OK so I have been reading through a few people's cash threads on here and it has inspired me to start grinding again.

I think that by sharing my progress/downswings/goals/though process etc online will help keep me motivated to put in the hours playing and to start working on my game a bit more.

To be honest I have never been one for studying or reading books and much prefer to play lots of hands and gain experience at the tables.

I have also had problems with tilt and bad bankroll management but I feel now that I am ready to do things properly and give it my best shot and see how far I can progress.

I have not played 6-max NLHE for a few month so will be a little rusty but am confident that if I put in the hours playing and start going over my hands and difficult spots where I was unsure what the best play was and talking it through with other knowledgeable players that I will improve as a player and move up the stakes in time.

The boring part of this thread will be the first part where I grind 4NL until I have enough of a roll to move up. Hopefully it will not take too long, I don't mind if it does but I can't see it being longer than 2 weeks. For the first time ever I am going to follow correct BRM and not move up to 10NL until I have 30 buy-ins.

I am starting with £70 and change that I have on a sports betting site which operates under the I-Poker network. I wont be posting much for the next week or so maybe just bankroll updates but just wanted to get this thread up and running.

Once I start moving up in stakes and start playing against better players I want to start posting hands and talking through my thought process and hopefully others will jump in and share their thoughts. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask

So my first goal is to get from £70-£300 at 4NL.

OK so played about 20k hands at 4NL and have got around 20 buy-ins for 10NL so just going to move up today.

Was planning on sticking to a 30 buy-in rule but getting a little bored at 4NL so gunna take a shot.

Here is my graph for 4NL and some stats.

VPIP - 21.4, PFR - 18.2, 3B - 5.6, AF - 2.7, TOTAL AFQ - 52.5, WTSD - 28.7, WSD - 55.5, SQUEEZE - 5.1, CBET F - 72.7, CBET T - 45, CBET R - 50

Is there not a limit between 4NL and 10NL?

Good luck!

Thanks and no mate it goes 4, 10, 20, 50 etc.

man, it's a small sample, but you are crushing it, i swear , gg !!

Round about Christmas time I opened a PokerStars account as I wanted to learn a few new games as there seems to be lots more people learning these mixed games now so I was playing a lot of 8-game.

I really enjoyed learning and playing these new games but they are no where near as profitable for me as appose to multi tabling NLHE.

I decided that I liked the software and the fact there is always constant action no matter what the time is unlike the euro sites I used to play on.

I deposited £175 (roughly $250) and it was matched with a 100% bonus that I have to unlock and they will still honor that 100% deposit bonus for another £225 ($350). For my next 2 deposits.

You where allowed to deposit £400 ($600) using the bonus code 'STARS400' I think it was.

I managed to get my roll up to around $475 playing a mixture of 5NL and 10NL, and .20/.40 and 0.5/1 8-game. Then one night after a few too many drinks and a mixture of other stuff I ended up dropping more than half my roll at the .5/1 8 game tables.

I have enough to play 5NL still but I want to set my self some goals and learn some discipline so I am going to start at 2NL and slowly work my way back up.

I know it is a little extreme using a 40 buy-in BRM when I know I have beaten up to 10NL in the past but I really want to try and do things properly and stick my goals which I have always struggled doing.

I wont be moving up to 5NL till I have $200 then if I some how manage to drop 10 buy-ins I will move back down.

So the short term goal is just to get to $200 so I am properly rolled for 5NL, I probably don't need 40 buy-ins as I only play 8 tables but I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that if I hit a down swing then I don't have to move straight down.

My other goal is to play a minimum of 12,000 hands per week which should be easy to stick to as I get in roughly 650-700 hands per hour.

I just want to get this thread back up and running and get a little interest in here as when I first made this thread I never even bothered posting in here.

Another goal I would like to hit is maintain a win rate of at least 10bb/100 at 2NL as the play there really is terrible so I think it is a realistic goal.

I have also self excluded myself from all casino games (blackjack, roulette etc) all sports betting, and also from entering any tournaments as I always end up clicking on them then getting bored half way through and I just don't really like them in general.

I have also set stake limits so that I have to e-mail them if I want to play any higher than 5NL. Again I know it sounds a little extreme but I just want to be able to solely focus on No Limit Hold Em 6-max cash games and not get distracted.

For anyone who is interested my Stars sign in is - JonnyW87

Goals for February

1) Play at least 50,000 hands at 2NL

2) Maintain a win rate of at least 10bb/100

3) Maintain SilverStar VIP status

4) Read 'The Theory of Poker' by David Sklansky

5) Have 40 buy-ins for 5NL

Nice ill follow u.

OK change of plan, because I have a deposit bonus still to unlock and add too if I wish and with the VIP steps challenges I have decided to deposit enough so that I can play 5NL.

I just think that it is a waste of time to play 2NL for 50k hands when I am 100% certain I can beat that level.

So goals for the rest of February

1) Play at least 35,000 hands at 5NL

2) Maintain a win rate of at least 5bb/100

3) Maintain SilverStar VIP status

4) Read 'The Theory of Poker' by David Sklansky

5) Not play more than 6 tables at a time

I wont be moving up to 5NL till I have $200 then if I some how manage to drop 10 buy-ins I will move back down. So the short term goal is just to get to $200 so I am properly rolled for 5NL, I probably don't need 40 buy-ins as I only play 8 tables but I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that if I hit a down swing then I don't have to move straight down.

Some nice and easy goals for this month as I always have a hard time sticking to my goals so wanted to set some realistic ones for the first month of my challenge.

I usually play 8 tables but think I can improve my win rate by dropping 2 and concentrating that little bit harder. I play poker because I enjoy the game so having a higher win rate is more important to me me than having a higher hourly at the moment.

I really want to get a decent sized sample at 5NL and see what my true win rate is playing 6 tables as I have always been quite aggressive with my BRM in the past and always end up moving up to quick.

I know 100k hands does not really represent a true win rate but it is still a big enough sample to give you a big idea of how big a winner you are at a certain level.

I will start posting some hands from tomorrow to make this thread a little more interesting.

Originally Posted by psychomethod

I wont be moving up to 5NL till I have $200 then if I some how manage to drop 10 buy-ins I will move back down. So the short term goal is just to get to $200 so I am properly rolled for 5NL, I probably don't need 40 buy-ins as I only play 8 tables but I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that if I hit a down swing then I don't have to move straight down.

Nice post Getting yourself a little closer to entry in to the free roll club.

1st hand villain was 43/35/2 3-bet 15, 4-bet 18.

I don't really like GII pre with JJ at 100bb deep never mind 150bb deep but had seen villain make some very questionable pre flop plays and it seemed he just did not like anyone being more aggressive than him.

He makes a standard blind steal attempt from sb I think 3x the bb. I 3-bet to 9bb's again standard sizing.

Villain then raises to 30bb which is a 3.5x 4-bet. I think in my head for a few seconds if villain really had AA or KK here would he raise that much knowing that I have a quite high 3-bet % and it will be even higher b vs b. Surely he would raise a little less here, try keep me in the hand with worse.

I then check his stats and see his 4-bet is 18% already and in the poker tracker notes box it shows his 4-bet range as A8o.

So with all this information I decide to click it back and either end the hand there unlikely as he seemed very spewy or let him make the mistake of shoving a worse hand. At the worst I thought I would be up against AK, which i am a slight favorite but don't really wanna be flipping for 300bb, but thought against this particular player he could show up with anything here from 77+ KQ+, AT+ as from watching earlier hands it was plain and simple he did not like people playing back at him.

PokerStars - $0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 154.2 BB (VPIP: 39.66, PFR: 34.48, 3Bet Preflop: 20.00, Hands: 60)
Hero (BB): 185.6 BB
UTG: 149 BB (VPIP: 28.85, PFR: 21.15, 3Bet Preflop: 14.29, Hands: 55)
CO: 33.8 BB (VPIP: 6.25, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 16)
BTN: 100 BB (VPIP: 21.74, PFR: 13.04, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 23)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has J♥ J♣

fold, fold, fold, SB raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, SB raises to 30 BB, Hero raises to 51 BB, SB raises to 154.2 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 103.2 BB

Flop: (308.4 BB, 2 players) Q♦ 6♣ 3♦

Turn: (308.4 BB, 2 players) 9♥

River: (308.4 BB, 2 players) 8♥

SB shows Q♠ A♦ (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 43%, Flop 92%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows J♥ J♣ (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 57%, Flop 8%, Turn 5%)
SB wins 295.6 BB

2nd hand villain who flatted was something like 95/0, am I better of flatting here ?

PokerStars - €0.05 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4 (http://www.pokertracker.com)

Hero (BTN): 98.6 BB
SB: 100 BB (VPIP: 19.87, PFR: 15.23, 3Bet Preflop: 7.35, Hands: 158)
BB: 43.8 BB (VPIP: 64.29, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
UTG: 100.6 BB (VPIP: 22.75, PFR: 19.76, 3Bet Preflop: 11.48, Hands: 169)
MP: 207.2 BB (VPIP: 93.75, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 16)
CO: 88.8 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 6)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Q♥ Q♦

fold, MP calls 1 BB, fold, Hero raises to 4 BB, SB calls 3.6 BB, BB raises to 43.8 BB and is all-in, MP calls 42.8 BB, Hero raises to 98.6 BB and is all-in, fold, MP calls 54.8 BB

Flop: (245 BB, 3 players) 9♥ 7♠ 4♦

Turn: (245 BB, 3 players) 3♣

River: (245 BB, 3 players) 8♥

MP shows A♣ A♥ (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [135.4 BB]: (Pre 66%, Flop 78%, Turn 90%)
Side Pot#1 [109.6 BB]: (Pre 81%, Flop 91%, Turn 95%)

Hero shows Q♥ Q♦ (One Pair, Queens)

Main Pot [135.4 BB]: (Pre 18%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)
Side Pot#1 [109.6 BB]: (Pre 19%, Flop 9%, Turn 5%)

BB shows 8♣ 8♦ (Three of a Kind, Eights)

Main Pot [135.4 BB]: (Pre 16%, Flop 14%, Turn 5%)

BB wins 129.8 BB
MP wins 105 BB

Anyway played around 1600 hands haven't bothered checking results but deffo think I dropped a few buy-ins.

Think I played OK so not too bothered about results, might play some more later.

JJ hand u shouldve 4bet shoved. You win by ppl folding and calling u light.

Calling their shoves light is burning money

Why do many of the players from the game is not a negative rezultat..Eto showdown depends on your playing style? I have positive results for all three indicators.

You mean 5-bet shoved ? Maybe that was a better option, but against this particular villain and what I had seen in earlier hands when he was up against some one else calling with JJ is not that light.

Against a normal TAG yes it is crazy to call a 6-bet shove with JJ 150bb deep.

Originally Posted by and1tiger

Why do many of the players from the game is not a negative rezultat..Eto showdown depends on your playing style? I have positive results for all three indicators.

Not sure what you mean here mate

Well u win more aganst his range shoving cuz u get folds and he makes calling mistakes.

Sure u run into aa and kk and qq tho some players fold qq but yeh overally +ev shoving
2 ways to win the hand

Then ppl will pay u off more when u have aa or kk .. ppl adjust badly at micros

Also ak as well... think if u only call shoves.. ur coin flipping a lower pp not so bsd yeh?... wrong

The rake will make it -ev in a lot of situations so becareful

So u win 50% take rake off.. and u still lose 50

Originally Posted by Aces2w1n

Also ak as well... think if u only call shoves.. ur coin flipping a lower pp not so bsd yeh?... wrong

The rake will make it -ev in a lot of situations so becareful

So u win 50% take rake off.. and u still lose 50

Good point, never thought of it like that.

Also I think if I did 5-bet shove that villain will of probably still of called with his AQ even though he had only 30bb invested in the pot so far.

He seems to be either a total spew monkey or very tilted, couldn't make my mind up as this was the first time I had played against this villain.

Yeh even if he calls we got it in good.

If boards all low chances are he will fold so we would lose value

Do you think flatting here is a bad play ?

Depends on how good you play postflop.

In general the wider ur opponent the wider our value betting can become.
So for example low board.. his overpairs top pair will pay us off.

Top heavy guys we draw value with ppl who overvalue ak and its all about perceived range and when will they make mistakes in the hand.
So calling mistakes preflop or post flop etc

Sometimes avoidjng tough spots we shove jj pre cuz it works out easier esp with blind battles and steals. We at the bottom of our range but we still crush their calling range and put them in a tough spot instead

Or if we know they have a real tighr range u go in a setmine mode

in. gl johnny. hows the grind going?

Originally Posted by vinylspiros

in. gl johnny. hows the grind going?

Hi mate, thanks for popping in

Everything going alright at the moment, just trying to get a decent sample in at 5NL and then as soon as roll is $400 I will start playing 10NL and start posting some decent hands.

I am pretty confident that I can beat 2 and 5NL over decent samples so just want to get 10NL and see how I do there.

Just been reading your thread there and you seem to be doing quite good at HU zoom. What made you switch to HU from 6-max ? More action ? Looking through the hands you post your seem to play super aggro so I think HU will maybe suit you a little better than normal 6-max.

Good luck anyway

Ah oh ok man. good luck in reaching 10NL and crushing it.

Im havent really switched to heads up. just played some hands there and enjoying it cause its action packed.

Will be following long here and hopefully see you move up soon.

best of luck.

Im at 10nl now ... c u there lol

In Jonny. G luck at the tables.

Nice result for first free roll

Excellent win well done

Thanks mate

Was just fun more than anything else to get to play with some people who post on the forum and see how they play.

good stuff man. its always fun playing with fellow cc'ers. nice run. may there be many more coming your way.