, and I am very proud of it!

24h Avg

Stars Avg

Check out Stars giraffe

But 24h heart rate monitor is just
There are a lot of recreational players there, and I tend to call them off too light! Sometimes I'm good, often not...
I just have to learn not to overvalue my hands (where did I this before? Ah yeah, every other post I write )

Played for two weeks with hand range file opened, and every now and then I peeked at it to see what would be a reasonable play, that is what brought consistency to my game. I think I have memorized the ranges now and I can play without it. Hope to keep playing like this everyday, at least until 20th of September and then go happy on a deserved break from (online) poker

Signing off with a song ♦

So, as for consistency in playing I did manage that throughout August. As for consistency in results...

24h August

Stars

Combo

LOL After a year and a half, I am still a rakeback biatch

So in the meantime, I had 3 sessions with a coach, mostly analyzing my DB, and finding leaks in my play. Funny thing is, I did understand what my biggest leaks are, wrote them down, but kept still making them while I play.
Due to a busy schedule, I will rarely have a chance to play a proper session until my US tour, but maybe I am on a right track, check out my two folds of the day:

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP: $4.31 - VPIP: 45, PFR: 7, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 29
CO: $11.44 - VPIP: 27, PFR: 17, 3B: 0, AF: 4.0, Hands: 64
Hero (BTN): $13.45 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 14, 3B: 5, AF: 2.0, Hands: 150807
SB: $10.00 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 4.0, Hands: 49
BB: $16.45 - VPIP: 27, PFR: 22, 3B: 8, AF: 3.0, Hands: 41
UTG: $2.71 - VPIP: 31, PFR: 4, 3B: 0, AF: 1.0, Hands: 45

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BTN with K K
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.25, 1 fold, BB calls $0.15

Flop: ($0.55) 4 5 6 (2 players)
BB bets $0.36, Hero calls $0.36

Turn: ($1.27) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $0.83, Hero calls $0.83

River: ($2.93) 9 (2 players)
BB bets $1.93, Hero folds

Final Pot: $2.93
BB wins $2.80
(Rake: $0.13)

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $10.82 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 14, 3B: 8, AF: 3.0, Hands: 44
Hero (SB): $12.28 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 14, 3B: 5, AF: 2.0, Hands: 150807
BB: $7.25 - VPIP: 24, PFR: 22, 3B: 10, AF: 0.0, Hands: 37
UTG: $9.70 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 1.0, Hands: 11
CO: $3.00 - VPIP: 20, PFR: 7, 3B: 0, AF: 1.0, Hands: 15

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is SB with J J
2 folds, BTN raises to $0.30, Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, BTN raises to $2.35, 1 fold

Final Pot: $2.10
BTN wins $2.10
(Rake: $-0.00)

And my usual two "I don't fold Acez"

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

CO: $12.35 - VPIP: 24, PFR: 17, 3B: 4, AF: 1.6, Hands: 58
BTN: $8.65 - VPIP: 54, PFR: 0, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 28
SB: $16.74 - VPIP: 32, PFR: 32, 3B: 14, AF: 6.0, Hands: 25
BB: $9.45 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 6, 3B: 14, AF: 0.0, Hands: 18
Hero (UTG): $10.00 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 14, 3B: 5, AF: 2.0, Hands: 150807

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is UTG with A♣ A♦
Hero raises to $0.30, CO calls $0.30, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.75) 8♠ 6♦ 6♣ (2 players)
Hero bets $0.50, CO calls $0.50

Turn: ($1.75) 3♠ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $1.00, Hero raises to $2.80, CO calls $1.80

River: ($7.35) 6♠ (2 players)
Hero bets $6.40, CO calls $6.40

Final Pot: $20.15
CO shows 7♥ 6♥
Hero shows A♣ A♦
CO wins $19.24
(Rake: $0.91)

€0.05/€0.10 No Limit Holdem
Prima
6 Players
Hand Conversion Powered by weaktight.com

Stacks:
UTG Player2 (€14.93) 149bb
UTG+1 nmilan84 (€10.70) 107bb
CO Player4 (€14.28) 143bb
BTN Player5 (€12.45) 125bb
SB Player6 (€23.95) 240bb
BB Player1 (€12.67) 127bb

Pre-Flop: (€0.15, 6 players) nmilan84 is UTG+1 A♠ A♣
1 fold, nmilan84 raises to €0.30, Player4 calls €0.30, 2 folds, Player1 calls €0.20

Flop: J♠ 8♣ 9♣ (€0.95, 3 players)
Player1 checks, nmilan84 bets €0.60, Player4 calls €0.60, Player1 raises to €1.50, nmilan84 calls €0.90, Player4 folds

Turn: 4♦ (€4.55, 2 players)
Player1 bets €2.50, nmilan84 calls €2.50

River: Q♠ (€9.55, 2 players)
Player1 bets €3.90, nmilan84 calls €3.90

Final Pot: €17.35
Player1 shows
9♠ 9♥
nmilan84 shows
A♠ A♣

Player1 wins €16.49 (net +€8.29)

nmilan84 lost €8.20
Player4 lost €0.90

Still a lot of work to do, but hopefully winter will be packed with micro play and improvement.

GL @ the tables

P.S. If You guys have any tips for Vegas stay (hotels and lowest stakes play) feel free to post Your tips here. ♠_cool:

Wow, more than 2 months without an update....
But gladly it's for a good reason (not tilt or downswing enforced ♠_cool: ). I was away on tour in US for 45 days, got back a week ago.
Had an amazing Las Vegas experience, lost a lot of my money on BlackJack, got it all back in one amazing session @ the Bellagio playing 1/3$ NL Hold'em.
Brought some extra money from the tour for both bankroll boost and coachings, so will spend the rest of November warming up and reviewing my game and watching videos.

Goal is to play December @ NL10 6max tables with positive roi, and jump to NL25 with coachings from New Year...

In mid December will make goals for next Year, since I will definitely fail most of this years goals, but that is with a good reason: I had no consistency in poker this year, due to the fact that I spent 1/3 of the year~4 months touring around the world, rest of the Year was working like crazy and didn't really have enough time to devote to my game improvement. I did read a bunch of articles, watched some videos, and even had some coachings, so I do look at micro stakes from a different angle, but I need time and focus to implement those things into my game.

Thanx for following and supporting
and GL @ the tables

So first post om the new forum!

Comeback going much slower than expected!
Did spew bunch of $$$ since came back from the trip, but actually not that sorry, they are just a collateral damage to my BR until I get back in full grinding mode!
Many new faces @ 24h poker so not much help from old HM2 database, will have to build a new one with fresh stats
Definitely found out Spin n Go is not my game, donated ~70$ there in less than hour! Its all about variance there, and You need to play a bunch of those to get a clear pic, so its just a distraction for me ATM.

So, still reviewing, slowly grinding to get gold status here, and hopefully from January making fresh new Yearly goals (probably copying last Years, cause non of them got accomplished), but no worries, richer for 1 year of experience

Spewylicious graph from 24h:

Will write more once in full grinding mode

GL @ the tables

Originally posted by nmilan84

Goals for 2014:

[] Reach bankroll of 2.5k$ by the end of 2014. Better make it 0.5k$
[] Comfortably play NL25 regular tables, both stars and PKR Struggling @ NL5 atm
[] reach gold member on stars, keep gold on PStrategy That counts
[] stay away from ZOOM/speed/rush (allow drunk NL25ZOOM with 2BI monthly cap) Could say I played most of my game on regular tables
[] learn, learn and learn from coaching mainly, but articles and videos as well Learned a lot from every source, results yet to come
[] update blog regularly (weekly) when in country and playing Too much time spent out of country and off poker
[] play live cash games in hometown Only a couple, mostly with friends, but tournament not cash
[] play live cash game in Vegas (1/2 or 2/5 for 100bb) Fuck yeah! Played 1/3 @ Bellagio stole 4 stacks in 3 hours
[] finish the year without breaking anything in the house due to poker tilt (toughest one) So little poker, so little time to reach tilt mode

So summing up the year comes very easy.
So little poker, sooo much everything else.

As my online poker bankroll sits @ ~500$, opposing to ~800$ from last January, I can say that the difference is in money spent on coachings, and some money spewed, all my other play was b/e.
I couldn't find consistency for my play, always got distracted with tours and work stuff.
Again I am richer in experience, had some quality coachings, got trough some more BSS strategy, watched some great video series from PStrategy coaches, so hopefully climbing up the stakes will be much quicker this year.

So for the start of this year I will steal a format for getting back in grinding mode, and rising my focus, from a fellow grinder from this forum Milan aka Yaxkukmian, and will drop one level down to play:

25k hands of NL5 with a positive roi of 6bb/100 followed by
30k hands of NL10 with a positive roi of 5bb/100
playing 4-6 tables depending on mood, and time of the day
after which I will hopefully start playing NL25 on regular basis
I will not hire a coach until I reach NL25, but will go trough materials I already have, and read some more articles on PS
I will update this blog as often as I think is Ok, but will try to have a weekly average of 1 post
So these are not my usual Yearly goals (they will be added later), but are my MUST DO if I have any intentions of making this a more serious thing!

GL @ the tables and wish You all a very productive year

So the warm up went like a warm up should...

Its hard to play around New Year`s, but I had to start sometimes...

Anyhow, whats done is done, the challenge is ON! Four days into it, could have done way better....

The last hundred hands downhill:
Bad luck 1

Bad luck 2

WTF call by me

And a coinflip loss

I have maintained an average of 800 hands per day for 4 days, but it was a one session play every time, I would really like to find time to play two sessions per day and have a 1.5k average per day, but that won't happen if I spend this many time on forum so...... off to grind

GL @ the tables

So Its been ten days since my last update.
Sadly my volume sucks, I have been busy renovating my kitchen, so spent almost 2 weeks with all sorts of contractors (plumber, electrician, carpenter). Hope to have it done by Thursday, and after a weekend away to take Mrs. on some fresh air outside the city, hopefully will be back in grinding mode from Monday (again )
My game is getting better, but truthfully, the EV has been on my side last few days.
So NL5 graph

this is the way to keep it up, and get away from NL5

I hate when those limpers make me see the flop, and I end up donating a stack to them:

I kept saying to myself "he has 44, he has 44", but the god damn right index finger clicked the raise button!

On the bright side, poker gods looked upon me for this one:

Sad thing is that, again, I had everything very clear in my mind: "Super nit opens UTG, and then 4bets, c bets, and shoves on turn, all clear signs he has AA" but that right index finger again (I'm saying that cause I'm a leftie )

Thinking on joining the bankroll challenge, to make myself work harder, but I am still far from back at the tables on regular basis.

So for now I'll just try and finish the NL5 mission ASAP ♠_cool:

GL @ the tables

So weekly update:

Volume
progress
study

As explained in the previous post, I was busy renovating the kitchen (still not totally done ), spent the weekend in spa with Mrs., and now all ready for grinding.
During the weekend I actually played ~6k hands NL5, but ZOOM (brought my iPad to the spa ). It looked pretty easy and relaxing playing on iPad, without HUD, just ABC, and managed to book +4BIs playing constantly 3 tables of zoom. Will include those hands and try and reach NL10 faster! (Is that cheating?)
Last night I played a session, and ended in red -2$
For some reason I can't upload graph image, but there isn't a big difference from the last one...
Will try to finish the month strong, and start with NL10 from February
So far 9k hands w +8BIs, and 6k ZOOM w +4BIs so will need 10k hands more
Off to grind

GL @ the tables

Another weekly update:

Volume
progress
Consistency
Study

Continued to play NL5 ZOOM, managing to do 1k hands daily, every time in a single 60-70minutes session 3tabling.
Noticed that first 3 days my stats were 16/13/3 , so decided to 3bet my ass off, and progressed the next three days to 23/20/12
Today dropped to two tables, and feeling even better
Last week graph:

So what I need from this week is to do 5k hands more, back @ regular tables, but with the 3bet tactics I got from ZOOM experience.
Loved the ZOOM action, but think that regular tables are more of my thing.
Also noticed that: nbr of hands/hours/Vpps ratio doesn't mean anything if You don't include Your Vpip/pfr in it, so no point in chasing volume if You play as a complete nit, it's much more efficient to play wider and more aggressive on a smaller amount of hands, but my biggest leak still is WTSD!
results total: 20k hands @ 7bb/100
C U @ NL10 soon
GL @ the tables

subbed, will try to catch up some other time tho! no time to read atm but I wanted to at least make a post so I can come back and read later