Downswing

[IPlay]

Judging your graphs it looks like you went on a sick heater for 3 weeks and the variance is balancing itself out. I wouldn't sweat it too much, can you post a picture of your stats? Maybe by position?

 

[major pissadas]

Judging your graphs it looks like you went on a sick heater for 3 weeks and the variance is balancing itself out. I wouldn't sweat it too much, can you post a picture of your stats? Maybe by position?

Sure.

http://imgur.com/a/1ujj9

 

[Thenightrain]

It sounds like you're already doing the right thing by taking a step back to analyse what could be going wrong.

From what you've said it sounds like a mental block mind set you've gotten into.

Have you tried taking a couple of days off the felt to clear your mind, refocus and start again in the right frame of mind?

 

[Dorugremon]

Hi

Should I call 3bets based on raw equity? Many ppl advocate calling with suited connectors and those rarely have enough equity against a 3betting range. Calling 3bets is a part of my game where I'm not confident and I usually just follow some guidelines.

You use the information you have to determine what to do. If all you have is knowing your raw equity since you're playing an unknown, then that's what you use.

As for playing suited connectors against a 3-bet, well, it depends. What's your risk and what's your reward? To profitably make that call, the 3-bet needs to be relatively cheap, and stacks pretty deep. You also need an opponent who'll stack off when you hit gin. Do these conditions apply? Then you can make a profit. You won't have the odds to call a 3-bet with suited connectors as you're looking to get them later. If you don't think that's the case, the opponent isn't deep, and/or he's known to not stack off easily, then you fold.

Don't do anything because "many ppl advocate": have a plan and a reason as to why you're playing the hands you decide to play that goes beyond "ppl say..."

If in doubt, nothing wrong with folding, especially as a beginner. Yeah, you'll get bluffed, but so what? You know what they call players who can't be bluffed are called, don't you?

 

[major pissadas]

It sounds like you're already doing the right thing by taking a step back to analyse what could be going wrong.

From what you've said it sounds like a mental block mind set you've gotten into.

Have you tried taking a couple of days off the felt to clear your mind, refocus and start again in the right frame of mind?

Yeah, I was pretty angry a few days ago so I went back to NL2 and also played less overall. My mindset might be better now but it's too early to tell. I played only 1 NL5 table at a time today while I was checking my ranges in Pokertracker and it went well. Might keep playing only 1 table until I'm more confident in what I'm doing. Don't really want to go back to NL2 since it's not motivating and the money I win doesn't make a lot of difference on my BR.

 

[IPlay]

You have some good stats and can probably hang in most micro games but to move up you need to play more poker against better players. This style will probably be close to -2 to 2bb/100 at 5NL but probably losing overall as you move up. Here is a few tips on how to up your game vs better players.

1. Play your button more. Position is powerful and we should be stealing aggressively when folded to us.

2. 3 Bet MORE!!! Especially from the blinds. Your 3 bet range is purely for value and makes you very easy to play against. You need to have more of a balanced 3 bet range to force other regs into tough spots and to make yourself more unpredictable. If I had to label your stats in any way I would say, predictable.

Doing these 2 things alone can take you from a NIT label to a TAG label and should help you get more action with your big hands. Feel free to post any other stats/hands you are unsure about and I'll help if I can.

 

[IPlay]

Thanks for the feedback. He had 77, btw. I've been checking my ranges in Pokertracker looking for leaks and I found quite a few, especially calling 3bets with 88. I defined the default calling range as TT+, AQs+, AQo+ but I'm unsure about QTs+, KQo, QTs, 98s because of small sample size.

Should I be calling 3bets with suited connectors or folding them? I know some ppl do it and some don't so I'm not sure what I should do. I understand pocket pairs' implied odds but I've never read about the SC'.

Thanks

Edit: There's a reg that calls 3bets with AA vs. other regs and seems to work well. Will probably try it sometime.

I was actually going to say it looks like you are folding too much to 3 bets, especially on the BTN. We mainly only want to call 3 bets with SC/middle PP vs SB/BB 3 bets because we will have position and an easier time realizing our equity.

It really becomes villain dependent though. If villain is like you for example and 3 bets 5% vs steals we have ~32% equity vs his range when we hold 89s. Standard 3 bet when we 3xbb will be 10bb so we need to call 7bb to win 13.5bb which means we need 34% equity to call so we can fold our SCs.

On the other hand if villain is 3 betting 10% vs steals we have 39% against his range with 87s so we can now call his 3 bet profitably.

 

[Keith_MM]

stop just calling in the big blind so much, you're out of position for the rest of the hand . look to 3bet more generally but especially from the blinds.

what will probably help more is to record half an hours play on 4tables max with OBS and post it to youtube and give us the link. you'll get much better general advice from that.

 

[major pissadas]

1. Play your button more. Position is powerful and we should be stealing aggressively when folded to us.

2. 3 Bet MORE!!! Especially from the blinds. Your 3 bet range is purely for value and makes you very easy to play against. You need to have more of a balanced 3 bet range to force other regs into tough spots and to make yourself more unpredictable. If I had to label your stats in any way I would say, predictable.

My RFI stats from EP to SB are: 14/18/23/24/40/40. After checking my profitability, my opening ranges are now 12/15/24/45/48.

As for the 3Bet part, I agree that it's smaller than most regular players at my stakes but I also try to play against as many >40% VP players as possible. Should I be increasing my 3B % against them? Most recreational players only raise a small % and limp a lot and they are usually on my right. I could try to incorporate a bluffing range against tighter players but, then again, their F3B% is lower than 66% which is the breakeven point for a bluff 3Bet.

I read Bugs' articles on 3/4/5 Betting strategies and tried to implement them. I 4bet AJ vs. a reg and he called with AK. A on the flop, didn't end well for me lol. That's probably when I stopped following the articles.

 

[major pissadas]

stop just calling in the big blind so much, you're out of position for the rest of the hand . look to 3bet more generally but especially from the blinds.

what will probably help more is to record half an hours play on 4tables max with OBS and post it to youtube and give us the link. you'll get much better general advice from that.

I could try to record something but would have to be 1-tabling since I'm trying to improve my game.

Edit: Maybe I can replay the HH's from today on youtube? Played only 147 hands. Unless an actual recording is better.

 

[IPlay]

Some of your above post confused me. So you are opening 45% from BTN and 48% from SB now? And you try to play against as many >40% VP players? I assume you meant <40%?

3 betting against fish should primarily be for value and we don't really need a bluff 3 bet range.

3 betting against regs should be balanced and we SHOULD be 3 bet bluffing against them so they can't profitably fold AQo and flat AK every time we 3 bet them.

 

[major pissadas]

Some of your above post confused me. So you are opening 45% from BTN and 48% from SB now? And you try to play against as many >40% VP players? I assume you meant <40%?

The stats I showed were the ones from Pokertracker. My default range was 45% but sometimes I opened more or less depending on the players. I'm not gonna open K2s against 2 light 3bettors in the blinds.

I tag players with a VPIP of 40% or more as fish and I try to get them on my right.

 

[Keith_MM]

live is best .....explain your thinking as you play

 

[Raphael_CH]

What I usually do is take e few days off and step down in the limits, to not get rusty and scrap my bankroll, mostly downswing goes on and when it turns go back to my limit I feel comfortable and go on

 

[major pissadas]

Played a session today and I have a question about steal range. I had a tight player to my right and an unknown who seemed fishy. I reduced my stealing range with hands like Q6s and such because I assumed that the steal wouldn't work and the fishy player wouldn't fold easily. My question is, was this the right move? Or should I keep stealing with junk hands knowing that I will probably get called?

Thanks

 

[Keith_MM]

with a fish /calling station in the blinds tighten your range and possibly also raise more bb pre so that you are raising for value , rather than stealing.

 

[major pissadas]

Hi

Was this an easy fold?

Spoiler

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

BTN: 102 BB (VPIP: 20.10, PFR: 14.51, 3Bet Preflop: 4.61, Hands: 641)
SB: 100.4 BB (VPIP: 16.09, PFR: 13.03, 3Bet Preflop: 4.47, Hands: 5,453)
BB: 196.4 BB (VPIP: 55.95, PFR: 7.14, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 172)
UTG: 37.2 BB (VPIP: 57.86, PFR: 23.27, 3Bet Preflop: 11.32, Hands: 159)
MP: 211.8 BB (VPIP: 20.59, PFR: 12.23, 3Bet Preflop: 1.68, Hands: 3,356)
Hero (CO): 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Q:spade: Q:club:

fold, MP raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 10.4 BB, fold, fold, fold, MP calls 7.4 BB

Flop: (22.2 BB, 2 players) J:spade: 3:spade: 4:diamond:
MP checks, Hero bets 14 BB, MP raises to 31 BB, Hero calls 17 BB

Turn: (84.2 BB, 2 players) 7:diamond:
MP bets 53.4 BB, Hero raises to 58.6 BB and is all-in, MP calls 5.2 BB

River: (201.4 BB, 2 players) 3:club:

MP shows 4:heart: 4:club: (Full House, Fours full of Threes)
(Pre 19%, Flop 87%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows Q:spade: Q:club: (Two Pair, Queens and Threes)
(Pre 81%, Flop 13%, Turn 5%)
MP wins 191.4 BB

Thought it wasn't profitable to call 3bets with 44. She's hitting everything anyway.

 

[braveslice]

Hi

Was this an easy fold?

Yes, given you have 3k history with him, you should know approximately how he plays.

PFR: 12.23, 3Bet Preflop: 1.68 wold alone suggest he is tight nit.

 

[major pissadas]

Yes, given you have 3k history with him, you should know approximately how he plays.

PFR: 12.23, 3Bet Preflop: 1.68 wold alone suggest he is tight nit.

I did have a note describing that exact play but, for some reason, I thought she was bluffing. What do you think of the call with 44? Is it a profitable play with 100BB?

 

[Masi2197]

Patience my friend and I went through the same situation I lost money that iva obtained in a long time and in a month I lost it almost everything, for wanting to recover my money quickly what I did was to lose everything, so I advise to have patience and to recover it little to little bit

 

[braveslice]

What do you think of the call with 44? Is it a profitable play with 100BB?

Generally no, @Figaroo2 has some insights. You could google first rule of 20.

However, it's profitable imo Vs. 1. Passive fish who plays stacks TPBK, 2ndPP 2. Agro who bluffs his stacks 3. Over agressive tag who gets it in without thinking TPTK, OP.

 

[major pissadas]

Had another profitable session today even thought I lost 12€ with a set of Q's and 5€ all-in preflop with AA vs. JJ.

Spoiler

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

UTG: 113.2 BB (VPIP: 20.85, PFR: 15.19, 3Bet Preflop: 4.67, Hands: 867)
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 23.83, PFR: 17.32, 3Bet Preflop: 5.20, Hands: 5,198)
BTN: 75.2 BB (VPIP: 51.78, PFR: 11.79, 3Bet Preflop: 0.80, Hands: 2,081)
Hero (SB): 191.6 BB
BB: 159 BB (VPIP: 62.50, PFR: 15.00, 3Bet Preflop: 15.00, Hands: 40)

Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has Q:heart: Q:diamond:

UTG raises to 2.2 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 7.6 BB, BB calls 6.6 BB, fold

Flop: (17.4 BB, 2 players) 6:heart: Q:spade: 8:spade:
Hero bets 12.4 BB, BB calls 12.4 BB

Turn: (42.2 BB, 2 players) 5:diamond:
Hero bets 30 BB, BB calls 30 BB

River: (102.2 BB, 2 players) T:spade:
Hero checks, BB bets 83 BB, Hero calls 83 BB

BB shows A:spade: J:spade: (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 32%, Flop 26%, Turn 16%)
Hero mucks Q:heart: Q:diamond: (Three of a Kind, Queens)
(Pre 68%, Flop 74%, Turn 84%)
BB wins 254.8 BB

That hand was very frustrating. As soon as it happened, I changed my 4th bet slider from "Max" to "Pot" cause only betting 3/4 pot vs. a station doesn't feel punishing enough.

Have also tested a few light 3bets in this session that I copied from PokerSnowie's Preflop Advisor but it's too soon to tell if it's worth it.

 

[Keith_MM]

you're missing the most basic adaptation to abusing a calling station - 3 bet much bigger pre. He's opened small pre to try and see a cheap flop. make it 12-15 bb pre flop and then all your later bets become much bigger especially as you are deep.

 

[major pissadas]

When I saw the 50% on the flop, I thought I was gonna pull an all nighter to get the money back:

https://www.boomplayer.com/24604361_B7902E9F99

In this hand, I resisted the urge to all-in cause I was pretty sure someone had a better hand:

https://www.boomplayer.com/24604429_7578A503B8

Had more chances to 3Bet light this session. Managed to use 87s, 76s and 65s, among others. This type of aggression kinda feels good.

 

[braveslice]

In this hand, I resisted the urge to all-in cause I was pretty sure someone had a better hand:

https://www.boomplayer.com/24604429_7578A503B8

You definitely should practice Poker Combinatorics / Hand Combinations with this hand.