While I haven’t discussed it much on this blog, I used to play a lot of online poker. The majority of the games I played were No Limit Hold’em Heads Up Sit and Gos which are basically short (< 30 min) one on one tournaments.

Below is an archive of a blog I kept to chronicle my progress. In the beginning I kept track of my wins and losses in “bones” to help disassociate myself from the money. 1 bone = $50.

I stopped playing in late 2006 to work on a poker bot, hence why there’s nothing from 2007 onward.

Enjoy —

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Adios

Gone for the holidays until mid-January. Peace.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Beat This

Labels: icantmakenomoney, rungood

Monday, December 11, 2006

High Rollers

FYI…

PokerStars added 500/1000 and 1000/2000 Limited Hold’em as well as 100/200 and 200/400 No Limit. Why not 50/100? Anyone know?

Should be interesting to watch.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

2+2 Tournament

2nd/10

Hand history from the final match vs Goldmund

I really enjoyed playing it. Maybe another next month?

Nichomacheo

Labels: silver

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Brilliant!

But all is well in the world

Labels: everyone

BSOP Rigged… 24th place… 24 players ;(

6th hand of the game…
…
kaon said, “i only play the nuts”
JasonMac18 said, “loosen up guys”
JasonMac18 said, “this is boring”
kaon said, “sometimes 2nd”
…

7th hand of the game… rigged.

PokerStars Game #7330879760: Tournament #37177311, $10+$1 Hold’em No Limit – Level I (10/20) – 2006/12/06 – 21:04:35 (ET)
Table ‘37177311 3’ 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: MarcNJ22 (1800 in chips)
Seat 3: kidling (1340 in chips)
Seat 4: bpmst2 (1300 in chips)
Seat 5: sailfishermn (1440 in chips)
Seat 6: kaon (1590 in chips)
Seat 7: ThePhenom919 (1500 in chips)
Seat 8: snorer (1470 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 9: JasonMac18 (1560 in chips)
bpmst2: posts small blind 10
sailfishermn: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to kaon [Jh Jc]
bpmst2 said, “bpmst2 takes down another pot”
kaon: raises 60 to 80
ThePhenom919: folds
snorer: folds
JasonMac18: raises 240 to 320
MarcNJ22: folds
kidling: folds
bpmst2: folds
kaon said, “kaon will take down pots”
sailfishermn: folds
kaon: raises 580 to 900
JasonMac18 said, “u joking kaon”
kaon said, “y”
ThePhenom919 said, “team phenom clashing!”
kaon said, “gamboooooool”
JasonMac18 said, “i have kk”
JasonMac18 said, “if u have aa”
MarcNJ22 said, “BCS hates Mac”
kaon said, “me too”
JasonMac18 said, “oh well”
ThePhenom919 said, “i cant 3 table chat its so tough”
JasonMac18 said, “hopefully u have kk and i hit flush”
JasonMac18 said, “gl t ome”
JasonMac18 said, “:(”
JasonMac18 said, “think u have me with aa”
JasonMac18 said, “gl”
JasonMac18: raises 660 to 1560 and is all-in
kaon: calls 660
*** FLOP *** [Ad Kd 7s]
kaon said, “hah”
*** TURN *** [Ad Kd 7s] [9h]
ThePhenom919 said, “ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww”
*** RIVER *** [Ad Kd 7s 9h] [Qh]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
kaon: shows [Jh Jc] (a pair of Jacks)
JasonMac18: shows [Kh Kc] (three of a kind, Kings)
JasonMac18 collected 3150 from pot
ThePhenom919 said, “kaons still in”
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3150 | Rake 0
Board [Ad Kd 7s 9h Qh]
Seat 1: MarcNJ22 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 3: kidling (button) folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 4: bpmst2 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 5: sailfishermn (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: kaon showed [Jh Jc] and lost with a pair of Jacks
Seat 7: ThePhenom919 folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 8: snorer folded before Flop (didn’t bet)
Seat 9: JasonMac18 showed [Kh Kc] and won (3150) with three of a kind, Kings

Its good thing I got knocked out, because there would have been some serious destruction if I had made it past hand 7.

Fo real.

Labels: %$#%^#, rigged

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Final Sunday Million Hand

PokerStars Game #7293392389: Tournament #36312328, $200+$15 Hold’em No Limit – Level XXXIV (400000/800000) – 2006/12/04 – 01:53:04 (ET)
Table ‘36312328 36’ 9-max Seat #7 is the button
Seat 1: br1an2k5 (24474048 in chips)
Seat 7: Gurre (42395952 in chips)
br1an2k5: posts the ante 40000
Gurre: posts the ante 40000
Gurre: posts small blind 400000
br1an2k5: posts big blind 800000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Gurre: raises 800000 to 1600000
br1an2k5: calls 800000
*** FLOP *** [3d 8s 4c]
br1an2k5: checks
Gurre: checks
*** TURN *** [3d 8s 4c] [Td]
br1an2k5: checks
Gurre: bets 1600000
br1an2k5: calls 1600000
*** RIVER *** [3d 8s 4c Td] [3h]
br1an2k5: checks
Gurre: bets 4800000
br1an2k5: raises 4800000 to 9600000
Gurre: raises 29555952 to 39155952 and is all-in
br1an2k5 said, “u sure?”
br1an2k5 said, “too much in there”
br1an2k5: calls 11634048 and is all-in
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Gurre: shows [3s 3c] (four of a kind, Threes)
br1an2k5: shows [9c 8d] (two pair, Eights and Threes)
br1an2k5 said, “gg bro”
Gurre collected 48948096 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 48948096 | Rake 0
Board [3d 8s 4c Td 3h]
Seat 1: br1an2k5 (big blind) showed [9c 8d] and lost with two pair, Eights and Threes
Seat 7: Gurre (button) (small blind) showed [3s 3c] and won (48948096) with four of a kind, Threes

Labels: 98?

Advice

Wasnt written for my blog (took it from an AIM conversation), but I figure its something some of the beginners could benefit from. A guy asked me what to work on for HU and this is what I said. Pretty standard…

“… the best ability you can have as a heads up player is hand reading. this is easier in hu than any other form of poker because you play so many hands. the more you can put your opponent on a hand, the better you can play against him. this is easier said than done, but every hand you play, try to use the information you know about the opponent — how loose is he? does he bet his draws? etc — plus how he has played the current hand — did he raise preflop? is this flop likely to have helped him? if he had a draw, would he have raised me? — and try to figure out what he has. the better you get at this, the better you’ll be at playing hu poker, and any form of poker for that matter”

Labels: omgadvice, phenomcouldbenefit…bcmtooobv

Enough

So, another guy sends me an Instant Message. Normally, I am jovial. But, I seem to attact a lot of stupid people. Take this brief conversation for example…

Goose Is Loose08: sup n00b
Goose Is Loose08: sup n00b
kaon: hi?
Goose Is Loose08: hi d0nk
kaon: how are ya?
Goose Is Loose08: g00d h0w are y0u
kaon: if you dont get to your point in the next thing you say, i am going to block you
Goose Is Loose08: just a fan 0f y0urs s0rry t0 b0ther y0u sir
kaon: ok, ty. gl.
Goose Is Loose08: h0w is p0ker treating y0u
kaon: if you use a 0 instead of an o again, i’m going to block you.
kaon: i havent played poker in a month
Goose Is Loose08: do you mind me asking why
kaon: i have been busy with other things
Goose Is Loose08: 0h g0tcha

I warned him…

Anyone with something intelligent to say, please say hi sometime ;)

Labels: p0k3r haX0r

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Quote of the Day

During a conversation with a stranger on AIM…

“varga: i dont feel i could talk to you with my winrate”

Labels: losers, self esteem

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

HUSNG Statistics Project

Crossed-posted from this 2+2 post:

“I have the results of over 900k HUSNGs and 132k players that span several months of this year. Rather than sit on this information I’d like to contribute to the forum by compiling useful statistics on… everything.

The things I do have:
– Buyin
– Time of Day
– Result from 2 and 4 man games

Things I do not have:
– A lot of data from the tubos and non-increasing blinds
– Durations

I need 2+2’s help to determine what data to extract and how to do it. For example, you want to compare $50s and $100s? How would you do it? You want to know what winrates are achievable? How would you do it? Winning percentage quartiles or what? Want to know what time of day the most fish play? Come up with the rules to do it and I’ll get the results.

All ideas are welcome, even if you cant think of how to do it.

Nichomacheo”

For all of you Heads Up SNG players that read this, I would really appreciate suggestions. Leave them as comments or post in that 2+2 post.

Labels: 2+2

Donkey Comeback

JuMpMaNjCr22: its pretty pathetic that u have no life and post shit about me
kaon: oh that? its no big deal
kaon: do you mind?
kaon: bro?
kaon: jumpman?
JuMpMaNjCr22: yea i do mind
JuMpMaNjCr22: becuz u make a fool of me
JuMpMaNjCr22: and i really dont appreciate it
kaon: how did i make a fool out of you?
JuMpMaNjCr22: donkaments and such
JuMpMaNjCr22: so if u have nothin good to say and this is ur enjoyment in life then i feel bad for u
JuMpMaNjCr22: all u ahve is poker
JuMpMaNjCr22: and thats gon be a saddd virgin filled life
JuMpMaNjCr22: HAHHA
kaon: LOL DONKAMENTS
JuMpMaNjCr22: see i can be a fucker too
JuMpMaNjCr22: dont understand what i ever did to u tho
kaon: yeah, you got me good
JuMpMaNjCr22: i really dont get why u dont update ur blog unless u hgave something to write about me
JuMpMaNjCr22: but i coudl careless if u write it if it gives u self enjoyment
kaon: you said you did care… “yea i do mind”
kaon: did you change your mind?
JuMpMaNjCr22: sorry i dont have time to argue the “par-fuckin-ticulars” with you
JuMpMaNjCr22: but i have things to do with my life like go to the gym
JuMpMaNjCr22: not sitt on my ass an post about someone i dont even know
kaon: i thought we were buds
JuMpMaNjCr22: dude..
kaon: what?
JuMpMaNjCr22: thats really fucked up
JuMpMaNjCr22: u post about my family and such
kaon: oh that? its no big deal

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: at the gym…

See the irony? “all u ahve is poker”

Labels: donkey

Monday, November 27, 2006

Donkaments

More stupidity and lies from our friend JumpMan! I wasnt feeling to clever, but I humored him…

JuMpMaNjCr22: hey u know youngluck
kaon: yes

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: scheee ya…

JuMpMaNjCr22: we were chatting tonight hes good huh
kaon: yeah
kaon: learn anything?
JuMpMaNjCr22: well i learned actually something totallllly DIFF
JuMpMaNjCr22: COMPLETELY DIFF
kaon: please go on
JuMpMaNjCr22: r we talkin serious
JuMpMaNjCr22: or u gonna bullshit me
JuMpMaNjCr22: lol
JuMpMaNjCr22: randy and bcm busted my balls
kaon: no, i’m very curious
JuMpMaNjCr22: his style of his
JuMpMaNjCr22: like i been watchen it
JuMpMaNjCr22: and i watch the other high stkaes game
JuMpMaNjCr22: like DB dario bbj bcm all those guys
JuMpMaNjCr22: and his is COMPLETELY DIFF from everyone
kaon: what his his style like?
JuMpMaNjCr22: basically to sum it up
JuMpMaNjCr22: on the button its a min raise or fold
JuMpMaNjCr22: if checked to he 3x no matter what
JuMpMaNjCr22: so 10-20 blinds
JuMpMaNjCr22: he min raises
JuMpMaNjCr22: then beetrs 60 on flop
JuMpMaNjCr22: every time
kaon: thats nuts!
kaon: did you talk to him on aim?
JuMpMaNjCr22: good or bad?
JuMpMaNjCr22: he said he’d im me later tonight
kaon: its very very interesting
JuMpMaNjCr22: hes friends with another guy teaching me
kaon: so when did you speak to him?
JuMpMaNjCr22: ina chat
JuMpMaNjCr22: Mr.Casino told me to watch hi
kaon: you talk to Casino on aim?
JuMpMaNjCr22: well since BCM stopped teaching me
JuMpMaNjCr22: Mr.casino has started
kaon: whats his aim name?

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: scheee ya…

JuMpMaNjCr22: well listen…
JuMpMaNjCr22: how bout this
JuMpMaNjCr22: maybe we chat and ill give u his name
JuMpMaNjCr22: we shared myspaces and everything
JuMpMaNjCr22: hes madddddddd coool
JuMpMaNjCr22: funny ass guy
JuMpMaNjCr22: lol
JuMpMaNjCr22: plays under a friends name too
JuMpMaNjCr22: :-D
kaon: you really seem to be in with these guys

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: scheee ya…

kaon: who else do you talk to?
JuMpMaNjCr22: yeaim tryen to learn
JuMpMaNjCr22: liek really hard man
JuMpMaNjCr22: help out my fam and stuf fu know
JuMpMaNjCr22: be able to buy stuff when i want to
kaon: how much you currently making?
JuMpMaNjCr22: well before me and bcm talked i had horrible BR management and titled very easily
JuMpMaNjCr22: we chatted on nov. 1st i had 500 in my account
JuMpMaNjCr22: he told me to play 10 dollar HU till i got to 600
JuMpMaNjCr22: then play 20’s till i got to 1500
JuMpMaNjCr22: im not at 1200 bucks
JuMpMaNjCr22: now*
kaon: not bad!
kaon: obviously his his advice helped a lot
JuMpMaNjCr22: but maybe
JuMpMaNjCr22: we can chat a little bout HU poker
kaon: so whats casino’s aim name? i need to tell him something

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: cant sleep…watchen this movie call me

JuMpMaNjCr22: wha u needa tell him
JuMpMaNjCr22: ?
kaon: can you tell him to play me again?
JuMpMaNjCr22: yes
kaon: he stopped after a 12 buyin downswing vs me
JuMpMaNjCr22: he just doesnt want me to give sn’s out to people
kaon: i got lucky some, but he’s terrible
JuMpMaNjCr22: unless i really know them
JuMpMaNjCr22: well can we chat
kaon: oh, i understand
kaon: so when you gonna move up to $200s?
JuMpMaNjCr22: lol never
JuMpMaNjCr22: im not even at 50’s
JuMpMaNjCr22: i brought 15 bucks to a .25/.50 NL table
JuMpMaNjCr22: lol
JuMpMaNjCr22: wrong im
kaon: hae you read any books?
JuMpMaNjCr22: HOH
JuMpMaNjCr22: i just want to learn so badly
JuMpMaNjCr22: ?
kaon: ?

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: cant sleep…watchen this movie call me

JuMpMaNjCr22: talk HU strategy
kaon: stop IMing me
kaon: ty

Labels: donkaments, idiot, jumpman

Donkaments

More stupidity and lies from our friend JumpMan! I wasnt feeling too clever, but I humored him…

JuMpMaNjCr22: hey u know youngluck
kaon: yes

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: scheee ya…

Auto response from JuMpMaNjCr22: cant sleep…watchen this movie call me

JuMpMaNjCr22: talk HU strategy
kaon: stop IMing me
kaon: ty

Labels: donkaments, idiot, jumpman

Monday, November 20, 2006

Thanksgiving

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of updates. I havent been playing much poker this month and thats why I havent had much to report on. I’m not done playing poker, but I was definitely burnt out and needed a break. I recommend it for all you grinders out there.

Nichomacheo

Labels: thanksgiving

Friday, November 17, 2006

2+2 HU Forum Tourny

The 2+2 HU forum, which in recent weeks has attracted a lot more traffic, is hosting a Heads Up tournament on PokerStars on Sunday, December 9th, 5pm eastern time. You can information about it in the 2+2 forum: here. Its $20+$2 and I’m not sure on the payout structure. Hope to see a big turnout.

Nichomacheo

Labels: 2+2

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

BBV

Brag: I cashed out 60% of my bankroll last night (no reason/need the $).
Beat: I created a “Poker” section of my buddy list. It has 11 people.
Variance: Rob was scolded by MrWookie for his ridiculous comments on 2+2 HU forum.

Labels: bbv

Monday, November 13, 2006

Jed/Ooooooooooh is back

http://oooooooooohpoker.blogspot.com/

Jed, who some of you know as Oooooooooh, is back playing poker. For those of you who dont know, he is not much of a grinder. If you scroll back through Phenom and BCM’s blogs you’ll see ranting about him. Most of it seemed to stem from the fact he played a $5k HUSNG with a $12k bankroll. Jed, I think you have talent and more gamboool than most. I hope you dont mind, but I’m going to post two hands from your $5k match with The Stasher.

*********** # 30 **************
PokerStars Game #5898019349: Tournament #29833581, $5000+$100 Hold’em No Limit – Match Round I, Level II (15/30) – 2006/08/13 – 01:03:45 (ET)
Table ‘29833581 1′ 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: The Stasher (1130 in chips)
Seat 2: ooooooooooh (1870 in chips)
ooooooooooh: posts small blind 15
The Stasher: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ooooooooooh [Qh Qc]
ooooooooooh: raises 60 to 90
The Stasher: raises 1040 to 1130 and is all-in
ooooooooooh: calls 1040
*** FLOP *** [Tc 5h 5c]
*** TURN *** [Tc 5h 5c] [4d]
*** RIVER *** [Tc 5h 5c 4d] [As]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
The Stasher: shows [7s Ac] (two pair, Aces and Fives)
ooooooooooh: shows [Qh Qc] (two pair, Queens and Fives)
The Stasher collected 2260 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2260 | Rake 0
Board [Tc 5h 5c 4d As]
Seat 1: The Stasher (big blind) showed [7s Ac] and won (2260) with two pair, Aces and Fives
Seat 2: ooooooooooh (button) (small blind) showed [Qh Qc] and lost with two pair, Queens and Fives

and

*********** # 42 **************
PokerStars Game #5898067281: Tournament #29833581, $5000+$100 Hold’em No Limit – Match Round I, Level II (15/30) – 2006/08/13 – 01:08:41 (ET)
Table ‘29833581 1’ 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: The Stasher (1495 in chips)
Seat 2: ooooooooooh (1505 in chips)
ooooooooooh: posts small blind 15
The Stasher: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to ooooooooooh [Th Td]
ooooooooooh: raises 60 to 90
The Stasher: raises 180 to 270
ooooooooooh: raises 1235 to 1505 and is all-in
The Stasher: calls 1225 and is all-in
*** FLOP *** [As 9d 2d]
*** TURN *** [As 9d 2d] [8c]
*** RIVER *** [As 9d 2d 8c] [Jc]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
The Stasher: shows [4h Ac] (a pair of Aces)
ooooooooooh: shows [Th Td] (a pair of Tens)
The Stasher collected 2990 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2990 | Rake 0
Board [As 9d 2d 8c Jc]
Seat 1: The Stasher (big blind) showed [4h Ac] and won (2990) with a pair of Aces
Seat 2: ooooooooooh (button) (small blind) showed [Th Td] and lost with a pair of Tens

Labels: jed

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Most of this is Bullshit

Phenom told me about this guy.

JuMpMaNjCr22: hey dude
kaon: hello
JuMpMaNjCr22: im friends with brenden
kaon: yes i remember
JuMpMaNjCr22: im starten to play hu too
kaon: what can i do for ya?
kaon: what buyins?
JuMpMaNjCr22: what levels u play
JuMpMaNjCr22: right now im grinding at the 20’s
kaon: you friends with brenden in real life?
JuMpMaNjCr22: just on here
kaon: on where?
JuMpMaNjCr22: intenret
JuMpMaNjCr22: met him through pcket fives
kaon: what name does he post under?
JuMpMaNjCr22: well…
JuMpMaNjCr22: heres the story
JuMpMaNjCr22: im friends with green plastic
JuMpMaNjCr22: and i told him i wanted to start playen HU
JuMpMaNjCr22: and he searched the forums and came across nicomancheo or sutten
JuMpMaNjCr22: and i found his blog
JuMpMaNjCr22: then went through that through brenden
kaon: oh no kidding?
kaon: thats awesome
kaon: well, hows poker going for you?
JuMpMaNjCr22: good other than the fact my roomate went on my account and lost 187 dollars
kaon: and how’s taylor doing these days?
JuMpMaNjCr22: i was at 600 monday got up to 980
JuMpMaNjCr22: now im down to 740
JuMpMaNjCr22: cuz he lost all that
JuMpMaNjCr22: 880**
kaon: what site do you play on?
JuMpMaNjCr22: stars
kaon: whats your name?
JuMpMaNjCr22: cROUNDER33
kaon: your ss graph is good
JuMpMaNjCr22: yea im solid
JuMpMaNjCr22: had family troulbs and had to give alot of money there
JuMpMaNjCr22: so i decided to grind heads up
kaon: yeah
JuMpMaNjCr22: should be at 50’s by thanksigving and 100’s by new years
kaon: thats fantastic
kaon: have you ever spoken to phenom before?
JuMpMaNjCr22: yea
JuMpMaNjCr22: randy wood
JuMpMaNjCr22: i got all there sn’s
JuMpMaNjCr22: tjere helping me becuz they say i will be able to cause chaos when i get up there
kaon: has he helped you out?
JuMpMaNjCr22: him and BCM ahve totally diff styles
kaon: what do you mean?
JuMpMaNjCr22: bmc is tighter phenom is aggressive
kaon: so bcm isnt aggressive?
JuMpMaNjCr22: not as
kaon: has bcm given you any advice that has really made an impact on you?
JuMpMaNjCr22: wait dont they work with u
kaon: what do you mean?
JuMpMaNjCr22: dont they teah u
JuMpMaNjCr22: or r u as good
kaon: i’m probably better
kaon: especially compared with phenom
JuMpMaNjCr22: whats ur style
kaon: loose-passive
kaon: really messes with them
JuMpMaNjCr22: what level u play
kaon: people make a lot of mistakes when you call 80% of their bets
kaon: $100, sometimes $1000s though
JuMpMaNjCr22: why not 200 and 500
kaon: those players are too difficult
kaon: the 1000s are filled with cash game fish
kaon: but not the 200s and 500s
JuMpMaNjCr22: whaend u start out
kaon: i won my first pot when i was 6
kaon: never looked back
JuMpMaNjCr22: no i mean online
kaon: oh
kaon: about two years ago
JuMpMaNjCr22: what games
kaon: $5 husngs
JuMpMaNjCr22: im at 20’s got 740
JuMpMaNjCr22: u think i can get to 50’s by xmas
kaon: what bankroll do you want?
JuMpMaNjCr22: 1500
kaon: thats a good number
kaon: but according to rob’s rule, you only need about 150
kaon: its hard to explain, i’d search 2+2 for the info
JuMpMaNjCr22: how old ru
kaon: 43
kaon: you?
JuMpMaNjCr22: 28
JuMpMaNjCr22: 18
JuMpMaNjCr22: u wanna rial me
JuMpMaNjCr22: kinda help me out with what u know
kaon: rial?
JuMpMaNjCr22: im tryen to learn from the best
JuMpMaNjCr22: Rail
kaon: what do you want me to say?
JuMpMaNjCr22: just play by me with one game
JuMpMaNjCr22: see how u play
JuMpMaNjCr22: ill tell u my hands
kaon: nah
kaon: i’m too busy
JuMpMaNjCr22: wha u doin
kaon: thinking
JuMpMaNjCr22: bout
kaon: bbl

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Misc

While I havent been playing a lot of poker lately, I have been doing a lot of poker related programming, which has the potential to make just as much if not more money than I would be making only playing the $50 and $100 HUSNGs.

Also, the 2+2 HU forum has been booming recently. I’m glad to see the influx of new posters, even though I havent been posting much.

AIM is “kaon” -if anyone wants to chat.

Nichomacheo/ Matt

Monday, November 06, 2006

Vegas Trip Report

Thursday I left for Vegas with my buddy Mauricio. We arrived around 10pm, went back to his place, ate, and then headed out to the poker rooms. We chose Mandalay Bay, simply because his mother said she heard the players were bad. We started playing around midnight.

I was a bit nervous before sitting down at 1/2 NL. I never played live expect with my friends and a few times playing limit at crappy casinos. I bought in for the maximum of $200 (min was $100) and got started.

I didnt raise preflop a single hand for four orbits. I simply wasnt getting any good cards. I realized, after about the third orbit, that my table image was that of a super-tight rock, so I started to play some speculative hands preflop, just to loosen up my image. The players, with a few exceptions, were way too passive. No one had any regards to calling preflop raises. Meaning, if I raised to 8 or raised to 15, it didnt matter. The same people would call regardless. I took full advantage of this later on.

First big hand came about an hour into it. My image was pretty tight and I was trying to loosen it up, so from MP I raised to $10 with Ac5o (monster) and got one caller. This guy, I’ll call Hugh Grant because he looked like him, thought highly of himself and sat with an identical stack of about $220. The flop was a beautiful 5-5c-Tc. I bet $20; he calls. Turn is something like a 2-d. I bet $40, I think, and he calls again. At this point, I put him on a flush draw. River is Jc, putting the third club out there. Hugh pushes… well… The pot is about $120 and I have to call about $130 with my trip-fives. I thought about it for about two minutes and eventually called. When Hugh saw the river card, he didnt take any time to act. He used both of his hands to grab and forcefully place his stacks of fives into the middle. When all his chips were out, he stared me down. Given my table image, plus the way he acted when the river came, plus the fact I held the Ac, I felt it was too likely he didnt have the flush. I said call and he’s like “What? You call?” and I knew I had it. Turns out he had JT for top two pair. Nice job turning it into 27o… He said “Nice call” and so did the rest of the table, and I felt good. That hand really gave me confidence and shaped the course of the night.

This one guy came to the table while waiting for a 2/4 game. This guy was hyper-aggressive and attacked weakness relentlessly. I waited for a hand, but he left before I could play back at him. Later, he came back to the table when the 2/4 closed and stated “I’m raising every pot preflop”. He did it blind for about an orbit or so. I wanted to stack the guy badly. I started limp-calling a lot preflop because I knew I’d get plenty of action from the guy. There was one hand I raised EP with TT, he called only. Flop was Qxx. I check-called. Turn was a King, I check-called again. River was like an 8. I check-called a $60 bet… and I was like “Tens” and he says “You called me with tens?” Then, as he’s flipping over his cards to the muck he’s like, “Oh, straight” — which he hit on the river. Nh.

Another big hand came when I raised EP with 46 sooted, flop came like T33 with two soots. I bet, am called by loose guy. Turn is queen, I bet 2/3 pot, he calls. River I make my flush, bet pot, and he calls with T2. Monster.

There was a drunk guy there, who was definitely on drugs, who blew like $600-$1000 while I was there. He had some semblence of what was going on, but had no real strategic concepts. He was trying to stack the 2/4 guy too, but was getting stacked in the process because, well, he sucked.

Big hand came when I had AA UTG, raised to $15, got four callers including 2/4 guy, drunk guy, tight Asian guy, and heavy tourist who just sat down. Flop comes A-Qd-9d. I bet $40, 2/4 folds (sigh), drunk guy folds (sigh), then Tight-Asian goes all in for $42. Tourist calls. Since I dont play cash games, I’m like “I call the $2 and am all in” (the tourist had about $120 behind). Dealer lady is like “You cant do that”. Sigh. When the turn is a blank, the guy obviously checks to me, contemplates for a minute after I bet, then folds. Stupid rule. Tight-Asian guy had AQ. Ship it.

Had a lot of fun. Played midnight till 5:30am, when I was getting really tired. Thats the only poker I played while I was there and it was a great experience.

+$500

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Vegas

Going to Vegas from Thursday night through Sunday. I’ll probably play some 1/2 NL, but I dont expect to be spending that much time at the card tables.

Wish me luck

Monday, October 30, 2006

New Stuff

My fans!

Poker has become too much of a grind for me and I’ve lost a lot of the interest I used to have. I am going to take a break from playing for some time because if I dont, poker will be ruined for me forever. Hopefully in a week or two I’ll wake up one day and be like “I remember why I love the game” and start playing heavily again.

For now, I’ve got a few other poker related projects on my mind. One is the STTHunter which I am eager to get done but cant at the moment. Hopefully I will have that done within a week. You might remember my Advanced Note Taker software that I worked on a while back. I plan on making it available for any type of game on PokerStars and then I’ll market that too. The idea behind this one is that you can take notes on your opponents, have them displayed on the screen in whatever color you want, and they will be saved so if you play an opponent again it will show up on the screen next time you play them. I think this would be immensely useful for any type of game. Then there is one other project which I wont get into, but could be profitable.

Well see what goes down.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Wk13 – Wednesday

Played a bit today and broke even.

Its strange… I have no interest in playing anymore. When I play I’m just like ‘whatever’. I could not sit down for 2 hours and play. We’ll see what happens…

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Updates

Played 20 games on Saturday for about $200 net. I was very disappointed in the results because I won 13/20, but three that I lost at the end were $100s and bad beats. It happens. I three-tabled some and felt tha tI could do well with it.

Then on Saturday I had an idea for a new program: An STT auto-registration tool. The user selects what buyins he wants to play and how many to play and the software will attempt to open up that many. Nothing like this exists for PokerStars and there is a big market for it. I’ve been working nonstop since Sunday to finish it quickly. It’s coming along nicely and when I’m done I’m going to market it for $25/player. Should make a nice profit from it.

So, I wont be playing much the next few days until I get it done. Right now it is my priority.

Wk12 – Thursday

-$172 (1:1 $50, 2:0 $55, 1:3 $100) in 1.6hr

Another day or poor results and poor play. When I start the day, I play well, but as the number of bad results I run into, the worse I play, and the worse the next results are. Last two games I lost with KdQs on a AdJdTd board and then I had my opponent all in twice A7 vs KQ and A8 vs KQ and lost them both. I made a lot of mistakes today. I’m conscious of them as I make them, but I’m too tired and irrational to quit.

October has been alright as far as playing statistics go. $58/hr for 22.5 hours. 60:34 currently. Only played 12 out of 19 days, which hurts profit a lot.

Right now, the best way I think I can improve is to get on a regular sleep schedule. Too much of this 1-6, 12-6 nonsense with no naps during the day. It builds up and by the end of the week I can barely think straight.

Sitting in class today I thought I’d try to figure out my hourly rate over all 2200 games or so I’ve played. Interesting results:

Monday…………$49/hr
Tuesday………..$32/hr
Wednesday……$49/hr
Thursday………$28/hr
Friday…………..$36/hr
Saturday……….$31/hr
Sunday………….$61/hr

I’d say it goes something like this: The sleep I get on Saturday night charges me up for the week. I play well on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday (?), and Wednesday, but as the week goes on I become exhausted due to the 6am-12am days and it affects my play.

If I had to sum up the last week of play, I’d say this is pretty accurate.

Last thing: Rob emailed PokerStars asking to be blocked for a week. Check his site for details.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Wk12 – Wednesday Donkaments

-$145 (0:1 $50, 1:4 $55, 0:1 $100, 1:0 $200) in 1.9hr

I played like an idiot today. Thank god I won the $200.

My day started off playing knuckledaddy, someone I recently berated on the SharkScope graphs as being one of the worst players around (scroll down to see his graph). I went, no joke, -$55, -$55, -$55, -$100, +$200 vs him today. This was 20% due to bad cards and 80% to me playing suboptimal strategy vs a call station. I should have realized after I lost the first game that I wasnt playing well (no one should lose to him) and stopped. But no, I’m a stubborn bastard. He hurt my ego, and I had to redeem myself.

The rest of the games I was still on tilt from knucle-fucker and played accordingly.

Lesson to be learned: Dont play early in the day when you’re still tired because you play like a fool.

Overall the last two days I’ve gone 2:7 which is ridiculous. Usually I don’t lose more than two in a row… and thats the point: A few bad games leads to one long subtle-tilt session. Its a waste of time and money.

Tomorrow is a chance to turn it around.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Wk11 – Tuesday

Played one 55 turbo today, made a horrible call and called it a day.

Added to SharkScope graphs: HoldemPhil, Dariominieri, and ThePhenom919

Two Man vs Four Man HUSNGs

The question of whether or not the two-man are more or less profitable than four-man Heads Up SNGs has been asked often on poker forums. This will hopefully answer the question for good. If you feel I’m making an error or a bad assumption, please post a comment saying so.

Assumptions

Win-rate is constant for the first match of either game.
Win-rate for the second heads up match will be 3% lower because the competition, on average, will be tougher. If you think this is too low, it can be increased, but the conclusion is the same. Only the numbers in the examples below will change.
The average duration of the first match of a four-man game is the same as the second match.
The time it takes you to win a match, on average, is the same amount of time it takes you to lose a match.
The buyin has a 5% rake associated with it.
No wait time between matches. This will be slightly off because there is a one minute break at the start of a Heads Up match. Also, it takes time to register and wait for a new game to appear. These differences are mostly insignificant.

Two-Man Heads Up SNG

Win$ = 0.95 * Buyin
Lose$ = 1.05 * Buyin

EV_Two = Win% * Win$ – (1-Win%) * Lose$

We must determine an hourly rate because the duration of two and four man games is different:

Hourly_Two = (W% * Win$ – (1-W%) * Lose$) * (60 / AvgDuration)

Four-Man Heads Up SNG

WinRate% = WinRateGame1% * WinRateGame2%

Win$ = 2.95 * Buyin
Lose$ = 1.05 * Buyin

EV-Four = WinRate% * Win$ – (1-Win%) * Lose$

Adjusting for the average duration is slightly more complicated. There are three possibilities:

1. Win-Win: The average duration will be twice the duration of a regular game.

2. Win-Lose: The average duration will also be twice the duration of a regular game.

3. Lose: The average duration will be the same as a regular game.

Case 1 will happen WinRate% of the time. To understand this, imagine if your winrate for each match was 50%. The odds of winning two in a row will be 50% * 50% = 25%.

Case2 will occur (WinRateGame1%) * (1 – WinRateGame2%)

Case3 will occur (1 – WinRateGame1%) .

The average duration is a weighted average of these three possibilities.

AvgDurationWeighted =
(WinRateGame1% * WinRateGame2%) * 2 * Duration +
(WinRateGame1% * (1 – WinRateGame2%) * 2 * Duration +
(1 – WinRateGame1%) * Duration

Hourly_Four = (WinRate% * Win$ – (1-Win%) * Lose$) * (60 / AvgDurationWeighted)

Conclusion

It is more profitable to play Four-Man HUSNGs if you are a profitable player (winrate is greater than about 53%). If you win any less than that, it is more profitable (ie, you lose less money) by playing Two-Man HUSNGs.

Hourly Rate Examples

$100 HUSNG – Divide by factor to translate (ie divide by 5 to get $20 HUSNG rate)

Notice how much the $/hr changes if you slightly increase your winrate…

12 minute games, 54% winrate: $15 vs $16
12 minute games, 56% winrate: $35 vs $43
12 minute games, 58% winrate: $55 vs $71
12 minute games, 60% winrate: $75 vs $99
12 minute games, 62% winrate: $95 vs $127
12 minute games, 64% winrate: $115 vs $155
12 minute games, 66% winrate: $135 vs $184

15 minute games, 54% winrate: $12 vs $13
15 minute games, 56% winrate: $28 vs $35
15 minute games, 60% winrate: $60 vs $79
15 minute games, 62% winrate: $76 vs $102
15 minute games, 64% winrate: $92 vs $124
15 minute games, 66% winrate: $108 vs $147

If you’d like the Excel sheet that I used to calculate these values, shoot me an email: nichomacheo@gmail.com.

Happy hunting.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Wk12 – Monday

+$237 (4:0 $50, 2:1 $55) in 1.2hr

Great day considering I played while tired. The last game I played, a $50, I sucked out 3 times and finally won the game in Level III when my 69 won vs my opponent’s 8J on a 378 board. A while before I won with TT on a 78J board vs JQ and before that, 88 vs T4 on a TTJ3..8 board. I played poorly that game and was lucky to win. I dont mind getting lucky as long as I make good decisions. This game I made a lot of bad decisions, and was frustrated that I had to suckout to win.

Per my 6-game rule, I’m taking a break — stopping for the night actually. Have I turned over a new leaf? Am I becoming disciplined? To be continued…

SharkScope

SharkScope is an amazing tool for doing research. This will be an ongoing collection of graphs that are noteworthy. If you think I should post any, please post the username in the comments section.

HoldemPhil – (10/17) One of the greatest players to play the game, he gave up gambling to pursue life:

Dariominieri – (10/17) Italian hyperaggressive player. Hell of a rush in the middle:

ThePhenom919 – (10/17) Member of TeamPhenom, this guru specializes in streaks. When the cards cooperate, he’s a force to be reckon’d with:

Nemo234 – (10/16) Rich and foolish, this high roller doesnt give up easily. Note the y-axis.

RobP3 – (10/16) Audacious and streaky, Rob “The Grinder” P3 has been on a rush in recent weeks:

knuckledaddy– (10/16) Plays mostly $50s, some $100s and $200s. I’ve played him more than any other player (probably about 15 times) and won most of them. He continues to play today. Maybe he’s going to turn around? lol:

FRITTS – (10/16) Saw this guy playing the $5ks a week or two ago. He took a shot and broke even, now he’s back at the $100s. At least he survived. Graph:

Cymon54 – (10/16) He goes on a $800 rush, but pushes his luck too far and crashes. Graph:

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Wk12 – Sunday

+$375 (1:1 $50, 4:0 $100) in 1.12hr

I didnt play at all yesterday because I was busy and tired and knew I wouldnt play well. Drank last night, slept till noon today; didnt play till the evening. Played well. So much more money to be made playing the $100s. As my confidence rises, I’ll play more of them. Tired now.

Friday, October 13, 2006

Wk11 – Reverse Tilt Friday

-$4 : 4:4 in 1.3hr

Was up around $200, but as is usual, I lost my last few games. If you read this frequently, you’ll notice that I usually go 5:1 or 4:2, then after that 6th game I lose a few in a row. This is killing my overall profit and I need to overcome it. The reason is purely psychological: After a short winning session I become overly confident; I play too loose, don’t think things through, and make bad decisions. Solution? Take a break.

I played several of the new Heads Up SNG Turbos. I’m going to experiment with them until I have a good feel for whether or not they are worth my time. Right now I’m only going to be playing the $50s, $100s, and the $55 Turbos.

PokerStars has a new influx of players because PartyPoker is banning US players. As strange as it may seem, the next few months may be more profitable for me because PokerStars is the only site I play on and there will be more fish. I cannot say how it will be a year from now. But, hopefully I’ve found something better to do by then…

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Wk11 – Tubular Thursday

+$518 (5:1 $50, 3:0 $100) in 2.5hr

Played well and the cards cooperated; can’t ask for much more.

I’ve been posting a lot on the 2+2 Heads Up forum and I think its helping tremendously. Although the traffic is usually low, the few posters it has contribute a lot. Discussing strategy and hand histories has improved my game a lot. So thanks to jay_shark, omgwtfnoway, MEJG2, and the other posters for keeping it going.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Wk11 – Wicked Wednesday

+$127 (6:1 $50, 0:1 $100) in 122 min

I cry fowl.

+50, +50, +50, +50, +50, +50, -100 (bs), -50 (bs + tilt)

So, went from close to a $380 day… to $127. Sigh.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Wk11 – Tickle-Me Tuesday

+$94 (4:3 $50 + $65 in NL $100) in 138 min

Played ok today despite being tired. Lost the last two games, partly due to very loose play and partly due to a cold deck. The decks always run cold when you call preflop raises with any two suited cards. Imagine that.

Low limit cash games have been going fairly well. NL $100 is filled with loose-passive players who buyin for $20 or $30. The opponents are easily exploitable and the games are low stress.

My entry yesterday about BCM still stands. Best of luck to ya in the future bud.
Maxv2, your results in the $50s recently is inspiring.
Phenom, dont be a little bitch re Slime.
Rob, way to be a grinder. HUSNGs miss you though.
Woody, your blog was removed because you never post.

2+2 ppl… post more in the Heads Up forum. I’m working on getting it moved under the No Limit category so that the traffic rises… When the max is 3 people viewing at any given time, you know something is wrong.

Team Phenom4e.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Wk11 – Starting Sunday (edit: Monday)

+$237 (5:0 $50) in 97 min

Today was a nice start to the week. I single-tabled as a confidence booster. I played smart, aggressive poker today and the results showed.

I picked up Phil Gordon’s “Little Blue Book” this weekend. After reading some of it I get the impression that its written for beginners, but some of the hand analysis is very good. If I can win one game it’ll more than pay for the $20 it cost. I also bought two books on sociology, a topic that I’ve always been interested in. I mention it because it should give me something to do when I’m not playing well. In the past, when I am bored or tilting, I usually read something related to poker. Getting your mind off it though is definitely the best decision you can make if you’re not playing well or not sharp enough to play.

It occurred to me that I have the ability to play in higher stakes games that I currently do. What seperates the people playing $50 HUSNGs from the people playing $500 HUSNGs? What seperates the people playing NL $100 from NL $2000? Why arent you? If the answer doesnt have to do with comfort level, then you should ask yourself what you need to work on in order to get there.

I’m going to concentrate on improving because I think I can be making a lot more than I do now at the higher stakes. It may not happen because I have a strong aversion to losing money, but if I can get past that I can do much better.

Oh, and BCM is my hero. He has made such incredible progress this year and I’ve got a lot of respect for his game. One day, one day…

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Wk10 – Thursday

Havent played much the last few days.

I’ve been fairly busy at school and overall havent really been feeling up to playing. My sleep schedule is all over the place and as a result I’m not as sharp when I do decide to play. My girlfriend is visiting this weekend so I won’t be playing much until next week.

From now on I’m going to really concentrate on becoming a better poker player. I’ve gotten so used to the grind that I forget that I’m making a lot of constly mistakes along the way. A lot of the time I know I am making a stupid move, but I go ahead anyway. Very bad habits.

Rob’s been playing a lot of cash games with mixed success; I will slowly venture into that arena because there is a lot of money to be made even at the lower limits. I will follow the money.

Till then —
N

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Wk10 – Talapia Tuesday

Daily Results: -$15 (3:1 $50, 0:1 $100) in ? min

Couldnt get much going today. The hundred I played immediately after school, which is usually a bad idea, but I took a shot. Ran pretty badly… QQ getting bet out of an AKA flop, KK check-raised on an A52 flop, etc. AK lost to A9, then a 4 outer to end it all. The $50 I lost was due to A4 losing to AT on a AK4..K board. I tend to ignore the luck I had to win some of the other ones, but, hey, I have that convenience.

Rob’s been playing cash games today and has had some success. I think I might play it too, if not for profit then for getting better. I’ve been thinking today that I really am not good at poker vs another good player. I can beat fish, but I can’t compete at the higher limits until I grow some balls and take a shot at them.

2 pts for alliteration.

As for the picture, note the duration. THE LONGEST GAME EVER.

Notes Update

Monday, October 02, 2006

Wk10 – Malaria Monday

Daily Results: +$80 (5:3 $50) in 76 min

Happened again: Great start, rocky finish. I need to work on maintaining my focus as I pass 6 games. In the future, taking a break around that point would probably be a smart idea. Otherwise, I just waste my time playing marginal poker.

I’ve also realized how slow it takes to make money playing the $50s, even while multitabling. You’ve got to put together a string of wins in order to show any profit. Winning one and losing the other while 2-tabling is crap.

Rob has been doing very well recently by playing a lot of $100s and $200s. Here’s his SharkScope graph:

Hold your breath and wait for the next “variance” (tilt) session ;)

There is no point to the title other than alliteration.

…

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Wk10 – Sloppy Sunday

Daily Results: +$122 (5:4 $50, 2:1 $100) in 185 min

Bleh. I was doing very well today until my last few games. I walked out of the room after registering and completely forgot I registered, so theres a -$50 right there. Then this observer starts asking all these questions about me. Guess he saw my numbers on SharkScope… The combination of all this plus playing too loose made me lose my winnings.

Was up a lot more, but, as usual, I lost at the end of my session. First six games I was 5:1, last 6 I was 2:4, counting the unplayed one. Maybe I should be smart and take a long break after a session. What happens is that I play a bunch of call stations and when I finally play some people that arent, I’m still playing in that mind-set. I need to take a break or adjust better.

Cant complain about green, but damn, these leaks are killing me.

Nichomacheo

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Wk9 – Saturday, Monthly Results, and Legislation

Daily Results: +$587 (13:6 $50, 3:0 $100) in 331 min

Oh my god I played a lot today. The sad thing is, after 12 games, I had the exact same profit I did after 22 games. Played spectacular poker early today, going 13:1. Last 8 I went 3:5. I’m not even seeing straight anymore. As far as $/hr goes, I’m very happy with my numbers. Hopefully I can keep them up in the future.

September Totals:

$50s……………….97:64 (60%)……Net: $1248……ROI: 15%…….$/Game: $8
$100s……………..46:34 (58%)……Net: $800…….ROI: 10%…….$/Game: $10
$200s……………..6:3 (66%)……….Net: $510……..ROI: 27%
$500s……………..1:0 (100%)……..Net: $470

Total………………150:101 (60%)….Net: $3027……ROI: 16%……..$/Game: $12
Plus $120 from deposit bonus, plus about $125 from cash.

I’m pretty disappointed with my results. September was a lot less profitable than August, but I cant complain too much about a 16% ROI. I think I’ve identified the things that were causing me trouble and hopefully I wont have any downswings like the $1000 one in the middle there. My results in the last week have been promising and October should be a very good month.

Legislation

In case you havent been paying attention, last night the House passed legislation that would basically make depositing money online for gambling illegal. At least thats my understanding of it. The 2+2 legislation forum has a lot more about this. Right now no one really knows how this is going to affect online poker.

I’m not upset about it. I make a few thousand a month playing part time. For me, poker is, and always will be, extra income, to supplement what I make from a job. If all the fish disappear, the online poker community will crumble. It will exist, but the games will get much tougher and in general it will be a lot harder to make money. I feel worst for the people who quit college to do this for a living. I’m out some extra spending money. For them, it affects their livlihood.

Also, poker is pretty much my only hobby. I work out two or three times a week, play racquetball some, but when I get free time, I’m doing something with poker in one form or another. It takes up a lot of time. Without the temptation to play, I’ll read more, exercise more, and pursue other things. The money is nice now, but if my life goes to shit because of it, its all for nothing. I’m going to use my poker money to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend, go out and have fun, and live comfortably.

It will be good for me to stop, but I won’t until I have to.

Nichomacheo

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Wk9/Thurs – Progress Multitabling

Daily Results: +$185 (5:1 $50) in 100 min

Now that I’ve got this Duration Watch software working I will post how long each day I play. I’ll also be able to report accurate $/hr figures once the the time period makes it accurate enough.

Its amazing how much better I am while multitabling. I rarely have that “Man that was a stupid move on my part”. The more I play the more comfortable I become. I put on some mellow music and play cards.

Nichomacheo

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Wk9/Wed – Multitabling $50s

Daily Results: +$117 w/ 13 games

I multitabled a lot today over the course of a few hours. I made some mistakes early in the session to set me back a bit, but I ended my last six games 5:1, all 2-tabling. My profit the last few days has been pretty breakeven, but it doesnt bother me because I know I’m improving. I actually play better when I play more than one table at a time.

As I become more comfortable with 2 tables, maybe I’ll try 3-tabling.

I’ve gotta concentrate on being patient and playing solid, purposeful poker. Towards the end today I was playing very well I think. Made some mistakes, but I recognized them so I’m not too concerned.

Nichomacheo

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Wk9 – Programming Tuesday

Played 1 game today, lost early in level I when my AKs lost to KK. Discussed it here. The discussions seems to have been hijacked by a limit vs no limit debate. I’ve gotten in this schedule of stay up late, wake up early, nap. I’m trying to avoid the naps from now on, so I’m tired as hell today. Smart not to play…

So, I wrote some new software today which will help me a lot in the future.

Software 1 – Duration Watch

I wrote this to keep track of how much time per day I am playing. This will help me figure out at the end of any period what my $/hr is. While multitabling, simply taking the duration of the games is not an accurate way to measure it. This program sits in the system tray as an icon and just watches until you double click it. Then it’ll show you the window below.

Software 2: Note Taker
This software took about 2 hours so far, but it was amazingly difficult to accomplish. The goal with this program is to be able to quickly, effectively take notes on my opponents. Single-tabling this isnt a big deal, but if I ever want to play more than one at a time, I need help, and this is one way to do it. Today was more like a proof-of-concept. I want to add a pre-programmed list that the user can select from, and those tendencies will show up below the opponent’s name. User can write in comments too. These can all be color coded or whatever.

Comments can be posted in my blog or on 2+2. Here for the duration software and here for the note-taker. I appreciate any feedback.

Nichomacheo

Monday, September 25, 2006

Wk9 – Multitabling Monday

Daily Results: -$13 w/ 14 games
Discipline: Good

I played a fair amount of games today, including some cash. I 2-tabled the Heads Up matches as much as I could. I enjoyed playing it. I made some big mistakes along the way, but I’m paying attention and trying to get better, and thats what its all about. I’m willing to pay a few buyins so that I can improve.

For 2-tabling, a few things I noticed

Playing a $100 and a $50 simultaneously is a poor idea right now, because I concentrate too much on the $100, and the $50 is just a nuisance. The combination makes me play poorly in both.
My game kind of goes to shit when I am 2-tabling. I call way too much preflop hoping to hit a big hand and I am overly aggressive postflop. I need to concentrate on making the same, sound (?) decisions I make 1-tabling.
I need to pay better attention to my opponents. My notes have gone from detailed observations to “Aggressive”. If I can figure out my opponents, I will do very well.
I have trouble keeping track of the action on each hand. I need to calm down and never be in a rush. This goes along with paying attention.
Bad beats dont tilt me as much when I multitable. I received a few sick beats today, but I also dished out a few. Multitabling really shortens the long run.
I tried playing $100 NL with a $50 HU, and that became complicated quickly. I’m going to stick to one type of game for now and when I’m confortable, I might stick some cash games in there too.

If I heed all of this advice, I will improve quickly. I’m stubborn though.

Nichomacheo

Heads Up Notes

>> This entry will be an ongoing attempt to document the keys to playing Heads Up SNGs successfully. I welcome any advice from my readers and I will give credit to any advice that is not mine. If you feel that I am incorrect in any of my analysis, I will change it to reflect the different points of view.

The Key to Winning

Playing successful, profitable Heads Up games requires two things above all else:

1. Analytical Ability – Think about the possible options you have at any given time and the merits of each one. For example, if you raise on the flop, what are the pros and cons of that action?
2. Hand Reading – Given what you know about this opponent and the history of the cards so far, what type of hand does he likely have? Has he played the match consistently throughout this hand? Would he have bet if he had the hand you fear? Get inside your opponent’s head and figure out how he plays.

Unprofitable Risk Taking Early

In order to achieve more than a mediocre win-rate, you need to have an edge on your opponents. That edge usually comes in the form of figuring out what type of player he is. The more time you play, the more information you will have when faced with a tough decision. Don’t risk too much of your stack in Level I. You will regret risking a major portion of your stack only to find out that your opponent is a called you down with third pair on a coordinated board.

Preflop Standards

When deciding whether to play a hand, rate it based on how much potential the hand has to win a big pot versus this type of opponent.
A good way of assessing your preflop selection requirements is to ask yourself how often you are folding. If you’re not folding your J2, Q6 type hands, you’re probably playing too loose. Also, just because a hand is suited, doesn’t mean you should go for the limp-call.

Assessing your Opponent

During Level I, your primary objective should be to figure out what type of opponent you are playing. What are his major weaknesses?
Determine as soon as possible what his style is. What is his overall approach to the game? How can you exploit this strategy?
You should play straightforwardly until you know that there is better strategy for this type of opponent.
- Play most of your hands in position
- Play aggressively

When the Opponent is Low

In the last four days, three opponents have come back to beat me with less than 250 chips. When they get this low, some important things happen.

1. Play aggressively, but not so loose. T2, 69, Q3 type hands are not hands you want to double your opponent up with, especially in level 1.
2. Should they double up to 500ish, resume normal play. Pretend like they were never at 250, because if you agonize over it, they will come back to win. Play a solid, rational game at all times.

Calling a Bet

Whenever you are faced with a call, try to put your opponent on a range of hands. As the hand progresses, use your history with the opponent and the way your opponent bets as a guide as to how to play the end.
Calling has its place, but calling too much is a major leak in any form of poker.

Calling with a Draw

This is a tricky spot, especially when the pot is large. By calling, you scream draw, and a smart opponent may try to push you off your hand if a non-scare card comes. You get yourself in a lot of bad spots when you call with your draw, miss, then your opponent checks to you. Think about these contingencies beforehand, so you don’t find yourself in bad spots.

Large Pots

Remember, with large pots and a solid hand, your goal should be to win the pot. Trying to trap your opponent and having him hit a 4 outer is devastating and bad poker.

Drawing to Gutshots

Several conditions have to exist for you to draw to a gutshot straight draw:

1. There is not a two-flush on the board
2. It is cheap to draw
3. You are deep stacked
4. There might be a possibility that hitting a pair will win you the pot
5. Your opponent likes to play big pots and it is likely he has a big hand

Aggressiveness

Semi-bluffing

Don’t put yourself in a bad position by bluffing or semi-bluffing in a big pot too often.

Extracting Value

When you have a premium hand, stop and think how you can extract the most money from this type of opponent. Don’t just overbet and hope for a call.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sunday

Daily Results: +$125 w/ 7 games
Discipline: A…F.

Multitable some today because I was feeling pretty good. I felt I played fairly well, but I could definitely use some discipline work when multitabling. I’m usually way too loose aggressive, which is a recipe for disaster. The last game I played was only half an hour ago, and I was a bit drunk from the beer at Hooters.

Anyway, went +100, -50, +50, -50, +50, +100, -50. I should not play while intoxicated!

I thought a lot today about my mediocrity. I mean, c’mon, +$250 after 60 games with the minimum game of $50? Thats pathetic. I’m going to try to get back on track. If I pull $100/day average over the next week or two, I’ll feel happy about my performance.

Nichomacheo

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Saturday

Daily Results: +$247 w/ 14 games
Discipline: –

So, I made money today, sweet. Actually, in the past week (60 games), I’m up $235. Pretty bad, ha.

Lets take a look at the games I played today:

+50, -100, -100, +100, -200, +100, +500, +50, -100, +50, +100, +200, -200, -100. Bing. If the game was against the same person, its highlighted to mark that. Probably the most in rake ever today (about $100).

I’m kind of sick of poker. A few times the past few days I just want to quit playing because the games arent going my way. I’m in a rut, and thats okay. Thats part of poker. If I let it get to my head, I’m going to miss out on all the future money I can make.

I’m considering a break. A good week or so. I’ll give it some thought tonight.

Nichomacheo

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Quest is Over

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my life and poker over the last few days.

Two and a half weeks ago I started this quest of mine, $20k in 100 days. As a part time poker player, thats a lot of money. My success in August, when I averaged about $200/day, made me optimistic about the goal.

I’ve made $1750 in 20 days, or about $88/day. With the amount of games I’m playing at the $50 and $100 level, these are very poor results. I believe my less-than-stellar results are not merely the result of bad cards, and I’m going to try to explain why.

Quests require you to make a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time. This puts a lot of pressure on you to stay at or ahead of your pace. Knowing I had to average $200/day, I always felt pressure to play. Play early, play late, play between class. It didnt matter. Play all night! I had to play. Playing whenever I had free time, regardless of my mental state, caused terrible results. I would play till midnight because I had to reach my daily quota. I never play well when I am tired. Never. When I am tired, I play loose, and when I play loose-weak, and as you’d think would happen, I get a lot of “bad beats”.

To relieve this pressure, I’m going to stop the quest. I’m going to go back to concentrating on winning games and not making money. The money will come with good play.

I’m not going to play much for the next day or two. I need to get some sleep and do other things. Only then will I regain my composure and reach that 70%+ winrate agin.

Impatience destroys profits.

Nichomacheo

Day 16 Addendum

Daily Results: -$402.50 w/ 11 games
Discipline: Bleh

I was trying to sleep when Rob started playing. I was upset about the terrible run towards the end of the day and decided to see if any of my favorite fish were on. I played a $50, lost. This one guy, who I lost a $100 to earlier in the day, was playing $200s and blowing his money. This guy would min-raise preflop, then bet 3x the pot on 80% of flops. Needless to say, its not hard to win vs him. I got him down to 400 when he doubled up A8 vs AJ. Frusrtated, I pushed some hands I shouldnt have, he doubled up, pushed me around in Level 2 and 3, and won. My cards spit on me towards the end and I lost the game.

I felt terrible. I wanted to cash out all of my bankroll and stop playing poker. It wasnt right that this game was making me feel like crap. This quest has really put a lot of pressure on me to pull in the profits at a rate that is way above what I’ve ever been making. I feel like I have to play everyday, otherwise I’m letting myself down. That mindset of “must profit” actually makes me play worse.

I am a good grinder. I can destroy the $50s and I do pretty well at the $100s. Even the $200s arent so bad when I’m on top of my game. Recently, I’ve been so concerned with “catching up” that I lose focus on my ability which has netted me my great results recently.

$20k is ambitious. I want to stop this goal, but I’m not. I’ll continue until at least the end of September. If things dont improve and I’m still playing poorly, then I might take some time off, then just grind away, no goal.

I drank last weekend and I dont feel like it this weekend. If I play my A-game this weekend, especially on Fri/Sat night, I might be able to pull in some great profit.

We’ll see how it goes.

Nichomacheo

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Day 16

Daily Results: -$140 w/ 9 games
Discipline: Bleh

Played a mess load of $100 games today and went 3:4, plus 1:1 in $50s. I couldnt get anything going today. Cards were definitely not falling my way. I was also tired today and noticably slower than normal. Isnt that a hell of a coincidence that my bad beats happen when I’m exhausted? Right.

I definitely could have made $500 or so today if not for a few key hands that didnt go my way. I’m not that disappointed in the way I played, but towards the end my game trailed off a lot and I was playing poor poker.

I’m stopping now, because if I continue, it will just be more red.

Should play a bunch this weekend, hopefully get back on track.

Nichomacheo

$1157 off pace.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Day 15

Daily Results: +$90 w/ 4 games
Discipline: –

Didnt play too much today. Went 3:1 in $50s, but I should have stopped when I was 3:0 because I am noticably very tired and making poor decisions. I’m calling it a day because I know I’m tired as hell.

Side note: One of the mistakes I’ve been making recently is getting it all in with one pair versus call stations. I cant seem to get away from overpairs when there is a possibility my opponent missed his flush draw. But no, he called with T2 preflop and hit is 2 on the turn. All in? Be patient.

Also, 75% winrate at $50 games is about $22.50/game. A 66% winrate at $100 games is $28.33/game. My average is somwhere around $25/game, single tabling. When my confidence is fully restored, I’ll try multitabling and see how that affects it.

Nichomacheo

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Day 13, 14

Daily Results: +$535.00 w/ 19 games
Discipline: A

I played three games yesterday and sixteen today. Played very well until the last few games tonight, so I’m calling it a day. My buddies and I went out drinking last night, and I was a little hung over this morning and I should not have played. I broke even during those games, but I was lucky to do that. The afternoon I played exceptionally well. Like I said, the last few games tonight I broke even or lost a little bit.

I’m going to try not using bones anymore. If I find that its affecting my game, I’ll switch back. This week is pretty busy as far as school goes. Hopefully I can get my work done and keep pressing forward.

As far as the quest goes, I’ve made about $2100 and I should be around $2800. If I dont slack off and continue playing the amount of games I am currently, I should catch up soon enough. Its amazing how much not playing puts you behind. If I skip one day, I have to make $400 on another day to make up for it. Hard to do. But, not playing is better than playing shitty.

Nichomacheo

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Day 12

Daily Results: +13 w/ 24 games
Discipline: Okay.

Rob and I decided to play poker all night. We’re stopping at 2:30am, because, well, we have to be up in five hours. I played pretty well. My last eight games I broke even, which sucks, but its okay. Took some beats, but thats how it goes, especially past midnight. Good day today in terms of profit, and hopefully I can keep it up.

Nichomacheo

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Day 11

Daily Results: +5 w/ 5 games
Discipline: A

Went 5:0 today and I felt that I outplayed every opponent. I am very happy with my performance today. Here are some key hands. No tilting, solid play throughout. I was thinking everything through and playing very analytically. One of the things I noticed today was how much better my preflop selection standards were. I was folding a lot of garbage hands, that I have been playing recently. This has the double effect of having easier decisions postflop and your opponents give you more respect.

Hopefully my poor play is behind me and it stays behind me.

Nichomacheo

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Day 10

Daily Results: -1b w/ 10 games
Discipline: A

Well, today didnt go as I would have liked it to, but I am content with the results. Some of the games I lost were bad beats, but I did make some bad moves too. And, then again, some of the hands I consider bad beats were not really.

For example, I have TT, raise preflop, he calls. Flop is 78J. Bet, call. Turn is a king. Bet/call. I check river, he bets, I call, he has K9. So, he hit a 3 outer on the turn and I consider it a bad beat even though I called a decent river bet. Those frustrate me, but I didnt exactly play it well to begin with. Twice today, opponents came back to win after being below 250. One was at 120.

I feel like things are going to turn around. These ten days have barely been profitable compared to August. This is due to a combination of running badly and playing badly. I’m reganing my senses and analyzing things better. I started writing little maxims on various heads up topics, to keep my mind sharp and I think it will help me improve a lot.

Here’s to the next ten days.

Nichomacheo

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Day 9

Daily Results: +5 w/ 13 games
Discipline: All over

My god, I made money today, barely.

I played well early in the day. I had a revalation that suddenly made me realize why I havent been playing well recently. So, I played very well, until I took a bad beat, then I bumped around to end up where I was a lot earlier in the day, less the rake.

I cannot play for 4 hours and expect to be playing well towards the end. I played well for about the first two hours, but then it went downhill.

I’ll elaborate later on what I realized today, because I think its fundamental to me doing well in the future.

Nichomacheo!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Regaining the Pace

Getting back on Track

I will only play poker between 7-11:30pm
I will not play an opponent more than once if I had any difficulty with the first match
I will stop playing when I know that I am playing poorly

Another observation: today, I went 5:1 during my first six matches, and 1:5 during my last six. The point? I do not have the poker stamina to play for five hours and maintain a solid, profitable game.

> Nichomacheo

Day 8

Daily Results: -1b w/ 12 games
Discipline: ?

I suck at poker. Really. I dont make any correct decisions anymore. I doubt every move I make and expect my opponents to suckout every time. I am playing horrible players, but I lose, and lose, and lose. And, the worst part is, its not all bad beats… I am not paying attention to the history, the board texture, my image, his style, second and third level thinking… Frustration is setting in.

Bleh,
Nichomacheo

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Day 7 — Sunday

Daily Results: +3b w/ 10 games
Discipline: All over

The amount of beats I am taking is sickening. I cant get anything going like I did last month. I think its a combination of running badly and playing poorly as a result. Its this downward spiral once I get a bad beat. It makes me loosen up my standards a bit, which causes a lot more variance in terms of winnings, which I interpret as bad beats, and so on. Needless to say, by the end of the evening I was playing piss-poor poker. Rob, thanks for stopping me from continuing.

I’m definitely in a rut right now. I feel confident that I can makeup for my shortcomings as far as this quest goes. I’ve made $836 in seven days, $564 shy of where I need to be. Not a big deal at all. I need to get some sleep, re-read some of my poker books, and start playing a solid game again.

Which brings me to my next poing: an intermediate goal. Focusing on daily profits is an ugly, ugly way to play. So, I am going to start a new goal on top of this one, and that is to win 66% of my next 100 games, starting tomorrow. When the $20k quest ends, I will probably do quests that are exclusively based on win rate. I’m not sure how to set it up other than “Achieve x% in n games”, but I think its a smarter way to play.

Tomorrow begins the return of poker talent.

Nichomacheo

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Day 4

Daily Results: -3b w/ 11 games + $127 NL cash = -$60 on the day
Discipline: F

I suck at poker and I dont know what I am doing anymore.

I’m so frustrated right now. I start out playing well, then get a few bad beats, then my game goes to shit. Since I started this quest business I have been playing horribly. All I can think about is “Must make $200 today…” and it makes me play terribly. This quest bullshit messes me up. I’m still going to do it though.

So, I checked my record since the quest started, and I’m 6:6 in $50s, 9:8 in $100s, 3:0 in $100s. What happened to 73% winrate? Its a combination of daily quotas, running badly, and playing badly. After 4 days, I’m up $632, which is $167 short of what I should be at. If not for the $200s and my cash win today, I’d be down. Not a big deal at all. I’m not going to play tomorrow or Saturday. On Sunday, Day 7, I’ll pick it up again because I really, really need a break. I’m playing shitty and I know it.

A few observations that might help me in the future…

Dont play immediately after classes. I’m tired as hell and eager to play. A horrible combination, and I always lose.
I’ve said it a million times: dont play while tired. I think a good rule of thumb is that if I can lie down and fall asleep within 5 minutes, I probably shouldnt be playing.
As far as my game goes…
- Speculative hands should not be raised every time
- I should not make it a habit of calling a big bet with third pair, especailly if I’ve already done it in the match
- If I take a bad beat and it eventually costs me the game, I ought to take a break.
- Dont be in a rush to end the games. They should not be ending in Level I unless I have a great read or a great hand.
- Stop trying to push people off their hands frequently. It only gets me into trouble.
- Stop bluffing and semi-bluffing call stations. They will call if you miss and call if you make it, so dont fight for that small pot.
- Focus on hand reading. Thats why I did so well last month. Multi-level thinking. Now all I can think is “A8s is a pretty hand”. Wtf.
- Take a day off during the week. I’ll be profitable in the long run.

Sunday, I’m going to start in full swing and hopefully get back on track. I know I can do it, I just need to regain my composure.

Until then,
Nichomacheo

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Day 3

Daily Results: +8b w/ 9 games
Discipline: All over

Today went like every other day. I start out playing very well (I almost always do at the beginning of a session). I found myself up $200 after five games. I played a horrible player for the second time (first was $50, second $100). The first hand of the game is posted below. As stupid as that hand was, it put me on tilt slightly. Anyway, next game, my friend comes by and decides he wants to watch. Now, I know I dont play well with others watching, but I obliged, and lost in level 4 to a mediocre opponent. That put me even on the day.

Now, to play or not to play? The same player, who I have played a few months back and destroyed, signed up for a $200, and I played and won, but with difficulty (I was down to t500 or so at one point). So, I’m back at +$200. I see someone register for another $200 who I dont recognize, and I decide to play, figuring, what the fuck? He was fairly tight-aggressive which is generally good, but he was too aggressive. For example, he’d raise to 60 PF, I’d re-raise to 180, he’d re-raise to 500. Very exploitable. I slow played some hands and let him see it and he slowed down a lot. A few good hands and some good play later, I won the match. One of the interesting hands I posted below. Its not a move I pull often, but I felt he was giving me enough respect that the situation was right. So, up 8b.

One thing I noticed is that when I am missing everything, I start to get very impatient and my game goes to hell. I need to maintain focus when the cards arent running my way. I could have easily been down 4b today, but because a few key hands went my way, I’m up 8. I said I wouldnt play $200s, but they are sure saving me at the end of the day right now. Sigh.

Leak: Playing too many non-suited large-gapped cards against opponents who dont get overly involved in pots.

Leak: C-betting medium boards with high cards (against wary opponents) when I miss too frequently.

Hand 1:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (2 handed)

Button (t1500)
Hero (t1500)
Preflop: Hero is BB with 3h, 7d.
Button calls t10, Hero checks.

Flop: (t40) 6h, 4h, 7h (2 players)
Hero bets t40, Button calls t40.

Turn: (t120) 9s (2 players)
Hero bets t60, Button calls t60.

River: (t240) 5h (2 players)
Hero bets t200, Button raises to t1380, Hero calls t1180 (All-In).

Final Pot: t3000

He had 3d 8h for the higher straight flush. Yuck.

Hand 2:
PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com
BB (t750)
Hero (t2250)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 8s, 9d.
Hero calls t15, BB raises to t90, Hero calls t60.

Flop: (t180) 7d, 5c, 3c (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (t180) Qd (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.
Based on how he played, I think he bets a queen here. Also, I’ve check-checked two pair to the river early, so he knows I am capable of having a hand here. Also, by not betting earlier, he cant put me on a busted flush draw. However, at the same time, he might wonder why I wouldnt bet two-pair on a flush-draw board. I think, in general, thats something I worry about too much.

River: (t180) 5d (2 players)
BB bets t90, Hero raises to t2160, BB folds.
It seemed too much like “I’m gonna give it a shot”. He cant call here without a queen (and even then, he might fold a weak kicker), or a five.

Final Pot: t2430

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Day 2

Daily Results: +9b w/ 12 games
Discipline: A-F

I’m going to keep track of my daily results because I dont play well when I’m not accountable for my results. Its too easy to say “I’ll play well tomorrow” or other nonsense. I played a lot today and while my results were positive, I’m disappointed in them. I couldnt get anything good going the whole evening. There were a lot of suckouts both ways and I wasnt playing my A-game.

I played one guy 5 times. Went 2:2 in $100s, and then took him for a $200 when I suckedout A5 vs AK in Level 4. Then I played another guy and went 3:1 in the $100s. I find myself getting frustrated when I lose games which is a symptom of being on subtle tilt.

I also have somewhat given up on multitabling. I dont play well at all. I know they are very profitable if I can play them well, but I’m not sure I’m talented enough to multitable and play my regular game. I suppose it would take practice, but right now all I’m really interested in is the money.

Thats the classic tradeoff: improvement vs profits.

Nichomacheo

Monday, September 04, 2006

Day 1 Report

I played pretty well early today, quickly getting up a few games. Then, I tried to multitable, lost both of those, then semi-tilted away the money I had made, putting me down on the day. To be learned: 1) Dont multitable unless I’m feeling 100%. 2) After losing to some bad beats, take a break.

I’m frustrated right now. I played a guy 7 times tonight, and went 3:4. What a waste of time. I really should not have played him more than twice, since he was a decent player. I really need better control if I’m going to achieve this goal.

Nichomacheo

August by the Numbers

August Results:

$50s……………….112:39 (74%)….Net: $3273……ROI: 41%…….$/Game: $21
$100s……………..43:16 (73%)……Net: $2405…..ROI: 39%…….$/Game: $41
$200s……………..8:5 (62%)……….Net: $470…….ROI: 17%……..$/Game: $36

Total………………163:60 (73%)….Net: $6148……ROI: 36%……..$/Game: $27

Duration………………..54.5h or 2.5/day for 24 days
$/hr……………………….$112
$/hr Adjusted………..$78

$/hr Adjusted is like factoring your driving time to work into your hourly wage. Thats as much detail as I’ll go into, but its a more accurate reflection of my true $/hr.

There is a lot to be learned from these numbers. If anyone has any insightful comments, please post a comment.

EDIT: Played a bunch of $100 HU tonight and won 11b. I’ve been a fool for not playing these more often during the evening hours. Also multitabled 2 of them to try it out. Definitely doable, but I need a lot of practice in being patient during the matches. Music helped. Wont play again till Monday/Tuesday.

ALSO: Check out RobP3’s quest. Here’s a quote: “I have been thinking… tomorrow I start the race to 200k (I’m competing against Bill Ivey)… currently I am in the lead, but I don’t want to let that go to my head.”

Nichomacheo

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Reflection on Poker

The Future

I’m not going to play poker until sometime next week. I’ve been very tired lately and my performance, while positive, has been subpar. I feel that a break would definitely help me in the long run.

I’ve been throwing around the idea of a quest. A lot of people have been doing it, but I’m not sure whether its a good idea. It seems that it focuses too much on daily results because you have to gauge whether you are on track to achieve the goal in the time left. On the other hand, having a goal keeps you focused. So, to have a quest and not be affected by poor daily results would be ideal.

With that in mind, this is what I’ve been thinking about doing: $20,000 in 100 days. If I start playing next week, that’ll put me till about mid-December, when I have winter break anyway. If I maintain my current results, $20k is hard, but doable. If my luck has run out, it’ll be a bit more challenging. $200/day doesnt seem too bad, but when you throw in a few bad days here and there, it really affects your daily average. On the other hand, if I do well multitabling, I might achieve this goal before 100 days. So it could go either way. I think its a worthwhile objective.

In order to make sure I’m not too affected by daily results, this is what I am thinking about doing: Each Sunday, when I start playing, I check my bankroll and note it in my Excel sheet. I play the entire week, but dont check my bankroll again till the following Saturday, following my last game. In addition, I will have a program running in the background that keeps track of how many minutes/day I play. So, at the end of the week, I’ll be able to post something like “+$1200 in 387m” or whatever. This lets me keep track of how I am doing in a big picture sense, but I won’t be struggling with poor daily results.

HUSNG Software

This is what I have so far:

You can click on the image for a higher resolution. I went with the HUD-look for the stats because I like the way those developers designed it. I’ve used this software several times while playing (it updates after each hand). I’ve noticed that while it is a useful tool to have, keeping it open while playing actually hurts your play because you’re not focusing on the other aspects of your opponent’s game. So, I think I will have it hidden by default, but I’ll be able to check it every few minutes just to gauge the game. This method of play-and verify will be very helpful multitabling.

I want this to be as useful as possible but not cumbersome. If anyone has any ideas, please post a comment. I’ll make it available for others to use eventually.

OODA Loop
I came across this concept called the OODA loop: Observe-Orient-Decide-Act, which I think is very, very useful Heads Up. Good players do this automatically, but its a good read anyway:

“Knowledge of the strategic environment is the first priority. Secondly, one must be able to interact with the environment and those within it appropriately. You must be able to observe and orient yourself in such a way that you can indeed survive and prosper by shaping the environment where possible to your own ends, by adapting to it where you must. Doing so requires a complex set of relationships that involve both isolation and interaction. Knowing when each is appropriate is critical to your success. In OODA Loop fashion, one must continually observe, orient, decide and act in order to achieve and maintain freedom of action and maximize the chances for survival and prosperity. One does so through a combination of rapidity, variety, harmony, and initiative. It is these that are the core of “Boyd’s Way.” Rapidity of action or reaction is required to maintain or regain initiative. Variety is required so one is not predictable, so there is no pattern recognition for a foe to allow him to know of your actions in advance and thus plan to defeat them. Harmony is the fit with the environment and others operating in it. Initiative—taking charge of your own destiny—is required if one is to master circumstances rather than be mastered by them. All of course, would be focused on attaining the specified Objective that is implicit in this discussion.” (THE ESSENTIAL BOYD by Grant T. Hammond

Edited to Add: maxv2’s blog. People will read.

Nichomacheo

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Wk4 – Tuesday

Daily Results: -2b w/ 1 games
Discipline: A

Worked a lot on my software today. It is coming along nicely. Only played 1 game so far, which I lost while even stacked as a 9:1 favorite, all in on the turn:

AhAs vs QhJs
Kh Jc 2h 3h

But hey, it happens. Frustrating? You bet. Am I going to go fuming into a $200 game? Nah. Not anymore.

Nichomacheo

Monday, August 28, 2006

Wk4 – Monday

Daily Results: +6b w/ 5 games
Discipline: B

Worked a lot on my new software today. I started using it during my NLSNG matches and I think its definitely a useful tool to have. It updates live during the matches:

The program is in its infancy, but as I make sense of all the numbers I can simplify the data at the bottom of the window. I’m requesting input on a single preflop aggression equation. Comments on this blog or the 2+2 post would be appreciated. What I’ve noticed so far is that limp % and raise 2x % is such a good indicator of ability, but, of course, everyone knows that. Multitabling though, its easy to lose track of your opponents. This software has a lot of potential.

Nichomacheo

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Wk4 – Sunday

Daily Results: +5b / 6 games
Discipline: A

Went 5:1, losing the last game to an overly aggressive player.

Worked some on my new software; its coming along nicely.

This will be a slow week. I’ve made my goal, so I’m not going to worry about playing too many games. It took me Saturday and Sunday to make up my Friday loss. Blowing your money in a tilt session is so incredibly bad. Thankfully, it wasnt that bad.

Next week I’ll start up strong.

I’ve decided that I’m going to start posting daily dollar total and time played vs bones and number of games. So, come next week, I’ll post like “+$286 in 100m”. I started using bones to diminish the value of money, but I think I’ve sufficiently desensitized myself in the last month. The biggest reason I’m doing this is so I dont have to keep track of player names and the results of each game, like I currently do. Multitabling and doing that would just be a hassle.

I’ve made a lot of progress in my psychology this month and I’m proud of that.

If I do semi-well multitabling the $50s, I throw in some $100s too, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Till soon,
Nichomacheo

Saturday, August 26, 2006

August Winding Down

I spent a lot of time thinking about poker yesterday.

$200’s EV.
I have the potential to make a nice sum of money playing poker. Playing $200 games while I’m tired or not playing my A-game is a horrendous mistake. What I realized is that even though my record before yesterday was 8:2 in the $200s, they are actually not profitable for me to play right now. This may seem counter intuitive given my profits, but let me explain. When I win a $200, I feel spectacular and at the top of the world. When I lose a $200, I feel like complete crap. After I lose the game, the next two or three days is affected by my loss. If I had not played the $200 in the first place, I’m positive my $EV($200) < $EV(next few days) because of the probability of a loss. To sum it up: Right now I am not comfotable playing the $200s and my loss in profit after I lose a game outweights the value of winning the $200. I’m not going to stop playing them completely, but I’m going to make sure that the opponents are sufficiently bad before I venture into them. That, of course combined with a pure mental state of mind.

Schedule.
During the school week there are days where I dont have much class work for the next day or two. So, I get done with class and am eager to play. I’m realizing how bad of a move that is. It would seem that playing a few hours during the day and then playing again at night would be profitable because I’m playing more games, but its complicated. When I play during the day I am weary and tired. If I lose, which I do more than average after class, then I wont play my A-game that night. Similarly, even if I do squeak out a profit, I’ll be worn out after a short time of playing at night, and I lose profit then. From now on, I will get my work done before 7pm, and then play from 7-11pm as many nights as possible. Realistically, I think this schedule will be the most profitable for me.

HUSNG Software.
I’ve been considering making software that aids in Heads Up SNGs. The software would attach itself to the PokerStars window and it would provide live analysis of the game. It would not analyze individual hands, but it would look for general patterns in my opponent’s play. I could see quickly what he’d done the last 15 hands, including preflop raises, limping, continuation-betting, raising OOP, etc. Most of the statistics would be from preflop actions, but its also going to have the ability to display tendencies that you recognize in your opponent, such as “Min bets”, “Call station”, “Likes action” etc. As I’m playing, I can display these on the little window that is attached to the tournament.

Whats the point? I’m going to start multitabling soon and I know I am going to have trouble keeping track of my opponent’s playing styles. Especially once one game ends, I open up another, but am still thinking about the tournament that was just in that window. A huge strength in my game is my adjustment to my opponents, and multitabling will encourage me to play ABC poker, which is not as unprofitable Heads Up. This software will allow me to easily keep track of my opponents, letting me play the best I can against them.

August Goals

$6000 monthly total ($330 more)
Build prototype of HUSNG helper so that I can use it in September while I multitable.

Not a lot of poker. I need a break to regain my composure. That, combined with this program, should be very profitable once I get back into the full swing of things.

For those of you that watch me, I’ll probably be playing a lot of $5 HU while I test my software.

Nichomacheo

EDIT:

Daily Results: +5b / 7 games
Discipline: B

Played seven $50s, won 6.

I also spent a few hours working on this program and the more I work on it, the more useful I think it will be. I’ll post screen shots when its presentable.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Wk3 – Phenomenal Friday

Daily Results: -10b w/ 6 games
Discipline: F

OK.

Got back from class and played a $100, won. Played a $100 vs the fish I played in the $200 yesterday, won. Played a $200, lost. Played another $200. While playing that game, I see the first $200 fish sign up, so I register for a second $200. Multitabling $200s, wee. I lose them both. Play a 4-man $100, lose. From +$200 to -$500 in about 40 minutes.

I mean, thats fair. I wasnt playing 100% after I lost the first $200 and I should not have played a single $200, let alone two of them at once. Tilt. Major tilt for the first time in a long time.

Week 3 Results Sunday-Thursday
$50…………… 29:5
$100…………. 8:2
$200…………. 3:1
Total…………. 40:8 (83%)
ROI…………… 55%
Profit…………. $2025
$/Game…….. $42

Week 3 Results with Today
$50…………… 29:5
$100…………. 10:3
$200…………. 3:4
Total…………. 42:12 (77%)
ROI…………… 32%
Profit…………. $1480
$/Game…….. $27

August Net Results (Aug 4th – Aug 25th):

$50…………… 97:38
$100…………. 38:10
$200…………. 8:5
Total…………. 143:53 (73%)
ROI…………… 38%
Profit…………. $5671
$/Game…….. $29

This is definitely worth some discussion. My tilt session today was devestating in terms of dollars lost in a single session of poker. Worst ever. And yet, my results today merely negate what I made on Tuesday. Its like I feel a $500 loss about three times as much as a feel a $500 win. I should not have played after I lost the $200. In fact, in the future, I should make it a point to take a nice break after I lose a $200. Part of me wants to say, screw it, no more $200s. The fact is though that when I am playing well I can beat them. But when I’m on tilt they are a profit destroyer.

My goal for the remainder of the month is $6500. The funny thing is that I was at that today before I went tilting away my money. So, over the next few days I’m going to grind it out, make the $6500 and then take a break for a little while. I need to regain my composure because I cant do this again, ever, period.

Sigh,
Nichomacheo

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Wk3 – Thursday Bleh

Daily Results: +1b w/ 10 games
Discipline: D

Went 7:3 today. Except one of the three was a 4b. My opponent was very aggressive and I was way too loose preflop. He was not very good, but I didnt play well. I deserved to lose that game and I didnt let myself down. After that, I play slightly on tilt the rest of the night. Never could pull anything together. I told myself I shouldnt play anymore, but I did anyway.

I’m getting burned out trying to make everyday live up to my best days. Like today I see as a failure when in reality, its just part of the game. I cant win them all. My crazy-good results this week fool me into think that can be a constant reality. Some days will be mediocre. I might even have to put something up in red one day (!?!). I cant let it affect me because otherwise it’ll threaten the money I have the potential to make in the future.

For everything I’ve said about overcoming tilt, I think it just seems that way because I’ve been running well. I still have the tendency. Today I felt that sick feeling that I used to have when I’d go -$50, -$50, -$100 and sign up for a $200. Its this sickening feeling that you do not have control over yourself. I hope it never happens again.

Tomorrow I will play again.

Nichomacheo

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Wk3 – Wednesday – Recognizing Poor Play

Daily Results: +5b w/ 5 games
Discipline: A

I played five $50 games and went 5:0 in them. The last game lasted until 50/100 and it definitely should not have. With a 2100 stack we got it all in on the flop and I had to hit a 2-outer to win the damn thing. Generally, if I have to suckout on a bad opponent, I am not playing well. So, I’m going to do the professional thing and stop for the day.

I’ve been running extremely hot. There’s part of me that wants to believe that its a fluke– no one runs this well; I must be getting lucky more than my fair amount. The other part wants to believe that I am just that good. In reality, its a combination of both. I’ve been playing smart, aggressive poker with great reads. But, at the same time, I havent run my TT-QQ hands into a overpair preflop. I havent had to take many coin flips and the ones I do take, I win at the right times. My cards are generally holding up when they should. Realistically, I will continue to do well but my win rate will decrease and my daily profit will average out to what it realistically should be.

The quote today is mine, spoken like a true poker philosopher:

“You havent mastered the art of luck yet.” – Nichomacheo to RobP3

I’ve decided that every time I win $2500, I’m going to cash out $2000. That way I continue to build my bankroll, but its not unnecessarilly large. I’m not sure whether I ever want to play a $500 game. That might sound ridiculous considering how well I’ve been doing, but, I take the money seriously, and $500 is just too much to risk on a small edge. My results will be consistent, but I will never make six figures per year doing this grinding out in $50 and $100 games.

At least thats how I feel now. If multitabling goes well next month, everything could change.

Stay tuned —
Nichomacheo

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Wk3 – Tuesday, Grinding, Ooooooooooh

Daily Results: +10b w/ 10 games
Discipline: B+

Went -$100, +$50, +$100, +$50, +$50, +$50, +$100, +$50, +$50, +$100 for 9:1. Not a bad run. I’ve only played 3 days so far this week and already it has been my best week ever. I’m crushing the games right now and the money is becoming life-changing. No more bumping around the $20s and making mediocre spending money. Since I started this blog I’ve been playing very well. I think a big part of it is my tilt, or lack thereof. I used to tilt constantly. I’d let each game affect the next. If I’d lose a $50, I’d feel that I had to play a $100 to make up for my loss. Needless to say, I spent a long time with a mediocre profit.

To put things in perspective: I started playing in February 2005. I played about 1000 games in 2005 and made a whopping $3600. January 2006-April 2006 I pulled in $5k in 500 games, which I was extatic about. I scored $1200 in a $10 MTT and damn, did that feel good. I played only a little bit in June and July, pulling in about $2k. Everything considered, I made about $11k in 18mo. This month I’ve made close to $6k and there is still a week left. Man does it feel good. Poker has become a grind, but I dont mind as long as its not negatively effecting the rest of my life.

In other news, I’ve been talking to Ooooooooooh, someone I spotted in the high stakes HU games a week or two ago. We got to talking and he’s a cool guy. I was talking to him about how my blog has helped me, and I guess he decided to make one. You can check it out from the link at the top of this blog.

To end:

“There is no point to being awake if you can’t play poker” -Rob “The Crusher” P3

Um, yeah. I’m sending this link to your girlfriend.

Nichomacheo

Monday, August 21, 2006

Wk3 – Monday

Daily Results: +14b w/ 8 games
Discipline: B-

I played very well today and went +1b, +1b, -1b, +1b, +2b, +2b, +4b, +4b. I thought it was going to be a slow night, but my late-evening games proved to be very profitable for me. I had three coin flips preflop all day and I won all, which is essential for having a great daily profit.

I’m becoming more comfotable in the $200s, but thats only because I’m like 10:1 in them in the last month. While that may seem like an argument to move up quicker, I still am not at-ease while playing. When my opponents are aggressive, which they usually are at that level, I have to rely on luck more than I want to.

AND I got some homework and reading done this afternoon. This is probably ridiculous , but having poker at night makes me more effecient at getting schoolwork done during the day. For me, if I bombed my classes because of poker, I’d feel disappointed in myself. So, keeping up my grades, crushing poker, and maintaing a great relationship with my girlfriend is essential for my well-being.

Weeeee,
Nichomacheo

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Wk3 – Sweet Sunday

Daily Results: +14b w/ 15 games
Discipline: ??

So, last night I went out with my buddies and we got pretty drunk. I slept from 3am-11am last night. Most of the morning and early afternoon I felt like shit because I was hungover. I got back around 3ish, played for a few hours with mixed results. I lost a few games I shouldnt have because I made bad decisions. Nonetheless, I picked it up towards the end and found myself up 7b. I went out to dinner with my family, came back, and didnt lose a game. 14b is the best I’ve ever done in a day. Its a great way to start the week. Coincidence that I have my best day the day after I take a break? I think not. Breaks are +++EV.

On a side note, I planned to get all my school work done for the upcomming week done today. How much did I do? None. In order to play every night I have to get my work done early so its not a concern when 7pm rolls around. Tomorrow, I will make it my goal to work as much as possible from my last class, around 2, till 6, when I go to dinner. Ideally, I get a lot done so I can play more poker ;)

Oh, and some mod at 2+2 suspended my account for 3 days because I was “spamming” my blog. All I actually did was include a link to this blog in my signature. I was warned, fair, but still, I dont get it. Blogs spark discussion. A forum is for discussion. So, yeah.

Tomorrow is another day,
Nichomacheo

Friday, August 18, 2006

Week 2 Results

Week 2 Results:

$50…………… 26:15
$100…………. 16:3
$200…………. 3:0
Total…………. 45:18 (71%)
ROI…………… 47%
Profit…………. $2,222.50
$/Game…….. $35

August Net Results (thru Aug 18th):

$50…………… 68:33
$100…………. 28:7
$200…………. 5:1
Total…………. 101:41 (71%)
ROI…………… 41%
Profit…………. $4192
$/Game…….. $29

Its interesting to note that I’ve made $1500 in $50s, $1925 in $100s and $740 in $200s. Judging from this, my time is best spent in the $100s (Not enough data to make conclusions about the $200s). I feel a lot more comfortable and I will try to include the $100s as a larger percentage of my game selection in the future.

At this rate, I think its safe to say that I will make around $6500-$7500 this month from heads up SNGs (I desired to make $3000 and I wasnt sure if I could even do that). Next month I plan to two-table the $50s and see how well I can do at that. Even if I drop in $/game, if my $/hr increases significantly it can be very profitable.

This all assumes I can maintain my current level of play, which might be a challenge as the weeks go on. Stay tuned to watch the Nichomachean Grind play out.

Till…. Sunday,
Nichomacheo

Friday Donk Session

Daily Results: +4b w/ 11 games
Discipline: D+ ;)

I should not be up any money today. I should not have won most of the games I did. I am a fish today! At least my roommate says so. “You were a donk today,” he said.

The problem was that after playing so much lately I feel like I can win with any two cards. Especially if they are suited. Gutshots are awesome too. I can definitely hit those more often than statistics would tell you is possible. I’m tired and its affecting my judgement. For the first time in a long time, I took the dime I was fiddling with while playing and threw it when my opponent sucked out on me. I played horribly today but thanks to a nice run of cards I managed to keep it green on the day.

I started off by going +50, -50, -50, -50. That should have been my first warning. I rarely lose two in a row, let alone three. Then, somehow, I went +50, +50, +100, +100, +100. To finish it off, -50, -50. A lot of poker, not a lot of profit. I’ve become a call station. Tomorrow I will not play. I will start again on Sunday evening and hopefully I will have regained my senses so that I can continue my success.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Thursday

Daily Results: +7b w/ 5 games
Discipline: A+

I went 5:0 today which is spectacular. After my last game where I saw my beautiful stats:

Pots won at showdown – 10 of 29 (34%)

I am deciding to call it quits right now before I start throwing away all my money. There were a few hands this last game where I thought I had one hand but I actually had another. I am not thinking straight and thats undoubetedly due to my 5 hours of sleep last night and no power nap today. I decided this afternoon, when I was feeling well, that I’d play rather than sleep. Now that I’m back I realize how tired I am and how bad it would be to keep playing. My results today are stellar and I want to end the day on a good note. Thats the discipline I have been seeking.

Bankroll: $12331. Cashing out $2000…

I was reading the 2+2 August issue and I came upon this by David Sklansky:

It is not “discipline.” It is a common theme among non-successful players that their one weakness is “steaming” or “going on tilt” when they are losing. And there is no doubt that they do. This of course clearly hurts them. To play less than your best game at all times costs money. And bad players do it all the time. So do a few pros. Agreed. But marginal aspiring pros almost never do. It is common sense. Think about it. It is completely obvious that you need discipline to achieve maximum long tern results. And being disciplined takes no special skill. My mother could do it from day one. The only downside to it is that being disciplined means you are less likely to “get even” on days you are big loser. Which is why many amateurs and a few pros sometimes steam. But it is hard for me to believe that very good (but not great) players whose best game will earn them a nice living, and who in fact aspire to that, would throw it all away by making an irrefutable mistake. It wouldn’t be hard to resist the natural inclination to play looser to try and get even for the day if such practices could ruin your whole career.

While I disagree about the discipline part, I think he’s right on the ball when he says that very good players who aim to make a decent income at poker would tilt away their money.

I’ll no doubt play each day this weekend, but it’ll be slow going and much different than the weekly results. I’ve got to get my homework done sometime…

My results for this week will be nothing short of amazing. I’ll post that when I finish the day on Saturday.

Till tomorrow,
Nichomacheo

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Wednesday

Daily Results: +7b w/ 9 games
Discipline: B

Nothing spectacular to mention today. I played a 2b and lost with AA vs KT preflop, even stacked in Level I. So I followed the guy to a 4b and won for a +2b total vs him. Its not the best way to think about the situation, but if he hadnt won the 2b, he wouldnt have played the 4b and I’d still be +2b. The problem with thinking of it that way is that if I had lost the 4b, I’d be -6b because he hit the 4 outer in the 2b. Get it? Neither do I. Haha.

I downloaded the newest version of PokerStars today with resizable tournament windows. Since I dont multitable and I have a 24″ monitor anyway, I dont need this. The tournament windows are noticable more blurry than the older version… eye sore. I do like the ability to switch seats in the heads up matches… left is where its at.

Bankroll is $11998 and I said I’m cashing out at $12000. So, tomorrow, yeah. First cashout this year… I should celebrate by playing a $5k vs leemur. Righto…

Tired now,
Nichomacheo

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Tuesday

Daily Results: +12b w/ 15 games
Discipline: B+

I played a lot of games today. I started off the day 0:3 in 1b games. I went to take a nap, but I was like, “Those were bullshit losses, I am okay.” So, I got back in the groove and played most of the evening.

One thing I noticed that I need to improve on is taking too big of risks in Level I. Its the worst feeling having 400 chips after 3 hands for any reason other than two monster hands. Too often I bluff or call down with mediocre holdings (without a read) because I have my opponent set on two specific cards. My greatest advantage in poker is my ability to pick up betting styles and recognizing how my opponents react on various textured flops. I make the connections and it usually leads me in the right direction. But if I’m making calls that I need to have a read to make and I dont have a read, I’m bound to lose games that I shouldnt.

So, mistake of the day: Risking too many chips in Level I without a read on my opponent.

I’m going to try to do this “mistake of the day” everyday because I really want to improve as the days and weeks go on.

Tomorrow is Wednesday.
Nichomacheo

Monday, August 14, 2006

Monday

Daily Results: +7b w/ 8 games
Discipline: B+

I’m on tilt a bit simply because of the last game I played. My opponent was a call station who are normally very easy to take advantage of, but my cards were not cooperating. Whenever I had a hand, he had a better hand. Except the times he called me with jack high on a AKTxx board and I raise preflop. My god. No more poker today, I’d play horribly if I played again.

I’ve been doing very well again. My goal was 2b/day consistently. I’m far exceeding that currently. My challenge will be to maintain this winrate indefinitely.

Tomorrow is another day,
Nichomacheo

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Sunday, Nice Start

Daily Results: +12b w/ 13 games
Discipline: C+

OK, so, I started off the day on another break even run. I couldnt hit a flop, a draw, anything. Yet, I pretending I did, and I lost a few games because of it. I was slightly on tilt, which is why I’m giving myself the C+ rating for discipline today. Once I started winning, I felt much better and played a better game. Which is why I’m considering starting the day with 1b games because the psychological effect a “win” has (to start with) is beneficial to my state of mind for the rest of the day.

I got to playing one of my favorite people, who will go unnamed, who I won $200, $100, and $200 from (then he promptly left). I checked out this guy’s stats on SharkScope, and he’s down $24000 in $50-$200 HU. So, playing him is always helpful. Its a good start to what hopefully will be a great week.

I’ve been thinking of cashing out and I’ve decided whenever I get to $12000 I’m going to cash out $2000. That’ll keep my bankroll comfortably large but not unnecessarilly so. This game is worth nothing unless I do cash some of it out ever now and then…

Till tomorrow,
Nichomacheo

Saturday, August 12, 2006

A Long Sigh

Well, in the last 3 days I’ve played 27 games. Result? $0. I started off so well, and now I’ve fallen into a rut, triggered by a series of bad beats. I’m play poorly and I know it. But what do I do? Play again! What a bad way to play poker. I’m on “subtle tilt” and its affect every decision I make.

Anyway, I’ve been back for 1 week. Here’s some stats:

$10…………… 3:0
$50…………… 42:18
$100…………. 12:4
$200…………. 2:1
Total…………. 59:23 (72%)
ROI…………… 36%
Profit…………. $1968, 44b (w/o rake), (39b w/rake)
$/Game…….. $24 (the last 3 days brought it way down)

To put things in perspective, I won $5000 from Jan-April last semester in 500 games.

I need to address something right now though, because if I dont, I’m going to lose out on a lot of cash. The issue is playing when I know I am not playing well. For me, when I dont get enough sleep (and thats probably around 8hr/day), I dont think straight. For example, I went out with my buddies last night. One of them, I had 3 classes with yesterday. So, I ask “Hey are we in any classes together?” Oops. Brain fart. When I play poker in this mental sluggishness I make a lot of bad decisions. The worst part is that I know I am playing badly, but I tell myself “I won’t let it affect me next game, really.” Meanwhile, during my last $27 games I’m exactly even. My first 27 games I was up $900. Thats not variance. Thats weariness manifesting itself in my poker game. So, from now on, my goal will not be profit. My goal is to have the discipline not to play when I know I am not playing well. If I can follow this simple (yet deceptively hard) goal, the profit will follow.

Till tomorrow,
Nichomacheo

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Thursday Results

Daily Results: +0b w/ 9 games
Discipline: C-

The $200 loss really set me back for the day, both in terms of profit and in terms of state-of-mind. I’m still slightly on tilt, and I kept playing regardless because I didnt want to be down on the day. This kind of strategy is why I had so much trouble making a good profit in my earlier days of online poker. I’d do something stupid like, -$50, -$50, so… play $100! Its a god-awful approach to heads up poker and in the long term its a losing strategy.

Anyway, I went, -$200, +$50, +$50, -$50, +$50, +$50, -$50, +$50, +$50. Mediocre results, even with a 66% win rate.

I think my mediocre play today can be attributed to several things:

Losing the $200 as a 4-1 favorite set me up with a losing state of mind
Which was magnified by my tiredness (first day of class, had to wake up at 6am)
And compounded by my recent run which has me in a no-loss state-of-mind

This led to bluffing calling stations, super-loose preflop standards, disregard for position, lack of attention to my opponent’s tendencies and an overall pessimistic outlook of the game.

And that is why is so essential to get a good night’s sleep.

With that,
Goodnight.

Nichomachean Tilt

First day of class was today.

After my last class, I found a fish in the $200s and played. He was decent. I was down to 600 quickly after not paying close enough attention to position and I was playing too many unsuited connectors OOP. I worked back up after getting more aggressive at 25/50 and we were even, then I was up to 2600 when he hit a flush vs my full house. He doubled up with 33 vs K9 to 800ish. At this point, the blinds were 50/100. He got back to even and I offered a chop, which he turned down. We got it all in KdQd vs his KhTh. Flop was 3d8d8h. Runner hearts ended my game. So, I’m on tilt. I played a $50 and almost donked off my money. Sigh. I can barely sit still.
No more poker for a few hours.

Discipline: F
Profit so far: -3b, which, realistically, is nothing. It was the way I lost that set me off.

By the way,

In the $50, my opponent was pretty horrible. I asked to play a $200 and he said no, $2000. I sharkscoped him and his results were dismal and he had lost a lot in the $200 level. He never registered, which he said he would, but would I have played him? Probably. Would that be a good idea? Definitely not with my current state of mind. Tilt is a bitch.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

WSOP Bones

BCM: U think alan cunningham tomorrow will win the wsop and the 240,000
Me: 240,000?
BCM: 240,000 bones
BCM: obv

Enough said.

Wednesday Report

Daily Results: +13b w/ 12 games
Discipline: B-

Last night I played 4 more games and netted 1 bone. This was due to shutting down PokerStars during a $50 when people entered my room who couldn’t know I play poker.

Anyways, a great day once again. Best heads up day ever in terms of profit. I went 11:2 and won another $200 game. The two losses were in $50s.

I’m really happy with my results from the past few days. I’ve been making more money than ever before. I think this is due to a combination of factors, but mainly I think I’m controling myself more during the matches. Also, I’m gambling less against bad opponents. I’ll fold 99, TT, AQ, and sometimes AK (very dependent) if we’re deepstacked and I’m facing an all in raise. Its just not worth it against these opponents. I’m also mixing up my game so that its hard for my opponents to get a read on me. Additionally, I’ve gotten a lot better at analyzing the board in terms of profitability potential. For example, I’ll be less inclined to draw if one of my outs completes a flush draw as well, since I wont be paid off enough to make up for the chips I commit. All of that, combined with a lot of second and third level thinking has changed the way I play tremendously.

Playing the $200 opponent, who wasnt jumping buyins, was noticably different than playing the $50 fishes. I think the difficulty I had reflects on my current small-ball approach to the game. My opponent was fairly aggressive and he played well in position, which made it more difficult, but far from impossible. The lesson there: position + aggressiveness = success. He had me guessing a lot, which is always profitable for him. When I call with 78s a 3x raise a 15/30 and the flop comes 37Q rainbow, I dont know where I’m at, especially if I’m facing action. I have to adjust to these players. I’ll be a lot more likely to re-raise TT against someone who is raising frequently.

A few hands…

I raise with A9o to 60 in Level I, SB. He calls. Flop is 458r, he checks. I bet 80, he folds. This is pretty standard. The only reason I mention it is because if he had check-raised me, I’d have to fold. I rarely check-raise people with air because it puts me in tough spots, but its an important move against aggressive players who continuation bet a lot of flops. In my opinion, its also important to raise with a lot more speculative hands like my mid-suited connectors, broadways, etc, so that my opponent cant put me on high cards too easily. As a warning to myself though: dont loosen up your standards so much that you’re calling with J4s and garbage like that.

I limp with 56s with 1440 in Level I, he checks in BB. Normally, I’ll raise 56s as part of my mixing-it-up, but I decided to just call here and planned to call a raise. Flop is a beautiful 789 rainbow. He bets 40. I raise to 120. Why? If he has a good hand, there are a lot of turn cards that will kill my action. Also, if he has something like 9T, I want him to pay to draw. He raises me to 400. At this point, I can make some assumptions about his hand. 9T is unlikely, because I think if he had 9T he’d just raise all in to gaurantee seeing five cards. Who knows though, its possible. 9J/Q/K/A is remote; I dont think he gets that involved here when I just limped preflop. So, that means to me: 77, 88, 99, 78,79, 89, 6T, TJ. Based on his somewhat frequent raises in the BB, I think he would have raise with 77, 88, or 99 preflop. If he does have one, I’m about 2-1 to win. If he has 78, 79, or 89, I’m about a 4-1 favorite. Based on the preflop action, these holdings are very likely. Then theres 6T and TJ. If he has either of these, I’m out $200. Based on the action, these are very possible holdings. If thats the case, so be it. Everything weighed, I have to move in, and I do. He had 89 and I held up as 4-1 favorite. Nerve wrecking…

So, if I had 89 there, what do I do? Can I fold top two pair on a flop that he could definitely have a draw on? What did he put me on that loses? There was no flush draw possible, which is important. I limped preflop, so I could definitely have 56, 7T, TJ and possibly a set, although its unlikely. He would have to put me on a hand like 96,9T,9J, or 79. Nothing else makes sense, and those are a stretch. Somehow folding 89 seems too weak though. Top two pair on the flop! Sigh, I dont know what I would have done. Call, but I wouldnt like it.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Tuesday Report and some Analysis

Daily Results: +7b w/ 8 games
Discipline: B

Notables today:

Played a 4b ($200) game when I wasnt on tilt (first time ever), and won. The opponent is one I’ve been watching for some time, and when he registered I jumped at the opportunity. I felt a little pressure, but not enough to affect my play. In the upcoming weeks, I hope to play a lot more of the $200 games. I plan to continue playing the $50s and $100s primarily, because they are where I’m really making money.
I lost 2b when my opponent and I both hit sets. I’ve played a lot of games, and I’ve never seen that happen (other than a few times when we’re all in preflop).
The last game I played, for 1b, I sucked out twice to win. I’m taking a break now because I recognize that my game is not where it should be.

I’m a little bit worried that because of my strict game selection, even though I am making money I am developing bad habits. Most of the opponents I play call way too much; they are easy to take advantage of. Versus an opponent who is tight/aggressive I will have trouble adjusting. Which leads to the question: Should I make a lot of money playing mediocre opponents and not improve, or sacrifice some profit to play better opponents and develop my play? Right now, I’m making more money than I’ve ever made before. The swings are almost non-existant against these opponents. Ultimately it comes down to my objective. My objective is money. Lots and lots of money. I can grind out a few thousand per month this way, or, I can move up limits and potentially make more money. This boils down to $/hr and since I’m multi-tabling, $/game.

Since Saturday I’ve played 37 games.

$50 – 18:4
$100 – 8:3
$200 – 1:0

Overall: 27:7

This comes out to be $1308 or $35/game on average. Those are phenomenol results for me. If you recall my earlier blogs I wanted to make $20/game.

If I cant make $35/game moving up limits (ie, a larger percentage of $200s), I should not bother because I lose money, despite playing for more money.

This entire analysis is for 1 game at a time. If I decided to multitable $50s, I could take a lower $/game in exchange for a higher $/hr, which is what its really all about. I’m going to play for a few weeks before I seriously take some time to try to multitable.

On a last note, I am writing a warning to myself:

I have been doing very well recently. My hands have been holding up for the most part and I havent taken a significant amount of bad beats. That being said, when the day comes, and it will be soon, when I am even or down on the day, I cant let it affect me. This is a game of the long term and if I let a day or two of bad beats affect me, it could affect me for a long time. I need to have to the discipline not to play emotionally when my results are subpar.

gl,
Nichomacheo

Monday, August 07, 2006

Running Strong, Tilt

Daily Results: +8b w/ 9 games
Discipline: B

Two things worth mentioning today:

I find myself getting upset when my opponent sucks out on me, even though I’m ignorning the games that I’ve won because I hit a 3 outer. This is part of the game and I need to accept that and not let it affect me. The last game I played today I started off with a 5-1 lead aver my QdJd held vs 89o on a 8d-Kd-7d-8c board. My opponent then starts pushing or completing. I take some flops, which he continues to push on. So, I play a lot of small pots and eventually make a bad call with Q8 on a Q9977 board. Since he was pushing so much and I’d caught him bluffing before, I called and lost to 89. I build up my stack to 2400 when I get J8. He min-raises, I call. Flop is 3-J-7. We get it all in; he has 74. Turn is an 8 and I lose to a river 7. Now I’m getting pissed. I build my stack back up to 2000, we get it all in I hae AQ vs A9, I lose. He pushes next hand, I fold. I raise to 3x with ATo, he pushes. Sigh. I hate calling with this, but he’s been pushing enough that I’m way ahead of his range. He has AK, but I hit a ten on the river. The last hand, I raise with KK, he pushes with A6. You know you’re on tilt when you expect your opponent to hit every long shot. Alas, he didnt. I won. I’m on tilt, and I’m done for the day.

The other thing worth mentioning was BCM Series of Poker Heads Up event. Its tricky playing against an opponent who knows how you play. In fact, immediately before the match, I discussed my general strategy currently. Knowing he knew this, I had to adjust my small-ball game, otherwise I’d get pushed around. With 1210 stack, he completes I check with Js-4h. Flop is 3h-Jh-8h. So, I’ve got top pair, weak kicker, weak flush draw. I check raise the flop, he calls. At this point, I put him on either a flush draw (maybe with a jack). The pot is 260. The turn is a 4s. He bets 300… wtf? With his check preflop, he doesnt have an overpair. I stuck to my “read” and pushed. This was also undoubetely influenced by the fact I thought he was trying to push me around. Anyway, he had Qh-9h and I didnt hit my four outer. GG BCM, who won the triple shootout and eventually beat Phenom for the “title”.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Rock n’ Roll

Daily Results: +10.6b w/ 17 games
Discipline: A-

Today was, with the exception of my MTT 2nd place finish, my best day ever. I played well throughout the games and I didnt let bad beats affect me too much. I’m proud of the way I played and I think my success today is a reflection of the thought I’ve put into the game during the past several weeks.

I well rolled for $50s and $100s, but I’m still not as comfortable playing the $100s as I’d like to be. Once I reach that level, I’ll start venturing into the $200s more frequently. I’m in no rush.

With that, I need some sleep.

Saturday, August 05, 2006

I’m Back

I spent the majority of the last three weeks touring around Greece with my family and girlfriend. It was an amazing trip and if any of you are considering a trip to Europe, I highly recommend Greece.

The only poker I played during that time was with my brother. We usually goof around and break even in the end. However, during a ride from Krakow to Rzszeow, I won $175. He didnt complain much, but he indicated through his demeanor that he was upset about it and considering that he’s only got a little over $200 to his name, I dont blame him. I made him a deal: no more online poker and he didnt have to pay me. If I decides he wants to play online again, he has to pay me the $175 first. Maybe that’ll be an incentive to prepare better before he ventures into it again.

Anyway, I back now and ready to roll. I played three games tonight, for +3b. I’m feeling very confident in my abilities and am looking forward to playing a lot during the upcoming weeks and months.

I read The Poker Mind, NL Holdem Theory and Practice, and finished Harrington vol 3. All focus on different aspects of the game. The Poker Mind focused on how we should approach the game from a psychological perspective. I especially enjoyed the part on tilt. Its a good read for anyone that has problems with it like I do. NL Holdem Theory and Practice is an amazing book. Its the first book I’ve ready (and I’ve ready many) that focuses on deep stacked No Limit strategy. A lot of the advice is great for Heads Up, since thats usually deep stacked. Harrington vol 3 was okay. I find myself disagreeing with a lot of his analysis. He doesnt go much into “He probably thinks I have…” types of discussions, which I think is very important. I cant argue with his results though.

Tomorrow I should play a lot. One thing I want to focus on from now on is discipline. Above everything else, if I can maintain discipline while playing I can do very, very well.

On a side note, kudos to BCM on his recent specacular results. In time I’d like to have the ability and heart that you consistantly display.

Till later,
Nichomacheo

Nichomachean Poker
Psychology > Variance

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Limit Debacle

My buddy Chris invited me to join him to play at a casino about an hour away last night. They have infrequent tournaments (none last night) and otherwise play limit holdem. The single blind is $2 and anyone can raise up to $5 at any point. So, someone can make it up to $7 (or $4, $5, $6) to go, another play can raise it to $12, etc etc.

I have never played limit holdem. I was not very confident in my knowledge of the game. It was a ten person table filled with mostly middle aged and greying men. I played tight-aggressive early on, but took some very tough betas: QQ (utg+1) loses to AT (utg) when its bet/raised all the way (except river) on a 99T2T board. About half an hour later I lose with TT to 9T on a 23949 board. Those two hands cost me about $80 and caused me to play very passively for the rest of the night. I am not used to five players seeing a flop and none of them folding when they hit any part of it. People were calling PF raises with K2o, 28s, etc etc. Seems exploitable, but, I couldnt seem to find the aggression in me. I never knew what anyone had and when my AQ, AK didnt hit the flop and I was facing a bet a 4 players to act behind me, I have to fold. I called some preflop raises to $7 with speculative holdings and when I missed the flop I check/folded. I was not aggressive at all and my results show it. All I can say is that I probably wont play much limit holdem again until I get some more practice in it.

Net over six hours: -80-100-50 = -$230.
Plus, I ATMd $60 but it gave me only $40 (son of a bitch). -$250.

Oh well. I played one $50 and won, so -$200 on the day. I dont like mixing live and online earnings though because the bankrolls are different.

Europe on Monday, so no updates until August.

Also, kudos to BCM on his recent success transitioning to the $500s. Rob, stop tilting and yes, girlfriends are -$EV. Phenom, gl sir. Talk to you all when I get back.

Nichomacheo

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Break from Poker

My aforementioned free time has disappeared and I am now going to be busy for the next week. On July 17th, I am going to Europe for three weeks. I will resume playing poker at the beginning of August. I may throw in a few games here and there over the next few days, but I dont imagine they will amount to much in terms of monetary gain.

The combination of my new (temporary) job and my trip to Europe will give me some much needed time away from online poker. I have three books that I am in the process of reading: The Poker Mind, NL Holdem Theory and Practice, and HOH3. I’ll probably finish those by the time I get back and hopefully I can pick up a few things to increase my profits. “Inside the Poker Mind” seems like it will be a very good book as far as poker psychology. From glancing over it, the author seems to write about a lot of topics that I have thought about and mentioned on this blog. I think this is money well spent.

When August rolls around I plan to start playing at full speed. I’d like to continue my recent results (will cover in another post). I really dont have much interest in grades anymore since my future after graduation is already determined. My interest now is money. I want to earn a nice chunk of change over the next ten months so that I can be financially liberal in the future.

BCM was saying that once you start winning at the $100s the money becomes a lot more significant; its less “spending money” and more “this can change my life”. Thats paraphrasing, of course, but that was his point.

One of my best friends stopped by the other day while I was playing. He patiently waited for my game to end. When I was done, he asked how much I made, and I told him. He was impressed, but I later regretted telling him. I dont think I will mention my poker winnings to anyone except other poker players in the future. Money causes unnecessary strife. I cant help but sound like I am bragging when I talk about my software or the money I am making from it. So, I will not mention it.

I want to play more $100 and $200 games. $100 games make up about 1 in 4 right now. The $50s are nice support, but the real money, as mentioned before, comes at the $100 level. And, like I said in a previous post, the ultimate goal here is maximizing my profit. If I can do that by moving up the limits, I will. My bankroll can sustain those games now. Its not that my bankroll was really at risk before, but the damage of losing a $100 with a $800 bankroll (ahem) is a lot more significant than losing $100 with an $8000 bankroll. I’m comfortable now and that makes all the difference.

Cashing out… It would be prudent to do so, but I have an aversion to it. Having the bankroll cushion is important, but I also like to see the balance when I click “Cashier”. Ah well.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Hand Analysis – Attack Weakness

I am going to analyze this hand to the best of my ability so that I can point out my mistakes and hopefully learn from them in the future.

History: On hand #2 he called my bets all the way with bottom pair and eventually I won a big pot with two pair vs his bottom pair (he called a big river bet, too). On hand #4 he min raises preflop, I call with A2. Flop is K45. I check/call 40. Turn is king. I check/call 40 again. Pot is now 240. River is a king. I check/call t60 (1/8 pot) and he shows Q6. So, in the first four hands I’ve shown a tendency to bet my strong hands and call his weak bets with marginal holdings. I fold a few 72o, K4 type hands. Hand #8 I check-check-check a gutshot and he wins with his 9 high. Hand 14 I complete from SB with J9s, he checks. Flop comes J65 two tone. I check (err), he bets 60 into 40, I raise to 120, he calls. Turn is 4d. I bet 100 into 300 pot. River is Qc. I check, he checks behind. He had J2. Hand 18 I check/call all the way with a OESD that never hits; fold river. Hand 19 I call minraise with A2. Flop is 349r. He bets 40, I call. He checks turn (Q), I check behind. River he bets 160 into me, I fold.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (2 handed)

Hero (t1890)
BB (t1110)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Ts, 9h.
Hero raises to t60, BB raises to t140, Hero calls t80.

Flop: (t280) 8h, Ks, Tc (2 players)
BB bets t60, Hero raises to t120, BB calls t60.

Turn: (t520) 3d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t200, BB calls t200.

River: (t920) 6h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

Final Pot: t920

Villian has not re-raised me preflop. In fact, all his preflop raies have been minraises. Here, I raised 3x with T9o in SB. He raises me 80 more. Pot is 200 and it costs me 80 to see the flop in position. 2.5:1 odds make this an easy call with this relatively deceptive hand. What do I know so far? An opponent who has only shown strength once (hand 19 where he bet large on the river) has re-raised me preflop bet. I think against this opponent his hand is TT+, AQ (maybe), AK.

Flop comes 8KT rainbow. He bets 60 into me. At this point the pot is 280. Now what do we know? He has a hand, but its probably not spectacular. 60 is a blocking bet and is weak relative to the pot size. I hit second pair. I min raise. Here is my first mistake. If I really want to figure out where I am, I have to make a bigger raise than this. I think I can eliminate KK and TT from his holdings because he has shown aggression when he has hands.

Turn is a 3d. He checks. Now what do I know? AQ has a gutshot. He probably doesnt have AJ given the preflop raise. AA is ahead, but I think bets this. That leaves, in my mind, AK, AQ, QQ, JJ. Other holdings (TT, KK, AA) are possible, but given the ten and the king and how passively he is playing, I dont think he has one of these. AK I’m losing to. AQ I’m winning. QQ and JJ I’m losing to, but he’s got to be afraid of the king. I correctly make a large turn bet. There are a couple of takes on this, I think. He has shown to be a call station so that should discourage me from the turn bet. He has shown weakness though, which should make me lean towards a bet. I bet t200 into t520 pot and he calls. Pot is 920.

River is a harmless 6h. He checks. Now what? He definitely doesnt have KK, TT. AA is possible but unlikely. AK is very possible. AQ I’m beating. QQ and JJ match it too, given his timidness once the flop came. But I bet the turn and he called… if he believed I had a king then, wouldnt he have folded? Will this river card change his mind? I’d have to bet to find out. What does it look like I have? I think AK, KQ, TT, AT, KTs. All of which are beating him exceot AT. Granted, I have T9, but he probably isnt thinking that.

He checks, I check behind. Why do I check behind? Given that he is a call station from the previous hands and he has called me all the way, I’m unlikely to get a fold from a better hand and I am not going to win anything from a hand that I am beating. He shows QQ and takes down this nice pot.

What could I have done better? ATTACK WEAKNESS. He played his queens in a very timid manner. He doesnt want to let them go. I check/raised the flop, bet the turn. And he checks the river to me. If I knew he had QQ or JJ, I should bet, without a doubt. I think those were his most likely holdings here and if I make a significant bet, even though he’s a call station, he would have a hard time calling I think. I missed out on a great opportunity to win a nice pot.

Any readers take a different line? I’d like to hear opinions. AIM me.

Play and learn, play and learn.

Friday – Playing Poorly and Winning

I have played six games today and done poorly in all of them. I am 3:2, actually, but I shouldnt me. I played BCM’s brother again today. He beat me at 1b, then we played again and I won, but I should not have. I pushed a flush draw in Level 1, I think, with 1200 stack and he rightfully called with top pair. I hit my flush on the river. A few hands later I finished it off with my mighty A7 vs QQ. I probably should have stopped playing for the day right there.

At that point I was down 1b. I decided to take a break, but that didnt last long. They never do. I won the next match against a hyperaggressive player for 1b. The game I just finished was 2b, against a bad player, but, twice I was down to 350 chips. Its disgusting how I let that happen against these ridiculously bad opponents.

I’m becoming a call station. This really only works against the most LAG of opponents. Against someone who hasnt shown the tendency to bluff, its not smart to call the river with high card. Moreso, once I call someone with garbage, its unlikely he will bluff at the river again.

I am also not paying enough attention to bet sizes. For example, what does it mean when someone bets the pot on the flop one time and half the pot another time? I dont attack weakness like I should. I should say “Thats a weak bet. If he was strong, he would have bet a different amount.”

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Misc Poker Thoughts

I lost 2b earlier and stopped. I am proud of myself for that. I might play a game or two more tonight, depending on how my first game goes. I’m slightly tired, but not enough that I think it will significantly affect my play.

Rob, you’ll get modifications sometime this weekend. Cool? You seriously have to play within your bankroll man. You know it, yet you let it slide when the results arent coming your way. My software wont be of any use to you if you dont stop when you’re obviously not playing well. Even if you blame it on bad beats, you probably missed a few opportunities before that to change the course of the game. Take a break when you arent playing well, come back tomorrow. The game will still be there… will your bankroll?

That might be addressed to myself, too.

Right now I’m playing about 60% $50 and 30% $100 games with a 66% winrate in both. My big picture goal is money. I want to make as much money as I can while playing poker. That should be my goal, not just merely winning games. My goal is to maximize profit. If I can play more $100s with a lower winrate but a higher profit, thats what I need to do. If I can successfully multitable $50s and earn more than I do singletabling, that is what I need to do. All of this ultimately requires me to experiment more. What I am doing now works for me; I make money. But, if I can make more by doing something differently, that is what I need to do.

Things to try:

Multitabling $50 matches. I’ll do this by starting with smaller buyins, maybe $10s and $20s, just so I can get used to it. When I’ve tried it in the past, I’ve paniced and done poorly.
Adjust registration standards so that wait time is decreased between games.

Just won 2b back. Interesting hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (2 handed)
Hero (t1650)
BB (t1350)
Preflop: Hero is Button with 5c, 6h.

Hero calls t10, BB checks.
Flop: (t40) Js, 6d, 5s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t40, BB raises to t80, Hero calls t40.

Turn: (t200) 8d (2 players)
BB bets t200, Hero calls t200.

River: (t600) Qh (2 players)
BB bets t420, Hero calls t420.
Final Pot: t1440

It was a tough call, but looking back, I dont think so. If he had a strong hand and put me on a flush draw, like I played it, why bet so much on the river? Doesnt make much sense. Then again, neither does the way he played 57o….

0b day, weeee.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Ramblings

Today was a great day in terms of profits. Might be my best ever. I have been making a lot of money recently; more than I’ve ever made in the past. Last semester I turned $60 on January 4th intil $5000 by the end of April. In the past 8 days, I’ve turned $6200 into $8100. My return is increasing exponentially. I am on top of the world. Yet…

I’m tired. I need a break from poker, but I dont want to take it. Playing Mr. Germany today made me realize that although I can win the games I am not playing hands correctly. I made some bad calls for a lot of chips. Sometimes they were the correct calls, other times they werent. The times they werent I knew I’d be getting it in behind. During one of the games I had 44/SB/2100/II (hand, position, stack, level) and raised 3x. He calls, flop comes 33J with two suits. He pushes. I really, really, really wanted to call here. I just couldnt see my opponent making this move with any hand here other than a flush draw. A jack usually plays more cautiously, and a three wants to extract more money. I wanted to call. I couldnt do it though. I wasnt thinking “My opponent is an idiot. He can easily have a 3 here because he’s been calling with all kinds of donkish hands preflop. He wants me to call with a jack.” And if I was right and he had 78s, he still had 3+3+9 outs about, which makes him favorite. So, I could revel in my great call, if I happen to be right, and go in as an underdog. Weeeeeee.

I guess what pissed me off was when I knew my poker buddies were watching all I could think was “I’m embarassing myself the way I am playing”. Having someone watching makes you accountable for the stupid moves you make. In my old Excel sheet I had written “What would Daniel Negreneau do?” Think about it. There was a quote in Heist where the guy was like, “I just think of a man smarter than myself and I ask ‘What would he do?'” Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

How would Negraneu play J6o from the BB after a PF raise from a tight player deepstacked heads up?

I guess I actually have to answer that in order for this to work.

So, yeah, I’ll probably play tomorrow. I can already tell I’m going to be upset if I wind up less than 4 bones. Winning has intoxicated me. That might have been the jack and coke, but its the winning tooo…

Germany Loses at Poker?!?!

Wasnt feeling 100% today because I havent slept as much as I need, but, because of my free time I felt compelled to play. I started off the day playing very poorly, and after four games I was even at 1b games. Then, I registered to play an opponent I played yesterday at 1b and lost when his kicker paired late in the game. He was pretty terrible. Not an ouce of creative thought in his mind when he plays poker. He said he owned some firm in Germany and he is 35, which makes me believe he has lots of money to lose. Anyway, I played him in seven games: +1, +2, -2, +4, -4, +4, +4. I was disappointed in myself for losing the 2b and the 4b. I made some bad reads and was playing way too passively. I realized that after I lost the second 4b, and picked it up.

Overall, +9b on the day. I still feel like I just came in second in a large MTT. Its that “I was so close…” feeling. I should think about it like this though: if I hadnt lost the 2b, he wouldnt have played me in a 4b. If I hadnt lost the second 4b, he probably wouldnt have played the other two, and I’d be up 9b either way. At least, it makes me feel better to think of it that way :).

Bankroll is above 8k for the first time ever. I need to start cashing out, but, thats for another post…

Dinner+Alcohol tonight.

And, thanks for the cheers, fellas.

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

ID4

Well, once again I made a nice profit today, but made some bad mistakes along the way. Overall my play the last few games was way too loose. I made some nice calls earlier with mediocre holdings to beat my opponents in big pots. I went on with that mentality and lost focus. I can generally tell how well I am playing by how much I am folding preflop. By the last game today I wasnt folding at all. “If you hit the flop, you can win it all!” runs through my head, and I neglect the strategy that wins me money.

I started the day by playing an opponent I played yesterday and lost to. The guy has potential if he continues to study and learn the intricacies of the game. Good luck to him in the future.

One of the games I played earlier was 2b. My opponent was disconnected after about 4 minutes of playing. He got blinded away until he had 400 left at 50/100. Then, of course, he comes back and my raise (which I put in before he was back), pot committed me. I lost that, then the next, and the next. The half an hour I spent clicking “Raise” ended with me down 2b. Lesson to be learned: Dont freak out when your opponent suddenly has chips. You play well enough; QT-type hands are not what you want to double him up with.

The rest of the games today were pretty unextrodinary. Like I said, I made some nice calls, but after a few hour session my play drops significantly. The last game I just played was against a very aggro opponent who would raise 5x in the BB. We eventually got it all in, him with bottom two pair, me with mid pp. The turn and river were deuces and his two pair was counterfeited. Poorly played on my part. Impatient, loose poker. Break now. Drinking later, probably.

Results, for now:

7:1@1b
1:1@2b
+6b

A few more observations….

I have been doing extremely well recently. My goal of 60b/month should be very reasonable as long as I’m putting in the time. Of course I am feeling good right now, after winning more than I ever have in the past few days. This side of the mountain usually only goes so far, then I start tumbling down. I will try to avoid that in the coming days. I have a lot of time on my hands and that time turns into money. Ahem, bones.

Monday, July 03, 2006

I’m on Tilt……………..

Long day of poker. I’m done for today though, seriously.

I went -1, +2, +2, -2, +2 +2, +1, -1, -2, +1. The two losses near the end were losses when I was heavily favored, and that caused me to tilt. The last game, against someone I’ve played more than anyone else (he is terrible), I had to hit a 3 outer (pushing A7 with 1200 stack in Level 2… wtf???!?) to stay alive and eventually win. Not proud of the way I played though. The -2 at the end was rough. I had him down to 300ish and he doubled up 3 times in a row and he eventually took it down.

Sigh. Why am I disappointed in +4? Thats $20/game exactly.

It just feels like I played so long today and I should be up more. Thats how it goes, I suppose.

Three times today a common scenario arrived. Two pair vs top pair. The first time the board paired the low card, my two pair was nullified, and my opponent won the 2. The next, I had two pair again vs the same opponent’s top pair, and it held. The third game I had top pair vs lower two pair, and the board paired and his was counterfeited. Its disgusting to lose that way.

A buddy of mine who writes a blog mentioned how it all evens out over time. I guess it a mathematical way it does. But, the reason it seems like good players get more bad beats than bad players is because its fundamentally true: if you’re making more correct decisions, you’ll be ahead more times than your opponent. When he gets lucky, you notice it, because you are making the bad decisions on a less frequent basis.

So, yeah, tilt. I’m done.

Comeback and Updated Weekly Results

Well, after taking a three hour nap yesterday evening I woke up feeling refreshed and won back the money I had lost. Most of it was from one player, who I played six times in 1bone games, then I challenged him to a 4bone game which he accepted. This player was horrible. Call station gallore. I went 5:1@1bone, 1:1@4bone. The first 4bone game I lost AK vs A5 when a 5 hit the river. This was a terrible feeling. That loss put me back even on the day. He registered again, however, and I took down the second one. I should have been more patient during the first one. When I’m playing that high I tend to want to end the game quickly so I take stupid risks. If I were to look over my hand history, I’m positive there would be many glaring mistakes.

Overall Sunday wound up +4 bones.

Once again, I realized the importance of being well rested. Before I took a nap I’d played 10 matches and was down 2 bones. When I woke up, I went +1, +1, +2, +1, +1, -1, +1, -4, +4. That run at the beginning is no variance. Thats me playing smart, patient, aggressive poker. I wish I had won the first 4bone game, but, I am content with my results.

That makes last week +18 bones, and almost all of that (17) was Friday-Sunday. So, a few pointers for success:

Get sleep. You play incredibly better when you’re rested. I wasted a few hours and 10 games by playing when I was tired and wound up down two bones. It was a waste of time and profit. I should have taken a nap earlier so that I had more good-playing time later in the day.
Dont bullshit around. Either come to play your best game or dont play at all.
Keep good records. I’ve been writing down on a sheet of paper my results. I ran out of room, and was squeezing everything in. When I wanted to check my daily results, it was very difficult to sum the games. I usually keep track in an Excel sheet, and I will start doing this again.
Notes. During April I started keeping thorough notes on my opponents throughout the game. I saw my winrate drastically improve. I am going to start doing this again, albiet maybe not as extensive, because it is definitely +EV.

I’ll play this evening if I’m feeling up to it.

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Passive Losing

That pretty much defines how I am playing today: passively. As a result, I am losing. I’m not being aggressive, I’m play way too loose. Both of which, combined, result in losses. -3b today.

I should have quit earlier. Instead I think I can beat myself, but, I cant.

No mas today.

Since last Sunday, +12 bones. Again, when I start playing on a regular schedule come August, I need to average around 15bones/wk on average to meet my goal.

Up up up … ??

Well, the morning did not start well today.

First game I played a horrible player who was too loose and called too much. We got it all in Level I preflop with QQ vs A9. He hit a 9 on the turn and I was as good as out (2b). I played him again (1b) and (2b) and won both. He registered for a 4-man (1b) and I joined, but got knocked out the first hand with two pair vs two pair. I played a another (2b) just now and lost with A2 vs Q5 (Level 3, I was down to about 700). I wasnt playing too well though and I know it. When his five hit the river I hit my desk, because it seemed like I knew it would happen. It would be fair to say that I’m on tilt right now.

This is one of those defining moments.

Here’s the thing. Losing QQ vs A9, two pair vs two pair, and A2 vs Q5, could be described as variance. “It happens… you cant win them all…” But, the fact is, I wasnt playing my best. I was still on a high from yesterday (+8b) and thought it would all be so easy. So I started slacking off. Loose PF calls, calling down with bottom pair because “I just know he has overcards” etc. The way I busted in two of my five games would have made good television, but its not what I should be focusing on. QQ vs A9 during my first game was good. I can never fold QQ to an all in raise PF. He hit is 3/10 to win, and thats that. The second 2b game I played it ended the first hand. He min-raises with AA on the SB, I call with QT. Flop comes AK2. He bets half the pot, I call. Turn is a jack. I check, he bets, I raise, he re-raises, I re-raise, he puts me all in… board doesnt pair and I win. I bet I was 7/10 to win that. If I didnt win though, I’d blame it on a bad beat again. Sigh. Cant be discouraged. I’m going to take a break for a few hours and come back when I’m thinking clearly.

This will be my accomplishment today, which is much more important than any amount of money I could make.

I know I’m not playing wel because I am impatient. If I play, I will have the patience of a two-year old sitting infront of candy. I will probably be eager to get it over with quickly and I will lose because of that.

I’m down 2b today after five games. Not a big deal. Take a break, move on. Dont turn a -2b day into a -6b day.

——————————————

This always happens too. I see it all the time in heads up players. You will win a lot of games in a row. You come back, lose to a bad beat or two, then you start playing like shit. You might go 10:2 one day, then after you lose the first two the next day you go 4:10. Thats not variance. Thats you playing shitty because you think you’re hot shit. Your ego gets the best of you. It happens a lot, and I wont let it happen to me.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Saturday

Results:

3:1@1bone
3:0@2bones
+8 bones

So, a very good day. I really feel like since I started this blog I have been playing much better. The bone idea, while a bit childish, does help.

1) It puts things in perspective – when I start looking at dollar values, I start to see rake take effect. When I look at +1, -1, +1, +1, +2, +2, +2, its a lot clearer to me. And at the end of the day I am not thinking “Even though I should be up $300, I’m actually only up $275. I should play another to make up for the loss in rake”. That never ends well.

2) It desensitizes me – I’m still working on “$100 buys me groceries for a week” mentality. This helps.

Today was probably in my top 10 days ever. Its amazing how actually winning your games makes you money. The problem comes when I lose a match. One of the 2bone games I won with AA vs KK. Now, if I had the KK, it would have gone the same way and I would have lost. Instead of being up 8 bones, I’d be up 4 bones (a difference of $200). It really is essential to win each match. I have to always take it seriously. Never slack off or simply play to meet my 2bone/day average. Because for every game I lose, I have to win 2 to be where I would have been at if I had been playing well. I dont want to think about it this way, because it tilts me, but it helps emphasize the importance of every match in terms of overall profit.

A few other things I noticed today:

Folding PF – very important not only because you get more respect when you are involved, but your opponent doesnt think you’re a total maniac and is willing to pick off bluffs with ace high. This type of play (play any two) works with certain opponents, but, in general, its better to at least seem tight.
Assigning ranges – after every hand I won and my opponent mucked, I tried to pick his hand out before I checked. Depending on how close I was, I adjusted how I played.
Calling with mediocre hands. This goes with the above bullet. When I thought there was a decent enough chance my opponent missed his draw, I’d call with as much as jack high. Not always, but enough. It also slows your opponents down.
Bets that dont make sense – One game I played an opponent who would flat call my SB raises with KK, AA, then check/call the flop and turn. When he went all in on a 5TQr board after I’d raised 3x at 15/30 (he had 750) and he called, I knew he didnt have a great hand. I called with my 77 and he called me a fish. But his J5 won when a five fell on the river and he doubled up.
Similarly, I took bad beats for what they were. The long run is what matters. Especially, like the one above, my opponent doubles up to 1500 and we’re even again. I didnt get angry. I simply said to myself “If he’s playing like that, I can beat him again.” I played well, and I eventually won.

These were just a few observations from today. When I’m playing badly, I can look back and notice which bullets I’m ignoring.

Crashing Against Hyperaggro Opponents

Something usually happens early on in games: I lose chips. Probably two-thirds of the time, not intentionally, I lose a few hundred of my 1500 chips. Some players play tight in level 1, but I like to test out the waters. I want to see how my opponent reacts when I bet into him, when he raises PF and rags come. This gives me a good idea how to play against him later on and usually this works well for me. I can tighten up if necessary to account for my opponents very loose, aggressive style, if necessary.

Well, I just played a 2-bone game. This was the type of game that puts me on tilt. This is how it would go (first hand should have been a big warning):

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com

Button (t1500)
Hero (t1500)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Ac, Ad.
Button raises to t40, Hero raises to t120, Button calls t80.

Flop: (t240) 8s, Qc, 9c (2 players)
Hero bets t120, Button calls t120.

Turn: (t480) Td (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t1260 (All-In), Hero folds.

I dont play pots like that well. I wanted to call because most players wont do that with a jack and wouldnt do it with a set or two pair either because they fear a jack, but, I didnt want to risk it the first hand.

Third hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com

Button (t1780)
Hero (t1220)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 5s, Kc.
Button calls t10, Hero checks.

Flop: (t40) 9s, Kh, 4d (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: (t40) 3s (2 players)
Hero bets t40, Button raises to t80, Hero calls t40.

River: (t200) 3h (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t1680 (All-In), Hero folds.

Final Pot: t1880

I would have called a reasonable bet, but again, I dont like to risk all my chips in a marginal situation. This is where I start to trip up. Two out of the first three hands my opponent put all his chips in the pot. Generally I start limping a lot, hoping to hit a flop and slow play it. The problem comes when you you make second pair and are facing action from your opponent, like:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com

Button (t1860)
Hero (t1140)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Qc, As.
Button calls t10, Hero checks.

Flop: (t40) Td, Ks, 4c (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

Turn: (t40) Th (2 players)
Hero checks, Button checks.

River: (t40) Qh (2 players)
Hero bets t60, Button raises to t220, Hero calls t160.

Final Pot: t480

He had KJ. Sigh. I shouldnt have limped with AQ. If he’s so loose, I should let him put chips in the middle. If the flop comes A85 and he puts me all in, against a normal opponent, I’d be behind. Against him I wouldnt know. My fear of 85 makes me weak, I suppose. He keeps doing this. I limp/call, hoping to hit a hand. I really wasnt getting anything playable. He got me down to 480.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com

BB (t2500)
Hero (t500)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 3h, Ah.
Hero raises to t60, BB calls t40.

Flop: (t120) 4h, Ad, 9h (2 players)
BB bets t40, Hero raises to t80, BB calls t40.

Turn: (t280) 8d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t160, BB calls t160.

River: (t600) 3s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t200 (All-In), BB folds.

I didnt suspect a fold from him here. I work my way back up to 1000 and am regaining some of my confidence. I’m being more aggressive and calling with mediocre hands when the story doesnt make sense.

This hand, which was bad luck for him, comes up, and I double up:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com

Button (t1910)
Hero (t1090)

Preflop: Hero is BB with Jh, Th.
Button raises to t60, Hero calls t30.

Flop: (t120) Ks, Ac, Qh (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t90, Hero calls t90.

Turn: (t300) 9s (2 players)
Hero checks, Button bets t120, Hero raises to t240, Button raises to t1760, Hero calls t700 (All-In).

Final Pot: t3000

He had 99. This hand I will win 77% of the time; it held.

I get him down to 800 and he starts pushing about half the hands. I call with A7 vs his Q9 he wins.

My brilliant opponent loses a big hand with nothing:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com

BB (t1400)
Hero (t1600)

Preflop: Hero is Button with 9h, Ac.
Hero calls t15, BB raises to t60, Hero calls t30.

Flop: (t120) Kd, Jc, 5h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

Turn: (t120) Qh (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks.

River: (t120) Ts (2 players)
BB bets t420, Hero raises to t840, BB calls t420.

Final Pot: t1800

So I feel good. Gonna win, I say. Not so fast.

He pushes with J5, I call with A7, he doubles up to 1000. I start to tilt and decide to look him up:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (2 handed) internettexasholdem.com

BB (t865)
Hero (t2135)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Jd, Kh.
Hero calls t15, BB checks.

Flop: (t60) Js, 9h, 6d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t60, BB calls t60.

Turn: (t180) 8h (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets t90, BB calls t90.

River: (t360) Qs (2 players)
BB bets t685 (All-In), Hero calls t685.

Final Pot: t1730

I get down to 1000 then double up AA vs A8 PF. Then he starts pushing again while mixing in calls. Eventually I flop a flush, call it down so that it looks like I’m drawing, he his two pair on the river after betting the whole way, and I win.

Lesson to be learned: Against an opponent who has no standards for raising, play tighter. Check down top pair weak kicker so he sees it. You want him to slow down. Otherwise, dont get involved in very big pots without a very good hand. Sounds simple enough, but when your opponent keeps pushing and you pick up garbage, Ax starts looking nicer. Not worth it. Mid-pair? Keep the pot small. Bet your good hands, check/call your medium ones, and fold the bad. This type of opponent doesnt care. He wants to outdraw you, so make him pay when you have the best of it, and keep the pots small when the risk is too large.

Live and learn.

Profitable Poker

I’ve been giving some thought to maximizing the value I make from NL Heads Up at different limits. I typically play $50 games, sometimes playing $100 games. My bankroll right now is approximately $6600. That means I’m generally risking less than 1% of my bankroll on a game. I’d like to play some $200 games, but I’ll never venture into the $500 games because thats simply too much money.

I think a reasonable expectation is $20/game after rake.

At $50, I have to win 72.5% of the time (29/40).
At $100, I have to win 62.5% of the time (5/8).

If I kept up this win rate, in order to make $3000 a month,

I’d have to play 150 $50 games and win 109/150 of them.
I’d have to play 150 $100 games and win 94/150 of them.

A few scenarious:

If I play 80% $50 games and win 64% of the time and 20% $100 games and win 64% of the time, then it’ll take me 217 games to reach $3000.

Same thing, but 70%/30% and its 200 games/month.

70%/30% with 66% winrate in both games and its 170 games/month.

Isnt that amazing? 2% difference in win rate results in a drop of 30 games/month to reach my goal.

The key, regardless, is that I have to play a lot. I cannot reach my goal with less than an average of 6 games per day unless I achieve a remarkable winrate.

All of this obviously is hypothetical. During April I played 103 games:

47:29 in $50s
21:6 in $100s

If I could maintain that winrate in $100s, these entire equations would be way off. I think a reasonable goal is to win two-thirds of both my $100s and my $50s and to play 200 games/month. This would put me over my goal at the end of the month and it would give me some flexibility if I cannot maintain the two-thirds ratio. Nevertheless, 200 games/month, for me, is a lot. Its going to take a lot of hard work and tilt-prevention. I cannot sit down and play 7 games at once. It’ll have to be broken up throughout the day.

When I think “Oh, $100/day” isnt that bad, I dont take into account how unsteady my daily profit can be. The more I play, the more I win though. As long as I dont tilt, ever, I should be okay.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Mistake: Risking vs Poor Players

The last game I played today was against a very poor player. He was a very poor post-flop player and I took advantage of it multiple times to gain a significant lead after about fifteen minutes.

The hand prior to this one I won a big pot after I flopped a straight and he called the whole way with top pair. Here is the hand:

PokerStars No-Limit Hold’em Tourney, Big Blind is t30 (2 handed)

BB (t640)
Hero (t2360)

Preflop: Hero is Button with Qd, Ks.
Hero raises to t60, BB raises to t640, Hero calls t580.

I probably was either up against a low/medium pocket pair or Ax, with a possibility of KJ, KQ, JQ. Should I risk it? Against a good player who I was worried could outplay me, I think this is a call most of the time.

Versus his range (TT-22,ATs-A2s,KJs,QJs,AQo-A2o,KJo,QJo) I am 45% to win. I estimate that if I was to fold here and play pots, I’d win 75%+ time. If I gamble, I will win 45% of the time, but the other 55% he will have 1280 chips, effectively back in the game. I would prefer this not to happen because then I might get it all in with AK vs JT and bam, he hits, I lose.

My point? Dont gamble with margincal hands against crappy players if you think you can win outright. This obviously depends on the opponent and the range you give him, but, do I really want to get it all in with 44 against a very bad player who has 750 chips?

Maybe not, maybe not.

Bones Etc

For the purposes of this blog I am going to refer to $50 as one bone. It is my attempt to devalue the money involved. I do this because when I start thinking of what $100 can buy, I play a much weaker game. Hopefully this will desensitize me to to the cash flow. For now, I only play $50 and $100 Heads Up matches. When I make updates, I will not factor in the rake. So, while I might win two $50 matches, which earn me $95, I will simply refer to that as +2 bones.

Today: 1:0 @2bones, 3:1@1bone is +4bones.

My goal, when the next semester rolls around, is 60 bones per month. I will try not to think of it in terms of daily goals. When I start thinking “I have to make 2 bones/day”, it will affect the way I play when I am down a few bones due to variance.

I played 2 matches early this morning and 3 this afternoon. I noticed by the end of the last match my game was definitely deteriorating. I lost the match before after having a 3-1 lead. I didnt think it affected me too much, but looking back I know that it did influence the next game. I think a smart thing for me to do would be to take a ten minute break before I start up the next game when I lose. More depending on the way I lost. That sounds nice when I’m writing it, but it wont be as easy to practice it. Chances are though, if I lose and dont want to wait 10 minutes to play another game, I probably will be impatient and at a disadvantage anyway.

The Beginning

First post…

This blog will be written like a semi-private journal. My objective is not for the poker blogging community to read this blog daily. This blog is will be written for my own benefit. The audience will be the people that I discuss poker with who would like to follow my progress.

Enough on that.

The biggest thing I have to work on in the upcoming months is tilt. When I’m playing fresh I play very well. After a long session, especially after bad beats, my game deteriorates and I negate the profits I made earlier. My goal is to maximize my profits when I am playing well, and minimize my losses when I am playing poorly. The key to that is recognizing that my patience is wearing down and that I am not in control.

Psychological Rule:

I will recognize when I am not playing well (due to lack of sleep, bad beats, impatience, etc) and quit until I am confident I can play my A-game.

If I do not violate this rule I will enjoy poker much more and I will yield a higher win rate, ROI, and profit at the end of the year.

Much of my blogging will be about my mental state because I strongly believe that it directly impacts my performance. When I’ve had enough sleep and am in a good mood, my win rate is dramatically higher than when I’m tired and impatient. In the past, I’ve played knowing I’m on my C-game, but I want to “beat myself” — my ego gets the best of me and I pay the price for it.

Bad beats ignite this downward spiral that threatens my bankroll. Bad beats put me in a bad mood. When I’m in a bad mood, I play bad poker. When I play bad poker, it puts me in a worse mood, and so on. These become the days I lose and I hate poker. I want to cash out my bankroll and never play again. These days are rare, but I have to make sure they dont happen. Beyond everything else, this is what is important.

Everything that follows stems from my ability to not break this rule.

2 thoughts on “Poker Blog Archive”

acne rosacea says:

September 23, 2014 at 8:33 am

An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a
colleague who was doing a little homework on this.
And he in fact bought me lunch because I discovered it for him…
lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thhanks for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for soending the tijme to talk about this matter here on your
web page.

More hours != more results – Matt Mazur