Been watching a load of vids this week, and I feel I've improved my thinking tons. Phil Galfond philosophy vid was good, it went through a ton of complex calculations, but the gist was that having different betsizes (splitting your range) in a lot of spots makes it extremely hard for our opponent to adjust.
As an example, when someone tailors their CC turn range, they're basically doing so on the basis of facing a standard 2/3-3/4 bet. If we incorporate underbets, or overbets, then it means changing their entire decision to check in the first place, or even makes their decisions on earlier streets questionable. Different sizes was something I used to do all the time, and so I've mixed it back in during the times when the PSR is awkward (underbet) and also when stabbing the flop IP I'll go much smaller now. Dry boards too, only really 'needs' a 1/4 cbet and it totally fucks with people's gameplans and their ranges, and their handreading.
Another vid I watched was Gogol's nose. He explained all hands in a seemingly quite basic manner, but I felt like the real key to his success was considering his entire range when deciding on a bet, raise and specifically betsize. Way too often on the river we'll just be like, ok I want a call let's go small- but the proper process is to say, ok we have a bluff, so what would my size be for value? We may have gone $72 as a bluff, but $50 for value. That doesn't then mean we just say 'ok let's go $50 then', because we want to arrive on a size that's good for both bluff and value, and so at that point I'll take the midway point. The whole point of this exercise is to make the decision put to our opponent as difficult as possible.
I really want to keep up with that thought process, so I just need to keep up my vid watching, and possible start reading Matt Janda book.
Saturday, 24 May 2014
Friday, 23 May 2014
Back into poker- update
I feel like I'm really making a lot of progress at the moment. I made an Ivey vid yesterday and had a great time doing the audio, all thoughts and analysis just seemed to flow into place. I'm posting a lot on RIO, in between like daytime chores and stuff, and just keeping my poker brain ticking over. I've watched 3 videos too, all part of just re-immersing myself in strategies and approaches etc.
One thing that's really improved is that in each flop and turn spot, I'm looking at what hands would go in cc, cr, bet fold, bet call, etc, and practicing doing this on each street really opens yours eyes to like, oh man this'd be a sick hand to CR bluff etc.
One thing I really want to focus on is to ZONE IN on postflop hands where I have a toughish decision. I'm autopiloting pf to an extent (though I am working on opening much tighter with 'red' (high 3bet) guys behind) but I then really need my narrative to kick in postflop before I just click a stupid button. So, that's what I'm working on during this next session.
One thing that's really improved is that in each flop and turn spot, I'm looking at what hands would go in cc, cr, bet fold, bet call, etc, and practicing doing this on each street really opens yours eyes to like, oh man this'd be a sick hand to CR bluff etc.
One thing I really want to focus on is to ZONE IN on postflop hands where I have a toughish decision. I'm autopiloting pf to an extent (though I am working on opening much tighter with 'red' (high 3bet) guys behind) but I then really need my narrative to kick in postflop before I just click a stupid button. So, that's what I'm working on during this next session.
Thursday, 22 May 2014
Thoughts
I felt quite overwhelmed during the last session, basically felt as though my mental bandwidth was stretched to breaking point. I know enough from MGOP that the reason this happens is changing up too much all at once. I was being too 'intense' in each and every hand, rather than autopiloting plenty of hands until at least the flop.
Watching the 1-2 Sauce vid was good for me, although he undoubtedly played way more standard than he ordinarily would, what I loved is how much he just snap gave up no equity spots, or spots where his range was clearly inferior to his opponents', especially while the pot was tiny.
Mixing it with my own approach, it's clear that yes I want to be close to the most aggressive reg in the games, but simply pick the spots a whole lot better.
Watching the 1-2 Sauce vid was good for me, although he undoubtedly played way more standard than he ordinarily would, what I loved is how much he just snap gave up no equity spots, or spots where his range was clearly inferior to his opponents', especially while the pot was tiny.
Mixing it with my own approach, it's clear that yes I want to be close to the most aggressive reg in the games, but simply pick the spots a whole lot better.
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Session Review
Loved that session there, felt like 2009 again with me basically trying to think of creative ways to win every pot, and also actually thinking about my value hands beyond bet big or check raise or bet small in really obvious spots. What can initially seem obvious changes dramatically once you start to factor in timing tells, PSR, betsize in relation to the PSR, and most crucially what our opponent perceives.
http://weaktight.com/6729108 - cool hand VS a 6% UTG opener, leading into a reg with a fish behind is often decent, and allows us to rep a really wide range including depolarized protection/ value. He just has to give us credit for 6x and 4x.
http://weaktight.com/6728743 - river, if we just bet a normal amount we probably just get a fold or a rare call. VS better regs though, we really need to get in their head and rep the opposite of the actual strength of our hand. Even the river 3bet size took some thinking about, tempting to go min or bigger than 100, but he's only going to perceive a bluff if we go like exactly this size, too big squarely reps value (no-one has the heart) and too small we're desperate for a call.
http://weaktight.com/6729114 - think this is decent cool at 1-2 at the moment. Every man and his dog is cold 4betting, but no-one yet really doing the cold 5bet, or even jamming light in SB's shoes which he should do decently often with hands like JTs.
http://weaktight.com/6729120 - kinda cool 'cos with a bit of thinking you realise that his cc turn/ cf river range is completely non-existent. Similarly in his shoes, he should realise my bet turn range (with this size) check river range is similarly non-existent, and so probably fold QQ on the turn. River is not a shove I would make when not playing well, 'cos when you see poker too simplistically it just seems like a big pot and a not-great hand, but I really didn't think AQ AK would cbet this flop, and would also always carry on betting AT.
http://weaktight.com/6729108 - cool hand VS a 6% UTG opener, leading into a reg with a fish behind is often decent, and allows us to rep a really wide range including depolarized protection/ value. He just has to give us credit for 6x and 4x.
http://weaktight.com/6728743 - river, if we just bet a normal amount we probably just get a fold or a rare call. VS better regs though, we really need to get in their head and rep the opposite of the actual strength of our hand. Even the river 3bet size took some thinking about, tempting to go min or bigger than 100, but he's only going to perceive a bluff if we go like exactly this size, too big squarely reps value (no-one has the heart) and too small we're desperate for a call.
http://weaktight.com/6729114 - think this is decent cool at 1-2 at the moment. Every man and his dog is cold 4betting, but no-one yet really doing the cold 5bet, or even jamming light in SB's shoes which he should do decently often with hands like JTs.
http://weaktight.com/6729120 - kinda cool 'cos with a bit of thinking you realise that his cc turn/ cf river range is completely non-existent. Similarly in his shoes, he should realise my bet turn range (with this size) check river range is similarly non-existent, and so probably fold QQ on the turn. River is not a shove I would make when not playing well, 'cos when you see poker too simplistically it just seems like a big pot and a not-great hand, but I really didn't think AQ AK would cbet this flop, and would also always carry on betting AT.
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
Strategyyyyyyyyyyy Blooooooooggggggggggggggg
I'm sorta lurching from bad to worse at the moment in cash. My focus on tournys of late has definitely meant I've been going through the cash game motions, and so I want to get back to the point of finding every spot really interesting. I also find myself unsure in a lot of spots, which when I'm playing well just doesn't really happen.
I feel as though 1-2 Zoom is definitely in a state of flux at the moment. Maybe there's some videos I haven't been watching, but it definitely feels as though there's a lot of spots where regs were previously incredibly predictable, and are now not so predictable. As this has happened, I feel as though I myself have recently gotten more predictable, with less original thought and less thinking around counter adjustments that I can make. So, I'm going to start writing again until I'm comfortably back into a rhythm of killing it again.
A few random thoughts from looking at my 1-2 results for the year....
4bet bluffing has been insanely profitable for me (actually in profit, not just less than losing 2.5bbs), but my 4bet stat being only 11% definitely explains why a decent amount. Regardless, I'm going to look to double that to like 20% which is going to take a while for people to cotton on to.
My cold call on CO and BTN is decently high, but because I 3bet so much my ranges are generally weak. Looking at floating as opposed to raising flops, then in my DB floating a high card hand slightly loses me money, while raising flops makes me a decent amount of money. Intuitively, I feel a strategy incorporating lots of flop raises is infinitely preferable to a more passive one, but to that end I need to be raising some top pair types of hands, as well as slowplay preflop more often.
This goes for being OOP as well. Check raising VS wide ranges is a quality strategy, but one I need to balance with top pairs, both when flatting from the blinds and check raising as the PFR. This doesn't mean auto go broke every time I CR a top pair, but it definitely gives us control of the hand and we can then look to soulread turns and rivers based on the PSR vs their betsize, etc.
I am INSANELY profitable flatting 3bets. I'm just like, $6k up on the year doing it. I must be running hot, but doubtless there's room to flat a few more 3bets than I'm already doing. Or maybe I shouldn't tinker? Raising flops in 3bet pots is even more profitable, and again something I need to be looking at.
Theme so far is, RAISING IS GOOD.
I feel as though 1-2 Zoom is definitely in a state of flux at the moment. Maybe there's some videos I haven't been watching, but it definitely feels as though there's a lot of spots where regs were previously incredibly predictable, and are now not so predictable. As this has happened, I feel as though I myself have recently gotten more predictable, with less original thought and less thinking around counter adjustments that I can make. So, I'm going to start writing again until I'm comfortably back into a rhythm of killing it again.
A few random thoughts from looking at my 1-2 results for the year....
4bet bluffing has been insanely profitable for me (actually in profit, not just less than losing 2.5bbs), but my 4bet stat being only 11% definitely explains why a decent amount. Regardless, I'm going to look to double that to like 20% which is going to take a while for people to cotton on to.
My cold call on CO and BTN is decently high, but because I 3bet so much my ranges are generally weak. Looking at floating as opposed to raising flops, then in my DB floating a high card hand slightly loses me money, while raising flops makes me a decent amount of money. Intuitively, I feel a strategy incorporating lots of flop raises is infinitely preferable to a more passive one, but to that end I need to be raising some top pair types of hands, as well as slowplay preflop more often.
This goes for being OOP as well. Check raising VS wide ranges is a quality strategy, but one I need to balance with top pairs, both when flatting from the blinds and check raising as the PFR. This doesn't mean auto go broke every time I CR a top pair, but it definitely gives us control of the hand and we can then look to soulread turns and rivers based on the PSR vs their betsize, etc.
I am INSANELY profitable flatting 3bets. I'm just like, $6k up on the year doing it. I must be running hot, but doubtless there's room to flat a few more 3bets than I'm already doing. Or maybe I shouldn't tinker? Raising flops in 3bet pots is even more profitable, and again something I need to be looking at.
Theme so far is, RAISING IS GOOD.
- Squeeze bluffing is good.
- Flatting 4bets is good.
- 3bet bluffing is very good.
Everything is good! But there's room for more. More raising flops, more flatting 3bets, and generally worry about ways of picking up as many pots as possible and leave the big value situations to themselves.
One last leak that's crept in of late has been a reluctance of mine to let small pots go in a spot where my range is infinitely inferior to my opponents' range. Yes, apply tons of pressure, even more so than I have been doing, but when it's time to fold when a pot has not yet gotten out of hand, then do so.
(On that note, I think I have yet to see a 3bet on the flop actually ever be a bluff, probably 0/50 times I've bluff floated them I lose, which is just more argument for plenty more raising.)
Session review and hands to follow.....
Thursday, 24 April 2014
Strategy Re-Jig Thingy
Hmmmmmmm, I've been up 5 Bis today at 1-2, and then lost them again, all in the space of 1k hands or so. I made a conscious choice to ramp up my aggression again, but to be honest I've implemented that rather haphazardly, and my thought process doesn't seem to be super present much. When I'm playing my best I seem to own souls all session, whereas at the moment it all feels rather 'grindy'.
Anyway, updated year to date!
So getting somewhere with 1-2, but volume has been pathetic (which is hopefully now fixed) and although the 4bb winrate is *acceptable* I just feel like there's so much more to come from me.
So yeah, I really want a new technical plan to get my teeth into, and the aspect I want to focus on is the area of flop. Cbetting or not, stabbing or not, etc. I want to get my head again around why not cbetting is generally so much better than doing so. The answer, I suppose, in a nutshell is that you are generally in possession of more information and thus able to make better decisions.
I believe there's a mental weakness in 90% of regs, including me, that explains why cbetting, barreling, 3betting the flop, check raising the flop with value is so prevalent, in a lot of spots where it should not be. let me give an example of a hand I saw today.
Duckslayer2k: folds
Fiude: folds
lipreTTT: folds
C1awViper: raises $5 to $10
Red Nugget8: folds
viebu: raises $20 to $30
C1awViper: calls $20
*** FLOP *** [5h 2d Jc]
viebu: bets $47.76
C1awViper: raises $57.24 to $105
viebu: raises $65 to $170
C1awViper: raises $843.85 to $1013.85 and is all-in
viebu: calls $311.49 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($532.36) returned to C1awViper
*** FIRST TURN *** [5h 2d Jc] [9c]
*** FIRST RIVER *** [5h 2d Jc 9c] [8s]
*** SECOND TURN *** [5h 2d Jc] [Ah]
*** SECOND RIVER *** [5h 2d Jc Ah] [9h]
*** FIRST SHOW DOWN ***
viebu: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
C1awViper: shows [5s 2h] (two pair, Fives and Deuces)
C1awViper collected $511.34 from pot
*** SECOND SHOW DOWN ***
viebu: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
C1awViper: shows [5s 2h] (two pair, Fives and Deuces)
C1awViper collected $511.34 from pot
Now, ignore the (fucking mental) preflop call and focus instead on the flop raise. Whether he knows it or not, he's raising simply because he knows he has the best hand, wants to get value from Jx+, but more importantly because he doesn't want a jack or ace or whatever to turn and have him call turn or river bets behind. He wants the money in NOW because NOW he's ahead. If he got all in, and a jack turn, then he'd be all ohhh FML, but it'd be entirely his fault.
Why? Well, because he could just call the flop bet, get the same value from QQ+, but have the ability to fold turn or river if it came Jx or maybe K turn A river or whatever.
I'm probably not explaining this well, but the same urge that made Claw raise this flop is present in a ton of hands. We make some sort of top pair, see how the board might get messy, and bet to protect and get some money in NOW. Very often though our opponent is going to bet his OESDs and GSs and flushdraws himself anyway, plus some other bluffs, and not have the ability to raise value and value town us more, and also give us tons of information through the bet or raise size. Calls don't give us a ton of information..... sometimes they cap a range, but generally we bet, get called and are like uhhhh on the next street.
Instead we can go into check mode, read the flop & turn situation with all the millions of parameters now open to us. Did he bet the flop? What size? What's the PSR, and how do the two mesh? What about the turn? Again, what does his size say? All the while having our opponent play against a range he's not familiar with, that of a very strong checking range.
Assuming we stay alert and focussed, we can then set about winning all sorts of pots we'd usually have no way to win through simple bet bet. CC flop CR turn, flop check check 2x turn, CR flop smallish and pot the turn, etc.
I'll still bet with value where protection is a real consideration, but probably be quite imbalanced in this regard.
Preflop, I've been mental for probably 60k hands now and I'm getting less and less respect. Seems counter intuitive, but I'm going to start 3betting less value and instead have a stronger range for raising and check raising when we're the cold caller. Again, it's all good but a change-up keeps me refreshed and interested and should hopefully fuck people up too.
I'm going to 4bet bluff more too, as regs basically go off PF numbers on this and mine's been around 11% for a long while now. I'll just 4bet loads of bluffs and flat the rest probably lol.
So in a nutshell, less flop bets but more backdoor trickery. Flop raises as the cold caller. Turn ones too. Win money.
dan
Anyway, updated year to date!
So getting somewhere with 1-2, but volume has been pathetic (which is hopefully now fixed) and although the 4bb winrate is *acceptable* I just feel like there's so much more to come from me.
So yeah, I really want a new technical plan to get my teeth into, and the aspect I want to focus on is the area of flop. Cbetting or not, stabbing or not, etc. I want to get my head again around why not cbetting is generally so much better than doing so. The answer, I suppose, in a nutshell is that you are generally in possession of more information and thus able to make better decisions.
I believe there's a mental weakness in 90% of regs, including me, that explains why cbetting, barreling, 3betting the flop, check raising the flop with value is so prevalent, in a lot of spots where it should not be. let me give an example of a hand I saw today.
Duckslayer2k: folds
Fiude: folds
lipreTTT: folds
C1awViper: raises $5 to $10
Red Nugget8: folds
viebu: raises $20 to $30
C1awViper: calls $20
*** FLOP *** [5h 2d Jc]
viebu: bets $47.76
C1awViper: raises $57.24 to $105
viebu: raises $65 to $170
C1awViper: raises $843.85 to $1013.85 and is all-in
viebu: calls $311.49 and is all-in
Uncalled bet ($532.36) returned to C1awViper
*** FIRST TURN *** [5h 2d Jc] [9c]
*** FIRST RIVER *** [5h 2d Jc 9c] [8s]
*** SECOND TURN *** [5h 2d Jc] [Ah]
*** SECOND RIVER *** [5h 2d Jc Ah] [9h]
*** FIRST SHOW DOWN ***
viebu: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
C1awViper: shows [5s 2h] (two pair, Fives and Deuces)
C1awViper collected $511.34 from pot
*** SECOND SHOW DOWN ***
viebu: shows [Qh Qs] (a pair of Queens)
C1awViper: shows [5s 2h] (two pair, Fives and Deuces)
C1awViper collected $511.34 from pot
Now, ignore the (fucking mental) preflop call and focus instead on the flop raise. Whether he knows it or not, he's raising simply because he knows he has the best hand, wants to get value from Jx+, but more importantly because he doesn't want a jack or ace or whatever to turn and have him call turn or river bets behind. He wants the money in NOW because NOW he's ahead. If he got all in, and a jack turn, then he'd be all ohhh FML, but it'd be entirely his fault.
Why? Well, because he could just call the flop bet, get the same value from QQ+, but have the ability to fold turn or river if it came Jx or maybe K turn A river or whatever.
I'm probably not explaining this well, but the same urge that made Claw raise this flop is present in a ton of hands. We make some sort of top pair, see how the board might get messy, and bet to protect and get some money in NOW. Very often though our opponent is going to bet his OESDs and GSs and flushdraws himself anyway, plus some other bluffs, and not have the ability to raise value and value town us more, and also give us tons of information through the bet or raise size. Calls don't give us a ton of information..... sometimes they cap a range, but generally we bet, get called and are like uhhhh on the next street.
Instead we can go into check mode, read the flop & turn situation with all the millions of parameters now open to us. Did he bet the flop? What size? What's the PSR, and how do the two mesh? What about the turn? Again, what does his size say? All the while having our opponent play against a range he's not familiar with, that of a very strong checking range.
Assuming we stay alert and focussed, we can then set about winning all sorts of pots we'd usually have no way to win through simple bet bet. CC flop CR turn, flop check check 2x turn, CR flop smallish and pot the turn, etc.
I'll still bet with value where protection is a real consideration, but probably be quite imbalanced in this regard.
Preflop, I've been mental for probably 60k hands now and I'm getting less and less respect. Seems counter intuitive, but I'm going to start 3betting less value and instead have a stronger range for raising and check raising when we're the cold caller. Again, it's all good but a change-up keeps me refreshed and interested and should hopefully fuck people up too.
I'm going to 4bet bluff more too, as regs basically go off PF numbers on this and mine's been around 11% for a long while now. I'll just 4bet loads of bluffs and flat the rest probably lol.
So in a nutshell, less flop bets but more backdoor trickery. Flop raises as the cold caller. Turn ones too. Win money.
dan
Tuesday, 1 April 2014
April Plan Of Attack
So.......... I won $3770 in March, plus bonuses, putting me at $4.3k for the year (though $3.5k below EV). Time to get this year properly started! I've not played nearly enough hands this year, 180k in total and that's pretty abysmal, though I've had a fair bit of life turmoil.
I had a realisation today that my laziness in part has been caused by how well Nic's business has been doing. I suppose I told myself that after years of supporting it I can afford to be lazy, but it's time to let go and actually have the business build up its profits rather than me constantly pilfering from it. I've made Nic swear not to send me another penny for anything 'life expensy', and that's made me super hyped to grind a million quality hands this month and really start building up some savings of my own.
Anyway, plan of attack for April is as follows:
I had a realisation today that my laziness in part has been caused by how well Nic's business has been doing. I suppose I told myself that after years of supporting it I can afford to be lazy, but it's time to let go and actually have the business build up its profits rather than me constantly pilfering from it. I've made Nic swear not to send me another penny for anything 'life expensy', and that's made me super hyped to grind a million quality hands this month and really start building up some savings of my own.
Anyway, plan of attack for April is as follows:
- Get up earlier, starting tomorrow, and instantly get in an extra 2k of hands every single day.
- Super strict on reverse equity, happy to cede small pots.
- Play fucking mental..... have people constantly second guessing, ceding small pots to me and then spewing in big ones.
- Really concentrate on my opponents. Observe their hands after I fold, really consider how else they might've played it, and what it means for their general approach and strategy.
- Trust instinct.
Aaaaand, that's about it. There's enough fish at 1-2 that it's really not important to crush every other reg out there, and you'd win at 2bb probably in doing just that. My plan though is to crush the regs, have a non-showdown mentality and see anything the fish offer me and coolers as bonus.
And that's it....... session reviews and updates obviously to follow......
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