nimburkx
Visionary
Silver Level
Thanks for your reply, I have more questions when did u realize that your a professional and how did you came to this decision why do you decide to be a professional player?
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
I realized I was a professional when I was playing 4-6 days a week and the majority of my other waking hours studying or doing poker related things.
When I got the point where I was making more during college than I probably would be able to doing any starting job with a BA in Economics, I realized that I'd made the choice
So... it's just kind of happened from becoming obsessed and in love with the game!
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
Thank you Stil! I appreciate the support very much!
As per EV, the best thing you can do is have an equity calculator handy like 'Equilab' which you can find if you google it.
It won't give you the exact EV (because that considers future bets as well) but it will give you a clear picture of what your equity is vs your opponents range. (It's your job to assign them a range and based on that the calculator will give you the output).
It's a very handy tool to practice with and a great way to learn more of the key math in this wonderful game!
S
sn0112
Rock Star
Silver Level
Hi Evan,
Thank you for your time and dedication to answering our questions.
One thing that stands out for me from the early Gripsed youtube videos to the present day Twitch phenomenon is your humility, willingness to learn from others and recognition of your own mistakes.
This may seem an odd question, but how can we work on these qualities? I feel that ego holds back players and can lead to entitlement tilt and bad beat fixation.
On a separate note, is your millionaire challenge open to YaPoker users since (I think) they share a player pool with ACR.
Thank you for your time and dedication to answering our questions.
One thing that stands out for me from the early Gripsed youtube videos to the present day Twitch phenomenon
is your humility, willingness to learn from others and recognition of your own mistakes.This may seem an odd question, but how can we work on these qualities? I feel that ego holds back players and can lead to entitlement tilt and bad beat fixation.
On a separate note, is your millionaire challenge open to YaPoker users since (I think) they share a player pool with ACR.
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D
dgroes
Visionary
Silver Level
Hi Jarvis! Say can you give me an idea how much you should be getting as a profitable bounty MTT player out of 10 buy ins you play on average? i think my stats are either ****ed up or starting to turn sour. hope you can give me a clue....
S
sn0112
Rock Star
Silver Level
Various
Hi again Evan,
I have some more questions to add to my previous post.
1) Do you recommend studying GTO for micro stakes players (sub $10 MTT buy ins)? If not, then at which stake do you recommend it?
2) If one has a limited budget is there a low cost way to access solver software?
3) Similarly, do you know of a low cost way to access training content, perhaps via instalment plans etc.
4) If you had a miniscule starting budget which one book would you buy, and which one course would you recommend?
5) What is your note taking/retention process when studying spots, reading books, watching videos etc?
6) How do analyse hands from sites with hand history import limitations, such as GG.
7) I'm 38 and new to poker. I have a career but greatly enjoy both playing and studying poker. How can I "filter out the noise" and make the best targeted study choices. I'd like to avoid time wasted on building bad habits.
Thanks for your time as ever
Hi again Evan,
I have some more questions to add to my previous post.
1) Do you recommend studying GTO for micro stakes players (sub $10 MTT buy ins)? If not, then at which stake do you recommend it?
2) If one has a limited budget is there a low cost way to access solver software?
3) Similarly, do you know of a low cost way to access training content, perhaps via instalment plans etc.
4) If you had a miniscule starting budget which one book would you buy, and which one course would you recommend?
5) What is your note taking/retention process when studying spots, reading books, watching videos etc?
6) How do analyse hands from sites with hand history import limitations, such as GG.
7) I'm 38 and new to poker. I have a career but greatly enjoy both playing and studying poker. How can I "filter out the noise" and make the best targeted study choices. I'd like to avoid time wasted on building bad habits.
Thanks for your time as ever
I
ilostmysoul
Rock Star
Silver Level
Hi Evan, hope you are doing great
Here's my question: What is the correct adjustment against players who limp you a lot?
I play a lot of NL2/NL5 and I've seen my play getting consistently better, but I still have trouble with this. I make lots of c-bets and they get called a lot by some players. I know they are calling with a wide range here, that includes any pair and any draw, even gutshots, or just air. I usually c-bet when I have the range advantage as the raiser (so basically any AXX, KXX, QXX, JXX) and then check/fold turn when I don't have a pair, or a draw, but also with less than 2nd pair. I fear that many players are floating with their draws and gutshots and making me fold the best hand (A-high or bottom pair), but at the same time I don't want to reach river and face another bet with an A-high or bottom pair unimproved.
I usually mark these players (who float my c-bet and bet turn to my check) and narrow my range. I stop doing c-bets against them without hands that can stand a turn bet and a river bet (or that can make a river bet themselves). Usually this means top pair or better or 2nd pair with a good kicker, but now I'm check/folding a ton to them on the flop. Is the right strategy against them?
Thank you a ton and stay safe
Here's my question: What is the correct adjustment against players who limp you a lot?
I play a lot of NL2/NL5 and I've seen my play getting consistently better, but I still have trouble with this. I make lots of c-bets and they get called a lot by some players. I know they are calling with a wide range here, that includes any pair and any draw, even gutshots, or just air. I usually c-bet when I have the range advantage as the raiser (so basically any AXX, KXX, QXX, JXX) and then check/fold turn when I don't have a pair, or a draw, but also with less than 2nd pair. I fear that many players are floating with their draws and gutshots and making me fold the best hand (A-high or bottom pair), but at the same time I don't want to reach river and face another bet with an A-high or bottom pair unimproved.
I usually mark these players (who float my c-bet and bet turn to my check) and narrow my range. I stop doing c-bets against them without hands that can stand a turn bet and a river bet (or that can make a river bet themselves). Usually this means top pair or better or 2nd pair with a good kicker, but now I'm check/folding a ton to them on the flop. Is the right strategy against them?
Thank you a ton and stay safe
B
bixbixbix
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Which stakes should I be playing (online cash game)?
Hi Evan,
Which stakes should I be playing (online cash game)?
CONTEXT:
I was very lucky professionally. I am now retired at 40 and financially set for life. One of my dreams has always been to play poker full-time but I never had the time before (i.e. very busy professionally).
Now I do and my starting bankroll is potentially high.
However, I am objective enough to know that I do not master the ins and outs of poker quite yet. I am not a fish, but I am still learning and struggling with tilt and winner tilt.
Should I try to "beat" every single stake, starting with 0.01/0.02 and make my way up? Or would you recommend I start at higher stakes directly, like $1/$2 or $2/$5?
Part of me wants to prove that I am progressing by beating the small stakes and climbing up.
But another part of me is feeling that (at 40 y old) I am wasting my time and, if I want to play poker seriously, I should already start higher.
The micro-stakes players are so different from the higher-stakes player that I feel everything one learns in the micro should be thrown in the trash when moving up. Why waste the time with Micro ??? I would have to "re-learn" as I go up anyways...
What do you recommend?
Hi Evan,
Which stakes should I be playing (online cash game)?
CONTEXT:
I was very lucky professionally. I am now retired at 40 and financially set for life. One of my dreams has always been to play poker full-time but I never had the time before (i.e. very busy professionally).
Now I do and my starting bankroll is potentially high.
However, I am objective enough to know that I do not master the ins and outs of poker quite yet. I am not a fish, but I am still learning and struggling with tilt and winner tilt.
Should I try to "beat" every single stake, starting with 0.01/0.02 and make my way up? Or would you recommend I start at higher stakes directly, like $1/$2 or $2/$5?
Part of me wants to prove that I am progressing by beating the small stakes and climbing up.
But another part of me is feeling that (at 40 y old) I am wasting my time and, if I want to play poker seriously, I should already start higher.
The micro-stakes players are so different from the higher-stakes player that I feel everything one learns in the micro should be thrown in the trash when moving up. Why waste the time with Micro ??? I would have to "re-learn" as I go up anyways...
What do you recommend?
Amanda A
Legend
Bronze Level
Hi Evan,
Thanks so much for your awesome streams and for the homegame!! I love it. It's so much fun and so accessible, which makes it great. Anyone with any $ in their account can play in a tourney with you. How fab is that? I hope it stays the same. Why mess with a very cool thing? Anyway, just my 2 cent worth.
So I think I figured out how to use the replayer and here's my final hand from the hg last night at final table (wasn't there long lol).
https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/5qwUzky I'm posting cause I'd like to know if you think this was a good shove spot or not, regardless of the outcome. I tried to use ICMizer but it said too many VPIPs! Really ICMizer? So maybe you can help me with what ICMizer couldn't, ha ha.
Reasons for shoving -combination of a bunch of limpers so lots of chips in the pot with nobody showing any real strength, I am short and need to gamble and I have I reasonable hand although it would have been better if they were suited.
Cheers,
A
Thanks so much for your awesome streams and for the homegame!! I love it. It's so much fun and so accessible, which makes it great. Anyone with any $ in their account can play in a tourney with you. How fab is that? I hope it stays the same. Why mess with a very cool thing? Anyway, just my 2 cent worth.
So I think I figured out how to use the replayer and here's my final hand from the hg last night at final table (wasn't there long lol).
https://www.cardschat.com/replayer/5qwUzky I'm posting cause I'd like to know if you think this was a good shove spot or not, regardless of the outcome. I tried to use ICMizer but it said too many VPIPs! Really ICMizer? So maybe you can help me with what ICMizer couldn't, ha ha.
Reasons for shoving -combination of a bunch of limpers so lots of chips in the pot with nobody showing any real strength, I am short and need to gamble and I have I reasonable hand although it would have been better if they were suited.
Cheers,
A
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
In live poker the way to do this is pay attention to player's emotional state and recent events. Did they recent win a big pot, lose a big pot, get caught on a big bluff, get sucked out multiple times?
Events like this will lead to increases in confidence or increases in frustration, and they will certainly change a player's style.
As for HOW they change their style when they are riding high or feeling stuck that's for you to observe and take note of, so that next time they hit a similar stream you can predict how their play will change.
In terms of online this is much tougher to do because you can't look at the player, see their facial expression, their posture, or talk to them to gauge their mood.
That being said, you can still follow the showdowns as well as how their chip stack is doing relative to how it was doing 5 mins, 15 mins, 45 minutes ago.
Take notes on players when you see them 'tilt'. Some players get more cautious when tilted for fear of losing more, and others just go crazy.
It's your job as the player to observe your opponents, see how their style changes when they fall off their A-Game and to make note of it. This is one of those times where watching the table and the game flow is much more important than relying on your HUD stats.
I hope you find value and help in this answer!
Good luck & happy stackin on the tables :dancing2:
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
Hey Amanda!
You know what, if you really love it at the $1.65 level, then I will keep it there for the next 6 months
I just hope the turnout can continue to grow and we can average 100 players so that 1st place feels content with the amount of money they are taking home Regarding this hand, unless the initial limper has shown to be very trappy I think your play is completely fine. You're looking at more than a double up if your Jam gets thru, and you have a hand that does fine in an all in situation (most broadways and pairs fit the bill). Yes, being suited would add a few %s but it's not a big difference.
If you were right on the bubble maybe it's best to check, take a flop and go broke on any Kxx, Jxx or QTx board. But this is not that phase of the tournament and I think you were wise to try and pick up these chips.
Unlucky the first limper was trapping, but that's also something to note, EP limps are sometimes with strong hands, LP limps rarely are. Just something to keep in mind when you find yourself in some bigger situations.
The other thing is that other than 3fixity the players can afford the call fairly easily. So just know that you will get called a decent amount as people like to gamble in these games, but that's where having KJo is a hand you can feel good about as backup.
Also fun to see you on the tables, catch you next sunday!
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
Thank you sir! Glad you're enjoying the streams. I'm going to look to increase the volume for the rest of June.
Thursday - 1-6pm
Friday - 1-6pm
Saturday - 1-7pm
Sunday - noon-midnight
is the current plan for this weekend and if it goes well we'll do the same next weekend.
Gotta hit those 10k watch hours to get more giveaways money for the viewers!
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
Hi Evan, hope you are doing great
Here's my question: What is the correct adjustment against players who limp you a lot?
I play a lot of NL2/NL5 and I've seen my play getting consistently better, but I still have trouble with this. I make lots of c-bets and they get called a lot by some players. I know they are calling with a wide range here, that includes any pair and any draw, even gutshots, or just air. I usually c-bet when I have the range advantage as the raiser (so basically any AXX, KXX, QXX, JXX) and then check/fold turn when I don't have a pair, or a draw, but also with less than 2nd pair. I fear that many players are floating with their draws and gutshots and making me fold the best hand (A-high or bottom pair), but at the same time I don't want to reach river and face another bet with an A-high or bottom pair unimproved.
I usually mark these players (who float my c-bet and bet turn to my check) and narrow my range. I stop doing c-bets against them without hands that can stand a turn bet and a river bet (or that can make a river bet themselves). Usually this means top pair or better or 2nd pair with a good kicker, but now I'm check/folding a ton to them on the flop. Is the right strategy against them?
Thank you a ton and stay safe
Hey Ilostmysoul,
You are definitely on the right track. In these loose and passive games it's important to focus more on value betting rather than bluffing. And if you are going to bluff, often you're going to have to triple barrel since as you said many players will call down with any piece to see if they can hit 2 pair or better (but when they don't improve by the river they will fold 2nd pair and worse to a pot sized bet).
The big adjustment you will benefit from is increasing your sizing. Since you are getting called a lot anyway, you may as well raise bigger preflop and bet bigger on the flop for value to charge your opponents more when they try to outdraw you. They are going to call anyway to try and get lucky so why not bet as much as possible? pot, 1.5x pot, overbet shove on turn etc.
The next thing to look at is the aggression factor of your opponents. Pokertracker is key for this, if you don't have it you can get a 2 week free trial here http://gripsed.com/pt4
Vs players who have AF under 1, you can usually trust that when they bet they have it (unless it has gone bet flop and turn, and all draws miss on river and you check to them, this is the one time they may bluff).
If they have AF above 3, then they are betting indeed a lot, you can call down a bit more against them to pick off light bluffs, but honestly, you don't need to get wild calling down with 2nd and 3rd pair. You instead can just check/call more made hands that you would normally bet, this keeps your checking range protected and extracts lots of value from bluffs.
As long as you aren't raising too many hands preflop you actually won't be check/folding that much on the flop. It's fine to check/fold a lot out of position, remember, these players are stations and your money will be made from them by betting big when you have it, so yes, get out early and cheap, and when you stick around for later streets you will have way the best of it.
Here are a few videos I think you will find helpful too, hope you enjoy them!
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
Hey Bix!
Great question and congratulations on your good fortune in life!
You have the right mindset my friend, and will do just fine in this game.
The most important thing is learning and practicing good habits while feeling engaged.
I think that a sweet spot for doing this in your shoes would be 0.50nl. The swings will not be crazy at $50 stacks, and your opponents will certainly be taking the game seriously which is the important thing.
As long as you are studying while playing you'll start to see when you are far and above the best player on the table, and when this happens you can move up to the next limit.
The best deal on training right now is one we just launched in partnership with Jonathan Little, you can check it out here http://pokercoachingoffer.com (It's an infinite supply of poker training content, covering cash, mtts, and the mental game
)As you find your game coming together, no, there is no need to progressively beat each limit. As long as you are in the top 50% of the players on the table (and ideally top 25% or 10%) you will have a positive expectation, and an enjoyable experience. This may allow you to move up quickly, the key is to be honest with yourself about your skill relattive to the rest of the table.
I also think of online mainly as a training ground, it's a great place to get lots of reps in and get your game solid. Once you have that you can easily go crush live games and play at 5-10x the limits you were playing online and still feel comfortable and confident.
If your financial situation is such that you are set for life, I wouldn't worry about the 'professional' part of poker, if I were in your shoes I would just look for games where I will enjoy myself, probably win more than I lose and get to satisfy my competitive outlet.
As long as you aren't putting yourself in a position to experience severe financial of emotional hardships you'll be fine. Playing reasonable stakes is how to cover the financial risk, and studying consistently so you feel confident is the way to cover the emotional.
I think with the right intention you'll be just fine. Study up, go live your dream, and have fun on the tables. If you ever feel like you need more assistance feel free to reach out to book a one on one session. I love to help!
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
Hi Evan,
Thank you for your time and dedication to answering our questions.
One thing that stands out for me from the early Gripsed youtube videos to the present day Twitch phenomenon
This may seem an odd question, but how can we work on these qualities? I feel that ego holds back players and can lead to entitlement tilt and bad beat fixation.
On a separate note, is your millionaire challenge open to YaPoker users since (I think) they share a player pool with ACR.
Thank you sn, i really appreciate that.
Humility is something that can be learned thru spiritual practice, any sort of coaching program, self help literature, and in my case a lot of it came with age and from making mistakes in my younger years that I realized came from having too much ego.
The mental game of poker was a great book from Jared Tendler that helped me specifically with this within poker. And from there, just being part of a yoga community helped me to upkeep these values which lead to a happy and fulfilling life.
Therapy in any form will help a ton too. Having someone to talk to, whether it's a coach, or a therapist, or a mentor will help with putting things in the right perspective.
Regarding the ACR games, yes it is open to players on all WPN skins and we have 3 weeks remaining in the competition. Good luck if you choose to join us, hope you can win yourself a venom ticket!
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
1. Understanding GTO concepts will always be helpful, at any and all limits.
The best resource I know on this is Michael Acevedo's book Modern Poker Theory
You can find a copy here - http://gripsed.com/books (it's worth every penny)
2. Flopzilla is the best substitute for expensive programs like PioSolver. If you are followin the theory from Michael's book and putting in volume you should easily be able to win a few buyins to cover the cost of it
3. Most premium training sites cost $49-99 a month, once you are playing 25nl and up they are very much worth it. Before that books and youtube are great. Here's my best playlist which will teach you most of what you need to know to start winning http://gripsed.com/win
If you end up wanting to join a premium site, this is a really juicy offer that we just put together in partnership with Jonathan Little http://pokercoachingoffer.com
4. Modern Poker Theory for Book, Cash Game Masterclass by Jonathan Little for course (and it's included with the pokercoaching premium membership). With that membership you can also watch the 6-max course from justGTO which is great.
Really, the best thing to do is get that $49 membership for a month, binge thru a few courses in there and then start playing, you should have little trouble making $100 from there.
5. There's so much to say on this process it would be hard to type it out. If you watch the recent studying webinar I did for pokercoaching premium you'll find it all in there. I follow the same study habits that I learned in university.
6. I don't. You could record your screen for the session and then go back to the hands that were troubling you. OBS is a free software you can use to accomplish this.
7. Join Pokercoaching Premium, Read Modern Poker Theory, Watch the classes in there and then just don't get too lost in youtube or twitch streams or long threads. Once you're part of a solid membership like this it will provide you everything you need.
The big thing once you start studying is to not forget to play. I think early on it's important to spend an equal amount of time playing to studying so you can understand the concepts. Start with simple strategies and slowly build your way up. Simple is often the best approach.
Hope that helps and look forward to seeing you on the inside!
S
sn0112
Rock Star
Silver Level
Hi Evan,
Thank you for all your detailed responses. I will certainly check out Flopzilla.
Since my original post, I have bought Michael Acevedo's book and was wondering if you would recommend the accompanying video series?
I have also decided to focus on tournaments instead of cash games. Do you have any other coaching recommendations specifically for MTTs.
Thanks again,
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nimburkx
Visionary
Silver Level
Thanks for reply
but I was asking about online game)
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
For online games pay attention to the showdowns and big pots
A lot of players will change their style after a big win, or big loss, or getting caught in a big bluff
Whenever these events happen pay close attention to that player. Do they start playing a lot faster on every decision (frustration) or do they start taking a lot longer to think thru everything (fear)
Put yourself in their shoes, how would you feel after a big swing happened, there is a decent change that they will be feeling the same way and start playing emotionally.
Hope that helps!
Evan Jarvis
Legend
Platinum Level
Michael's video course is one of the very few I haven't been thru yet (since I only picked up the book a month ago) but i would imagine that the video series that goes with it is strong.
For specifically MTTs it really depends on your budget and time.
If you are working with a small budget, the bonus items in my pokercoaching package combined with the courses at pokercoaching premium as your best bet
Price $50 - http://pokercoachingoffer.com
Time = 8 Hours
If you have a medium sized budget but not a ton of time, the fastest way to learn to crush mid stakes MTTs is Alex Fitzgerald's Poker Master Complete Program
Price $599 - https://pokermarket.net/collections...serman/products/poker-master-complete-program
Time = 15 Hours
If you're looking for the most complete MTT training program on the market, have a big budget and a lot of time to invest, then Raise Your Edge's MTT Masterclass is the play
Price $1147 (after using ALLINEXP coupon) - http://mttmasterclass.com
Time = 40+ Hours
If MTTs are your thing, these are the best learning paths depending on the amount of time and money you want to invest. :help:
Hope this is what you were looking for!
Amanda A
Legend
Bronze Level
Hi Evan,
Thank you, thank you and thank you! You heard it here first about the hg staying at the same low buy in for a while!
If you are not already playing it ( I know quite a few are), everyone here should definitely check out Gripsed’s home game on ACR on Sunday under the private tab. Watch on twitch and you might see yourself in the stream playing against Evan! The vibe is so much fun, it’s a great group of people, and it’s full of really smart poker advice from Evan. And did I mention the buy in is under $2? It’s really cool and always puts a smile on my face Sunday evening. Hope to see everyone there!
Evan thanks also for your advice on my hand and helping me when icmizer gave up.
Thank you, thank you and thank you! You heard it here first about the hg staying at the same low buy in for a while!
If you are not already playing it ( I know quite a few are), everyone here should definitely check out Gripsed’s home game on ACR on Sunday under the private tab. Watch on twitch and you might see yourself in the stream playing against Evan! The vibe is so much fun, it’s a great group of people, and it’s full of really smart poker advice from Evan. And did I mention the buy in is under $2? It’s really cool and always puts a smile on my face Sunday evening. Hope to see everyone there!
Evan thanks also for your advice on my hand and helping me when icmizer gave up.
B
Bolo1shot
Rising Star
Bronze Level
Reading online player
Hi Evan, your favorite Gripsedr here. I seem to me struggling with the swap to online poker. Since the start of Covid Ive punted about $1k playing various games on ACR. Im finding it hard to play "my" style of poker I guess you could say without the live aspect. Im not getting tells like I would, I feel like im having to guess at every street. Making terrible calls thinking the other player missed completely. MTT was always my superior game, but since playing on ACR I have gotten tired of it I guess you could say. The 4-5 hour late reg, playing 4-5 small stake MTT a day to min cash $15. I started playing higher buyins $15-$33 to offset the long wait for small cash, but i failed to cash in all except a $33 KO where i ended up with 10 bounties and a min cash. Should I got back to smaller stakes? Am I just supposed to go off the chat and hope their are playing within their range? Do I do the I got 30% fk it call? This past month has crushed my will, and i dont know the next step to get back in the game.
-Bolo_Bigsby-
H.H. Review King
Hi Evan, your favorite Gripsedr here. I seem to me struggling with the swap to online poker. Since the start of Covid Ive punted about $1k playing various games on ACR. Im finding it hard to play "my" style of poker I guess you could say without the live aspect. Im not getting tells like I would, I feel like im having to guess at every street. Making terrible calls thinking the other player missed completely. MTT was always my superior game, but since playing on ACR I have gotten tired of it I guess you could say. The 4-5 hour late reg, playing 4-5 small stake MTT a day to min cash $15. I started playing higher buyins $15-$33 to offset the long wait for small cash, but i failed to cash in all except a $33 KO where i ended up with 10 bounties and a min cash. Should I got back to smaller stakes? Am I just supposed to go off the chat and hope their are playing within their range? Do I do the I got 30% fk it call? This past month has crushed my will, and i dont know the next step to get back in the game.
-Bolo_Bigsby-
H.H. Review King