Finally, a winning NL $50 session
Played some more NL $50 and finally won some damn money ($37.55 to be exact). I had a key hand against an aggressive fuckin idiot in the BB who insisted on reraising me when I opened from the button. Early in the session, I came in for $1.50 with 86, he pumped it up to $6. Then I tried limping with 6
5 OTB, he pumped it up to $3 and I folded to a $5 bet on a A
T
3 flop.
So I tightened up on the button and then this happened.
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.25/$0.50 Blinds - 5 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $46.10
BB: $164.05
UTG: $66.85
CO: $48.75
Hero (BTN): $51.20
Preflop: Hero is dealt Q Q
(5 Players)
2 folds, Hero raises to $2.00, SB folds, BB raises to $8.00, Hero calls $6.00
Flop: ($16.25) J 2 2 (2 Players)
BB bets $12.00, Hero raises all-in to $43.20, BB folds
Pot Size: $71.45 ($1.95 Rake)
I decided to let him see a flop since he has a pretty wide range of hands here (at least 77+, AJ+, KQ) and I figure I'd get a bet out of him. If the flop came an A or K I'd have to make a judgement call, and I was giving him a chance to outdraw me and get all of my money, but I believe this was the best play. After I got a $12 bet out of him I was satisfied, so I simply moved in and took it down. If I had aces I might have smooth called again and let him try and double barrel the turn.
So he took $4.50 out of me and I got $20 out of him in one hand. I won't get that out of him if I ran that scenario a bunch of times, but I figure to make at least an average of $13 in that spot (a quick estimate, 65% of 20). Ideally I'd like to still raise a bit against these types of players, let them steal from me a few times before finally trapping them with a big hand. I probably can't just wait for a huge hand on the button since they all use HUDs and will not play back at someone with a PFR of 5%. The occasional 4-bet or bluff on the flop might be a part of the strategy as well.
Adjusting to NL $50 is going to be a challenge, but I have to make these adjustments if I'm ever going to be a winning player at any meaningful stakes. Face it, online, NLHE is really the only game that one can profit in. What else is there? Limit Hold'em? Not enough action, pots are too small and there's one correct way to play which most of the players at the mid/high stakes have mastered. SnGs? ROI% is too low, especially at the higher levels and even at the lower ones. You'd have to play a whole bunch of tables to even show a decent return. For example in a $10+1, you might get a 15% return if you're a good player. So that's $1.65 a tournament. You'd have to play a shitload of tables to get any decent return. MTTs? Maybe, but there's a lot of variance involved. Tough to depend on that exclusively unless you have a huge bankroll. The other games (PLO, O8, Triple Draw, Stud)? Might be profit in those, but it takes learning a whole new game. I know a bit about Omaha, but I know so much more about no-limit hold'em.
Alright, getting late. Goodnight.
5 OTB, he pumped it up to $3 and I folded to a $5 bet on a AT3 flop.So I tightened up on the button and then this happened.
Poker Stars - No Limit Hold'em Cash Game - $0.25/$0.50 Blinds - 5 Players - (LegoPoker HH Converter)
SB: $46.10
BB: $164.05
UTG: $66.85
CO: $48.75
Hero (BTN): $51.20
Preflop: Hero is dealt Q
Q (5 Players)2 folds, Hero raises to $2.00, SB folds, BB raises to $8.00, Hero calls $6.00
Flop: ($16.25) J
2 2 (2 Players)BB bets $12.00, Hero raises all-in to $43.20, BB folds
Pot Size: $71.45 ($1.95 Rake)
I decided to let him see a flop since he has a pretty wide range of hands here (at least 77+, AJ+, KQ) and I figure I'd get a bet out of him. If the flop came an A or K I'd have to make a judgement call, and I was giving him a chance to outdraw me and get all of my money, but I believe this was the best play. After I got a $12 bet out of him I was satisfied, so I simply moved in and took it down. If I had aces I might have smooth called again and let him try and double barrel the turn.
So he took $4.50 out of me and I got $20 out of him in one hand. I won't get that out of him if I ran that scenario a bunch of times, but I figure to make at least an average of $13 in that spot (a quick estimate, 65% of 20). Ideally I'd like to still raise a bit against these types of players, let them steal from me a few times before finally trapping them with a big hand. I probably can't just wait for a huge hand on the button since they all use HUDs and will not play back at someone with a PFR of 5%. The occasional 4-bet or bluff on the flop might be a part of the strategy as well.
Adjusting to NL $50 is going to be a challenge, but I have to make these adjustments if I'm ever going to be a winning player at any meaningful stakes. Face it, online, NLHE is really the only game that one can profit in. What else is there? Limit Hold'em? Not enough action, pots are too small and there's one correct way to play which most of the players at the mid/high stakes have mastered. SnGs? ROI% is too low, especially at the higher levels and even at the lower ones. You'd have to play a whole bunch of tables to even show a decent return. For example in a $10+1, you might get a 15% return if you're a good player. So that's $1.65 a tournament. You'd have to play a shitload of tables to get any decent return. MTTs? Maybe, but there's a lot of variance involved. Tough to depend on that exclusively unless you have a huge bankroll. The other games (PLO, O8, Triple Draw, Stud)? Might be profit in those, but it takes learning a whole new game. I know a bit about Omaha, but I know so much more about no-limit hold'em.
Alright, getting late. Goodnight.
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