A New Beginning

Bind left click to 150% pot

Swingy last 2 days.

Didn't quite stick to my 3 buyin stoploss rule today. Mostly bad variance however I started being tilted during the last 15 minutes and decided to quit before causing any more destruction to my br. Managed to make a sick 10 buyin comeback yesterday but unfortunately today that was not the case.

I live to fight another day.

Recent hands

H1 - Villain was really agro reg who somehow finds a rangebet & rangeraise on every possible board. His flop 3bet was relatively small so I decided to peel it getting good odds.

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

CO: 106.3 BB
BTN: 89.98 BB
SB: 132.82 BB
BB: 100 BB
Hero (UTG): 289.9 BB
MP: 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 2.22 BB, MP raises to 7.44 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 5.22 BB

Flop: (16.38 BB, 2 players) 3♠ 4♣ 7♦
Hero checks, MP bets 8.18 BB, Hero raises to 19.96 BB, MP raises to 31.74 BB, Hero calls 11.78 BB

Turn: (79.86 BB, 2 players) 6♦
Hero bets 19.96 BB, MP raises to 60.82 BB, Hero calls 40.86 BB

River: (201.5 BB, 2 players) 4♥

Hero mucks Q♦ A♦ (One Pair, Fours)
(Pre 13%, Flop 6%, Turn 24%)
MP shows A♥ A♠ (Two Pair, Aces and Fours)
(Pre 87%, Flop 94%, Turn 76%)
MP wins 198.5 BB

H2 - tilts me the most because I knew the villain was the NITTIEST NIT ever with 14/6/2 stats and 1% 4bet. Easiest fold ever if I wasn't on passive tilt.

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

BB: 198.72 BB
UTG: 121.52 BB
MP: 101.34 BB
CO: 87.6 BB
Hero (BTN): 177.96 BB
SB: 221.14 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 2.2 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 6.6 BB, fold, BB raises to 26 BB, fold, Hero calls 19.4 BB

Flop: (54.7 BB, 2 players) 3♦ 6♣ 4♦
BB bets 32 BB, Hero calls 32 BB

Turn: (118.7 BB, 2 players) J♥
BB bets 140.72 BB, Hero calls 119.96 BB

River: (358.62 BB, 2 players) 6♦

Hero mucks Q♥ Q♠ (Two Pair, Queens and Sixes)
(Pre 19%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
BB shows A♦ A♣ (Two Pair, Aces and Sixes)
(Pre 81%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)
BB wins 355.62 BB

H3 - Have to stop assuming people play according to theory. On the other hand 8h7h prefers a 90% bet in solverland.

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

Hero (CO): 115.1 BB
BTN: 210.78 BB
SB: 112.92 BB
BB: 116.84 BB
UTG: 40 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

UTG raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, fold, BB raises to 28 BB, fold, Hero calls 19 BB

Flop: (59.5 BB, 2 players) A♠ 6♣ Q♣
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (59.5 BB, 2 players) K♣
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (59.5 BB, 2 players) 7♣
BB checks, Hero bets 87.1 BB, BB calls 87.1 BB

Hero mucks 8♥ 7♥ (One Pair, Sevens)
(Pre 22%, Flop 6%, Turn 0%)
BB shows J♣ J♠ (Flush, King High)
(Pre 78%, Flop 94%, Turn 100%)
BB wins 230.7 BB

H4 - Again poor judgement from me to assume mr 2% 3bet has a balanced 5bet range that isn't aces. Have to just force myself to fold AK in this spot.

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

Hero (CO): 277.04 BB
BTN: 108.74 BB
SB: 110.96 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 44.44 BB
MP: 52.68 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, MP calls 1 BB, Hero raises to 5 BB, fold, SB raises to 12 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 26 BB, SB raises to 47 BB, Hero raises to 277.04 BB, SB calls 63.96 BB

Flop: (223.92 BB, 2 players) Q♣ 9♥ 3♦

Turn: (223.92 BB, 2 players) 4♠

River: (223.92 BB, 2 players) T♠

MP shows 8♦ 8♠ (One Pair, Eights)

Hero mucks A♥ K♠ (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 8%, Flop 2%, Turn 0%)
SB shows A♦ A♣ (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 92%, Flop 98%, Turn 100%)
SB wins 220.92 BB

H5 - Cooler but I'm curious why solver prefers flatting the 3bet with the non-heart Q8s instead of shoving it OOP whiles Qh8h shoves always without needing protection?

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

SB: 123.44 BB
Hero (BB): 105.28 BB
UTG: 160.5 BB
MP: 97 BB
CO: 133.9 BB
BTN: 103 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) J♥ 9♣ T♥
Hero checks, BTN bets 3.84 BB, Hero raises to 8.5 BB, BTN raises to 26 BB, Hero raises to 102.78 BB, BTN calls 74.5 BB

Turn: (206.5 BB, 2 players) A♥

Players agreed to run it twice.

Turn #2: (206.5 BB, 2 players) J♦

River: (206.5 BB, 2 players) Q♣

River #2: (206.5 BB, 2 players) 4♥

BTN shows K♥ Q♦ (Straight, Ace High)
Board #1 (Pre 71%, Flop 93%, Turn 97%)
(Straight, King High)
Board #2 (Pre 70%, Flop 93%, Turn 96%)

Hero mucks Q♠ 8♠ (Straight, Queen High)
Board #1 (Pre 29%, Flop 7%, Turn 3%)
(Straight, Queen High)
Board #2 (Pre 30%, Flop 7%, Turn 4%)

BTN wins 101.76 BB
BTN wins 101.74 BB

H6 - Felt like a massive nit but honestly I have no idea how to play deepstacked 4bet pots with a coldcaller. Ok result ig

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

MP: 101 BB
CO: 100 BB
BTN: 108.92 BB
Hero (SB): 297.28 BB
BB: 359.5 BB
UTG: 124.04 BB

Hero 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, CO raises to 8 BB, fold, Hero raises to 22.5 BB, BB calls 21.5 BB, fold, CO calls 14.5 BB

Flop: (70 BB, 3 players) 3♠ 4♠ T♥
Hero bets 17.5 BB, BB calls 17.5 BB, fold

Turn: (105 BB, 2 players) 2♠
Hero bets 26.24 BB, BB calls 26.24 BB

River: (157.48 BB, 2 players) J♥
Hero bets 56.68 BB, BB calls 56.68 BB

Hero shows K♦ K♥ (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 82%, Flop 87%, Turn 75%)
BB shows Q♦ Q♠ (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 18%, Flop 13%, Turn 25%)
Hero wins 267.84 BB

H7 - vs a hyperagro spazz. Block 98 😀

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

MP: 114.58 BB
CO: 142.06 BB
BTN: 101.5 BB
Hero (SB): 125.78 BB
BB: 285.64 BB
UTG: 104 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9♠ A♠

fold, fold, CO raises to 2.3 BB, fold, Hero raises to 11.2 BB, fold, CO calls 8.9 BB

Flop: (23.4 BB, 2 players) 9♦ 5♣ 7♦
Hero checks, CO bets 7.72 BB, Hero calls 7.72 BB

Turn: (38.84 BB, 2 players) 6♥
Hero checks, CO bets 12.8 BB, Hero calls 12.8 BB

River: (64.44 BB, 2 players) 2♣
Hero checks, CO bets 110.34 BB, Hero calls 94.06 BB

CO shows 4♣ 4♥ (One Pair, Fours)
(Pre 51%, Flop 11%, Turn 18%)
Hero shows 9♠ A♠ (One Pair, Nines)
(Pre 49%, Flop 89%, Turn 82%)
Hero wins 249.56 BB

H8 - Big pot with a **** hand but honestly dont mind stationing against a 35vpip and 16% 3bet barbarian. Other than the mix call on flop even the solver likes it.

iPoker - €1 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 181.46 BB
BB: 55.98 BB
CO: 225.19 BB
Hero (BTN): 147.19 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9♦ J♦

fold, Hero raises to 2.22 BB, SB raises to 11 BB, fold, Hero calls 8.78 BB

Flop: (23 BB, 2 players) 6♠ 8♦ 2♣
SB bets 11.5 BB, Hero calls 11.5 BB

Turn: (46 BB, 2 players) J♠
SB bets 36.34 BB, Hero calls 36.34 BB

River: (118.68 BB, 2 players) 5♦
SB bets 122.62 BB, Hero calls 88.35 BB

Hero mucks 9♦ J♦ (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 19%, Flop 10%, Turn 11%)
SB shows Q♣ Q♥ (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 81%, Flop 90%, Turn 89%)
SB wins 293.38 BB

H9 - Biggest spew of my life so far vs a reg. NEVER doing this against a fish but I assumed this villain to be overbluffing & fold a straight to the 3bet shove bcuz who tf bluffs here. Took inspiration from rapidesh123.

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

CO: 107.6 BB
BTN: 194.2 BB
SB: 100 BB
Hero (BB): 466.8 BB
UTG: 233.62 BB
MP: 125 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A♣ 9♣

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) K♦ Q♠ 9♠
Hero checks, BTN checks

Turn: (5.5 BB, 2 players) Q♥
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (5.5 BB, 2 players) J♥
Hero bets 1.38 BB, BTN raises to 30.76 BB, Hero raises to 464.3 BB, fold

Hero mucks A♣ 9♣ (Two Pair, Queens and Nines)

Hero wins 65 BB

H10 - villain was LAG n had really high 4bet % so I decided to shove with my only 5bet bluffing hand. Unfortunately couldn't get there.

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

MP: 100 BB
CO: 130.28 BB
BTN: 142.56 BB
SB: 99 BB
Hero (BB): 182.4 BB
UTG: 101 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, CO raises to 2.2 BB, BTN calls 2.2 BB, SB calls 1.7 BB, Hero raises to 14.4 BB, CO raises to 30 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 182.4 BB, CO calls 100.28 BB

Flop: (264.96 BB, 2 players) 3♠ K♠ 6♥

Players agreed to run it twice.

Flop #2: (264.96 BB, 2 players) 3♣ 8♠ 8♦

Turn: (264.96 BB, 2 players) 9♥

Turn #2: (264.96 BB, 2 players) 6♠

River: (264.96 BB, 2 players) 7♠

River #2: (264.96 BB, 2 players) 6♦

CO shows Q♠ Q♥ (One Pair, Queens)
Board #1 (Pre 66%, Flop 85%, Turn 93%)
(Two Pair, Queens and Eights)
Board #2 (Pre 63%, Flop 79%, Turn 92%)

Hero mucks A♦ 5♦ (High Card, Ace)
Board #1 (Pre 34%, Flop 15%, Turn 7%)
(Two Pair, Eights and Sixes)
Board #2 (Pre 37%, Flop 21%, Turn 8%)

CO wins 130.98 BB
CO wins 130.98 BB

NL100 update

NL50 has been really profitable lately and I can now consider myself profitable in any NL50 lineup. Unfortunately my transition to NL100 has been anything but smooth.

Today:

Spoiler

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NL100 overall:

Spoiler

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Thankfully I switched to a more conservative bankroll management a month ago so losing 8 buy-ins while still in a shottaking a higher stake isn't that catastrophic. Overall I'm just 2.5 buyins down in NL100 but recent swings have been quite significant for the montly profit. However I also ran like **** when I first started shotting NL50 and still managed to turn it around makes the current situation nothing out of the ordinary. The NL100 regs have the same charasteristics and whales are still as terrible as in NL50 so I cant imagine not succeeding in the future if I just keep playing my A-game.

Going to drop NL100 for the rest of April and just grind NL50 since I can already make decent profit there. Probably shotting higher again next month once I have reset my mind.

April graph coming in a week

Betrayed myself and took a calculated risk today because there were a lot of 50 vpip fishes on the NL100 tables. Just because someone has a high VPIP doesn't mean I will win against them 😀

Spoiler

Show

Made a new record on how much I could lose in a span of 5 minutes :P

Honestly I have been playing quite terribly for the last 3 days and making some incredible punts mainly against recreationals. I started noticing some entitlement awakening inside of me which causes me to make suicidical bluffs and calls just to have slither of a chance of scooping a pot. Having positive studied the game and getting positive results in the past has made me feel like I deserve to win always. At this point I don't get excited from winning but on every occasion I feel bad after a losing day. This can be reflected in this blog since I mainly feel updating after a big losing day because winning for me seems uneventful.

This has been the first month where I have solely focused on poker due to unlimited free time and goodness gracious this game can be ****ed up mentally. Getting rewarded when playing terrible and vice versa getting constantly punished for making the right move is so exceptional for most humans. I set a goal for myself in the start of 2024 to be productful every single day and measured how good a day was based on the productive things I did that day. Unfortunately in the case of poker showing up to "work" and instead of making progress I lose money makes me feel awful about that day. Delightedly I have taken care of my physical health by avoiding unhealthy habits and working out every single day to make my self-esteem better.

I guess I shouldn't be that strict on myself and appreciate the fact that regardless of losses I'm making a few thousand € in profit a month playing cards as a broke 18-year old. Trying to be more positive with this blog in the future 😀

Reality of playing 2 sessions a day:

Always straight up or straight down, never normal.

Swings swings

Perhaps I should take a couple days off poker to regain my love for the game. Not running that well coupled with bad focus will always be reflected in the results in a negative way. At the moment I feel negative even when winning which is a clear sign I need a break. I cant change the amount of coolers that happen in a session but I am able to control how it effects the rest of my game. In a way this blog caused me to be extremely results-oriented since I want to show a big winning graph when the month ends. I need to drop my ego and accept the fact that losing is part of the game.

In the future I'll go back to short <90m sessions since I cant play my best game for a multiple hours in a row and additionally I can never book a decent win from a long session. Short A-game sessions got me this far so might aswell stick to them. I doubt I will end up as a professional poker player since its certainly a hell of a life.

Much more honorable to have an insane downswing graph imo. If you can have even a 40 buy-in downswing without paisting level spew or quitting poker I'll pin the graph on my wall

Questionable strat but could be good: https://youtu.be/j7eR12jvdcs?si=38fFF7hQ...

Week update

Rough week.

Downward spiral started from NL100 and continued back to NL50. Some runbad and insufficient focus are never a good combo.

Can't win always, let's make next week profitable.

H1 - Went whale hunting, became the hunted instead

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

SB: 107.08 BB
BB: 238.8 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 180.3 BB
CO: 105.46 BB
Hero (BTN): 178.08 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 2.32 BB, SB raises to 4 BB, fold, Hero calls 1.68 BB

Flop: (9 BB, 2 players) K♥ 3♠ 2♦
SB bets 9 BB, Hero calls 9 BB

Turn: (27 BB, 2 players) 4♠
SB bets 27 BB, Hero calls 27 BB

River: (81 BB, 2 players) 4♣
SB bets 67.08 BB, Hero calls 67.08 BB

Hero mucks 5♥ 6♥ (Straight, Six High)
(Pre 47%, Flop 16%, Turn 91%)
SB shows K♦ 4♥ (Full House, Fours full of Kings)
(Pre 53%, Flop 84%, Turn 9%)
SB wins 212.16 BB

H2

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

Hero (BB): 123.66 BB
SB: 415.74 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 2♠ 8♠

SB raises to 2.5 BB, Hero calls 1.5 BB

Flop: (5 BB, 2 players) 8♥ 2♣ 3♦
Hero checks, SB bets 3 BB, Hero raises to 10.26 BB, SB calls 7.26 BB

Turn: (25.52 BB, 2 players) T♦
Hero bets 31.9 BB, SB calls 31.9 BB

River: (89.32 BB, 2 players) T♣
Hero checks, SB bets 371.08 BB, Hero calls 79 BB

SB shows T♥ 3♥ (Full House, Tens full of Threes)
(Pre 61%, Flop 23%, Turn 91%)
Hero mucks 2♠ 8♠ (Two Pair, Tens and Eights)
(Pre 39%, Flop 77%, Turn 9%)
SB wins 246.32 BB

H3 - I like this one - Wesley

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

Hero (SB): 102.82 BB
BB: 135.02 BB
CO: 104.5 BB
BTN: 170.14 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9♣ 9♠

CO raises to 2.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 11.5 BB, fold, CO calls 9 BB

Flop: (24 BB, 2 players) 5♣ 8♠ T♣
Hero bets 12 BB, CO calls 12 BB

Turn: (48 BB, 2 players) 4♦
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (48 BB, 2 players) T♦
Hero checks, CO bets 81 BB, Hero calls 79.32 BB

CO shows 8♦ 8♣ (Full House, Eights full of Tens)
(Pre 18%, Flop 83%, Turn 95%)
Hero mucks 9♣ 9♠ (Two Pair, Tens and Nines)
(Pre 82%, Flop 17%, Turn 5%)
CO wins 203.64 BB

H4 - Solver calls river 50% of the time but in practice the call is quite terrible

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

BB: 102.38 BB
Hero (SB): 100 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 6♠ T♠

Hero raises to 2.32 BB, BB calls 1.32 BB

Flop: (4.64 BB, 2 players) J♠ 8♠ J♥
BB checks, Hero bets 1.52 BB, BB raises to 6.16 BB, Hero calls 4.64 BB

Turn: (16.96 BB, 2 players) 7♦
BB bets 11.36 BB, Hero calls 11.36 BB

River: (39.68 BB, 2 players) A♠
BB checks, Hero bets 40 BB, BB raises to 82.54 BB, Hero calls 40.16 BB

Hero mucks 6♠ T♠ (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 40%, Flop 0.2%, Turn 0%)
BB shows 8♦ J♣ (Full House, Jacks full of Eights)
(Pre 60%, Flop 99.8%, Turn 100%)
BB wins 199 BB

H5 - OPP was 3betting quite liberally over a large sample so I decided to spew a bit

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

Hero (BB): 132.46 BB
UTG: 134.9 BB
MP: 27.68 BB
CO: 119.86 BB
BTN: 475.74 BB
SB: 117.82 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, CO raises to 2.34 BB, BTN raises to 7.5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 25.66 BB, fold, BTN calls 18.16 BB

Flop: (54.16 BB, 2 players) 4♥ 4♠ A♣
Hero bets 5.42 BB, BTN calls 5.42 BB

Turn: (65 BB, 2 players) T♦
Hero checks, BTN bets 19.5 BB, Hero calls 19.5 BB

River: (104 BB, 2 players) 7♥
Hero checks, BTN bets 425.16 BB, Hero calls 81.88 BB

BTN shows A♥ K♥ (Two Pair, Aces and Fours)
(Pre 71%, Flop 92%, Turn 97%)
Hero mucks 3♦ A♦ (Two Pair, Aces and Fours)
(Pre 29%, Flop 8%, Turn 3%)
BTN wins 264.76 BB

H6 - Have to study monotone boards. Atleast got the money in

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

BB: 114.54 BB
BTN: 57 BB
Hero (SB): 132.88 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

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

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) T♣ 2♣ 3♣
Hero bets 1 BB, BB calls 1 BB

Turn: (8 BB, 2 players) 4♦
Hero checks, BB bets 5.6 BB, Hero calls 5.6 BB

River: (19.2 BB, 2 players) 2♦
Hero checks, BB bets 13.44 BB, Hero raises to 123.28 BB, BB calls 91.5 BB

Hero shows T♥ T♠ (Full House, Tens full of Twos)
(Pre 81%, Flop 34%, Turn 23%)
BB shows 9♣ 7♣ (Flush, Ten High)
(Pre 19%, Flop 66%, Turn 77%)
Hero wins 226.08 BB

H7 - Usually folding but RNG rolled a low number and villan 4bets ALOT over 6k hands

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

Hero (CO): 202.5 BB
BTN: 129.76 BB
SB: 85.68 BB
BB: 96.48 BB
UTG: 430.38 BB
MP: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9♥ 9♣

fold, MP raises to 2.6 BB, Hero raises to 7.44 BB, fold, fold, fold, MP raises to 19.28 BB, Hero calls 11.84 BB

Flop: (40.06 BB, 2 players) 2♥ J♥ 3♦
MP bets 14.02 BB, Hero calls 14.02 BB

Turn: (68.1 BB, 2 players) 3♣
MP bets 66.7 BB, Hero calls 66.7 BB

River: (201.5 BB, 2 players) J♦

Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: (201.5 BB, 2 players) 4♥

MP shows A♣ A♥ (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks)
Board #1 (Pre 82%, Flop 92%, Turn 95%)
(Two Pair, Aces and Threes)
Board #2 (Pre 81%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)

Hero mucks 9♥ 9♣ (Two Pair, Jacks and Nines)
Board #1 (Pre 18%, Flop 8%, Turn 5%)
(Two Pair, Nines and Threes)
Board #2 (Pre 19%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)

MP wins 99.26 BB
MP wins 99.24 BB

H8 - Always overthink these spots. I guess solver calls here always but I haven't nodelocked villain missing a chromosome

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

MP: 68.16 BB
CO: 471.84 BB
BTN: 131.02 BB
SB: 331.3 BB
BB: 111.66 BB
Hero (UTG): 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Hero raises to 2.32 BB, MP raises to 8.64 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 6.32 BB

Flop: (18.78 BB, 2 players) K♥ 7♠ 2♦
Hero checks, MP bets 59.52 BB, Hero calls 59.52 BB

Turn: (137.82 BB, 2 players) 6♣

River: (137.82 BB, 2 players) 2♥

Hero mucks K♠ J♠ (Two Pair, Kings and Twos)
(Pre 17%, Flop 22%, Turn 11%)
MP shows A♠ A♣ (Two Pair, Aces and Twos)
(Pre 83%, Flop 78%, Turn 89%)
MP wins 134.82 BB

April 2024 results

Not the result I was hoping for. Ended up winning this month but considering that I managed to lose over 50% of the profit in the last 1.5 weeks really bothers me. I was up around 2.2k € after the first 20 days of the month playing NL50 and a bit of NL100 but then my big downswing started. Thankfully I dropped NL100 early on when things weren't going my way but at the moment I have been losing in NL50 aswell. I knew a big downswing was long overdue and I am slowly getting used to losing every day. However I believe its better to have a big downswing early on in my career and learn how to deal with it when the money in question isn't that significant. 5th month in a row running below ev btw

On a positive node my game improved a lot this month. I fixed all my biggest leaks and started to develop strategies for each board instead of just playing by feeling. I also connected with other poker players to study and discuss poker together. Outside the tables I improved my quality of life by eating healthier, quitting alcohol, sleeping more and exercising every single day.

April was my first month where I exclusively focused on poker. Resultswise a disappointing month but at least I made some progress in my game and learnt a lot. For May I plan on putting higher effort on studying and obviously getting out of the downswing.

Not quitting before a +10k month

Played my last session of April. Made a cool 9 BI comeback which brings my April total to +1045€

Here's hoping my downswing ends today

H1 - Idk why I even bother against ppl who don't like folding

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

Hero (SB): 100 BB
BB: 102.84 BB
BTN: 113.54 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8♥ K♣

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

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) 9♠ Q♣ J♥
Hero bets 1.98 BB, BB calls 1.98 BB

Turn: (9.96 BB, 2 players) 7♥
Hero bets 12.44 BB, BB calls 12.44 BB

River: (34.84 BB, 2 players) 5♠
Hero bets 82.58 BB, BB calls 82.58 BB

Hero mucks 8♥ K♣ (High Card, King)
(Pre 65%, Flop 29%, Turn 16%)
BB shows 9♦ 8♦ (One Pair, Nines)
(Pre 35%, Flop 71%, Turn 84%)
BB wins 197 BB

H2 - Found the solvers favourite river raise canditate

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

MP: 39 BB
CO: 102 BB
Hero (BTN): 209.36 BB
SB: 114.32 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 202.64 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.22 BB, fold, BB calls 1.22 BB

Flop: (4.94 BB, 2 players) Q♦ J♣ 6♠
BB checks, Hero bets 1.62 BB, BB calls 1.62 BB

Turn: (8.18 BB, 2 players) A♠
BB checks, Hero checks

River: (8.18 BB, 2 players) 6♦
BB bets 6.2 BB, Hero raises to 23.68 BB, BB calls 17.48 BB

Hero mucks 7♦ 7♣ (Two Pair, Sevens and Sixes)
(Pre 83%, Flop 78%, Turn 89%)
BB shows 3♣ 6♣ (Three of a Kind, Sixes)
(Pre 17%, Flop 22%, Turn 11%)
BB wins 53.86 BB

H3 - Some rungood

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

Hero (BB): 189.2 BB
SB: 102.94 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

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

SB raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 11 BB, SB calls 9 BB

Flop: (22 BB, 2 players) J♥ 8♠ T♠
Hero checks, SB bets 3 BB, Hero raises to 21.48 BB, SB calls 18.48 BB

Turn: (64.96 BB, 2 players) 7♦
Hero checks, SB bets 70.46 BB, Hero calls 70.46 BB

River: (205.88 BB, 2 players) 8♥

Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: (205.88 BB, 2 players) 7♠

SB shows K♦ 9♦ (Straight, Jack High)
Board #1 (Pre 32%, Flop 25%, Turn 74%)
(Straight, Jack High)
Board #2 (Pre 33%, Flop 26%, Turn 76%)

Hero shows T♣ T♥ (Full House, Tens full of Eights)
Board #1 (Pre 68%, Flop 75%, Turn 26%)
(Full House, Tens full of Sevens)
Board #2 (Pre 67%, Flop 74%, Turn 24%)

Hero wins 102.44 BB
Hero wins 102.44 BB

My best NL50 session followed by my worst NL50 sesh

this game is sadistic

May 4th

May 5th

Also reached 50k hand breakeven period

Graph since 1st of April 2024 when I started playing NL50 as my main stake. 7k hands of NL100 as well.

I'm not sure 50k hands is a meaningful sample but I have a feeling something big is clearly wrong in my game to have such stalling results in an easy game like NL50. Also noticed that my redline has been losing lately and I'm not sure if that's something desirable in low stakes. In a way my downswing made me passive and timid to the point that I am no longer better than the passive fishes I'm up against.

I am still motivated to play however my focus has been terrible. I experimented with playing up to 9-12 tables simultaneously and noticed my results being worse compared to playing 4-6 tables. Funny thing is that in April I made most of my profit playing 4 tables on a shitty laptop while being isolated in a cottage. As soon as I got home to a better pc and a bigger screen I couldn't win a single dime.

Im going back to maximum of 6 tables to see if my results improve and then perhaps start to slowly add more if I really feel like it.

I agree with not playing more than 6 tables. It's the max I can play without turning into a zombie. 4 is the max I can play if I want to think deeply about decisions.

Losing redline is not necessarily a problem, although losing more than 5bb/100 without showdown is probably a warning sign.

On the other hand, a redline that is winning more than 5bb/100 may be a warning sign as well.

Saw this graph a while back 😃

Took a few days off then returned to the tables with newfound motivation. Moved a big portion of my roll to Stars since I really wanted to take part in SCOOP-series even though I mostly play cash. Also the software is much better compared to the 2003 looking like IPoker software.

Apart from couple mincashes, my SCOOP results have been marginal so far. However I managed to book a nice win in another MTT.

Regardless of decent success in MTTs, I'll still stick to cash games as my primary focus. Even with the added boost to my roll I'll keep playing NL50 for a while to make sure I feel comfortable in that stake before moving up. Most likely shotting NL100 again if the next 1-2 weeks go well.

Managed to pick up a study routine again and after dropping the amount of tables I play simultaneously I can actually think deeply about spots and reduce my spewing 😀

VGG! I'm surprised with the bounties amount, it looks really low compared to the 1st prize win! any explanation?

GL for the grind

Ty

A lot of variance in Mystery bounty tournaments. Got most of my eliminations when there were <40 players remaining and all the biggest bounties were gone already :(

Nice Score, Well Deserved!

Found a picture of you at the moment of the win

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P.S. What was the winning hand?

Lmaooo

May 2024 results

Great month overall with a slow start. During the first week I was still going through a downswing that started at the end of April and I felt like nothing was working for me. I managed to get breakeven eventually from the IPoker games but I was getting really fed up with cash and the site so I took a small break and started playing on Stars. I got hit with a security check right off the bat which took me 2-3 days to solve.

After a tedious start in cash I decided to experiment MTT's since I have heard about them being way softer. Literally one of the first MTTs I registered this month was a $11 mystery bounty that I managed to bink for 3,6k.

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A big win made me add some MTT's to the side while playing cash and with the SCOOP-series running simultaneously I started adding some $22-$55 BI SCOOPs to the side without real success. Reached few day 2's on big events but had some trouble holding with AK against a worse ace. 😀

NL50 regtables + zoom

Overall cash on Stars went great. A part from 1 big losing day I basically made profit every single day I played. Also managed to fix my focusing issues by dropping to 4 regtables and 2 zoom tables.

Had 1 shot at NL100 where I lost 5-6 buyins immediately and refrained from playing stake again. I made around the same amount in rakeback so I guess that evens out.

Overall results:
Cash including rakeback: +1350€
MTT's +2950€
Total: +4300€

I am graduating tomorrow but after that I'll keep my full focus in poker for June. My current goal is to reach +10k months consistently. I know it's going to be hard given the current climate in poker but I believe it is possible if I just work hard enough.

A week of NL100

Since June began I have been exclusively playing NL100 on stars and it hasn't exactly been a smooth sailing. Started out quite well but last 2 days have been brutal. Note that I am only playing regtables and stars has a cap of 4 cashtables maximum for some genius reason. Getting more hands in to combat variance isn't easy with just 4 tables especially when I'm boycotting playing zoom. Now that SCOOP is over and the new rb is lower than before I don't see the reason continuing playing on Stars instead of IPoker.

I think it's a good decision to play regtables over zoom. Maybe you can get some roll on one more site which you can add on 2 tables to your regular stars grind? atleast the upside about 4 tabling is you can really think deeply about your decisions (and what your opponents are doing) and pay attention to detail which will allow you to progress fast. gl

The Wrap Up

It's been a while since my last update mainly due to losing interest in blogging. I actually took a big break from poker in June and it took me a while to get back on track. Another reason for blogging inactivity is me joining a small study group with 4 other Finns in July. Since joining I have discussed poker there almost daily and I much preferred posting HH's and updates in a small group instead of 2+2.

To sum things up everything is going really well. I got access to a lot of study material from the study group and made noticeable improvements on my game. I made around 1.5k in July however it was the first month where I studied poker more than I actually played it.

For August I got lazy with studying and instead just played way more than previously. I experimented with grinding 10-12 tables simultaneously and it went quite well. It allowed me to put more volume in a month at a cost of slightly lower winrate. I managed to break trough NL100 a while ago and grind it for decent profit. This week I also started adding NL200 to my grind when the tables were good. At the moment I'm up 10 BI on that stake.

August:

For September I plan on dropping to max 8 tables and try to actually think deeply about spots instead of masstabling NL50-NL200 brainlessly. I mainly play on a countrylocked IPoker skin so there isn't many NL100+ tables running at the same time. I often had to add NL50 tables to my grind to reach 10 tables.

As the title suggests I am wrapping this blog up for now. Perhaps I'll update again at some point if I manage to reach NL1k+ or something similar. I want to thank everyone who gave advice and commented on hands that I posted here while I was still starting my poker journey. Special shoutouts to TripleBerryJam and Swerbs for advice and connecting me with likeminded poker players.

Cheers

KHANYAY

Congratulations on your success, enjoyed following your journey.

And best of luck in reaching your max potential in this unforgiving game.

Last but not least...
"....Everybody want to know what I would do if. I didn't win."

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You have made great progress! well done man, gl in the future 😀

Hey KHANYAY

Another Finnish grinder here. Thanks for doing this PGC and sharing your progress. Congrats on your success! I was on a similar journey going from 10z to taking shots at 100z. Struggled a lot with motivation and probably studied more than I played. Never got to the point of switching to regular tables or other sites than PS before life happened and I went offline for a long time. Back now though but a bit more casually.

How do you find the 100nl player pool on our beloved site? I have a friend that has been crushing 20 and 50nl over a lot of hands there, but he also mentioned that 50nl+ there just isn't a lot of action to play whenever you feel like it.

Funny thing, finnish is my second mother tongue and I still don't know poker terminology in finnish that well. Never studied with finns and never been on finnish poker forums.

Good luck man. If you want to connect in some shape or form, shoot me a DM.

lol mate sick graph gj you're killing it