52K HAND MEGA TUNE UP (REALLY LONG instructional content)

[droolie]

I think dropping AXs from EP is a very good idea. I just checked my stats on those positions and I'm getting creamed on all of them in all EP and early MP until A9s and above. I think I found a leak! I am totally guilty of playing those hands from wherever. The nut flush is just so juicy but I guess AXs realy does suck from EP. Thanks for the tip.

Low pocket pairs on the other hand I'm not folding. They seem to be somewhat position nuetral. I think you can pull a profit on every pair in every position over the long haul at this level.

[grjr]

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raise more PF on the button.

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I'm slowly bringing that number up. Over the last month I've been raising CO 13.86 and button 13.23. What yours at these days?

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I know you weren't asking me but I'm gonna answer anyways. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Up until the last few days my CO and Button raise% has been around 11%. Here are the stats from my new and improved aggressive style.

[Zoelef]

Dear Droolie:

1.) As someone who's VPIP is simply not high enough (17.4) are there any short answers as to how I can spike that up 2-3 points? I realize it's probably more complicated than few words will answer but if I'm throwing away potential preflop, I'm obviously not seeing it. ...In fairness, I've been chucking AJo, and very rarely KQo, from EP because they keep letting me down, but that might be passive tilting. I suppose that's a leak...

2.) I noticed that JTs and JTo aren't in the green for you. Any thoughts?

3.) You've cold-called T6s preflop?

Pre-emptive thanks for answering the above: Raising PFR% - Maybe there's something in this thread that will help you push your PFR higher, as you seem to seek.

[stlip]

The biggest evolution in my game (1/2 party) as I go from 20k to 30k hands has been to tighten up my opening requirements from UTG and UTG+1. I'm about 22 percent VPIP overall but I'm shooting for 11-12 percent in UTG in a full ring game and 14-15 UTG+1 or in a 9 max.

The reason is that I see what you and everyone else sees, which is that all your winnings come from that handful of very best starting hands AA, KK, AK, QQ, JJ. In early position I stick with those plus just a few others (including challenging but always interesting small PP).

I noticed that you have the nice upswing in PFR in LP and you say you're working on taking that higher, but I think there should be a similar upslope in VPIP and yours looked pretty consistent from UTG through all the MP positions.

By the way, really nice post for a stats post.

[k000k]

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1.) As someone who's VPIP is simply not high enough (17.4) are there any short answers as to how I can spike that up 2-3 points? ... In fairness, I've been chucking AJo, and very rarely KQo, from EP because they keep letting me down, but that might be passive tilting. I suppose that's a leak...

2.) I noticed that JTs and JTo aren't in the green for you. Any thoughts?

3.) You've cold-called T6s preflop?


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1. There's nothing too wrong with 17.4, a couple points low is probably better than a couple points high. Those 2% more hands you want to add are what .01-.06bb/hand? These hands get you into some hairy situations postflop where 1 mistake quickly eats up that tiny fraction of a BB. As for AJo/KQo, I'd raise these from any position at the table except sometimes the blinds.

2. Both are in the red for me too, over a lot more hands than droolie has.

3. Never. I'd complete in the SB with a few limpers, and maybe call 1 in the BB if I think nobody will 3bet and the whole field will see the flop with me.

[droolie]

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Dear Droolie:

1.) As someone who's VPIP is simply not high enough (17.4) are there any short answers as to how I can spike that up 2-3 points? I realize it's probably more complicated than few words will answer but if I'm throwing away potential preflop, I'm obviously not seeing it. ...In fairness, I've been chucking AJo, and very rarely KQo, from EP because they keep letting me down, but that might be passive tilting. I suppose that's a leak...

2.) I noticed that JTs and JTo aren't in the green for you. Any thoughts?

3.) You've cold-called T6s preflop?

Pre-emptive thanks for answering the above: Raising PFR% - Maybe there's something in this thread that will help you push your PFR higher, as you seem to seek.

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1. Are you raising AJo and KQo? If not do it. Those hands do better as top pair hands and will win more often against a smaller field. Look to play pocket pairs as often as possible. Suited cards from LP such as Axs and Kxs can show a profit. Suited connectors and suited gappers from LP and the blinds even after a raise. Isolation raises with hands you might muck such as A8o KJo etc on the button. Liberal stealing against weak blinds. Those are a few that come to mind.

2) JTo and JTs were in the bottom 10 for me through 15K. I was way overvaluing them from every position. I realized that they aren't as good as I thought and tightened up my play with them. They are areound breakeven now. I just checked and I need to tighten up more with JTs. It's just not that strong a hand. It's a tough one to fold though as the flush and nut str8 aspect are likea siren song to me.

3) T6s is a CC when you are messing around drunk at a 2+2 table. There's no logical reason for CCing that hand I can come up with unless perhaps UTG raised and everyone CCed before you on the button.

[DMBFan23]

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Dear Droolie:

1.) As someone who's VPIP is simply not high enough (17.4)

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this is fine, you'll add more hands slowly and you'll get there. just don't add hands for the sake of having pretty numbers

[SomethingClever]

MOVE UP!!!!!!11!11one!on111!!!!

[SomethingClever]

While your new aggressive style is probably a move for the better, these positional stats are a joke.

Take your regular sample size, which is comically small to begin with, and divide by 10. Meaningless.

Not trying to be a dick, just a word of caution not to draw to much information from this.

[droolie]

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MOVE UP!!!!!!11!11one!on111!!!!

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NEVER! I am a nit.

Seriously though this raises a very good issue I'd like to address here that I have addressed in other threads...

This was a quote of mine from another thread where the poster was berated for not moving up fast enough...


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The limit you play does not define your skill level.

Moving up is not the only way to become a better player. While it certainly helps to consistently play against tougher competition the limit amounts are arbitrary. Some .50/1 games play like higher limits (early on at a 2+2 table before everyone gets drunk, for instance) and some 3/6 games play like the fishiest of .50/1 games. Sure the average .50/1 game is way fishier than the average 3/6 game but to assume you can only get the type of competiton you'll see at 3/6 at 3/6 is incorrect.

I've been playing poker online for almost a year and continue to learn new aspects of the game every day. I still have a lot more to learn and am quite sure I will continue to learn regardless of what limit I happen to be playing.

I've played over 50K at .50/1. Why? It's fun and I end almost every session way ahead. Reliably making $30 and hour while having fun and almost zero risk is not a bad thing.

Many of us have very different motivations for playing poker. Personally I am very risk averse and do not enjoy winning more money if it feels like a grind. I have played higher limits and been successful but I always come back to .50/1 because there is no stress. I have enough stress in my regular job that when I come home and play at night the last thing I need is more stress. The actual gaming experience of winning 5+BB/100 and winning 2+BB/100 is vastly different. Though I have won more money per hour playing some 2/4 and 3/6 stretches the experience was not as enjoyable for me as a typical night of playing .50/1 clearing bonuses.

If winning the maximum amount of money is your only motivation, regardless of the emtotional toll, then by all means move up every time you have the roll but don't assume that's why we're all playing poker. I'm quite confident I'm a better poker player fundamentaly than many of the players who do quite well at higher limits but the circumstances of my life suit making lower amounts of easy money playing micro limits better. Perhaps you could argue I am leaving $$ on the table by being a pussy or whatever but poker has been fun for me almost every night I've played. Not many people, even the most successful of players, can say that. I'm reasonably sure I will begin playing exclusively at higher limits in the not too distant future but I feel very comfortably defending anybody who decides that .50/1 is the game for them. It's fun. Fun is +EV

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So I actually do play higher limits but find I am not as happy with the experience as donking around at micros. I will probably continue to play micros as long as I play poker online but hopefully my primary game will be at a higher level before too much longer. 2/4 is slowly drawing me in... the datamining has begun.