A New Beginning

I'd bet you're crushing 50nl but maybe for mental game having a slightly bigger roll is better.

H1 seems fine if we call we probably just stack off turn

H2 You have pretty good turn playability so flatting is nice especially when you have little fold equity. I think people play combo draws too aggressively but there's definitely a lot of spots you should.

H3 Yeah that size is very strong on a 4-straight turn in this tight configuration. You must must shove pairing rivers if you call.

H4 yep horrible blockers

H5 correct turn XR is very strong, and nutted when you go large on flop and turn

H6 XR size seems fine on a connected board, turn low sets (boats now) love betting and we have a good amount so I'd expect solver to build an overbet range around them. Yeah I really don't like river unblocking so many calls. I expect you to face some really nitty calls, and get bluffed less than you should.

H8 river is tough I might go for it

Yeah just losing over 30 buyins in a row is pretty devastating.

Def need a 5k roll for NL50

Yesterday is gone. It's a new day.

Mindset and perception can go a very long way in this game. Reset this mentality asap. It's just unlikely that someone is picking up on exactly how you play in short samples, basically impossible imo.

Update

Good news: I am basically completely done with school for the rest of the year and have more time than ever before. Time to start a proper poker study routine and pump up the volume

Bad news: Struggling in NL20 for the past 3 days ��

I think in my current stake I should put more emphasis on just grinding and getting a large enough bankroll since I am a big winner there already if we discount the last 3 days. The players have massive mistakes in their games and I can print more with just playing an exploitable strategy. Obviously not going disregard solver study but I don't believe I need a 60/40 play/study ratio, mainly thinking of something like 80/20.

I'll start a simple goal of studying atleast 1h daily in GTOWizard and focus more on studying when I hopefully move to higher stakes

Some hands

H1 - I think I played this perfectly agaisnt a whale. Idk if I am allowed to go bigger on flop with JJ

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 94.3 BB
BTN: 83.75 BB
SB: 101 BB
Hero (BB): 101.5 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 147.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♥ J♠

fold, fold, CO raises to 2 BB, BTN calls 2 BB, fold, Hero raises to 15 BB, CO calls 13 BB, fold

Flop: (32.5 BB, 2 players) 4♥ 3♠ 8♣
Hero bets 16.25 BB, CO calls 16.25 BB

Turn: (65 BB, 2 players) 5♠
Hero bets 70.25 BB, CO calls 63.05 BB

River: (191.1 BB, 2 players) 6♥

Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: (191.1 BB, 2 players) 6♦

CO shows 7♣ 9♣ (Straight, Nine High)
Board #1 (Pre 20%, Flop 10%, Turn 9%)
(Straight, Nine High)
Board #2 (Pre 20%, Flop 9%, Turn 7%)

Hero mucks J♥ J♠ (One Pair, Jacks)
Board #1 (Pre 80%, Flop 90%, Turn 91%)
(One Pair, Jacks)
Board #2 (Pre 80%, Flop 91%, Turn 93%)

CO wins 93.05 BB
CO wins 93.05 BB

H2 - Just checked that my hand wasn't an open. Gotta prac the ranges for BTN - BB. I like to call with this hand way more than any overpair. Villain also had pretty agro stats and was definently capable of bluffing

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

MP: 184 BB
CO: 100 BB
Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 63.15 BB
BB: 343.8 BB
UTG: 186.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8♠ 7♥

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.3 BB, fold, BB calls 1.3 BB

Flop: (5.1 BB, 2 players) 6♠ 6♥ 7♦
BB checks, Hero bets 1.65 BB, BB raises to 5.7 BB, Hero calls 4.05 BB

Turn: (16.5 BB, 2 players) 4♣
BB bets 18.5 BB, Hero calls 18.5 BB

River: (53.5 BB, 2 players) 2♣
BB bets 317.3 BB, Hero calls 73.5 BB

Hero shows 8♠ 7♥ (Two Pair, Sevens and Sixes)
(Pre 41%, Flop 80%, Turn 77%)
BB shows K♦ 5♦ (One Pair, Sixes)
(Pre 59%, Flop 20%, Turn 23%)
Hero wins 195.5 BB

H3 - vs the same whale as in H1. I like to slowplay more with strong hands on dry boards vs blaster villains. Animals like them can't comprehend someone checking back a strong hand so they usually start barrelling with any two cards. Unfortunately they can still improve on the river.

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (CO): 159.4 BB
BTN: 141.15 BB
SB: 100 BB
BB: 76.75 BB
UTG: 160.35 BB
MP: 32.45 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A♥ Q♦

fold, MP raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 6.4 BB, fold, fold, BB raises to 10.8 BB, fold, Hero calls 4.4 BB

Flop: (24.1 BB, 2 players) Q♠ 5♥ 4♦
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (24.1 BB, 2 players) A♦
BB bets 13 BB, Hero calls 13 BB

River: (50.1 BB, 2 players) 6♠
BB bets 52.95 BB, Hero calls 52.95 BB

Hero mucks A♥ Q♦ (Two Pair, Aces and Queens)
(Pre 45%, Flop 86%, Turn 95%)
BB shows 6♣ 6♦ (Three of a Kind, Sixes)
(Pre 55%, Flop 14%, Turn 5%)
BB wins 151.3 BB

H4 - Solver calls here almost always but in reality I'm not that sure. I don't block the other 2 KTs' and the regs in these stakes don't find enough bluffs. Villain was totally unknown.

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 66.25 BB
MP: 100 BB
Hero (CO): 102.5 BB
BTN: 77.6 BB
SB: 346.2 BB
BB: 135 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K♠ K♦

fold, MP raises to 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 7.5 BB, fold, fold, fold, MP calls 5 BB

Flop: (16.5 BB, 2 players) T♠ T♦ J♣
MP checks, Hero bets 5.4 BB, MP raises to 25.8 BB, Hero calls 20.4 BB

Turn: (68.1 BB, 2 players) 6♠
MP bets 66.7 BB, Hero calls 66.7 BB

River: (201.5 BB, 2 players) 4♠

MP shows T♥ A♥ (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 33%, Flop 89%, Turn 95%)
Hero mucks K♠ K♦ (Two Pair, Kings and Tens)
(Pre 67%, Flop 11%, Turn 5%)
MP wins 196.5 BB

H5 - vs agro bad reg. Villain tanked until the last second. I think its a good bluff canditate especially against a weak reg who wouldn't ever slowplay the turn with a strong hand. I already decided on the turn that I will checkjam most rivers.

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (UTG): 120.25 BB
MP: 196.75 BB
CO: 186.55 BB
BTN: 157.45 BB
SB: 130.65 BB
BB: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T♥ Q♥

Hero raises to 2.3 BB, MP raises to 8 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 5.7 BB

Flop: (17.5 BB, 2 players) J♦ Q♦ A♠
Hero checks, MP bets 10 BB, Hero calls 10 BB

Turn: (37.5 BB, 2 players) 3♥
Hero checks, MP checks

River: (37.5 BB, 2 players) 4♠
Hero checks, MP bets 28.5 BB, Hero raises to 102.25 BB, MP calls 73.75 BB

Hero mucks T♥ Q♥ (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 34%, Flop 21%, Turn 11%)
MP shows K♥ A♥ (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 66%, Flop 79%, Turn 89%)
MP wins 237 BB

H6 - Villain was pretty nitty so I went for it. On hindsight I should have just given up the river.

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (SB): 173.85 BB
BB: 174.8 BB
CO: 202.3 BB
BTN: 237.85 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 3♠ A♣

fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) 3♣ 6♣ T♣
Hero checks, BB bets 4.2 BB, Hero raises to 18.6 BB, BB calls 14.4 BB

Turn: (43.2 BB, 2 players) J♦
Hero bets 36.7 BB, BB calls 36.7 BB

River: (116.6 BB, 2 players) 7♠
Hero bets 115.55 BB, BB calls 115.55 BB

Hero mucks 3♠ A♣ (One Pair, Threes)
(Pre 55%, Flop 23%, Turn 11%)
BB shows 4♣ 5♣ (Flush, Ten High)
(Pre 45%, Flop 77%, Turn 89%)
BB wins 342.7 BB

H7 - Against ABC reg. Ok in theory ig but in reality what can I even beat here.

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (UTG): 124.3 BB
MP: 159.3 BB
CO: 100 BB
BTN: 103.2 BB
SB: 102 BB
BB: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q♦ A♥

Hero raises to 2.3 BB, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 11.6 BB, fold, Hero raises to 22.9 BB, SB calls 11.3 BB

Flop: (46.8 BB, 2 players) T♣ A♣ J♠
SB checks, Hero bets 11.7 BB, SB raises to 79.1 BB, Hero calls 67.4 BB

Turn: (205 BB, 2 players) 2♥

River: (205 BB, 2 players) 7♦

Hero mucks Q♦ A♥ (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 60%, Flop 39%, Turn 27%)
SB shows T♦ J♦ (Two Pair, Jacks and Tens)
(Pre 40%, Flop 61%, Turn 73%)
SB wins 200 BB

H1 seems fine you could definitely X turn

H2 you can get away with opening SB/BTN wider than 87o if they're just overfolding or under 3-betting a bit, nice blockers to call down with but villain being overly aggressive is the most important factor

H3 I don't mind the flop check, but if you bet I doubt he's folding much

H4 I would've assumed is a +EV call, but if solver mixes it's probably a fold

H5 I like it, bluffing river is probably too crazy you have diamond suited connectors and T9

H6 you aren't supposed to XR flop much on mono boards, definitely smaller if you do. 3/4 on a mono flop seems strong from a nit. 3♠, you want them to have 2p/set right? And A♣ you want them to BC-C-F the nut flush draw so it's not great

H7 there's not much for ABC regs to bluff I might fold in this configuration. You had enough equity vs a value combo though, and maybe they have AQ so I don't mind it.

Yeah after review I really dislike it. I forgot I even had a pair midst the hand

Had a nice sunrun immediately after that post. Felt good sucking out on aces multiple times getting it in pre.

Started to drill the practice mode daily for atleast 90 minutes. Currently focusing on the most common spots such as BTN vs BB SRP's. I also started to review my biggest hands after a session regardless of how it went. Not sure if I should just simplify my betting strategy to 1-2 sizings per board instead of trying to apply a higher EV route consisting of multiple sizings with different hands.

some hands

H1 - Thought that it was a massive punt because I should usually give up bluffing with missed flushdraws. However according to solver my play was low freq but okay from pre -> turn and jams river almost always

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (CO): 114.45 BB
BTN: 131.8 BB
SB: 113.8 BB
BB: 252.35 BB
UTG: 106.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7♦ 8♦

UTG raises to 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 7.5 BB, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 5 BB

Flop: (16.5 BB, 2 players) Q♥ A♦ 6♥
UTG checks, Hero bets 5.4 BB, UTG calls 5.4 BB

Turn: (27.3 BB, 2 players) 4♦
UTG checks, Hero bets 20.45 BB, UTG calls 20.45 BB

River: (68.2 BB, 2 players) 4♥
UTG checks, Hero bets 81.1 BB, UTG calls 72.95 BB

UTG shows 8♥ 7♥ (Flush, Queen High)
(Pre 50%, Flop 66%, Turn 50%)
Hero mucks 7♦ 8♦ (One Pair, Fours)
(Pre 50%, Flop 34%, Turn 50%)
UTG wins 209.1 BB

H2 - Most likely an massive overplay with a spade blocker. CO was really agro shitreg which made me want to call him down.

iPoker - €0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 253.25 BB
SB: 75.6 BB
BB: 135.1 BB
CO: 241.8 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q♠ Q♥

CO raises to 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 7.5 BB, SB calls 7 BB, fold, CO calls 5 BB

Flop: (23.5 BB, 3 players) 2♣ 3♠ T♠
SB checks, CO checks, Hero bets 11.75 BB, fold, CO raises to 37.5 BB, Hero calls 25.75 BB

Turn: (98.5 BB, 2 players) 7♠
CO bets 49.25 BB, Hero calls 49.25 BB

River: (197 BB, 2 players) 3♣
CO bets 61 BB, Hero calls 61 BB

CO shows T♥ T♣ (Full House, Tens full of Threes)
(Pre 18%, Flop 88%, Turn 77%)
Hero mucks Q♠ Q♥ (Two Pair, Queens and Threes)
(Pre 82%, Flop 12%, Turn 23%)
CO wins 314 BB

Just taking what belong to you after those 3 bad days, deserved.

haha thanks

Currently away from home for a while. Brought my laptop with me and been playing couple sessions of poker. Games were going so well in NL20 so I once again decided to hop on to NL50 and I am currently up around 5-6 buyins there. Had some interesting hands but I don't have pokertracker on my laptop.

I am without a doubt going to start studying way more than before. I just don't see myself as a big winner in NL50 yet. Feels like the regs are running me over and I just can't win against them. I am constantly in **** spots and my once decent redline is starting to plummet. I just find myself constantly having negative thoughts while playing that stake. Running a bit cold coupled with a tougher field makes playing a miserable experience. On lower stakes its easier to make profit even when running bad because everyone is just so terrible, however when playing a stake where I am maybe a small <5 bb winner these rough stretches will last way longer.

Seems stupid to rant while everything is going well but the main purpose of this blog is to document everything related to my poker journey. I'll try to get pokertracker on my laptop so I can share the graph & interesting hands from this period.

Personally I think you are going to crush 50nl as soon as you shake off the nerves. Keep on grinding and good luck.

Thanks

I guess I should be winning in theory but being clearly in the red after 40k hands shouldn't be true for a "crusher"

Biggest enemy was and still seems to be yourself.

yeah yeah maybe

Managed to get PT4 on my laptop aswell. The licence I had allows me to have up to 2 computers 😀. Anyway here is the graph from my last 2-3 days.

95% of the hands were played on NL50 so I guess I am glad to finally show positive results from that stake. Experiencing some swings simply due to card distribution and not tilt even though my earlier posts might tell otherwise.

For the first time in my life I am paying attention to table selection by making sure there is at least 1 big fish at the table. At the end of the day nobody gives a flying **** who is the best reg at some lowstake pool. Also regarding the regs of the pool, I was indeed giving them way too much credit and after closer inspection, most of them have big leaks in their game. I guess the main difference between NL20 and NL50 regulars is the nittiness.

Anyways, here are some interesting hands:

H1 - Common spot but I don't really know what to do in this spot. Check/call seems bad, bet/folding seems bad, check/shove seems bad. As played, how should I proceed on the turn?

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 105 BB
BTN: 98.44 BB
Hero (SB): 156.86 BB
BB: 133.9 BB
UTG: 141.48 BB
MP: 108.4 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A♦ J♦

fold, MP raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 11.9 BB, fold, MP calls 9.4 BB

Flop: (24.8 BB, 2 players) 6♠ 5♥ J♠
Hero bets 12.4 BB, MP calls 12.4 BB

Turn: (49.6 BB, 2 players) Q♥
Hero bets 24.8 BB, MP raises to 84.1 BB, fold

MP wins 96.2 BB

H2 - Villain seemed like an ABC weak reg who would definitely donk river with high flushes. He actually tanked for at least 30 seconds on the river so I can imagine him fold even some mid-low flushes and obviously all pairs without a club. I think my hand is an okay bluff in theory.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 207.14 BB
SB: 123.62 BB
BB: 110.02 BB
UTG: 128.42 BB
MP: 620.16 BB
CO: 189.96 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 5♥ 6♥

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.24 BB, fold, BB raises to 10.48 BB, Hero calls 8.24 BB

Flop: (21.46 BB, 2 players) 8♣ 3♣ 7♣
BB bets 5.36 BB, Hero calls 5.36 BB

Turn: (32.18 BB, 2 players) T♥
BB checks, Hero bets 16.08 BB, BB calls 16.08 BB

River: (64.34 BB, 2 players) 5♣
BB checks, Hero bets 175.22 BB, BB calls 78.1 BB

Hero mucks 5♥ 6♥ (One Pair, Fives)
(Pre 42%, Flop 29%, Turn 23%)
BB shows Q♦ K♣ (Flush, King High)
(Pre 58%, Flop 71%, Turn 77%)
BB wins 217.54 BB

H3 - Fancy play syndrome

On low stakes people love shoving to blockbets and my specific opponent was really loose and aggressive fish so I decided to hit him with the Charlie Carrel special. Obviously could have just shoved but I assumed him to raise his strong hands regardless and also turn some weaker parts of his range into bluffs. Mostly shoving here though.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 134.46 BB
UTG: 172.58 BB
MP: 175.06 BB
CO: 157.22 BB
BTN: 124.74 BB
Hero (SB): 161.02 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q♠ K♠

UTG raises to 2.5 BB, MP calls 2.5 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 12 BB, fold, fold, MP calls 9.5 BB

Flop: (27.5 BB, 2 players) K♥ 7♦ 9♠
Hero bets 9.06 BB, MP calls 9.06 BB

Turn: (45.62 BB, 2 players) 3♠
Hero bets 22.8 BB, MP calls 22.8 BB

River: (91.22 BB, 2 players) 4♠
Hero bets 9 BB, MP raises to 131.2 BB, Hero calls 108.16 BB

MP shows 6♥ 5♥ (Straight, Seven High)
(Pre 39%, Flop 23%, Turn 14%)
Hero shows Q♠ K♠ (Flush, King High)
(Pre 61%, Flop 77%, Turn 86%)
Hero wins 322.54 BB

H4 - Weird hand vs agro reg who I perhaps gave way too much credit. I think fastplay makes the most sense vs villain who is 4bet bluffing enough. Wanted to deny equity from his AK , AQ , KQs etc. We were playing bit of HU previously and there was a leveling war in progress. His play still seems like a spazz to me.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 105.42 BB
CO: 139.32 BB
BTN: 107.66 BB
SB: 128.68 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A♥ T♥

fold, BTN raises to 2.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 11.9 BB, BTN raises to 24.5 BB, Hero calls 12.6 BB

Flop: (49.5 BB, 2 players) 5♣ 8♦ T♠
Hero checks, BTN bets 12.38 BB, Hero raises to 28.58 BB, BTN calls 16.2 BB

Turn: (106.66 BB, 2 players) 7♣
Hero bets 52.34 BB, BTN calls 52.34 BB

River: (211.34 BB, 2 players) 6♦

Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: (211.34 BB, 2 players) T♣

BTN shows K♦ 5♦ (One Pair, Fives)
Board #1 (Pre 37%, Flop 24%, Turn 11%)
(Two Pair, Tens and Fives)
Board #2 (Pre 36%, Flop 23%, Turn 12%)

Hero shows A♥ T♥ (One Pair, Tens)
Board #1 (Pre 63%, Flop 76%, Turn 89%)
(Three of a Kind, Tens)
Board #2 (Pre 64%, Flop 77%, Turn 88%)

Hero wins 104.18 BB
Hero wins 104.16 BB

Good job, now that you know that you can win at 50nl don't forget it.
Also recomend listening to...

HH1: I would X/C he shoudn't have that many Qx (QJs, QsXs)... I also know that these spots are big bets or check.

HH2: I would fold OTF, otherwise I like it.

HH3: BSTI has never worked for me, But I love it. (Charlie Carrel is my favourite player)

Keep up the good work!

that would be insane

I don't like calling open-ended straight draws (lower end especially) on monotone boards in 3B pots (BB should 3B more suited hands then off-suited). But thats just my opinion i'm not saying that i'm right or that OP should play like I suggest.

sure but 75% of those suited combos are drawing pretty thin

you have to take into account cbet size, folding 56hh to a 25% cbet is a huge mistake

Thanks!

Listened that pod right after it came out. Big fan of Mechanics of poker guys

womp womp back at it

There are some days where literally everything go wrong and winning a pot seems like an impossible task.

Analyzed all the significant spots from today for personal growth. While playing I noticed regs raising my cbets way more than on lower stakes. Until now I have gotten away with cbetting almost every board way too often because my opposition has not been aggressive enough. In consideration my cbetting fundamentals have been quite poor and I plan on drilling it heavily in the following days.

I still firmly believe that I can beat NL50 for atleast a small winrate. Just got to keep on studying and hoping my bad run turns around. I also certainly made a myriad of EV-blunders that I need to fix moving forward.

Hands from today

H1 - I have been thinking of severely tightening up my 3bet & 4bet calling range against the stains of this pool. Sets are really rare to make and even when getting the 2nd best possible flop I am still not in good shape

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 174.46 BB
BTN: 106.84 BB
Hero (SB): 115.1 BB
BB: 146.88 BB
UTG: 123.54 BB
MP: 139.4 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T♦ T♠

fold, MP raises to 2.5 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 11.9 BB, fold, MP raises to 26.3 BB, Hero calls 14.4 BB

Flop: (53.6 BB, 2 players) 5♦ 9♦ 4♠
Hero checks, MP bets 16.08 BB, Hero raises to 88.8 BB, MP calls 72.72 BB

Turn: (231.2 BB, 2 players) K♥

River: (231.2 BB, 2 players) 5♠

MP shows K♣ A♦ (Two Pair, Kings and Fives)
(Pre 43%, Flop 28%, Turn 95%)
Hero mucks T♦ T♠ (Two Pair, Tens and Fives)
(Pre 57%, Flop 72%, Turn 5%)
MP wins 228.2 BB

H2 - vs reg who I simply couldn't win a singular hand against. Ugly spot on the river but the price was right. Idk bout my play on previous streets

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 175.96 BB
BTN: 128.12 BB
Hero (SB): 164.54 BB
BB: 101.5 BB
UTG: 139.4 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♠ K♣

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, BB raises to 9 BB, Hero raises to 20 BB, BB calls 11 BB

Flop: (40 BB, 2 players) A♣ 5♠ K♥
Hero bets 4 BB, BB calls 4 BB

Turn: (48 BB, 2 players) 3♠
Hero checks, BB checks

River: (48 BB, 2 players) 5♣
Hero checks, BB bets 14.4 BB, Hero calls 14.4 BB

Hero mucks J♠ K♣ (Two Pair, Kings and Fives)
(Pre 38%, Flop 18%, Turn 11%)
BB shows A♦ Q♣ (Two Pair, Aces and Fives)
(Pre 62%, Flop 82%, Turn 89%)
BB wins 74.48 BB

H3 - Solver really doesn't like my play. I have only recently learnt that I shouldn't really cbet EP vs BTN. I assume its mostly due to fact that I am OOP but I guess there are some other factors aswell. Have to fix my multitabling autopilot brain who is smashing 33% cbet on every board 😃

This villain was fairly aggressive regular who was certainly 3-betting all suited & offsuit Ax and JJ 100% of the time and even 88 more often than not. During the hand I just wanted to apply more pressure to his combodraws that he might be checkraising and get the money in while still possibly ahead.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 31.3 BB
Hero (UTG): 221.36 BB
MP: 152.46 BB
CO: 161.54 BB
BTN: 100 BB
SB: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A♠ K♠

Hero raises to 2.24 BB, fold, fold, BTN calls 2.24 BB, fold, fold

Flop: (5.98 BB, 2 players) A♣ 8♣ J♥
Hero bets 2.98 BB, BTN raises to 11.94 BB, Hero raises to 31.34 BB, BTN calls 19.4 BB

Turn: (68.66 BB, 2 players) T♥
Hero bets 187.78 BB, BTN calls 66.42 BB

River: (201.5 BB, 2 players) 4♣

Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: (201.5 BB, 2 players) 2♠

Hero shows A♠ K♠ (One Pair, Aces)
Board #1 (Pre 71%, Flop 53%, Turn 72%)
(One Pair, Aces)
Board #2 (Pre 72%, Flop 55%, Turn 73%)

BTN shows K♣ T♣ (Flush, Ace High)
Board #1 (Pre 29%, Flop 47%, Turn 28%)
(One Pair, Tens)
Board #2 (Pre 28%, Flop 45%, Turn 27%)

Hero wins 99.24 BB
BTN wins 99.26 BB

H4 - I presumed villain to be weak which he indeed was. Unfortunately I forgot to check his 76 VPIP stat before spewing with a set blocker. Solver really dislikes bluffing this hand. I guess I am overbluffing heavily if I turn every somewhat decent blocker into a bluff.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BB): 149.26 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 108.58 BB
CO: 61.76 BB
BTN: 79.3 BB
SB: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 4♦ 6♦

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 3 BB, fold, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6.5 BB, 2 players) 8♦ 2♥ 6♥
Hero checks, BTN bets 4 BB, Hero calls 4 BB

Turn: (14.5 BB, 2 players) 7♣
Hero checks, BTN bets 8 BB, Hero raises to 25 BB, BTN calls 17 BB

River: (64.5 BB, 2 players) K♥
Hero bets 117.26 BB, BTN calls 47.3 BB

BTN shows A♥ K♠ (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 59%, Flop 24%, Turn 14%)
Hero mucks 4♦ 6♦ (One Pair, Sixes)
(Pre 41%, Flop 76%, Turn 86%)
BTN wins 156.1 BB

H5 - Started to utilize these massive river bets for value & bluffs. Villain was disgustingly nitty so I wanted to apply max pressure. I also assumed that he wouldn't check/call an overbet on turn with just a flushdraw nor not donk the river fearing a check back if he made his flush. I am also taking this line with suited Ax so I have the nuts in my range.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 3 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 119 BB
SB: 188.38 BB
BB: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♥ T♣

Hero raises to 2.24 BB, fold, BB calls 1.24 BB

Flop: (4.98 BB, 2 players) 9♣ Q♥ 4♣
BB checks, Hero bets 2.48 BB, BB calls 2.48 BB

Turn: (9.94 BB, 2 players) 5♥
BB checks, Hero bets 12.42 BB, BB calls 12.42 BB

River: (34.78 BB, 2 players) 2♣
BB checks, Hero bets 101.86 BB, fold

Hero mucks J♥ T♣ (High Card, Queen)

Hero wins 33.74 BB

NL50 Update

Had my best NL50 session so far and decided its time for a little update.

Only had 1 losing day this week which I already covered in my earlier post. Most days I won small although 50% of weeks profits came from today.

Weeks results

I haven't made any drastic changes to my game to achieve winning results. However, I have increased my aggression a bit towards the nitregs and just printed via redlining. Lack of success in my earlier NL50 shots can be explained with bad variance for the most part. Still struggling to win some all-ins but atleast I am not losing money. On the other hand, running below ev and still managing to make decent profit gives me the confidence that I can beat the playerpool even while being unlucky.

To be honest the time spent studying poker this week was really low. I am currently away from home and have spent most of the days being outside skiing and just preferred playing in the evenings instead of studying. I'll make an effort to stick to the daily solver study routine when I get back home. I Don't expect to succeed in higher stakes purely relying on my intuition therefore I plan on delving deeper to game theory in the following weeks. In addition I recently joined a study group so moving forward I don't have to figure out everything by myself.

I reckon I am close to being properly rolled for NL100 soon. I plan on grinding NL50 for atleast a week or two to develop a big enough sample before shotting higher.

Nice results!
Stay focused, and best of luck as you continue to climb the stakes!

Change location to GGEZ

100nl incoming. I’m tuned in so don’t forget updates please

Very impressive mate, keep us updated what happens in the future, from my experience (i was there once) as time passes regs will be making notes on you and that's when things start to get harder, this may happen at NL100 and higher probably not sure about NL50 so at least 100k+ hands sample needed to see where you at imo

Graph from last 2 weeks:

Worked a lot on my game this week outside the tables. I watched almost all the free Upswing Poker Level-Up episodes and started reading the GTO Wizard articles to master all the fundamentals. Only thing that was still lacking was the time spent on training mode. Strategy-wise I made some adjustments by simply increasing my redline. In my previous NL50 shots I had a losing redline which might have been one of the contributors for poor results.

In the terms of playing, 99% of the volume was at NL50 tables but I recently started adding some NL100 to the mix when the tables were juicy. Obviously a really small sample but the level of play there is vastly similar than in NL50. Albeit I am currently up from NL100, I still plan on grinding NL50 as my main stake for a bit and only play higher when there are big fishes around.

Happy with the results so far. Going to keep grinding and ACTUALLY start a study routine.

Some interesting hands from this week:

H1 - Cooler vs easily the worst reg in the pool. Biggest lost pot so far.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 132.96 BB
UTG: 393.48 BB
MP: 101.1 BB
CO: 104.64 BB
BTN: 231.9 BB
Hero (SB): 243 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 5♥ 5♦

UTG raises to 2.2 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.7 BB, fold

Flop: (5.4 BB, 2 players) 6♦ 3♠ A♦
Hero checks, UTG bets 3 BB, Hero calls 3 BB

Turn: (11.4 BB, 2 players) 5♠
Hero checks, UTG bets 8.54 BB, Hero raises to 46.26 BB, UTG calls 37.72 BB

River: (103.92 BB, 2 players) Q♥
Hero bets 191.54 BB, UTG calls 191.54 BB

UTG shows 6♥ 6♣ (Three of a Kind, Sixes)
(Pre 81%, Flop 93%, Turn 98%)
Hero mucks 5♥ 5♦ (Three of a Kind, Fives)
(Pre 19%, Flop 7%, Turn 2%)
UTG wins 484 BB

H2 - Not sure if BSTI or shove is better here. My range has a lot of hands that hate the river so I thought about mixing some strong hands to block/check option. I would prefer shoving KdTd since it blocks missed flushdraws that BTN might turn into a bluff.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 163.22 BB
MP: 220.4 BB
CO: 121.56 BB
BTN: 113 BB
Hero (SB): 103 BB
BB: 102.22 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K♥ T♥

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.5 BB, Hero raises to 11.2 BB, fold, BTN calls 8.7 BB

Flop: (23.4 BB, 2 players) 9♠ Q♦ 5♣
Hero bets 7.72 BB, BTN calls 7.72 BB

Turn: (38.84 BB, 2 players) J♦
Hero bets 19.42 BB, BTN calls 19.42 BB

River: (77.68 BB, 2 players) 8♠
Hero bets 7.7 BB, BTN raises to 74.66 BB, Hero calls 56.96 BB

BTN shows 4♦ 5♦ (One Pair, Fives)
(Pre 39%, Flop 65%, Turn 20%)
Hero shows K♥ T♥ (Straight, King High)
(Pre 61%, Flop 35%, Turn 80%)
Hero wins 204 BB

H3 - I have been studying nut advantage and capped ranges recently. 2 weeks ago I would have only won maybe 30-40 blinds here 😀. Idk tho if b125%, b75%, b200% line makes sense.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 375.54 BB
Hero (SB): 100 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J♥ A♦

Hero raises to 2.22 BB, BB calls 1.22 BB

Flop: (4.44 BB, 2 players) Q♣ A♥ 6♥
BB checks, Hero bets 5.54 BB, BB calls 5.54 BB

Turn: (15.52 BB, 2 players) J♠
BB checks, Hero bets 11.64 BB, BB calls 11.64 BB

River: (38.8 BB, 2 players) 9♠
BB checks, Hero bets 80.6 BB, BB calls 80.6 BB

Hero shows J♥ A♦ (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks)
(Pre 72%, Flop 29%, Turn 92%)
BB shows 6♠ A♣ (Two Pair, Aces and Sixes)
(Pre 28%, Flop 71%, Turn 8%)
Hero wins 199 BB

H4 - Punt or a good combo?

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 214.52 BB
Hero (BB): 162.22 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K♣ 7♥

SB raises to 2.5 BB, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5 BB, 2 players) 6♣ 9♣ Q♦
Hero checks, SB bets 1.5 BB, Hero raises to 4.74 BB, SB calls 3.24 BB

Turn: (14.48 BB, 2 players) 8♠
Hero bets 18.1 BB, SB calls 18.1 BB

River: (50.68 BB, 2 players) 4♣
Hero bets 63.34 BB, SB calls 63.34 BB

SB shows 2♣ 5♣ (Flush, Nine High)
(Pre 38%, Flop 48%, Turn 30%)
Hero mucks K♣ 7♥ (High Card, King)
(Pre 62%, Flop 52%, Turn 70%)
SB wins 176.36 BB

H5 - This hand brought up the problems with simplified strategy. I usually only have an overbet sizing for this board, however I don't think As3s is viable candidate to OB turn while I still like betting the hand. Cool to suck out against a station.

iPoker - €0.50 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 100 BB
CO: 101.34 BB
BTN: 178.54 BB
Hero (SB): 100 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 3♠ A♠

fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) J♠ 8♥ 2♠
Hero bets 1.98 BB, BB calls 1.98 BB

Turn: (9.96 BB, 2 players) A♥
Hero bets 12.44 BB, BB calls 12.44 BB

River: (34.84 BB, 2 players) 3♦
Hero bets 82.58 BB, BB calls 82.58 BB

Hero shows 3♠ A♠ (Two Pair, Aces and Threes)

BB shows 9♦ A♣ (One Pair, Aces)

Hero wins 197 BB

Idk how you guys do it with those redlines. Nice work OP