Croatian BlogBuster - Full-Time Teacher Playing Poker

Originally posted by 2reac
It`s good that you make advanced analizes, but this one is completely wrong!18/17 guy will never have 23% RFI in MP. Pay attention to the sample! I assume his RFI is 10-15% in MP. So you have try it back! I would simply fold this hand OTF.

Ok! I had that in mind, but didn't actually try to estimate his range with that assumption. Probably correct range would be something like 15-16, I would imagine. Thanks!

I really favour sessions where the majority of things is going my way.

Had an interesting spot yesterday where I've made use of the notes. So, a couple of hands before I had made a note about this guy: "F bluff donkbet pot MWP, R bluff pot vs turn checkback".

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $14.54 (145.4 bb)
BB: $11.78 (117.8 bb)
Hero (UTG): $10.30 (103 bb)
MP: $10 (100 bb)
CO: $10.32 (103.2 bb)
BTN: $25.89 (258.9 bb)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with Q T
Hero raises to $0.30, 4 folds, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.65) 2 8 K (2 players)
BB bets $0.62, Hero raises to $1.70, BB folds

Results: $1.89 pot ($0.08 rake)
Final Board: 2 8 K
BB mucked and lost (-$0.92 net)
Hero mucked Q T and won $1.81 ($0.89 net)

I like happy endings.

This guy yesterday was hillarious. He played it perfectly vs me. The only thing is... He probably isn't that good. (As my play is concerned, I think that overbetting would be nice to make him fold Qx, maybe even weaker Ax)

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $13.40 (134 bb)
Hero (BB): $10.19 (101.9 bb)
UTG: $10 (100 bb)
MP: $10.19 (101.9 bb)
CO: $11.03 (110.3 bb)
BTN: $9.65 (96.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with T J
4 folds, SB raises to $0.20, Hero calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.40) Q A 9 (2 players)
SB bets $0.30, Hero calls $0.30

Turn: ($1) 2 (2 players)
SB bets $0.60, Hero calls $0.60

River: ($2.20) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1.30, SB calls $1.30

Results: $4.80 pot ($0.22 rake)
Final Board: Q A 9 2 4
SB showed 4 K and won $4.58 ($2.18 net)
Hero showed T J and lost (-$2.40 net)

I don`t think he played perfectly. I mean, this bluffcatch is bad since he blocks some combos of busted draws and he has better bluffcatchers like Ax. But overbetting here is bad also cause you rep only busted draws when you overbet ( you don`t have any value overbet hand .. maybe A4, but I doubt you would overbet it). So I`d rather calling an overbet with K4 than a 2/3 bet. And btw, do you really think he`s betting twice with Qx here?

Originally posted by 2reac
I don`t think he played perfectly. I mean, this bluffcatch is bad since he blocks some combos of busted draws and he has better bluffcatchers like Ax. But overbetting here is bad also cause you rep only busted draws when you overbet ( you don`t have any value overbet hand .. maybe A4, but I doubt you would overbet it). So I`d rather calling an overbet with K4 than a 2/3 bet. And btw, do you really think he`s betting twice with Qx here?

In the last coaching with w34z3l we discussed auto-profit situations which I don't use as near as I should (most of them are mentioned in his Red Line Rampage series). One of them is betting vs missed cbets. We agreed that I will bet close to 100% in those spots for a period of time to see if that stuff is working. So for now I just fire those spots. People don't check their best hands at those limit, so bluff would be profitable much more often than required 40%. At this spot my hand is clearly no good to check back (except in some rare situations where he had a flushdraw with low cards), so I bluffed. I also wouldn't bother what he thinks about my range because the answer is probably that he doesn't think. Would he bet twice with Qx? Probably not, but I wouldn't completelly rule out that option. The most important thing is that he would most likelly bet TP and better and not bluffcatch (ok, I obviously made wrong estimation regarding this particular player ♦), so I expect my bluff to be profitable around 60% if not more vs an average oponent.

Overbetting was just a tought, it didn't came to my mind during the hand. If they have KK, Qx or weak Ax, an overbet would be alot more profitable than normal bet, imo, because they wouldn't think like "Ok, he represents nothing and it's obvious that he has a busted draw". They will rather think like "Oh, fuck, I don't like my hand anymore because this guy obviously has a better one". Ok, overbetting is maybe not the best option in this hand, but I'm talking in general. If I overbet this to $2,50, I need him to fold in 53% of cases to be profitable and with the bet I've made I need him to fold in 37% of cases to be profitable. In some cases an overbet would achieve required amount of folds, but normal bet wont. Even in this situation, I don't think he would call an overbet with his particular holding, but who knows. ♦

Thank you for the comments!

Here is the report for Get Rich or Die Tryin' - The Bankroll Challenge:

Starting bankroll: 1.061,04 USD
Targeting bankroll: 5.305,20 USD
Last week bankroll: 1.067,98 USD
-------------------------------------------------------------
Week 48
Hands (NL10): 6.347
Profit: -5,34 USD
Rakeback: 20,00 USD
Exchange rate difference: -
Week 48 profit: 14,56 USD
Week 48 progress: 1,36%
Current bankroll: 1.082,54 USD
-------------------------------------------------------------
Overall profit: 21,50 USD
Overall progress: 0,51%

I'm implementing the new SB strategy where you open limp a decent amount of hands when you don't have 60%+ fold equity. It's especially suitable vs fish where we don't have enough fold equity preflop, but we have a postflop edge and could expect fish to make alot of mistakes. This hand I found funny:

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $12.84 (128.4 bb)
BB: $9.50 (95 bb)
UTG: $3.92 (39.2 bb)
MP: $10 (100 bb)
CO: $10 (100 bb)
BTN: $7.22 (72.2 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 3 2
4 folds, Hero completes, BB checks

Flop: ($0.20) J 6 Q (2 players)
Hero bets $0.13, BB calls $0.13

Turn: ($0.46) 4 (2 players)
Hero bets $0.30, BB calls $0.30

River: ($1.06) T (2 players)
Hero bets $0.60, BB calls $0.60

Results: $2.26 pot ($0.10 rake)
Final Board: J 6 Q 4 T
Hero showed 3 2 and won $2.16 ($1.03 net)
BB mucked A A and lost (-$1.13 net)

I've hit a straight flush once this year, so wasn't particularly full of hope when I saw today's PokerStars promo. But then this happened:

:welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome::welcome:

Too bad I din't get $5.000, but $20 is also cool.

Who knows, maybe I'll hit it once more today. Overall, I won $140 so far from their Christmas promo. Yeah, I like stars.

The session wasn't too bad, either:

20$ for me too

Brutal.

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $25.62 (256.2 bb)
BB: $29.27 (292.7 bb)
Hero (UTG): $15.49 (154.9 bb)
MP: $25.47 (254.7 bb)
CO: $15.40 (154 bb)
BTN: $18.85 (188.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with T 9
Hero raises to $0.30, MP calls $0.30, CO folds, BTN calls $0.30, 2 folds

Flop: ($1.05) 6 2 7 (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, BTN bets $0.60, Hero folds, MP raises to $1.60, BTN raises to $4.10, MP raises to $25.17 and is all-in, BTN calls $14.45

Turn: ($38.15) Q (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($38.15) 2 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: $38.15 pot ($1.50 rake)
Final Board: 6 2 7 Q 2
Hero mucked T 9 and lost (-$0.30 net)
MP showed 7 7 and lost (-$18.85 net)
BTN showed 2 2 and won $36.65 ($17.80 net)

Good luck in 2016. Subbed!

Originally posted by Zanardi1
Good luck in 2016. Subbed!

Thank you! I wish all the best to you, too!

Currently I'm trying to work on my mindset a bit more than I used to, along with working on my game, of course. I'm not reading any book because I really don't have enough time atm, although I'm considering investing into "The Mental Game of Poker" in the future. I'm just reading some articles or watching videos from time to time and trying to use common sense in understanding my emotions, trying to avoid them to impact my behaviour at the tables. Actually, I have some experience with fighting against my own brain because I could say that I had managed to beat one very nasty mental disorter (you probably heard about OCD). I guess that fighting against your emotions in poker is the same. You try to be aware of them, but not let them to take over you and always try to do what you rationally think is the best. So, the goal is not to not have emotions, but except them and learn to live (and play) with them. Many times you have to do total opposite things than your emotions tell you. That's why it's not easy at all, rather damn hard. As the time goes, it becomes more and more "natural", but, as I allready know, it takes really alot of time and not all of us are capable of succeeding.

So, I'm happy because I have more and more sessions where I don't let my emotions to take over me, which results with more and more graphs like this:

True that I need to learn alot more than I know now to be able to think like a winner, but I know I can do that! Btw, Merry Christmas everyone!

Here is the report for Get Rich or Die Tryin' - The Bankroll Challenge:

Starting bankroll: 1.061,04 USD
Targeting bankroll: 5.305,20 USD
Last week bankroll: 1.082,54 USD
-------------------------------------------------------------
Week 49
Hands (NL10): 8.955
Profit: 33,12 USD
Sit&Goes: 11
Profit: -1,35 USD
Rakeback: 20,75 USD
Exchange rate difference: -
Week 49 profit: 52,52 USD
Week 49 progress: 4,86%
Current bankroll: 1.135,06 USD
-------------------------------------------------------------
Overall profit: 74,02 USD
Overall progress: 1,74%

Today I played a bit NL5 at iPoker to collect some StrategyPoints for Silver status next month (since my Stars account is not tracked) and I remind myself why I hate iPoker.

This one was funny:

Also, made a shot of 1 session at NL16, but that didn't go well.

Tried some 3-streets and 2-streets bluffs, but seems they can't fold hands like 2nd and 3rd pairs. Although, I'm pretty sure that it's not the case and I just run into those types of players.

Anyway, I managed to take it all back at NL10, and the last session was really played in "I am a champion" mode.

I'm on winter holidays now so a bit more time for poker, but I also have a couple of job-related things to do and some lectures to attend so next two weeks will be quite bussy. I still hope to play 20 hours this week (with 7-8 hours learning).

I had kind of an interesting spot yesterday and expect some comments in Hand Discussions forum. Here is the quote:

Originally posted by Alleen86
Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

Hero (SB): $10 (100 bb)
BB: $10 (100 bb)
UTG: $23.26 (232.6 bb)
MP: $23.48 (234.8 bb)
CO: $8.97 (89.7 bb)
BTN: $15.38 (153.8 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with A 3
4 folds, Hero raises to $0.30, BB raises to $0.90, Hero raises to $2.10, BB calls $1.20

Flop: ($4.20) 6 7 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $1.20, Hero raises to $7.90 and is all-in

Preflop: My default open from the SB. BB is a reg playing 23/17 in 132 hands. His 3bet% is 15,6 (28,6 vs Hero). He folded to 4bet once in 2 times. With a bigger sample, maybe I should plan to open raise tighter against villain and 4bet depolarized stuff like TT+, AQo+, AJs, KQs. Since I don't have a big sample I just decided to 4bet bluff.

Flop: I hit BDFD and an overcard. I believe his preflop range to call 4bets is usually something like AJ+, KQ, JJ-TT. I expect him to shove QQ+,AK. I'm just making an educated guess based on an average opponent, since I don't have a specific read on the villain. Not sure if he is 3betting stuff like mid pocket pairs and calling them to 4bets. Generally, my hand stands badly against his range, but I think I do have some fold equity (combined with some equity) when I cbet, but I don't expect enough folds, even though players tend to play fit or fold in 4bet pots. His FtFlopCB is 40%, so I'm not sure that he is overfolding in this situation. So, vs this villain I think a decent play would be betting twice to make broadways fold and put pressure on JJ-TT or check/raise. If I check/raise I expect to have a higher fold equity vs JJ-TT and also broadways could sometimes check back in which case I could bluff turn and river.

Overall, yesterday was not that good day, but I had this "Rising from death" session again which is funny.

At the moment I'm strugling with my play vs cbets and have a hard time finding spots to decrease my folding percentages both on flop and turn. I should mainly increase my bluff raising percentage, but probably also call a bit wider. I also need to cold call and 3bet more BB vs BTN (especially vs 2x open raise). I've fixed my 3betting leak from most positions, except mentioned BB and CO, but now those are just a minor leaks. I should be just a bit more wider with bluffs. Also, I'm still overfolding vs 3bets, but that's probably not a dramatic leak at NL10 seems I have a feeling that the opponents are really not 3betting that wide, so I'm not that affraid that they are exploiting me. I would rather say that I exploit them by overfolding, but could certailnly find some spots to call wider and exploit their bad play in 3bet pots, especially OOP. Not saying that I'm playing great in 3bet pots, but I'm sure that I'm better than the NL10 field is, both as a preflop aggressor and a preflop caller, both IP and OOP. So, working on those is a way to go in 2016.

Had two quite interesting hands in today's first session. The first one is posted here.

Originally posted by Alleen86
Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $10.93 (109.3 bb)
BB: $20.46 (204.6 bb)
Hero (UTG): $14.29 (142.9 bb)
MP: $12.40 (124 bb)
CO: $11.07 (110.7 bb)
BTN: $10.25 (102.5 bb)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with A A
Hero raises to $0.30, 4 folds, BB raises to $1, Hero raises to $2.10, BB calls $1.10

Flop: ($4.25) J Q 9 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $2.20, BB calls $2.20

Turn: ($8.65) 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $3.50, BB calls $3.50

River: ($15.65) Q (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $6.49

Preflop: Standard open and value 4bet. The BB plays 18/13 in 83 hands and 3bets 11,1% (28,6% vs Hero). Maybe the size could be a bit bigger since we are deeper. When he called, I think his range is AQ+, AK, QQ-JJ and occassionally KK+ and TT.

Flop: Not the greatest flop because he might have sets there, but he also has alot of AQ, AK and KQ, I believe. I think cbetting is optimal, but not sure how to react to raise. I feel like I should fold because I can't see him value raising AQ, KK or bluffing AK.

Turn: If I was ahead on the flop, I probably still am. When he called the flop, I believe he has something like AQ, KQ and occasionally AK, KK and TT. Sometimes he would slowplay sets, but I expect them to raise on that board on the flop. So, I decided to target those one pair hands and AK. Since it's hard to expect them to call 2 barrels in 4bet pot OOP, I decided to bet smaller. At the same time the plan was to fold if he raises because I don't see him bluffing or value raising worse, especially when I block AsKs. So with those smaller bet I give myself a chance to fold vs his shove.

River: Very interesting card because AQ and KQ came there, so the plan was to fold if he donks. When he checks, the first instinct was to check back, but then I realised that there is no point for him to check Qx because he should expect me to call almost 100% of my range, so no need for him to slowplay. At that point I put him on AK, KK and TT so decided to shove.

The rest of the hand is here:

BB folds

Results: $15.65 pot ($0.70 rake)
Final Board: J Q 9 7 Q
BB mucked and lost (-$7.80 net)
Hero mucked A A and won $14.95 ($7.15 net)

The 2nd one is kind of standard, but still interesting, I think:
Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $4.07 (40.7 bb)
BB: $10 (100 bb)
UTG: $11.95 (119.5 bb)
Hero (MP): $10.98 (109.8 bb)
CO: $10 (100 bb)
BTN: $38.44 (384.4 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 5 5
UTG folds, Hero raises to $0.30, CO calls $0.30, BTN raises to $0.70, 2 folds, Hero calls $0.40, CO calls $0.40

Flop: ($2.25) 3 8 5 (3 players)
Hero bets $1.30, CO folds, BTN calls $1.30

Turn: ($4.85) J (2 players)
Hero bets $3.10, BTN calls $3.10

River: ($11.05) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $5.88 and is all-in, BTN calls $5.88

Results: $22.81 pot ($1.03 rake)
Final Board: 3 8 5 J 6
Hero showed 5 5 and won $21.78 ($10.80 net)
BTN showed A A and lost (-$10.98 net)

So, a quite successfull openning session:

And the last session in 2015. was played!

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $10 (100 bb)
Hero (BB): $13.84 (138.4 bb)
UTG: $2.38 (23.8 bb)
MP: $8.24 (82.4 bb)
CO: $11.99 (119.9 bb)
BTN: $18.78 (187.8 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BB with 4 A
4 folds, SB raises to $0.30, Hero raises to $0.80, SB calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.60) 7 3 6 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.90, SB calls $0.90

Turn: ($3.40) 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2, SB calls $2

River: ($7.40) 7 (2 players)
SB bets $2.33, Hero calls $2.33

Results: $12.06 pot ($0.54 rake)
Final Board: 7 3 6 5 7
SB showed 9 T and lost (-$6.03 net)
Hero showed 4 A and won $11.52 ($5.49 net)

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $3.49 (34.9 bb)
BB: $10 (100 bb)
UTG: $27.76 (277.6 bb)
MP: $12.12 (121.2 bb)
CO: $7.04 (70.4 bb)
Hero (BTN): $10.26 (102.6 bb)

Preflop: Hero is BTN with A A
2 folds, CO raises to $0.20, Hero raises to $0.70, 2 folds, CO calls $0.50

Flop: ($1.55) T 2 7 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $1.03, CO raises to $2.80, Hero calls $1.77

Turn: ($7.15) K (2 players)
CO bets $3.54 and is all-in, Hero calls $3.54

River: ($14.23) 5 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: $14.23 pot ($0.64 rake)
Final Board: T 2 7 K 5
CO showed K J and lost (-$7.04 net)
Hero showed A A and won $13.59 ($6.55 net)

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $4.80 (48 bb)
BB: $21.29 (212.9 bb)
UTG: $10.02 (100.2 bb)
Hero (MP): $10.44 (104.4 bb)
CO: $9.95 (99.5 bb)
BTN: $14.56 (145.6 bb)

Preflop: Hero is MP with 7 9
UTG folds, Hero raises to $0.30, 2 folds, SB calls $0.25, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.90) T 8 J (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets $0.40, Hero raises to $1.40, SB folds, BB raises to $20.99 and is all-in, Hero calls $8.74 and is all-in

Turn: ($21.18) 6 (2 players, 2 are all-in)
River: ($21.18) 9 (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Results: $21.18 pot ($0.95 rake)
Final Board: T 8 J 6 9
SB mucked and lost (-$0.30 net)
BB showed T J and won $0.00 (-$10.44 net)
Hero showed 7 9 and won $20.23 ($9.79 net)

Poker Stars, $0.05/$0.10 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite.

SB: $11.19 (111.9 bb)
BB: $18.21 (182.1 bb)
Hero (UTG): $15.58 (155.8 bb)
MP: $17.71 (177.1 bb)
CO: $11.27 (112.7 bb)
BTN: $9.88 (98.8 bb)

Preflop: Hero is UTG with J J
Hero raises to $0.30, 4 folds, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.65) 8 T J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $0.49, BB raises to $1.10, Hero raises to $3.20, BB raises to $17.91, Hero calls $12.08 and is all-in

Turn: ($31.21) 7 (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($31.21) 6 (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: $31.21 pot ($1.40 rake)
Final Board: 8 T J 7 6
BB showed T T and won $0.00 (-$15.58 net)
Hero showed J J and won $29.81 ($14.23 net)

Wish you all, including myself, to crush in 2016.!

I will probably start crushing on January 2th, because tomorrow might not be able to.