Microstakes: From Tilt to Thought — A Daily Poker Progress Thread
Hi Poker Warriors,
I’ve been playing poker on and off for a while, mostly for fun. I’ve done a bankroll challenge in the past, but this time I want to approach things differently.
Instead of chasing results, I want to focus on one thing at a time and fix my leaks, especially on the mental side. I know that at the microstakes, the rake is brutal and variance can feel overwhelming, that’s part of the game. This thread is mainly for accountability and self-reflection.
The goal of this blog is simple:
- Track my daily progress
- Post daily results
- Share a hand of the day
- Do a short end-of-day game audit (hand review, decisions, mindset)
I don’t know how long this thread will last, but consistency is the main objective. Even showing up and writing daily is already a win for me.
I’ve also tried streaming on Twitch before, but I found it too distracting. It’s hard for me to think clearly and stay focused while playing live, so I figured writing a blog on Two Plus Two might be a better fit
I mainly play microstakes — 2NL, 5NL, and 10NL — and recently I’ve been trying to beat 10NL consistently. Alongside my full-time job, I’m doing my best to put in a reasonable amount of volume.
In the past, I’ve played on several sites (GG, Winamax, ACR, etc.), mostly out of curiosity. For simplicity and consistency, I’ve now decided to focus only on PokerStars.
I’ll post my graph below for transparency.
Feedback is welcome, especially on hand analysis and decision-making. Let’s see where this goes.
I may also create a Discord channel in the future for anyone playing microstakes who’s interested in studying and improving together.
Daily Recap
Today’s session was a bit of a roller coaster.
The first around 200 hands went well, and I was up about 50 BB early. After that, I ran into a few bad beats and coolers, which put me down almost three buy-ins at one point.
In the last roughly 1,000 hands, things turned around. There were enough fish at the tables, and they paid off my value bets, which helped me recover nicely.
Some of the calls I received were honestly pretty funny, as they were extremely wide in spots where I did not expect them to continue.
Overall, not a perfect session; I made some stupid mistakes at the start, which cost me a lot.
I will go into more detail in tomorrow’s post.
Interesting hand:
Calling stations still exist these days. This is so funny.
Spoiler
Spoiler
Daily Recap
Today the games were still good. There were plenty of fish in the pool, and my value bets got paid frequently. Not many bad beats like yesterday, and overall the session felt much more manageable, not as brutal as before.
The result is still positive.
I’m writing this daily recap while doing hand reviews. My usual process is a quick review of all hands where I won or lost more than 10bb. Most of the time it’s just a fast comparison against my default strategy. Occasionally, I’ll run spots through GTO+ or build ranges in FlopZilla Pro.
Microstakes is a level where almost anything can happen. You see regulars with fairly normal stats suddenly punting, and you also see how far exploitative adjustments can go.
When I compare my current strategy to how the game is “supposed” to be played under normal expectations, my lines often look terrible. But the reality is, I don’t need to play well in a theoretical sense to beat microstakes. I need to be unbalanced enough to extract maximum value.
I’m still thinking about how to properly explain this, because to an outside observer it can look very bad. I do have data from my own hands, but the question is whether that can be generalized. Do I need MDA to validate it?
I’m not sure. Even though MDA can provide useful insights, it’s not always fully reliable. And GTO assumes opponents are playing somewhere near equilibrium, which clearly isn’t the case in this pool.
For me, the solution is adaptation. That’s the essence of poker: understanding table dynamics and adjusting accordingly. So far, this approach is working in this pool, at this time, and on this site, but we’ll see how it holds up.
This style would get punished heavily at higher stakes, say 50NL and above, but that’s a problem for another level.
Right now, my focus is on fixing mental leaks and staying disciplined in executing what I believe is an EV positive strategy for this particular environment.
Interesting Hands
The fate of bluffing
Spoiler
This one is a bit unusual. Before I add further comments, please take a look at the villain’s HUD stats:
The logic behind my play was to put pressure on a capped range. I also had sufficient equity.
After firing such a large bet on the turn, I don’t think I can credibly fire a third bluff. Players like this tend to call lightly with any 6x or Tx, and will occasionally slow-play hands like 5x.
The jack on the river is another scare card, and against a regular I might consider firing a final barrel, but not against this type of opponent.
Too thin to value bet?
Spoiler
Again, before judging me, please take a look at the villain stat:
He’s a loose-passive type, and he was calling with ace-high, no draw, and almost no showdown value on that board.
If I only waited for TPTK or two pair or better to bet aggressively, I’d be leaving a lot of value on the table.
Call wide against Bad Regulars?
Spoiler
Generally speaking, hero-calling the river with middling hands is not going to yield good results, especially at 10NL, where many players construct merged ranges. I’ve had my fair share of experiences going broke making those hero calls.
However, this spot is against an aggressive regular who is very likely over-bluffing. Look at his WWSF. Even though the sample size is small, the data shows a pattern of a broken line: he checks the turn frequently, and the bet–check–bet line is a common over-bluffing strategy among weaker regulars.
And here's the hand:
Punishing hero call?
Spoiler
With the current trend toward fancy play, over-bluff catching, and not wanting to look nitty, I’ve been extracting a lot of value from river bets. Please take a look at the villain’s stats.
In this hand we were up against a regular, possibly good or possibly bad, but his stats look fairly standard and solid.
I genuinely don’t understand why he would call a river overbet with a middling pair like Qx simply because a club flush draw missed. Any Jx hand beats him comfortably.
I don’t have a definitive explanation, but this seems to be a clear bet-to-go spot against regulars. Overbet your value hands, and they will often call because they don’t want to appear weak or overly tight.
Justify this bad play from SB
Spoiler
To be clear, I understand that cold-calling from the small blind is generally a poor play. However, in this pool I’m surrounded by fish on all sides. In that context, there’s value in occasionally being a bit naughty and playing like one.
Just look at how wide the fish are calling. Do you think the fish would call this wide if I iso-raised him?
Bad play - stupid hero call
Spoiler
No need to overthink this. It was a bad call and a mistake on my part.
Merry Christmas
Daily Recap
Today was a bit busy, but I still managed to put in a decent amount of volume.
Probably because it was a public holiday, there were a lot of aggressive recreational players at the tables. I got sucked out on several times, and by the end of the day I was running about 2 buy ins below EV.
I cannot really complain though, as the final result of the session was still good.
There were quite a few interesting hands today, but I will post them tomorrow.
That’s it for today.
Merry Christmas everyone 🎄
Daily Recap
It was a bit challenging, and I also made some big mistakes in a few large pot spots, which amplified the result.
Got red, huh?
I think I've played with you a bit. Gl hf and Merry Christmas!
Will do!!
Daily Recap
Today was a bit crazy. My red line and green line were completely opposite of the usual. Probably just variance.
Daily Recap
Today I was a bit tilted and ended up punting a few hands, which I regret. The session was supposed to be green, but I gave away two buy ins for no good reason.
Lesson learned.
Monthly Recap
Still a profitable month! Got Green, Huh?
Daily Recap
I was running fairly well today. There were many Whales splashing around and paying off my value bets, and I found myself near the top of my range in many spots during the session. There were still some bad beats and coolers, but they happened in smaller pots, so they were not a big deal today.
Yesterday, I started streaming again on Twitch while playing. I limited the stream to two hours only. Luckily, some of my followers were still there and offered their support, which I really appreciated.
Today's Recap
Today I played regular tables only, and the results were pretty good. I am up around 7 buy ins so far, which feels like a nice recovery after yesterday’s big losses.
Yesterday I tried playing Zoom, and honestly I got crushed with no mercy. I tilted a bit against some very chaotic opponents.
I think I still need to learn how to adjust properly in the Zoom pool. There are a lot of players who seem to be only looking to hit something and then shove. It often feels like pure nut hunting, and I paid the price for it several times.
Looking back, tilt was the main problem yesterday.
Yesterday's stat:
I took a break for a while after a big downswing about two weeks ago. The variance was extremely brutal, and it triggered me to play very badly, which only magnified the swings.
On January 13, I started playing again, this time returning to the training ground at 5NL to make sure I could fully focus on each session, put my opponents on proper ranges, and ensure my decisions were sound and my execution was disciplined. So far, it's gone well for 4 days, and I've started playing 10NL again.
This time, luck has been more on my side; there haven't been many crazy coolers or bad beats. I’ve also started reviewing my hands after each session, especially hands where I win or lose more than 30 BB.
Jan 13 || 5 NL:
Jan 14 || 5 NL:
Jan 15 || 5 NL:
Jan 16 || 5 NL:
Jan 17 || 10 NL:
The volume still sucks since I’ve limited myself to only four tables. I’ll probably add a fifth table next week, but in the meantime, I’m sticking with four regular tables.
I believe five tables would be ideal, as I can place the hand history in the sixth position on my screen. Playing eight tables is still too much for me. I cannot handle it yet because it does not give me enough time to make good decisions.
Looking back, I was really fucking silly. I was trying to chase results by making really bad plays all night long, and that was not a good strategy. It is a very, very bad way to chase volume. I want smart volume, not bad volume.
I’m starting to stream again on Twitch to make sure I say out loud why I make each decision, so I can prevent myself from going back into autopilot.
So a whole month was wasted because I was tilted, and the sad part is that I didn't even realise I was. I thought it was just bad luck. After doing a thorough hand review, yes, bad luck did happen, but the way I played made it even worse.
Here's the result so far for all stakes:
The tilt ruined my win rate by A LOT!!!
Subsribed😀 we in this together
Daily recap:
I got a little bit tilted today against a crazy maniac who punts left and right and gets away easily, and before I could stack him, he already got crushed by another regular. So sad. I even yelled at the regulars, lol. Very bad of me. I regretted that. Lol. The rest of the session went well with one or two bad beats, but overall still pretty good.
Daily Recap:
In today's session, fish is very rare, so I had to sit out for many tables to table select. As you know, at the start, we can't choose a table, and the seat is automatically assigned. We need to pay at least 10 hands before leaving the tables. Probably this is Monday, lol. So far, the result is not that bad, nice volume and decent win rate.
Daily Hand Review
I have an idea for doing this kind of hand review using a new template that I just created. I believe it will be very useful for my learning. Got two interesting hands today:
Hero Call:
Spoiler
Showdown: QsQh
Hero lost. Not much information about this villain, but based on the player’s profile, we can put the villain on merged ranges that include middling hands like Qx and Ax, up to the nutted hands. Villain slow-played the monster hand on the flop.
Fishing Fish:
Spoiler
Bonus: - This one made me laugh the entire session.
Spoiler
On this spot, whether I hit or not, I will still bluff the river, so kudos to these regulars who made a brave hero call against aggression.
Daily Recap
Today’s result isn’t terrible — down 1 buy-in — but honestly, I’m not happy with how I played. I hit my volume target, but I made several unnecessary mistakes, and that’s what bothers me most because they’re repeatable errors.
My “C-game” rate today was 16%: 9 out of the 55 hands I reviewed fell into the big-mistake category.
I’m planning to take a break tomorrow to study these spots more closely and figure out why these mistakes keep occurring.
Daily Recap
Today’s result isn’t terrible — down 1 buy-in — but honestly, I’m not happy with how I played. I hit my volume target, but I made several unnecessary mistakes, and that’s what bothers me most because they’re repeatable errors.
My “C-game” rate today was 16%: 9 out of the 55 hands I reviewed fell into the big-mistake category.
I’m planning to take a break tomorrow to study these spots more closely and figure out why these mistakes keep occurring.
Daily Recap
A little bit scared today, since I was trying to play on Zoom again. I play 3 regular tables + 1 zoom table.
So far, it wasn't that bad or crazy, probably lucky the players in the pool today aren't as crazy as usual.
I need to learn to play fast in the poker format, since the rake is lower there, and because of the target volume.
Daily Recap
A little bit scared today, since I was trying to play on Zoom again. I play 3 regular tables + 1 zoom table.
So far, it wasn't that bad or crazy, probably lucky the players in the pool today aren't as crazy as usual.
I need to learn to play fast in the poker format, since the rake is lower there, and because of the target volume.
Wish me luck for trying Zoom again!
Daily Recap
It’s been a while, and I’ve been pretty busy with my day-to-day job, but I managed to sneak in about two hours of poker today ��. I also did some hand review afterward.
Ended up with 958 hands played, which isn’t too bad given the limited time.
Results were okay overall.
So far, I have reviewed 24 hands that won or lost more than 10bb. I am happy to see that there were no major mistakes in these spots. There were a few minor issues, such as a misclick on bet sizing or missing a bluff opportunity on the river, but overall, everything looks fine.
I am running a bit below EV. I got all-in preflop several times against a short-stack fish, but variance is variance. Overall, I am happy with the results of this game audit.
Nice Hero Call
Aces Cracked? No worries - Just fold
Fun Fact: I got AA 3 times during these two short sessions.
I managed to set aside two hours to play and reached around 1k hands.
It was more or less a break even session, but so far it feels fine. I have not reviewed today’s hands yet and will do that tomorrow.
Yesterday's Session
Today's Session
I was down five buy-ins yesterday and managed a three buy-in recovery today, but overall the runouts haven’t gone my way this week.
A few silly river calls definitely amplified the bad runouts.
