Aleksei's Sandbox

Aleksei

Aleksei

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I have a weird learning style. I suck at asking questions; what I do is I take a situation, analyze it, come to conclusions (fully baked sometimes, usually half-formed), then spit them out and ask for feedback.

So as I've been learning poker concepts and developing theories of my own I tend to just use them and get into any discussion that seems relevant to what I've developed, which unfortunately sometimes causes threads to go WAY off-rails, all over the forum.

So, I figure instead of spewing mind-vomit all over the forum I'll use this thread to air out ideas, theories, notes to self, etc. and also as a repository for discussions of mine the forum over that get too off-track (mods take note :D). Sort of blog-style, except if I did a blog in Wordpress or whatever I wouldn't get any replies. :p

As for why it's in the cash games thread, well, it's not a challenge and like 90% of all the strategy I think up is for cash games anyway.
 
Mr Sandbag

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What stakes do you play? Online or live? What is your poker goal (if any)?
 
Aleksei

Aleksei

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What stakes do you play? Online or live? What is your poker goal (if any)?
4NL atm, but not putting volume in because I live in a repressive environment that won't allow me. I regularly play against low stakes and high stakes reg friends though. And I spend at least 3 hours a day studying poker theory and browsing poker sites though, and most of the day actually mulling over theory.

My ultimate goal is to make a living off the game. I have a 5-year life plan to move to Colombia with my mother when I finish college, grind up to 100NL (slash 5/10 HUFL), build up like $15k for a life roll, and then quit my job and grind cash full time.
 
Mr Sandbag

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Nice! I look forward to reading your thoughts and theories on the game. I play $1/$2 NL live.
 
Aleksei

Aleksei

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Opening ranges

For pretty much my entire poker career I've been opening too wide and playing entirely too impatiently postflop. Mostly this is due to lack of discipline, some of it overconfidence, and some of it overvaluing what I can do with shite hands. I've toned that back significantly, but I'm still for instance opening garbage like K8o UTG on the premise that most of the time the fish at table will call, and if I hit the K I can stack him.

The problem of course is that 1) with multiple people left to act a non-trivial percentage of the time I won't be up vs the fish, and 2) there is exactly one flop type that can connect well enough with that hand to play ball even vs the fish, which is a Kxx flop (which will happen <20% of the time). But of course in the heat of the moment those considerations slip into the ether, and I flatly refuse to just play a nitty tagbot range so since I'm a mathematical thinker the best way to solve this is to have a preset range beforehand.

My line of thinking's as follows:

1) When there's fish at table, I can play non-premiums vs them and as long as I hit well often enough I can make big bux.
2) When I widen my open range to exploit that, regs will exploit me by playing a wider range themselves in position because playing marginal hands OOP sucks. The more regs are left to act behind, the more likely it is for that to happen.
3) Regs in the blinds are irrelevant to this because playing vs them in position is a lot easier -- either they're defending too wide so that I'm comfortably ahead in position, or they're defending really tight so that I can just fold because they 3bet so seldom and I'm after the fish anyway.

So, my open range is dictated by the number of regs sitting in position behind me. With no regs left to act in position, my range is picked for max flopability vs fish.

With that in mind, I've constructed it as follows (was supposed to account for nits vs regs vs fish, but that gets too complicated -- this is simpler):

UTG, no fish IP: {22+, Axs, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, AK} - 13.1%

UTG, 1 fish IP: {22+, Axs, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, AJo+} - 14.9%

UTG, 2 fish IP: {22+, Axs+, K9s+, Q9s+, J9s+, 65+ suited connectors ATo+, KJo+} - 19.1%

UTG, 3 fish IP: {22+, Axs, Kxs, Q8s+, J8s+, 54+ suited connectors, ATo+, KTo+, QTo+, JTo} - 25.5%

HJ, no fish IP: {22+, Axs, KTs+, QTs+, JTs, T9s, 98s, 87s, AJo+} - 14.9%

HJ, 1 fish IP: {22+, Axs+, K9s+, Q9s+, J9s+, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s, ATo+, KTo+} - 20.1%

HJ, 2 fish IP: {22+, Axs, Kxs, Q8s+, J8s+, T9s, 98s, 87s, 76s, 65s, 54s, A8o+, K9o+, QTo+, JTo} - 28.2%

CO, reg OTB: {22+, Axs, K8s, Q8s+, J8s+, 54+ suited connectors, 75+ suited gappers, 87+ offsuited connectors, A9o+, K9o+, Q9o+, J9o} - 25.8%

CO, no reg OTB: {22+, Axs, Kxs, Qxs, Jxs, Txs, 54+ connectors, 75+ suited gappers, A3-A5, A8+, K8+, Q8+, J8+, T8+} - 48.7%

BTN: {22+, Ax, Kxs, Qxs, Jxs, Txs, 54+ connectors, 75+ gappers, K8+, Q8+, J8+, T8+}
 
Mr Sandbag

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I am not a math wiz, even when it comes to poker, so I cannot comment on your numbers. However, there MAY be an issue with how you define a "fish." It seems that you define "fish" as one type of player, when in reality - and from my experience - fish come in all shapes and sizes. In the stakes that I play, there are considerably less "fish" that will stack off with hands that cannot beat your pair of Kings/weak kicker and quite a few that will simply call you all the way down with a hand like KJ, KQ, and even AK.
 
Aleksei

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Fish = idiot that plays crap hands far too often. Can be a lagtard, but usually is too passive and will call down with middle pair, weak top pairs, any draw, and worse. Obviously there are different brands of junk these people like (some will see a flop with any two suited and chase every draw, some will stack two overcards because they feel lucky, some will just call down MPTK because they think I'm bluffing, etc.), but the point is that it's ok to play these kinds of players with at least top pair, middle kicker.

Nit = Someone who plays tight but in a predictable manner that they aren't adjusting, so that you can just steal their pots. Usually they will open an inflexible tight range then fold the flop if they miss. Some people combine aspects of this and the above, in that they see flops really wide but then fold when they miss, which is the majority of the time.

Reg = A thinking player that's capable of adjusting to my tendencies and profiting from it when they become off-balanced.

Obviously the above is oversimplified, but it's a decent general guideline I think. I'm not gonna jot down a starting range for EVERY single type of player. :p
 
Mr Sandbag

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The problem is that a lot of weak players will also passively call you down with TPGK, so I don't really believe that opening with K8 UTG is profitable.
 
Aleksei

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The problem is that a lot of weak players will also passively call you down with TPGK,
Then I've valuetowned myself. It happens. As long as I'm ahead more frequently than behind the move is profitable.
 
Aces2w1n

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If you find yourself value towning yourself it's time to get up and have a break... Another name for value towning yourself is spewing...
 
Aleksei

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If you find yourself value towning yourself it's time to get up and have a break... Another name for value towning yourself is spewing...
lol, not unless villain genuinely isn't calling enough worse. I don't have to win EVERY hand I see showdown with.
 
Aleksei

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Note to self: Do not cbet bluff unknowns just to see if they fold, no matter how good the board is for it. Wait till you hit, THEN start bluffing them if they're not paying you off. Likewise start 2-barreling them if they're folding to value 2nd barrels a ton, etc.
 
micromachine

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Note to self: Do not cbet bluff unknowns just to see if they fold, no matter how good the board is for it. Wait till you hit, THEN start bluffing them if they're not paying you off. Likewise start 2-barreling them if they're folding to value 2nd barrels a ton, etc.

You should be cbet bluffing unknowns with a reasonable frequency when the board is good for it. Fold to cbet takes a while to converge and you'll miss a lot of opportunities if you wait for a big enough sample on all your opponents.
 
Aleksei

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Problem is that depends on whether your villains are folding to cbet enough on average. You can't assume they are (esp. at the micros) because most people are too loose rather than too tight.

Bluffing into someone that's not folding is just dumping money. Bluffing into every unknown because they MIGHT fold is fundamentally unprofitable unless the norm is for your villains to be nits.
 
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xlmnx

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Problem is that depends on whether your villains are folding to cbet enough on average. You can't assume they are (esp. at the micros) because most people are too loose rather than too tight.

Bluffing into someone that's not folding is just dumping money. Bluffing into every unknown because they MIGHT fold is fundamentally unprofitable unless the norm is for your villains to be nits.



This* and like our Buddy said many shapes andd sizes you sound like youve done homework now you gota hit the tables. Ironing out your doubts and fluffin up your confidence a bit more .
 
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Problem is that depends on whether your villains are folding to cbet enough on average. You can't assume they are (esp. at the micros) because most people are too loose rather than too tight.

Bluffing into someone that's not folding is just dumping money. Bluffing into every unknown because they MIGHT fold is fundamentally unprofitable unless the norm is for your villains to be nits.
Here is a tip.
Do not make things more complicated than they are. At 4NL you have to respect some simple rules. Do not get fancy or think about what the opponent is thinking because he is not thinking too much.
The play at micros is mostly automatic. Pure ABC without too many things to think about than type of players. Spot a fish, isolate, c-bet for value or as a bluff and check for pot control when you meet resistance. The goal is building your bankroll at 4NL and move up where you can use your next set of skills. Beginners are not thinking more than those 2 cards they hold. Most of them do not like to be bluffed so they won't fold. So we value hard when we have it.
Avoid as possible the nits and the tags. It is not worth bumbing into them here. Ussualy they have it when they play. Setmine in position but that is all.
If you respect this and you read the basic ABC strategy you should be moving to the next lvl in a mounth maximum properly enrolled.
 
italiano

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I like this thread and I'll be very careful, your way of asking this is your way of being and each must be respected as it is, but I read many of your answers are very interesting and always!
 
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