10k Hands now in the books

According to Poker Tracker I now have logged 10335 hands of NLHE on Full Tilt (About 98% 5NL). It has taken me 17 days.

Here are some numbers:

Vpip: 15.67
PFR: 10.24

Now those numbers are skewed as I went on serious tilt for about 2k hands and was playing a LAGGY 24+vp.

I've lost $ 48.49. I was down about $ 63 before coming out of a nose dive and playing better.

However I feel like I have learned soooo much about Poker and myself. I have learned about the importance of table selection, the invaluable tool that Power Tracker is. I have also learned some key points:

1. Don't go broke with a single pair. As a general rule I will not call a river bet with one pair if I've faced agrression on 2 of the 3 streets unless I have a really good read that my opponent was on a draw that missed or I sense a bluff or perhaps someone who overvalues their hand, (like when I have AK on a A9963 board and an opponent has Ace-Deuce)
2. Do not call 3 bets OOP. Period. Unless you are on the button it's Raise or fold preflop to determine the strength of your hand. It's better to muck QQ or JJ to 4 bets and lose 20% of your stack before the flop than to lose it all after the flop.
3. Tight is right and tighter is righter. Especially for starting players. When you are in the pot make sure you've got the goods otherwise you will be in a lot of tricky spots with dominated hands.
4. Try not to play your blinds at all. Especially the Small Blind. Set-mining is not profitable because even if you flop a set you might not get paid off. Calling to complete with pretty cards is a recipe for disaster. I don't know how many times in the beginning I played Q10 from the SB and caught middle pair and a gutshot or top pair weak kicker and a backdoor flush and start pouring money down the drain chasing draws OOP. Fold these hands, maybe complete with a sm pp but do not call raises with them. This includes hands like TT,99,88 which are just horrible hands in raised pots OOP. If you have JJ+ raise otherwise fold and save your money.
5. Poker is a battle for the blinds. Steal often. If you have a TAG image it is easy with just about A2C. If action is folded to you raise and steal. This will allow you to keep your head above water for the right moment.
6. You have to be patient. For a TAG player your moment may take hours to arrive. Be prepared to fold, fold, fold until the right moment comes and you take your opponent's stack.
7. If you don't enjoy the mental challenge of Poker and want to think about it and analyze it constantly then don't play seriously.
8. Set aside time for poker. Don't try to answer e-mails, look at porn, do work things, make dinner or talk on the phone.
9. Remember most of all it is important to be the aggressor. If you bet or raise you can win two ways. If you call you can only win one. When in doubt raise you will gain information on the strength of your hand vs. your opponent. Sometimes you will fold the better hand but that is better to do sometimes than to constantly bleed chips and lose pots you had no business being in the 1st place. Once you have the nuts (like flopping a set on a rags and rainbow board, or making the nut straight or flush then you can call all the bets you want. Until then when in doubt raise or fold. There are exceptions to this like c/c a flop with an overpair or TPTK in order to control the size of the pot but be ready to test your hand's strength before the river. If you have QQ or KK and the flop has an Ace it is better to bet out when you are OOP because if you check and your opponent bets you won'y know if they're bluffing or have an Ace.
10. Cash games are not tournaments so don't fall in love with AK. At 5NL I see lots of players try to get it all in with AK. At 5NL once a player gets to 3bets he is less likely to fold so without the FE you get with Big Slick in a tournament it's a pretty weak hand that usually can only make TPTK which is rarely going to take anyone's stack (well except the short stackers who wait for a pocket pair and shove) which brings me to the point of short stackers. Always look at your opponent's stack. Before you 3 bet a short stacker decide whether you are willing to get all in with your hand. If not don't bother. Also you can't set mine or play high implied odds hands (like suited connectors) because when you hit you won't get enough return on your investment for all the times you miss and fold.

most of this is ABC and not original, just thinking out loud and having fun playing Poker.

I expect to be somewhat profitable at the 20k hand mark. I'll let you know.

There's a ton of really good information in this post, even if most of it is obvious. I play suited connectors at six handed tables and I think it's one of my biggest leaks because they miss to much. With AK you really have to be cautious, but successful players win tons of money with this hand.

I think I'm seeing to many flops, at a six handed table should I see 20% of the flops?? I'm also losing tons of money because I'm playing at higher stakes than I should but the nickel/dime game bores me. I'm buying in with 200 bucks and sitting at 1/2nl hoping to build a roll and it isn't happening.

Very solid advice for folks starting out.But in a 100k or so more hands you will see you were missing some money with alot of those points.But like i said very good advice to start with,well done op.

Good Advice mate - Good luck on your next 10k hands.

if u stick to 1, 2 and 3 u should see a nice improvement in ur results.

the point about the blinds, i dont know. i can make a lot off aggress ppl trying to steal my blinds by playing marginal hands in many sessions. but u need experience and not some poker tracker or something to tell u when ur ahead or behind in those situations.

like every1 here said, gl with the next 10k hands.

points 1,2,9 very important. but geez 17 days to play 10k hands! thassalotta poka

You had me hooked till this

when you move up to NL10, which I'm sure you will following these rules , you will see how important 3betting is.

I tend to 3bet about 6-7% w/A10+, 55+

I mean thats the widest my OOP 3bet range gets and I would only do so with about 200+ hands on the villain but ive come to learn that 3betting is sick +EV. Especially when your opponents get better and its harder to manipulate them postflop.

Playing IP is defenitely a massive advantage. The more you play, the more you realise lol

Also the stack sizes thing is SUPER important. If im 100 stack IP I'll play SC's OTB but I have to twice as deep to play them OOP.

The note you made on set mining is so true. I used to play any broadway and all PP's OOP and its just not +EV. Infact its probably the biggest leak at the NL micro's, along with over playing AK and playing too many tables when their not ready too.

I 20 tabled NL2+NL5 and was rolled for NL10 in a week from $20 but I didnt even know how to play cash. I just played super tight and value bet the fish to death. I never read a book or studied anything. I watched PAD a few times and that was it lol. Once I got to NL10 I didnt know what to be at. I had to withdraw but knew I needed to slow down and learn and now I play 4 tables and much prefer it, because im adapting, improving and learning everytime I play.

+1

I see a big glitch!! Number 4 says DONT PLAY BLINDS..then number 5 says STEAL BLINDS. how can you steal blinds if aint gunna play them? lol

He means when you are in the blinds you need to play very tight, and when you are OTB or in the CO you need to steal the blinds from other players.

You need to understand that 10K hands is not very many. It does seem like a lot but it only took you 17 days. I've had 3 month long coolers.