Blog: mjez Start from scratch

At $125, I took a shot at NL5. I was looking forward to this moment. But when it came, it wasn’t pleasant. I suddenly felt fear and uncertainty at the tables. Playing NL5 was not comfortable for me at all. Plus, I was wondering if my bankroll was enough. I had the feeling that there were no weak players at the tables, that they were all playing great and I didn’t have an edge on them. I came from NL2 where I usually had 2-3 players marked as fun players, sometimes there was a full table of fun players. And here I had no one.

My bankroll went down to $100 pretty quickly. I was upset and wanted to break my plan and instead of going down to NL2, I wanted to boost my bankroll from my pocket so I could still play NL5. Fortunately, I didn’t do that and went back to NL2 in a disciplined manner, planning that when I make it to $115, I’ll take another shot at NL5. So I did, but the next shot didn’t work out either. I went back to NL2, but I kept sinking lower and lower. Even down to $70. Going through my hands, I made mistakes on NL5 and then on NL2, but not that many. I was starting to go under EV. Now I’m $60 under EV and my bankroll is $86. I don’t know if I can call that a downswing. The sample size is too small.

Anyway, I’m glad I was disciplined and came back to NL2.
I’m studying and trying to run it up.

Next time I’ll write about how I study.

It is true, on NL5, there are less "fun" players - but they are still there. My advice to you would be to start paying attention to players who play solid, but start tilting suddenly; or players who are getting bored, since a lot of the games are quite tight ... Then trap, isolate, do all the classic poker stuff, nothing fancy - and there is your edge 🙂👍

Originally posted by SamoB25
It is true, on NL5, there are less "fun" players - but they are still there. My advice to you would be to start paying attention to players who play solid, but start tilting suddenly; or players who are getting bored, since a lot of the games are quite tight ... Then trap, isolate, do all the classic poker stuff, nothing fancy - and there is your edge 🙂👍

Thanks, I appreciate your advice 🙂.
True, during my second shot at NL5 I started to notice, there are still fun players so I got a bit more comfortable. Hopefully, the third shot will be successful. I'm slowly grinding it up at NL2.

Originally posted by SamoB25
It is true, on NL5, there are less "fun" players - but they are still there. My advice to you would be to start paying attention to players who play solid, but start tilting suddenly; or players who are getting bored, since a lot of the games are quite tight ... Then trap, isolate, do all the classic poker stuff, nothing fancy - and there is your edge 🙂👍

How do you recognize bored players?
I'm going to get my daughter to make me a T-Shirt that says, "I'm bored so I'm playing NL 5"
Do you think that might work?

Yup -- stick to the basics

Have you considered opting in for the Get Rich or Die Tryin' - The Bankroll Challenge?
I really like it because it shifts focus away from single session's results towards long term.
Anyway, I will follow your progress and wish you good luck with your journey! 👍🏻

Originally posted by monteCarlol
Have you considered opting in for the Get Rich or Die Tryin' - The Bankroll Challenge?
I really like it because it shifts focus away from single session's results towards long term.
Anyway, I will follow your progress and wish you good luck with your journey! 👍🏻

Hi, thanks, I forgot about this challenge. I will opt myself in
Thanks for following

Get Rich or Die Tryin' - The Bankroll Challenge

I'm in.

BR: 100.03$
Goal: 1000$
Blog: Start from scratch

Today's post is about how I study. I've bought an older RYE Elementary cash game course. I follow the advice from this course and learn ranges from there. I created flashcards to be more efficient in studying ranges.
I use the software Anki. I have multiple decks to train ranges from each position. It looks like this.

For example, if I want to train openraising range from the button. One side of a card shows a hand and I think what would I do with this hand on the button. Then I reveal the back of the card and check my answer. There you have four buttons saying how hard for you it was to answer. If I'm wrong I click Study again, if I'm correct I choose when I want to train this card again (number of days). If you're not familiar with Anki or flashcards, you can find many videos on youtube describing it much better than me. It helps with a spaced repetition study.

After some time I felt this method has some limits for me studying poker. It didn't give the best knowledge/study time ratio. So I had to adjust.

I use Hand2Note to track my hands. But I don't use HUD at the tables, yet. I don't think HUD is necessary on NL2 either NL5. I'd rather not be distracted by statistics.
I used to listen to music during sessions but I don't do it anymore.
An article about playing poker and listening to music at the same time convinced me that it hurts my focus and distracts me. Even many people think listening to music helps them to focus. I would say it very much depends on what you listen to. Anyways I find it better for me to not listen to anything.

But back to Hand2Note. I find it very useful to filter hands from each position I want to review. I don't need to go over trash hand over again for example. I can just study the specific spots each day. And as BenCB and others say it's not necessary to study a big amount of time every day. Like hour a day or even half an hour a day is sufficient because if you study longer your focus and efficiency go down. It's better to have a good quality half-hour study session than studying for long hours actually without learning much.

Tips from my experience:
• watch villains reactions, timing, bet sizes - it prevents you to be bored and you can get useful info
• do not trap, go for value
• big river bet is usually a value bet - fish do not bluff often
• count your odds and outs - do not play -EV

Originally posted by mjez1
Tips from my experience:
• watch villains reactions, timing, bet sizes - it prevents you to be bored and you can get useful info
• do not trap, go for value
• big river bet is usually a value bet - fish do not bluff often
• count your odds and outs - do not play -EV

Very well put.
Some comments:
 There is a time to trap. But this is pretty much when you have the stone-cold nuts, and you want opponent to think you're afraid of the board. These times are rare.
 Because this is true, if you're going to bluff the river -- go big.
 Don't forget implied odds. If you're going to hit your draw and stack opponent, it may be worth it. This is why it is useless to set mine against short stacks in cash games -- it just ain't worth it.

Originally posted by VorpalF2F

Originally posted by mjez1
Tips from my experience:
• watch villains reactions, timing, bet sizes - it prevents you to be bored and you can get useful info
• do not trap, go for value
• big river bet is usually a value bet - fish do not bluff often
• count your odds and outs - do not play -EV

Very well put.
Some comments:
 There is a time to trap. But this is pretty much when you have the stone-cold nuts, and you want opponent to think you're afraid of the board. These times are rare.
 Because this is true, if you're going to bluff the river -- go big.
 Don't forget implied odds. If you're going to hit your draw and stack opponent, it may be worth it. This is why it is useless to set mine against short stacks in cash games -- it just ain't worth it.

Thanks for helpful comments

Would you bluff mainly missed flush draws or something else?

Originally posted by mjez1
Would you bluff mainly missed flush draws or something else?

Too much depends on who else is in the pot, the board texture and so on.

For example, if a reasonably tight UTG opens, their range might be something like: 66+, AJs+, AQo+
There isn't a lot of connected hands in that range, so if the flop is something like 764 and UTG Cbets, you can flat.
If the turn goes check/check, then if the board pairs, or a plausible straight happens, you can bluff.

Now ask me how many stacks I've won/lost ♠_cry: 😭

Originally posted by VorpalF2F

How do you recognize bored players?
I'm going to get my daughter to make me a T-Shirt that says, "I'm bored so I'm playing NL 5"
Do you think that might work?

Hehe - the way I meant it it should be the other way around - "I'm playing NL5, so I'm bored" 😃😂 what I meant was a case where let's say a solid player plays for a considerate amount of time on a rather tight table... The strain of focus and the monotony of the game can cause some boredom effects, where a player loosens up, but without an actual good plan of how to loosen up to be EV+. You can never be certain, that a player got bored, but there is a hunch, based on let's say some erratic lines, that don't make sense, or the messages that the player is leaving in the chat... Does this makes sense? 😃

Yes it makes a lot of sense.
When playing hold'em, I'm usually the one getting bored.

When not playing zoom, it is important to "change gears" from time to time.
If you play tight for a while, then loosen up for a while and so on.
Not to avoid boredom, but to avoid becoming predictable.

If you're having trouble with focus and concentration, try playing 7-card Stud -- you really, really need to pay attention, since you get a look at everyone's up-card only briefly.

BR Challenge Update

Week: 1
Hands played: 1810
Profit: $-2.07
BR: $98.23

For example, if a reasonably tight UTG opens, their range might be something like: 66+, AJs+, AQo+

Hmm, this reminds me, I am not sure if I am aware of the villain's position OTR, I should check out my thought process while playing.

There isn't a lot of connected hands in that range, so if the flop is something like 764 and UTG Cbets, you can flat.
If the turn goes check/check, then if the board pairs, or a plausible straight happens, you can bluff.

Good point :f_thumbsup:, I didn't think about it this way.

Now ask me how many stacks I've won/lost ♠_cry: 😭

all be fine

The strain of focus and the monotony of the game can cause some boredom effects, where a player loosens up, but without an actual good plan of how to loosen up to be EV+. You can never be certain, that a player got bored, but there is a hunch, based on let's say some erratic lines, that don't make sense, or the messages that the player is leaving in the chat... Does this makes sense? 😃

It perfectly makes sense. But right now for me, it's too far to be able to spot the bored player. But I will keep it in my mind for further progress

I keep a study journal. Therefore I can see what I've studied before.
After each study session, I determine what I want to learn/practice next time.
It keeps me on track. If I come across something interesting or important during my studies,
I write it down and highlight it so next time, and can easily skim through them.

Ok, I have to put this punt hand here because I can't believe what I've done. Such a spewy move.
I told myself: "Well, I think none of them has Ace in their hand. Let's go for value." :facepalm::facepalm: No! They have a ton of aces there! Right?

PokerStars, Hold'em No Limit - $0.01/$0.02 - 5 players
Hand delivered by Upswing Poker

UTG (Hero): $2.81 (141 bb)
CO: $2.06 (103 bb)
BU: $2.36 (118 bb)
SB: $0.62 (31 bb)
BB: $2.18 (109 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.03) Hero is UTG with T♥ T♣
Hero raises to $0.06, 2 players fold, SB calls $0.05, BB calls $0.04

Flop: ($0.18) A♦ 2♦ 6♥ (3 players)
SB checks, BB checks, Hero bets $0.13, SB calls $0.13, BB raises to $0.42, Hero raises to $2.75 (all-in), SB calls $0.43 (all-in), BB calls $1.70 (all-in)

Turn: ($4.98) 7♠ (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($4.98) J♥ (3 players, 3 all-in)

Total pot: $5.60 (Rake: $0.17)

Showdown:
UTG (Hero) shows T♥ T♣ (a pair of Tens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 48%, Flop: 4%, Turn: 2%, River: 0%)

BB shows 2♣ A♥ (two pair, Aces and Twos)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 24%, Flop: 61%, Turn: 76%, River: 100%)

SB shows 4♦ K♦ (high card, Ace)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 28%, Flop: 35%, Turn: 21%, River: 0%)

BB wins $4.81
SB wins $0.62

Better next time

his checkraise indeed looks a very strong move and it looks like SB is not likely to give up either, he wouldn't fold any Ax or flushdraw i think... nice blog, thanks