Just Meh

So I have now played approx 47k hands at $4nl. This has rebuilt my bankroll and then some after the tilt session a couple of weeks ago and running bad at the last shot. I made some adjustments to my game around the 30k hand mark, mainly avoiding more thin spots due to rake and making more tight folds when it seems correct to do so, sure I may be being bluffed occasionally but it has increased my winrate by quite a fair margin so its obviously working. Heres the graph for the 47k

3bet pots

I did have some concerns about my redline, but I dont think its anything to worry about really. I had some concerns of how I played in 3bet pots but this graph shows I must be doing ok. My 4betting range does need to expand though, its extremely narrow at the moment but its something I will be doing some more analysis in CREV in the next few days. I havent really played since Wednesday due to my BR being far too big to be bothered with $4nl anymore. I must have been a week late on my rakeback because I had two payments this week totalling $210 which puts my BR at $490 with another $50 coming in on Monday so total effective bankroll is $540; 60% rakeback is proving to be pretty much essential for moving up ASAP! I am cashing out $138 to take advantage of the discounts for CREV and OddsOracle to take my work away from the tables to the next level which I will be doing more of since the 10nl games on iPoker only really run in the evenings.

So my RB came in today which put my roll back up to $400 after doing some rebuilding after tilting really badly last week. Ive been listening to a chapter of The Mental Game of Poker pretty much everyday since I bought it. Its a really good book. Anyway, I decided to have another shot at 10nl speed on iPoker after playing a session of 4nl today. It didnt go well, I got my hands in good a majority of the time or was flipping, just the fish sucked out on the river. Heres todays graph. Should have probably booked the win at the beginning but I thought I was playing well so decided to continue. A 4 BI stop loss will be put in practice after this session though, since its pretty much delayed me a week again. Bankroll sitting at $320 and remarkably I wasnt shouting, or angry, or even going on monkey tilt. Just normal which is a big improvement. I must say I am quite dissapointed at myself for not quitting the session earlier though.

 Here are the biggest hands of the day:

Hand #1
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2207631
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $17.17 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 7.0, Hands: 56
UTG: $3.25 - VPIP: 100, PFR: 0, 3B: 0, AF: 1.0, Hands: 3
Hero (MP): $29.96 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.9, Hands: 74210
CO: $10.73 - VPIP: 60, PFR: 20, 3B: 33, AF: 4.0, Hands: 5
BTN: $24.88 - VPIP: 42, PFR: 25, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 24
SB: $5.02 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 7.0, Hands: 56

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is MP with Q Q
UTG calls $0.10, Hero raises to $0.45, CO calls $0.45, 4 folds

Flop: ($1.15) J K Q(2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $0.69, Hero raises to $2.41, CO raises to $4.13, Hero raises to $29.51, CO calls $6.15 all in

Turn: ($21.71) 6(2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($21.71) 5(2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $21.71
CO shows K J
CO wins $20.27
(Rake: $1.44)

Hand #2
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2207632
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $24.83 - VPIP: 42, PFR: 25, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 24
UTG: $5.25 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 24, 3B: 10, AF: 3.8, Hands: 619
MP: $10.00 - VPIP: 13, PFR: 13, 3B: 8, AF: 4.5, Hands: 100
CO: $17.61 - VPIP: 29, PFR: 24, 3B: 23, AF: 2.5, Hands: 107
BTN: $7.91 - VPIP: 44, PFR: 17, 3B: 2, AF: 1.5, Hands: 109
Hero (SB): $18.64 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.9, Hands: 74210

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is SB with K K
3 folds, BTN raises to $0.30, Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.70

Flop: ($2.10) 8 5 2(2 players)
Hero bets $1.30, BTN calls $1.30

Turn: ($4.70) 8(2 players)
Hero bets $2.35, BTN raises to $5.61, Hero calls $3.26

River: ($15.92) A(2 players)

Final Pot: $15.92
BTN shows K A
BTN wins $14.86
(Rake: $1.06)

Hand #3
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2207633
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $10.00 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.9, Hands: 74210
UTG: $10.00 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 7.0, Hands: 56
MP: $6.31 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 15, 3B: 3, AF: 2.0, Hands: 93
CO: $6.71 - VPIP: 61, PFR: 61, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 18
BTN: $18.19 - VPIP: 15, PFR: 4, 3B: 0, AF: 0.4, Hands: 55
SB: $3.95 - VPIP: 12, PFR: 6, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 17

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with K K
2 folds, CO raises to $0.40, 2 folds, Hero raises to $1.25, CO calls $0.85

Flop: ($2.55) 3 J 6(2 players)
Hero bets $1.27, CO raises to $5.46, Hero calls $4.19

Turn: ($13.47) A(2 players)

River: ($13.47) 2(2 players)

Final Pot: $13.47
CO shows 3 A
CO wins $12.58
(Rake: $0.89)

Hand #4
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2207634
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $11.13 - VPIP: 14, PFR: 12, 3B: 6, AF: 4.0, Hands: 118
UTG: $10.42 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 17
MP: $4.54 - VPIP: 27, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 3.0, Hands: 11
CO: $17.40 - VPIP: 20, PFR: 17, 3B: 7, AF: 3.1, Hands: 1562
BTN: $9.02 - VPIP: 42, PFR: 33, 3B: 0, AF: 9.0, Hands: 36
Hero (SB): $10.00 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.9, Hands: 74210

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is SB with K A
1 fold, MP raises to $0.30, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.30, Hero raises to $1.30, 1 fold, MP raises to $4.54, 1 fold, Hero calls $3.24

Flop: ($9.48) Q J 5(2 players)

Turn: ($9.48) 4(2 players)

River: ($9.48) 5(2 players)

Final Pot: $9.48
MP shows 9 9
MP wins $8.85
(Rake: $0.63)

Hand #5
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2207635
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $10.00 - VPIP: 16, PFR: 14, 3B: 6, AF: 1.1, Hands: 132
UTG: $6.16 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 21, 3B: 8, AF: 2.8, Hands: 160
MP: $4.47 - VPIP: 34, PFR: 19, 3B: 6, AF: 8.0, Hands: 74
Hero (CO): $10.31 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.9, Hands: 74210
BTN: $12.93 - VPIP: 12, PFR: 9, 3B: 0, AF: 2.0, Hands: 75
SB: $15.48 - VPIP: 16, PFR: 14, 3B: 6, AF: 1.1, Hands: 132

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is CO with K A
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.30, BTN calls $0.30, SB calls $0.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($1.00) 8 K 7(3 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.75, BTN folds, SB raises to $1.50, Hero calls $0.75

Turn: ($4.00) K(2 players)
SB bets $2.80, Hero raises to $8.51, SB calls $5.71

River: ($21.02) 9(2 players)

Final Pot: $21.02
SB shows 7 7
SB wins $19.62
(Rake: $1.40)

View all 5 hands

So I have read The Mental Game of Poker, which is an excellent book. I will be studying it in much much more detail in the future. Anyway, my previous three years of blog posts were pretty embarrassing and a great indicator to what is holding me back so I have deleted them and starting new. I have beaten 5nl and 4nl on multiple occasions  Then I get too excited and begin to have unrealistic expectations(probably to do with being bipolar). Anyway, I suffer from multiple forms of tilt.

1. Entitlement tilt, basically I think I am entitled to win because I study poker and that fish should never win and therefore they should never make hands.

2. Anxiety, manifests itself in the fear of losing and feeling like a degenerate.

3. Not fully understanding variance, and the impact it can have on results over weeks to several months.

4. Being results oriented, I constantly look at my HEM to see how things are going. Which leads to playing bad when losing, and also winners tilt creeps in when I am running hot.

5. Playing far too much volume and not studying, simply dismissing my losses to negative variance.

I have filtered out the results in my HEM, I will now only check it to see how many hands I have played though I probably wont bother since I plan to go a week without looking at my results. When playing hands, I find my thought process which I go through away from the tables and when reading forum posts breaks down in big pots, heart rate goes up and I don't trust my reads/or out level myself with my HUD. This has probably been manifested through negative reinforcement when calling down people when I should fold to see that they are bluffing, which has caused me to become a bit of a calling station.

Another thing is to "warm up". I used to exercise daily, though this isnt the case since I messed up my rotator cuff last year. Its fully healed, but I am finding it hard to exercise with the same intensity as I used to on a regular basis. I also need to do much more work away from the tables, its boring but its the only way to improve. I will have to come up with a poker study schedule which will involve studying and getting everything else done during the day so I am completely free to play during the evening when the tables run.

Will post new study/exercise regime tomorrow. Tomorrow is also the start of a 20k hand stretch without even looking at my results at $4nl to recoup my losses from tilt on iPoker $10nl speed tables. This, along with all the rakeback from the speed tables should put my bankroll around $400-$500 so I can just play worry free back at $10nl and higher and focus on learning than rakeback grinding.

Daryl

So, tilt has reared its ugly head...again

Taking a few days off and reading The Mental Game of Poker by Jared Tandler and going to listen to EPTE on DC.

Is to run hotter than the sun!

Hand #1
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2202208
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $16.81 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.7, Hands: 30824
UTG: $9.84 - VPIP: 27, PFR: 5, 3B: 0, AF: 1.2, Hands: 37
MP: $10.37 - VPIP: 33, PFR: 0, 3B: 0, AF: 1.0, Hands: 9
CO: $2.89 - VPIP: 20, PFR: 20, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 10
BTN: $3.17 - VPIP: 24, PFR: 20, 3B: 20, AF: 2.5, Hands: 25
SB: $7.47 - VPIP: 31, PFR: 16, 3B: 8, AF: 0.0, Hands: 32

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with Q Q
1 fold, MP calls $0.10, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.10, SB calls $0.05, Hero raises to $0.60, MP calls $0.50, BTN calls $0.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($1.90) 6 8 Q(3 players)
Hero bets $1.30, MP calls $1.30, BTN raises to $2.57, Hero calls $1.27, MP calls $1.27

Turn: ($9.61) 2(3 players)
Hero bets $13.64, MP calls $7.20 all in

River: ($24.01) 8(3 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $24.01
MP shows T K
BTN shows J Q
Hero wins $22.41
(Rake: $1.60)


Hand #2
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2202209
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $17.21 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.7, Hands: 30824
UTG: $13.54 - VPIP: 23, PFR: 20, 3B: 14, AF: 3.3, Hands: 129
MP: $4.50 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 21, 3B: 10, AF: 4.3, Hands: 146
CO: $17.22 - VPIP: 16, PFR: 14, 3B: 3, AF: 3.3, Hands: 80
BTN: $20.91 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 2, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 46
SB: $13.97 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 21, 3B: 0, AF: 0.8, Hands: 52

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with K A
UTG raises to $0.30, 4 folds, Hero raises to $1, UTG raises to $2.40, Hero calls $1.40

Flop: ($4.85) J Q T(2 players)
Hero checks, UTG bets $2.80, Hero raises to $14.81, UTG calls $8.34 all in

Turn: ($27.13) 8(2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($27.13) Q(2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $27.13
UTG shows A A
Hero wins $25.33
(Rake: $1.80)


Hand #3
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2202210
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $4.10 - VPIP: 27, PFR: 25, 3B: 6, AF: 13.0, Hands: 122
UTG: $21.85 - VPIP: 39, PFR: 39, 3B: 22, AF: 3.3, Hands: 23
MP: $11.74 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 19, 3B: 5, AF: 0.0, Hands: 113
CO: $10.00 - VPIP: 16, PFR: 10, 3B: 7, AF: 1.9, Hands: 134
Hero (BTN): $10.80 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.7, Hands: 30824
SB: $6.26 - VPIP: 27, PFR: 25, 3B: 6, AF: 13.0, Hands: 122

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BTN with 2 2
UTG raises to $0.20, 1 fold, CO calls $0.20, Hero calls $0.20, 1 fold, BB calls $0.10

Flop: ($0.85) 2 J 7(4 players)
BB checks, UTG checks, CO bets $0.68, Hero calls $0.68, BB folds, UTG folds

Turn: ($2.21) 2(2 players)
CO bets $1.60, Hero calls $1.60

River: ($5.41) J(2 players)
CO bets $3.80, Hero raises to $8.32, CO calls $3.72 all in

Final Pot: $20.45
CO shows J Q
Hero wins $19.09
(Rake: $1.36)

Hand #4
IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2202211
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $11.50 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.7, Hands: 30824
UTG: $3.42 - VPIP: 37, PFR: 5, 3B: 0, AF: 0.4, Hands: 19
MP: $4.40 - VPIP: 30, PFR: 20, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 10
CO: $7.36 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 2, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 46
BTN: $10.86 - VPIP: 18, PFR: 18, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 11
SB: $5.44 - VPIP: 15, PFR: 14, 3B: 8, AF: 0.0, Hands: 170

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with A K
3 folds, BTN raises to $0.30, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.10, BTN raises to $10.86, Hero calls $9.76

Flop: ($21.77) 3 A 6(2 players)

Turn: ($21.77) T(2 players)

River: ($21.77) 9(2 players)

Final Pot: $21.77
BTN shows 5 4
Hero wins $20.32
(Rake: $1.45)

View all 4 hands

MISCLICK!

IPoker Network $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 2202214
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $11.27 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 18, 3B: 9, AF: 3.7, Hands: 30824
UTG: $10.94 - VPIP: 25, PFR: 21, 3B: 0, AF: 0.8, Hands: 52
MP: $11.20 - VPIP: 55, PFR: 15, 3B: 0, AF: 1.4, Hands: 20
CO: $16.62 - VPIP: 21, PFR: 2, 3B: 5, AF: 0.6, Hands: 61
BTN: $3.60 - VPIP: 22, PFR: 18, 3B: 11, AF: 2.0, Hands: 50
SB: $14.58 - VPIP: 17, PFR: 2, 3B: 0, AF: 0.0, Hands: 46

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with J K
1 fold, MP raises to $0.30, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.30, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.95) 6 Q 5(3 players)
Hero checks, MP bets $0.95, BTN folds, Hero raises to $10.97, MP calls $9.95 all in

Turn: ($22.75) 3(2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($22.75) 3(2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $22.75
MP shows K 6
Hero wins $21.24
(Rake: $1.51)

Ok so I have decided to return to poker. For those of you that didnt see on the forums a year ago, I made a post saying I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder after having a breakdown during my masters degree. Anyway, thankfully since then I have been fine. I got an MSc in Electronic and Electrical Engineering with Merit (68%) overall. However I am currently unemployed, I spent too much time trying to secure a PhD rather than a job, and the PhD I secured near the end of the year fell through due to lack of funding. I then worked in a warehouse for Amazon over Christmas, which I was then made redundant on the 5th January after being given a can of Vimto and a Kit-Kat (cheers guys, merry christmas to you too). Since then I have been unemployed and looking for work, I have been getting a lot of interviews (6 in total) and made the final round for a job last fortnight but didn't receive an offer.

Im currently staying with my older brother and am putting in a lot of volume and studying while looking for work. I deposited around $150 on iPoker and have moved to $10nl speed. Ive got a great rakeback deal which adds around 5bb/100 to my winrate which has been a huge help. I beat 4nl over 22k hands for $110 I think, and received enough in this weeks rakeback payment to move up because I also put in around 25k hands on 5nl speed but broke even because I was rusty. Heres the garph. Lots of mistakes were made, being pretty rusty and all but Im enjoying poker a lot at the moment.