Alucard's Cash Journal - 2NL to 5NL

[Alucard]

playing at bet365 is a joke. There are super weird calling stations who would just call or not when they feel like it.
I just played a 10NL table to get some money back & complete some missions. In the end I got 2.50 euros back but ended the session in a minus.

Here's the last hand I played.

Got dealt KK on the BB. No club.

CO limps. SB is the fish I'm talking about. He busted a couple of times by buying in low but I never seem to catch him. Limps in every hand.
So he limps. I raise to 80 cents. 8BB.

CO folds. SB calls obviously.

flop - Qc Q 3

Checks
I cbet around half or just under half to keep him in the pot. No purpose of betting big cause I know I'm ahead & getting all his money by the river wouldn't be a problem.

Turn - 2c

Checks
Again bets around half. calls.

River - some club.

I put him for his last 40. He calls and shows 10c9c.

I mean seriously? Might have been a mistake to bet lower but I have been getting these kind of beats so often at Bet365. They offer very decent bonuses but when you play it seems they take all that & then some away from you.

 

[Beanfacekilla]

playing at bet365 is a joke. There are super weird calling stations who would just call or not when they feel like it.
I just played a 10NL table to get some money back & complete some missions. In the end I got 2.50 euros back but ended the session in a minus.

Here's the last hand I played.

Got dealt KK on the BB. No club.

CO limps. SB is the fish I'm talking about. He busted a couple of times by buying in low but I never seem to catch him. Limps in every hand.
So he limps. I raise to 80 cents. 8BB.

CO folds. SB calls obviously.

flop - Qc Q 3

Checks
I cbet around half or just under half to keep him in the pot. No purpose of betting big cause I know I'm ahead & getting all his money by the river wouldn't be a problem.

Turn - 2c

Checks
Again bets around half. calls.

River - some club.

I put him for his last 40. He calls and shows 10c9c.

I mean seriously? Might have been a mistake to bet lower but I have been getting these kind of beats so often at Bet365. They offer very decent bonuses but when you play it seems they take all that & then some away from you.

You had the right read, but I think the river bet is too thin. I honestly just check back. We have SDV, and if we are called he will have Qx or flush. He might be a station, but it's the river, he can't improve any more.

Don't let these things bother you man. Just keep on keepin on.

 

[terryk]

Got that right!,,,just keep going,bro.Your playing the best poker of your life and your only getting stronger,stay the course my furry little friend

 

[Alucard]

Got that right!,,,just keep going,bro.Your playing the best poker of your life and your only getting stronger,stay the course my furry little friend

furry?
Wonder if you see me as a bear :laugh:


OK a little update. I tried a couple of 5NL sessions at stars. The games aren't that hard tbh. But what I seem to lack is patience when the things go bad. Like when I'm ahead on the flop & a bad turn & river comes in, I sometimes cannot seem to let it go.
It is not like 2NL. You must have really good patience to keep on winning here. At least at stars, as I feel right now.
So from the hits I've taken at 5NL so far, most of it has been loosing sessions. Not much but still.

I'm still pretty much focused in to getting that big score from tournaments though. So I feel I might not be that much focused at playing 5NL right now & that's why I'm loosing there.

Anyhow today I chased that big score again. Came close but all the big money on tournaments is at the FT. If you don't get there or at least the last 3,4 tables sometimes it's not worth it. At least at the micros.
That's one reason I've been playing low- buy in tourneys. Min cashes are above $10 and since I'm sattying in, overall a decent profit.

And come to think of it, I run pretty good at tourneys. So today I tried the $11 Mini Battle Royale. Ran patiently and tight and the beginning then loosened up a bit to catch bounties. after making the money, couldn't get a single KO though and there were plenty of tasty bootys!! It was quite a roller coaster but then held my stack till I got knocked out. Couldn't do much there.

Won $6.88 from KOs & $18.92 from cashing.

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/a-game-going-rail-requests-42/11-mini-battle-royal-348187/

So here's the good part.

I've finally passed the $200 barrier at stars

Stars roll atm - $208.63

Gonna grind 2NL at party at night. Still got to make around $40 within 4days.

 

[AviCKter]

Won $6.88 from KOs & $18.92 from cashing.

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/a-game-going-rail-requests-42/11-mini-battle-royal-348187/

So here's the good part.

I've finally passed the $200 barrier at stars

Stars roll atm - $208.63

Gonna grind 2NL at party at night. Still got to make around $40 within 4days.

You're doing great, just don't let constraints like timeline put a hold on your progress. As I've experience, setting yourself with constraints some times can be pretty stressful. :five:

 

[Alucard]

Yeah it can be frustrating but I don't think it's too hard to achieve atm. One thing I should get out of my life is procrastination. It has been a real let down for me in many things.
So setting a goal like thing & actually working for it keeps me motivated & the work gets done. We'll see how it goes. I'm happy with the progress regardless.

Had a slight 2NL session at party. Went well. Lost a few shoves & not for them perhaps would've won around 100BBs more. was 2 tabling so happy with the progress.

Total won - $5.34
BB/100 - 69.71

party roll upto - $118.91
Some interesting hands

one I posted in the hand analysis section

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/cash-game-hand-analysis-50/2-nlhe-6-max-should-you-348257/

-----------------------------------------------------------------
This one against a fish I played HU with. After loosing a couple of small pots, He'd go tilt mode & start raising & betting huge. I felt considering my equity shoving wouldn't be such a bad idea. Surprised he had Aces though.

Spoiler

partypoker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

BB: 41 BB (VPIP: 28.30, PFR: 16.31, 3Bet Preflop: 5.15, Hands: 13,515)
Hero (SB): 108.5 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Jh As
Hero raises to 2 BB, BB calls 1 BB

Flop : (4 BB, 2 players) 2s Ks Qs
BB checks, Hero bets 2 BB, BB raises to 29 BB, Hero raises to 106.5 BB and is all-in, BB calls 10 BB and is all-in

Turn : (82 BB, 2 players) 8h

River : (82 BB, 2 players) Th

BB shows Ad Ac (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 92%, Flop 54%, Turn 73%)

Hero shows Jh As (Straight, Ace High)
(Pre 8%, Flop 46%, Turn 27%)

Hero wins 67.5 BB
Hero wins 78 BB

------------------------------

This guy has been 3betting me from the blinds. And I think he struggled with the same thing as I did by 3beeting OOP then how you'd want to proceed post flop. Went for a thin value bet on the river

Spoiler

partypoker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

UTG: 64 BB (VPIP: 28.54, PFR: 16.22, 3Bet Preflop: 5.15, Hands: 13,666)
MP: 237.5 BB (VPIP: 27.46, PFR: 16.54, 3Bet Preflop: 6.24, Hands: 13,027)
Hero (CO): 187.5 BB
BTN: 122 BB (VPIP: 28.14, PFR: 15.60, 3Bet Preflop: 5.63, Hands: 13,531)
SB: 93.5 BB (VPIP: 29.25, PFR: 16.59, 3Bet Preflop: 5.17, Hands: 11,811)
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 28.55, PFR: 15.97, 3Bet Preflop: 5.68, Hands: 14,253)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Ac Jd
fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, SB raises to 10.5 BB, fold, Hero calls 7.5 BB

Flop : (22 BB, 2 players) Js 6h Ts
SB bets 10.5 BB, Hero calls 10.5 BB

Turn : (43 BB, 2 players) 4s
SB checks, Hero checks

River : (43 BB, 2 players) Ad
SB checks, Hero bets 12 BB, SB calls 12 BB

Hero shows Ac Jd (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks)
(Pre 70%, Flop 81%, Turn 93%)

SB mucks Kh Jh (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 30%, Flop 19%, Turn 7%)

Hero wins 64 BB

---------------------------

Is it worth it to bluff on spots like this? I've been doing this so often & it works really well. Perhaps I'm ahead even assuming the V has A high

Spoiler

partypoker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

UTG: 222 BB (VPIP: 27.44, PFR: 16.50, 3Bet Preflop: 6.23, Hands: 12,995)
Hero (CO): 187 BB
BTN: 113.5 BB (VPIP: 28.13, PFR: 15.61, 3Bet Preflop: 5.65, Hands: 13,489)
SB: 101 BB (VPIP: 29.25, PFR: 16.59, 3Bet Preflop: 5.12, Hands: 11,772)
BB: 93 BB (VPIP: 28.58, PFR: 15.98, 3Bet Preflop: 5.69, Hands: 14,232)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 2d 2c
UTG raises to 3 BB, Hero calls 3 BB, fold, fold, fold

Flop : (7.5 BB, 2 players) 8h Th Tc
UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn : (7.5 BB, 2 players) 6d
UTG checks, Hero bets 4 BB, UTG calls 4 BB

River : (15.5 BB, 2 players) 3s
UTG checks, Hero bets 11.5 BB, fold

Hero wins 26.5 BB

---------------------

Ok. When & when not to chase a flush? I've been trying to find a answer for this. Sometimes even though you aren't getting right odds to call when you get there on the river & catches a flush, it pays off hugely. But sometimes it goes the other way around. Still I feel like playing flushes passive like you don't have a flush is the best way both ways as per doug polk's recommendations.

Spoiler

partypoker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (SB): 356 BB
BB: 163 BB (VPIP: 28.15, PFR: 15.60, 3Bet Preflop: 5.64, Hands: 13,436)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7h Th
Hero raises to 2 BB, BB raises to 6.5 BB, Hero calls 4.5 BB

Flop : (13 BB, 2 players) 3h Qh 8d
BB bets 9 BB, Hero calls 9 BB

Turn : (31 BB, 2 players) Js
BB bets 22 BB, Hero calls 22 BB

River : (75 BB, 2 players) 2c
BB bets 125.5 BB and is all-in, fold

BB wins 197 BB

-----------------------

you have to call it down here right? I did not feel great about the hand after the V took some times to make decisions. should I bet turn & fold river or this the right way to play?

Spoiler

partypoker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

MP: 48.5 BB (VPIP: 28.49, PFR: 16.21, 3Bet Preflop: 5.15, Hands: 13,717)
CO: 223.5 BB (VPIP: 27.44, PFR: 16.53, 3Bet Preflop: 6.25, Hands: 13,059)
Hero (BTN): 197 BB
SB: 126 BB (VPIP: 28.18, PFR: 15.57, 3Bet Preflop: 5.60, Hands: 13,594)
BB: 123 BB (VPIP: 29.33, PFR: 16.61, 3Bet Preflop: 5.20, Hands: 11,863)
UTG: 103 BB (VPIP: 28.53, PFR: 15.98, 3Bet Preflop: 5.70, Hands: 14,308)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Qh Qs
fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, SB calls 2.5 BB, fold

Flop : (7 BB, 2 players) Tc 4c 5d
SB checks, Hero bets 5 BB, SB calls 5 BB

Turn : (17 BB, 2 players) Ks
SB checks, Hero checks

River : (17 BB, 2 players) 4d
SB bets 12.5 BB, Hero calls 12.5 BB

SB shows Ts Th (Full House, Tens full of Fours)
(Pre 18%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)

Hero mucks Qh Qs (Two Pair, Queens and Fours)
(Pre 82%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)

SB wins 40 BB

------------

And this? Again against the fish I played HU with

Spoiler

partypoker - $0.02 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

Hero (SB): 321.5 BB
BB: 47.5 BB (VPIP: 29.06, PFR: 16.56, 3Bet Preflop: 5.05, Hands: 11,692)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Ah Tc
Hero raises to 2 BB, BB calls 1 BB

Flop : (4 BB, 2 players) Ad 4s Jc
BB bets 1 BB, Hero raises to 3 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Turn : (10 BB, 2 players) 6h
BB checks, Hero bets 5 BB, BB calls 5 BB

River : (20 BB, 2 players) 2d
BB bets 17 BB, Hero calls 17 BB

BB shows 5d 3h (Straight, Six High)
(Pre 36%, Flop 20%, Turn 18%)

Hero mucks Ah Tc (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 64%, Flop 80%, Turn 82%)

BB wins 51.5 BB

 

[Alucard]

OK I suck at 5NL right now. Pretty bad session right now. Probably my worst. Lost around 400BBs - $20
A huge chunk of my party roll. Down under $100.
So unfortunately I don't think will be able cover this months target of $150 at party.
It's like I was literally outclassed by the others but when I think about it, they did the same that I'd do to others at 2NL. And the plays were pretty bad on my part as well.

Had a pretty bad beat and went down 1 buy in. Then I guess it was tilt over bluff mode
One guy trapped me with AA from CO when I opened utg with 78s and he just limped in. I overbluffed a flush draw turned nothing on the river & he insta calls and show aces.
Then again blind vs blind catches a boat.
I was like wow! The cards are so against me this time at party.

Gonna take a break, relax a bit and gonna go back to 2NL at party.
I still have that urge to rush into pots at 5NL. which is not good at all.

So will have to make new targets the next month.
Main thing I should do is prepare myself mentally to the 5NL game.

 

[Alucard]

 

[Beanfacekilla]

It's all mental man. Just do your thang, you got this.

 

[Supmargy]

The hand where you chase the flush with tc7c. Whats your reasoning for raising so small preflop then calling a 3bet? Otherwise i think that hand was well played. You had great implied odds.

The qq hand: i would have lost a lit more money because I would have bet on the turn. I read somewhere on this forum that you shouldnt be afraid of the K. There was no 3bet so no particular reason to think he had you beat imo. So you played it better than I would have in this particular case.

 

[terryk]

It's all mental man. Just do your thang, you got this.

+1

 

[Alucard]

The hand where you chase the flush with tc7c. Whats your reasoning for raising so small preflop then calling a 3bet? Otherwise i think that hand was well played. You had great implied odds.

The qq hand: i would have lost a lit more money because I would have bet on the turn. I read somewhere on this forum that you shouldnt be afraid of the K. There was no 3bet so no particular reason to think he had you beat imo. So you played it better than I would have in this particular case.

It's a HU game. When playing HU there's no reason to open more than 2BB generally.
You are playing almost 90%-95% of the hands from the button while playing HU.
Things differ a lot in the HU game

The QQ hand, lets call it a gut feeling. The time he took to flat pre & call my flop bet I felt something fishy. + felt needed to pot control on the turn.

BTW do not consider the stats shown in my PT4 specially on those party poker hands. They are absolutely wrong lol. I think I need to reset pt4

 

[Alucard]

I think I'm gonna get a bit of a break tomorrow until the party freeroll.
Pretty shitty day.
Feels like it was totally wasted and I should've invested my time in to something else.
Played a couple of tourneys & busted very early.
Gonna invest tmrw into learning trading then will play the freerolls late at night & will play a cash session depending on the mood.
Invested some money into Chicopaw's SnG stake. Hope he does well. Good luck mate!

I asked a couple of people about staking & specially trent, & it seems like it's generally an EV- to stake someone. Trent specifically told me to get a sharkscope subscription & research before getting into seriously staking a player.
And I'm starting to see the truth of what he's saying cause most of the stake threads I see, even in the 2+2 aren't that worthwhile tbh.
Almost 75%+ are loosing & the other breakeven or makes a slight profit.

Saw a guy who had a stake of WCOOP highs & higher buyin lows. He almost didn't make a cent until the last 8 game mix high roller where he had a great game. But still even if he had got 1st, it wouldn't have been that profitable to my eyes considering an investors pov. He busted around 10th in that game and his total stake ended in minus I think.

On the other side of the things, I been very much watching the streamers play these days.
I usually watch komododragonjesus play when he streams but he doesn't to much streaming these days. Lex does a really great job & tries to explain his plays as well.
Today I found an italian high stakes cash reg who's doing a million dollar roll challenge. He's already made around 250k. Really good player & streams are fine overall.
Also been watching spraggy & fintan play tourneys. Those guys do a decent job as well.
Kind of makes me wanna try streaming my self actually. Perhaps to keep me motivated. lol. Perhaps will consider in the future.

 

[terryk]

I`ve been playing more lately too(running well) Going to concentrate on a few sports bets in the next few days(send you a few tips) A break is always good to come back fresh n hungry :eating:

 

[nrhs05]

It's funny how quickly things can go down hill playing cash. Just one flip can be the difference in being down -100BB and -300BB, once you get to the -300BB point then (especially on suckouts) you start doing all kind of the weird plays, at least if your like me lol.

I was just playing 2NL (i had crippled my roll lmao, so im grinding 2nl cause its LOLz), picked up AK 150BB deep, get min 3bet, 4 bet it pre and get called., i got allin on the turn. this is how she went:

Flop: 7c, 8d, Kc
Turn: As
River: 9h

villain turns of 10j off, turning the double gutshot, and hitting his str8 on the river... lol


I got tilted, and jammed some crappy straight draw in a 3bet pot vs AA, calling 3 bets in hopes of smashing some flops.



Keep your head on straight and keep on truckin!

 

[Supmargy]

Didnt realise it was a HU game alucard! My bad.

 

[Alucard]

I`ve been playing more lately too(running well) Going to concentrate on a few sports bets in the next few days(send you a few tips) A break is always good to come back fresh n hungry :eating:

great to hear that you are doing good!
Waiting for those tips

I don't feel motivated at all today. Though of doing some studying & reading articles

An interesting read.
Delayed Cbets.

https://www.upswingpoker.com/delaye...c3be2c4bfefaf9f01610b0af80447351a034bf8e015df

 

[braveslice]

An interesting read.
Delayed Cbets.

I did not understand why barreling river was good with KQ, first hand history.

Q? Do you use that wide 3betting range sb Vs Bu?

 

[Alucard]

Yeah sometimes even KJo is in my range.
I'd prefer 3betting or folding from SB than flatting specially against CO or BU open

I haven't used the theory of delayed cbets but I kind of get the point of it. But on the other side it gives the V the opportunity to get a free card.

 

[KFlint]

Regarding the t7s flush draw, perfectly fine in my book, I could let it go on the turn if you didn't pick up a gutshot. I also read Upswing poker flush guide and I like playing them that way. They also state to raise weaker flush on the flop sometimes, I try to do it only if I can represent another strong hand based on my range.

 

[Alucard]

I was just playing 2NL (i had crippled my roll lmao, so im grinding 2nl cause its LOLz), picked up AK 150BB deep, get min 3bet, 4 bet it pre and get called., i got allin on the turn. this is how she went:

If you want, I could rail you today. I can say from my pov the stuff I notice with your plays. From now to another 4 hours or so. Let me know.


Update - I've been playing 5NL zoom at PS because, well all the 6max normal tables are infested by regs and zoom seems to be a lot softer at PS 5NL.
5But overall only a slight profit though. I would easiliy go up around 150BBs then loose 100 by some stupid move.

one hand, I opened JJ from MP. CO 4bets.
flop - 9 8 6 as I remember.
I check, the V pots.
Ok so now I'm thinking he either has AK and going for thee steal or Top 3 pairs which has me beat. Do't remember the turn but an undercard.
I check the V shoves. For some reason I had him on a bluff & called it down & he had aces.
lol - note to my self. Don't be over-curious & make hero calls.

the other one,
MP opens, I'm in the CO with AKo 3bets, and the SB 4bets.
Now the weird part - CO flats.
I'm 200BB deep as I was before effective 100BB, so I thought for a bit and shoved where both the players called.
SB had QQ while the CO had A5s. lolz.
I would almost never shove AK in a cash game cause most of the times it has gone against me where I'll be facing top pairs and would insta loose 100BB 90% of the time. Not sure about this time as well.
Board held for QQ.

Both the zoom sessions I didn't use a hud which I shouldn't have done.

Got some freerolls coming. Hope I do well.

 

[terryk]

playin the 2.20 BB if ya wanna rail (thx buddy)

 

[terryk]

ok,i promise to stop pushing those small pairs,lol(2`s,3`s) (i can hear myself in my head,,your pushing a small pair in EP idiot,lol)(call as to set-mine,fold to a raise)

 

[Alucard]

ok,i promise to stop pushing those small pairs,lol(2`s,3`s) (i can hear myself in my head,,your pushing a small pair in EP idiot,lol)(call as to set-mine,fold to a raise)

yeah you just gave away your chip lead

 

[Alucard]

gg. good run!
but that's why I don't like the micros. after some long hours of play, you only win a little