Fear and Loathing at the Micros

OK not gonna beat around the bush here. Confession.

I have not used a HUD for the past 2 weeks.

Why? Well for starters at 2NL the player pool is so massive your only ever gonna have a 100 hands on any "reg" opponent if you are lucky at the most. But the main reason I turned it off was 2 fold - one I was making calls or shoves based on opponents stats and the players at 2NL are just too irratic to rely on these stats in an effective manner. The 2nd part is - going back to playing HUD-less poker is the best way to learn the fundamentals correctly and holistically. Reading board texture, working out pots odds, simply paying attention to what is happening, noticing betting patterns etc etc is the best way to beat fish and regs at 2NL. It is a great way to beat uNL full stop I think. I hope.

Thoughts on this anyone?

I did quite well tonight, I won 3.5 Buy In's which is great for 2NL. I got stacked twice, so really happy to be that many buy in's up. I also started with just 3 tables which obviously reduces varience a little and then back to my normal 5. Helped me get off to a steady start.

2NL can be brutally tough sometimes and I think this particular hand perfectly illustrates this:

Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1198856
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP: $3.19
CO: $8.19
BTN: $4.78
SB: $1.01
BB: $6.16
Hero (UTG): $2.14

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is UTG with K K
Hero raises to $0.08, 1 fold, CO calls $0.08, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.19) J 5 7(2 players)
Hero bets $0.17, CO raises to $0.46, Hero calls $0.29

Turn: ($1.11) 5(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $1, Hero raises to $1.60 all in, CO calls $0.60

River: ($4.31) 6(2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $4.31
CO shows 7 9 (two pair, Sevens and Fives)
Hero shows K K (a flush, King high)
Hero wins $4.10
(Rake: $0.21)

So we are @36.5 BI's for 2NL

The rest of my interesting hands:

Hand #1
Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1198967
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $3.84
SB: $1.27
Hero (BB): $2.03
UTG: $1.58
CO: $1.32

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is BB with 9 Q
UTG calls $0.02, CO calls $0.02, 2 folds, Hero checks

Flop: ($0.07) 9 Q 7(3 players)
Hero bets $0.05, UTG raises to $0.10, CO folds, Hero raises to $0.35, UTG raises to $1.56 all in, Hero calls $1.21

Turn: ($3.19) 4(2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($3.19) K(2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $3.19
Hero shows 9 Q (a flush, King high)
UTG shows 7 7 (three of a kind, Sevens)
Hero wins $3.04
(Rake: $0.15)

Hand #2
Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1198968
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

CO: $1.60
Hero (BTN): $2.00
SB: $4.15
BB: $2.08
UTG: $2.49
MP: $4.07

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is BTN with A Q
3 folds, Hero raises to $0.06, SB calls $0.05, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.14) T 7 6(2 players)
SB bets $0.02, Hero calls $0.02

Turn: ($0.18) A(2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.13, SB calls $0.13

River: ($0.44) K(2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.21, SB calls $0.21

Final Pot: $0.86
Hero shows A Q (a pair of Aces)
SB mucks 4 K
Hero wins $0.82
(Rake: $0.04)

Hand #3
Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1198969
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $2.46
SB: $0.82
Hero (BB): $2.27
UTG: $1.88
MP: $1.89
CO: $1.82

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is BB with A A
1 fold, MP raises to $0.08, 3 folds, Hero raises to $0.22, MP calls $0.14

Flop: ($0.45) T Q 5(2 players)
Hero bets $0.38, MP raises to $0.76, Hero raises to $2.05 all in, MP calls $0.91 all in

Turn: ($3.79) 7(2 players - 2 are all in)

River: ($3.79) 9(2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $3.79
Hero shows A A (a pair of Aces)
MP shows T T (three of a kind, Tens)
MP wins $3.61
(Rake: $0.18)

Hand #4
Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1198970
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $1.62
Hero (SB): $2.04
BB: $4.06
UTG: $2.69
CO: $3.79

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is SB with A K
1 fold, CO raises to $0.04, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.18, BB calls $0.16, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.40) J 4 9(2 players)
Hero bets $0.40, BB calls $0.40

Turn: ($1.20) 8(2 players)
Hero bets $0.76, BB calls $0.76

River: ($2.72) K(2 players)
Hero bets $0.70 all in, BB calls $0.70

Final Pot: $4.12
Hero shows A K (a pair of Kings)
BB shows J Q (a pair of Jacks)
Hero wins $3.93
(Rake: $0.19)

Hand #5
Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1198971
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $1.61
Hero (SB): $3.90
BB: $1.63
UTG: $4.94
MP: $2.80
CO: $3.77

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is SB with K K
3 folds, BTN raises to $0.10, Hero raises to $0.24, 1 fold, BTN raises to $0.50, Hero raises to $2, BTN calls $1.11 all in

Flop: ($3.24) 5 7 4(2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($3.24) 8(2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($3.24) 4(2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $3.24
BTN shows K A (a pair of Fours)
Hero shows K K (two pair, Kings and Fours)
Hero wins $3.08
(Rake: $0.16)

Hand #6
Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1198962
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $3.22
UTG: $8.14
CO: $4.83
BTN: $3.94
Hero (SB): $2.44

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is SB with K Q
2 folds, BTN raises to $0.08, Hero calls $0.07, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.18) T T A(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $0.12, Hero raises to $0.37, BTN calls $0.25

Turn: ($0.92) 3(2 players)
Hero bets $0.72, BTN raises to $3.49 all in, Hero calls $1.27 all in

River: ($4.90) 4(2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $4.90
BTN shows A 8 (a flush, Ace high)
Hero shows K Q (a pair of Tens)
BTN wins $4.66
(Rake: $0.24)

Hand #7
Poker Stars $0.01/$0.02 No Limit Hold'em - 3 players - View hand 1198972
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $2.00
Hero (BB): $2.39
BTN: $1.45

Pre Flop: ($0.03) Hero is BB with A J
BTN calls $0.02, 1 fold, Hero raises to $0.10, BTN calls $0.08

Flop: ($0.21) 8 6 3(2 players)
Hero bets $0.16, BTN calls $0.16

Turn: ($0.53) Q(2 players)
Hero bets $0.43, BTN calls $0.43

River: ($1.39) A(2 players)
Hero bets $1.70 all in, BTN calls $0.76 all in

Final Pot: $2.91
Hero shows A J (a pair of Aces)
BTN shows 8 9 (a pair of Eights)
Hero wins $2.77
(Rake: $0.14)

View all 7 hands