Zavodovski's Poker Blog

Hi,

1. Blog declaration that I will only play when I feel like it - continuing a time honoured tradition of posting blog goals and not achieving them. Poker just isn't nearly enough fun at the moment for me to structure my days around it though. And being unemployed right now means I just feel guilty spending a lot of time doing anything that isn't related to getting myself a job!

2. This is lovely - can't get enough of Philip Glass. Long repetitive stuff works well as a soundtrack when I do play poker.

GL at the tables!

Hi,

To preface with a quick note – I used to post here under the handle ‘Dumas’ but changed it for my own idiosyncratic OCD reasons ;)

Anyway, on with the blog. I’m actually just making an effort to return to poker, and by association the DC forums, after a couple-month long hiatus from playing - primarily on account of this:

Following on from a smooth run at 5NL, getting crushed so comprehensively at 10NL was rather demoralising. That it was less to do with running badly, and probably more down to the fact that right now I’m a long term loser at that level is an added frustration. My own halcyon days of winning sessions at 50NL and preparing for shots at 100NL (albeit full ring rather than my now habitual 6 max games) feel like an age ago – the game gets harder to beat every time I come back to it!

The enumeration of frustrated evenings, bad beats and raging tilt sessions notwithstanding however, my love of poker is an enduring one and as I don’t particularly enjoy admitting defeat in any activity and the itch to play has once again returned, a blog post delineating some fresh targets and a renewed focus on improvement seemed the best way forward.

Paradoxically I think you can militate against achieving your goals even as you set them. My own experience has been that the outcome oriented goals (get to 200NL by the end of the year etc.) I've set in the past have been predicated on an unrealistic assessment of my own abilities and the state of the games, and to the extent that variance has had its effect, out of my control. A cavernous gap between my expectations and reality is the end result. I wouldn't be surprised if other people have experienced the same. Hence we set ourselves up for multiple setbacks, in the face of which it is easy to become demotivated and disillusioned.

As an alternative, procedurally related goals seem superior – naturally in making them you have to focus more on what concrete measures you’re going to have to take in order to progress as a player, and it’s you who has the final say in whether you achieve them. With that said, between now and the end of June I aim to:

• ·         Play at least 25K hands (4-6 tabling 5NL)

• ·         Pick at least 1 hand from each session to review and post on forum

• ·         Read ‘The Mental Game of Poker’ by Jared Tendler and make notes
  

• ·         Blog once a week about something or other

The volume target is fairly modest, but all told the above should get me back into a decent poker routine. Excited to read Jared Tendler's book - I'm such a horrible tilt monkey and I've heard good things! First things first though – Champions League final this evening! Going to really stick my neck out and say Bayern to win, although I’m rooting for Chelsea :)

Thanks for reading and good luck!

Damn you David Mitchell!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17449465

In other news - breakeven over 50K hands @10NL. FML.

10NL on Stars is proving a hard nut to crack. Down a couple of buyins over 21k hands thus far - such stretches are normal I guess, but I'm rather frustrated nevertheless.  I think one of my main leaks, which I am often guilty of when moving up, is overthinking things and outlevelling myself. I just need to realise that people still hate to fold, and go from there. Fun times with calling stations below:

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1651087
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

UTG: $5.30
MP: $11.03
Hero (CO): $10.85
BTN: $14.69
SB: $11.53
BB: $18.33

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is CO with 5 5
UTG raises to $0.30, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.30, 3 folds

Flop: ($0.75) 5 5 T(2 players)
UTG bets $0.57, Hero calls $0.57

Turn: ($1.89) 2(2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $1.00, UTG calls $1

River: ($3.89) K(2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $8.98, UTG calls $3.43 all in

Final Pot: $10.75
UTG mucks Q Q
Hero shows 5 5
Hero wins $4.72
(Rake: $0.48)

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1651092
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

CO: $21.06
BTN: $8.72
Hero (SB): $12.47
BB: $10.41
UTG: $0.21
MP: $5.00

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is SB with 4 4
4 folds, Hero raises to $0.30, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.60) K 4 2(2 players)
Hero bets $0.35, BB raises to $1.40, Hero raises to $3.20, BB raises to $8.60, Hero raises to $12.17, BB calls $1.51 all in

Turn: ($20.82) Q(2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($20.82) A(2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $20.82
Hero shows 4 4
BB shows 7 K
Hero wins $17.82
(Rake: $0.94)

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1651094
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP: $11.17
Hero (CO): $10.00
BTN: $13.03
SB: $12.02
BB: $10.00
UTG: $14.68

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is CO with A K
2 folds, Hero raises to $0.30, BTN raises to $0.70, 2 folds, Hero raises to $2, BTN calls $1.30

Flop: ($4.15) J A 8(2 players)
Hero bets $2.30, BTN calls $2.30

Turn: ($8.75) 9(2 players)
Hero bets $5.70, BTN calls $5.70

River: ($20.15) 8(2 players)

Final Pot: $20.15
Hero shows A K
BTN shows 9 Q
BTN wins $19.24
(Rake: $0.91)

Poker Stars $10.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1651095
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $10.00
UTG: $9.07
MP: $4.28
CO: $7.60
BTN: $12.55
Hero (SB): $14.50

Pre Flop: ($0.15) Hero is SB with A A
UTG raises to $0.26, 1 fold, CO calls $0.26, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1.10, 1 fold, UTG calls $0.84, 1 fold

Flop: ($2.56) T 3 3(2 players)
Hero bets $1.10, UTG calls $1.10

Turn: ($4.76) Q(2 players)
Hero bets $2.70, UTG raises to $6.87, Hero calls $4.17

River: ($18.50) J(2 players)

Final Pot: $18.50
UTG shows 6 6
Hero shows A A
Hero wins $17.67
(Rake: $0.83)

GL

Hi,

Contrary to the mock philosophical heading, I doubt this blog is the place for much by way of spectacular enlightenment, poker-related or otherwise. Instead, it's just somewhere for me to bounce ideas around, post results and interesting/funny hands, and doubtless rant about whatever injustices I feel I've been dealt most recently (although I'll try and keep that last aspect to a minimum).

To be honest, I've long had reservations about blogging on the grounds that one can often come across as braggy, whiny, or just plain irrelevant, and doubtless should I continue writing here I'll be all of the above at various points. Having said that, I have always valued the opportunity to note the progress of other players at similar or even somewhat higher stakes to myself through their own blogs, whether it be to gain reassurance that the games are still beatable for a decent amount, or that I'm not the only one having to endure 50K hand breakeven stretches and tilting massively at times as a result. Hence, I am hopeful that chronicling my own exploits may similarly provide some small degree of succour or insight to those who read it.

Anyhow, having offered my justifactory preface to this blog, now to the actual poker. As stated in the description, I'm another micro-staker trying to move up the levels and see where I get to. Most recently, I stuck $100 online and started playing 6 max cash. By way of a brief first update here are the sum total of my 5NL endeavours so far.

I ended up having to play more hands than I would have liked at 5NL, but things went a lot smoother when I stopped worrying about my redline and just value bet more whilst cutting down on bluffing. Ran basically bang on EV, so can't complain. Taking some shots at 10NL now, and hopefully will be able to make that stick.

Thanks for reading and good luck.