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The Poker Diary    Friends

Return - Despite the Wishes of my Laptop!

Date: Thu, Jul 29, 2010

I hope no one interpreted my brief hiatus from posting as losing it completely after my "frustrating night" post. That's definitely not the case.

Instead, it's been some very frustrating technical difficulties that have been holding me back. My laptop is the one that completely lost it (as I've been expecting) and I've been trying to get it fixed without spending any money. Before it quit on me, it was missing several keyboard buttons, got infected with spyware every other day and couldn't even support itself thanks to a missing piece where the screen connects to the keyboard.

I've just bought a new laptop, and now I just have to figure out how to get PT3 installed and my database in order. In the meantime I've just been messing around with a couple SnGs, but nothing to write home about.

I'm playing in a home game with some friends tonight, so maybe a little live poker will be what I need.

I'm predicting tiny stacks in relation to the blinds and 5 handed, pretty much a crapshoot for any single session. With my friends, though, there will no doubt be massive egos at stake...

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Frustrating Night

Date: Thu, Jul 15, 2010

My "Move up through uNL" challenge is going well for the most part, as I haven't encountered any real adversity and am still cruising through 2 NL.

Last night, though, I had a terrible time at the .25/.50 limit tables, which is usually my best game. Everything was getting cracked, my c-bets were always getting raised and aggro players seemed to be stumbling onto the nuts with high frequency.

I didn't get too affected, though; it was only about 70BB or so in an evening. (I four-tabled a session first and lost about 25BB. Then I sat back down at four more tables after taking a break and treaded water for a while before getting absolutely crushed right at the end of my session.)

Oh well, just read a couple of 2+2 threads on variance, tell myself it could be much and move on, right? Not exactly.

I reviewed my sessions in my PT3 database and I was a bit surprised to see that I got involved in some pots that I never should have. Iso-raises pre on tables that were too loose, marginal aggressive play with medium pocket pairs against unknowns, way too eager to call down after being raised heads-up...etc.

I think that all the time spent playing 6-max No Limit games actually affected my play and made me play too wild of a style for full ring. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I played, but I was quite surprised when I looked back at my sessions.

When we get crushed in a particular day, it's very easy to blame variance and report on "cooler after cooler" that unjustly devastated us. But it's a lot harder to take an honest look at our own play and admit we didn't play great, or let a few early losses affect us for the rest of the day.

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Thoughts on TV Poker

Date: Mon, Jul 12, 2010

I'm really not a big fan of the way poker is televised, but I can't really think of a much better way to do it.

It would obviously be boring and terrible for ratings if it were broadcast live, but delaying it for weeks after the fact makes it comparable to a dull reality show where any serious viewers already know the outcome. I know they need time to make edits and build up the "drama," but I never really buy into all of that.

And if I hear one more WSOP hand analyzed by the way Norman Chad was treated by one of his ex-wives, I think I might lose it.

I guess they've broadcast the WSOP final table and other big events live on a pay-per-view event, but I've never tried that. I don't even know if I would find it exciting.

I think at least having a top pro color commentator to give some actual worthwhile commentary on the strategy would be a good start. I guess they've tried this a few times, but it seems that no crew really tells viewers what the players are trying to do with their actions, and ESPN is definitely horrible in this regard. The pre-hole card camera TV events were deathly boring, but at least the commentators had to rationalize why the players might be making certain moves.

The most interesting way to follow the action for me is probably just reading the news updates on the WSOP website. (with the accompaniment of pictures from various blogs.) Poker might just be a sport that doesn't lend itself to TV effectively. By that, of course, I mean for viewers who actually play; as a dramatic reality-type show for non-players, it works quite well.

By the way, go Johnny Chan! That would be an amazing story...

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Back to the Basics - 2NL, Table Selection

Date: Fri, Jul 9, 2010

I'm excited to do this challenge, but before I can really get down to business I need to buckle down and beat 2NL.

My NL game as a whole certainly has some gaps and I've bounced around at different levels over my career. It'll be nice to say I moved up from the very bottom using proper BRM.

It's only been a couple days, but I'm off to a decent start.


At this point, it's obviously not too exciting. Betting for value, c-betting heads up, you all know the drill. One thing that I'm really trying to work harder on table selection and trying to get notes on as many players as I can.

I've many times fallen into the trap of thinking that table selection is done when you get a seat at your preferred number of tables. Instead, you need to be very aware and identify when things have tightened up or the fish busts out or calms down. Stand up if you think you can find a more profitable situation. I've stayed stubborn in the past but I think I'm getting a little more patient.

Time to play a bunch of SnGs now.

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Announcing My Challenges for the Rest of the Summer

Date: Tue, Jul 6, 2010

I've been messing around with No Limit for some time now at a variety of stakes, but I've decided that if I want to get something out of it, I should set some concrete goals and work my way up. I also need to refocus a bit on my current SnG challenge.

Grinding 2NL is certainly far from glamorous, but I don't think I'm ever going to reach my potential until I consistently beat every step on the ladder.

Since I play .25/.50 Limit as my game of choice and I've been a decent winner, my bankroll is large enough to play 25 NL right now.

But my challenges aren't about building a bankroll; instead, I intend to come to grips with my own level of play and strive to learn and improve. I especially want to improve my NL hand reading ability beyond just VPIP/PFr stats.

With that in mind, here are my goals:

1.) NL Cash = Move up from 2 NL to 25 NL by the end of the year with at least a 5 BB/100 winrate at each level.

(For 2 NL, 10,000 hands is a big enough sample for my purposes. For 5 NL, I'll need 20,000. 10 NL = 30,000 hands. If I have the 5 BB/100 winrate after I reach those samples, then I'll make the move. If not, I'll stay put and try to turn my luck around.)

2.) NL SnGs = 15% ROI on my first 300 games

3.) Limit Cash = 10,000 hands/week

(At this point, I'm only trying to avoid getting rusty on my "go-to" game while I test my luck with these other challenges.)

I know that these challenges deal with pretty small sample sizes and will involve some amount of luck. I just wanted to set something concrete to keep me focused and hopefully contribute something interesting.

I'll be posting with updates, questionable hands and reflections. I'll continue to review some poker books as I read them, as well.

Hope you'll follow my challenge!

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Frugal Poker Education Today at Borders

Date: Thu, Jul 1, 2010

Today I went out shopping to get a present for a friend's birthday. He's a bit of a bibliophile so I headed out to the local Borders to find something. After a little browsing, I felt a strong pull over to the "Games" section. I had never checked it out to see what type of poker books they might have.

All the best books were on the shelves. I felt like a kid in a candy store as I excitedly browsed 2+2 titles, the Dan Harrington series, Phil Gordon, Matthew Hilger and plenty of other good ones. I guess I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to poker books.

I ended up sitting in a chair reading the whole afternoon, and I think I learned plenty without spending a dime. Don't worry, I didn't forget to pick up the birthday present...

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Minor Unexpected Challenges

Date: Thu, Jul 1, 2010

There are a lot of common problems players encounter when transitioning to No Limit from limit: pot control, implied odds, commitment threshold...etc.

I'm working on these main concepts but it's interesting when something else comes up you never would have expected.

I've always been a little too concerned the current state of my session and the cashier tab, even in limit. I want to see green in my PT3 session tab; a winning day is a successful day.

Even though I know about the long run and I try not to be results oriented, it isn't easy. It's human nature. So many aspects of poker go directly against the way our brains are wired.

Anyway, now that I'm playing NL, I'm finding myself with new ways to obsess and be results oriented. Auto rebuying is one thing I never would have thought would be a problem, but it takes a little getting used to.

Now every time my stack goes below the max buy-in at any particular table, I catch myself crunching the numbers to see how I stand overall. If I'm playing 4-5 tables, this is clearly taking up too much attention, and shouldn't even be a consideration. But a few times this has tempted me to decide against an isolation raise or continuation bet to protect a small win.

I'm at the micros, so it's not like the money matters (I'm in this to learn). But I really need to stay focused on my play, not the results, and forever banish the little part of me that seems to be convinced that you need to be a winner every day.

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Book Review: Poker Wisdom of a Champion by Doyle Brunson

Date: Tue, Jun 29, 2010

I picked up Doyle Brunson’s Poker Wisdom of a Champion expecting a few entertaining stories and little in the way of solid advice, and while strategy certainly isn’t the focus, many of the book’s lessons can be beneficial in ways you wouldn’t have guessed.

Doyle structures his book into eight sections, each consisting of 4-5 personal anecdotes demonstrating a particular theme. These sections include “A Winning Lifestyle” and “Poker for the Wrong Reasons,” and the anecdotes are all interesting, well-written and subtly humorous. It is first and foremost an enjoyable read for anyone interested in the life and experiences of "Texas Dolly."

And while you won’t find any serious hand analysis, charts or poker odds here, Doyle’s insight into the psychology of the game and his use of colorful, real-life characters to illustrate his points teach us things that regular poker books don’t.

Doyle addresses concepts such as “outplaying” fish who won’t fold, being driven by emotion and personal grudges and healthy poker attitudes–all vital themes for lower stakes players trying to build a bankroll and endure the coolers and bad beats they encounter at the tables.

We’ve read about tilt prevention a million times, usually in the style of impersonal and matter-of-fact points. And our reaction is a defiant rejection of these tendencies: of course we know the odds and we’d never let emotion take over after taking a bad beat! But the fact is that human nature and optimal poker strategy just about always diverge, and it’s not until we put real names and faces on the situations that we discover how easy it is to fall into these traps.

Brunson’s anecdotes introduce us to a variety of characters who help understand see poker for what it is: a game of people. The cocky and tilty gamblers he skillfully weaves into the chapters symbolize the biggest issues that micro stakes players need to deal with.



You’ll obviously need to supplement this book with other reading material focusing entirely on strategy, but I believe that looking at some strategic concepts from a different, more personal perspective can do a lot of good. That is, assuming you’re honest enough with yourself to recognize there’s something to be learned.

A similar book written by one of today’s top internet pros would be just fantastic.

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Plodding Along, Adjusting to NL

Date: Mon, Jun 28, 2010

I'm still running hot in my SnG challenge and relatively breakeven at the NL cash tables. I miss limit where getting 3!ed preflop is an obligatory call and re-evaluate on flop, not an agonizing, player dependent decision when stacking off enters the equation. I think I was leaking money by making some moves with AK type hands that were fueled by emotion instead of solid reads. So at least I'm getting a little better at that now.

I've also become convinced think the poker gods are trying to make me go back to limit by tempting me into results-orientedness. Today I reasoned my AQo should be mucked facing a nit 3-bet and a call, and, much to my dismay, the board came 2AAA. In my head, I sounded like one of those whining beginners on poker forums lamenting that would've flopped a full house with 75 or some trash. After figuring this out, I put myself on poker time-out briefly and read some 2+2 threads.

My NL transition hasn't been without a few struggles, but that's to be expected. At least I'm just doing it at the micros without any important money at stake. I'm almost to a 10k sample, so I'll be taking a closer look at my stats pretty shortly.

At the same time, I do miss playing limit, so I think I'm going to play some 3-4 table sessions for a couple hours in addition to my NL experiments.

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Losing Day and Thoughts On My Summer, Other Blogs

Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010

Had a losing day today at the micro NL cash tables. For the life of me I couldn't take advantage of a 60/5 on my right who kept getting the better of me with baffling postflop lines. You should usually treat min-bet donks like a check, but he was donking out with very weird small amounts that were a little more significant. I saw air a couple of times, others he was trying to get a cheap showdown and one was an "expert" slowplay. I didn't target him specifically but kept finding myself in a pot with him and it seemed to never go my way. A little frustrating.

My strategy was to simply value bet him to death and get out of the way if I don't have the goods, even if his donks looked suspicious. Standard micros protocol: EZ game.

But the next pot I got involved in I lost with KK to his set of nines, and then, of course, he abruptly left the table. Oh well... I should be avoiding personal vendettas at the tables, anyway. It's a surefire way to go on tilt.

My SnG challenge is going a bit better at least, and so far today I've taken first in the only one I've played. Winning hand: my A9 cracks villain's AK. I've inched my way up to a 14% ROI and if I can keep up this rate I'll achieve my goal of 15% over 300 games. I'm running a bit hot, though, so we'll see how it goes.

At this point, I rank my skill in different Holdem games as follows:

1. Limit Cash
2. NL MTT
3. NL SnG
4. NL Cash

It's not even close at the top: I've played way more limit, read more books, posted more strategy.

But as I try to branch out this summer I've been playing my "worst" two games almost exclusively.

It's been a great advantage to be able to read other blogs and learn from others' experiences. Microstakes Bankroll Builder, Holdem Notebook and Just the Facts and other poker blogs have been very helpful for me, especially the hand discussions. I've always read 2+2 but it sometimes makes a big difference to know a little more about the hero... I'll be getting even a bit more involved, and I'll come up with some topics of discussion myself.

Finally, what a ending for the U.S today in the World Cup! I really thought we were done for when Donovan came through. Winning the group is huge as well. Next opponent: Ghana on Saturday. I have a lot of friends in South Africa right now and I can't decide if I'm excited for them or belligerently jealous.

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Back to the Tables After a Short Rest, Refreshed

Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010

Had my first day of real grinding for the month yesterday and I felt very refreshed. Although I hadn't purposely set out to take a break, it was still nice to honestly think about my play away from the table without being affected by short-term results. In my absence I read threads on 2+2, re-read The Poker Blueprint and browsed through my PT3 database. If poker play and results were married, we would all benefit from a divorce.

Now I'm absolutely itching to play, and it's a very good feeling to have. Sometimes the best thing we can do as learners is to take some away from the game. It helps us really absorb particular concepts and also reminds us why we enjoy playing in the first place.

Anyway, I played relatively well in 5 micro NL SnGs. I cashed in 3 and took second each time. There must have been some sort of higher power that really didn't want me to win a since coin flip heads up. I lost with a 5-1 chip lead in the last one... Oh well. In cash I essentially broke even although I didn't really table select well. I need to put in a little more effort with that.

I'm looking forward to playing later today and shortly I'll be reviewing some books that I've been reading. Also, I'm anxiously awaiting the U.S.-Algeria game tomorrow. Hopefully the refs won't ruin the situation again!

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World Cup Fever + Writing Times + No Limit Focus

Date: Mon, Jun 21, 2010

I haven’t made a post in way too long and I’m afraid World Cup soccer is the reason. I’ve been intently watching every match and by the time I make it to the tables it’s just a SnG here or an hour of cash there. I can’t believe the blown call that denied the U.S. win vs. Slovenia. Still, it was an amazing match.

I was also really busy with a casino writing assignment for a new website. I wrote 8 “bankroll management” articles describing the popular casino games and their house edges. I’m finally working on memorizing the strategy chart for Jacks or Better video poker, which I always enjoy playing when I’m in a casino. Some people don’t know that many video poker variations actually carry a player advantage with perfect play.

Anyway, I’ve just sent in my last articles, so it’s back to the tables. I’ve made this summer my time to get more experience in No Limit. I’ve had a lot of success in Fixed Limit to this point and I want to become more well-rounded. Stay tuned for reports, hands and discussions.

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Hand Result + Commentary

Date: Tue, Jun 8, 2010

Hey everyone, I didn't list the results for the hand for a while because I was curious if I would hear any more feedback and didn't want to bias the responses.

microstakes bankroll builder, thanks for your comment; I really enjoy the hand analysis over on your blog.

Anyway, let me preface my response by saying that the handling of AK is one of the biggest issues for developing NL players and can significantly affect their results. I am by no means perfect, but in cash games I normally play carefully and don't end up stacking off unimproved to regulars or anything like that. This particular situation in the SnG, though, did have me a bit confused. Also keep in mind that I'm a limit player first and foremost.

On to the hand. My preflop call was a tough decision, but I think there's a little more to it than just "always a monster." You'll notice I also said most of these unknowns are very unpredictable and I thought his range could include JJ and even AK or maybe AQ.

Now I may be wrong, but I was genuinely unsure as to what to assume as a default range here. Other commenters noted suspicious bet amounts and a likely wider range than AA and KK.

Either way, the pot is 650 and I need to call 325 so I'm getting 2:1 odds.

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 30.858% 30.48% 00.38% 6263357 77250.00 { AcKh }
Hand 1: 69.142% 68.77% 00.38% 14129791 77250.00 { QQ+ }

If he has just AA, KK or QQ, then yeah, I have 30% equity. Not in good shape.

At game speed, I thought that including AQ and JJ in his range would make it an almost even money proposition. My mental calculations were off, as it's only 42% equity now that I've run some Stoves.

But if we widen the range even more to include TT, then:

equity win tie pots won pots tied
Hand 0: 49.175% 38.86% 10.32% 29939770 7951130.50 { AcKh }
Hand 1: 50.825% 40.51% 10.32% 31211649 7951130.50 { TT+, AQs+, AQo+ }

Just about a flip. I'm not sure if this is reasonable to make it this wide, though. I guess it's just probably better to fold unless I have seen villain do something crazy. At this point, he pissed away a decent amount of chips and didn't show down, but I only have 4 hands with him.

The one clear thing about this hand is that the flop decision is negligible; however, I never meant that to be the focus of the analysis. I'll try to come up with hands with more post flop decisions in the future.

Anyway, thanks everyone for the discussion. Results are given as a comment.

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Comment Response

Date: Tue, Jun 1, 2010

Thanks for the comments. I have played the vast majority of my career hands at fixed limit, so although I definitely have a good NL foundation, this background sometimes affects my judgment.

This was the first orbit and assuming a $1500 starting chip stack I notice going into this hand villain had lost $195 of those chips. How? Why? Under what circumstances did he find himself down nearly $200 so quickly?

I have to admit that at the time I didn't take notice of the hand he was involved in. After checking it in my database, he open limped in MP and check/called turn and river on a fairly dry board. He ended up losing to a set and mucked his hand. So not too much info, but the open limp suggests he isn't very good and calling down passively so early is another Nice catch, though, that's a really good point that I should be paying more attention to.

I also agree that his bet sizing is a little off. It could be a tip off that his range is wider, or he might just be a bad player who doesn't know any better.

If you can't stack off here, don't call pre. You aren't going to flop AKx often enough to turn a profit!!

This is exactly right.

I was pretty torn on my initial call but I do have so many chips in the pot and once I flop top pair I have to call it. He is doing this with so much of his preflop range, which definitely includes hands I beat.

Thanks for helping me think things through. I think I got a little tilted by some of the other beats I was taking early on in SnGs and I was just trying to make sure it's not affecting me too much.

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