Road to being a pro

[david3103]

It seems a bit nitty/buttoning to me. I wouldn't play him heads up again.

Although I never abuse players who have done it to me. It's just part of the game.

Yeah, I really need to learn to stop being annoyed by these things.

Went off a bit in the chat yesterday, need to stop doing that too. Always ends negatively.

Had a big week last week where I won over 20 Bis and now really struggling for motivation this week. Been ill and that but still not done enough work on and off the tables. Get way too complacent and just like the thought of locking up a decent month when I really should be pushing on to set myself up to play .5/1 next month.

Set myself a challenge to win 10 BIs by the end of the month, just to keep me grinding, will screen shot a pic of my balance in here in a bit and then will do one at the end of the month.

Interesting hand the other day, utg opened, I 3bet, mp calls , button shoves aa, utg shoves jj, I fold qq, mp calls with kk. Not sure what the chances of jj-aa being dealt in a row like that are but knew the chances of me binking the q on the flop were over 100% after I folded. Board ran out qxxxx.

Had a hand at DTD, 6 players, AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 99 and 72o.
Three way all in between 99 (shoved first) KK and AA
Ran out xxJQQ

[KingPush]

It seems a bit nitty/buttoning to me. I wouldn't play him heads up again.

Although I never abuse players who have done it to me. It's just part of the game.

Yeah, I really need to learn to stop being annoyed by these things.

Went off a bit in the chat yesterday, need to stop doing that too. Always ends negatively.

Had a big week last week where I won over 20 Bis and now really struggling for motivation this week. Been ill and that but still not done enough work on and off the tables. Get way too complacent and just like the thought of locking up a decent month when I really should be pushing on to set myself up to play .5/1 next month.

Set myself a challenge to win 10 BIs by the end of the month, just to keep me grinding, will screen shot a pic of my balance in here in a bit and then will do one at the end of the month.

Interesting hand the other day, utg opened, I 3bet, mp calls , button shoves aa, utg shoves jj, I fold qq, mp calls with kk. Not sure what the chances of jj-aa being dealt in a row like that are but knew the chances of me binking the q on the flop were over 100% after I folded. Board ran out qxxxx.

Had a hand at DTD, 6 players, AA, KK, QQ, JJ, 99 and 72o.
Three way all in between 99 (shoved first) KK and AA
Ran out xxJQQ

Grim.

Bricked a load of tournies on sunday when I shouldn't really have been playing.

Went and played live(.5/.5) tonight just to break up the online grind a bit and ran like fire. didn't really make mistakes that I know of but here are some of the hands anyway.

Btn opens for 1.5, I 3bet Qjo from SB, he calls.
Qttr I x/c
brick turn, x/c
brick river, x/f
Would x/back a lot better stuff here on the flop, Qt, weak tx, qq so think this is fine

second notable hand
open 75ss on btn 4 handed after a straddle to 3
769r flop
xx
7
he bets 6 I call
3 river
he bets 12 I think about shoving, think its bad and call, he has t8

third
straddle from player on my right, I open to 3 with aa, everyone calls
qtxhh
I bet 10 into 15, call call, fold fold
5x turn I shove, reshove call
river 6
I don't want to turn it over as I know I've lost but noone does either, button has kthh, sb has t5

fourth
j9hh in mp open to 1.5
call, call, call, fold
qhxxh
i bet 4 button raise to 6.5, floor makes it 8 everyone folds, I call
x turn
I donk 15 he calls
river ah
I shove, he snaps with k5hh
gg

Dunno if aa is a standard get in in the hand. Think it's the bottom of my range and definitely wouldn't do it with any qx but maybe I should live.

[KingPush]

Didn't work hard enough or put in enough volume to get it done. No excuses really. Will be getting 450 in rakeback this month though which is definitely my highest ever on Sky. Gonna shot 100nl when I reach 2500, don't think it will be massively different as most of the regs seem to play both.

[KingPush]

Earnt more than expected from rakeback and felt like I was beating .25/.50 for a lot so moved up. Up about 3 buy ins so far games are still good from what I can tell playing with a few screen names that I recognise which is weird, such as scotty77 and jakally. I don't feel comfortable there at all yet. Feel like I'm getting judged by the regs for my play and stuff and ,as i definitely take different lines to a lot of people, when I really shouldn't give a shit and should just focus on what I'm doing as that's when I play best. Noone seems to start tables either which is fucking annoying but I guess people are just playing on a load of sites so it doesn't matter to them.

[rfgqqabc]

What year of University are you in? (I think its final but not 100%)

I know a little of what Dave has told you and I would echo his own thoughts regarding backing. Grinding it up with your own sweat and blood is definitely the way forward imo. Backing has its place in certain games but I certainly think you want control of your own destiny and action as much as possible.

Do you still want to go pro?

Do you do any work on the mental side of poker? You seem to have quite a good understanding of ranges and how poker should be played but some of your posts hint at mental frustrations and ultimately these are extremely costly. Fixing all these sorts of leaks now is absolutely crucial. Each tweak in this area can save hard earnt cash as well as earning you some more so its definitely worth considering. I'm a  big fan of Tommy Angelos stuff for the philosophy side and I've always found his musings to be entertaining as well as educational so I'd recommend his work as well as the more standard Mental Game of Poker books 1/2 by Jared Tendler with a contribution from blondes very own DaveShoelace. (Sorry if I've played your part down Mr.Shoelace, perhaps it should be co-authorship) 

Have you ever experimented with any of the other games? It might not be as worthwhile now when your passion for NLHE is so high but some of the concepts will help develop your all round knowledge and can help when games throw up weird situations. Keep up the good work!

[KingPush]

What year of University are you in? (I think its final but not 100%)

I know a little of what Dave has told you and I would echo his own thoughts regarding backing. Grinding it up with your own sweat and blood is definitely the way forward imo. Backing has its place in certain games but I certainly think you want control of your own destiny and action as much as possible.

Do you still want to go pro?

Do you do any work on the mental side of poker? You seem to have quite a good understanding of ranges and how poker should be played but some of your posts hint at mental frustrations and ultimately these are extremely costly. Fixing all these sorts of leaks now is absolutely crucial. Each tweak in this area can save hard earnt cash as well as earning you some more so its definitely worth considering. I'm a  big fan of Tommy Angelos stuff for the philosophy side and I've always found his musings to be entertaining as well as educational so I'd recommend his work as well as the more standard Mental Game of Poker books 1/2 by Jared Tendler with a contribution from blondes very own DaveShoelace. (Sorry if I've played your part down Mr.Shoelace, perhaps it should be co-authorship) 

Have you ever experimented with any of the other games? It might not be as worthwhile now when your passion for NLHE is so high but some of the concepts will help develop your all round knowledge and can help when games throw up weird situations. Keep up the good work!

Finished uni and got a Desmond. Did better in my final year than all the previous ones. Currently just playing poker as a source of income. Would kind of like to be backed in games I don't normally play( live mtts and cash and online mtts) but don't want to be for my normal games.

Did a lot of work on mental game stuff earlier on but don't anymore should really start again. Suffer a lot from mistake tilt I'm a bit of a perfectionist which many wouldn't believe if they met me but any small mistake with my range that ends in a loss I can find it really hard to recover from in session especially if I'm not getting much volume. See where your coming from with the negativity though after reading back through. think I just post when I feel like I need help with poker rather than when everything is going well. Gonna try and get hold of mental game 2 cheers for the reminder.

Played like a 2000 hands of plo and a 1000 of deuce to 7. Think I'm terrible at both to be honest. Would want to get some sort of coaching and get all the software to try and learn the games properly before playing them for any sort of decent money. Its just not worth it for me at the moment.

[tikay]

Earnt more than expected from rakeback and felt like I was beating .25/.50 for a lot so moved up. Up about 3 buy ins so far games are still good from what I can tell playing with a few screen names that I recognise which is weird, such as scotty77 and jakally. I don't feel comfortable there at all yet. Feel like I'm getting judged by the regs for my play and stuff and ,as i definitely take different lines to a lot of people, when I really shouldn't give a shit and should just focus on what I'm doing as that's when I play best. Noone seems to start tables either which is fucking annoying but I guess people are just playing on a load of sites so it doesn't matter to them.

Can I ask why that is, please, & why does it annoy you so?

The question is semi rhetorical, but I'm still curious as to your reasoning, & why it appears to make you so cross.

I'm not wearing my Next Door hat here, I'm just interested in the psychology of poker players.   

TIA, & well done on making a good few bob.

[rfgqqabc]

When I play poker I play. Generally I'll reg away with mtts then add in some cash games at the end when my table count gets low depending on whether I fancy watching tv or if there is any action. Sometimes I'll be in the mood for some headsup action and try and sit a few people at whatever stake I want to play at that time but its always a major hassle to get action from anyone.

 I imagine King's angst at the lack of table starting is just because he doesn't want to wait around to play. I have no idea how my friends who only play heads up cope just sitting around and waiting for action. I imagine its easier than it sounds due to the hourly these guys can achieve, some of my friends sit on 6-10 sites across multiple stakes and games just sitting and waiting. Sometimes on sites people are reluctant to play another reg to start off a game, in which cash the lobbys often have 3 full tables and lets say 4 tables with one person sitting on them. If noone is willing to try and get a 6 handed game going by starting off headsup with a reg then nothing happens.

How many hours a week do you play/study at the moment King?

I'm in the Desmond club too ^.^

[tikay]

When I play poker I play. Generally I'll reg away with mtts then add in some cash games at the end when my table count gets low depending on whether I fancy watching tv or if there is any action. Sometimes I'll be in the mood for some headsup action and try and sit a few people at whatever stake I want to play at that time but its always a major hassle to get action from anyone.

 I imagine King's angst at the lack of table starting is just because he doesn't want to wait around to play. I have no idea how my friends who only play heads up cope just sitting around and waiting for action. I imagine its easier than it sounds due to the hourly these guys can achieve, some of my friends sit on 6-10 sites across multiple stakes and games just sitting and waiting. Sometimes on sites people are reluctant to play another reg to start off a game, in which cash the lobbys often have 3 full tables and lets say 4 tables with one person sitting on them. If noone is willing to try and get a 6 handed game going by starting off headsup with a reg then nothing happens.

How many hours a week do you play/study at the moment King?

I'm in the Desmond club too ^.^

I may have misread him, but I never got the impression he was talking about HU, I assumed he was referring to full ring, which, in the case of Next Door, is 6 Max. I get the HU thing, of course.  

I'm in the failed my O-Levels club. ^^

[KingPush]

Would say I play 35-40 hours a week and study 5-10 hours. Depends on a lot of things though obviously and I'm guessing as Sky doesn't allow tracking software.

 Annoyance at table starting is just lack of tables. I normally like to play 8 tables of 6 max and then slightly less if I'm playing hu. Only seems to be 4 or 5 tables at any one time going of .5/1 which means I've started playing the deep .25/.5 tables where people min raise and I think they've limped and I start min raising 25s on the button v utg opens. I genuinely just find it strange too, if I see someone I don't know start tables I auto sit them and they are usually bad, I would have thought most .5/1 regs would do the same to me but everyone seems to just wait until I've started playing at least 2 people and then they all join. Maybe they are just looking after their bottom line a lot more than I'm used to. But if the fun players don't want to play hu and want to play, and they all want to do this instantly, then surely the regs should take a slightly -ev situation to allow a more +ev one? It's definitely down to there being less players in the player pool as well, which will realistically mean I'm going to have to start playing on other sites as well unless I move back down. If anyone has any recommendations on this I'm open to suggestions. May also just move to playing hu on other sites as well and just play the 6max games that run on sky as don't think anywhere else has better games. Will have to think about that a lot though as it's gonna take about 50 hours of work off the tables at least for me to be happy just playing hu.

Cheers for all the support.

[shipitgood]

Good luck with the poker now that you've finished uni.

It'll be a good way of making money until such times as you decide what to do in the future poker or otherwise.

[KingPush]

Recommendations for sites to play .5/1 on? Not enough tables on Sky. Currently playing 100z but I'm well aware these games are pretty tough

[UgotNuts]

I recommend the stars 50/1 ring games. Zoom is alot tougher than these. The PLO is soft at this level IMO too.

[rfgqqabc]

Ipoker/Microgaming probably decent bets.

[KingPush]

I recommend the stars 50/1 ring games. Zoom is alot tougher than these. The PLO is soft at this level IMO too.

games are good rakeback is shit

Ipoker/Microgaming probably decent bets.

yeah just need betvictor to accept my money then I'm gonna try ongame

Just been on the phone to them. Turns out they allow you to deposit your net worth onto the gambling site part but not onto the poker side