GR1ZZL3R'S Diary Of A Fun Punter

[GR1ZZL3R]

One hour thirty five minutes in, lost one table, doubled the second, nearly doubled the third. 🙂  That table broke, time for a short break.  

Time marches on, back in an hour or so. 😐

Edited March 31, 2022 by GR1ZZL3R

[GR1ZZL3R]

Last throw of the dice, or spin of the wheel, or even turn of the card. No room to manouver. 😰

[GR1ZZL3R]

An hour in and dying the death of a thousand cuts.

 

All in pre, second time today, where's Merenitsu when you need to discuss the rng? 🤔

[GR1ZZL3R]

Maybe poker's not the game for me or have I taken over Merenitsu's mantle? 🤔

  TPTK: not good enough.

 

 OVERPAIRS: not good enough.

 

TWO PAIRS: not good enough.

 

FLOPPED SET: not good enough.

    FLOPPED STRAIGHT: not good enough.

 

SHOVE PRE WHEN DOMINATING: not good enough.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by GR1ZZL3R

[GR1ZZL3R]

An early start to the new quarter.

 And here comes GR1ZZL3R, there are some people on the table. They think it's all over.

Not quite yet. 🤣

[GR1ZZL3R]

I closed those two tables so I could start again with 6 tables of €2 but It looks like I'm ratholing so I'll have to wait a while. 🙄

  

Edited April 1, 2022 by GR1ZZL3R

[GR1ZZL3R]

   Finally made it through this morning, running the ticket from €4.05 up to €17.02, probably one of the better sessions I've done yet. Wish I could run like that a bit more often.🤣 

 

   I've played about 10 hours per week, seen around 4,000 flops, about one in eight hands, (lost count on the second ticket but not really relevant) dragged that last ticket kicking and screaming into a plus, and finished the quarter (slightly late) with 5.88 BBs/100. Not spectacular but NOT losing, despite some seemingly horrendous runs. It's still a relatively small sample size but hopefully I've learnt one or two lessons. 

   Despite this morning's run good I can't play more than 3 tables with any degree of confidence. I like to keep my eyes on what's going on and tend to miss too much action and end up rushing decisions to get back to a more pressing situation. How on earth anyone plays double figure tables is completely beyond me, my brain likes plodding along more comfortably.

   My stats according to the game lab are all optimal or nearly so, I still play a few too many hands out of position, call a few too many 3-bets and have great difficulty in letting good hands go even when it's more than obvious I'm beaten. "This time he can't have that." "Oh yes he can."  

   I'm still searching for that routine that seems so elusive but for the time being I'm going to play one or two tables to a win or bust situation, and with €136 in the balance and still €200 of BP's am stepping up to 

 

5-10c yet again. Not an April Fools joke, honest.  

So run good everyone 🍀 and Fun Punting. 🥂

 

[GR1ZZL3R]

After two days of relentless non fun this happened. Having been stacked on day one and day two with QQ I was a bit paranoid, is it about to happen again?

 

UTG raises to 0.25c, MP calls, I raise to €1.20, BB and UTG call, MP folds. Villain1 checks, villain2 checks, I bet 1.95 on the flop, BB raises to 5.00, UTG folds. I have no reads on villain, he's only been here a couple of minutes and this is the first pot he's entered, also the first I have while he's been there. When multi-tabling I would automatically raise here without any thought at all, but now it's time to 🤔 What's he doing this with?

 

Ranges are something I sometimes have trouble grasping, being a pessimist when pokering (mind set problems) I tend to think they always have what they're representing.

To be honest I'm now having trouble analysing this as I can't decide wether I was thinking some of these thoughts in real time or some in hindsight. The upshot any way was I was beaten by KK which I'd ruled out purely because I would have 4-bet or shoved preflop,  AJ or a less convincing J9. I beat far more than I lost to so I shoved.

 

Happy days. 🤣

And now on the scoreboard. 😌

 

Far more fun. Balance being maintained. ⚖️

Edited April 3, 2022 by GR1ZZL3R

[GR1ZZL3R]

   Apparently I'm in the same situation as a few other community members, that is a touch of run bad. This seems to appear out of nowhere, but commonly just as you're starting to relax slightly and thinking that the worst is probably over and congratulating yourself on managing to get through it. Weird sense of humour those poker gods. 😒

   The cash ticket is still alive but has been dented, not an outright disater but it just seems a case of two steps forward and 3 back every time, literally so this week from 2 buy ins up to 3 down. 

   Looking around for something to possibly break the bad beat monotony I went back to the Double Your Money mini tourneys on Sky, something I used to play some years ago. To be honest I don't think they're well named as they cost £1 with 10p rake, so you lose £1.10 or win 90p, so have to win a bit more than half of them to stay ahead. I suppose Increase Your Money By  81.81%  doesn't quite have the same snappy ring to it.🤣

   Anyway, a slow start and I was 4-6 down but then won 9 in a row, finishing the week 14-7 ahead, quite enjoying the pace, not too slow and yet not a quick shovefest, so I thought about giving the sng's here another shot. 

First hand.

                            

 

                 

Remarkable, AA holding up. 😮

Later.

                 

Wow. Flopping a set and turning it into a boat. 😯

Last hand.

 

                 

                 

😲😲

Question. Have I broken the rng?  🤔

I'll know soon enough.

Have fun. 🍀

[GR1ZZL3R]

The rng has resumed normal service. 😐

                       

                   

However, I remain in profit after a mammoth 4 games. 🤣

[GR1ZZL3R]

   I'm pretty much just blundering about on the poker tables without much rhyme or reason and basically no plan of attack except play a bit and see what happens.

                    

I'd raised pre, villain called, should I have checked the flop? 🤔 I did and villain bet, I raised and he shoved. An easy call, I was ahead and survived the flush draw. 😄

The next hand I flopped a set again, this time against a probable rec, he'd only been there five minutes, played most hands and had lost 18bb from his starting half stack. Same pre, I bet he called. He checked the flop, I bet, then he raised.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Slightly different as I could be massively behind, but I shoved, he called, I was ahead.........................

                     

..............but this time didn't survive. 😥

   Apart from the obvious moan that I can't win just two hands in a row even when flopping top set 🙄 the question is, should I have just called? If a spade had turned I could easily have folded, the nine, probably. The point is I just don't know what I should have done.🤔

   As I said, blundering about and getting nowhere.

                    

   I've only bought books in the past, read them through quickly, probably (highly likely) absorbing very little, not really studying in great depth, so I'm trying a different tack, buying a complete study course. Fifty videos, covering everything in a step by step process, watching one or two a day, working at my own pace and trying to put the theories into practice. Wether it's money well spent only time will tell.

   Tilt meter. ⚖️ Perfectly balanced. 

   Have fun.🍀

 

Edited April 18, 2022 by GR1ZZL3R

[GLENGYLE]

@GR1ZZL3R tbh I dont think you can just call as the board is far too wet and you cant fold top set.

dont think theres any point worrying about what the next card is, get the chips in and make him decide what to do.

im not folding if I am the villian either, far too many outs

 

seems I am having the same kind of luck for the last month 3,2 and 1 outers beating me and a flopped set never seems to hold

i have been splitting my time with poker stars again until I can stop the rot, no chance i will get my XP this quarter but I will keep my sanity🤪

[P0kerM0nk]

KK hand, don't think it really matters what you do, depends on villain too, if passive ish I would start betting as don't want to hand out free equity and you want to start shoveling in money. In general we are allowed to cbet more on K high boards than A high boards as villains call more Ax hands than Kx hands pre. Having top set is annoying though as you block value but I prob bet 100% vs recs and check/raise vs regs. Probably often see a fold with your top set but when you get action just try and get it in as you are OOP. If you call their raise and check turn they can x back and see 2 streets for free, not ideal. Villain shouldn't jam flop with that hand either tbh.

JJ hand plays itself, can't fold and so many bad turns you rather get it in now, he could also have a set and not pay you off when a 4th spade drops. Or he could have a flush but you still have outs, it is what it is, villain obvious rec calling in SB.

Which course did you buy btw?

[GR1ZZL3R]

   Thanks for the analysis. To be fair both I think both hands should have been straightforward to play, the series of run bad just messes with your mind and casts doubts over what should be simpler decisions. 

   I've mentioned before I have 3 books by Nathan Williams (blackrain79) and watch his YT videos, but being totally honest I don't study them, more of an uncomprehending absorption. I know I have some bad habits and some serious gaps in my knowledge so I decided to buy his course and go back to school. Big points already, his default opening range is roughly twice mine and his c-bet the flop range is much much higher than mine. Not all that surprising really, I know I'm far too nitty. That in turn leads to a huge reluctance to let a decent hand go even when it's obvious I'm beaten, if I've waited 10 minutes to play a hand then I'm going to play it aren't I? Maybe playing a few more hands might make me let more go, rather than regarding them as 

 

Some enthusiasm has already returned, roll on the check/raise river bluff section. 😮

[Rushbie]

Holding top sets on flop against all arrows, or sets at all, it's somewhat suicidally naive or selfharming in the longrun to not maxpot and maxpush the situation on cash..

Can't blame one. That's the beauty of time 😅

It's not always that simple either, but..most people only sees flop play when they're dealt good cards.

Life starts at 200km/h. Or at Turn 😁 just about when it's all about to crash 😎🍻

Edited April 19, 2022 by Rushbie

[Rushbie]

You do need some mental teeths towards the game and players, accepting taking wounds, licking those wounds to heal in a cave, and take the next game after it again to bite the opponents to survive with more experience and with a will to kill again.

Why?

Because every single baby wolfcub and eagle after waking up is gonna eat every thing they sense to live. The Kind Ones, are first in line.

You choose. Tactical kindness exists, but getting suppressing feelings about it is only the problem of ones that wants to get eaten, damnit

The misery of taking losing hits is a good example. It hurts. Feels bad. Yet that feeling is nothing but stupid brains creation to overcome shock and go on with whatever sensation is better than uncomfortly freezing impulse of doing nothing, basically 🍻

There're no such things as selfpity or insecurity, only fear and laziness talking in the head to maintain current situation.

Go get em, lion 😎

 

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8606542-there-s-no-such-thing-as-problems-mr-green-only-situations

Edited April 19, 2022 by Rushbie

[Rushbie]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365686/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

😄

Edited April 19, 2022 by Rushbie

[Rushbie]

[GR1ZZL3R]

   Today's lesson was how much to bet on the flop. I've always made more or less the same size (% of the pot) in all situations, but this recommends different %'s for different player types, not something I'd really thought about. This then begs the question of tracking player types without HUD's, fairly easy on one or two tables but slightly more difficult the more you open. A couple of times last week I was counting new arrivals after starting at a full table, the average length of stay was only around 6 minutes. This included one session of three of us at the same table for over an hour and no less than 15 other players appearing and disappearing. Of course this includes a few shortstackers that blow in, double up and blow out, or get stacked and vanish. 

Tomorrow is what to do if called on the flop or raised.

    

I wonder if he'll hang around till I find out? 🤣

[GR1ZZL3R]

 

...............or maybe more of the same. 

   With all the snooker, last of the football season, start of the cricket season etc, I've been playing very little poker again. I've got past all the flop workouts on my poker study course but I haven't reached the "How to be lucky" or "Increase your suckouts" sections yet, so the cash ticket has taken another huge nose dive. To be honest I've lost interest again, but I'm not going to go down the "I'm unlucky" path (I just am.) It doesn't help the mindset when constantly winning small pots or losing big ones when playing virtually the same, I think, consistent way. So once the ticket's gone (probably quite soon if I go on another tilt session) I'm leaving the cash tables forever............

 

.......................except for an occassional fling. I have been playing 1c-2c on PP and 2c-4c on Sky, they are both very soft, so I can still get my fix, along with a new target on UB. 

  "Malta or bust."

   My first blog was "Manchester or bust" an attempt to win a ticket to a now defunct live UK tour event. I eventually won a UO ticket but that was held online so I can't really count it. However I did quite enjoy playing a lot of the qualifying tourneys, and with the next destination of the returning Unibet Open tour being Malta at the end of September, and missing a holiday in Malta due to sad circumstances, I think that's the destination to inspire me to get back on the qualifying trail. I'm not going to build a hoard of tickets this time, just play them as and when they come up, maybe saving a few at a time so I can play a few days in a row. I'm not going to start playing at the bottom end, I think three rungs of the ladder, 10-50-250 might suit me, and maybe buy some lower tickets with the rest of my BP's and do some flipping to get me started, 0.40-2 and 2-10. 

   The horseracing and roulette have both been on the backburner for some months now, quitely simmering away while data is being gathered, but neither have been forgotten. It's my birthday next week so after that I'm going to go for an all out assault on both instead of dithering about. I'm determined to update more consistently as well, nearly three weeks since the last one. 

   So those are the current plans, who knows how long they'll last ( might not be long if my past record is anything to go by. 🙄

Run Good and Have Fun. 🏇🍀

 

[P0kerM0nk]

Quitter! 😆 Good luck on getting to Malta, I'll push some of my run good your way 😂

[GR1ZZL3R]

This is virtually identical to my fitness regime. 🤣

 

[GR1ZZL3R]

   Another year older and probably not much wiser, and once again time to try and  streamline of all my play. I seem to spend all my days flitting about from one site to another, one game to another, one project to another, not giving any one effort the chance to  mature and even out the variance, so it's time to take a stand.

   The poker will mainly be the Unibet Live route as indicated previously, with whatever amount of micro stakes cash games I can play without really going round the bend. I CAN still win at the lowest level (2-4c) but the next step up is proving surprisingly hard to make stick, is there really that difference between any two similar levels? 

 

 

  

So £100 on Sky, for 2-4c cash, $100 on PP, (had to withdraw in £ and missed the conversion rate by 1c🤣) for 2-5c cash  and £300 on UB for 2-4c cash, horses and roulette.

 

   No, the horses haven't been forgotten, but it's too time intensive to watch all the races, so I'm backing them in the morning and letting them get on with it. One pound on each to start with and see how it goes. 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

  And I can't go without mentioning Huddersfield Town. Their last effort a few years ago was tremendous, and after an all too brief return to the top tier of English football a downward trend seemed inevitable. Twentieth place last year in the championship didn't bode well, but another fantastic season sees them return to Wembley next week for the play off decider. Fun Fact: last night was the first time they'd EVER won a home leg in a play off campaign. A good season whatever happens.

  There must be something in the water this year as the Huddersfield Giants also return to Wembly for the Challenge Cup final, their first appearance there for a few years. Good luck to both teams. 🍀

Have Fun: 🏇

Edited May 17, 2022 by GR1ZZL3R

[P0kerM0nk]

I would say real poker starts at about 10NL, lower is just too much of a donk fest and sure you should easily win on those stakes by just playing tight and your hand strength.

Is it worth playing on 3 different sites if your volume isn’t that high btw?

[GR1ZZL3R]

42 minutes ago, P0kerM0nk said:

I would say real poker starts at about 10NL, lower is just too much of a donk fest and sure you should easily win on those stakes by just playing tight and your hand strength.   

Is it worth playing on 3 different sites if your volume isn’t that high btw?

@P0kerM0nk I do play a very basic style, slightly looser now I've finished my blackrain course. To be fair I'm not sure it's helped me a great deal, a few basic concepts expanded on, but my biggest problem is still on the mental side. I'll laugh at someone going broke on the river with top pair middling kicker when it's fairly obvious he's beaten, then three hands later do exactly the same thing, and I keep swearing I'll never bluff again against the wrong opponents but still do. 😭

   You may well be right about the volume so I've cleared every other account just now, so £300 on UB and £500 in reserve. How can I possibly lose? 🤣