Hmmm, the first 10k hands didn't go quite according to plan. I've made a whole $1.35!

The low point was $68 down, the high point $44.75 up. At the moment I'm running $48.54 below expectation, but of course that doesn't include all the set-under-set type coolers.



So enough of the results, how did I get on with my 5 goals:

1) 3-bet almost exclusively for value
My 3-bet % is 4.9 which is now pretty much for value unless someone's really getting out of line!

2) Show more aggression post-flop
No, I've failed on this one. My agg% is 30 so only just up on my pre-challenge value of 28, and still a way off the target of mid-30s.

3) Be more disciplined in raised pots where I don't have the initiative - hit it hard or leave it alone!

Well, from a bb/100 point of view I've exceeded the level Verneer set, but then again he said it was a leak he needed to look at so I don't really know if it's objectively "good" or not. Loosing money doesn't seem to be good, but I'm losing it less quickly than before so I guess it's an improvement.



4) Be more positionally discerning pre-flop

Definite improvement here, but still a tendency to be too loose early position.



5) Open the button a lot more when it's folded round to me

Wow, this is lower than I thought it would be. It's at 47.5% which is higher than pre-challenge but way lower than my first checkpoint, and Verneer's number in the 60s. Still, my cutoff opening percentage is a tad higher ;-)


So, overall the goals have improved, but still have some way to go. They're definitely helping...if only I could stop myself spewing every now and then I'd make some progress!

Biggest losing pot:

NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer Game#36696153953

np0ram3p ($10.20)
scarecrow_me ($12.15)
spikriwoman ($21.75)
despecht ($12.75)
oliverbk89 ($11.55)
Tall_Mat ($16.75)

np0ram3p posts (SB) $0.05
scarecrow_me posts (BB) $0.10

Dealt to Tall_Mat Kh 9h

spikriwoman calls $0.10
fold, fold,
Tall_Mat calls $0.10
np0ram3p calls $0.05
scarecrow_me checks

FLOP ($0.40) 6c 7h Th
np0ram3p checks
scarecrow_me checks
spikriwoman bets $0.60
Tall_Mat raises to $2.90
np0ram3p folds
scarecrow_me folds
spikriwoman calls $2.30

TURN ($6.20) 6c 7h Th 4c
spikriwoman bets $0.60
Tall_Mat raises to $13.75 (AI)
spikriwoman calls $13.15

RIVER ($33.70) 6c 7h Th 4c Qc
Tall_Mat shows Kh 9h
(Pre 40%, Flop 54.8%, Turn 34.1%)
spikriwoman shows As Tc
(Pre 60%, Flop 45.2%, Turn 65.9%)
spikriwoman wins $32.05

Well, I knew he was weak :-o

Biggest winning pot:

NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer Game#36501565723
Godpharma ($15.25)
ilovesomuchh ($10.45)
Woootsjjj ($17.20)
Gas Alex ($9.05)
fejoa ($14.30)
Tall_Mat ($22.40)

Godpharma posts (SB) $0.05
ilovesomuchh posts (BB) $0.10

Dealt to Tall_Mat 6d 6s
Woootsjjj raises to $0.30
fold, fold,
Tall_Mat calls $0.30
Godpharma calls $0.25
fold,

FLOP ($1) 6h 3d 3s
Godpharma checks
Woootsjjj bets $0.50
Tall_Mat raises to $1
Godpharma folds
Woootsjjj calls $0.50

TURN ($3) 6h 3d 3s Qs
Woootsjjj bets $2.70
Tall_Mat calls $2.70

RIVER ($8.40) 6h 3d 3s Qs Kd
Woootsjjj bets $4.60
Tall_Mat raises to $18.40 (AI)
Woootsjjj calls $8.60 (AI)
Woootsjjj shows 3c 4c
(Pre 20%, Flop 4.3%, Turn 2.3%)
Tall_Mat shows 6d 6s
(Pre 80%, Flop 95.7%, Turn 97.7%)
Tall_Mat wins $33.10

Hey Verneer, at least you ran bad at the lower stakes ;-)

People seemed to be throwing their money at me today, e.g. making nut flush on the river and getting check-raised all-in by a straight. Also was on the right side of a couple of coolers such as QQ vs 55 on a Q585 flush board...nice!

Then there's reciprocity - two hands in a row I hit TPTK vs a set and only lost $2 on each hand despite being out of position both times. Wierd.

Best hand, if only because I was cursing my luck on the flop where he's a 98% favourite! As for context, he was getting it in pre-flop every hand so it was an easy shove.

NL Holdem $0.10(BB) Replayer Game#36589404616
alvill89 ($6.80)
NickS50 ($7.85)
JimNL82 ($11.05)
Tall_Mat ($19.10)

alvill89 posts (SB) $0.05
NickS50 posts (BB) $0.10

Dealt to Tall_Mat Kh Qh

fold,
Tall_Mat raises to $0.20
fold,
NickS50 raises to $2.50
Tall_Mat raises to $19.10 (AI)
NickS50 calls $5.35 (AI)

FLOP ($15.75) 5d 7s 9c

TURN ($15.75) 5d 7s 9c Tc

RIVER ($15.75) 5d 7s 9c Tc Jd

NickS50 shows 8c 6h
(Pre 34%, Flop 97.9%, Turn 90.9%)
Tall_Mat shows Kh Qh
(Pre 66%, Flop 2.1%, Turn 9.1%)

Tall_Mat wins $15

Hmmm, this isn't going to be as straight forward as I'd expected - I'm half way to busto already.

Still, I am currently running 5 buy-ins below expectation so it's not all down to my dodgy play!

At the beginning of this session I took a few coolers (overpair vs. set; 2 pair vs. straight etc. etc.) and then had a whole bunch of beats put on me as you can see from the EV line, so I was 3 buy-ins down within 700 hands - this could have been a very quick challenge!

It got a bit more sensible towards the end but I still ended up over a buyin below expectation. Still, a 10bb/100 win is a win so I'm quite happy with that:



Shouldn't be too results oriented though, as the whole point of this was to improve my play, so lets look at the 5 things I said I'd concentrate on.

1) 3-bet almost exclusively for value

My 3-bet % was down to 4.9%, and whilst you can argue that 3-betting JTs in the blinds isn't strictly for value (!) it was player dependent. I'll give myself 4/5 for sticking to this one.

2) Show more aggression post-flop

Agg% up from 28% to 32% so halfway there towards Verneer's figure of 36%. That's a 2.5/5 then I guess.

3) Be more disciplined in raised pots where I don't have the initiative - hit it hard or leave it alone!



Well, if anything my performance vs. a raiser or raiser + caller is even worse than before! However, there were plenty of situations where I let go hands much earlier than I would have before, so I'm hoping this is just down to sample size! Still, one to keep an eye on, and 2/5 for now if only for effort.

4) Be more positionally discerning pre-flop



A lot better apart from UTG! Looking at the hands in more detail I'm still opening things like QJs, ATo, J9o which I should look to cut out since UTG is my least profitable position in terms of bb/100.

Still overall an improvement so 4/5.

5) Open the button a lot more when it's folded round to me

Up from 40.9% to 61.7% so that's 5/5.


Next update at 5k hands, otherwise this'll get tedious!

Verneer has just started a new video series about climbing the micro stakes, starting at 10NL and moving up to 50NL. Now, how often do you watch a video, think "hey that was neat" and then go back to playing just the same as you were before watching it? I do that all the time :-(

So, this time it's gonna be different, and I'm going to follow the same format at Verneer's video series to see how I get on. So, firstly it's grinding 10NL and building a roll from $100 to $250.

Before I kick off though, I wanted to see how I was playing in the past so see what adjustements I need to make. Fortunately Verneer gave a whole set of stats on how his first 5k hands went, so let's compare his stats with mine.

General stats, Verneer:



and mine:



Things to note - firstly my bb/100 needs to improve :-) I'm 3 betting a bit too much for this level, and it should be mostly for value rather than re-stealing. Biggest difference is in the aggression % where I'm at 28% vs 36%, so that's something to work on.

Next taking a look at the most profitable starting hands, Verneer:



and mine:




Not much to say here really, other than emphasising the power of a good starting hand!

Next was a look at pre-flop activity Verneer:


and mine:



Whilst this has the same directionality as Verneer, I'm winning a lot less in unopened pots (13bb/100 vs 38 bb/100) and where there is 1 limper, and losing a lot more where there are raisers before me. This is especially stark in the "6) raiser + caller(s)" line where I'm leaking money big time vs. Verneer's 19bb/100 win rate. Why is this?

Hard to say without knowing exactly what Verneer is doing but I'd bet he's coming along into these pots in late position with speculative hands and being very disciplined about letting them go unless he hits the flop hard. I have a tendency to call one or two streets if I hit the board at all. For example, UTG opens and there is a caller and I'm on the big blind with 75s, I'll come along. Now, this in itself may be a mistake as (a) it's only 3-way and (b) I'm out of position. However, the bigger mistake will come on a Q72 board where I'm likely to check and convince myself that the UTG bet on the flop is just a c-bet and doesn't mean he has hit the board at all so I may as well call once and see if he shuts down. Just writing it out makes me feel embarrassed by my play sometimes!

Let's move on.

Positional stats, Verneer:



and mine:



First thing that leaps out is how flat my VPIP column is vs. Verneer:

early 23.5 vs 14.4
middle 24.6 vs 18.8
cutoff 26.7 vs 24.5
button 31.1 vs 45.2

Clearly I need to be much more positionally selective. 23.5% means that I'm opening hands like A2s and Q8s UTG for God's sake!

Taking the lead (what you do in an unopened pot), Veneer:



and mine:



What's weird here is that for both Verneer and my stats the middle position is more profitable than the cutoff! Go figure. Another stand-out stat is that, when it's folded round to the button Verneer opens 69.3% of the time vs. my 40.9% - that's a huge difference.

Another thing is Verneer's flop c-bet success % is higher than mine, although I can't think of an immediate reason (other than table image) why that should be.

So, to summarize, here's what I want to change as I kick off this new challenge:

1) 3-bet almost exclusively for value
2) Show more aggression post-flop
3) Be more disciplined in raised pots where I don't have the initiative - hit it hard or leave it alone!
4) Be more positionally discerning pre-flop
5) Open the button a lot more when it's folded round to me

I think 5 things is enough to be getting on with, so it's time to grind...

I flew from London to Sydney over the weekend and the afternoon before my flight I had been booked into a "mystery event" by my sister in law as an early Christmas present. Turns out the present was an afternoon learning circus skills! It was great fun and my wife and brother were there too (sister in law made some lame excuse about being 8 months pregnant). We started off with tightrope walking, then some juggling, then onto the trapeze and finally a session building human pyramids.

All good stuff, but my advice would be after swinging about on a trapeze for a while don't sit on an airplane for 21 hours or you'll end up stiff and achey all over!

I flew Etihad which I hadn't used before and it was fine - good food, nice wine selection and the inflight entertainment was ok but not super extensive. Also, don't stop over in Abu Dhabi if you want to play online during the wait for your connection as gambling sites are blocked by the state!

Not much going on poker-wise since I've been busy at work. On Saturday I'm flying down to Australia for the week. I may get some time to play poker at Star City (see previous posts!), probably Friday night before flying back on the Saturday.

The NLHE games, as I recall, ran really loose/passive, often getting 4/5 players seeing a raised pot on the flop. I don't think I adjusted particularly well last time and ended up playing too loose myself (i.e. joining in the fun!). It think this time round I'm going to be a bit more selective (or just take a larger roll to even out the swings...). If the PLO game gets going I'll join that if I'm ahead at NLHE. Come to think of it, if I'm in a hole I'll probably join anyway!

They have introduced an internet filter at work and now Cardrunners is inaccessible since it is classified as a gambling website. Pah.

Expect even fewer blog updates!

On the face of it I had a good session at the International yesterday evening:

NLHE Cash: -£150
PLO MTT: -£110
PLO Cash: +£610
Overall: +£350

But, as always, there's more to it than that.

It takes me about one and a half hours to get to the poker club, so that's quite an investment in time and I had been looking forward to playing, but on the day I just kinda felt a bit half-hearted about the whole affair. I decided that I'd skip the tournament (a £100 PLO double chance) and just play cash. When I got there I sat in a 1-1 NLHE game and played probably the worst hours poker I have done for ages. I just wasn't focussed at all, and was splashing around but with no real plan. As an example I looked at my hole cards and saw QQ, so raised in EP and got 3 callers. The flop was K84 with 2 spades and someone led, so I just called. A blank turn and it went check-check, and then a blank river and the villain leads for £25. I called and he said "nice call, I have ace high" but when I flipped my cards over I found I had QT! Ooops.

I quickly dropped a couple of buy-ins and, when the PLO tournament was about to start, thought to myself that, actually, I'd be better off playing that than staying where I was. So I bought into the tourney, and after around 2 hours was fairly short (6,200 chips with blinds at 200/400) when I got 9933 on the button and there were 3 limpers. Well, that looked like a pretty good steal opportunity so I potted it to 2,600 only for the big blind to repot. Clearly he has a big hand here since I look pot committed, and in fact I decided that I was pot committed (against random AAxx I'm 32% or so) so stuck in the rest against the inevitable AA95 and didn't suck out. Fortunately just as I bust out they announced that the PLO cash game was starting up so I went over and took a seat.

This was a very strange game of PLO indeed. First the stacks: I sat with £300, a couple of other people bought in for £500 and one gentleman called Warya (he of the £14k pot the previous week) bought in for £1,000 (remember this is supposedly a 1-2 game). On the other hand there were a couple of people buying in for just £50. When we got going it soon became apparent that this was going to play quite loose and lively. It was rare to see a flop for less than £20, with Warya raising around 60% pre-flop, and then potting around 75% of flops. Of course since he was always raising and betting it was hard to know where you stood - sometimes he would flip over the mortal nuts, other times he had nothing. One hand got to the river with him potting every street and putting in a £240 bet on the river (a paired, 3 diamond board) only for someone with a 7-high flush to look him up and win the pot (he mucked, but claimed to have flopped 2 pair).

My first big pot was quite interesting in the match up of hands, if somewhat automatic in the betting. Howard had recently joined the table, and is known for his loose and aggressive style, so when I picked up 9TTJss vs his straddle it seemed the ideal opportunity to 3-bet Warya's open. The big blind flat called and Howard peeks at his cards and re-pots me. Well, what to do? I put him in and the big blind again flat calls declaring "I've got my favourite hand". Marvellous. Lets run some numbers as now I'm up against AAxx and what in the BB? Not AAxx otherwise she re-pots me. Not KKxx as that isn't going to be anyone's favourite hand in PLO. Probably some double suited rundown. In fact she turned out to have exactly that - 8765ss.

According to ProPokerTools these three hands line up pretty much evenly: