So one month and 15k hands at 50NL :

If I look at how I’ve changed my game this month, it’s primarily become more aggressive and I’ve loosened up quite a lot in position. The last week of May, I played a 22/18/2 style, and the first week of May it was 18/13/2.7. That’s actually a fairly significant difference. And almost that entire difference comes from this stat: Attempt to steal blinds on button = 70%.

I’ve also started 3-betting light a little bit here and there. And just to top the month off, I’ve now occasionally started four-betting light. It’s fun.

I still make some really stupid mistakes here and there, but I’m trying to make them fewer. Specifically, I think playing 8-9 tables is more than I can handle without starting to play mechanically. Some decisions I need to think about, and it’s important that I get a chance to do that.

Anyway, a decent month. The results aren’t stellar in any way (3.5BB/100) but they’re clearly in the black and I think I have plenty of room for improvement. With the same hands, next month, I think I could probably double my win-rate. That’s how many mistakes I’ve made, that I now recognize. It’s important here to point out that I’ve been running somewhat well. Not like a rocket or anything, but I’ve had a few fortunate spots where my hands held up.

It’s pretty common among poker players to think of themselves as the greatest player in the world. I’ve been doing this for long enough now that I can pretty easily recognize how much I don’t know, and humility has perhaps also come with age. Getting completely owned in the second half of last year at the limit tables probably got me mature enough to stop thinking of myself as a poker prodigy. So, with honest introspect: I think I’ve been playing just slightly better than break-even poker this month. I’ve had some luck and some bad luck, but I haven’t been running “poorly” at any point for more than a few hands here and there. If I had been catching worse-than-average cards, I don’t think I could have turned it around to be a winning month, perhaps not even break-even. I think I can learn how to, though, and I believe I’m well on my way to becoming a more solid no-limit player.

I look forward to June. I’m not moving up to 100NL yet for quite awhile, though; at least one more month of 50NL for me. Stuff to learn, still.

/FP