Thats a wrap!

Basically I wanted to review my goals and create some new ones for this month.

Daily:
Always play my A game. Read 1 chapter of a poker book everyday. Respond to 3 forum posts with stove analysis. Post 1 difficult hand from every session.
In the beginning of the month I was 4-8 tabling and having a blast and then it just clicked. I am playing this game to get better not play as many hands as possible. This occured after a coaching session. I realized just how awesome my coach was at putting villains on hands and I decided I too could be as good if not better. The key for me now is to improve my hand reading and applying ranges as well as trusting my reads and not letting short term results impact my decisions at the table. So I didnt play my A game every session but I have been as of late. The reading didnt happen and probably wont anytime soon but I do want to spend some time with a book every week. As for the forums i just havent been feeling them lately. Definately will be making a concious effort to respond to a few posts but as far as posting i much rather AIM my core poker friends and discuss hands with them.
Weekly: Watch two videos and take in depth notes. Participate in no less then two sweat sessions. 1 hour long session 1 tabling.
1 Tabling hasnt happen but I have decreased my tables to 2-3 which for me is optimal. As for videos I have exceeded 2 easily and will begin a new video watching style this month. I imagine some already do this but I am going to start pausing the video and playing the hand myself before the vid producer does his analysis. Also SWEATS kick serious ass. I have been banging out a few good ones every week and hope to do more. I dont mind sweating a few low limit grinders either. If you are interested shoot me an email @ Rickjames@yahoo.com
Monthly:
Build my roll in Jan. for a shot at 2/4 in Feb or sooner. Play no less then 75k hands.
So obviously 75K hands was like insanely high. In all honesty one of the reasons I have chose Poker as my profession is so I can work when I want thus allowing me to work as little or as much as I see fit. I love playing and truly never can get enough but balance is so key. Like this was my best month and it really took off once I started school again. School has allowed me to get in a routine again and my brain is being stimulated in more ways then one now. To be honest hours spent playing are crucial but I think it is really how you spend the hours you arent playing that lead to success.

To wrap this up I had my best month yet at the tables and look forward to continued success. I got 31308 hands in at 5.3BB/100 ( graph-> http://giganticdonkeyballs.blogspot.com ) which I am quite proud of. my roll is at a point where I will begin stabbing 400NL when I see a soft spot. As for this months goals they are simple.

Play my A game always. No more then 4 tables at a time with the majority of my time 3 tabling. Stab 400NL when the games look good. Study, study, study. Range, range, range. 50K hands would kick major ass. I typically dont like to set monetary goals but a 20K month is looming and it would be nice if this was it.

We must stay on our A game no matter what.

That is my month. Wow today was the funnest part of a roller coaster the steep decline. All and all I played pretty solid poker. I ran into tough spot over and over with very few going my way today. Here is my major downfall playing this game, I love money. I do. I love looking at my graph too. Its stupid all I should be worried about is making correct decisions. Nothing more nothing less. So I could post a ton of coolers and of course a few of these will look just like them but whatever.

Hand 1: 43/8/1-83hands I call on BTN with a hand that can flop big against a tight preflop raiser. I flopped the nut straight on a monotone board. He either flopped it or has a pair with a FD to continue in my book. I play my hand fast but he wont give up. The river sucks and may very well be a fold because of what I have typed above. Can you find a fold?
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1914731

Hand 2: 21/16/3 TAG whom I have quite a load of history against. I opt to CC IP and felt a load of flops. I like my line here but I really like villain hand.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1914751

Hand 3: 20/10/3 High att. to steal. Am I tilting? My 3 bet isnt bad here. When the trun bricks WTF can I do? This is where you are aware you are running bad and you want the hand to work. Or is it only me who does that? Honestly here is my spew. 1st I looked at where i was for my session which now has me in a I have to get even mind frame. Is there ever any getting even? There is only making +EV decisions plain and simple. Is my turn bet +EV? I dont think so.Lets stove it. AHHHH!!! Looks like an easy C/F
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1914768
Text results appended to pokerstove.txt
2,596 games 0.016 secs 162,250 games/sec
Board: 8d Th Js 5h
Dead:
equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 19.318% 16.95% 02.37% 440 61.50 { KdQd }
Hand 1: 80.682% 78.31% 02.37% 2033 61.50 { AA, KcKh, KcKs, KhKs, QcQh, QcQs, QhQs, JcJd, JcJh, JdJh, TcTd, TcTs, TdTs, 99, 8c8h, 8c8s, 8h8s, AcKc, AhKh, AsKs, AcQc, AhQh, AsQs, AcJc, AdJd, AhJh, KcQc, KhQh, KsQs, QcJc, QhJh, QsJs, AQo+ }

Hand 3: 31/18/3.3 att. to steal 28. I 3bet AQ and cbet so far standard. Turn checks through and the A peels. I didnt feel I get to much value from anything other the another A and he could turn a marginal hand into a bluff on the river. I dont know if that is proper thinking. If I am him I check behind everything except an A or air and air probably bluffs the turn. Therefore I think i see 2p or a straight here alot and sometimes of course AK.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1914781

Hand 4: 29/6/2.5 I can suck out too. I didnt think villain was strong here when he made the good old min C/R. I decide to 3bet it up and he min 4 bets. Well lets get it in. The flop is pretty dry but you really never know with donks. I actually have a funny feeling this guy is a winner at these games. With the aggression in the 6-max game you can really steal alot of pots post flop if your a good hand reader. I dont recommend his style and maybe I give him too much credit. Its almost like I hate isolating these guys with marginal hands. Its quite insane to be honest as I run the call cbet and raise cbet stats and most donk numbers are super high. If the cards keep sucking it can make things real hard. Enough talk now the suckout.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1914790

Hand 4: 18/12/3 I had been playing back at this guy a bit lately and he was ready. I just hit that suckout right before this one. I decide donking would be good as I have been donking a bit more lately. He raises and I debated 3 betting but because I dont think the flop is over drawy he may get off an OP here. I decide to call and donk the turn instead. It works perfect and he overplays QQ. I really cant blame him for felting this one bit to be honest.
http://www.pokerhand.org/?1914799

Thats all for today. Wow what a fun month it has been. Its only up from here.

Dont bluff donks let them bluff you.

The year has already been nice and swingy due to some insano hands and some horrific hero calls. I have decided donks dont over bluff. Unless I have a solid reason to believe they are which i will give an example of I will be folding to there river pot donks. I have also determined that bluffing donkeys is the wrong way to +EV poker instead let them bluff you. To start here is a sick graph of my 6,732 hand weekend. yeah I have decided 6-7 tables is optimal. played 10K hands already on the month. So I am on pace for like 50K but if I can stay on my weekend pace it could be higher. This week I have some things happening so it probably wont. Also school starts in a week. I am shooting for straight A's so that will require a small portion of my time as well. Now the graph...

Hand 1: Villain is 38/8/3.6 super donk whom I was sitting deep stack for. He had been mijn raising UTG and I had been isolating him alot. This is pretty sick spot when the Q pairs the river because now it is less likely he is on air. i checked turn behind to showing weakness in his eyes I assume. This is where you dont want to hero call though. I think there must be a site like CR out there for donks. Or rather one that teaches how to optimize donk style of play.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($379.70)SB ($280.50)BB ($218.05)UTG ($330.47)MP ($252.15)Hero ($402.15)
Preflop: Hero is CO with Jh, Jd. UTG raises to $4, 1 fold, Hero raises to $16, 3 folds, UTG calls $12.
Flop: ($35) Qc, 2c, 7s (2 players)UTG checks, Hero bets $26, UTG calls $26.
Turn: ($87) 8d (2 players)UTG checks, Hero checks.
River: ($87) Qs (2 players)UTG bets $128, Hero calls $128.
Final Pot: $343
Results below: UTG has Qh As (three of a kind, queens). Hero has Jh Jd (two pair, queens and jacks). Outcome: UTG wins $343.

Hand 2: Same villain different spot. This time I have basically the nuts and I put him on a weak A or a draw so I bet the turn for value. Now he over shoves the river and I snap call. of course my decision is made easy by my cards but his line screams bluff here.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Hero ($205)SB ($46.45)BB ($170.65)UTG ($168.20)MP ($243.50)
Preflop: Hero is Button with Ah, Js. 2 folds, Hero raises to $8, SB calls $7, BB calls $6.
Flop: ($24) 8d, Jc, As (3 players)SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $16, SB folds, BB calls $16.
Turn: ($56) 9d (2 players)BB checks, Hero bets $36, BB calls $36.
River: ($128) 3c (2 players)BB calls $110.65 (All-In), Hero calls $110.65.
Final Pot: $349.30
Results below: Hero has Ah Js (two pair, aces and jacks). BB has Ks Th (high card, ace). Outcome: Hero wins $349.30.

Hand 3: Couldnt find any great examples of me being a spewy bluff tard so instead I want to show you how bad AP donks are. This guy is 70/31/10 My image is kinda loose and I know this guy doesnt want to believe I have an A and also wants to bluff me if he can. i give him the opportunity. I was kinda in a weird spot because of his turn bet size. I had to raise enough to hopefully get it in I felt but I thought my C/R was going to look too strong. I guess he didnt think so.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $2 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com
Button ($400)Hero ($222)BB ($627.15)UTG ($254.72)MP ($410.30)CO ($379.05)
Preflop: Hero is SB with Kd, Ad. UTG calls $2, 3 folds, Hero raises to $12, 1 fold, UTG calls $10.
Flop: ($26) Ah, As, 3c (2 players)Hero bets $18, UTG calls $18.
Turn: ($62) 9s (2 players)Hero checks, UTG bets $25, Hero raises to $60, UTG raises to $145, Hero raises to $192 (All-In), UTG calls $72.
River: ($471) Qh (2 players, 1 all-in)
Final Pot: $471
Results below: Hero has Kd Ad (three of a kind, aces). UTG has Js Tc (one pair, aces). Outcome: Hero wins $446. UTG wins $25.

All and all it was fun weekend. Lost a $1200 pot with set vs set that was insane. Actually a very fun hand to analzye. Might post later. Stay tuned.