Poker Tales: My Journey through the Cards
Hello everyone! I'll be sharing my poker journey, both the highs and lows, right here. Currently navigating the NL10 waters on BetOnline.
Let's kick things off with an interesting hand:
By the way, is there a proper way to post hands from the Chico network in a text format that looks decent?
18 Replies
HH looks nice
GL!
Hey Max,
Welcome to 2+2!
This HH format looks great.
Thoughts About your hand:
I think it's better to play 3bet or fold strategy preflop. This way we avoid difficult multiway spots postflop when our EV is unclear and we must make a tough decision.
As played we can play more aggressively on this flop with our strong hand.
In general, it was played normally, just unlucky.
Good luck with your journey!
As a player with limited experience, I tend to avoid overplaying small pocket pairs, so I usually just call with them instead of making a 3-bet.
I came across a recommendation somewhere suggesting to play small pocket pairs and suited connectors if the effective stack is more than my call multiplied by 20.
Do you think this is too conservative of a strategy?
A couple of hands from today's session.
My opponent is a loose-passive fish.
In this hand, I considered making a continuation bet. If my opponent doesn't fold, he could have any ace, ten, seven, a gutshot, or a set. On the turn, I make a block bet and intend to fold to a raise or a river bet, as there's likely something stronger than my queens in that case.
Spoiler
My opponent is equally loose-passive.
I have a good draw here, and the only thing I'm unsure about is the size of the river bet. It seems I might have bet too much. I'm giving him credit for any pair, overcards, or a flush draw.
Spoiler
This was the hand I played today. Not sure if going all-in against a passive fish was the right move.
Spoiler
A couple of hands from today's session.
My opponent is a loose-passive fish.
In this hand, I considered making a continuation bet. If my opponent doesn't fold, he could have any ace, ten, seven, a gutshot, or a set. On the turn, I make a block bet and intend to fold to a raise or a river bet, as there's likely something stronger than my queens in that case.
Spoiler
My opponent is equally loose-passive.
I have a good draw here, and the only thing I'
H1 I would check turn, you're isolating yourself against stronger hands than QQ. Generally I wouldn't bet <1/2 pot in position unless you're on the flop.
H2 seems fine against a bad player.
JT hand probably just call the XR, definitely call the shove though.
First, I suck at poker.
Second, I hate the 3! on the flop. Villain’s check raise range on the flop is aces, kings, AK, AQ, sets or flush draws. You block two sets. I’d rather just call here, as you’re only getting called by better. The 3! feels like a raise for information or to get a worse hand to fold.
I really hate calling villains all in on this flop. Their four bet range is sets only. You’re way behind.
I’d love to hear what you think of this comment.
H1 I would check turn, you're isolating yourself against stronger hands than QQ. Generally I wouldn't bet <1/2 pot in position unless you're on the flop.
After reviewing the hand again, I also come to the conclusion that weaker hands are likely to fold to my turn bet. I made it as a block bet to protect against a large opponent's bet on the river.
If I check behind on the turn, and the opponent bets half the pot on the river, do you suggest calling?
First, I suck at poker.
Second, I hate the 3! on the flop. Villain’s check raise range on the flop is aces, kings, AK, AQ, sets or flush draws. You block two sets. I’d rather just call here, as you’re only getting called by better. The 3! feels like a raise for information or to get a worse hand to fold.
I really hate calling villains all in on this flop. Their four bet range is sets only. You’re way behind.
I’d love to hear what you think
Reviewed the hand in Flopzilla. I don't believe the opponent has just overcards; rather, it could be overpairs, sets, top pairs, or possibly a flush draw.
If his range is TT+,44,AJs,AJo, then I have a 62.71% equity against him.
Adding a bit of flush draw (TT+,44,AJs,AhKh,AhQh,AhTh,AJo) brings it to 62.38%.
So, I consider my all-in to be a decent move.
good luck man
In this hand, raising on the turn was unnecessary. Here I am clearly knocking out all the weaker hands.
Spoiler
As a player with limited experience, I tend to avoid overplaying small pocket pairs, so I usually just call with them instead of making a 3-bet.
I came across a recommendation somewhere suggesting to play small pocket pairs and suited connectors if the effective stack is more than my call multiplied by 20.
Do you think this is too conservative of a strategy?
Unfortunately, at the moment, if you call indiscriminately with pockets, relying only on a set and the call-20 rule, then it will only pay off at the lowest limits.
To effectively play for a set value, you need to take into account several factors that will greatly influence your EV.
Availability of multi-pot.
If before you there was not only a raise but also several calls, then the chances that someone will catch the flop and pay you for your strong hand increase.
Tight/nitty open raiser.
If the raising player has a very narrow range in a given position, then he will be much more likely to have a made and strong hand such as QQ/KK/AA on the flop and will be more likely to be willing to call you.
Availability of position.
If you play in position post-flop (for example, you are sitting on BTN), then it will be easier for you to control the course of the hand and you will be able to take part of the pots without a strong hand.
Playing against an opponent with faces you understand.
In this case, you can build a game plan that will include the calculation of hitting a strong hand and the option of exploiting the player with a weaker hand. For example, this will be beneficial against an opponent who tends to give up on a float or has over-folded streets.
The strength of your pocket pair.
Whatever one may say, it will be much easier to play pocket pair 99 profitably than pair 22, because you can win more often at showdown without improving post-flop. In addition, the lower your pocket pair, the more often you will find yourself in cooler situations by fielding post-flop against a stronger set.
No aggressive squeezers after you.
If there is a player behind you who tends to make big squeezes with a wide range, then trying to set mine will simply be a waste of money, because often you will have to give up preflop.
The presence of passive fish after you.
If, instead of aggressive players, there are passive fish behind you, then with a high degree of probability, after your call, they will also enter the pot, which will increase the profitability of your game.
Remember that you not only need to have enough money in your opponent's stack but also a certain plan for the hand that will allow you to increase your mathematical expectation. You either have to be able to win big when you hit a set, or you have to be able not to lose all the pots with an unimproved hand. If you're unsure, it's best to avoid calling and fold your pocket pair preflop.
I haven't posted for a while as I took a short break from the game to focus on improving my play.
Unfortunately, I've hit a rough patch: twice running into flushes against flushes, once losing a set-to-set battle, aces falling to kings, and various other unpleasant encounters. Consequently, my gameplay has suffered; I've become more passive in hand decisions and experienced more losses in medium and small pots.
Planning to read articles, watch instructional videos for a few more days, and then get back into the game.
Improving your mental skills plays a crucial role in poker development. Focusing on areas such as tilt control, motivation, concentration, and overall mental resilience is integral to maintaining peak performance on the poker table.
If you haven't explored this aspect of your game yet, consider delving into the classic works of authors like Alan N. Schoonmaker and Jared Tendler. Their books provide valuable insights into the psychological aspects of poker, offering strategies to enhance your mental game.
Improving your mental skills plays a crucial role in poker development. Focusing on areas such as tilt control, motivation, concentration, and overall mental resilience is integral to maintaining peak performance on the poker table.
If you haven't explored this aspect of your game yet, consider delving into the classic works of authors like Alan N. Schoonmaker and Jared Tendler. Their books provide valuable insights into the psychological as
Thanks for the advice.
I've started reading Jared Tendler's book 'The Mental Game of Poker' and have already identified descriptions of some of my issues. I believe this book will be beneficial for me.
Thanks for the advice.
I've started reading Jared Tendler's book 'The Mental Game of Poker' and have already identified descriptions of some of my issues. I believe this book will be beneficial for me.
I haven’t yet understood why these are misconceptions, but these points are definitely about me:
- You should always quit if you think you’re about to tilt.
- The key to surviving downswings is to take breaks or to drop down in stakes.
Haven't written anything in a while. Since then, I've been playing on GGPoker and played about 9k hands. Just wanted to share my modest achievements. Results have been a bit stagnant lately, but still maintaining around 10 bb/100 hands.
