January Results

January went rather poorly for me, but I am in no way disappointed. I finally found my way into the local network of poker games, and have been playing a .25/.50 cash game in a local bar on Sundays and Mondays. The game is pretty loose, wild at times, and has a heterogenous mix of styles and skill levels that makes for an interesting and profitable playing experience. Though I've taken some hits in this new game, I've also posted some respectable wins, and I am confident that once I've settled into the game as a regular, the swings will even out a bit and the profit will become more steady.

January Results

Total Games: 39

Profit: $77

Live Profit: -$30

Total profit: $47

January Results

Live

Reflections on 2010, Goals for 2011

It's been a long journey from my decision to experiment with heads-up NLHE one year ago. My decision to grind low-stakes HU SNGs for my primary source of income may have been premature, but at the time it offered me an escape from a shitty job that provided an even more threadbare source of income. I've grown as a heads up player, but more importantly I've grown as a poker player. The experience of playing so many hands one-on-one has, I feel, significantly augmented my understanding of fundamental and intermediate poker strategy, relative hand values, and equity, as well as my overall "card sense." This overall improvement is evident in my improved results playing 6- and 9-handed SNGs later in the past year.

There have been three things, however, that have held me back from really improving my game: sticking with low stakes, relying on Sharkscope, and, more recently, a lack of study and self-analysis.

My reluctance to play for more than ~$20 a game has prevented me, in both HU and FR SNGs, from really being challenged by more competent opponents. I think that this attitude grew out of the relative poverty that I was living in in Chicago, when $20+ games could easily entail $100+ swings, which could be very discouraging and even scary when I had bills to pay. I was, essentially, playing on scared money, and keeping the opposition weak and the stakes small ensured that the swings were minimal, and my flow of income gradual but relatively predictable. Related to my reluctance to play higher has been a reluctance to significantly increase my volume via multi-tabling. Though I experimented with two-tabling HU SNGs briefly last spring, that experiment coincided with a significant downstreak and was subsequently put on the back burner, so to speak.

"Bumhunting" HU SNGs, and utilizing the Sharkscope Tournament Selector to avoid sharky FR SNGs, has had the same effect as playing low stakes, preventing my from being consistently challenged by tougher, more competent players. I began utilizing Sharkscope almost immediately last January for much the same reason as I listed above; it kept the swings low and the income more predictable. It has retarded my development even more than playing small, particularly for HU SNGs, and I need learn to rely on it less if I am to improve my skills.

My lack of study can be directly attributed to my getting a non-poker job in October. Since then I have not been able to put in the hours necessary to make significant money playing HU, and have had no need to. Poker has gone from being my primary source of income to being a fun and somewhat rewarding game again, and since my results have been positive there has been no urgent need for study. Studying poker books has similarly been replaced by reading literature and non-fiction, which has also been fun and rewarding.

I still don't make much money (~$1100 a month), but I'm living rent-free and no longer playing poker for my income, so moving up a bit should be a little easier. Likewise, since poker income is not so urgently needed, weaning myself off of Sharkscope should also be easier. And putting in an hour or two a week reviewing fundamentals, studying strategy, and analyzing my own play should not be difficult. To whit:

Preliminary Goals for 2011 (in order of priority)

• Study more. This includes SNG strategy, HU strategy, and even cash game strategy, as well as reviewing fundamentals and increasing my understanding and application of specific concepts (specifically equity, ranging, and ICM). 
• Increase my average stake in non-HU SNGs to at least 9 (from ~$6). So long as my ROI remains positive this goal will stand.
• Decrease my reliance on Sharkscope. By the end of the year I should be able to maintain a positive overall ROI over a significant sample size without having used the service.
• Familiarize myself with the use of HUDs in 6-max and FR games. Though I happily do not needed a HUD to beat low stakes SNGs, I suspect that my failure to familiarize myself with the basics of HUD use will become more of a liability as the stakes rise.
• Increase my average stake in HU SNGs to at least $14 (from $11). This may prove unwise in view of my lack of consistent HU practice, but if my ROI remains positive I will hold myself to it. 
• Play fewer MTTs, unless I study more. The fact is that, if not for my big cash in September, MTTs would have lost me money this year. I'm not terrible at them, but I'm not great either, and without further study I'd rather they didn't drain my bankroll. 

This is going to be a lot to tackle at once (particularly moving up in stakes on less practice/studying while simultaneously weaning off of Sharkscope and learning to use a HUD). I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions that any of you might have. Good luck at the tables this year!

2010 Results

HU SNG Profit: $6,310
Non-HU SNG Profit: $608
MTT Profit: $1,994
Live Profit: $200
Cake Rakeback: $282
Stars Bonuses: $150
MTT Tickets: $100
------------------------------
Total Profit: $9,644

2010 Results

2010 HU SNG Results

 

December Results

A good month, considering that I've only played for fun in some of my spare time. Been playing more $5 and $10 9-max SNGs, still sharkscoping, just to relax and play "fun poker."

December Results

Total Games: 106

Heads Up Profit: $198

Other SNG profit: $162

Total profit: $360

December Results

All SNG Results

HU SNG Results

Foxwoods Trip #3

My little brother has been home for Thanksgiving for a couple weeks, and we finally made it out to Foxwoods (something we've intended to do for over a year now). For the first time in a long time both of us could stand to gamble a couple hundred dollars, so instead of playing the $2/4 limit tables for fun, we sat at $1/2 NL, which was infinitely more fun.

I ran like God, which helped the fun. In the first 15 minutes I picked up KK, AK, and AA (and stacked a guy with KK), and was up over $200. Through the next 3-4 hours my stack fluctuated between $340 and $460, as I saw several more playable and premium hands.

Two mistakes stood out. In one hand, not fully appreciating the looseness of the table, I flatted the big stack's UTG raise with KK, only to see 3 other callers. I then flat called a small $35 bet on J55, before a guy behind raised, UTG called (with AJ), and I folded to the raiser's trip 5s. I 3bet my big hands every time after this. In another hand I raised a loose limper with 99, checked the flop of A66, but called a 2/3p bet on the turn J. There was no hand I could really beat. I checked the river behind, and she showed A3s. There were a couple of occasions where I missed value bets also, such as betting the river w/AA OOP on Q77JK (vs JT, who very well might have called) after checking flop and betting the turn.

In the end, even after running so good, I ended up $200+, which was a fine score, despite the feeling that I could have won more had I played perfectly. My session culminated, however, with the laydown of all laydowns, in which I folded KK pre-flop to AA. Before you start typing "DONK" in the comment box, allow me to explain my read:

The guy across the table from me opens to $12 or $15 from UTG+1, and it folds to me on the button. I have KK, and make a smallish 3bet to $30. Folds to UTG+1, who shortly and evenly says "Raise," matches my bet, and calmly slides out $80 more. I tank for about a minute and fold. I have three considerations:

• This guy was Mr. Weak-Tight. In the three+ hours I'd played with him he hadn't raised pre-flop more than once, and whenever he limped in he had a very sullen, expecting-the-worst look on his face that was the antithesis of confidence. If his limp was raised, he'd fold. The guy had only really been involved in one memorable hand in all this time, which was my next consideration.
• About an hour previously, I'd watched this guy *agonize* over calling all-in on the turn with top two pair vs. a loose player. With K8s he'd hit K86 with two clubs, and when a non-club undercard (I think a J or a 3) came on the turn, a loose girl had put him all in. He'd expected a set, and announced "I guess I'm going to regret this" before calling. She had K6.
• Given this guy's weak style of play and expectation of the worst, the calm with which he immediately 4bet me was very noticeable. He didn't stop to think, or consider his course of action. He didn't have to. He said the word "Raise," immediately, and was utterly calm and collected in sliding more chips out. I tried to imagine him doing this with AK or QQ, and couldn't. He was just too confident.

I got up from the table about ten minutes later and approached him, asking if he'd tell me what he had if I told him what I had. He said "Sure, why not? I had the aces," nodding his head as if even he knew it was obvious. I thanked him and fumbled awkwardly to shake his hand, obviously feeling much better about my fold. This guy was utterly guileless (as his play, as well as his manner, had demonstrated), and I had no doubts that he told the truth. I decided to end my night on that note.

November Results

Mental note: Don't play HU half-drunk (er, three quarters). I made the mistake of forgetting this piece of sage advice at the beginning of the month, and donked off $100 in back to back games before recovering $50. Put a dent in my monthly profit, as did a few micro-stakes 6-max and FR SNGs.

November Results

Total Games: 88

Heads Up Profit: $69

Other profit: $-14

Live profit: $200

Total profit: $255

October Results

I've been lazy about posting this month because I really haven't been playing. It's for a good reason though;  I got a job! Yes, I now actually have a decent job that I enjoy, working as a paraprofessional (translation: teacher's assistant) at a special education program. I work from 2-8pm Mon-Fri, which is an excellent schedule for me. So since I started working the first few days in October, I've had little time for serious grinding and have contented myself with playing micro-stakes 6-max and 9-handed SNGs for fun on some evenings.

October Results

Total Games: 132

Heads Up Profit: $135

Other profit: $144

Total profit: $279

It seems likely that this blog will see infrequent updates in the medium term. I'm clearly not done with poker (will that ever be the case?), but my new job is definitely a higher priority right now. 

September Results

Another month that almost became my best month ever. In a way it was, because my total profit was higher than ever before, but only as a result of my big tournament score. My HU results, which were looking so promising at around 24% ROI & $14/hr, were once again completely derailed by a bad streak in the second half of the month.

September Results

Total Games: 347

Heads Up Profit: $699

Hourly rate: $7.07

Other profit: $2,189

Bonuses: $50 (Cost 3k FPP)

Total profit: $2,938

HU Games

Shooting fish in a barrel doesn't improve your aim

I've been thinking a lot lately about what kind of player I am. It's kind of complicated, but one of my most central questions revolves around how skilled I actually am. It's difficult for me to answer this question in any quantifiable way (as it is for most players). Though my win rate is good in HU and even in tournaments when I really focus, my HU ROI is vastly inflated by game selection, as I really only play losing players, and the stakes that I play at are fish-rich and generally not difficult to beat. My math is pretty poor, and I don't make calculations (aside from figuring odds & outs) in-game. The conclusion that I've come to is that I have a solid understanding of the fundamentals (starting requirements, odds, board texture, etc.), a good grasp of some more intermediate concepts (player types & adjustments, equity, assigning hand ranges, etc.), and fairly good instincts. This level of knowledge is plenty to beat the small stakes, and when combined with game selection you have yourself a money machine. And that's the (sort of) problem.

Having the basic tools to make money beating the fish at the low stakes games has retarded my development and probably made me a worse player in some ways, because thinking critically at 100% focus is not necessary. I can play a very straightforward, ABC game, even relatively passively, and still make money, and as a result my focus and ability to think through every hand in a logical way has atrophied.

For example, I often don't even bother assigning ranges to my opponents when they call my 3bets pre-flop, because so many of them with literally call with 100% of their opening range. While I get a somewhat clearer idea of their possible holdings after the flop, the ranges for loose low-stakes players are often so wide as to be of questionable use in the decision-making process. This has led me to play more instinctively, using board texture, coupled with my opponent's general style, calling frequency, and displays of strength or weakness to judge whether or not I have the best hand at the moment (e.g. he has an underpair or a draw; this is second pair or a float with overs, etc), rather than my hand's equity vs his possible range of hands. I also tend to have a relatively tight raising range and straightforward style based mostly on hand strength, because I play so many loose cannons and calling stations that don't know how to fold. I'm usually thinking on levels 1 and 2, and often on 3, but rarely on level 4 or higher. Again, this is enough to beat the fish, but I question whether this style would serve at stakes much higher than those I play.

I'm not sure if I've explained my concerns entirely or even coherently, but my point is that my default style is definitely exploitable, and I'm not sure I'm ready to adjust correctly to a tough, perceptive, and aggressive opponent. I've seen several training videos for higher stakes HU SNGs, and though I understand the logic and reasoning as they are explained by psimalive and PrimordialAA, I'm not used to employing it in-game, and am unsure if I'm even capable of thinking and calculating through a hand with the speed and accuracy of such professionals.

A Good Month, New Car, & a Big Score for the Birthday Fish

September has been going very well so far. I've settled into a comfortable routine, have played sufficiently well, and have been winning steadily. Up about $1000 so far in HU SNGs.

I also got a new (to me) car, with help from my parents. Its a 2003 Honda Civic with a book value of $8,220, for which I paid $4,800 at a small dealership in a nearby town. Or, I should say, my parents paid, whom I now have to pay back.

Which should be pretty easy at this point, thanks to a massive score in a $33 MTT I played yesterday. The 14th was my 26th birthday, and as it turned out, my mom needed a ride to the airport for an early flight, so I got up at 5:45 (!) to take her there. Not having anything to do until about 5pm, and not being able to resume sleeping due to my caffeine intake, I had planned on playing the $22 Deep Stack at 8:15am (birthday tournament!), but (as fortune would have it) I was one minute late to register upon my return to my dad's apartment. Disappointed, I browsed the other tournaments running that morning, looking for one with a nice, slow structure, and it seemed the next best option was the $33 500-cap $10K GTD, so I registered for that and began play at 9:20.
For the first few hours, my tournament was uneventful. I didn't see many playable hands, and didn't get much action when I did play. When the bubble drew close, I had just enough chips to squeeze into the money, which I decided to do, as $50 would be a nice bonus to the morning's entertainment, and I had so few chips that a double-up would accomplish little. When the bubble finally burst at 54 players I was in the dead zone, with about $6k (2.5 BBs) left. I managed to put some chips together though, and around 45 players doubled through to a respectable stack of around $30K (M~9). A turning point hand came again when I made the nut flush in a 3-way pot, and with ~80K the final table was now a very real possibility. I continued to nit it up, playing only solid values and preserving my place around the average stack (my nittiness meant that I got very little action when I did raise, and was usually ahead when I got a call). The field played down to the final table surprisingly quickly, and before I knew it I was 6th of 9 remaining and guaranteed at least $250 for my morning's fun. As a medium stack I decided to continue to play conservatively and allow a few shorter stacks to bust before making any big moves. To my delight, they obliged me, as did a few of the other medium stacks.

Suddenly we were 4-handed, and I was guaranteed $1,200, by far my biggest tournament score to date. Here the play became tougher and much more tense, as I was forced to play hands and fight to hang on. I had become the short stack by a large measure, having between 100K and 150K out of the 1.5M on the table. The bigger stacks fluctuated somewhat, but for quite awhile even the second shortest had more than double my chips. As the blinds went up, I took to jamming any pair, bigger aces, and some broadway hands, and took a few pots by limping my SB and betting the turn. After what seemed like at least an hour, I had managed to build up to 350K after winning a flip and also being fortunate enough to pick up AQ against an opponent's AJ. An altercation between two of the other players soon left one at 180K, after his TP lost to a flush draw. This guy's stack shrunk further after he raised 1/3 of it preflop, then folded when I jammed (A6s) from the BB. The next hand he jammed 33 but ran into the BBs KK, and suddenly there were three. At this point I had begun to get walks in the BB, which helped to keep me alive as the other, larger stacks tangled. Eventually one of them was brought down to about 200K, at which point the chip leader began to apply the pressure with his 1M stack. This was the real endgame, and at 300K I had a choice; I could play back at the chip leader, risk busting in 3rd, and hope to double through to have a chance at playing HU with a 2:1 chip deficit, or I could allow the short stack to take the gamble first, and hope to make 2nd with a larger deficit. I opted for the latter, and soon the short stack's QTo lost to A5o to put me heads up, but behind 5 to 1 in chips. I pulled out my Nash table, but a streak of unplayable hands soon put me out in 2nd as my jammed J8o ran into the chip leader's AK and lost out. I took 2nd for $2,137.50. Sick!

All in all this was an excellent way to spend my birthday. Though I was very lucky, and won several flips, I only really got my money in bad one time, when I jammed T8s and managed to win out over KK.  So, seeing as how I'm a total MTT fish, I'm pretty satisfied with how I played.

August Results

This month went well, but could have been better. As my graph shows, I played a couple of terrible losing sessions mid-week, which cut severely into my profit. Though I ran into some ugly situations these losses were not simple variance; I played poorly. Some factors: I was tired. I was uncomfortable and out of my normal playing environment (on a laptop on the floor vs. desktop at my desk at home). I played a few rematches that I probably shouldn't have, not because I was outclassed, but because I had been tilted. Playing too long at sub-optimal levels, rather than quitting and coming back fresh. Hopefully I'll take these lessons to heart next month and be more careful.

I also played a couple SNGs for fun after tiring of HU, and went 3/18 and 1/27, which, along with Pokerstars' 4000 and 5000 VPP milestone credits ($10 + $50), boosted my total profit nicely.

August Results
Total Games: 365
Heads Up Profit: $696
Hourly rate: $8.01
Other profit: $61
Bonuses: $60
Total profit: $815

"The Cons of Being a Pro" by Wein

An interesting article/blog post by 'Wein' at tournamentpokeredge.com. This is a good counterpoint to the "glamourous" way that pro poker is portrayed on television and by various poker sites... Though some pros are able to strike a balance between successful, profitable poker and living a full, interesting, and social life, many are not. I think I'm happy enough not becoming a professional poker player.

The Cons of Being a Pro

Back to the Grind

Things have finally settled down for me somewhat; I'm back in MA staying with my parents, and can finally concentrate on making/saving up some cash. The last few days have marked my first dedicated, scheduled grind since early June.

I've started shifting from regular speed games to turbos this month, and this weekend made the jump up to playing the $22s regularly. The results have been very pleasing as I destroyed the game this weekend, making as much in three nights as I did all last month despite running slightly under EV. I believe that focusing on playing Friday-Sunday nights, playing slightly higher and slightly faster (turbos), game selection, and a fresh, clear head have been the deciding factors in this weekend's positive results. Let's hope things continue to go well.

July Results

Considering the low volume, this month went very well. I spent almost the entire month across the country in San Francisco and Oakland, visiting friends and scouting the area for a possible move. I had a blast, but I also spent a bunch of money, and squeezing in a few sessions here and there helped to offset the cost of travel significantly. I paid close attention to game selection, and also played evenly and with a clear head, as I felt no pressure to play at times when I wasn't up for it.
Interestingly, my ROI is weighted down by poor performance in the $10 regular speed games, in which I broke nearly even. In the $11 turbos and up, I did much better.

July Results
Total Games: 126
Total Profit: $345
Hourly Rate: $8.70

Raising the river for value after checking the turn behind

So I haven't posted in awhile because I haven't really been playing much at all (~22 hours this month). I'm spending July in the San Francisco bay area visiting some good friends, and considering making a new home here. And as I've predictably run through more money than I anticipated while traveling, I've set aside more time to play.

This hand came up in my last game of today's session, a $20 regular speed game.

Reads: Opponent is solid, tight-aggressive player who raises almost every button and folds almost every BB so far. Most hands don't see a flop.





Preflop: Hero is SB with , 
Hero bets t90, Villain calls t60


I raise to take his blind, as he's folding 90% of the time with very little 3-betting.


Flop: (t180) , ,  (2 players)
Villain checks, Hero bets t90, Villain calls t90


Here I consider checking behind, but venture a cautious bet as I believe this flop has missed a good portion of his calling range (which I'm thinking of as mostly A7-AT, K9+, QT+).

Turn: (t360)  (2 players)
Villain checks, Hero checks

After he calls the flop, I don't plan on betting again. Picking up a straight draw on the turn gives me all the more reason to check behind, as I don't want to get check-raised off a hand that now has more potential.


River: (t360)  (2 players)
Villain bets t240, Hero raises to t750, Villain calls t510

Gin. He bets 2/3 pot, and I shake with glee as I am convinced that he likes his hand enough to call a raise. How much can I raise in order to elicit a call from top pair? I settle on a relatively small raise instead of a push as I feel that he simply wont call a shove on such a dangerous-looking board with only top pair. He tanks for 15 seconds for so and makes the call.

Total pot: t1860


Later in the match Villain asked me if, since this was "obviously going to be our last match", I would tell him if I would have raised A3 or A5 on that river. The question apparently had influenced his call on the end. I told him probably not, but I'm still not sure if that's true. 
I thought this hand was interesting because I was offered this window into my opponent's thought process, and it made me consider the hand from his point of view again. Would you call here with the A9? Does this look like some pathetic river bluff by a worse hand (as I was thinking it might at the time)? Would you raise here with 2 pair? Shove? Thoughts/comments appreciated.

June Results

Another month that started out pretty well and then fizzled out. I played almost no games in the last two weeks of June, having too much else to do (mostly moving away), and what little I did play ended up being a waste of time. Of course I ran way under EV, mostly earlier in the month, though I still managed to grind out a profit anyway; eat it, poker gods!

June Results


Total Games: 251
Total Profit: $519
Hourly Rate: $7.81

Heads Up SNG Results

Mid-June

Doing alright.

The Return of Small-Ball

I'm happy to report that things have evened out for me lately. Playing less poker has probably helped. I've had a lot on my mind this month, as I am leaving Chicago, my girlfriend and I are breaking up, and I have no idea what to do with myself at this juncture. As a result of this general life-turbulence I have not felt ready to play my A game very much. Although that hasn't *always* stopped me from playing, it has made it easier to take breaks, which has had the effect of pulling me back to a more focused, emotionally-detached mind set when I do play.

By the way, Lorin Yelle recently wrote me an open letter on his blog, in which he expressed his concern over my use of the online EV calculator at pokerluckmeter.com. He made some interesting points; I suggest you check it out.

One thing that I believe has helped smooth out the luck factor has been a renewed effort to play small-ball poker, chiefly by keeping pots small early and by stabbing out at a lot of small pots when I feel I have a good chance of picking them up. By playing out more streets I'm better able to control pot size, avoid paying off draws, and get away from hands that were strong on the flop but clearly losers by the river.

I have started to notice a link between my level of aggression and that shown by some of my weaker opponents at the low stakes; the more aggressive I get, the more aggressive they get. These opponents usually start off playing passively (loose- or tight-passive), but begin to play back and get aggressive when I turn my own aggression up (they don't want to feel "pushed around" or "run over"). This has the effect of making them harder to play against, and of bloating many pots early on (the result of 3betting, as well as raising 3-4x instead of 2-2.5x) -- exactly what I'm trying to avoid. By making smaller raises and widening my limping range I accomplish two things against these players; a) I create more small pots (in position) that are easier and less risky to steal, and b) I preserve their passivity, which, whether loose or tight, makes for an easier opponent.

May Results

Great start, but totally derailed by a downswing in the second half of the month, bringing down both my ROI and hourly rate. Kinda like March, but worse.

May 2010

Total games: 406

Total profit: $710

Hourly rate: $7.74

Heads Up SNG Results

Ugh... more of the same...

What was before just a bad session has become a full blown downswing, and has brought down my entire month as a result. I've been using pokerluckmeter.com to confirm this, that I'm not just playing like shit; after my 0% session I had a nice 4%, 7%, 22%, etc. Today was a 6%, and counting all the hands I've played at home in the last 12 days, I broke the meter at 0% again:

My last entry was kind of funny; haha, I broke the luck meter. But that was only ~900 hands; this is ~5,000, which adds up to a lot more lost buy-ins. On top of the fact that, well, seriously... 1,927.4:1 against. Seriously.
I know that downswings like this come with the game, and I don't mean to complain as if I'm the only guy who's ever gotten unlucky; indeed, it could certainly be worse. However, I'm starting to think that, on top of everything else that's happening in my life right now, I can't really deal with this, and certainly not for much longer. It's been a hard month for personal reasons, and as I've mentioned before I'm leaving this town pretty soon, I have a lot of things to figure out, and I just don't need the added emotional burden of Lady Luck shitting on my head. It might soon be time to cash in my chips, at least for a little while.