Hi John, how do you adjust your game if you're at a table where (nearly) everyone is following the same strategy? How would a game of 6 JohnConnors go?
Since I'm 3p off £23 and have a £5 C4P payment pending, I will be moving upto £1.15s in the morning. Hopefully I'll hit the ground running in those and never have to return to the £0.60s.
Hi John, how do you adjust your game if you're at a table where (nearly) everyone is following the same strategy? How would a game of 6 JohnConnors go? Posted by Giant811
Hi Giant.
It's quite difficult to answer that as it would never really happen in practice. I know what you're saying, though. The old saying of playing the opposite to the table would kick in in that situation I would think. Given how tight I like to play early I would think that more stealing earlier would be a profitable play. There is one very good DYM reg who is really tight throughout (so, similar to my style). Against this player I like to steal with any cards as they will only ever play back with such a narrow range.
That would be the best thing to do I would think, loosen up. Note that you must do something. If you did have 6 'JohnConnor's (or any style), and no-one adjusted, the game would have zero edge. So every player would just lose the rake every game (over time).
Nice diary mate, nice to see some good progress. I think you could get to 1k before christmas ... thoughts? (if you continue to play 30 + a day ). good luck.
Thanks guys. Thanks 1267. I did mention earlier that Christmas might sound like a decent target but I'm a bit unsure now. If I get to £1k I'll be playing £33 DYMs again, so there's quite a few 'level ups' to complete before then. Also there's only 2 C4P payments left before Christmas and I can't see Novembers being very big at all. Finally I'm hoping to start work soon. All that being said I will still put in some decent volume (about 30 a day as you say sounds OK) and I would definately like to have it done by Christmas, yeah. In all honesty, I think it will depend largely on how I run between now and then. Fingers crossed then...
PS. I am desperate to have a BR again. Loads of things I too for granted in the past like playing SPT sats, playing the main event when I could, I can't do anymore. I keep getting this weird message about insufficient funds, please deposit :-( lol.
Well, last night I hoped I would 'hit the ground running' in the £1.15s and the poker gods obliged with a nice little session there. I also noted down quite a few things during the session which hopefully you won't find too boring (the session stats are right at the end for anyone who wants to skip straight down):
Firstly my very first impressions of the £1.15s as opposed to the £0.60s. The general standard seems noticeably better. The player is generally tighter earlier on and I haven't sen anywhere near the amount of all-in and calls during levels 1 and 2 as I was seeing in the £0.60s. Perhaps it being during the day has something to do with this. Also, there is still some poor play but there has been less kamikaze play at the late stages, e.g. 2 big stacks going at it when there is a micro stack about to bubble.
Secondly I noted the advantages of moving up to the £1.15s:
/> The rake is 15% as opposed to 20%. This means the winrate required to break even drops from 60% to 57.5%. /> You get 2 poker points per game instead of 1. Doubling the amount of points you earn is one of the most exciting things (actually probably the most) about moving up through the levels of DYMs. The impact on your monthly bonus is fantastic. /> You get 7 league points per win instead of 3. This is obviously a huge difference and is great if you, like me, dream of a place on TSP. If anyone is interested, my league target for this quarter (ending December) is to finish in the top 4. I'm currently in the 100s I think due to earning only 3 points per win in the £0.60s. I will have some catching up to do...
Thirdly I noticed an improvement in my own game which I have been seeing over the last few days. I have been value betting more thinly, especially in position. Ok, so it's fairly easy at these low levels as a lot of players play so passively and will call with weaker hands on the river. Nevertheless I've seen a definite improvement and it's something I will hopefully carry on in my game in the future. (Who would have thought that dropping down to £0.60 DYMs could actually improve your poker playing abilities? ;-))
Fourthly I noted down a hand id. Previously I noted that I had made a small adjustment in the way I play AK in these low stakes games, so as to avoid huge pots pre-flop with an unmade hand. Here is the hand:
Player
Action
Cards
Amount
Pot
Balance
9991
Small blind
10.00
10.00
1970.00
potking71
Big blind
20.00
30.00
3645.00
Your hole cards
K
A
tony14757
Fold
danger_sco
Call
20.00
50.00
1910.00
enyaplien1
Raise
60.00
110.00
1540.00
JohnConnor
Fold
9991
Fold
potking71
Call
40.00
150.00
3605.00
danger_sco
Call
40.00
190.00
1870.00
Flop
7
4
10
potking71
Check
danger_sco
Check
enyaplien1
Bet
160.00
350.00
1380.00
potking71
Call
160.00
510.00
3445.00
danger_sco
Fold
Turn
8
potking71
Check
enyaplien1
Bet
320.00
830.00
1060.00
potking71
Raise
640.00
1470.00
2805.00
enyaplien1
Call
320.00
1790.00
740.00
River
5
potking71
Bet
895.00
2685.00
1910.00
enyaplien1
All-in
740.00
3425.00
0.00
potking71
Unmatched bet
155.00
3270.00
2065.00
potking71
Show
3
5
enyaplien1
Show
Q
Q
potking71
Win
Flush to the 10
3270.00
5335.00
It was a pretty horrible spot for me in the first level. In a higher stake DYM I would 3 bet the AK to about 240 without a moments thought as AK is too good not to extract value from (and fold to a 4 bet). But in a £1.15 game where I am unfamiliar with all my opponents and am still unsure about the general standard of play, I don't want a huge pot with an unmade hand. I have 2 players left to act behind me plus one player who has already limped. Calling was an option, and if the raise had been bigger, say 120, I would have called expecting to see a flop heads up. But with a small raise and 3 active opponents behind, I didn't fancy a call. Hitting TPTK could have been a nightmare in a 4 way coup. 3 betting was also, of course, a very viable option and if I had been last to act, I would have made a standard 3 bet, again expecting to see a flop heads up. All in all, though, with so many opponents left to act, including the original limper and original raiser, any of whom could have been complete maniacs for all I knew, I elected to take the safe option and fold. At least I would learn quite a bit about my opponents.
Anyway, played well, ran well: Played 17 £1.15s W 13 L 4 BR - £29.42 (while I was writing this my £5 C4P was paid so:) BR now - £34.42
Target required to move up to £2.25s - £45. Playing DTD tonight (deposited own money as said) but should still sneak a few DYMs in at some point...
Great blog!! Could I ask about note-taking. Do you bother with notes? Also, when you have been playing a lot at the same level are there players you avoid?
What do you think of the fold with AK here in a £3.30 dym game.
I hope its a fairly standard fold on the bubble due to the short stack. The guy who jammed on me was not overly agressive, but even if he was would you still fold? I went on to cash.
Hi JC What do you think of the fold with AK here in a £3.30 dym game. I hope its a fairly standard fold on the bubble due to the short stack. The guy who jammed on me was not overly agressive, but even if he was would you still fold? I went on to cash. ET1 had about 1k chips (just over 3 big blinds) Its only ace high innit Player Action Cards Amount Pot Balance 010001 Small blind 150.00 150.00 4045.00 GREGHOGG Big blind 300.00 450.00 3155.00 Your hole cards K A ET1 Fold KC63 Fold 010001 All-in 4045.00 4495.00 0.00 GREGHOGG Fold 010001 Muck 010001 Win 600.00 600.00 010001 Return 3895.00 0.00 4495.00 Posted by GREGHOGG
I have just Posted a Blog by John Connor, the thread title says it all. This chap does very welll indeed at DYM's (those who know how to check these things will know that) & he's shared his thoughts with us, which is very kind of him. It's quite a long piece, but it's as good as I've seen, & if you cannot improve at least ONE aspect of your DYM play from reading it, well you are not reading it properly. Johgn is happy to take questions, feedback, & constructive criticism, but most of all, he's a winning DYM player, & wants to share his knowledge with the rest of us. So, Post any questions you have for him on this thread, please. I've asked that the "Comment" section of the Blog be restricted to "thanks John" type comments, NOT questions about it. By keeping all the questions & answers in one place - on this Thread - we will all yield greater benefit. On behalf of Sky Poker, & our players, or at least, those who want to improve their game, our sincere thanks, it's a monumental effort. The Blog is HERE Posted by Tikay10
Decent run this evening: Played 30 £0.60s W 22 L 8 BR - £22.97 Since I'm 3p off £23 and have a £5 C4P payment pending, I will be moving upto £1.15s in the morning. Hopefully I'll hit the ground running in those and never have to return to the £0.60s. Posted by JohnConnor
Hi JC What do you think of the fold with AK here in a £3.30 dym game. I hope its a fairly standard fold on the bubble due to the short stack. The guy who jammed on me was not overly agressive, but even if he was would you still fold? I went on to cash. ET1 had about 1k chips (just over 3 big blinds) Its only ace high innit Player Action Cards Amount Pot Balance 010001 Small blind 150.00 150.00 4045.00 GREGHOGG Big blind 300.00 450.00 3155.00 Your hole cards K A ET1 Fold KC63 Fold 010001 All-in 4045.00 4495.00 0.00 GREGHOGG Fold 010001 Muck 010001 Win 600.00 600.00 010001 Return 3895.00 0.00 4495.00 Posted by GREGHOGG
Hi Greg, yeah I do think that's a standard fold on the bubble mate and even if he is overly aggressive, yes I still fold there :-)
Great blog!! Could I ask about note-taking. Do you bother with notes? Also, when you have been playing a lot at the same level are there players you avoid? Posted by Glenelg
Hi Pad, thanks.
Yeah, I think note-taking is extremely important and I make quite a few. There is a section in the blog titled 'Note Taking' (quite far down, straight after 'Late Stages'). Unfortunately, the formatting didn't transfer perfectly here as there are meant to be bullet points which don't show up. But everything down to the next bold section, 'General points on raise/bet sizing' are my thoughts on note taking. I hope that helps but if you have any more specific questions that aren't covered in that section please get back to me here and I will try my best to help.
Great blog!! Could I ask about note-taking. Do you bother with notes? Also, when you have been playing a lot at the same level are there players you avoid? Posted by Glenelg
Hi again Pad, sorry I forgot to answer this part last night.
When you play the slightly higher levels, particularly during the day time, there is only a small player base so will you will be consistantly playing the same players. It's not that unusual during the day, if you look in the higher levels, to see 2 or more games running with exactly the same 6 players in each. So table selection is pretty difficult at times anyway. At a very quick guess, I would probably say there are between 5 and 10 very very good players out there. If 4 of them were sat at the same table, I would probably avoid it if I could (e.g. I wasn't desperate for points/action etc). Otherwise, I think it's fine to just play. A couple of weak players in 6 max should be enough to keep the good regs going I would have thought.
Played the 5.50 turbos recently ran good up to £270 then ran bad back down to £245 might grind the regular 5.50s to work out some stats, win rate etc I finished either 27th or 28th for STTs last quarter but have had no confirmation of the TSP tourney yet. Should I have had an email by now? Posted by Poker_Fail
Hi there, nice run. No you shouldn't have had an email yet, I haven't anyway. We may not even get one tbh, I can't remember. Just keep an eye out in the lobby as it should be this Sunday evening.
Comments
Played 13 £0.60s W 5 L 8
Played 2 £1.15s W1 L1
BR - £18.57
Going to play a few now while the live show is on...
Played 30 £0.60s W 22 L 8
BR - £22.97
Since I'm 3p off £23 and have a £5 C4P payment pending, I will be moving upto £1.15s in the morning. Hopefully I'll hit the ground running in those and never have to return to the £0.60s.
It's quite difficult to answer that as it would never really happen in practice. I know what you're saying, though. The old saying of playing the opposite to the table would kick in in that situation I would think. Given how tight I like to play early I would think that more stealing earlier would be a profitable play. There is one very good DYM reg who is really tight throughout (so, similar to my style). Against this player I like to steal with any cards as they will only ever play back with such a narrow range.
That would be the best thing to do I would think, loosen up. Note that you must do something. If you did have 6 'JohnConnor's (or any style), and no-one adjusted, the game would have zero edge. So every player would just lose the rake every game (over time).
Just to say JC, really enjoying the "diary" & keep posting please.
pad
PS. I am desperate to have a BR again. Loads of things I too for granted in the past like playing SPT sats, playing the main event when I could, I can't do anymore. I keep getting this weird message about insufficient funds, please deposit :-( lol.
Well, last night I hoped I would 'hit the ground running' in the £1.15s and the poker gods obliged with a nice little session there. I also noted down quite a few things during the session which hopefully you won't find too boring (the session stats are right at the end for anyone who wants to skip straight down):
Firstly my very first impressions of the £1.15s as opposed to the £0.60s. The general standard seems noticeably better. The player is generally tighter earlier on and I haven't sen anywhere near the amount of all-in and calls during levels 1 and 2 as I was seeing in the £0.60s. Perhaps it being during the day has something to do with this. Also, there is still some poor play but there has been less kamikaze play at the late stages, e.g. 2 big stacks going at it when there is a micro stack about to bubble.
Secondly I noted the advantages of moving up to the £1.15s:
/> The rake is 15% as opposed to 20%. This means the winrate required to break even drops from 60% to 57.5%.
/> You get 2 poker points per game instead of 1. Doubling the amount of points you earn is one of the most exciting things (actually probably the most) about moving up through the levels of DYMs. The impact on your monthly bonus is fantastic.
/> You get 7 league points per win instead of 3. This is obviously a huge difference and is great if you, like me, dream of a place on TSP. If anyone is interested, my league target for this quarter (ending December) is to finish in the top 4. I'm currently in the 100s I think due to earning only 3 points per win in the £0.60s. I will have some catching up to do...
Thirdly I noticed an improvement in my own game which I have been seeing over the last few days. I have been value betting more thinly, especially in position. Ok, so it's fairly easy at these low levels as a lot of players play so passively and will call with weaker hands on the river. Nevertheless I've seen a definite improvement and it's something I will hopefully carry on in my game in the future. (Who would have thought that dropping down to £0.60 DYMs could actually improve your poker playing abilities? ;-))
Fourthly I noted down a hand id. Previously I noted that I had made a small adjustment in the way I play AK in these low stakes games, so as to avoid huge pots pre-flop with an unmade hand. Here is the hand:
Anyway, played well, ran well:
Played 17 £1.15s W 13 L 4
BR - £29.42 (while I was writing this my £5 C4P was paid so:) BR now - £34.42
Target required to move up to £2.25s - £45. Playing DTD tonight (deposited own money as said) but should still sneak a few DYMs in at some point...
Great blog!!
Could I ask about note-taking. Do you bother with notes? Also, when you have been playing a lot at the same level are there players you avoid?
What do you think of the fold with AK here in a £3.30 dym game.
I hope its a fairly standard fold on the bubble due to the short stack. The guy who jammed on me was not overly agressive, but even if he was would you still fold? I went on to cash.
ET1 had about 1k chips (just over 3 big blinds)
Its only ace high innit
Yeah, I think note-taking is extremely important and I make quite a few. There is a section in the blog titled 'Note Taking' (quite far down, straight after 'Late Stages'). Unfortunately, the formatting didn't transfer perfectly here as there are meant to be bullet points which don't show up. But everything down to the next bold section, 'General points on raise/bet sizing' are my thoughts on note taking. I hope that helps but if you have any more specific questions that aren't covered in that section please get back to me here and I will try my best to help.
Played 18 £1.15s W 9 L 9
BR - £31.72
Poker points - 150
When you play the slightly higher levels, particularly during the day time, there is only a small player base so will you will be consistantly playing the same players. It's not that unusual during the day, if you look in the higher levels, to see 2 or more games running with exactly the same 6 players in each. So table selection is pretty difficult at times anyway. At a very quick guess, I would probably say there are between 5 and 10 very very good players out there. If 4 of them were sat at the same table, I would probably avoid it if I could (e.g. I wasn't desperate for points/action etc). Otherwise, I think it's fine to just play. A couple of weak players in 6 max should be enough to keep the good regs going I would have thought.
I finished either 27th or 28th for STTs last quarter but have had no confirmation of the TSP tourney yet.
Should I have had an email by now?