Upswing

So I just had a very good session(up 3 buy-ins). I had great cards and everything held up. I think working on the two things I mentioned in my previous post really helped. Up until now I have not been putting in a lot of volume, because I wasn’t too sure I was playing well enough. Now I think I am ready to play a lot of hands – I feel like a well oiled machine. I also feel like I need to see more hands since I’m folding a lot more, it will keep me from getting bored. I’m currently running at 3bb/100 at 5nl – not bad but I know I can do better.

Working on my game

The last few days have been really swingy again. I am down 2 buyins since my last post. This time I’m not so sure that its all just bad luck. I’m learning that good luck is not putting yourself in risky situations to begin with. So I’ve been working on improving my play.

One of thing that’s been getting me in trouble is how to respond to 3bets. To be honest, I had no idea what 3betting was or what it meant, no one does it at 2nl. So imagine my surprise when my pocket kings run into pocket aces. I know this could be considered bad luck, but when the tightest guy at the table starts betting like a maniac, its a huge sign that he has me beat. I’ve even called 3bets with AK -which is never pretty. I’ve been trying to read up on this on forums like 2+2, but I don’t really feel like I have a handle on it, so for now I’m going to just fold, and then fold some more. Not sure if I’ll be able to fold kings but AK definitely.

The other thing I’m working on is hand selection and positional awareness. These concepts are pretty straightforward, but applying it requires a lot of discipline. Here’s an example you get 99, or ATs in first position, should you lay it? Tempting… but then what do you do if everyone calls or 3bets. Then you’re a sitting duck because, chances are someone has you beat. Trouble is, when you’re card dead those cards will look very appealing. So I find I need a constant reminder of what to play when. I have a lot of trouble with proper hand selection right after a bad beat. So this is a huge one for me, especially since I was profiting at 43% vpip at 2nl – that would be unheard of at this level.

May as well share me graph:

Moving up a Level

It took a while but I am finally ready to move up to 5nl for good. It was a big adjustment but I think I have a handle on things now. I haven’t been playing a lot of hands because I wanted to focus on the adjustment. The big thing was tightening up pre-flop. The other big thing is being able to figure out what other peoples ranges are.

One thing I noticed at first was that I was getting rivered a lot, for instance I’d hit a set on the flop, slowplay it (or just bet a small amount), then get beat by the river by a flush/straight. Slowplaying always backfired so I started being more aggressive. As soon as I did this things turned around for me.

I’m feeling comfortable with my play at the new level so I’ll just keep playing until my bankroll is at $300 – which shouldn’t take too long – then I’ll move up to 10nl. Here’s a graph of all my hands at .02/.05 since march 1st:

Rocky start

So against my better judgment I have been playing at .02/.05 nl. My bankroll took a hit and I am trying to adjust to the new level. Obviously, players are not making as many huge mistakes. The main thing for me to do is tighten up my range. I was limping in and speculating a lot at the penny tables, and now its time to cut that out. I felt really shaky at first – like I was out of my league – but looking back at the hands I realized I was just unlucky, so I just kept at it, even though I was losing money. Here’s a graph for the month so far, with 3500 hands at .05NL and the rest at .02NL:

How not to play pocket kings

I thought I’d post this hand because I really misplayed it and it was a costly mistake. Its one of those hands that sticks with you – so I think that means I learned something from it.
My biggest pot lost

This hand came after a few big wins so it really sucked to lose it all in this way. I got too cocky, is this what they mean by winners tilt. In fact this was a disturbing trend in my play, it just kept happening and I couldn’t figure it out. The size of this pot shocked me into figuring it out. I think avoiding this boils down to always staying cautious and protective of your chips, even when you’re on a heater. Anything can happen.