re notetaking... someone once suggested just marking noteworthy hands, and spend 10-20 minutes post session writing up those notes. Never tried it myself, but can see the merit in it.
Sick sleep schedule - I had a mate who used to have an almost identical pattern back in my uni days..
I'm looking forward to watching you move through the limits! Some serious pwnage / sick, gut wrenching swingaments / ultimate triumph to come. 
Yeah this is something i do occasionally. Any time i end up doing a session review (usually at least once a month) I'll take notes on players i see regularly.
Up until recently i would write up anything of note while playing, certainly more than I would ever use for a specific player.
Over time I found that this process helped me understand the kinds of lines players tend to take and this leads to other insights... but its time consuming and after a while its no surprise that we get used to seeing lines again and again.
As for moving up, I'm also looking forward to it. The swings are a guarantee, but the pwnage and triumphs that I'm shooting for... well, I'll have to work really hard for that.
Day Off:
Put in some decent study today, and had a coaching session in the evening. Meeting with my coach is always really interesting. We never seem to run short on areas that I can improve, and its really invaluable to hear from a very experienced and skilled player.
I see in black and white. The blood and oxygen to my brain, restricted by a positive gravitational force. Color vision is apparently the first thing to go. I pass out.
My younger brother had never been on serious roller coasters before today, and nothing like this. The "Ride of Steel", ranked top 10 in the world. I'd been on several times last year, but the first drop remains unfamiliar. We had just fallen twenty stories in about 6 seconds. That's the kind of thing you'll never get used to.
In its opening season a passenger was ejected from one of the cars and nearly killed as a result. Seat belts and tighter leg restraints were installed as a precaution, cold comfort for anyone learning this little factoid upon boarding. This incident would repeat on another continent just 3 years after our visit, the same ride. Tragically, learning from our mistakes at a distance is not one of our strengths.
My senses gradually resolved themselves. Eyes wide, I took a deep breath. Still, I tried to look calm... big brother like. The cart ripped through the last 1000 screaming meters of track before dragging to a halt.
Day 1:
Played all 3 sessions on 4 tables. It was a tough day, and i think I dealt with it pretty well up until the last bit. Sure there were a few mistakes where I fired off a value bet here or there which probably wasn't a value bet.
I have plenty to improve on BUT worst of all, at the end of the session I made a tilty play. I check/raise bluffed the river against a guy who raises the flop in position like 40%... but my line was stupid.
I'm pretty disappointed with myself for playing like that. If i really believed he was on a wide range of draws and bluffs i should have bet/3-bet the flop and barreled instead which is much more balanced.
Its OK though, I'm going to spend some time reviewing the session on Sunday and a different one on monday. My plan for the week is listed below, but I might play 3 tables tomorrow instead of 4.
Day 2:
Last 3 days represent the 4th biggest downswing i've ever had. I'm down 160BB from my month peak, and if I were to stop for the month (hypothetically) this would be the first losing month of poker I've ever had.... unless we consider bonuses and then I'm still up about 100BB.
Put this way, I actually feel a lot better... but so far 4 tabling .5/1 is not going well. Its leading me to question my play a lot, and my confidence with my game is not strong right now. Just going to keep working at it.
Even though I know working hard on my game won't guarantee positive results in the short term, this fact just doesn't carry much weight right now. Its hard not to wonder if I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.
I think after my next study day I'll have to find a way of rewarding myself for pushing through & studying despite the shit results. I find it harder to study when things are going bad, so it'll be good for me.
When I'm in a church its always a little uncomfortable. I know, the benches are hard and anti-theft coat hangers raise some curious questions but thats not it.
I don't understand faith; like going to a library when you can't read. Not that I haven't tried: crossing the street without looking because the little green man said to walk, faith. Lending people money who could never pay it back, faith. Letting a friend drive because he "stopped drinking hours ago", faith. Riding bareback with a girl who says she's on the pill, faith right?
For the most part things worked out OK, but these little experiments failed to provide any miraculous insight so I gave it up. Sure, I still don't always 'look both ways' but I also don't delude myself into thinking its the best idea.
Its a little disappointing, believing in nothing. The afterlife sure had a huge head up on rotting in the ground but it could be worse. There's no such thing as hell, I don't have to eat stale crackers, and I don't have to hate anyone. Not so bad.
Day 3:
Family dinner / BBQ so today was a wash wrt poker.
Things are continuing to go very poorly. I spent an hour when i woke up reading the semibluff article again, created some cool charts where you input the P(fold) for your opponent and it shows you the required equities for various pot sizes.
Then I decided I'd log a 1hr session. Just 2 tables and I focused on taking my time with every decision. Still the last week has been a total nightmare. I hate complaining because I know there are plenty of people who have it way worse... If things keep up this way i'm going to have to move back down again.
During the last few hands I made a loose call down against a guy who I should have expected to never barrel over-cards, and then 3 barreled a guy who's really loose/passive hoping to bluff him off unimproved k-high/a-high... but even if it were close to +EV, checking back the turn with my GSSD+overs may have been a better decision against a player capable of check/calling down with all his strong hands as well. I also checked back the BTN as the FPR with A-rag on J87 flop 3 ways... seemed like a terrible board to bet, but maybe I should have bet it. Not sure & I'm going to take a look at it later.
I'm continuing to work hard... and I know I have lots of room for improvement...
Anyways, here's my month to date.
In LHE its standard for the red line to be -... but your W$SD should be ++. I've been break even for SD winnings over the last couple thousand hands.
just gonna keep working hard. My BR is still robust for .5/1. I've set a stop loss for myself. If I lose another 100BB then I've decided I'm going to move back to .25/.5 for a while.
The funny thing is that I'm still running great on one site, but horrible on the other. 
Day 4:
This morning I was a little spent with my recent run, but after chatting about some really interesting poker concepts I'm over it. I'm really tired so I'm done for the day, but tomorrow I'm going to put on the grind. Watch out.
Originally posted by datsmahname
Even though I know working hard on my game won't guarantee positive results in the short term, this fact just doesn't carry much weight right now. Its hard not to wonder if I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.
Oh, I always ask this question to myself during downs. The only thing that can really help is to ask somebody else about your game - and you have a great coach. 
Everything will be okay
Originally posted by PostFlopMonster
Originally posted by datsmahname
Even though I know working hard on my game won't guarantee positive results in the short term, this fact just doesn't carry much weight right now. Its hard not to wonder if I'm doing something fundamentally wrong.
Oh, I always ask this question to myself during downs. The only thing that can really help is to ask somebody else about your game - and you have a great coach.
Originally posted by datsmahname
The swings are a guarantee, but the pwnage and triumphs that I'm shooting for... well, I'll have to work really hard for that.
Just a reminder that you already know what you already know. 
Yeah, you guys are right 
Thanks for the encouragement.
Yesterday (today) actually went better than I had hoped. I went out for lunch and found a cool movie (Sucker Punch) as a reward for studying. Besides all that, we had a pretty good time reviewing those hands.
Today (tomorrow) should be pretty cool.
If all goes according to plan I'll be taking part in a public private coaching with TerrorBlade, though I won't be playing with hole cards up anymore. Someone kind of lead me to think this wasn't a good idea.
I'll also be at the FL Gold coaching just before.
Ugh... more of the same. 60BB from my stoploss now, down 300BB overall from month peak. Time for something a little more deliberate.
Steps I'm taking to turn this around:
Time for that session review.
I like the list, other than no.s 4 and 5. You should be playing every hand on it's merits based on what you're intending to do with it determined by your opponent's tendencies and your position.
Maybe tightening up against the most aggressive opponents makes sense, so you end up with easier post flop decisions against them. I don't think it makes sense to arbitrarily decide to play a certain way because of results, only in the most profitable way based on what your study has suggested. If you're in a difficult spot, just make the best decision you can based on pot size and some idea of your equity, then mark it and post it.
Being brutal on table selection is an essential skill. Don't sit in bad spots just to log hands, and if a good table goes bad, GTFO. 
Horrible, unbelievably long, losing sessions are just standard. The hurt like hell when you're so motivated to improve, so determined to move up, and feel like your playing as best you can - but they're part of the deal. From a completely unemotive POV, your results don't matter, you can't control them, ever. You either continually work on your game and make better decisions every day, or you don't and increase your variance/reduce your potential EV.
Trust me, I've been there more than once and know what it feels like. Fortunately I'm a total poker addict so I haven't given up trying yet. 
reviewed for 1 hour. found 2 hands to post. gonna take a nap & then post those.
uhm, as far as tightening up goes I'm talking about a 1-2% difference. Like, against a bad LAG i'd iso3-bet with 48-49% equity rather than 47% equity as my standard option.
Postflop if i'm in a borderline spot reducing variance may be good for my sanity.
As far as tightening up in general I do expect to have an edge on my opponents, but if i play a style that produces a high standard deviation then its much more likely for me to cross my stoploss barrier based on statistical variability.
Moving down in stakes may be more costly... You could be right, but this is the thought process i have behind tightening up.
As for the last paragraph... I feel like i've heard it so many times in the last week that its making me a little nutty. Of course those things are true... except for that part about "increasing variance". Variance in a statistical sense is just a measure of dispersion, the extent to which results deviate from the average (+ or -). You probably know this, but poker players often just refer to - variance as "variance" and yeah... thats not right.
thanks again though. just going to keep pounding away at my study etc etc. nap time 
I don't know that moving down limits should be viewed as costly... it is just part and parcel of the game - a state of being as it were, neither good nor bad. Most players will move up and down limits a lot over time. If you are playing a specific way because you think it's more profitable, then you should continue playing that way unless you think it is no longer profitable - but that should not be based on short term results.
Avoiding marginal post flop spots makes sense because tbh it should have a minimal effect... as long as they ARE marginal spots and it isn't the heebie jeebies.
And by increasing variance, you're correct to point out the error. I mean to say increasing the impact of variance on your results - ie win rate is determined by how far you deviate from optimal play +/- variance - rake. If you change the way you play so that you in turn will tend to win less then whether the variance is positive or negative, you'll win less overall. All of which I know you know, but is still important.
If you're struggling with the swings I'd tend to take an extra day off somewhere and do whatever feels good with the time, rather than forcing yourself to grind on with a negative mindset.
In any case, I'll stop bugging you. I know it isn't always helpful to get told the stuff you know. The work you're putting in gives you the best chance to succeed so you'll be fine once you get to grips with the downsides IMO.
Cross-posting from hand evaluation forums.
Originally posted by datsmahname
BTN seems TAG. SB is a fish, but an unknown one. I've noted him to donk pairs.$0.25/$0.5 Fixed-Limit Hold'em (5 handed)
Preflop: Hero is BB with J:c, T:s.
2 folds, BU raises, SB calls, Hero calls.Flop: (6 SB) Q:s, 9:d, 6:h (3 players)
SB bets, Hero raises, BU folds, SB calls.
- I felt that raising might get BTN to fold AJ/AT, likely not KJ/KT with the GSSD. putting SB on a wide range of flopped pairs and some trash I thoguth I could buy myself a few outs with a raise, check back the turn UI as a freecard play, and call or raise with improvement if he lead the river.
Turn: (5 BB) A:s (2 players)
SB bets, Hero calls.
- Unfortunately, the donker had other plans. Here I discounted 9x and 6x. the A on the turn is a scare card for those hands and most fishy donkers would check it imo.
River: (7 BB) J:s (2 players)
SB bets, Hero folds
- Mubsy to fold here? 8:1 so i need >11% equity. I was worried that my recent run may be influencing my tendencies. One thing I hadn't considered is that SB could have JT himself... not sure that helps a whole lot.
Originally posted by datsmahname
Villain is unknown, seems a little TAG.$0.5/$1 Fixed-Limit Hold'em (6 handed)
Preflop: Hero is BB with K:h, T:s.
MP2 folds, MP3 calls, CO folds, BU raises, SB folds, Hero calls, MP3 calls.Flop: (6.5 SB) 3:h, 7:c, K:s (3 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks, BU bets, Hero raises, MP3 calls, BU 3-Bets, Hero calls, MP3 calls.Turn: (7.75 BB) A:h (3 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks, BU bets, Hero calls, MP3 calls.River: (10.75 BB) J:s (3 players)
Hero checks, MP3 checks, BU bets, Hero calls, MP3 calls.Weird... I sleepily reviewed a session a few hours ago and tagged this hand. I thought my kicker had been counterfeited... which it hasn't. I guess this is a call hoping to see K9 or K8 and not KJ+, Ax, 77. Even if I put MP3 on all Kx and discount BTN's K8 combos i still have 20% equity.
