Alucard's Cash Journal - 2NL to 5NL

[Alucard]

Thanks for the motivating words guys. It really means a lot.
So I tried the $11 bounty builder & the Sunday Storm.

Overall a decent profit around $25.
The storm is super fast. Blinds go really quickly after a while. Almost the whole table is short stacked.

You can find all the details here
https://www.cardschat.com/forum/a-g...y-storm-11-bounty-builder-347909/#post3894669


TMRW I have to go to UNI and attend the stupid practical session. After that gonna hit them gym & try a full upper body workout.
bench presses, shoulder presses, lat pull downs & such.

So not sure about playing tmrw. If I'm playing then I'll be grinding 2NL at Party.

Again playing tournaments from the side doesn't seem that bad of an idea. Specially because I seem to hit the money most of the time & I almost always qualify via sattys. So it usually comes around 10,20 gain.

Stars roll upto - $195.28

Going up n up!!

So this officially covers my short term goal for this month at stars. Only party poker left around $40 before the end of the month.

Then will move to 888.
Once again thanks for all the support!

 

[nrhs05]

Hey Man, good luck on your grind. I have been grinding out 5NL and occasionally 10NL the past few months, i actually usually start grinding and move up a level, lose a buyin or two, go on tilt, and blow another 5-6 buyins for my shot..... that's what I need to work on the most myself lol.

The hardest thing for me is i only have a few hours each night so when i start bad i don't want to stop playing, even though that would probably be my best option.

I have been up to $250-280 several times and just give it the traditional punt to ruin all my hard work. Have you found any strategies to avoid doing this yourself? lol

 

[Alucard]

I had something similar when I started out and still I go wild sometimes but happens very rarely.

The first thing is being comfortable at the stakes you play. For an example after playing so much 2NL last month I feel super easy at those stakes & loosing a buy in or two doesn't effect at all. But at 5NL it effects my game. But you have to go into the deep waters to improve your self & move up the stakes of course.

The other things I'd say are to set stop loss limits or time limits per session and when you exceed them just quit & walk away. Even setting a trailing stop when your are winning wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Try some meditation, exercise to keep yourself mentally & physically healthy. Study on your game. Post hands to get more advice on your plays and even starting a journal wouldn't be such a bad idea. I know it helps me a lot.
It makes me grind consistently & also getting connected with the other CCers here who always helps you to improve & keeps you motivated.
And avoid playing higher variance games like zoom cash as well if you don't have the proper strategies for them.

And also if I go down a certain limit of my bankroll, I'd try to move down the stakes and grind it back up.

 

[nrhs05]

Yeah, i have often heard about setting the cut-off for winning/loosing sessions. I actually find it true as well in retrospect. There has been many sessions when i am down 2 buyins, only to find myself continue to lose, on the flip side when i am up 4+ buyins, there has been times i have punted that away, and even if i dont alternatively, i have noticed that a few times a few of my biggest losing sessions came following my biggest winning sessions, you feel invincible and start making bone-head plays for sure.

I play zoom, and have put in a ton of volume at zoom so i feel more than comfortable playing that. I do not find it overly high in variance, its just the massive volume you put in i think causes the tilt to be exponentially worse.

physically, i am in good shape. Unforauntely i am on a computer all day for my job (server and network administrator), and when i come home i have a 15 month old i chase around the house until bedtime lol, so the mentally tough is hard right now which i think contributes to the small mistakes compounding into big ones.

I was also thinking of moving my BR off of pokerstars for one with better rakeback/vip program. I have noticed a huge dropoff in what i get back with these stupid chests, right now i only have $100, and maybe $35 in rakeback to cash out. maybe i will grind to $300 and take that and move it off.

Any suggestions as to where, i have accounts from over the years at a few sites but i hear most are software than PokerStars

 

[Alucard]

partypoker has a good rakeback system. But they reset it weekly so hard to cover the points to earn the amount in @2NL. If you put a good amount of time at 5NL though you can cover the minimum of $5 rakeback per week.

888 is another good site with a lot of noobs. reward system isn't that great though but has a ton of freerolls.

Other than that you could try some asian sites or bet365, unibet & such.

 

[nrhs05]

Haha, i have heard people say about trying to play on the Asian sites because they are maniacs there.

I have been trying to play a 22/18 (roughly) game vpip wise the past few days and it seems to have served quite well as long as i pick my spots right, i noticed you were a fair bit tighter stat earlier there, my thought process in playing that now is as i move up, i will hopefully not be exploited by the better players as we move up we will see more and more of them. Obviously not an issue AT ALL at 2NL, or 5NL really, but anyone's thoughts on trying to get comfortable playing that style early on?

Previously i found my nitty play started to become less and less effective each time i moved up

 

[Alucard]

I'm not at all educated in that department. Hopefully someone like figaroo or brave will answer that. Even though I play a bit tighter I usually pick my spots getting aggressive & even pure bluff very often. Once again sorry but I might give you bad advice regarding that.

 

[nrhs05]

Not a problem, and sorry for semi-hijacking your thread! I will try and keep an eye on this thread and see how you are coming along and leave you to it here. Perhaps i should make one of my own if i get a good session in tonight!

Good luck, and ill stop in and give you my thought (right or wrong lol) on some hand histories

 

[Alucard]

Thanks man!
You are most certainly welcome at anytime at my thread!
Starting a journal will be really good for you

 

[nrhs05]

Yes, i suppose. when i play bad i can keep it to myself currently, if i have to face the shame of coming on here and telling everyone how spewy i played than i might think about going on tilt

 

[Alucard]

today I tried the great game of pot limit omaha. AKA I don't know what the hell I am doing. lol
played a couple of 2NL tables & lost around 1 buy in. Your sets and straights doesn't seem good at all in plo & the pots could get insanely huge very quickly.
Interesting game tho. Might be worthwhile to study a bit to earn some bucks.

Also I watched a video about 2-7 triple draw. The game doesn't seem that complex at all. And I feel it's just that. A game. Not like NLHE where you are not just playing the cards you get dealt.
Anyway the player fields in those games are very low. So might be worthwhile to invest some time to study.

 

[Beanfacekilla]

Hey Man, good luck on your grind. I have been grinding out 5NL and occasionally 10NL the past few months, i actually usually start grinding and move up a level, lose a buyin or two, go on tilt, and blow another 5-6 buyins for my shot..... that's what I need to work on the most myself lol.

The hardest thing for me is i only have a few hours each night so when i start bad i don't want to stop playing, even though that would probably be my best option.

I have been up to $250-280 several times and just give it the traditional punt to ruin all my hard work. Have you found any strategies to avoid doing this yourself? lol

Once you truly have a handle on the strategy part of poker, it's all mental baby.

I say "truly" in regards to strategy, because I have had many epiphanies over the years. Like, I think I finally have the game figured out, learn more, then realize I still don't have it figured out. Such simple decisions like bet, raise, fold, but the game is so complex we must be able to decide what to do in real time, based on so many factors.

Blah blah.

If it were easy to never tilt or punt off chips, and figure out strategy, and know what to do in each spot, everyone would do it.

How bad do you want it? Because poker is tough man. We can't give anything away dude, like ever if possible. It's what divides the winners and losers..... who spews the least, and gets money from the good hands. Seems pretty simple, but it isn't.


You need to know yourself. Recognize when you are off your game. Control yourself. It's that simple (but it really isn't, or is it?).



I have battled with mental game issues for years. I have become pretty good at not tilting and punting off chips. But it wasn't easy.



Read "The Mental Game of Poker" by Jared Tendler. When you think you understood, read it again. If you still are having problems, read it again. This book changed my life.

 

[Beanfacekilla]

today I tried the great game of pot limit omaha. AKA I don't know what the hell I am doing. lol
played a couple of 2NL tables & lost around 1 buy in. Your sets and straights doesn't seem good at all in plo & the pots could get insanely huge very quickly.
Interesting game tho. Might be worthwhile to study a bit to earn some bucks.

Also I watched a video about 2-7 triple draw. The game doesn't seem that complex at all. And I feel it's just that. A game. Not like NLHE where you are not just playing the cards you get dealt.
Anyway the player fields in those games are very low. So might be worthwhile to invest some time to study.

I too have tried PLO. I almost literally set money on fire. Yeah, great game. Huge pots. Variance. The good news is everyone is terrible at it (live anyways), so if you just learn some basics, you'll be light years ahead of the competition. I assume same thing online, to an extent.

You must have a strong mental game to play PLO. Big swings. And hand values are different than in Holdem.

It is fun though.

 

[nrhs05]

Yeah, i agree. I really want to win, badly... i am severely competitive so i hate to be beaten, so it makes me keep trying but time to time it makes me do dumb things as well because when i am losing i get "FPS" (Fancy Play Syndrome).

I just did a quick review of my own hands in my PT, over my last 3000 hands i was down 10 buy-ins. I stopped looking after i decided of the first 7 hands where i got stacked i reviewed, 6 were totally bad, and 1 i was in a situation i had to call that i shouldn't have been in the first place (hand 4). I was raising in situations i should have been calling was my big issue, trying to squeeze value where there really was none to be had.

Hand 1 - Called a 3bet OOP with 56 suited, hit my straight, on a 10,7,8,4,6 runout, but instead of calling the river (pot was still smallish) i raised allin with a 1 card straight (a 9) on the river to lose about 70BB more than i should have

Hand 2 - 3bet KK, ace flopped, got raised, went with it... wasted a good 80BB there.

Hand 3 - Made a fancy turn check raise on a paired board, hit a k on the river and jammed lol. of course i was crushed.

Hand 4 - Overplayed pair + backdoor flush draw, when i was obviously against an overpair, could have saved 90 BB

Hand 5 - Went all-in with 88 preflop vs an mp raise/reraise etc... not sure what i was thinking lol. Although i WAS slightly ahead against AQ haha.

Hand 6 - Jammed a river with 2 pair when a flush got there, and every straight draw in the world at the same time lol.

Hand 7 - Had bottom straight, with 2 higher straights possible, on a 4 way preflop hand, where the river the pot was only 15BB, i repopped it to allin for a 200BB pot........

So, these are hands i generally NEVER end up in, but for whatever reason i was mentally crushed and got owned lol

Sometimes i contemplate flushing out my sessions i do this in, although if i did that, it wouldn't really teach me anything lol.

My graph over 60 k hands, has a steady increase over 50 k, followed by a steep into the negative at the last 10k hands lol

 

[nrhs05]

I too have tried PLO. I almost literally set money on fire. Yeah, great game. Huge pots. Variance. The good news is everyone is terrible at it (live anyways), so if you just learn some basics, you'll be light years ahead of the competition. I assume same thing online, to an extent.

You must have a strong mental game to play PLO. Big swings. And hand values are different than in Holdem.

It is fun though.

Yeah, i tried it as well, whenever you get it in with no re-draw you are usually at best a coin flip if not behind. It has extreme variance, and sometimes at the microstakes it obvious people don't even know you can only use two of your cards lol.

 

[Figaroo2]

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-games-11/thread-shame-228081/

Have a laugh at some of these, it might make you feel not quite so bad.
I put one in there back in May

 

[Alucard]

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-games-11/thread-shame-228081/

Have a laugh at some of these, it might make you feel not quite so bad.
I put one in there back in May

This got me crackin

He beat me into the pot

Winning Poker Network (Yatahay) - $0.10 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: $7.10 (VPIP: 11.11, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 9)
Hero (BTN): $10.00
SB: $4.32 (VPIP: 26.32, PFR: 26.32, 3Bet Preflop: 14.29, Hands: 19)
BB: $19.26 (VPIP: 76.47, PFR: 11.76, 3Bet Preflop: 10.00, Hands: 17)
UTG: $28.49 (VPIP: 31.58, PFR: 31.58, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)
MP: $10.25 (VPIP: 42.11, PFR: 10.53, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 19)

SB posts SB $0.05, BB posts BB $0.10

Pre Flop: (pot: $0.15) Hero has Q♣ A♦

fold, fold, CO raises to $0.21, Hero calls $0.21, fold, BB raises to $1.00, fold, Hero calls $0.79

Flop: ($2.26, 2 players) J♥ 5♦ 4♣
BB bets $2.00, Hero calls $2.00

Turn: ($6.26, 2 players) 9♥
BB checks, Hero bets $7.00 and is all-in, BB calls $7.00

River: ($20.26, 2 players) 6♦

Hero shows Q♣ A♦ (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 25%, Flop 14%, Turn 7%)
BB shows K♥ A♣ (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 75%, Flop 86%, Turn 93%)
BB wins $19.25

$0.24 was deducted from the pot for the jackpot.

 

[nrhs05]

Hey Man,

Before i go into my thoughts on the hand, i was just wondering what your though process was that made you Jam the AQ? I think it was about a pot sized bet so you would need a fold about 50% of the time to make it profitable.

 

[Alucard]

Hey Man,

Before i go into my thoughts on the hand, i was just wondering what your though process was that made you Jam the AQ? I think it was about a pot sized bet so you would need a fold about 50% of the time to make it profitable.

It wasn't my hand. I extracted it from the thread linked on the previous post by figaroo. It was posted by Iplay.

 

[nrhs05]

Oooh haha, nice, that was when he started playing some lower stakes assume then lol

Did you get a chance to play last night? How did it go. I think i was up a small 3 or 4$, so not terrible.

 

[Alucard]

I didn't play cash. Tried some tourneys but not much luck.
Today I got qualified to the bahamas tour phase 2 via $1 with a huge stack. So hoping to run good on phase two & with some luck win phase 3. That achievement would be humongous.

Not hoping to play cash today as well.

Hope things go well for you.

 

[nrhs05]

Nice, i did find something out interesting last night, which helped me on ZOOM at least for the 2nd half of my session. If you go to ZOOM and click the observe button ,and leave it running for a while. it will show you a ton of hands where players generally get all in which you can browse through the hand history of.

you can see what their lines were preflop, what they are calling, reraising, bluffing with etc. This is a great way to get some insight as to what some of the regulars you see are up to.

It is essentially free information without having to play at all lol.

 

[terryk]

Bahamas here i come!!! :dancing2:

 

[Alucard]

Bahamas here i come!!! :dancing2:

join me :beer:

 

[terryk]

join me :beer:

Wish i could,brother,,perhaps in the future (but i think we`ll meet up on the floor of the wsop)