How not to win at poker.

I am so fucking pissed at myself right now. I had a test this morning and was just feeling meh when I got home. I wasnt going to play any poker till I did some work. Then I decide to check the tables. What do you know I see a huge fish with a huge stack. WHO FUCKING CARES! Seriously if you arent in the right mind frame to play dont. I wasnt ready to play poker. I shouldnt even be in front of my computer. Anyways of course I take the seat and start grinding. What do you know cooler fucking city. I played this hand tits too.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (4 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($870.30)
SB ($420.50)
BB ($302.30)
Hero ($438)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with 7c, 7s.
Hero raises to $16, Button calls $16, SB calls $14, 1 fold.

Flop: ($52) Ac, 7h, As (3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $36, Button folds, SB raises to $70, Hero calls $36.

Turn: ($194) Qs (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks.

River: ($194) 6h (2 players)
SB bets $140, Hero raises to $350 (All-In), SB calls $192.50 (All-In).

Final Pot: $876.50

Results below:
SB has Ad Qd (full house, aces full of queens).
Hero has 7c 7s (full house, sevens full of aces).
Outcome: SB wins $859. Hero wins $17.50.


What happens next? The fish leaves. So now I am stuckl a BI kinda steamed and without fish. What should I do? Quit. Seriously though I wasnt playing bad. I decide to stay and play and then these two spots happen.


I dont iknow how i feel about this hand. Villain was 33/18 with a super high att to steal. When he flats OOP I guess I could simply shut down and hope to show it down cheap putting him on AQs+ and JJ+. But I am not so sure of that. This hand may have been spewy.
Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (4 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Hero ($636.03)
SB ($988)
BB ($294)
UTG ($253.68)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ts, Th.
UTG raises to $16, Hero raises to $48, 2 folds, UTG calls $32.

Flop: ($102) 6d, 3s, 5h (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $72, UTG raises to $172, Hero raises to $244, UTG calls $33.68 (All-In).

Turn: ($551.68) 9s (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($551.68) Kh (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $551.68

Results below:
Hero has Ts Th (one pair, tens).
UTG has Ad As (one pair, aces).
Outcome: UTG wins $513.36. Hero wins $38.32.

Then this hand. Can I play this any different? i was readless against this villain. I guess I am hoping for AQ or a split at best. Honestly though TPTK in a 3bet pot. GG.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($510.96)
Hero ($447.35)
BB ($974)
UTG ($455.10)
MP ($282)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ad, Kc. UTG posts a blind of $4.
UTG (poster) raises to $16, 2 folds, Hero raises to $52, 1 fold, UTG calls $36.

Flop: ($108) Jh, 7d, Ah (2 players)
Hero bets $72, UTG raises to $180, Hero raises to $395.35 (All-In), UTG calls $215.35.

Turn: ($898.70) 2d (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($898.70) Kh (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $898.70

Results below:
Hero has Ad Kc (two pair, aces and kings).
UTG has Jc Jd (three of a kind, jacks).
Outcome: UTG wins $898.70.


To sum it up I am so fucking pissed at myself. I should never have ever sat. I pride myself on discipline. This was a display of a lack of discipline and it resulted in me dropping 3BIs. Dont sit dont lose. Quit when the fish quits lose less. I think never sitting is best. For me I play best when I plan to play. This involves a cup of tea or coffeee some datamining and some mental preparation.

My goal is to be a winning 5000NLer by years end.

Currently I am playing 200 and 400NL. I am working at making 400 my main game. This month I have logged the majority of my hands at 400NL on AP where the majority of my roll is. I also have a small roll on FTP which I am grinding at 200NL to attempt to build a 15BI roll for 400NL.

Current stake=400NL
400->1000->2000->5000NL
Desired stake=5000NL


In the past I have prefered to grind no less then 50K hands at each stake as I move up and I plan on sticking to this. Currently I have put in 8K hands at 400Nl which means I have a minimum of 42K hands to play before I stab at the next stake or roughly a months time. Ideally I would like to move up confidently and this means beating each stake with great success. Therefore i will not be rushing any one leap. That being said I wont be stabbing at 1000Nl till I feel comfortable both bankroll wise and skill wise.

Road to 5000NL.

Feb-March: 400NL
April: 400NL with stabs at 1000NL
May-June: 1000NL
June:1000NL with stabs at 2000NL
July-August:1000NL &2000NL
Sept-October:2000NL stabbing 5000NL
Nov-Dec:2000NL&5000NL

Lets get real.

I started this poker thing seriously last year right about this time and have successfully moved up from 25NL to 200NL with my BR and level of play ready for 400NL. That being said I have moved up 3-4 levels in 1 years time. As crazy as it sounds I think the learning curve is steeper now then it was at micro. I feel my game can progress much faster now that I have a solid core of poker heads to discuss the game with and the mental strength to deal with variance which I lacked heavily in the past. I am actually on my way out to enjoy a quick round of golf on a beatiful sunny day in California but i wanted to put a goal or two in writing before I did.

When I started my poker journey I had no major goal like I want to beat this stake or anyhting of that nature. My goal was to simply play winning poker and pay my bills while doing so. April will be one year of strictly supporting myself off of poker and nothing else. Quite the accomplishment if you ask me. With that said I have the confidence in my game that I feel poker will be a viable source of income while I work my way through college. Therefore I feel it is time to narrow my goal to beating a stake in said time. My goal is to be a winning 5000NLer by years end. This isnt going to be easy by any means, though I honestly feel that it is achievable. My next blog will outline my plan for success at my new goal.

I am a spewtard!

If you are reading this I apologize. I am writing this to remind myself not to be a fucking idiot. My game is improving big time but I take it to far sometimes. When a maniac is on my table I get stupid sometimes and start making retarded ass plays. This is a few of those plays.

Villain in these hands is running 43/37/5.8 over 434 hands. 1st time I 3bet him he 4bet me. Then he stacks me with AJs vs my QQ when he jams a FD and hits.
Then this hand happens, not sure if my play is correct or not.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (6 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($586.05)
SB ($568.98)
BB ($370.10)
Hero ($466.75)
MP ($848)
CO ($806)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Td, Th.
Hero raises to $16, 1 fold, CO raises to $48, 3 folds, Hero raises to $120, CO raises to $776, Hero calls $346.75 (All-In).


After our history at 1st I liked my call but after second thought in all honesty it might be a fold. He has only seen QQ from me so I think he will be less likely to 5 bet bluff here.

Flop: ($1248.75) 2c, 9s, 7c (2 players, 1 all-in)

Turn: ($1248.75) 2h (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($1248.75) 9h (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $1248.75

Results below:
Hero has Td Th (two pair, tens and nines).
CO has Qc Qh (two pair, queens and nines).
Outcome: CO wins $1248.75.


Then he takes me to value town. Oh wait I mean I fucking spew. I wanted to fold then decided I might actually still have some FE and if not maybe I can suck out. Again I think this guy was erasing all moves from his arsenal against me. Funny thing is I dont get it in that bad.

Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (4 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($1912.45)
Hero ($474)
BB ($1258.80)
UTG ($954.80)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Qc, Jd.
UTG raises to $12, 1 fold, Hero calls $10, 1 fold.

Flop: ($28) 6c, Ac, Ts (2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $24, Hero raises to $76, UTG raises to $152, Hero raises to $462 (All-In), UTG calls $258.

Turn: ($900) 8s (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($900) As (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $900

Results below:
Hero has Qc Jd (one pair, aces).
UTG has 4c Tc (two pair, aces and tens).
Outcome: UTG wins $900.


The there was this guy who was 3betting me all day. I honestly again am not so sure just how bad my play is. I mean calling with QJo OOP is marginal but I had to take a stand against this guy.


Absolute Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $4 BB (5 handed) Hand History converter, Courtesy of PokerZion.com

Button ($951.30)
Hero ($443.30)
BB ($984.30)
UTG ($951)
MP ($991.10)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Jc, Qd.
3 folds, Hero raises to $16, BB raises to $46, Hero calls $30.

Flop: ($92) 7d, 4h, Qh (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $65, Hero raises to $206, BB raises to $271, Hero calls $191.30 (All-In).

Turn: ($760.30) Ts (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($760.30) 9h (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $760.30

Results below:
Hero has Jc Qd (one pair, queens).
BB has Kh Qc (one pair, queens).
Outcome: BB wins $760.30.


So basically I am a spewtard when I know guys are playing back light. 400NL has been fun so far and I know I will beat the game this month. Just need to keep my head on and go with what I set as my goal. I actually added a table at 400NL which is just stupid. The aggression levels are fucking crazy. I honestly think you could play like some stupid limp call game and just kill all the TAG tards. That being said I am going to stick to my solid play and 2-3 table when the games look good. If it wasnt for these really spewy spots I would be doing quite well even though I have had like an insane number of coolers already.

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.