Need a confidence boost...

oaktreerhs2010

oaktreerhs2010

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I'm trying to grind my way up through the micros but it's just not as easy for me as some people say it is for them. I 6 table .2/.4 on carbon and i pretty much make around $.50-$1 per day with an occasional losing day. I usually run around 500 hands or so per evening. I feel like I'm really maturing as a player, making better folds, calls, and raises at the right times but even then it still seems like I'm moving at a snail's pace. The players at this limit are ridiculous obviously. They never throw away draws and hold top pair regardless. I bet hard but they just hang in there even when their pot odds are awful lol(if they even know what pot odds are). Another issue I have is the big pp's. It always seems the entire tables will fold if you raise 3x pre with a big pp but if you raise any less you get a bunch of callers who catch and take you to the house. How can you make money off that situation? I'm not tilting at all I'm just kinda like what's the point? I'd like to add a little more fundage to my account but I'm saving every copper I make to go to dealer school(I have enough for the school just not enough for gas, food, housing yet) Also proper bankroll management only allows me to buy in for the minimum buy-in. Could this possibly be why when I win those big hands it seems like it's not really worth it? Should I start playing with 10% of my roll? It's risky indeed but I seem to double up more than I lose huge bets. Then my double up just dwindles after awhile. Let me know what you guys think. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! :)
 
LD1977

LD1977

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I can only offer my own perspective (1 month experience, starting from zero, now at around 96$, out of that around 55$ from playing micros).

I started with cash games with 6.5$ earned from freerolls while minimum buyin for those games was 1.4$. Pretty bad huh? This gives you an idea of where I am coming from.

Anyway:
1. Six tables seem too much, I started with only one and now I am trying to play 4 but at most I am breaking even... my quality of play really drops off sharply. Maybe it is the same with you?
-- You seem to be playing around 1 hour only? Try 3 tables for 2 hours, basically you are probably quitting when your brain is warmed up but not yet tired.

2. When I was underfunded, I avoided variance at all costs. Basically I played one table, observed habits, mostly played people and not cards. I stole blinds a lot and it got me up to around 30$ and then it was easy sailing. This is exact opposite than what you are doing.

(Now my variance is horrific compared to the start but my win rate would be OK if I didn't try to play 4 tables even when I am not 100% fresh. Yesterday I had the biggest losing day in cash games, -8$ which is four max buyins... but I won 7$ on a freeroll so all is not so bad :D ).

3. When you get to maybe 20 max buyins start using them with auto top up to speed up things and of course you can start going all in etc.

4. At 50 max buyins (this is where I am now) you can start expanding tables a bit in order to prepare for the future, or keep grinding up to 100 buyins for the next level etc. That is my current idea, I will take stabs at 4 tables until I can actually play them without the big decline in quality of play that I am experiencing now.

5. If you are short of cash, play freerolls. They help.
 
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WVHillbilly

WVHillbilly

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So these players always call when you're bluffing but always fold when you have a big pair / big hand? Damn super-users! :)

What you need to figure out is that you're probably trying to make them fold too much AND you're not value betting your good hands nearly enough. Have AJ on and AQ853 rainbow board? Bet all 3 streets (no one folds an Ace at these stakes). Have QK on that same board? Betting/Calling more than 1 street is just throwing money away against your typical opponent.

Don't be afraid to bet more than standard when you have it and less when you don't. No one is paying attention so make your cbets 3/4 pot or so when you hit and 1/2 pot or so when you don't.

Overbets can be your friend in a major way, so don't be shy about using them. Shoving $3 into a $2 pot on the river with a straight isn't going to get called too much less than if you'd be $1.50.

When your typical opponent raises it's always time to rethink your hand. Reconsider the preflop action, past hands you've seen the villain play, and any notes (take NOTES!) you have before continuing with the hand.

DON'T MOVE UP UNTIL YOU CAN BEAT 4nl!

BTW .75 up in 500 hands is almost 4bb/100 at your level. So while it's not much actual money it's still almost where you need to be to be ready skill wise to move up.

gl
 
LD1977

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Regarding notes, it is useful to put down if you see someone:

1. go All In preflop with crap hands
2. call 3 barrels with middle pair and no kicker
3. call 2 bets for a draw and then bluff missed draws on the river (it happens quite a bit actually)
4. go berserk in the blinds when he thinks BTN is stealing :D this one is very helpful since multitablers often have this leak (I assume if they are having a bad day)

etc., basically stuff that can be exploited in future play
 
starting_at_the_bottom

starting_at_the_bottom

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Well, I play 4nl and you are right about the standard of play.

We can all say raise hands fold misses etc etc.

Perhaps you could find some free software that videos your desktop, record one hours play (2 tables max as free software will not be great resolution) then post it on youtube and link it here.

Sounds a ball ache but I would be happy to critique it.
 
blueskies

blueskies

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Carbon offers a free hand tracker, which does help quite a bit.

Just avoid doing fancy things at the bottom levels and then getting angry at villains for doing things YOU think they shouldn't do. If you blow off half your stack firing 3 barrels on a missed draw and villain calls you down with mid-pair, have you ever thought maybe YOU are the one who doesn't pay attention?

I see a lot of LAG types at 4NL who are 25/20 types with AFs between around 3. (I only play 6max) I have yet to see one of them be a profitable player (according to PTR). Certainly their stats suggest they "should" be winners, but they aren't. The problem is that they dunno when to do what against whom.

So it's quite simple. Value bet big hands. Avoid bluffing the clueless types. See cheap flops with speculative hands. It is ok to just call sometimes.

Save the fancier moves against the regs.
 
blueskies

blueskies

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Case in point: I just saw this guy at my table limp with 37suited from CO, then he calls a 3xbb raise from SB.

Flop comes KJ8. SB chks and so CO fires 3 barrels (turn and river were both 6s) and gets called down by SB.

Then he says "Even donks get lucky." Funny stuff.

It is true that SB is a 79/14 fish, but to play like that against somone who obviously won't fold anything is retarded.
 
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