Sunday, November 30, 2008

Monthly update - november

November was a huge failure, although I made a small profit during the month. I didn't have time to play as much as I would like last 2 weeks and the result is less than 10k played hands. Hopefully, december will be better as my handball season will be over after december 6th so I won't have to go to trainings every day.
1/2:
1113h, +$5, +0.23 BB/100
0.5/1:
6204h, +$45, +0.60 BB/100
0.25/0.5:
2211h, -$28, -2.54 BB/100
Total hands:
9528h

Total: $32
Bonus: $70
Kickback: $120

Current bankroll: $2222 (+$222)

Thursday, November 27, 2008

92s

There's no good enough tables on RedStar, so I had to start another kickback bonus. Since I can't download software from iPoker network (it gets blocked by antivirus and I don't want to reinstall it, again), I started one from Ongame network. Here's one interesting hand from my second session:

CO: 78/4/0.5, went2sd 59%
Button: 46/3/1.1
BB: 46/15/3.4

0.50/1 Limit Holdem
4 players

Pre-flop: (1.5 SB, 4 players) Hero is SB 9 2
CO calls, Button calls, Hero calls, BB checks

Flop: 5 4 6 (4.0 SB, 4 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, CO checks, Button checks

Turn: K (2.0 BB, 4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets, CO calls, Button calls, Hero calls

River: A (6.0 BB, 4 players)
Hero checks, BB bets, CO raises, Button folds, Hero calls, BB 3-bets, CO calls, Hero calls

Final Pot: 15.0 BB
Hero shows: 9 2
BB shows: 3 2
CO shows: 6 5

There are 2 bad passive players already in the pot and my hand is suited, so I decided to join them confident I can outplay them postflop. Nice flop, someone has to have something and I already checked the check/fold box. To my surprise no one bets.
Turn, I pick up a flush draw and I'm closing the action getting 5:1, so I'm more than happy to call.
River, after CO raised, I considered folding since he is so passive I was afraid he had a better flush. But, I have 4th nuts and after thinking a few seconds, I decided I'll just call.

I was talking to my friend yesterday and he said that withdrawing most of my bankroll and leaving myself with only $2k was a stupid idea. He thinks I should be playing at least 2/4 6max or at least 3/6 FLHU. Although I know he's right, I'm just not confident enough to move up without proof of being a successfull winning player on my current stakes.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Weekly update 3

1/2:
1065h, -$0, -0.01 BB/100
0.5/1:
5368h, +$21, +0.39 BB/100
0.25/0.5:
2030h, -$11, -1.05 BB/100
Total hands:
8463h

Total: $11
Bonus: $70
Kickback: $120

I didn't play much last week, only 1.2k hands + a couple hundred hands on littlewoods which I can't import in to my PT database. To achieve my goals, I need to play another 6.6k hands, which is achievable in 8d if I could find the desire to play.

I'm finally done with Better poker kickback bonus. That's another $80 in kickback + $20 in signup bonus. I'm also done with Littlewoods, which is worth another $80. It took me 3 days but I finished it with a loss of 25 pounds. The amount of fish and bad play there is simply amazing. I couldn't win a hand whenever I sat down to play so I had to finish this bonus on DoubleOrNothing SNG's. Btw, these SNG's are a goldmine for smart microstakes players building their bankrolls.

Current bankroll: $2201 (+$201)

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Weekly update 2

1/2:
1065h, -$0, -0.01 BB/100
0.5/1:
4395h, -$61, -11.38 BB/100
0.25/0.5:
1796h, -$3, -0.28 BB/100
Total hands: 7256

Total: -$59
Bonus: $55

I'm still not happy with my results. My positional stats look ok, win rate is a little low but nothing to worry about. Blind stats are great but the button is disgusting. I really don't know what's the problem. I'm still losing and my wwsf looks really low. I'm down $20 from the button but I've lost $40 with AKo and AQo and another $38 with KQs, KJs and QJs. It doesn't help when your vpip with those hands is 100%, pfr also 100% and your wwsf only 13% (4/30).

I'm also losing with big pairs from the button, KK (3/5), JJ (3/8), TT (3/7).

Current bankroll: $1996 (-$4)

Thursday, November 13, 2008

It's suited

Yesterday, I finally had one good session on Better poker. I was running so good I couldn't lose. After 450h I was up 60 BB's but unfortunately I had to quit. This is my favorite hand from this session:

0.5/1 Limit Holdem
6 players

Pre-flop: (1.5 SB, 6 players) Hero is BB 2 7
4 folds, SB raises, Hero calls

Flop: J 7 9 (4.5 SB, 2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls

Turn: 2 (3.2 BB, 2 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, Hero calls

River: 2 (10.2 BB, 2 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, SB 3-bets, Hero 4-bets, SB calls

Final Pot: 16.1 BB
Hero shows: 2 7
SB shows: A K

Monday, November 10, 2008

Weekly update

1/2:
1025h, -$52, -2.54 BB/100
0.5/1:
2088h, -$24, -1.17 BB/100
0.25/0.5:
1296h, +$10, +1.60 BB/100

Total:
4409h, -$66

I'm running so cold it's unreal, especially at 1/2. Won@sd is only 48% and I'm losing from the button, which is absurd. Button went2sd is 43% and won@sd only 15%. If this is just another bad run, I hope it will end soon.

Current bankroll: $1958 (-$42)

Saturday, November 8, 2008

iPoker last 5.2k hands


Funny thing is, I was never even close to being break even ever since I played my first hand last month. I know, small sample, variance, whatever. It doesn't change the fact its ridiculous. This is a 200 BBs downswing in only 5.2k hands.

Friday, November 7, 2008

This is standard I guess

No stats but my guess is that villain is at least good player, capable of CR such a dry flop with air. I probably made a mistake by 3-betting on the flop.

Game #677011665001080: Hold'em Limit ($1/$2) - 2008.11.07
Table 'Cake_ St.Moritz (Turbo, 6-max) 11665' Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: trou*** ($47.50 in chips)
Seat 2: HERO ($50.50 in chips)
Seat 3: Sign*** ($71.00 in chips)
Seat 9: Poke*** ($20.50 in chips)
Seat 10: Olyc*** ($26.25 in chips)
Sign***: posts small blind $0.50
Olyc***: posts big blind $1
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [Qh Jh]
trou***: folds
HERO : raises $1.00 to $2.00
Sign***: folds
Olyc***: calls $1.00
*** FLOP *** [Kh 5d 9c]
Olyc***: checks
HERO : bets $1.00
Olyc***: raises $1.00 to $2.00
HERO : raises $1.00 to $3.00
Olyc***: calls $1.00
*** TURN *** [Kh 5d 9c] [6h]
Olyc***: checks
HERO : checks
*** RIVER *** [Kh 5d 9c 6h] [8h]
Olyc***: bets $2.00
HERO : raises $2.00 to $4.00
Olyc***: raises $2.00 to $6.00
HERO : raises $2.00 to $8.00
Olyc***: calls $2.00
*** SHOW DOWN ***
HERO : shows [Qh Jh] (Flush, King high)
Olyc***: shows [Ah 5h] (Flush, Ace high)
Poke***: mucks hand
Olyc*** collected $25.50 from pot

Anyway, last 2 days I've played 489 hands at 0.5/1 on Better poker and I'm running like **** I've lost 87 BBs, winrate -17.8 BB/100. My wwsf is only 29%, went2sd 34% and won@sd only 40%. I really really really hate iPoker network.

On RedStar, I've played 980 hands at 0.25/0.50, 0.5/1 and 1/2. Combined winrate is +5.38 BB/100 but only +1 BB/100 on 1/2. Considering the fact my won@sd at 1/2 is only 47%, I must be happy since I should be losing with such low win %.

Bankroll

I never had to worry about bankroll management except for the first couple of months after I started playing poker. I had only $20 and was clueless, didn't know which is stronger a flush or a straight. Since then, I always had more than I needed for the limits I was playing and even now my bankroll is big enough for me to comfortably play $5/$10. I've decided now to withdraw most of it to my bank account and leave myself ~$2000 to play with. So, I will need a bankroll management plan.

1000 BB's is more than enough for low limit FL. I could start with 500 BB's or less but I don't want to. Here's my simple plan:

-start with 1000 BB's playing $1/$2
-move up when I feel ready
-move down when I feel I'm not ready

Like I said previously, in November I'll play at RedStar poker and iPoker network.

Starting bankroll: $2000

Current bankroll: $2001 (+$1)

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Small improvements

Played 725 hands today, 475 on Better poker 0.5/1 and 250 on RedStar 0.25/0.5. I'm showing signs of improvement but I still run really bad. Today I finished with profit but when you're losing with AA (1/2), AKo (4/8), AJs (0/3), ATs (1/4), A9 (0/13), JJ (1/4) you can't be very happy.

Usually I'm playing a weak TAG style, with vpip 18.5, pfr 11.5, af 1.6 over 30k hands on 0.5/1. Since I decided to start this blog and work on my game, I'm playing slightly better TAG style with stats 21.7/14/2.1 over 1.7k hands. I made a profit of 42BB (+2.4 BB/100) but I'm losing with AA, JJ and 99 and few other premium hands.

Here's one interesting hand from Better poker:

GAME #1252300276: Texas Hold'em L $0.50/$1 2008-11-04
Table Reynolds
kopper007: Post SB $0.25
HERO: Post BB $0.50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO [Jh 9d]
raldesrutra: Fold
rokhaya: Call $0.50
kopper007: Call $0.25
HERO: Check
*** FLOP *** [Jc Jd Js]
kopper007: Bet $0.50
HERO: Call $0.50
rokhaya: Raise (NF) $1.00
kopper007: Call $0.50
HERO: Call $0.50
*** TURN *** [Qc]
kopper007: Check
HERO: Check
rokhaya: Check
*** RIVER *** [3d]
kopper007: Bet $1.00
HERO: Raise (NF) $2.00
rokhaya: Raise (NF) $3.00
kopper007: Call $2.00
HERO: Raise (NF) $4.00
rokhaya: Call $1.00
kopper007: Call $1.00
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $15.70 Rake $0.80
rokhaya: Shows [As 8h] -->maniac 86/14/1.8
kopper007: Shows [8c 8d] -->rock 13/5.6/0.9
HERO: wins $15.70

Thank you :)

Last month I played a few sessions on 0.5/1 and 1/2 FLHU but the rake is awful, 7-9 BB/100 so I decided I'll wait with my transition to HU until I can comfortably play at least 3/6. But these sessions helped me with my confidence when defending from the blinds. Since then, I'm folding BB only 30.6% and SB only 80%, compared to 55% and 89% in previous 65k hands. I'm still not stealing enough, only 28% but if I could raise that up to 40%, I bet my PT stats will be almost perfect.

Obviously, there's a really good FL player deep inside me, I just have to bring him with me to the tables every time I play.

Monday, November 3, 2008

My first Gold Card - Qs

My first Gold Card in my first 1hr session on Sunday on RedStar poker is Q of spades. That's nice :) I've already played on Cake network, won 14 Gold Cards but won mostly 2's and 3's with my biggest card beeing a 9. Q of spades is ninth most valuable card and I guess it's worth ~$50. I just hope I will get the opportunity to redeem it for cash in their daily lottery.

I've run out of Gold Card luck in my second session. I've won almost worthless 2d. So far, I've cleared first $10 of bonus, earned ~$8.5 in rakeback, 1 Gold Chip and 2 Gold Cards. Finished down $0.60 but I didn't play good and had some bad luck. I still can't control myself at the tables but I'm working on it.

Here is my most BB's winning hand from today session. Don't you love when you flop nuts and there's 3 clueless players with you in the hand! I wonder if I could have won more with this hand:

Hold'em Limit ($0.25/$0.50) - 2008.11.03
Table 'Cake_ Westpunt (Turbo, 6-Max) 11669' 6-max Seat #10 is the button
~tem***: posts small blind $0.10
HERO: posts big blind $0.25
Flus***: posts small & big blinds $0.35
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to HERO[7c Qc]
dewe***: folds
Flus***: raises $0.25 to $0.50
flee***: calls $0.50
$AAA***: folds
~tem***: calls $0.40
HERO: calls $0.25
*** FLOP *** [3c 5c Ac]
~tem***: checks
HERO: checks
Flus***: bets $0.25
flee***: raises $0.25 to $0.50
~tem***: calls $0.50
HERO: calls $0.50
Flus***: calls $0.25
*** TURN *** [3c 5c Ac] [6s]
~tem***: checks
HERO: checks
Flus***: bets $0.50
flee***: calls $0.50
~tem***: folds
HERO: raises $0.50 to $1.00
Flus***: folds
flee***: calls $0.50
*** RIVER *** [3c 5c Ac 6s] [6d]
HERO: bets $0.50
flee***: calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
HERO: shows [7c Qc] (Flush, Ace high)
flee***: mucks hand
HERO collected $7.25 from pot

ps. you're not allowed to use PokerTracker or HUD while playing on Cake poker network but you can find a hand history converter which can convert Cake hh's into a PokerStars hh format so you can import them in PT database. you also need to replace "," with "." in blind amounts otherwise PT can't recognize commas and will import, for example, $0,25 as a $25 so you will get some weird results

Sunday, November 2, 2008

November - goals for the month

October was my first losing month in a while and it made me think about my poker career, my goals, my game, etc. My game was awful, I was disgusted with myself and the way I played last few days in October. To be honest, I finished last month with profit thanks to bonuses but I lost by playing. And I played $0.5/$1 6max almost exclusively. That was the worst part, which forced me to finally do something about my game. It's frustrating that after 3.5 years of playing poker I can't beat a micro limit table full of bad players. Althought in my defence, I have to say I had an awful run of cards. For example, last 2 days I'm winning with KK only 30% (3/10), winning when seeing flop only 31%, etc. Thats awful, but I lost more than I had to lose because of tilt, steaming and throwing my money away when I didn't had to. Enough of this rant. Back to my goals.

Here are my November goals:

1) play at least 15000 hands
1a) play at least 4000 hands at 1/2, 1-2 tabling
1b) play remaining 11000 hands at lower limits, up to 4 tabling
2) improve mental control and avoid tilt
3) value bet river more
4) work on postflop game
5) watch StoxPoker videos again
6) stop berating fish, stop saying lol and roflmao and other stuff
7) clear few kickback bonuses
8) make at least 1 video each week playing $1/$2, with detailed thinking about each interesting hand so I can review it later
9) review each $1/$2 session

I don't play much, my 3 year average is 55hr/month and this year only 50hr/month. Last 5 months, I'm playing less than 40hr/month. 15k hand might seem a little low, but its a good goal and I think it's do-able.

Where will I play this month? Mostly iPoker and Cake poker networks.
I have a new rakeback account on RedStar poker (Cake poker network) so I will play there. The reason I went to RedStar instead of Cake is because RedStar has Amazon gift certificates in their shop while Cake poker has nothing interesting which can be shipped to my country. This way, I can at least get something from gold chips since I don't like playing donkaments that much. If you want, you can have 33% rakeback at RedStar with RakeTracker.

On iPoker, I will clear a kickback bonus or two with PokerSavvy by playing $0.5/$1. Games are awful there, even on these micro limits you can find 6max tables with players/flop less than 20%. Couple of days ago, I found one table with 11% and another with 17%. Thats less than 1 player per flop. Disgusting. Usually, you can find a fish or two at a couple of tables each day, except on weekends, but I hate moving from one table to another every 5-10 minutes. Thats why I don't regularly play there anymore.