Love Hate Relationship with Poker

Yesterday was maybe the first time I really doubted whether I could cut it as a poker player. I had one of those sessions where everything went against me. I then looked at my stats and thought, WTF am I doing, as I lost 3buyins. I didn’t play bad, in fact there was only 1 or 2 decisions out of the 1000 hands I would play differently, but it was more the frustration of not being able to get over the variance. And I wasn’t sure if there was something obvious that I wasn’t doing, that I should be doing.

I cant be bothered with the after effects of poker after one of those inevitable sessions, I can’t stop thinking about it later in the day, and it stops me focusing on other stuff. As it was I went out with a good friend of mine, had a few drinks, and made a decision to play once I got home. So I got back home, fired up 6 tables at 1am, and won 4 buyins within around 600 hands. I am not saying that’s a good thing, but the fact was I knew I wouldn’t be able to be cool with poker again until I had tried to get the money back. And I think that isn’t such a good thing, despite the fact I now am sure I now have an edge at 100nl 6max.

Phew….

Poker is the biggest headfuck ever. You can learn the best moves ever, but if you can’t deal with the swings (and I am not saying I can yet) I doubt you will progress.

Twoplustwo haters part 2

I think the 2p2 forum does offer some fantastic resource and helps the Internet player in particular on the daily grind. Some examples would be rakeback info, hand postings, strategy, scripting info.

There are however, a few things you need to keep in mind when reading/and/or posting the threads:

On the msnl threads, some of the strategy postings are plain nonsense. Take most with a pinch of salt. Read this for example of just a plain stupid post, and note how he backtracks a few posts later, as it's examined further here.

NEVER read the small stakes and/or mid stakes forum and then try to apply it to micro stakes. It won't work. An example is 4betting. If you think 3betting has gone crazy at msnl, just look at 400nl. 4betting is the new 3betting there. I would be certain if you 4bet light at msnl you will pay very dearly. (I know myself, I tried it unsuccessfully in April with a bet/fold strategy at 100nl, see my posts for that month if you are interested). If you are thinking on some high level and your opponent is only looking at his cards, or in love with top pair, you will just suffer from Fancy Play Syndrome and lose EV.

Don't think because the haters slag off a post, they are right. It is a sad trend, but there is a strong lobby of Cardrunner type slags who think they are the nuts, and everyone else outside their 21-year-old-dropoutiscool-college-brat-all-about-me-I-dont-give-a-fuck are just fish (That's their downfall by the way). They cannot think for themselves, and need some Stox winning mid stakes baller to show them how its done, and they blindly follow this line, without ever making their own ideas. Look how they lay into this guys tight/passive strategy ideas at 10nl here. He's thinking out of the box. Right or wrong, that is to be commended in a forum. (NB I noted this before here)

Finally, any Internet forum that encourages discussion always allows in the positively loathsome scum that have no use on earth and should just be taken round the back and executed. I leave you with this as an example, a guy who thinks its cool to reveal personal financial and private address details of Daniel Negreanu, just because "he doesn't like him".
http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=10186458&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1&nt=11
What is scary is how easy it is to post this utter shite, even if it is not accurate.

The Serial Shortstacker

Low self esteem? Do you hate the world? Think its a dog-eat-dog world and you just got to look after numero uno? Scared to raise those pocket 2s? Well, if so, finally here's a post just for you, and following on from my Player Types mini-series.

Risking the wrath of the small but very vicious army of Small stackers out there, I decided to give my thoughts on what are, surely, the most detested of player types. The Serial Shortstacker. "Hey," I hear them scream, "that's not a player type, that's a STRATEGY".

Well, that would be right, except I didn't call the player type the short stacker, I called him the SERIAL SSr. Yes, unlike the other min buy-in money types that play at the micros, who do indeed tend to just donate their 20bb before going to bed for a bit of fun, or the scared money types, or the guys who might try it at a new level to get a feel, the serialSS actually ENJOYS the strategy, and positively aspires to play this way regularly.

Now although everyone else hates them, and they are aware of that, the Serial SS has to come to terms with this. They have a contempt for the bigger pool deeper stack players who, they know, indeed, positively loath them. So they deal with this by building a virtual wall in their minds to cope their unpopularity by in turn loathing every single poker player (probably everyone in the world full stop) other than themselves, which presumably goes with their general phsyche. . They avoid the insults, having received so many of them, by turning off their chat boxes, so don't waste your time expressing your frustration each time they push with their 33 and hold up v your AK, or they stop-and-go and catch on the river v your hero call when you were ahead . Just think of summer roses, karma, and Bhudda whilst gritting your teeth. That way you don't play into their hands, and end up donking money to them or the rest of the table. Donking money away is bad of course, but donking money to the SerialShortstacker is plain criminal.

The SerialSS relies entirely on you not noticing, (or forgetting about) their transparent strategy. And it works, as long as you get bored and play into their predictable limp reraise (sometimes they do this by min raising too). Just limp along with them, and fit fold the flop. Don't worry, if you hit 2 pair, they will gladly give you their measly 20bb as they stop-and-go the flop after their limp reraise didn't work. Never, ever call with a speculative holding against these numpties, you never have the odds. Put them all in withAk-AQ, JJ-TT, flat call their raise with AA-QQ, and throw the rest v their open raise.

The SerialSS will have you believe that his is a fine, complex and thoughtful strategy, full of deep thinking and many variables. The fact that none of them have ever seen a turn card with money behind in their miserable lives escapes them. They are so used to thinking about things entirely from their own perspective that they have no desire to delve into the higher level concepts of no-limit deep stack (no need to hand read after all). ........."And why should I", I hear them shout. ........Why indeed.

Cmon guys, lets keep the discipline up so we can stop paying them off and rid ourselves of this pox once and for all. My solution to the Serial shortstackers would be to make them play at tables where the MAX buyin would be 20bb, but the min buy in would be 5bb. Let them hone their skills there, with their own kind (who they also hate, by the way).

The Serial shortstacker has no favourite player (other then themselves obviously, but who they also sub-conciously detest) as no "known" players have become "good" and arrived at high stakes by playing their crappy, hugely selfish SS strategy.

Ps - playing these types is actually quite difficult, and my brief strategy notes above for playable hands are just that, so please do not rely on them for game theory, as there is far more too it. The aim of this post is simply to briefly "reflect" about them . In fact, adjusting to a 20bb stack when they do come to your tables comes much more down to maths and less to psychology (and thus very different/simpler than deep stack philosophy). I am serious about wanting to beat this type as the games would be better as a result, and there is good information out there pertaining to open raising with them still to act, calling their raises, and such, and thinking in relation to the remaining stacks. Please use it. However the very best strategy is simply to find games without them.

Don't bluff me you swine

There's a fine line between the pay-off-wizard and the "I don't-believe-you" line, and it's usually the difference between good and bad hand reading. I haven't posted that much on hand reading but thought I would try a bit of analysis.

Most important thing here (as with all hand reading exercises) is our opponent. This guy runs at 26/13 with a 15% CR and defends 50% of his blinds over a smallish hand sample, and has 3% 3bet. Aggression factor here I always ignore as I need minimum 1k hands for it to make any sense. Next factor is stack sizes, and we are both 130bb+ deep.

$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
Poker Tools by Stoxpoker - Hand Details

BB: $191.10 (191.1 bb)
UTG: $118.05 (118.1 bb)
Hero (MP): $137.70 (137.7 bb)
CO: $121.65 (121.7 bb)
BTN: $116.30 (116.3 bb)
SB: $69.85 (69.9 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is MP with T K

UTG folds, Hero raises to $3.50, CO folds, BTN folds, SB folds, BB calls $2.50
A slightly loose raise in EP, not something I usually do, but for some reason I did here.

Flop: ($7.50) K J J (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $5, BB raises to $18, Hero calls $13

So here is where the hand begins. Now I am about to fold here, but then I look at my position. I raised from UTG+1 and he knows this. He has a 3% 3bet which suggests his range is AK, AA-JJ. I can therefore eliminate these from his holding. I am also eliminating any J as these passivy guys always slow play their monsters. Hopefully, this could put him on AQspades, QTspades, QT, or possibly the nut flush or even naked baby flush draw. I think KQ is somewhat unlikely here, as, aside from him worrying about me having AK being the EP raiser, passives like this tend to check call all streets with TP, or do a spazzy min raise, for what they think is value. But KQ is still a possibility. Finally, in the tiny possibility he does in fact have a J, I can get his entire stack if a K comes, as I don't think these guys can get away from a boat. Weighing it up, therefore I change my mind and call.

Turn: ($43.50) 3 (2 players)
BB bets $27, Hero calls $27
Hmmm, I am still not happy, but even a dude like this knows not to let me draw, if in fact he does have the KQ and he thinks it's me who is drawing. So my line on the flop has to continue. His betting line just doesn't make sense to me (too small), unless he has precisely KJ and is valuetowning me, or is still semi bluffing with a strong draw.

River: ($97.50) Q (2 players)

BB checks, Hero checks
I am snap checking here 100% of the time. If he had fired the 3rd barrell I probably would have to call, given my decisions on flop and turn but I'm not sure, and I am hating myself at this point I am sure.

Results: $97.50 pot ($3 rake)
Final Board: K J J 3 Q
BB showed 6 6 (two pairs, Jacks and Sixes) and lost (-$48.50 net)
Hero showed T K (two pairs, Kings and Jacks) and won $94.50 ($46 net)

In summary, I guess I never thought about the underpair, and he would have won the pot on the turn if any A, 9 or spade had come up, so I can't really fault his bluff as it fooled me. But his mistake was trying to bluff on a broadway flop v an EP raiser (it hits so much of my range), compounded by too small a bet on the turn, when in truth he should have just given up.

My thoughts on the rakeback pro, and taking shots

There seems to be a general dislike of being labelled a rakeback pro, it being taken as an insult by many players.

I have absolutely no problem if I were breaking even at the tables, and making a profit through rakeback, especially at higher levels. As a part time player at 100nl, you only need 25k hands to get some $750 of rakeback per month, and as you move to 200nl it gets an even more chunky figure. If you take that line, (ie I dont mind 0BB/100) ESPECIALLY when taking shots at higher levels, you do one of the most important things in poker, you take the pressure off yourself. Less pressure = better decisions. Better decisions = +EV. Sure if you are playing 25nl or below, it's a bit tougher to get by on rakeback (actually you should just forget about rakeback and keep playing and learning), but the play should be proportionally softer, so shot taking is less of a big deal.

Long term playing at a particular level just breaking even will inevitably lead to a better understanding of the game, and eventually improve. You might hit a heater straightaway, you might hit a downer, but being happy with just break even initalially is cool for a long term plan of improvement. Something that helped my No-limit skills was playing PLO and Horse Sitngos, which I played purely as a fun excersise with no real aim to win, just aiming not to lose.

Fact of the matter is, many posters only post winning results and winning graphs for reviews, and just tend to post losing hands or sessions. It's those dudes that are kidding themselves. If you are not obssessed with the graph line, tilt is less of an issue, and playing is just more enjoyable.

Remember, Full stacked 100bb micro no limit is hard. It takes a lot of patience, experimenting and experience. Good poker looks far into the future.

calling 3bets using player types

In my previous post I talked about the 3bet and how much value is being lost in my view by its (over) application. I argued that keeping pots small and extracting value is more +EV than 100% 3bet/fold strategy. But what to do when tight people 3bet you, and you have to decide what to do. Well, I tend not to pay so much attention to stats, and much more to the type of player I am up against, our history, and my cards in relation to my position. A speculative hand such as sc or low pp is only good for me if I have position and I think my opponent will overplay his hand, as many do in 3bet pots. and I VERY rarely call a 3bet with 22-66.

So here is a hand to sum up. Villain is a mixture between an ubernit and a spewtard, who has only ever 3bet with a premium hand, but will go to showdown with it 100% of time. He is the perfect dude to therefore play a speculative hand in position with a view to busting his fat arse (he's got a huge stack). I have already called his 3bet once, and lost a few bb trying to make him fold by repping a flush, and regarding levelling, I know he knows he's not to believe me when I flat call from stealing position. I know I am way behind here therefore, and I know he thinks he's ahead. So this Villain is 18/16 with a 6.4% 3bet and, importantly, a huge WTSD%.

$0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em Cash Game, 4 Players

Poker Tools by Stoxpoker - Hand Details

Hero (CO): $115.55 (115.6 bb)
BTN: $178.30 (178.3 bb)
SB: $332.45 (332.5 bb)
BB: $187.50 (187.5 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is CO with 9 T
Hero raises to $3.50, BTN folds, SB raises to $11.50, BB folds, Hero calls $8. I am in the habit of occasionally calling in position, only if I think villain has a preflop monster. T9s is no good against something like AQ or 66 as villain will rarely be prepared to play for stacks post flop, but great against AA-QQ.

Flop: ($24) 5 8 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $15, SB raises to $35, Hero raises to $104.05 and is all-in, SB calls $69.05
here I am happy in the knowledge that my opponent almost certainly has the overpair or possibly an unlikely AK. I am 56% versus his 44% range and I am definitely playing for stacks, as I understand I have no fold equity. I wouldn't have called without the intention of playing for stacks in a marginal spot otherwise. the only hand I am worried about is JJ, which is 51% against my 49%, as I have lost a few outs, and the AKhh which still leaves me with good equity. Note I have discounted sets from his range as I think he is set mining with these (which is a poor play in his situation, but I still think he plays that way). Even with a set, I am still 42% .

Turn: ($232.10) 5 (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($232.10) Q (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: $232.10 pot ($2.00 rake)
Final Board: 5 8 7 5 Q
Hero showed 9 T (a flush, Ten high) and won $230.10 ($114.55 net)
SB showed J J (two pairs, Jacks and Fives) and lost (-$115.55 net)

Please note my winnings here are not 232 bb. I need to subtract the 30bb I spent on an earlier hand finding out about this particular player. Why would I play for stacks with no fold equity in a flip situation ?(actually I am marginally ahead, but forget about that for now) Well, because of this dudes desire to commit when in a hand, I would continue to search him out, to continue to aim for the huge implied odds he offers, in order to recoup the "purchase cost" of my 30bb. I would also aim to avoid coinflip spots with no fold equity against him in the future, and therefore, for example, mix up by just flat calling with a hand like AA, or set mining maybe.

Final thing to note is I understand a lot players may not agree with this line. In a previous post, Lorin Yelle provided some input in why he believes I could make a mistake, as well as over valuing implied odds, so please read that for further analysis, keeping in mind that is a full ring situation, whereas this is 6max, where flipping is more common obviously. There is no need to play these type of hands at 1006max in 3bet pots, but with good reads, there is money to be made.

Hope this isn't too spewy a line.

OK so its back to playing poker in September.

3bet obsession is a losing strategy

I have been playing ring games seriously for nearly 10months now. I started at 5nl and really did do the whole bank roll thing, and now I am seriously overrolled for 100nl as per the standard "rules" posted by those in the know. So I am no authority on the game as yet, but I have been through the grind.

I have notice a spot where there is such big money that is there for the taking, that I would advise all newish micros like me to concentrate on the 3bet pot. The whole 3bet thing has just gotten silly amongst a fairly large proportion of micro players, from 50nl upwards. Below 50nl I really would play fit or fold in any 3bet situation, fitting only with premiums. But at 50nl upwards, otherwise good players display a massive leak in their games by a stupid obsession with 3betting and 100% contbet follow through without thinking through the most profitable line. If you can get your head round this, you can be come a VERY profitable player, with a minimum amount of post flop skill in my view.

When 3betting, you need to think about why you are doing it, and this is where their leaks start. If its a bluff, think why, and what to do if called. If its for value, think why, and what to do by the turn. If its because you don't believe your opponent, well....that ain't enough. There's loads more to say about this, but I know I am a winning player with a (comparatively) low 3bet %, and I am happy for that. The simple fact is, if I believe I am ahead of my opponent, and I think he will keep betting into me post flop, but fold if I 3bet, then I am simply calling. OOP there are a few more things to think about, but you are losing a ton of value by auto 3betting premiums 100% of the time and balancing with 3bet bluffs 20-30% of time. A ton.

Now don't convince yourself that this is metagame and all that baloney. If you have 5k hands on your villain, and a load of history then maybe. But at the micros, with players moving up or down and, depending on your site, a huge player pool, there is no metagame. Furthermore, there are just to many players who will never fold with any piece of any flop, so forget metagame.

There just seems to be this fear amongst many thinking players at these micros to play a bit of real poker. I have argued this in previous posts about short stacking, as a strategy too. Now, if you are happy with a high 3bet (with the intention of getting your opponent to fold) strategy, (and I am CONVINCED you want them to fold, despite what you might argue) and you are winning, than that is fine by me. But I don't believe this playing type will be able to go above 200nl without getting completely slaughtered. And unless you wanna be a multi tabling or shstacking robot, that's where any pro or semi pro ambition has to be at. The hard truth is, you need to learn to play post flop, and building big pots pre against random opponents is not, therefore, where its at.