Evaluating my poker

I have now managed to play 4.5K hands in NLHE, and have had a pretty bad streak in that time (averaged my loss at 31.23 BB/100). I realize this is really bad, but the good news with that is that I should be able to find a lot of problems in my play and can only improve (I hope).

I already know some of my mistakes, the biggest being putting too much emphasis on getting that last card. I have been playing exclusively in the 0.01/0.02 NLHE games, and in at least 10 - 15 instances I have been playing very well, then ended up with 4 cards to a straight, or 4 cards to a Flush and had an opponent go all in. Being optimistic I have followed and it seems that I never make that straight or flush, (yet when it is reversed, it always seems to fall for the opponent), costing me 2 or 3 times my buyin with what I have already built my stack up to in that session. Anyways, I have already recognised that and am trying to be conscious of it in future play to try and improve my game (but find it very hard not to go in).

I would also like to have a good look at my play and try to identify some other issues, to improve my game. I am currently on the trial version of PokerTracker v3.00 and am undecided on whether to purchase it or not. I am well aware that 4.5K hands is probably a little on the small size to start analysing, but if I don't look into it now, I will not be able to ascertain whether I should be buying this software or not.

Can anyone offer some advice on what views I should be looking at, or what metrics I should start for analysing my game? Is there some common issues that beginner poker players have that I should be looking to see if they apply to me? Can I post some statistics in this forum for advice? If so, what would you need to see to be able to help me learn to analyse my game?

I don't really have any specific hands at this time, I am more looking at my overall play and the big picture of my game.

Any advice is appreciated as I am eager to become a better player and am happy to invest the necessary time to get there.

Buy PokerTracker 3 or HEM!!! It's a must. As far as chasing flushes and straights, quit doing it. That's why you are losing money. You need the right odds and right price to chase. That is where I make my money in ring is off of players chasing. I know it my seem like your opponent always hits when he chases, however, it's not true. You just remember the times you get sucked out on more than when you don't.

In PT3 you want to look at your stats, what is your VPIP, PFR and AF?? That is a start. Look at the hands section what hands and what positions are losing you money? What hands and what positons are making you money?

I haven't seen any of your stats but I'm going to guess you are playing way to many hands, because that is the most common mistake many players make when they first start to play.

This will give you a start. Also post hands that you have trouble with in the hands section of the forum.

TriggaLos said:

In PT3 you want to look at your stats, what is your VPIP, PFR and AF?? That is a start. Look at the hands section what hands and what positions are losing you money? What hands and what positons are making you money?

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TriggaLos, Thanks for getting me started, I have heard a lot of people say buy Poker Tracker, but I was hoping to prove to myself the value of it before buying it, so I am hoping to dive into my game before the trial is up and figure out if it will pay off.

VPIP, PFR, AF? AF is agression factor if I am not mistaken, not exactly sure what that is, or how it is calculated though.

Under the "Positions" tab I found the position stats. Not very good I must say, only profitable on the button, and even with that I am barely profitable. Biggest losses in position 3 and position BB. Does that mean I should only play bigger hands in those positions?

VP$IP - 43.11
PFR - 25.41
AF - 1.27

What does that tell me?


Hands I am again not sure about. According to my stats, I have done best with Pocket 2's. 17 times with a win % of 58.82 resulting in $2.29. Other end of the scale is AQ offsuit, 53 times with 45% win rate, resulting in a loss of $5.35 (that is looking at dollars won or lost though, not percent of times that I have won and lost. That being the case I could have won a couple of big pots - or lost a couple of big pots with either of those to sway the stats).

Is this the right approach to analysing it? How should I be changing my play with these stats?

This is easy,

Read any books on poker by Dan Harrington and before you do that, don't go near a poker table.

Michelle5000 said:

This is easy,

Read any books on poker by Dan Harrington and before you do that, don't go near a poker table.

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Perhaps a bit drastic, but not totally off the wall advice.

From the looks of your 1st post, I'm guessing ring. IN which case You can also get a fresh look with HEM once you hit the PT3 limit. HEM is thought to be better for ring than PT3.

Spend a week going thru everything here. Books are great, but the stuff here is free.

fergy05 said:

Under the "Positions" tab I found the position stats. Not very good I must say, only profitable on the button, and even with that I am barely profitable. Biggest losses in position 3 and position BB. Does that mean I should only play bigger hands in those positions?

VP$IP - 43.11
PFR - 25.41
AF - 1.27

What does that tell me?

Click to expand...

I don't think you've said whether you're playing 6 max or 9/10 seat tables. For .01/.02 that's way loose and pretty aggressive preflop, more so if you're playing 9/10 seat tables.

Look at the VPIP by position. It should be tightest from early, playing more from late. A PFR of 25, I dunno if that accomplishes much at 01/02 where people will call with anything.

fergy05 said:

TriggaLos, Thanks for getting me started, I have heard a lot of people say buy Poker Tracker, but I was hoping to prove to myself the value of it before buying it, so I am hoping to dive into my game before the trial is up and figure out if it will pay off.

Click to expand...

Of course it will pay off. You want to be able to look at your stats on a regular bases. Also the HUD while playing alows you to see what the other players are doing. PT3 or HEM will pay for it's self. So I guess I don't understand why diving into your game before the trial is up has anything to do with it?

fergy05 said:

Under the "Positions" tab I found the position stats. Not very good I must say, only profitable on the button, and even with that I am barely profitable. Biggest losses in position 3 and position BB. Does that mean I should only play bigger hands in those positions?

VP$IP - 43.11
PFR - 25.41
AF - 1.27

What does that tell me?


Hands I am again not sure about. According to my stats, I have done best with Pocket 2's. 17 times with a win % of 58.82 resulting in $2.29. Other end of the scale is AQ offsuit, 53 times with 45% win rate, resulting in a loss of $5.35 (that is looking at dollars won or lost though, not percent of times that I have won and lost. That being the case I could have won a couple of big pots - or lost a couple of big pots with either of those to sway the stats).

Is this the right approach to analysing it? How should I be changing my play with these stats?

Click to expand...

VPIP = Voluntarly puts money in pot. This is how loose or tight you are. You are playing 43.11% of the hands that are delt to you, except for the blinds. However, if you call a raise from the blinds that will be in your VPIP too.

You are seeing too many hands, Like Nine lions said, you should be seeing fewer hands in early position and more hands when you have positioin. Play tight in EP and loosen up when you have position.

PFR = Pre Flop Raise. This is how much you are raising pre flop. yours is 25.41% So you are raising preflop 25.41% of the hands that are dealt to you. You are raising way to much. The players don't respect your raise coupled with the fact that you are playing too many hands. When you actually have a hand or hit, you probably get paid off, however, you probably don't win many small pots. So you need to tighten up how much you raise as well. What hands are you raising with? What positions are you rasing from, and how much are you raising??

AF = aggression factor. I'm not really sure how that is calculated. I'm sure someone here can tell you that. I do know that 1.27 is pretty passive. You are calling a lot of raises and not 3 betting enough with made hands.

Good stats would be someplace around 25(VPIP)/12(PFR)/4(AF). Just a base line. You don't want to focus too much on your stats, but you want them to be some place close to that. maybe a little higher on PFR and a little lower on AF. You want to play your villian. Use the HUD to learn what he is doing, that will affect your stats from session to session.

This will give you a good base line.

dj11 said:

Perhaps a bit drastic, but not totally off the wall advice.

From the looks of your 1st post, I'm guessing ring. IN which case You can also get a fresh look with HEM once you hit the PT3 limit. HEM is thought to be better for ring than PT3.

Spend a week going thru everything here. Books are great, but the stuff here is free.

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lol but he is losing at 33bb/100 and getting it all in with gut shots with 16% equity.

As for HUD stats..standard TAG numbers

FR 15/12
6max 20/18
HU 45/40

Whever style u play the Vip/PFR should be very close together. If you can't find a reason to raise 1st in PF then dump the hand.

easiest way to improve in poker is to start with the basics and work your way up... very few people start with the basics in poker...everyone jumps into the advanced stuff..without having a feel for the basics

I agree with all of the advice that's been given to you before but you should do a search for "Chuck T" in this forum and look at his guide. He's very big on Pokertracker and explains how you can use it and how you can tighten up your game. Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice people. Just for an update I have bought the Harrington on Holdem book and am reading it when I get a chance. I have only had 2 sessions in the last week and have applied the points from the book, mainly just playing a much more conservative style. Both sessions have ended very profitably, so I don't think I have flipped my game yet, but I am certainly heading in the right direction, thanks for all the advice.

Which Harrington book(s) did you buy? The tournament ones are obviously meant for tournament conditions, which have considerable differences from ring play. which is what you posted about.

As for his ring style, you'll have to judge how well it suits the type of play you'll typically see at micro-limits as well as your personality / how you want to play.

The book I got was Harrington on Hold'em, Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments, Volume 1: Strategic play.

I have noticed that there is a lot of focus towards tournaments and this book concentrates on the beginning part of the tournament, but I am still getting a lot out of it. Can you recommend a book particularly for Ring play?

I can already feel that he pushes way to conservative of a play style and I can't see myself following it all the time as I like a lot more action. But that is a good thing for me right now as I was playing way too many pots and I need to go to the other extreme for a while to reign in my game.