Freaky Styley

I havent blogged for a while and definitely would like to change about it. There are a lot of reasons for this lazy activity, but i find it +EV to chronicle my fights through the micros. So I'm planning to update my blog on a monthly basis, at least for myself.
Since my last blog I'm still at NL10, so it seems nothing has changed. But a lot of things happened and changed in my poker life:

1. POKER GROUP: I've established a poker group at the end of last year in order that i could share thoughts, strategies with other players. I've got a strong need to discuss poker stuff with other players, it's simple like this. There were a lot of guys from all around the world from NL10-25. We had a private forum, we've made sweating etc. Everybody seemed to be dedicated at the beginning, but later on the activity disappeareed and found myself posting almost alone in our forum, it was the point that i quitted. Another problem was that not everybody was on the same level and it can badly influence your game when you get advice from a player who is longterm loser. It was a bit disappointment as I've expected a big bang from the grouping thing.

I've joined to another group after this fiasco, it was the same situation, joined to a dying group with lack of activity. But with the previous experience i could quickly decide and quitted, didnt want to spare my energy. So i think i've finished grouping.

2. BUDDIES: After the bad experience with the groups i've decided to look for 1-2 poker buddies we could discuss poker. I could find two great guys from DC and it's much better than the grouping. I can recommend this for everybody!!

3. RUSH: At the end of last year I didnt do well at the regular tables and i tried Rush 6M. Of course i got a nice heater at the beginning with the illusion of beating Rush. I wish i would have never tried it. I wasted 2 months with Rush playing against nobrainer fishes instead of improving my game, my skills, my BR and moving up quicker. It was a big tilt experience and now I'm happy that i could quit Rush. I've made some money at NL10, but I've been crushed at NL25. It was quite a sensitive bang to my BR. Variance is gross, much higher than at regular tables, there was a day when i lost 4 AIs with 94%+ equity. For me Rush was like gambling without reads, dynamics. I accept that there are players who are crushing Rush, good for them, I've decided to learn instead of it. 

4. POKER ROOMS: There was a dark time when i felt that i cannot win at FTP and i should try something new. Another nonworking illusion that there is a canaan somewhere else:) Which is nonexistent of course. As a European I've got nice choices among poker sites, so i tried PokerStars, Ipoker and Microgaming. There is a very big difference between the sites in all respect.

PS: I've tried Stars several times, but the software still annoys me after FTP, seat selection is more difficult, no RB (but smaller rake) and simply didnt feel myself comfortable to play there

Ipoker: worst software, customer service was not that friendly at cashout, full with shortstackers, nits, regulars

Microgaming: software is okayish (but was distracting enough for me), high RB, very fishy site, poor table selection. This is the dream site if somebody like playing vs at least 4 huge fishes at the table. Personally i dont like it and probably everybody would be shocked at this. But it's still true. It's full with aggro scandinavian fishes with 40/8 stats who came alive postflop. There are a lot of limpcalls and there is a totally different dynamic to a guy who got used to playing on FTP. 

So, i made the final decision that i wont change anymore, will stick to FTP, there is RB, i love the software.

4. REGULAR POKER: So, after Rush and having tried different sites I'll concentrate on the regular tables at FTP. I'm beating the games at NL10 this year, my confidence is strong and i believe in the lot of hours i put in playing, learning, watching vids. I've watched a lot of vids lately which helped a lot in my improvement. I'm playing max 4 tables (played 6-9 tables in the past), which added a lot to my winrate. I never wanted to believe this, but it's the truth.

2011 01-02 (playing standard TAG):

In the second half of this month I've started to open up my game and my aggressivity. I've watched some Grindcore vids which inspired me a lot. Of course i wont copypaste it, but it helped a lot to loosen up my game. I still play pretty solid (dont want to be one of the usual spewtard regs), but do to my loose range and image people are stacking off much-much lighter:)  At the moment I pretty much enjoys this new strategy and see my future in it.

5. POKER CHALLENGE: Everybody read about the story of Girah and i was also totally inspired by his story. There was one momentum which had the biggest impact on me, his aggressive moving up strategy. He wrote that he tried a new level with 25-30 BI and used a 2 BI stoploss, when he lost that 2 BI he stepped back and tried again. I'm planning to use the same method and will see. I'm at NL10 for a long time and now it's time to try again NL25. I'm confident about my play at NL10, will improve my BR for a little bit and then attack NL25 again. In the past when i tried NL25 my play was not ready for it, it's the sad truth and i have to be honest with myself.

So will use this method and will step back after 2 BI loss, dont care if it's a bad beat, a cooler. That's the challenge for myself.