I read an interesting discussion today on Pleno's diary 'next door', and it's really made me re-evaluate how I've been approaching the game. I think I've got really complacent recently, I'm not focussed enough, I'm not putting in nearly enough hours at the tables and in general just not pushing myself enough to win the absolute max I can every month. So gonna put a stop to that and get back the same grind ethic I had a few months ago.
Started with a nice big Friday session. Really frustrated with the £££ result tonight cos I know I played really well and made very few mistakes all night but I was playing 30/40/50NL and was smashing it up at 30/40NL but just kept getting coolered over and over at 50NL, so somehow I managed to lose just under £70. Only a small loss but frustrating when you've played well but just ran bad at the higher stakes games.
I read an interesting discussion today on Pleno's diary 'next door', and it's really made me re-evaluate how I've been approaching the game. I think I've got really complacent recently, I'm not focussed enough, I'm not putting in nearly enough hours at the tables and in general just not pushing myself enough to win the absolute max I can every month. So gonna put a stop to that and get back the same grind ethic I had a few months ago. Started with a nice big Friday session. Really frustrated with the £££ result tonight cos I know I played really well and made very few mistakes all night but I was playing 30/40/50NL and was smashing it up at 30/40NL but just kept getting coolered over and over at 50NL, so somehow I managed to lose just under £70. Only a small loss but frustrating when you've played well but just ran bad at the higher stakes games. Posted by Lambert180
So this diary was shelved for a good while for a few reasons but I thought I'd bring it back to life as I get a fair few people on the tables asking if I'm ever gonna get round to updating it again.
Looking back at my last post, I neglected to explain what the discussion on Pleno's thread was all about. It was essentially about how much variance is involved in NLHE cash games and the kind of swings/results a good winning grinder player should expect. Scotty (iirc) chipped in and said that after RB if you're not having winning months 10 or 11 times per year then you either need to put some work in to get better or you're not playing enough. Now I'm not gonna say I don't need to improve... obviously I got tons of room to improve and I make many many mistakes every session But I definitely know I don't put in nearly as much volume as I should do.
That was the main reason for removing myself from the forum, FB poker groups, the Skype groups where I discuss poker strategy etc. I needed to up my volume but too much of my time was being wasted mucking about on these groups so I'd have been left with no time at all for just good family time and my own time to chill out away from the game. I'm back now, but my input will be hugely reduced from what it has been in the past.
While I've been gone... in short, June went well, July went well, August was really ugly on cash but a couple of small MTT results and a little bit of RB made it far from the worst month I've ever had. We went on a family holiday to Haven in August and it was the month of the UKPC so that had a massive impact on my volume which meant annoyingly I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked to turn the results around (and earn more RB).
Kids are all back to school from Wednesday and no major upcoming plans so I'm planning on a big grind month in Sept. I'll probably be breaking the 20k points mark this month (I think/hope) for the first time ever (not counting the RR fiasco)
Well it's a big relief after last month to get Sept off to a good start.
Played the main and mini which went about as bad as can be. The Mini was over 2 hands in after I had set under set. The main lasted a little longer, one guy dropped to about 800 chips early doors, I iso'd his preflop jam w/ AK, he had A7 and flopped the 7 and I never really recovered.
The only other MTT I played was the £2k (£11) BH. That went a lot better, I trebled up early and from there my stack was just constantly increasing and I was CL for most of the tourney. When we got down to 15 I was 2nd in chips and lost a big flip 44<AK to leave me with about 10xBB. Hung around for a bit getting the odd steal through but eventually bust in 14th for about £45 total.
Cash was better, played a mix of 30-50NL and finished +£150.
I did think it was gonna be my night to get some heat after this.... best not 4bet KK CO v BTN, can't be too careful
Decent session this morning, only finished +£50 like which was pretty frustrating cos the last hand of my session I got it in pre for stacks at 50NL with AA v QQ and lost, so almost another £150 session.
Better result tonight but still some nasty beats holding me back from marking up some sick results. I finished the night +£200.... would have been +£300 if not for this...
Another small win this morning, +£45, not much else to say, not really any hands of interest.
Not mentioned it on here yet but I decided to sign up on Unibet a couple of weeks ago just to test it out cos I've heard some interesting things about it. Didn't deposit just thought I'd use the €10 ticket they give you which you can only use to 1table 4NL. You gotta make it to 750 flops before that ticket gets converted into real money that you can use on whatever you want (or withdraw it), so just been having that 1table running alongside my normal grind.
I unlocked €1 of a sign up bonus today and should be unlocking another €4 soon, also spun up the ticket to €35 and have nearly finished the 750 flops. So should hopefully have at least €50 in there by the time I reach 750 flops to try and spin up on whatever games I want, just a bit of fun really.
Like I said, when I restarted the diary, I'm going for 20k+ points this month. I'm on 1307 atm.
Thanks for bringing this back Paul, it's been far too long. One of the longest running and most honest, helpful and interesting diaries on here. Good luck with this months mega grind!! Posted by SJspanky1
Cheers all, was starting to think no1 had even noticed it was back yet.
I won a £5 free bet from this sky premiership thing last week, completely clueless when it comes to sports betting so just went to the premiership fixtures and picked something with ok ish odds. No point going for a cert cos u don't get the stake back but I'm a nit so don't wanna go too much of a longshot so that I have a half decent chance of return... Settled on Liverpool to draw v Villa for iirc £27.50 return.
Still yet to be on a winning team for the premiership thing but we're just about in top 5 this week atm so hopefully my grinding can help jump that up a couple of places
Cheers all, was starting to think no1 had even noticed it was back yet. I won a £5 free bet from this sky premiership thing last week, completely clueless when it comes to sports betting so just went to the premiership fixtures and picked something with ok ish odds. No point going for a cert cos u don't get the stake back but I'm a nit so don't wanna go too much of a longshot so that I have a half decent chance of return... Settled on Liverpool to draw v Villa for iirc £27.50 return. Still yet to be on a winning team for the premiership thing but we're just about in top 5 this week atm so hopefully my grinding can help jump that up a couple of places Posted by Lambert180
I stuck my free tenner on Stoke to draw vs Man City last week at 13/2. Pretty disgusting that they went and beat them!
Another small win this morning, +£45, not much else to say, not really any hands of interest. Not mentioned it on here yet but I decided to sign up on Unibet a couple of weeks ago just to test it out cos I've heard some interesting things about it. Didn't deposit just thought I'd use the €10 ticket they give you which you can only use to 1table 4NL. You gotta make it to 750 flops before that ticket gets converted into real money that you can use on whatever you want (or withdraw it), so just been having that 1table running alongside my normal grind. I unlocked €1 of a sign up bonus today and should be unlocking another €4 soon, also spun up the ticket to €35 and have nearly finished the 750 flops. So should hopefully have at least €50 in there by the time I reach 750 flops to try and spin up on whatever games I want, just a bit of fun really. Like I said, when I restarted the diary, I'm going for 20k+ points this month. I'm on 1307 atm. Posted by Lambert180
Even including the free money, Is this worth your time?
In Response to Re: Lambert180 ----- Lolpro and Onwards ------- : Even including the free money, Is this worth your time? Posted by MattBates
I know what ya mean but I think it just about is. Firstly the standard is beyond dreadful imo, fair bit worse than sky 4nl so I am like 100% auto piloting. Adding another 50nl table or mtt would require more concentration etc and probably make me miss stuff but on there its v easy to just glance over occasionally.
Initially I just wanted to test out the software etc for free, bbut before long I'd made a few quid and am close to unlocking it now so seems silly to stop. By tomorrow I think it'll be done then I can use it how I like and will be able to play a couple of tables of 20/30nl and check how the standard is there
Lol why donk off money to try and play a freeroll with a 40 euro PP that I might not even cash in when I already got 40 euro and am making more. Plus I'm really close to unlocking now anyway, I'd have probably unlocked it by the time I played enough flops to donk off 10 BIs.
Played the main and mini, no success in either, mini exit was JJ<AK, main was jamming BTN w/ 68s into the SB's AA. I dunno what it is but I just seem to run so bad in main events. I do alright at MTTs on here (albeit with terrible volume) but for some reason just never do well in main events.
That wasn't the grim part though, it was cash. Started a bit up and down, probably in the region of break even for the first couple of hours, then the last hour or two I just got hammered... people just getting there in every single hand. Not much you can do when it's like that.
I was reading one of Barry Carter's articles the other day all about the different types of bad beats and which ones upset people more... like bad beats that are vvv unlikely (say runner runner perfect) or the beats that maybe aren't so unlikely but the moment makes it mean more to you (like obv it's gonna hurt more losing with AK v JT on the FT bubble of the roller than losing AA v AK in level 1 of a £1 deepstack even though the former is way more likely to happen and barely even a bad beat it just means more).
One of the types was about how people get upset more (as illogical as it is) when people get beat by a hand that 'shouldn't be involved', like if you ship AA pre, get called by KK and lose it's like 'meh, just unlucky, whoever lost was vvv unlucky to be in that spot' but if you ship AA and get called by 94o and lose then it's more like 'urgh why did u call' even though ofc we love the call.
Which brings me to a memorable beat from near the end of my session. One of those hands where it's just a really bad call where you just can't comprehend why someone would call.
Anyway I finished -£160, that pot was £125, do I sound bitter lol
Obv not a massive mistake but flatting flop is better then c/r. Got like no fold equity 4 way on this board and were gonna be a bit stuck on a load of turns.
Gd to see the diary back btw. One of the better reads
Obv not a massive mistake but flatting flop is better then c/r. Got like no fold equity 4 way on this board and were gonna be a bit stuck on a load of turns. Gd to see the diary back btw. One of the better reads Posted by 77Chris91
Depends on villains. Because we're 4-way we should get more credit for a hand and if I were one of villains I wouldn't be that confident with QJ there. Also it could go the other way and against really loose/stationy villains like the J9s hand if we assume we'll get a couple calls with most of their range being Qx/Jx then we are actually in great shape and value raising our equity.
Also if we flat and go to turn 3/4 way, how confident will we be if we hit our flush? I think flatting and raising are both OK and one isn't much better than the other.
Comments
Looking back at my last post, I neglected to explain what the discussion on Pleno's thread was all about. It was essentially about how much variance is involved in NLHE cash games and the kind of swings/results a good winning grinder player should expect. Scotty (iirc) chipped in and said that after RB if you're not having winning months 10 or 11 times per year then you either need to put some work in to get better or you're not playing enough. Now I'm not gonna say I don't need to improve... obviously I got tons of room to improve and I make many many mistakes every session But I definitely know I don't put in nearly as much volume as I should do.
That was the main reason for removing myself from the forum, FB poker groups, the Skype groups where I discuss poker strategy etc. I needed to up my volume but too much of my time was being wasted mucking about on these groups so I'd have been left with no time at all for just good family time and my own time to chill out away from the game. I'm back now, but my input will be hugely reduced from what it has been in the past.
While I've been gone... in short, June went well, July went well, August was really ugly on cash but a couple of small MTT results and a little bit of RB made it far from the worst month I've ever had. We went on a family holiday to Haven in August and it was the month of the UKPC so that had a massive impact on my volume which meant annoyingly I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked to turn the results around (and earn more RB).
Kids are all back to school from Wednesday and no major upcoming plans so I'm planning on a big grind month in Sept. I'll probably be breaking the 20k points mark this month (I think/hope) for the first time ever (not counting the RR fiasco)
Played the main and mini which went about as bad as can be. The Mini was over 2 hands in after I had set under set. The main lasted a little longer, one guy dropped to about 800 chips early doors, I iso'd his preflop jam w/ AK, he had A7 and flopped the 7 and I never really recovered.
The only other MTT I played was the £2k (£11) BH. That went a lot better, I trebled up early and from there my stack was just constantly increasing and I was CL for most of the tourney. When we got down to 15 I was 2nd in chips and lost a big flip 44<AK to leave me with about 10xBB. Hung around for a bit getting the odd steal through but eventually bust in 14th for about £45 total.
Cash was better, played a mix of 30-50NL and finished +£150.
I did think it was gonna be my night to get some heat after this.... best not 4bet KK CO v BTN, can't be too careful
Better result tonight but still some nasty beats holding me back from marking up some sick results. I finished the night +£200.... would have been +£300 if not for this...
Not mentioned it on here yet but I decided to sign up on Unibet a couple of weeks ago just to test it out cos I've heard some interesting things about it. Didn't deposit just thought I'd use the €10 ticket they give you which you can only use to 1table 4NL. You gotta make it to 750 flops before that ticket gets converted into real money that you can use on whatever you want (or withdraw it), so just been having that 1table running alongside my normal grind.
I unlocked €1 of a sign up bonus today and should be unlocking another €4 soon, also spun up the ticket to €35 and have nearly finished the 750 flops. So should hopefully have at least €50 in there by the time I reach 750 flops to try and spin up on whatever games I want, just a bit of fun really.
Like I said, when I restarted the diary, I'm going for 20k+ points this month. I'm on 1307 atm.
Recovering the session was largely due to coolering one of the best regs (imo) at the level not long before the end of the session.
All still going well on Unibet
Points are up to 1663
Play the 40 euro sat freeroll on the tues, far easier:)
Played the main and mini, no success in either, mini exit was JJ<AK, main was jamming BTN w/ 68s into the SB's AA. I dunno what it is but I just seem to run so bad in main events. I do alright at MTTs on here (albeit with terrible volume) but for some reason just never do well in main events.
That wasn't the grim part though, it was cash. Started a bit up and down, probably in the region of break even for the first couple of hours, then the last hour or two I just got hammered... people just getting there in every single hand. Not much you can do when it's like that.
I was reading one of Barry Carter's articles the other day all about the different types of bad beats and which ones upset people more... like bad beats that are vvv unlikely (say runner runner perfect) or the beats that maybe aren't so unlikely but the moment makes it mean more to you (like obv it's gonna hurt more losing with AK v JT on the FT bubble of the roller than losing AA v AK in level 1 of a £1 deepstack even though the former is way more likely to happen and barely even a bad beat it just means more).
One of the types was about how people get upset more (as illogical as it is) when people get beat by a hand that 'shouldn't be involved', like if you ship AA pre, get called by KK and lose it's like 'meh, just unlucky, whoever lost was vvv unlucky to be in that spot' but if you ship AA and get called by 94o and lose then it's more like 'urgh why did u call' even though ofc we love the call.
Which brings me to a memorable beat from near the end of my session. One of those hands where it's just a really bad call where you just can't comprehend why someone would call.
Anyway I finished -£160, that pot was £125, do I sound bitter
Points are 2005
Gd to see the diary back btw. One of the better reads