The Dream

Alright, I’ve been playing micro/smallstakes NLHE for what seems like an eternity now, but I have never really been able to “crack the code.”

This means that I have been busting rolls going from NL2-100. Always the same story, grind well and build roll, then encounter negative variance, go on tilt and finally bust my roll on some higher stakes, or even blackjack.

Luckily I got rid of this problem not too long ago, so now I never limitrush. The tilt is still something which I need to work on, but listening to The Eightfold Path of Poker Enlightenment certainly helps me in that area.

I decided to write up this post, to try and illustrate what things have been keeping me from breaking through and crushing small/midstakes NLHE.

1) Dedication, motivation and mindset
I was never a good grinder, I remember the busiest month in my entire career I played just shy of 50K hands. That’s probably what most regulars play in 2 weeks! Getting more hands in means that you step away from the short term results and focus on the long-term instead. I’ve found it difficult to grind when the game has been rough, the fear of losing too strong in the back of my head.

2) Focus, laziness and lack of overview
I remember it very clearly, back in the day when Gus Hansen had his own pokersite. I would put money on and try to 8-table right off the gate, not doubting my own skills at any point I slowly bled all the money from my account, not that I had any clue about BRM at this point. Then I joined CardRunners where every instructor had a HUD and relied on them a lot to make reads, this was interesting and I’ve since then played with a hud.

This meant that I never really bothered to make reads, never really bothered to take good notes – I was so sure of my own ability that I would just play 8 tables whilst chatting on msn and listening to a podcast or even watching a television show.

3) Going with reads, and being ballsy
Sometimes you are on your A-game you know when you can get your opponent to fold, and when you can get them to make bad calls with third pair. But for the most part I’ve suffered following through on my reads, relying too heavily on HUD stats and being money scared in general. This is in spite of decent bankroll management.

4) Adjusting ridiculously bad
After watching a lot of movies on CR and DC I quickly learnt to be FPS, I would go crazy 3betting the same guy 4 times, watching him fold – and the fifth time he jams over my 3bet and I somehow level myself into calling with AQ. Now, there are times when this call would probably be correct, but players at micros don’t automatically adjust, so unless you’ve seen any evidence, do not adjust.

5) Just FxxxING fold
You KNOW that that passive fish, whom you haven’t seen raise the river just once in the one hour you have played with him, has it. Don’t try to be an idiot and make a call with top pair – when passive players suddenly attack it’s like the nuts. Again this links to adjustment, where you overadjust by calling too much, when villains are not really just adjusting like that.

6) BRM is everything
Without a bankroll you cannot play, but most people underestimate the sense of security by having a solid roll. Losing a few buyins should not affect at all. Therefore having at least 20 buyins per level is a minimum, particularly for me.

So, what’s the conclusion of my ramblings? I’m going to 2-4 table NL10 with my €300ish bankroll and this time, it is serious. I’m going to not do anything while I play, never play more than 1hr pr. Session, observe hands I’m not in, quit if I’m feeling tilted, take good notes to obtain reads, fold more when facing agression from passive players, valuebet more when playing against stations, barrel more with the right reads and run good.

I hope you enjoyed my first post, I promise the coming ones won’t be in the style of this one.

Best of luck at the tables,
Chris