Alucard's Cash Journal - 5NL to 10NL

[Alucard]

One ace great! Two aces.. awesome!! 3 aces.. well **** me

Spoiler

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

BTN: 158.8 BB (VPIP: 35.71, PFR: 28.57, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
Hero (SB): 197.8 BB
BB: 133.2 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
UTG: 164 BB (VPIP: 21.14, PFR: 15.45, 3Bet Preflop: 2.13, Hands: 126)
MP: 233.6 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 8)
CO: 159.2 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 100.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)

Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Js Jc
fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, BB calls 2 BB

Flop : (6 BB, 2 players) Jd 9h Ac
Hero bets 4 BB, BB calls 4 BB

Turn : (14 BB, 2 players) Ad
Hero bets 9 BB, BB calls 9 BB

River : (32 BB, 2 players) Ah
Hero checks, BB bets 20 BB, Hero calls 20 BB

BB shows As 6s (Four of a Kind, Aces)
(Pre 31%, Flop 1%, Turn 16%)

Hero mucks Js Jc (Full House, Aces full of Jacks)
(Pre 69%, Flop 99%, Turn 84%)

BB wins 69 BB

 

[Beanfacekilla]

Ride her till she bucks ya, or don't ride at all.


Dude went every bit of runner runner. It's happened to me too bro. Gotta love the calls though.


Keep your chin up bro. Better times are coming!

 

[AlexTheOwl]

red line should go down, its not alarming in the slightest

Why would it be a good thing to have a negative and worsening "Money won without showdown" stat?

 

[AlexTheOwl]

The red line going down means you are folding too often (when you have voluntarily put money into the pot). Possibly a lack of aggression and not following through on your preflop raises.

I know because I have the opposite problem: I don't fold enough. My blue line is your red line.

Yes. Another possibility is being too loose and/or aggressive pre-flop and/or on the flop, and then making correct checks and folds to 3-bets and/or on later streets.
Getting into trouble early, and then being smart enough to realize that you are in trouble before the showdown.

 

[duggs]

Why would it be a good thing to have a negative and worsening "Money won without showdown" stat?

where did i say that we want it to go down? Its super standard to have a negative red line.

 

[Alucard]

Guys what I meant was I was running close to break even on the red line if you check my earlier graphs.
As Brave said I must've tweaked something serious in my game to make it go down like that.
I posted the stats for the same reason.
Perhaps my bluffs are getting raised so I'm folding more or I'm check calling two streets & folding to a shove or maybe just seeing too many flops from the BB.
I need to find that specific reason why it altered so much.
Will tone down bluff aggression on 3bet pots & make some other adjustments as well.

 

[AlexTheOwl]

red line should go down, its not alarming in the slightest

where did i say that we want it to go down? Its super standard to have a negative red line.

Dude. Dude? Duuuuude.

 

[duggs]

Dude. Dude? Duuuuude.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/should

Used to indicate what is probable.
‘£348 m should be enough to buy him out’
‘the bus should arrive in a few minutes’

 

[Beanfacekilla]

Ha ha ha. Out comes the dictionary.

 

[Alucard]

lol
Btw I've got a weird question. Zoom players perhaps know the answer to this.
There are a couple of players who play deepstacked like really big stacks around 400Bigs but I see the same guys sometimes play short stacked without toppin up. Like 40BBs or so.
And vice versa tere are some short stacks that I mark as fish & the next day there's a fish with a 300,400 BB stack!!
So I've been questioning my method of marking short stacks are fish is really viable or not.

 

[AlexTheOwl]

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/should

Used to indicate what is probable.
‘£348 m should be enough to buy him out’
‘the bus should arrive in a few minutes’

That's not the intuitive sense of "should" in this context. At the very least your phrasing was poorly chosen, since it is so easily read to mean something that you say you did not intend. And your follow-up in which you ask where you said a declining red line is a good thing is disingenuous if you are familiar with the more common sense of "should".

But I'll play along.

Why is it probable and "not alarming" that a player's red line should be negative and falling?

Most players lose, so I suppose negative winnings are probable for the population as a whole. But if that was your point, then I'm not sure why you thought that would be a useful contribution to this thread. And it doesn't explain the "not alarming" part of the comment.

It's certainly possible to be a winning player with a negative red line, though a falling red line should still be somewhat alarming. But that is apropos of nothing whatsoever.

Alucard's graph shows a negative and falling "Money won without showdown" stat. He is winning more at showdown, but not enough to compensate for the money he loses without a showdown. Why is this not alarming?

If the answer is that you said something foolish, that's OK. We all do sometimes.
If the answer is substantial, then I and others in this thread will learn something useful.

 

[duggs]

That's not the intuitive sense of "should" in this context. At the very least your phrasing was poorly chosen, since it is so easily read to mean something that you say you did not intend. And your follow-up in which you ask where you said a declining red line is a good thing is disingenuous if you are familiar with the more common sense of "should".

But I'll play along.

Why is it probable and "not alarming" that a player's red line should be negative and falling?

Most players lose, so I suppose negative winnings are probable for the population as a whole. But if that was your point, then I'm not sure why you thought that would be a useful contribution to this thread. And it doesn't explain the "not alarming" part of the comment.

It's certainly possible to be a winning player with a negative red line, though a falling red line should still be somewhat alarming. But that is apropos of nothing whatsoever.

Alucard's graph shows a negative and falling "Money won without showdown" stat. He is winning more at showdown, but not enough to compensate for the money he loses without a showdown. Why is this not alarming?

If the answer is that you said something foolish, that's OK. We all do sometimes.
If the answer is substantial, then I and others in this thread will learn something useful.

Sigh drop the condescension maybe? The post should have been clear enough contextually, you dont describe something desirable as 'not alarming' you use a psotivie descriptor. But whatever

Most winning players have negative red lines, why? the blinds, every time you fold the blinds it impacts your money won without showdown its basically impossible to compensate for that without having an abnormally large winrate. Whats more, playing at microlimits, the vast majority of your value comes from thin value betting rather than bluffing.

The only line that actually matters is the green one. Use your time and focus to actually break down hands and ranges rather than looking at graphs that have far too much variance to yield anything meaningful in terms of leaks. Im all for database work but these extrapolations you guys are making are baseless.

 

[AlexTheOwl]

lol
Btw I've got a weird question. Zoom players perhaps know the answer to this.
There are a couple of players who play deepstacked like really big stacks around 400Bigs but I see the same guys sometimes play short stacked without toppin up. Like 40BBs or so.
And vice versa tere are some short stacks that I mark as fish & the next day there's a fish with a 300,400 BB stack!!
So I've been questioning my method of marking short stacks are fish is really viable or not.

1. Shortstacking can be a legitimate winning cash game strategy. But most shortstacks are not doing this for strategic reasons.

2. BRM is measured in buy-ins, and some players feel that they have the skills to compete at a certain level, but they do not have the bankroll to buy in at max. Again, this will be a minority of those players.

3. Some sources recommend that players avoid auto top-up for BRM purposes. If you have policy of stopping after you lose a certain amount, it is easy to lose more than you realize if you are automatically topping up on multiple tables. I do this myself.

4. Your evidence is anecdotal. Fish get lucky sometimes.

I wouldn't automatically assume that someone with a short stack is a fish. It's evidence of a fish, but more evidence is needed.

 

[braveslice]

5. Fish love to play deep. It shows they are actually super good, just unlucky
4 addon. If fish is not lucky, he loses his stack and disappears.

 

[Alucard]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry

Spoiler

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

BTN: 83.6 BB (VPIP: 31.58, PFR: 21.05, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)
SB: 114 BB (VPIP: 18.34, PFR: 10.65, 3Bet Preflop: 1.54, Hands: 171)
BB: 214 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 3)
UTG: 143.6 BB (VPIP: 37.14, PFR: 28.57, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 37)
Hero (MP): 344.6 BB
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 10.71, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 29)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Ad Ac
UTG raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 7 BB

Flop : (21.4 BB, 2 players) 7s 2d 3s
UTG bets 14 BB, Hero raises to 37 BB, UTG raises to 133.6 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 96.6 BB

Turn : (288.6 BB, 2 players) Qs

River : (288.6 BB, 2 players) 3h

UTG shows 2s 5s (Flush, Queen High)
(Pre 18%, Flop 50%, Turn 100%)

Hero shows Ad Ac (Two Pair, Aces and Threes)
(Pre 82%, Flop 50%, Turn 0%)

UTG wins 276.6 BB

 

[AlexTheOwl]

Sigh drop the condescension maybe?

I asked a genuine question. Your first response was disingenuous. Your second response used a dictionary definition to quibble. You are the one who took us down this road.

The post should have been clear enough contextually, you dont describe something desirable as 'not alarming' you use a psotivie descriptor. But whatever

What? If my opponent 3-bets me when I raise light, someone looking over my shoulder might express alarm. But if I'm confident the opponent will usually fold to a 4-bet I'll say "Don't be alarmed, it's good!".

More to the point, Alucard is alarmed by his graph. Telling him that the red line is not alarming and should look that way implies that it is at the very least not undesirable.
A tumbling red line with no compensitory increase in the blue line is undesirable.
You were incorrect, and then you wasted your time and mine by making absurd defenses of your statement. It's fine. We all play the fool sometimes. Some of us have the integrity to admit it.

Most winning players have negative red lines, why? the blinds, every time you fold the blinds it impacts your money won without showdown its basically impossible to compensate for that without having an abnormally large winrate. Whats more, playing at microlimits, the vast majority of your value comes from thin value betting rather than bluffing.

The only line that actually matters is the green one. Use your time and focus to actually break down hands and ranges rather than looking at graphs that have far too much variance to yield anything meaningful in terms of leaks. Im all for database work but these extrapolations you guys are making are baseless.

I disagree somewhat, but now you are making an actual contribution, so thank you.

What you say about the blinds and the source of profit at the micros is certainly true.

I agree that the green line is all that matters in the end. But there is value in determining where profits and losses come from, and graphs and their underlying statistics can be helpful in finding and fixing leaks.

Buzz and I have suggested possible reasons why that red line is diving.

Alucard would be well served to look at stats like street-by-street AFq to find lines that are unprofitable.
He can compare those stats during his downswing and his upswing.
Running a graph that only includes hands with a VPIP and looking at the red line might also be useful. Most winning players should have a positive red line on that graph.

It might also be useful to run a hands report to find specific unprofitable hands to analyze.

In PT4 I think the appropriate filters would be:
(Player Lost Hand) AND (NOT (Saw Showdown)) AND (Voluntarily Put Money in Pot)

 

[AlexTheOwl]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry

Spoiler

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

BTN: 83.6 BB (VPIP: 31.58, PFR: 21.05, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 19)
SB: 114 BB (VPIP: 18.34, PFR: 10.65, 3Bet Preflop: 1.54, Hands: 171)
BB: 214 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 3)
UTG: 143.6 BB (VPIP: 37.14, PFR: 28.57, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 37)
Hero (MP): 344.6 BB
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 10.71, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 29)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Ad Ac
UTG raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, UTG calls 7 BB

Flop : (21.4 BB, 2 players) 7s 2d 3s
UTG bets 14 BB, Hero raises to 37 BB, UTG raises to 133.6 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 96.6 BB

Turn : (288.6 BB, 2 players) Qs

River : (288.6 BB, 2 players) 3h

UTG shows 2s 5s (Flush, Queen High)
(Pre 18%, Flop 50%, Turn 100%)

Hero shows Ad Ac (Two Pair, Aces and Threes)
(Pre 82%, Flop 50%, Turn 0%)

UTG wins 276.6 BB

Stuff happens. If it helps to reduce frustration to post suck-outs here, that's cool. But you can't learn much from these hands.

 

[braveslice]

If we look EV line I would say it's quite sad. You have around 8k hands where you were winning player. Imo best you can do is drop level. I have not drop level so many times even I should lol, anyways even it feel slowest it's actually the fastest way. I also know it's pointless to say this, but well.

 

[Alucard]

If we look EV line I would say it's quite sad. You have around 8k hands where you were winning player. Imo best you can do is drop level. I have not drop level so many times even I should lol, anyways even it feel slowest it's actually the fastest way. I also know it's pointless to say this, but well.

I still think if I move to regular tables or another site I would have the edge over others. Just trying to beat the zoom pool here.
Those 8k hands I ran really well doing almost always the right plays. Just need to find that again.
And some of the recent losses are due to tilt. But wouldn't drop down. Might change from zoom to regular if this keeps on.
I think lack of motivation,focus & playing too long hours, not much balance in life this month are the reasons for this.
All could be fixed.

And I still think I'm one of the better players in the pool. Lets see in a couple of days
Running decent today even though I've been posting some ugly beats.

 

[AlexTheOwl]

And I still think I'm one of the better players in the pool.

. . . said every fish ever.

But I agree that you shouldn't drop down, unless you have a bankroll issue. If you drop down and win, then what? Keep playing for pennies forever? It's better to fix the problems, or just quit Zoom entirely.

 

[braveslice]

Lost mojo is quickly found, but grinding for profit sucks down here.

 

[Alucard]

I mean how can I run good if I keep on getting ****ed like this? So depressing man

Spoiler

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

BTN: 77.2 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 50.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
SB: 163.2 BB (VPIP: 35.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 20.00, Hands: 20)
BB: 95.8 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 50.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 2)
Hero (UTG): 434.6 BB
MP: 150 BB (VPIP: 6.25, PFR: 6.25, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 16)
CO: 109.4 BB (VPIP: 66.67, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 3)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Ac Kd
Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 5 BB, fold, Hero raises to 20 BB, SB raises to 35 BB, Hero raises to 434.6 BB and is all-in, SB calls 128.2 BB and is all-in

Flop : (327.4 BB, 2 players) 3c Js 4d

Turn : (327.4 BB, 2 players) Jd

River : (327.4 BB, 2 players) Th

SB shows Tc Kh (Two Pair, Jacks and Tens)
(Pre 26%, Flop 14%, Turn 7%)

Hero shows Ac Kd (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 74%, Flop 86%, Turn 93%)

SB wins 313.8 BB

 

[Alucard]

Finally

Spoiler

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

Hero (BTN): 208.4 BB
SB: 201.8 BB (VPIP: 12.50, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 8)
BB: 107 BB (VPIP: 26.99, PFR: 22.09, 3Bet Preflop: 6.35, Hands: 169)
UTG: 54 BB (VPIP: 30.00, PFR: 30.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 10)
MP: 227.8 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 25.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
CO: 101.8 BB (VPIP: 52.63, PFR: 42.11, 3Bet Preflop: 20.00, Hands: 19)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Qh Qc
UTG raises to 2 BB, MP calls 2 BB, fold, Hero raises to 12 BB, fold, fold, fold, MP calls 10 BB

Flop : (27.4 BB, 2 players) Qs Kh Ad
MP checks, Hero checks

Turn : (27.4 BB, 2 players) As
MP checks, Hero bets 15 BB, MP calls 15 BB

River : (57.4 BB, 2 players) Qd
MP bets 20 BB, Hero raises to 181.4 BB and is all-in, MP calls 161.4 BB

Hero shows Qh Qc (Four of a Kind, Queens)
(Pre 67%, Flop 94%, Turn 84%)

MP shows Ah 5h (Full House, Aces full of Queens)
(Pre 33%, Flop 6%, Turn 16%)

Hero wins 402.8 BB

 

[BuzzKillington]

lol
Btw I've got a weird question. Zoom players perhaps know the answer to this.
There are a couple of players who play deepstacked like really big stacks around 400Bigs but I see the same guys sometimes play short stacked without toppin up. Like 40BBs or so.
And vice versa tere are some short stacks that I mark as fish & the next day there's a fish with a 300,400 BB stack!!
So I've been questioning my method of marking short stacks are fish is really viable or not.

You could do what I do. I have several labels for different degrees of confidence.

When I'm not sure, but suspect that someone is a fish, then I mark them as "possible fish" (green). If they have proven themselves to be fish, by their actions, then I mark them as "fish" (blue).

 

[AlexTheOwl]

Nh. Happy Alucard is the best Alucard.

RunBad happens to everyone. But not everyone handles it the same way. It can knock you off your game, or it can make you work harder / smarter. You know which kind of person you want to be. I'm not telling you it's easy. It isn't.