Poker review for Decemberby Mariuslol, December 31
In my goals for December I wanted to train 12 times this month, I ended up on 7 times. But I'm fairly happy about that, because I've been struggling a lot with my illness, and hasn't been able to train.
When it comes to pokerstudy, I'm happy. I've seen around 15 vods and done quite a bit of reading, only problem is I keep reading 40 pages into something, then stopping, finding something else to start on, then something else. I really should finish a book.
I wanted to try and play 80 hours of actual poker this month (On the table)and ended up with 84 hours, so that's really cool.
For my winrate, not so cool. I really want it higher, and just wanting it isn't enough. Need to put more effort into it.
38,159 hands on 20nl (euro) with a winrate of 1,76BB/100 269e = 13,5 buy ins up.
But I I raked quite a bit, and I'll get around 480e in rakeback, so total profit = 749e
So next month I'll start with taking shot at 50nl, and if I drop down 5bi I'll move down to 20nl.
My final stats:
VP$IP 22.38 / PFR 17.85 / WTSD 26,7 / AF 3.0 / 3B 6,7 / Fold 3B 68 / Fold BB to Steal 76 / Fold SB to steal 85
When I look at positions it looks fine, I think, vip on the button is 30% and utg is 17%. I'm winning from cash from the last 3 positions, and losing tons of SB and BB (But those are blinds, can I avoid that?)
And the graph looks weird as always, the blue one in a straight consistent line up, green one goes vertical, slightly up, and the red goes down down down.
1. To continually push myself to develop my poker skills 2. To beat a level consistently and have complete confidence in my game when moving up limits 3. To increase my physical activities and keep my body in good shape
Poker Related Goals
- Completely rid myself of monetary value when playing poker. Money does not matter. I will do this by playing very low limits, and having a very large bankroll. Aiming for 50-70 BI's. Sounds alot, but I feel it will work for me.
- Play no more than 6 tables, and ideally 4 table.
- Review each session. Spend a good 30 minutes each day, going over hands and putting reasoning as to why such and such was played, and asking if it was played good or bad.
- Watch, study and learn from Poker Videos on various websites. Goal is to watch 3 videos a week, taking notes and paying full attention
- Not to be short term results orientated. Always think about the longterm. Not too check any graphs during sessions, and ideally not to check inbetween sessions if having short breaks.
- Work on my mental strength and how to train brain to learn efficiently
- Not to waste valuable time browsing the internet for no apparent reason.
- Work my ass off.
Non-Poker Related
- Go for a run at least two times a week. I am taking part in a Marathon relay in May. I need to be in good shape to achieve a good time.
- Spend more time with my fiancee
- Get my wedding plans finalized
- Keep a record of all the hours I work (in my FT job). I get a set salary each month, however the hours are erratic and sometimes very long. Work out my actual hourly rate and contest it if I believe it to be inadequate.
- Not to waste money on takeaways at lunch. Always prepare by making lunches before work. Spice it up by bringing different things.
Dream Goal
This is just a dream goal that is very unrealistic, but I want to put it here. It is not a 2010 goal, it is more of a life dream goal. If it takes me 20 years, then so be it. It is something I want to achieve.
I am determined to make 2010 the year that made a difference in my life. I am getting married this year and its about time I grew up and started really working my ass off!
-quit working out because i played a vicious game of bloody knuckles that made my hand swell up humongous (damn pride, ego and long island ice tea)
-confused as ever about the girl in whatever blog it is below
-took a very cute girls vcard
-got in a fight because of said girl
-lost 5ish lbs?
Most excitingly though, I decided to pick up poker again. I've been playing mostly hu 2 tabling trying to turn around my horrible PTR stats that are embarassing(-2k). I think im only down 750 or so now, score!
I hate my job and its literally the best job i could ever ask for locally. I think if i get 6 months of payments saved up from poker I'm gonna quit and play poker for a living again. Like a 5k br and 6 months of payments would be a pretty good padding and in 6 months if i fail then I go to school or something, not back to being a lowlife scrub with no degree.
Summary of Phil Galfond's Well part1by Mariuslol, December 31
I'm reading through his well, and found it to be a siiick read. So started collecting things/notes, quotes and stuff for myself.
(That means everything here except the questions is from Phil).
- There can be a thing as too much aggression, does something to your range, so you have to fold to raises a lot. Just have it in the back of your head. For balancing purposes too
- Forcing yourself to play is always a bad idea, both financially and emotionally.
- No monetary goals, and try to work out regularly and keep friends in ur life.
- Moving with peopel who play/study/love the game, watching them play, and discuss talk about diffrent lines is something that made me grow sooooo much
- (Quote from a discussion with Durrr on a hand) he had something like weak top pair and was facing a big river bet. He was like, 'I think a call is better than a fold' and I thought to myself, 'yeah I agree' and then he said 'but I would shove' and I exploded. I realized that you should think of every possible option you have in nlhe. You usually have a ton of them.
- If you are near someone who plays poker and is smart, spend as much time around them as you can if you want to improve your game.
- realize that you have more options than you think you do. Thinking outside the box, turning made hands that are good enough to call into bluffraises that turn out to be even more profitable, cbetting 1/3 pot in a rr pot, etc.
* Ephipanies (or how you spell it)
- how to use your style/image and balance your range accordingly. I started out being pretty nitty before realizing that I could use my image to bluff. Then I started to get called down. I got angry, like 'I'm so tight, how can they call!?!' before figuring out what my ranges really consisted of in certain spots.
- every time the action is to you, it's an opportunity for you to make the perfect play. Thinking about poker that way is great for your game.
- I've realized that working out regularly helps your game more than you might think. I highly recommend it.
- I think the three most important areas of intelligence in regards to poker are logic, probability, psychology. They actually are pretty close in order of importance, and change depending on game structure.
- one of my strengths is that I'm self aware.
- Smart to get a coach early on, for a slight boost in your horly win rate is really significant in the long run
- Tommy didn't teach me the things I wanted to learn, but he taught me the things I needed to learn.
- A lot of people don't get the most out of coaching because they ask the wrong questions.
In poker, every player has personal motivations.
* Through watching their play, you can get a general feel for what they want, what they fear or worry about, what they are comfortable/uncomfortable with. Most importantly, you get a feel for what they want, at their core.
* These are generalizations, but are true for most people who play these ways. You can find out more specific details about a player's personality by paying attention.
* a nit is afraid of losing a lot of money with the worst hand. They're uncomfortable in big pots with marginal hands. They often fear coin-flipping for a lot of money.
* The loose passive player usually plays for fun. He wants to see flops and wants to showdown his hand. He wants to see if the cards in his hand can match up with the cards on the board, or if they're good enough to rake in a pot. He wants to see your hand.
* The Bad LAG wants to win THIS POT. RIGHT NOW. Anytime he gives up on a pot it's because he's holding himself back. He likes to gamble, and usually doesn't mind getting his money in without proper odds.
(He often (but not always) has pride issues, meaning he wants to show you how big of a man he is. If he trash talks, you can be especially confident that he has pride issues. This means that he very badly doesn't want to be bluffed off of a pot or miss an opportunity to bluff himself. It also means that if you have any history with him, whether you won a big pot, showed a bluff, got bluffed by him, really anything, he's more likely to bluff you or call you down light.)
* So those are his main character traits. What else does he do differently?
Phil's old Stats:
21/16 preflop, 2.4 total AF
W$WSF 45.45%, Went to SD 28.88% , W$@SD 55.56%
Flop AF 2.6 Turn 2.0 Riv 2.5
Q: Everyone always asks this, but what do you think are the biggest differences between the really good nosebleed players and your average 25/50 regular? Is it just small details?
Phil's A: Intelligence, time (different point in career), Being able to play shorthanded and adjust to players.
A lot of it though is honestly variance and being in the right place at the right time. There are a top players who aren't any better than some 25/50 players. They just ran good at good times, and have the roll and the risk taking ability to play in great games. It's not that rare that a 200/400nl or plo game is softer than a 25/50 game going on at the same time.
Q: Do you agree with the idea that 1 or 2 tabling higher stakes will help your growth as a player better than multi-tabling medium/lower stakes?
Phil's A: Yes, less tables definitely. Especially with another smart player watching you and discussing concepts. And especially HU tables.
Higher stakes, not really. It might make you a bit more interested, and the competition will be a bit tougher, but you might not play your best. You can learn a lot about the game 2 tabling fish hu though.
Q: What dictates your decision to quit/go on with any given session?
Phil's A: The one thing I learned most from Tommy Angelo, is how awesome quitting is.
You should pride yourself in making a good quit. I really mean that. When I'm playing and make the decision to quit, I'm very happy with myself.
The two real reasons to quit are if playing is -EV financially or -EV emotionally. I know the latter isn't a real thing, but I use it all the time.
Basically, if for whatever reason I think I'm not a favorite (or a very small favorite), I'll quit (Ideally).
Or if I'm unhappy or stressed out by playing, or would be much happier doing something else, I quit (Ideally).
Reasons you become -$EV should be obvious, and you should realize when you are unhappy.
- Phil Quotes:
"Think of what your opponent wants you to do, and then do the opposite"
"Saying position is important in poker is like saying distance and direction are important in golf."
"It can never be that wrong to not play"
'Approach every decision as if it were tomorrow and you were looking back upon it'
Phil's thoughts on going through rough downswings; confidence issues, tilt, emotional effects, etc.
* It's easy to play when things are going well. How a player deals with a bad run is what defines him as a poker player.
* The most important thing is the be honest with yourself. Admit when you aren't focused or playing your best. Take breaks all the time. Get outdoors if you can. All the time means every 90 minutes or less.
* If you're afraid of losing your seats, take 3 minutes and walk into another room, do 20 pushups, go to the bathroom/grab some food, and come back.
* Taking time off when on a downswing is always a better idea than you want to admit. Getting away from poker for some reason usually helps you get your confidence back.
* Be willing to quit games when you find yourself tilting at all. Most people tilt by going on autopilot and don't realize they're tilting.
* I think it's probably possible to stop most of your tilting. It's very difficult though. Understanding that you tilt, and being able to identify it and quit is your best bet by far.
* Also don't play tired, unless there's a very big fish in the game.
Q: in playing the highest stakes, aside from the rare and egregrious fish, what are some subtle distinctions between winning/marginal/losing players?
Phil's A: think that a lot of medium-good but not great players probably undervalue betsize/timing tells. Especially against weaker opposition.
Q: Also, do you believe that some inherently winning players (that is, with the skills to win) end up losing longterm, and vice versa?
Phil's A: Some players are smart enough and work hard enough to win, but lose because of 'soft skill' leaks. Things like game selection, BR management and tilt control.
Q: Looking back what are some things you would change or stress for someone looking to get to your level to do or not to do? Any mistakes you made a lot that took you a few times to learn?
A: The best thing I ever did for my poker game was meet other people who played poker. My poker friends and coaches helped me move up 3x faster than I would've on my own.
I'd also recommend trying to eliminate autopiloting. Too many players can't make the jump into bigger games because they don't know how to think for themselves. They just play a TAG cookie cutter style and think it will continue working because they crushed the lower limits with it.
Some rant about goals: I think it is very important to identify your goals as a poker player so that you can act in a way to achieve them.
Do you just want to have fun playing? What’s fun for you? What would keep you from having fun? Do you want to make money? How much? When? In the next two weeks? For the next 10 years of your life? Can the big money wait? Do you want to keep getting better? At what game? Why?
Well it's New Years Eve afternoon here in Taipei and I played my last session of 2009 which ended pretty bad. As I write this, I am in one of the most upset moods of my entire career. This game is seriously taking its toll on me. Not so much the game and its variance, but rather the notion that again, I've failed to meet my goals. Such great aspirations, hopes, momentum to start the year and I can't shake this feeling of failure.
2009 Goal: $150k, at least 500 or 600k hands. Later changed to just $100k.
Final Result: $80k, 400k hands.
I started the month 5k away from 100k and I managed to fuck it up. I end December 2009 as a 14k loser (6k from live), going down in history as the single worst month of my entire career, and it had to come at just about the worst time. It's really unfair how this game can be sometimes.
A lot of you will say that 80k isn't anything to complain about. I know it could be a lot worse, but the reality of the matter is I play this game professionally and it is my only means of income. I devote everyday of my life to poker in one way or another. It's really frustrating knowing how far I've come only to know that I'm still more or less terrible in the grand scheme of things, with extremely mediocre results to boot.
I won a tournament for 12k at the beginning of 2009 (literally 364 days ago) but since then I've squandered those winnings in other tournament buy ins, random degening, etc. so basically the essential makeup of my 2009 results are online cash results and rakeback as everything else canceled each other out.
I have really big plans for 2010. I currently wake up every weekday at 8 AM and go to an office in Taipei where I am a part-owner and lead instructor of a Taipei-based poker training school. So due to that I have a ridic good routine/atmosphere/schedule which I was missing in the entirety of 2009. I've taken up boxing, which combined with my passion for teaching, adds a tremendous deal of balance to my life. Due to this routine I obviously plan on playing a LOT more hands than 400k (I'm very sure if I did 500k hands on the year I would've hit 100k, which makes me upset that me not making my monetary goal in part has to do with my shitty work ethic). 2010 is also the first year I'm eligible to play in the WSOP, so if things go well I plan to play some events as well.
I take some solace in the fact that I will be starting 2010 playing 2/4 and higher, as I started 2009 playing 1/2 and it took quite some time to transition into 2/4 fully. If anything, it means I've at least had SOME progress.
Happy New Year everyone, it's going to be a crucial year. I've set a preliminary goal of $200k, with at least 600k hands.
card removal all-in equity range calculatorby jchysk, December 31
Recently, after talking to woodbrave and firah, who both wanted something pretty similar I started scripting what I thought would be a simple enough calculator.
Here's the php version for just card removal: http://www.jchysk.com/testing/flophands.php
About an hour into scripting I realized the big problem I was facing was computational time and switched over to C++. Another hour in I realized this was going to be extremely slow.
The basic idea is take any preflop hand and use card removal to figure out opponent hands. Based on the range you select them having it goes through all their hands in that range (not nPr 48,5 but nCr 48,5 or nCr 45,2 if there's a flop)
Use a 7-card evaluator on every board to figure out win, loss, or tie.
Loop through the steps to accumulate all wins, losses, and ties until each opponent's hand in range has been accounted for.
The numbers start getting big, but still doable, until an additional player and range is included.
After I realized this wasn't going to be practical for any use at all simply because computers are too slow and it would take me forever to optimize and tweak it full of shortcuts to speed the process up I decided to look online and see what has already been developed. Too bad I didn't make that step 1, because I definitely wasted a lot of time on something that wasn't going to happen.
I suppose I'm just so used to thinking hardware is cheap and incredibly fast these days that you can write inefficient brute force code to get what you want without much consequence. It's yet another big punch in the face wake up call to be reminded how voluminous the permutations in poker really are.
Already -8bi below EV in 3k hands today. Fuk this end of year !
Almost went back to the stone age. Need to fucking work my leaks and stop spewing even though you know you're beat and wanted to be right. Too much money wasted.
2010 here i come you cheap bastard better get me 1 mirrion or i'm gonna be fkin angry @ u world.
Not everyone here browses TL, so I thought I'd make this post here.
Just some pictures of me with my toys and a video to bring in the new year (sorry for the intonation, I have tons of excuses xD)
My MasterCard doesn't seem to be working for some reason and I happened to have some cash on my Paypal account. Can a reputable member send me around $40 on FTP? I'll be sending whatever I have in my Paypal ($48.59 CAD) to the member.
this is my second year playing poker and I'm pretty disappointed in myself as I didn't put in nearly enough hands and had tilted/spewed away a lot I also stopped moving up for whatever reason and limited myself
In total I made 130k or something this year and ran like 50k under ev which probably cost me a lot more money since I spewed a bit when I ran bad
I feel I've gotten better the last quarter of the year at tilt control and make less mistakes but still fail at getting hands in
I'll take tomorrow off and in 2010 I'll try to improve and move up and play twice as many hands as I did this year and play all of them to the best of my ability and not worry about results
non poker related
I moved out 2 weeks ago got a 2 bedroom apartment for 1050/month which I guess its pretty decent I like it so far and I'm learning how to cook so hopefully will lead to me eating more healthy
school starts again next monday 6 more months and I'm done with highschool and I'm deciding between taking a year off or going to college I'm leaning towards taking time off since I never really did well in school mainly due to me not really going and really genuinely not liking anything about it that and I have shit grades and CANNOT get into ANY university and some colleges lol
if I do wanna go I'll probably have to wait till I'm 19 to apply to college as a mature student or 21 for university I think? this is for Canada so correct me if I'm wrong
I also look forward to playing some live poker when I turn 19 next year at niagara falls
thats all for now and I wish you all luck in the coming year (except those in hands against me I hope you run like a cripple)
It sucks to do this because I hate quitting more than anything in life but it's the right thing to do. I set goals when I came back to poker in October 2008 and I have been unable to achieve those goals. Along this path I also have uncovered a side of me that I never want to see again when it comes to my temper and self control. I still enjoy playing the game but not with the pressure of multi tabling and finding such thin edges. I'm a very social person so I'll still play live a couple times a month with friends or at a local casino but that's it. No more hardcore studying, grinding, and forum reading. I've cancelled all my training site subscriptions. The quality of my life since playing again has gone down. I've noticed it for a while but I felt like it might change if I became a big winner.
If I can give any advice to current micro stakes players it would be to quit now. If you are playing less than NL50 or NL100 right now there is no point in putting in all the work. The attracting glory of this game is the freedom and the low work schedule for the money you can make. By the time you make it to stakes substantial enough that you don't have to be a mass-tabling grind monkey the edges are going to be so small that luck is so supreme. We're seeing a taste of it already. The same people that were pioneers of this game back in 2004 are telling us that the game is dying and drying up, shouldn't we listen to them? I'm going to take the advice and run with it for my own happiness. Luck is so important in this game and as players we try and ignore it because that's what math tells us to do. With edges getting smaller and smaller the long run is getting longer and longer. Luck is so much more than just the stupid EV line on your graph.
I'm going back to school next semester. I'm also unsure if I want to stay in California while I'm in school or finish it back in New York. The temptation out here is so strong and I think I won't be able to maintain focus so I'm going to go over my options and make a decision soon hopefully. But either way, finishing school is what's most important to me in my life right now and I have a lot of people on this site to thank for helping me realize how important school really is.
I cashed out all of my money from PokerStars and I left $1k on FTP just to clear my year end Ironman bonus next month. I'll be using the money to take a vacation. I'm looking to go somewhere international. Some friends and I are thinking about hitting up Mexico City but if any of you have any other recommendations I'd love to hear them.
Completely have rethought my ideas that I had recently. Grinding 180man non turbo sngs is really tough. And I feel it is not worth the time and effort. I am not really learning anything from it. Don't get me wrong, when you reach the final 30 the style of play I really feel comfortable at and can exploit well.
Playing at a FT with huge chipstacks relative to the blinds, I seem to play pretty good and it is really enjoyable. Alot of players play super bad. But I am not really improving as a player, as alot of the FT play, comes down to Pre flop play, and stealing lots of pots. You do not actually learn about how to read hands and play good solid poker post flop. You essentially play fit or fold poker. Its great for learning pre flop edges and 3bet ranges etc. But really, when you get to a higher level of play, everyone else knows this, and it is less easy to exploit, and you must rely on alot of post flop play. This is my weakness.
Time wise playing these games are far to time consuming, and I really am not sure if I am capable of keeping up with it when I return to work next week. I have not cashed exceptionally well. I do not think it is actually because of "bad luck", but I think I just get bored grinding them all day and not getting far. And I am making bad decisions.
This leads me to a few things.
As I said in previous blogs I suck at cash games. I cheated my way to NL50 by cashing in a good MTT, and thought I could actually play at that level. After a decent start I thought I was on track to crush and move up to NL100. I fooled myself and my world came crashing down as I spewed and spewed. Long term looser at NL25 and NL50, I cannot kid myself. Something is fundamentally wrong with my approach to the game.
I watched some videos today, that basically blew my mind. My whole perspective has completely changed, and something inside me has said, "thats enough bullshit matt, time to be honest with yourself". I am starting from scratch. I am grinding 4-6 table at NL10 for the near future, and I am not moving up untill I am beating this limit over a large hand sample (at least 100k hands).
I have so many things to work on, and I am looking forward to learning this game all over again. I will post my 2010 goals here soon.
You know guys how I hate the emo kids whining about ev and bragging about short term pointless wins.
Well, whatever today I am one of them, whats this childs game for if we don't celebrate at least the milestones?
$50 into 5k in 10 months since I started at NL2 (excluding cashouts)
I don't care that variance can struck me tomorrow and I can lose it all, I will be the dude that hit $5k BR forever :o
By the way I run 16BI/$700 below EV this month (combination of NL25/NL50/NL100, 2.5Bi below ev at NL100, most at NL25 where I was actually a loser this month messing with 15+ stacked tables) which makes this feel even better
Ok well I am a goldstar and need like 2003 vpps before dec 32 to be a platinum star. I usually 10 table 50nl when I play. Will it be possible to accomplish this?
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enjoy.
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