w34z3l's Poker Academy

I´m afraid you cannot, because it´s for gold+ status. In general you find coachings in Strategy section

@ AleksandurAntov : you find the coaching schedule in the strategy section or here. A few minutes before the coaching starts, you can join the chat via the then appearing "tune in"-button. In the chat (I think it is in the upper left) you can find a link to the videostream.

I think i'm pretty imbalanced and certainly not check raising enough when I get called OOP so i tried in this spot. Which hands & textures do we want to be doing it with as the PFR and how does this differ from being the caller?

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 190.24 BB (VPIP: 18.95, PFR: 14.38, 3Bet Preflop: 8.11, Hands: 155)
SB: 159.2 BB (VPIP: 15.63, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 33)
BB: 104.68 BB (VPIP: 18.18, PFR: 12.73, 3Bet Preflop: 4.69, Hands: 168)
UTG: 148.72 BB (VPIP: 17.50, PFR: 5.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 42)
Hero (MP): 124.24 BB
CO: 271.92 BB (VPIP: 24.64, PFR: 18.84, 3Bet Preflop: 12.90, Hands: 71)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 6♣ A♣

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

Flop: (7.4 BB, 2 players) 3♠ 4♣ 9♣
Hero checks, CO bets 4.24 BB, Hero raises to 13 BB, CO calls 8.76 BB

Turn: (33.4 BB, 2 players) Q♥
Hero bets 20 BB, CO calls 20 BB

River: (73.4 BB, 2 players) 2♦
Hero bets 44 BB, CO calls 44 BB

Hero shows 6♣ A♣ (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 31%, Flop 44%, Turn 25%)
CO shows T♣ T♠ (One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 69%, Flop 56%, Turn 75%)
CO wins 154.12 BB

OOP as the caller

Here I check raise for value and bottle the tripple on the river because i'm not sure if hes folding an ace

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 123.68 BB (VPIP: 24.14, PFR: 16.38, 3Bet Preflop: 7.14, Hands: 121)
SB: 109.52 BB (VPIP: 14.58, PFR: 13.54, 3Bet Preflop: 5.13, Hands: 98)
Hero (BB): 100.48 BB
UTG: 103.2 BB (VPIP: 26.67, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 16)
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 17.84, PFR: 12.43, 3Bet Preflop: 6.17, Hands: 190)
CO: 145.28 BB (VPIP: 25.79, PFR: 17.61, 3Bet Preflop: 3.23, Hands: 162)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has J♦ Q♦

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2.8 BB, fold, Hero calls 1.8 BB

Flop: (6 BB, 2 players) T♦ 9♦ A♥
Hero checks, BTN bets 4.84 BB, Hero raises to 14.84 BB, BTN calls 10 BB

Turn: (35.68 BB, 2 players) 5♠
Hero bets 22.12 BB, BTN calls 22.12 BB

River: (79.92 BB, 2 players) 4♥
Hero checks, BTN checks

Hero shows J♦ Q♦ (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 68%, Flop 66%, Turn 45%)
BTN shows T♣ 8♥ (One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 32%, Flop 34%, Turn 55%)
BTN wins 76.32 BB

Backdoor NFD & backdoor straight + overcard - too strong and defer to turn check raising or OK to x/r the flop?

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 120.96 BB (VPIP: 28.89, PFR: 24.44, 3Bet Preflop: 18.60, Hands: 94)
SB: 100 BB (VPIP: 17.03, PFR: 12.09, 3Bet Preflop: 5.75, Hands: 188)
Hero (BB): 111.56 BB
UTG: 214.64 BB (VPIP: 60.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)
MP: 82.92 BB (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 20.00, Hands: 12)
CO: 102.6 BB (VPIP: 25.42, PFR: 16.95, 3Bet Preflop: 3.70, Hands: 59)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has A♣ 2♣

fold, fold, CO raises to 2.48 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.48 BB

Flop: (5.36 BB, 2 players) 3♠ T♣ J♥
Hero checks, CO bets 3.32 BB, Hero raises to 10 BB, CO calls 6.68 BB

Turn: (25.36 BB, 2 players) T♠
Hero checks, CO checks

River: (25.36 BB, 2 players) Q♦
Hero checks, CO checks

Hero shows A♣ 2♣ (One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 60%, Flop 53%, Turn 70%)
CO shows K♦ Q♣ (Two Pair, Queens and Tens)
(Pre 40%, Flop 47%, Turn 30%)
CO wins 24.2 BB

Great coaching yesterday! Will there be a podcast of it? I couldn't follow all of it and my notes are somewhat unusable.
Regarding the homework: c/r range BBvsUTG on J♥:7♥:5♦:

JdJs,JdJc,77,55,AdKd,AdQd,KdQd,AdTd,AdKh,AhKd,AhKs,AhKc,AsKh,AcKh,AdQh,AhQd,AhQs,AhQc,AsQh,AcQh (24combos)

Thought about betting QQ here, but discounted it. One Jack-combo is in my Calling-Range.

Great lesson last night was for me a privilege to be part of your coaching live, thank you!

Im going to go for the home-work now and make useful the pages of notes I wrote out your teaching

sign me up

Originally posted by sftpn
Great coaching yesterday! Will there be a podcast of it? I couldn't follow all of it and my notes are somewhat unusable.
Regarding the homework: c/r range BBvsUTG on J♥:7♥:5♦:

JdJs,JdJc,77,55,AdKd,AdQd,KdQd,AdTd,AdKh,AhKd,AhKs,AhKc,AsKh,AcKh,AdQh,AhQd,AhQs,AhQc,AsQh,AcQh (24combos)

Thought about betting QQ here, but discounted it. One Jack-combo is in my Calling-Range.

I think you have the right idea here, overcards withbackdoors etc. We probably should actually have some flush-draws in this range however to make sure we hit on some heart turns.
Also usually worth keeping in mind that we don't have to defend completely unexploitably on the flop for 2 reasons. 1) Villain has a small range advantage in most cases. 2) Villain has a positional advantage. So it's ok to slightly overfold here which makes our defending range stronger. Final thing to remember is that we don't necessarily need a 2:1 bluff:value ratio since our bluffs are typically strong, especially if we use flush-draws also, so we might be able to use 1.5:1 or something similar.

Congrats guys. The race to 30 points is on! Go go go!

Academy Master 225 Points

Rank 3 Academy 100 Points

Rank 2 Academy – 30 Points

Rank 1 Academy Points

IuriTPena........................... 18
Sftpn....................................17
mattyvx.................................13
Theodor95........................ 12
Livethelife7........................12
Bonecore...........................9
8runo....................................8
Ales851..............................8
2reac..................................7
AleksandurAntov...............5
Reto27................................5
Ibetucry..............................4
pok3ras............................4
l3ryl3e................................3
Trznk.................................3
KiromanAAKK..................3
Scotty837...........................1
gAsheks..............................1
Mymyshor..........................1
PacnyTuH0.........................1
Fussel2........1
FollowtheSmartMoney....1
lukasek09.......1
Twinskat.........1

Hey guys, tonight's live coaching will be on mindset!

Please come with your all your mindset issues and I will be happy to help out. There will be plenty of points up for grabs.

Feel free to write down any current mindset issues you have in the thread for us to look over during the session. I will give out points for these, up to five points for decent post in this thread.

I know I'm not in the running for the prizes or anything - but during the last live coaching I thought you had said you had given me 4 points for posting hands in the thread, however I only have 2 points in total.

Just a thought - would a [simple] spreadsheet not be far easier for you to track the points - and give you a bit of history as well (for your benefit) for what you've awarded points for?

Sorry man, it's just a oversight.

I've given you 6 points and updated the list.

I don't think I need a spreadsheet, I just need to pay a bit more attention. If anyone else feels they are missing points just let me know and I'll make sure I don't miss any from now on.

Btw keep in mind that everyone is still in the runnings to top the leaderboard. As the academy progresses I will be giving increasingly more points for various activities. I've done it this way to award current activity and keep the roster system live so there are no foregone conclusions. I will also be awarding more points for participation in Academy projects and for answering questions during the live coaching, so if you attend all coachings you will be more likely to do well on the roster.

(First off: Mindset and Mental game is the same, right? None-native speaker here, so I thought I better ask. I also mean no offense with what I'm about to write. Hopefully I use the phrases correctly and no toes get stepped. :f_p:)

Man, a coaching on my favorite (and often underrepresented) topic: mindset/menal game (it's not even in the ps-glossary) and I can't follow it all due to having a night shift.

Regarding mindset/menal game in general:
I think in relation to the impact this topic has on our BR, it is underrepresendet e.g. on PS and by trend underestimated by most players. I wonder, if this is because of a) cultural/gender reasons, b) because of socal stigma or c) simply being oblivious towards this topic or d) something else.
a) cultural/gender reasons: Most players are men and talking about made failures because of related to emotions and ones psyche still might sound girlish to some plus poker is a competitive game and displaying issues might seem weak?
b) social stigma: It's perfectly acceptable to have a broken femur after chasing a robber :), but going to tell e.g. your collegues/friends you're having a depression due to sh*t happening during your childhood still often takes more stomach. I am not saying that working on ones mental game in poker means that there is something pathologically wrong, but I'm afraid this topic is perceived this way by at least some people. And still, there of course could be some mental game issues related to bigger real-life things. In that case it wouldn't hurt to look at that either. Just saying
c) being oblivious towards this topic: Tendler descriped the way e.g. tilt is often discussed very good. Goes something like this: The way people discuss tilt issues in forums is often not that deep. "I was up a few buyins, I went on tilt after losing a few hands and lost several buyins." That's like discussing a hand the following way: "I was playing QJo OOP from SB, then I made a tactical mistake and lost." Maybe people are not aware of the problem or that you can indeed change or some are avoiding to look at certain topics regarding themself. Thats my thoughts on, why said topic doesn't become the proper amount of attention.

my mental game issues:
I'm normally tilting a lot. I work closely with chronically mental ill people. That and sleep deprivation due to the little bugger of a one-year old and a ton of other stuff (life ) takes its toll on my balance.
Atm, I have a strict regiment of routines in place and as long as I do the work, tilt is in check. (Tilt free for 15 k hands.) I work towards the resolution of tilt and other mindset issues with the tipps of Jareld Tendlers books. Hopefully this will work.

Here is where I struggle:
I'm having trouble with fokus and decision making at the tables. E.g. I couldn't name a range on a later street for the life of me. It's more like I feel it. I sit down and say to myself: "Think, goddamm*t" but it ain't working. I'd like to train missing hand reading skills, but no matter, what my session goals were (e.g. be aware, assign ranges etc.), I find myself playing like usual after a few minutes. I think, that is a key factor why I really seldom can sniff out bluffs conciously.

Tendler recommends working on ones C-Game first, which I second, but I struggle with knowing my C-game. There is this worksheet, but I don't really know, what to put in. When I look at certain hands, I can roughly judge the quality of my play in most cases, but when it comes to finding general weaknesses especially the worse ones (aside from tilt, I know how that looks :f_ugly:) I struggle. Part of the problem maybe my missing motivation or state of mind to look at a c-game session right after, part maybe be missing analytical skills?
Self-discipline was also an issue in the past. Typically, I stopped working on my game, when I was running good with the unevitable following running bad part followed by the temporary insight, that I should work more on my game and so on...

@w34z3l, would it be possible to post topics and tasks for coming coachings earlier? Would give other academicians more time to respond.

Looking forward to tonights coaching!

I will post 2 mindset issues:

Mindset issue 1#:

the insta-click tilt. What I mean with this is that when running good or when tired/lacking concentration, I'm sometimes able to insta make decisions like river calls, without further thoughts.

Example:

Utg opens I call ip. Flop goes ch/c, turn ch/ch. River he overbets allin 5x pot on AK6K6, I have Kx. This is a spot when in the zone I fold but when not that focused on every hand I insta call here without taking time to think about the hand.

The main issue here is probably already being tilted a little I think, but it happens still too often. This is not only when running badly but also when running good and it's going easy.

Mindset issue 2#:

The biggest issue I have at the moment is finding the right things to focus on. What I mean with this is, there is so much info out there, so much video's to watch and articles/books to read, hand histories to analyze etc. Whenever I see a new article or video I want to watch it,
but it costs me my time to grind. Also I want to work on every part on my game at the same time, but that's obvious impossible.
The way this works on my mindset is that because there is so much to think about and work on, I find myself lost and doesn't learn or grind at all. I tried different sort of learning schedule's, but it hasn't helped with the problem at the moment.

I still have mental leaks to work on.

The main leaks are the following:

1) Not accepting variance.
I usually do not get tilted after 1, 2 or 3 bad beats, but if they become 4, 5, 6 in a row even though I really concentrate and get it in with good equity, it starts to get to me. Lately I have been sucked out over a sample of about 200 k hands mostly with my big hands with great equity and cannot believe it.

At the same time I am running about 28/100 BB on another site. Before this I was crushing the same limit with + 40 stacks on the site where I only get sucked out now and hardly manage to BE for a month now!

Any time I play on the site where I am running horribly, it usually just takes one more awful suckout to get me on tilt again. It leads as far as catching myself just pushing premium hands pf instead of 3betting to avoid suckouts, something I never do on the other site.

2) General doubts, fears

I think that I am working hard to improve in many aspects of my life like poker, personality, trading and making a living on other jobs somehow after the disappointments of not finding a good job although I got two very good degrees from university and made a big effort to get what I wanted there, which did not work out after 2 years of applications, interviews and really grinding it out there.

When a series of bad events or losses occur and the progress seems so slow, I sometimes start wondering when I will ever get where I want to be. Sometimes then I start thinking about past bad luck, where it was "just so close" to make it and what could have been and it tilts me even more because I know that it does not help or change anything.

It is good that I am disciplined, patient and will always stand up one more time. However, these two things really get to me and I am currently looking for a solution.

Originally posted by sftpn
@w34z3l, would it be possible to post topics and tasks for coming coachings earlier? Would give other academicians more time to respond.

Yup! You are completely right here, I will start doing that. It's a relatively new system and hopefully it's slowly improving, so I will definitely try and take this on board also.

Hi,

I have a mindset problem anytime when I try to shot on higher level. Anytime I lose 1-2 BI I have a tendency to go on previous limit, win money back and then continue with shot because I am afraid - OMG I can hit downswing on higher limit and then it take me to long before I win these money back. I´m playing with pretty safe BR management and also don´t need these money since I have a regular job and I don´t withdraw any money from poker yet.

Also not very often but sometimes I have a mindset that I believe everyone try to bluff me so I´m start to be a calling station. I have a little suspicious that it´s usually after watching some more advanced video/coaching from limits where people probably bluff more.

First, sign me up please, thanks.

On the mindset - I believe that player's mindset is one the most important aspects of poker, if not the most important. I also realize that my game often suffers a lot due to several mindset issues.

I am aware that session results also depend on variance and that we should not be result oriented (one of my mindset issues). But typically, if I play well, with good mindset, in a good flow, I have like 20 bb / 100 win-rate. If I am in a bad mood, often influenced by some losses and bad beats (either spews or suckouts), I tend to play a lot worse and end up like - 20 bb / 100. Both on the same limit (e.g. NL10).

Another problem is trying to recover from previous losses at all costs which results in excessive play (longer session with less focus) and typically even bigger losses. I am aware of the stop-loss limits suggested in the below article but find it very hard to stick to that - i.e. problem with discipline.

Stop-Loss Limits - Pulling the Ripcord

Then, the scared money issue when playing higher limits, as very well decribed in this article:

Tilt: Scared Money

I feel comfortable playing e.g. NL10 Zoom with 60 BIs, it is easier for me to make optimal (or at least better) decisions, I am not afraid to risk stacks by bluffing or extract value by thin value bets. But when it come to shooting higher limits (even with 25-40 BIs), I feel less comfortable and start playing sub-optimally.

It is then very apparent esp. on the red line when I start to overcall instead of check-raising OOP or raising IP (both as bluff or for value) and then tend to overfold by river vs aggression esp. on scary boards.

Any recommendations how to deal with the above issues? Easy answer would probably be: don't be result oriented, dont't play in bad mood, stick to stop-loss limit, be more discipined, don't be money scared, etc.

But how to move my mindset this way? What are the practical tips, measures to be introduced, rules of conduct to stick to and mental improvements to be made?

Mental Game Issues, so we know the basics but do we apply our own rules everytime we play? After all, why wouldn't we... we've thought about our ranges and we have a game plan, we study but sometimes we don't always apply what we know. I've always been a black & white / methodical type and would like to think my feelings don't override my logic but it's not true... No matter how disciplined you think you are mental game is important and will have a impact on your winrate, bottom line and overall enjoyment of the game.

That time you loose a few pots to a donk and get out of line because you think you "deserve to win the next one" or the guy who keeps 3betting you so you bluff it off with trash and he shows you aces... he's a few things I think influence my mental game...

This player is picking on me
Players play differently, if your stakes are infested by nitty regs and donks then you come across a more agressive player that doesn't respond like the others then it's easy to believe he's picking on you. So what can we do? Well, the mistake i've made is starting to over adjust or play back outside my ranges because "i know he can't have anything". Normally in these spots the player who over adjust loses, keep to our game and try to study on the tough spots if we really feel we are being bullied.

Levelling
Flexing our poker knowledge and trying to apply concepts we know deep down aren't right. "he can't ever have anything on this texture" so i'll call him down but his stats are telling us he's super passive. Assuming our opponants are thinking the same as us and making mistakes based on how we would play vs how our villians are playing - projecting our own thought processess

Moving Up Stakes
Feeling like everyone is bullying you and it's a completely different game - I tried a few shots and lost a few buy ins but on review I spewed because I thought my opponants were so much different on 25nl vs 10nl. Now i'm beating 25nl and on reflection we have to be careful about small sample aggressive variance and stick to our game - there isn't the huge gulf of aggression we might think there is.

Playing when we know we shouldn't
Learning the hard way, having an argument and deciding to take to my hobby of playing poker to relax - Infact I ended up taking my emotion to the table and loosing ten stacks and the snowball effect. I felt when i'm playing I knew i should stop, I knew i was playing bad but I kept going and loosing was fueling me to play even more. That skill to be able to step back, go for a drink or walk and do some studying or watch a video but don't take your pre-tilt to the table

ales851, marteen, and mattyvx, will reply to you guys in text soon since I didn't cover properly during the session