Climbing the Microstakes: My Poker Journey Part II
PokerTracker4 Graph - April to September 2017
Since my return to online poker in late April, I committed myself to being a better player by spending more time studying the game. When I first started playing back in 2004, games were much softer with so many new players (including myself) piling cash into the burgeoning poker rooms like PokerStars, Absolute Poker, and Full Tilt. Many of us simply jumped into these games and won money in spite of ourselves. Those days are gone.
Reviewing My Sessions
As you can see in the PokerTracker4 (PT4) graph above, my play resulted in a fairly flatline outcome. Only Rakeback served to add to my bankroll, and at 2 NL, Rakeback is a pittance. Most days I would play for a few hours and find myself right about where I had started. Even.
However, using PT4, I began to investigate my own play. What hands was I winning with...? What hands cost me money in the long run? Even more importantly, I began to see where my major leaks were, and began think about how I could plug those holes. My findings helped me to understand the bigger picture, and to focus less on daily results and more on just playing better poker. This turned out to be a mini-breakthrough in my personal poker theory.
I am a results driven individual and I enjoy keeping and reviewing daily stats. How much did I win/lose over each session. How many hands did I play? But by focusing so much on each day's result, losses served to tilt me somewhat even if I had played good poker. I had to widen my perspective of what was a win to ultimately be successful. I'll still keep and review daily stats, but the end result has to be less of a focus to keep me on track.
One of the small changes I made at that point was removing the Amount Won stat from my HUD (heads-up display.) If I couldn't see my 'in the moment' results, I would spend less time thinking about them and more on just playing well. This became somewhat liberating, and I have come to enjoy not seeing the red number in the corner of my HUD during losing sessions.
Poker Study
By June, I was expending almost as much time studying poker as I was playing it. This was hard, at first, as many of us only have so much time to get hands in during the day. But as my results improved, I became sold on my approach, and my enthusiasm for time away fro the felt increased.
I have fiddled around with Poker Stove in the past, but I guess I just never completely understood its value or how to apply it to my game. When I discovered Flopzilla, however, a light turned on. I began to enter my winning and losing hands into this software and to understand what my odds of winning were on the flop, turn, and river. More importantly, it was much easier to determine what my odds of improving were to each type of made hand. Equally as illuminating was the illustrations of my opponent(s) chances of improving to improved hands versus mine.
The real breakthrough occurred when I began to study Hand Ranges, in earnest. I've always been aware of hand ranges but I haven't used them specifically in choosing starting hands in the way that I am now. I think the largest change has been using them in my post flop play. Getting away from "what specific hand do I think he has" and into "how does his range connect with this flop versus my range?" By using the equity calculator to model different spots, I've gained a better understand as to which hand ranges play better versus different player types and their ranges.
The Impact of Hand Ranges on Flops
In the past, I'd be reluctant to play KQo from UTG+2 through late middle for fear of being dominated. But using Flopzilla, I see that playing against a player with a range of 35% in early to middle position, KQo is a 54/46 favorite. So, understanding that, I'd RR/Isolate with my KQo hoping to get heads-up. On any K or Q board, I'm a 74% favorite against that 35% range (66+, A2s+, K2s+, Q8s+, J9s+, A4o+, K6o+, QTo+). Unless the betting pattern indicates that my opponent has hit hard (i.e. a set), I can call him down to the river confidently, expecting that my K or Q is better than his TP or even K or Q a great majority of the time, even if my hand doesn't improve beyond TPTK.
A side benefit to playing these hands is that it boosts my overall VPIP and PRF %, particularly in the eyes of those 20% range players at the table. So, when I get into hands with them, which I only do with a much tighter range of hands, I am far more often holding a premium hand and so, ahead of their 20% range in a 60/40 type scenario. They are in there with KTs+, Axs+, 88+, etc., and my range is more like ATo+, A8s+, KK, 99+ type hands. Hitting an A, K or a Q on that board, and I am usually ahead 60/40.
By using Flopzilla and through studying Hand Ranges, I have drastically improved my play. I moved up to 5 NL in August, and continue to tear up the game on a regular basis. This would not have been possible without investing a large portion of my poker time in study as opposed to play. Regular review, study, and employing those learnings has created success at the bottom of the Microstakes, and gives me confidence as I seek to climb the ladder.
In the next installment, I'll discuss more tools and practices that I use to work on my game, and more stats that I find useful for players. I hope that you find this of interest and that you'll share your ideas and opinions freely.
May you always be +EV!
Part I: https://steemit.com/steem/@braveboat/climbing-the-microstakes-my-poker-journey-part-i
Images courtesy of PT4, Flopzilla & and pixabay.com
Good luck on your climb up, you surely have the right mindset !
I used to play poker when partypoker was king and everestpoker had all the fish. Right now I'm looking forward to invest some into virtue.poker. Interesting times ahead of the poker community with blockchain technology.
Indeed. These are interesting times. The pace of technology continues to accelerate...
Thanks for reading the blog and for your comments. I'm really enjoying getting plugged into the gambling / poker community here on Steemit. Looking forward to all the NFL pucks this weekend! Cheers!
Awesome keep it going! I used to finance my studies with online poker back in the days and ever since then thinking about eventually making a return.
Cool, @seriousownsya. I've made a little money playing cards, and really enjoy the mental warfare involved. It keeps my mind sharp. lol
Thanks for reading the blog and responding. Cheers!
**@braveboat got you a $3.15 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice!
Want a boost? Minnowbooster's got your back!
The @OriginalWorks bot has determined this post by @braveboat to be original material and upvoted it!
To call @OriginalWorks, simply reply to any post with @originalworks or !originalworks in your message!
To enter this post into the daily RESTEEM contest, upvote this comment! The user with the most upvotes on their @OriginalWorks comment will win!
For more information, Click Here!
Special thanks to @reggaemuffin for being a supporter! Vote him as a witness to help make Steemit a better place!
This post received a 1.6% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @braveboat! To learn more, check out @randowhale 101 - Everything You Need to Know!
you are playing too small amount of hands :) if you want to be more professional you need to have goals to play more hands per month.
haha No plans to be a pro, just to play my best poker when I do get in there and to move up stakes when I feel I'm ready and have the bankroll to do so.
Thanks for stopping by. Cheers!