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NoKturnal/14192/Poker.wmv

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Well i'd edit this or delete it or something but it wont let me. Hope this works. FIXED LINK

http://membervideos.deucescracked.com/NoKturnal/14192/Poker.wmv

I play "for fun" on Merge at the $0.02/$0.04 stakes. I won some of the $1 freeroll SNGs and have a small bankroll. I refuse to deposit, as the withdrawal process looks like a nightmare.

I played only on PokerStars since 2003 and was very surprised at the aggression level at $0.02/$0.04. You need to pay particular attention to 3B and fold to cbet stats of the regs. I am by no means an expert. I mass-tabled 25NL and 50NL on Stars with a very moderate winrate.

Don't be so down on yourself when recording. Your overall play is fine and I think it will be fairly easy to correct your biggest leaks at this stake. You already know a lot of them. You just need to make the play you feel is correct rather than the one you do most often. Consider the 99 hand. You said you usually call that. Here you folded, presumably because you thought people would criticize a call.

Everyone here is helpful and understands your situation. We are not going to be overly critical, but you are correct that we (or at least I) would have suggested to fold the 99. Calling there may be correct at higher stakes after you start getting into your opponent's heads to the third level, but it's important to first learn ABC poker. (I'm still learning that!)

I hope my commentary is helpful. You probably know a few of the things I have said. Like I said, I'm still working on ABC poker, so my advice isn't set in stone. The video was a pleasure to watch and comment on.
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* 2:00 ATs floptomistik is a reg and is isoing a fish. A fold here is never bad and a call is fine as well. It can go either way. (If you had called,) The flop is 5hTh7d. floptomistik bets 2/3p vs. two fish. If he had made a cbet and you were in the pot as well, I'd be EXTREMELY careful. I'm not worried about sealcrazy (another fish). You could peel one and see how the turn develops. A T falls on the turn. I would bet out fairly strong, at least 2/3p. The two fish are very likely to come along.

floptomistik raises a river bet by Flushmynutspoker. I'm guessing he has something like KT. the other possibilities are a set or an overpair. I feel he's good enough to raise for value with an overpair vs. this fish. (Shows JTs)

****Implied odds: They are important when considering almost any situation where you are drawing. I'm sure you know this, but implied odds are the reason you would call to set mine. Versus some players (those with wide ranges), you generally don't want to call 66 IP for a raise; vs. others (someone who is raising only premium hands, for example), you wouldn't hesitate.

They are also obviously necessary when drawing to a flush or straight. When you are OOP and drawing, your implied odds are severely diminished, as you are much less certain you will be paid off.

****Playing tight: Especially when learning, you need to play tight. It is never bad to open tightly in microstakes. Additionally, a lot of Merge players are 3B monkeys. You will be forced to fold enough of your tight opening ranges.

****Opening raise sizing: I am not getting a feel for your open raise sizing strategy, since this video is of limited length. When opening on the button, pay very close attention to the fold to steal stats of the blinds and their stack sizes. Open up your ranges a little when fish are in the blinds (and you will have position on them). When regs are in the blinds and you are on the button, decrease your raise size to 2x-2.5x. This will save you money at times when they 3B and encourage the regs to play a little more OOP, which is always good for you in the long run.

* 6:00 A8o BB is a shortstack. He is also fairly proficient for a $0.02/$0.04 player. He will most often fold to your open, but if he does continue, he will often 3B. Minraise here. Your larger open size is too great in proportion to the BB stack.

Once floptomistik calls, the flop comes out Kd5d2s. This is a mandatory cbet (after checking his fold to cbet stat!). He will be folding a bit in this spot. He will react similarly on this flop not matter what your cbet size. Probably just over 1/2p is good. (2/3 was good) You have a backdoor flush draw and and ace overcard in case he calls.

If he calls, bet a turn 8 or A (obviously). Bet a Q, J, and probably a T as well. Probably check a diamond turn (?). You don't want to get raised off your nut draw.

****Playing bad: keep a compilation of all the hands you felt you played badly and review them periodically. Analyze EXACTLY why you think you played it badly and post hands you aren't sure about. So far in the video, you are playing very well. There haven't been any major situations that put you to the test, of course.

*17:50 A5o. The fish limps in the CO and you isoraise on the BTN. Here is where stats would really help analyze this play. He will be calling extremely wide. A5o doesn't really play well postflop. I would prefer something like QTs. To determine if this is a good isoraise, you need to look at a few stats: aggression factor or frequency, fold to flop cbet (and maybe fold to turn cbet).

Easy fold when he leads into you.

I couldn't see the stats when you brought them up, but the best iso-raise hands are something like any two broadway, A8+, any suited ace, K7s+. Basically, you want big cards.

* 12:25 QJo SB. When copleting in the SB, You want to consider who has entered the pot.
A fish has limped and you have two fairly solid cards. Easy complete. This hand is good enough to complete vs. any limper, but play much more cautiously against some players than others. I still play quite tight when completing the SB, but loosen up somewhat when fish have limped. Against the fish, you are VERY unlikely to be dominated.

flop QsTs8h Bet that flop, probably full pot. If the fish has something he wants to play, he will call whatever the cost. (Gutshot, middle or bottom pair, flush draw) After no one bet the flop and the 6s falls on the turn, I'd probably go for a pot-sized bet. The fish will call with many spades or a J.

When you are first in a multiway pot, look at the players behind you. Are they tough? Be much less inclined to bet out. Are there fish? Definitely bet something like top pair, decent kicker.

* 14:00 99 BB. Call is good. You don't want to play a bloated pot OOP.

flop 3dJcQd Even though he is "obligated" to cbet, you need to fold here. The Q and J are too dangerous. If you called here, it is a "one and done" situation. Even if he's not a very good player, his position trumps skill level. You will either lose a large pot or win a small pot or need to fold the best hand when he fires again on the turn.

I'm not sure what you are saying about a card coming off that can be bluffed at(?). But you are not in a position to use a bluff card. If he is somewhat strong, he won't be folding. If he's weak, it wouldn't matter if a good bluff card came off or not. You are either ahead or behind now, and any hands that you are losing to will likely call most turn cards. You can never be very confident about bluffing OOP. It's likely to lose a lot more $$$. He, on the other hand, can use his position to bet at a myriad of good bluff cards.

Lesson is: play VERY tightly OOP after the flop (...and before the flop, of course).

Good fold.

If you normally would call that, but folded instead only because you didn't want to look "stupid" (your word, not mine!) on video, then perhaps you should always play as though you were making a video for public display.

* 20:10 KQs. You can usually raise KJs, QJs, and JTs UTG, and sometimes KTs or QTs. Two things to note here: You are not technically UTG. The player to your right you have a big fish in the BB (also one on the BTN). Because of this, you can widen your opening range to try to isolate the fish in the BB. You can also slightly increase your raise size to 4x. Don't necessarily increase the size based upon your holdings; rather, base it upon the fact that you want to isolate the fish in the BB and he is likely to call.

flop 4d3sAh. cbet of 2/3p is good here. If he calls, you have plenty of outs (assuming he doesn't have an ace), so you're not entirely irked if he calls. You may even have the best hand, as he will be peeling hands like T5 for a gutshot.

Once he calls and the 9s falls, you can give up (unless a K falls on the river).

It seems like youre missing alot of fundamentals. I would rewatch from the ground up. Its a simple strategy, but you can tweak it in certain spots to make it your own. It will give you enough fundamentals to beat NL4 at least.

Im in the same boat as you. I play on merge too. Im just now moving to 10nl. I started from 17$ and Im around 370 now, so I know all about the nl 4 fml grind. I have a blog on 2p2 http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/174/poker-goals-challenges/somethingoutofnothing-post-bf-1101349/ . You can add me on skype too if you want to discuss some HHs. PM for my skype. GL!