Alucard's Cash Journal - 5NL to 10NL

[Alucard]

Been a while since the last update.
Since the hangouts group has been live, I've focused more on that & playing other than constantly updating the thread with hands.

And I feel like it's time to close this thread as soon as possible & to move on to the next level.
5NL has been pretty tough for me, even if I'm ashamed to admit it. It's not because the players are thousand times better than 2NL, it's because I'm my own worst enemy.

I've struggled a lot with tilt & mental swings, which has led me to drop down even 10 buy ins in one day. When that kind of thing happens, it's quite demotivating & frustrating. But nit ny nit I'm trying to gain control of my self.
Making rational decisions, & play when I'm motivated & focused.

Also I've stopped playing stars zoom for now & started 6 tabling 6 max regular tables.
zoom is fine but way swingy. One thing I dislike very much about zoom is that you don't get to punish the fish who gets lucky because they aren't the one you play against the next hand.
+ stars regular tables are surprisingly filled with fish if you pick the tables correctly. Also the regs aren't that good as well.

And I've set a goal for this month. That is to move up to 10NL. I'm rolled enough to take a couple of shots but I want to grind up another 18 buy ins or so at 5NL. 3 good days & I will be there.

At party it's another story. After I withdrew around $500 at the beginning of the last month, it has been a constant downswing. I lost around $150 total after that playing tourneys & fast forward.
Did play a couple of days ago after a while but not for long. Can't play regular tables there due to low traffic + anonymity. So FF it is.
Also I might focus more into tourneys there when I build back up my roll.

Gonna grind the needed amount at stars first & then gonna move there.
Hopefully everything goes as planned.

One more thing. I want to move up asap & play at least regular 50NL at the end of the year. I'm targeting towards 100NL but we'll see.
Putting so much effort into this & really looking forward to good times :beer:

 

[darthdimsky]

Really like the attitude buddy. Like how the recent downswings hasn't hampered your motivation to go up the levels and improve your game. Praying for you to do well.

 

[braveslice]

Aww too bad you don’t play zoom anymore; just don’t forget that your skill has skyrocketed while playing there, the proof lies that you find regular tables easy now. This wasn’t the case just while ago. Just don't trust table selection too much on improving your skill, you already beat the total fish on any level.

Well around 100NL you probably go back to zoom when regular tables are 98% regs and zoom pool is small enough and then you can instruct me again.

 

[Alucard]

then you can instruct me again.

lol
yeah zoom has really helped in a way. Tough beats, variance, experience, etc etc
I might go there from time to time but not for long.
But 25NL upward I guess I'd have to move to zoom if I'm gonna continue at stars.Just checked the lobby. a decent amount of 6max tables at 25NL but very few at 50NL
Might move a lot of the action to a fishy site by then tbh.

Anyway, I have the goal of getting a lot better at the game. But at the same time want to make decent money as well.

 

[Alucard]

Really like the attitude buddy. Like how the recent downswings hasn't hampered your motivation to go up the levels and improve your game. Praying for you to do well.

Thanks man! Wish you same!!

 

[braveslice]

54 full tables 6max 50NL, but around 20 players on wait list for big fish tables =)

 

[Alucard]

Just copy pasting a discussion we had in the hangouts chat to bookmark it & for further discussion,

So I'm trying to improve my hud.
The main things I'm looking into right now are WWSF,WSD & WTSD
How should I adjust my plays according to those stats? And anything extra I should add?
Last 13k hands I have..
WWSF - 43.5%
WSD - 56%
WTSD - 28.75%

Fig - What is your W$ at showdown? Well clearly running into nutted hands and or calling down too light.
Ok 56 is ok. John says 51/52 is best.

The higher this stat goes over 50 the more it indicates you aren't thin value betting enough
The higher it is the more it indicates you are only getting to showdown with the nuts

deal range for wtsd% is 24-26. Ok anywhere 22-28%.
If wtsd is less than 22% then your opponents only get to showdown with strong hands and they make good bluffing targets.
You should bet hard on the turn v this type who give up a lot of their hands at that point. If they are still with you on the river then you can still bluff them on really scary boatds

Conversely over 28% and you are looking at calling stations

High wtsd and you adjust by value betting more thinly and bluffing less.
Yes 6 max is generally 26-28.
As your wtsd% rises your W$SD generally decreases
If your wtsd% is 29-35 and your w$sd still over 50 then your hand reading is exceptional.

 

[Alucard]

Such a Bullshit hand I had right now. Maybe a bit bigger on turn but I mean come on!!! Aren't there any other cards in the deck???!!!!???

pokerstars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

SB: 112.8 BB (VPIP: 28.21, PFR: 23.08, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 39)
BB: 133.6 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 17.50, 3Bet Preflop: 3.03, Hands: 80)
UTG: 100.8 BB (VPIP: 16.86, PFR: 14.79, 3Bet Preflop: 7.14, Hands: 344)
Hero (CO): 103 BB
BTN: 63 BB (VPIP: 27.78, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Kd As
fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, SB raises to 10 BB, fold, Hero raises to 23 BB, SB calls 13 BB

Flop : (47 BB, 2 players) Ad 9h Ah
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn : (47 BB, 2 players) 9c
SB checks, Hero bets 11 BB, SB calls 11 BB

River : (69 BB, 2 players) 9d
SB bets 78.8 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 69 BB and is all-in

SB shows Ts 9s (Four of a Kind, Nines)
(Pre 40%, Flop 0.1%, Turn 2%)

Hero shows Kd As (Full House, Aces full of Nines)
(Pre 60%, Flop 99.9%, Turn 98%)

SB wins 198.4 BB

 

[Ahoy]

Such a Bullshit hand I had right now. Maybe a bit bigger on turn but I mean come on!!! Aren't there any other cards in the deck???!!!!???

PokerStars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

SB: 112.8 BB (VPIP: 28.21, PFR: 23.08, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 39)
BB: 133.6 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 17.50, 3Bet Preflop: 3.03, Hands: 80)
UTG: 100.8 BB (VPIP: 16.86, PFR: 14.79, 3Bet Preflop: 7.14, Hands: 344)
Hero (CO): 103 BB
BTN: 63 BB (VPIP: 27.78, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Kd As
fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, SB raises to 10 BB, fold, Hero raises to 23 BB, SB calls 13 BB

Flop : (47 BB, 2 players) Ad 9h Ah
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn : (47 BB, 2 players) 9c
SB checks, Hero bets 11 BB, SB calls 11 BB

River : (69 BB, 2 players) 9d
SB bets 78.8 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 69 BB and is all-in

SB shows Ts 9s (Four of a Kind, Nines)
(Pre 40%, Flop 0.1%, Turn 2%)

Hero shows Kd As (Full House, Aces full of Nines)
(Pre 60%, Flop 99.9%, Turn 98%)

SB wins 198.4 BB

That just happens from time to time, dont focus on these hands.

From your graphs that you post in the hangout it seems you are doing really good for yourself and I think you have big potential with your hard trying. Just keep it up.

I will join your hard work in the summer break and lets see who can do better

Have you thought about moving up yet? Or how is it with your BR in terms of buy ins?

 

[Alucard]

Have you thought about moving up yet? Or how is it with your BR in terms of buy ins?

I need another 5buy ins to move up since I dropped 2 yesterday.
I'm comfortably rolled but I want to get those 5.

 

[Ahoy]

I need another 5buy ins to move up since I dropped 2 yesterday.
I'm comfortably rolled but I want to get those 5.

Very well, take the safe way and dont rush it up. GL :elefant:

 

[quick]

I need another 5buy ins to move up since I dropped 2 yesterday.
I'm comfortably rolled but I want to get those 5.

If you don't mind me asking what is your current BRM setup like? I like the idea more and more of getting a few more BIs above the move up limit we set for ourselves so just curious.

Such a Bullshit hand I had right now. Maybe a bit bigger on turn but I mean come on!!! Aren't there any other cards in the deck???!!!!???

PokerStars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4: http://www.pokertracker.com

SB: 112.8 BB (VPIP: 28.21, PFR: 23.08, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 39)
BB: 133.6 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 17.50, 3Bet Preflop: 3.03, Hands: 80)
UTG: 100.8 BB (VPIP: 16.86, PFR: 14.79, 3Bet Preflop: 7.14, Hands: 344)
Hero (CO): 103 BB
BTN: 63 BB (VPIP: 27.78, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Kd As
fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, SB raises to 10 BB, fold, Hero raises to 23 BB, SB calls 13 BB

Flop : (47 BB, 2 players) Ad 9h Ah
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn : (47 BB, 2 players) 9c
SB checks, Hero bets 11 BB, SB calls 11 BB

River : (69 BB, 2 players) 9d
SB bets 78.8 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 69 BB and is all-in

SB shows Ts 9s (Four of a Kind, Nines)
(Pre 40%, Flop 0.1%, Turn 2%)

Hero shows Kd As (Full House, Aces full of Nines)
(Pre 60%, Flop 99.9%, Turn 98%)

SB wins 198.4 BB

Didn't you get the memo? The deck is all 9s...you've just been seeing other cards...but really it's all 9s all the time.


But in regards to the hand I have a few thoughts esp since I assume 6 max is often more aggressive than full ring games:


Pre flop, I raise to at least 3x their raise. Gives a chance to steal the pot right there or if they call (or shove), gives you generally a smaller range to assign to villain. That said as played we go to the flop, why do we check back the flop? Sure top trips with top kicker is nice and we aren't too worried about a turn bringing a set but I'm worried about a turn bringing a flush (esp as we only block one heart (Kh turn gives us the boat). And even if we aren't worried about the flush coming in, why not build the pot a little? I get it's tricky because sure they have 99 as a possible hand on the flop and then we're getting coolered but I'd rather make the small flop bet and go from there.

 

[Alucard]

If you don't mind me asking what is your current BRM setup like? I like the idea more and more of getting a few more BIs above the move up limit we set for ourselves so just curious.

Pre flop, I raise to at least 3x their raise. Gives a chance to steal the pot right there or if they call (or shove), gives you generally a smaller range to assign to villain. That said as played we go to the flop, why do we check back the flop? Sure top trips with top kicker is nice and we aren't too worried about a turn bringing a set but I'm worried about a turn bringing a flush .

I'm doing 40buy ins for now to move up - So $400
I was rolled even for 25NL but did a couple of withdrawals lately


No. Pre is fine for me as we have discussed this earlier a lot with duggs, figaroo & the bunch. & no I'm not scared of anything here. odds of a set getting there on turn is very low even if I make it small on flop they might float one.
By checking flop we are inducing a ton of bluffs+ making him feel his other Ax hands are quite strong. Even TT-KK would shove on that river if I played it the same way. Or at least will likely call a shove

 

[quick]

I'm doing 40buy ins for now to move up - So $400
I was rolled even for 25NL but did a couple of withdrawals lately


No. Pre is fine for me as we have discussed this earlier a lot with duggs, figaroo & the bunch. & no I'm not scared of anything here. Odds of a set getting there on turn is very low even if I make it small on flop they might float one.
By checking flop we are inducing a ton of bluffs+ making him feel his other Ax hands are quite strong. Even TT-KK would shove on that river if I played it the same way. Or at least will likely call a shove

Fair enough on the pre flop decision for sure. I agree odds of set on flop or coming on turn are not high enough to even break a sweat about but again flushes are still possible (although If I had a flush draw here I’d be hesitant to call much on this paired board if the turn or river is a 9 or higher given the villain action pre ).


That said I agree sets can’t be a concern here as that’s monsters under the bed thinking but I also think checking the flop assuming they have Ax or 1010+ is going to disappoint us. Only one Ace remains and changes of them having it are slimmer than them hitting a set .


As for the 1010+ hands calling a big bet or them shoving on river if they don’t fill up a boat is likely not happening unless they’re a complete maniac at the tables as any ace rag beats them. I could see them calling a small bluff catch bet on river but really would they since they didn’t c- bet the flop as we’d expect a strong Pocket pair to do?


Considering all this I think a small bet on flop can be beneficial in a few ways : 1.) can build the pot since we likely have the best hand on flop, 2.) can tell us where we’re at in the hand with info.

I'm more a fan of reason 1 if only because there's still maniacs at every stake and if we generally have the best hand here on flop with top trips top kicker we want to make sure we get max value by the time we get to the river anyways. I'm reminded of a live 1/2 hand in a pot that ended up being about $500ish I played about a year ago. I'm on BB with A8s , limp in 3 of us. Flop comes K88 rainbow. I bet half pot, one folds, villain (who is looser aggressive) thinks and re-raises verbally stating that my bet "looks weak". Turn comes 6. I bet out about half pot considering that KK or AK or even high Kx would've raised pre so there's probably some type of pocket pair or lower x8 here. Like you, not worried about sets coming. He insta shoves all in and I insta call (if he has K8 or KK then GG). He announced "i have a boat." and he flips over 66. At this point I still could win the hand if a K, A, or 8 comes , turn is like a 2 (which adds 3 more outs for me), river is a blank he stacks me. Yes he was correct for limping 66 in, but not only did he call my flop bet, he RAISED it with 66 on a K88 board....he raised a 2 outer and caught it. So I say that story to say, often build the pot, you never know what kind of junk they'll call with .


In your case villan flopped a huge hand and correctly induced a bet from you on all streets. Obviously we’re not scared of that type of cooler but again at least if we bet the flop we might have a better idea of where we’re at in the hand. And if we're first to act I can understand your check a little more, but IP we could be betting here.




I briefly did a 40buy in move up rule last year going from 2NL to 10NL on intertops . Went ok was 6 max but probably should have done in a higher traffic site lol.


Thanks for the reply.

 

[Alucard]

Something we have been discussing at the group lately

Spoiler

PokerStars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB (BB): 180 BB (VPIP: 24.43, PFR: 18.93, 3Bet Preflop: 4.56, Hands: 764)
Hero (UTG): 110.6 BB
MP (MP): 148.4 BB (VPIP: 26.92, PFR: 15.38, 3Bet Preflop: 8.06, Hands: 131)
CO (CO): 104 BB (VPIP: 20.52, PFR: 17.66, 3Bet Preflop: 5.63, Hands: 393)
BTN (BTN): 135.8 BB (VPIP: 15.36, PFR: 11.79, 3Bet Preflop: 3.70, Hands: 288)
SB (SB): 98 BB (VPIP: 7.14, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 29)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Dealt to Hero:AhKh


Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, CO calls 3 BB, BTN calls 3 BB, fold, fold

Flop (10.4 BB, 3 players):2dTcQd

Hero checks, CO checks, BTN bets 6.6 BB, Hero raises to 21 BB, fold, BTN calls 14.4 BB

Turn (52.4 BB, 2 players):Js

Hero bets 25 BB, BTN calls 25 BB

River (102.4 BB, 2 players):Kd

How many hands need to be in his range for us to profitably shove with the SPR?
https://www.splitsuit.com/spr-poker-strategy

Haven't been able to study on this so far so I'm bookmarking it. Will look into it tmrw. Any thoughts & inputs are welcome

 

[Alucard]

Considering all this I think a small bet on flop can be beneficial in a few ways : 1.) can build the pot since we likely have the best hand on flop, 2.) can tell us where we’re at in the hand with info.

1. - Money is going in in two streets since the SPR is too low. We have to consider V's entire 4bet flatting range & try to get the maximum value. So on the flop I'm thinking how am I gonna get value out of TT-KK, and maybe his SCs (Which is very unlikely at 5NL) & his Ax es + His bluffs. So for me check back flop bet turn, shove/call shove river clearly dominates bet flop shove turn.


2. - We have no need to see where we are at on this board cause we are literally at the top of our range. Never folding to anything. Once again we should be focusing on how to get the maximum out of the V of his entire range


This is of course my opinion

 

[quick]

Something we have been discussing at the group lately

Spoiler

PokerStars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB (BB): 180 BB (VPIP: 24.43, PFR: 18.93, 3Bet Preflop: 4.56, Hands: 764)
Hero (UTG): 110.6 BB
MP (MP): 148.4 BB (VPIP: 26.92, PFR: 15.38, 3Bet Preflop: 8.06, Hands: 131)
CO (CO): 104 BB (VPIP: 20.52, PFR: 17.66, 3Bet Preflop: 5.63, Hands: 393)
BTN (BTN): 135.8 BB (VPIP: 15.36, PFR: 11.79, 3Bet Preflop: 3.70, Hands: 288)
SB (SB): 98 BB (VPIP: 7.14, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 29)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Dealt to Hero:AhKh


Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, CO calls 3 BB, BTN calls 3 BB, fold, fold

Flop (10.4 BB, 3 players):2dTcQd

Hero checks, CO checks, BTN bets 6.6 BB, Hero raises to 21 BB, fold, BTN calls 14.4 BB

Turn (52.4 BB, 2 players):Js

Hero bets 25 BB, BTN calls 25 BB

River (102.4 BB, 2 players):Kd

How many hands need to be in his range for us to profitably shove with the SPR?
https://www.splitsuit.com/spr-poker-strategy

Haven't been able to study on this so far so I'm bookmarking it. Will look into it tmrw. Any thoughts & inputs are welcome

This is an interesting hand. It would be interesting to learn more about why you 3x 3 bet with A high on this board after the villain raised it? I know there's potential here that villain (since flat calling your raise pre) could have like Qx that we could dominate if an A or K drops...or they called your small PFR hoping to hit a strong draw (like 910s) and now have open ended big outs. You spike the gut shot on turn, but what's your play after 3x his flop raise if you whiff the turn?

 

[Alucard]

The hand was a bit of fancy play & the turn bet was quite small, & it's not a 3bet by me on the flop. Just a 2bet.
My reasoning is that it's very unlikely for the V to have a set here. Only 3 combos very likely. So it makes sense for him to bet his Qx es who would unlikely call vs the aggression 2,3 streets, middle pairs who are trying to take down on flop who are obviously folding for the check raise, & draws - who should be trying to take down on flop or try to get there cheaply.
I'm gonna barrel again on turn if I miss of course. Depends on the card.
Mistake was not betting big on turn.

But that's not the point of the hand. It's about creating a range where we could profitably shove with the SPR

 

[quick]

Something we have been discussing at the group lately

Spoiler

PokerStars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB (BB): 180 BB (VPIP: 24.43, PFR: 18.93, 3Bet Preflop: 4.56, Hands: 764)
Hero (UTG): 110.6 BB
MP (MP): 148.4 BB (VPIP: 26.92, PFR: 15.38, 3Bet Preflop: 8.06, Hands: 131)
CO (CO): 104 BB (VPIP: 20.52, PFR: 17.66, 3Bet Preflop: 5.63, Hands: 393)
BTN (BTN): 135.8 BB (VPIP: 15.36, PFR: 11.79, 3Bet Preflop: 3.70, Hands: 288)
SB (SB): 98 BB (VPIP: 7.14, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 29)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Dealt to Hero:AhKh


Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, CO calls 3 BB, BTN calls 3 BB, fold, fold

Flop (10.4 BB, 3 players):2dTcQd

Hero checks, CO checks, BTN bets 6.6 BB, Hero raises to 21 BB, fold, BTN calls 14.4 BB

Turn (52.4 BB, 2 players):Js

Hero bets 25 BB, BTN calls 25 BB

River (102.4 BB, 2 players):Kd

How many hands need to be in his range for us to profitably shove with the SPR?
https://www.splitsuit.com/spr-poker-strategy

Haven't been able to study on this so far so I'm bookmarking it. Will look into it tmrw. Any thoughts & inputs are welcome

1. - Money is going in in two streets since the SPR is too low. We have to consider V's entire 4bet flatting range & try to get the maximum value. So on the flop I'm thinking how am I gonna get value out of TT-KK, and maybe his SCs (Which is very unlikely at 5NL) & his Ax es + His bluffs. So for me check back flop bet turn, shove/call shove river clearly dominates bet flop shove turn.


2. - We have no need to see where we are at on this board cause we are literally at the top of our range. Never folding to anything. Once again we should be focusing on how to get the maximum out of the V of his entire range


This is of course my opinion

The hand was a bit of fancy play & the turn bet was quite small, & it's not a 3bet by me on the flop. Just a 2bet.
My reasoning is that it's very unlikely for the V to have a set here. Only 3 combos very likely. So it makes sense for him to bet his Qx es who would unlikely call vs the aggression 2,3 streets, middle pairs who are trying to take down on flop who are obviously folding for the check raise, & draws - who should be trying to take down on flop or try to get there cheaply.
I'm gonna barrel again on turn if I miss of course. Depends on the card.
Mistake was not betting big on turn.

But that's not the point of the hand. It's about creating a range where we could profitably shove with the SPR

Is specific range creation necessary at the micros? Obv a good skill and good practice but how often do you find your ranges off because of unpredictable micro play?


As for the hand what might be done if you whiff the turn OR how do you assess say an A turns and villain has AQ?

 

[John Bor]

Maybe you should think less about insulting other players and learn to admire the fish for their bravery in hero calling or reverse bluffing you , this is tried and tested method I used to eliminate tilt from my game.