From Poker Donk To Winning Monk

P0kerM0nk · July 13, 2022

888 Bankroll down to $635, becoming a joke really. This variance bullshit is taking the piss again.

Open QJ and get CALLED by BB, bet flop, overbet the turn then get jammed for w/e was left... joke.

Get 3b by BB, call, flop a set, not the best on monotone board but still strong, guy went like bet jam instantly, he's one of those weird ones on 888, never even thought about betting the flop just instantly, and instant jam on turn... smells dodgy. And again I hit a set and they hit a better one, no point in me folding as they can have AK with one heart etc etc...

Typical 888 runouts, they call sb and then donk, I raise and sure they always hit whatever on turn or river. Just an example but happens all the time.

UTG rec opens, I 3b, get 4b, all in... fuck not again, great flop finally!, what fu turn, wth river... BS

CO limps and I iso to 5bb, BB calls and so does CO, think CO donked small or w/e and I raised, BB re-raised so I just stuck it in and he snap called... again BS

Can't remember exact sequence of this hand, prob I open raised and 2 callers then cb and BTN call and SB rec jammed so easy jam, stacks are short as well so not much to do then get it in with TPTK... never ending this piss...

Big nit 3b me from BB so I actually know exact what hand he has AA or KK lol, calling to get a decent flop, hit 2p and he x/r me on the flop, decided to call to avoid a 4 flush card and then jam as that gives less equity for him on the turn. Think he jammed himself so easy call, he had exact what I thought and basically a flip on the flop, slightly ahead on the turn but hey ho... what did you think eh?

Seems Unibet is going the same way again too... 3b AA, get 4b, call, call it off post flop and of course he has KK...

BTN limps, SB minraises lol? I make it 9BB both call, cb 1/3 as BTN is short and he just jams, SB folds easy call.... yep same bs...

KK vs AA... ofc! Again!

Open QJ and rec calls in SB, bet big on flop, overbet turn and big bet on river... f me... and he just called.

Splashy CO rec opens and rec in BB as well, so call 56s, x/r flop big, bet turn, worst riv... x/f...

Again pot with 2 recs, MP min opens, I 3b, BTN and MP call, 1/2 cb flop, both call, bet turn again and BTN jams and MP calls lol, I folded...

These weird hands, I open QQ, BTN calls, SB squeezes, I 4b and both call... K on the flop sure... flop goes x/x/x and turn J SB bets 1/2... I fold BTN calls, SB bets 40BB in to 160BB then folds to a BTN jam and he only had 40BB left lol...

2 all ins with AK on Unibet, one vs AK other vs KK and lost it...
2 all ins I remember from today on 888, KK vs AA x2 and lost both...

Still waiting on a bloody heater that lasts longer than a day tbh...

P0kerM0nk · July 14, 2022

Just got contacted by the Guinness Book of World Records for the amount of times I’ve run KK into AA this year 🤣 🥲

P0kerM0nk · July 23, 2022

Been a while, haven't played that much with the warm weather and I haven't got much motivation as I just can't win anymore lately. Bankroll 888 now at $700 and just above €1,700 on Unibet. Can't remember a day I've won more than 1 buy in tbh. 17 buy ins down on Unibet so far this month... don't think I'll be playing poker for much longer as I've put so many hours in this and I just don't get anything out of it. Not worth my time.

Haven't played for a few days and played a bit today 2-4h or something, ended the day somewhat break even and only had 1all in preflop, I 3b and he 4b to 33BB (tell?)... bit silly calling that big of a 4b so jam is only way imo.

And then this hand and I quit after this, 3b get 4b... bit deeper so guess we call most of the time, villain has barely played any hands... funny how I again get 4b to 33BB...

And then he insta jams flop, like no thought whatsoever... this is just like wtf am I meant to do with KK no d... don't beat AA, QQ, TT... could have KK with a d, AKdd but these spots are so stupid...

And ofc he has AA even with the Ad...

So far this month I've ran in to AA 17x and had only my own AA all in pre 8x...

And they keep giving me playthrough bonuses lol, currently on 42% on a RAKE 300, GET 30 bonus and 4 days left on it. See how it goes tomorrow, if it starts with losing again then I don't think I'll be pushing to clear it tbh.

I don't really understand what is happening, trying to play my game with following my gameplan and for whatever reason I always end up losing, I always seem to get the 2nd best hand over and over... but yeh, as I said prob won't play much longer if there isn't any change soon.

CuteRaven · July 24, 2022

I know the feeling when you keep losing, you're not really sure why, you lose motivation, you start playing worse (but you don't realize it) because you are just frustrated and don't have the drive to win (so you're not paying so much attention and just dismissing hands as standard coolers), the strategy of the game is no longer interesting...etc.

I would probably take a break if I were you, no point doing something that's not fun, maybe return again later when you've regained some motivation. Hopefully you're enjoying the summer though regardless!

55 minutes ago, P0kerM0nk said:

I 3b and he 4b to 33BB (tell?)... bit silly calling that big of a 4b so jam is only way imo.

I disagree, I'm never jamming QQ there (I would call). I don't know what it's like at NL25, but at NL 4 or NL 10 maybe only 20% of the player pool actually bluff 4bets. The 4betting range of many/most players is typically something close to QQ+ AK+. So why would I forfeit my positional advantage and jam a hand that's flipping at best against the calling range (and the sort of player that doesn't bluff 4bet will call a jam with most or all of their range)?

I think even GTO rarely jams QQ there (maybe sometimes). There's a 6max pokerai called pluribus that was made by a university some years ago for the sake of research. They released the hands that it played (and people have made videos about those). Sometimes I like to watch those to get inspiration for what "GTO" would do (can't afford a solver lol).

For example here is every hand that Pluribus had QQ in:

It seems to like to really mix things up, taking various lines. But for example at 6:00 it called a 4bet with QQ even though it was out of position, and at 10:30 it just called QQ in position vs a 3bet.

The difference between this and the real world is that humans 4bet more nitty (and there's rake in the real world), and Pluribus assumes it's against GTO (where bluff 4betting is common). So in the real world I would favor being more passive pre with stuff like QQ or AK against unknowns/nitregs when they 4bet.

Probably I would just call every hand in position instead of 5-betting anything but that's just my preference (unless I have a read that someone bluff 4bets a lot).

1 hour ago, P0kerM0nk said:

And then he insta jams flop, like no thought whatsoever... this is just like wtf am I meant to do with KK no d... don't beat AA, QQ, TT... could have KK with a d, AKdd but these spots are so stupid...

Ugly spot. Maybe exploitatively you could fold against a nit there but I probably wouldn't find a fold 😅

1 hour ago, P0kerM0nk said:

So far this month I've ran in to AA 17x and had only my own AA all in pre 8x...

For sure a pretty bad run, but something that's bound to happen every now and then 😕

P0kerM0nk · July 27, 2022

So didn't make the RAKE, GET bonus which expired today as was only at 50% on Sunday so just ignored it. Only played a few short sessions keeping my head straight and just getting on with it. I will try to get the next RAKE, GET completed as my volume is pretty shocking lol.

Funny enough they keep giving me more RAKE, GET bonuses, I'm actually not sure if they just stack up week after week 😂 The current one is slightly big so will need some decent volume but as you can see the 2 last ones should be easy enough to clear once I get there.

Have requested all my cash stats for the year but have yet to hear back after a couple of days, bit of a hit or a miss when you contact Unibet support, sometimes you get an email back within hours, next time it could be up to a week. But maybe I wish I never asked the stats once I see them 😅

KrustyTheClown · July 27, 2022

Good to see you're still on the grind and keeping your head cool 👍
Variance can be brutal at times as you know all too well too.
Taking a couple days off and coming back fresher and stronger is the way to go.
GL 🙂

P0kerM0nk · August 1, 2022

They need to start adding more space on the bonus page as you can only see the 3 next ones so can't even see this one yet lol. Working through the €45 one and at 30% with 8 days to go.

Have received my stats for the year eventually after sending a reminder email and:

Played 65k hands at 50NL for -5.4bb/100 🥶 (can't even remember me playing so many hands at 50NL this year)
Played 104k hands at 25NL at 4.66bb/100 😕

Just finished July and almost 20 buy-ins down for the month, played 27k hands and gained almost 5k Bonus Points (44,250 BP atm), dropped like 10 buy ins on Saturday 🙄

Not really been plain sailing this year, have a suspicion I'm over complicating things tbh along with some proper run bad in the mix. Have wasted a few stacks here and there out of frustration though which doesn't help.

I can do this, I just know as I got it inside of me, I just need to find it again 😅

I take some consolation in the fact that some poker players who stream, struggle too in building a bankroll so in that way I don't feel too bad, if the "pro's" can't even do it in the short term... 😂

AbvUrPlayGrd · August 2, 2022

On 7/24/2022 at 1:07 AM, CuteRaven said:

For example here is every hand that Pluribus had QQ in:

@7:17 it's total bullshit. In the real world AT LEAST 3 of them are calling and possibly 1 or 2 of them unloading the clip(and getting there).

I'm still only on NL4 and popping into NL10 mind and pretty much the entire table would have already fallen in love with their hands and not letting go

Pluribus was running like you early on in that video too.

Hard as it is to keep steady when there's a storm, you can get through it.

CuteRaven · August 3, 2022

On 8/1/2022 at 10:58 PM, P0kerM0nk said:

Played 65k hands at 50NL for -5.4bb/100 🥶 (can't even remember me playing so many hands at 50NL this year)
Played 104k hands at 25NL at 4.66bb/100 😕

To be honest, I don't think these results are really that bad (4.66 BB/100 seems quite good to me actually! For sure better than I could do). There's a good chance that you are running pretty bad at the 50 NL sample and your EV isn't nearly that bad.

I've always had the impression that cash games are some of the most "exact science" types of poker games (but maybe that's just a misconception), so if there are a bunch of players there who play for a living and they are studying a lot, then it's quite hard sometimes to overcome the edge they have. Not to mention that rake takes maybe about 8-10 BB/100, so when you factor that in, and the fact that a winrate of something like 10 BB/100 is already considered "world class", probably only about 30% of players are even making a profit.

On 8/3/2022 at 12:16 AM, AbvUrPlayGrd said:

In the real world AT LEAST 3 of them are calling and possibly 1 or 2 of them unloading the clip(and getting there).

Well I can't argue with that (and against such players you probably want to be getting a lot of money in pre 😄)

AbvUrPlayGrd · August 4, 2022

1 hour ago, CuteRaven said:

Well I can't argue with that (and against such players you probably want to be getting a lot of money in pre 😄)

Yep been there and got the t-shirt and the scorch marks from them getting their hips in so fast!

AbvUrPlayGrd · August 4, 2022

hips? Well I suppose all-in is all-in 😂

torevil6 · August 4, 2022

Damn

torevil6 · August 4, 2022

Follo us grazyes

Altero · August 4, 2022

Ouchhh...

You are not running bad you are been running over... 🙂 Actually I´ve been having the same sensation lately...

Sometimes it's just better to have a moment of pause and wait some days to hit again.

Btw, god stats there 👍

P0kerM0nk · August 5, 2022

Will post a bit more tomorrow or so and react to some posts, playthrough at 40% so need to give it some whip this weekend, ends Wednesday I think.

Bankrolls back on the mend, trying to stay focused and ignore all the hands I lose or go tits up 😂

Yesterday I played an hour, all good, up 1.5 buy ins ish, closing all my tables, last table, last hand I get KK... nice, open, 80BB stack 3b me, ok I 4b and both stacks go in the middle... AA 😏 😂

P0kerM0nk · August 7, 2022

Crazy Saturday night on the tables, such a soft field but no luck on capitalizing on it. So many multiway pots as well, nightmare at times.

UTG minraises, MP calls, I iso somewhat loose but absolute whales on the table. Get 3 callers and pot is already huge and this is the action, BB donks, MP shoves... 🤷‍♂️ lots of these spots, like limp x4 I have AK so iso to 8-10bb and the whole table calls, flop 567 and I have to fold yet again lol.

Some good spots too, all in pre... yup Q7o

And then hand it back 2min later to same guy... 🙄

Nice hand, I open 76s, BTN raises, BB coldcalls so I come along, nice flop. BTN cb 1/3, BB minraises which is already weird so I just call which is also weird just repping a K or a 7 really. BTN calls as well pretty much repping AA KK or AK, maybe KQs. Turn BB bets 1/2 which I just call lol still repping a K. BB is actually repping quads now lol. BTN jams BB folds weirdly enough and BTN shows AA. Bad luck. Not sure why he is jamming AA now tbh as the board will barely ever change.

Yeh, saw stuff like this a lot, UTG shoved his 12.6bb stack and 2 just call lol, pot is already huge.

3b MP and he calls, then he donks flop big and 1/2 on turn, guy was just splashy so just calling, guess a shove is maybe better on turn. I wasn't going to fold anyhow vs him, then he bets riv and I just shove my remaining 3bb... and he tank folded lol, no we aren't chipdumping 😅 he maybe didn't want to show his QTo crap 😂

Might have posted one of the videos before but a good reminder anyway:

Only half way the playthrough atm although I've played a fair bit, going to be tight, again 🤣

GR1ZZL3R · August 7, 2022

1 hour ago, P0kerM0nk said:

I've not seen this guy before but I found him very interesting, maybe not for new material but going into a few of these points in far more detail than I've seen before.👍

So spooky how he summed up my mental state so accurately, I began to think even if I don't know him he must know me. 😬

Thanks.

GR1ZZL3R · August 7, 2022

Maybe this applies as well, possibly even more so. 🤔

Not even remembering I had his book in Kindle doesn't reflect well on me. 😭

P0kerM0nk · August 7, 2022

@GR1ZZL3R Bit strange you have never heard of him, as you have already mentioned, he has multiple books and courses about poker and is quite clued up on the theory aspect of it. He has a course on RIO - From The Ground UP which is pretty decent and prob similar as to what he now sells on his own site as well (albeit a lot more expensive there).

He has kind of transitioned in to selling / coaching and now has lots more presence on social media / gaming platforms etc. It comes over a bit too cheesy at times to me personally and he has been in the industry for so long, can't even remember when his first book came out, and I won't ever come close to what he knows about poker lol. Can't go wrong with him for micro/mid stakes.

GR1ZZL3R · August 7, 2022

@P0kerM0nk I just didn't connect carrot with the name on the book, not having noticed hinm on YT. That's what I meant with the not organising my learning, it didn't register, and only by scanning his output did I see the book. He strikes me as knowledgable and easy to follow, I'm already a fan, and my next project is to dive into his book properly and correctly, (slowly).

AbvUrPlayGrd · August 7, 2022

@P0kerM0nk Did you have to make your name so complicated, it took me 5 mins to type it correctly!😆

That was NL25 ??? Bloody hell! Could you message me with a list of names and i'll go and grab my fishing rod. NL4 is like that, half the time I have no idea where I am in a hand (according to the wife I have no idea where I am, period).

I find it's situations like that which are the most frustrating. You know you should be raking it in but you just can't get a break.

CuteRaven · August 8, 2022

15 hours ago, P0kerM0nk said:

I wasn't going to fold anyhow vs him, then he bets riv and I just shove my remaining 3bb... and he tank folded lol, no we aren't chipdumping 😅 he maybe didn't want to show his QTo crap 😂

I wonder whats more valuable. The 3 BB or the info on what that player would play this way 😂. Would also be a sick river play (the 3 BB river jam) as a bluff but pretty tough to be sure enough about the spot to pull it off 😄.

I don't think chip dumping in a normal cash game makes sense anyway? (unless maybe as a money laundering scheme or something)

P0kerM0nk · August 10, 2022

That's the €45 cleared now, thanks for the added few hours @Stubbe-Unibet, much appreciated 👍

Not been too much movement on the bankrolls till the last week or so, on 888 I dropped down to $600 or something which started to piss me right off 😂 but managed to claw back up to $900 now... had $950 for a moment today today at work but had 2 AK in a row vs AA 🙄 one all in pre, other I called a 4b IP and flopped K66... and rec villain just x/c till I was all in, how not to go broke on that board I do not know lol.

Unibet was a bit the same, hovering around the same amount but been better last few days, and added €170 today which includes the €45 bonus so almost back to 2k again.

Will post some crazy hands from past few days in the next post (not sure when) @AbvUrPlayGrd, like you said it is sometimes hard to know what is happening in the hand lol. Can be very swingy at times when recs play any hand and even the reg fish as well, some real crackers coming up 😂 always hate it when I end up folding the best hand multiway and you see 2 nonsense hands showing down.

Also a nice thing, shows my €50 bonus as mentioned somewhere in a previous post, only requires €250 RAKE 😎 Not going to let that one go to waste but will be for in September as I'm away on holiday last week of this month.

Currently at loyalty lvl5 and target is to make lvl6 again before the reset so I can keep my multiplier. 83k XP and 47,200 BP atm.

All in luck 10 lost vs 20 won, guess I'm running over EV just now, not boding well for next few days 😂

P0kerM0nk · August 11, 2022

Here some of the promised recreational hands, proof online poker is not dead 😀 but therefor not less swingy 🤪

Quote

Hand vs megawhale, I open, he 3b small, I 4b he calls, flop meh but I bet 1/4 bit of a one and done situation for me, he calls, turn x/x, river best card in the deck and he leads out and leaves 12BB behind lol, I just shovel it in don't care if he has a better hand but he folds.

Same mega whale, he has 215BB and I cover him. He is BTN. CO opens, he 3b, I 4b, he 5b and I just stick it in and he calls, waiting for the T but didn't come 😂

Hands that make absolutely no sense and where I end up folding the best hand, hate to see it but based on play nothing else to do. UTG who is a regfish limps, CO shorstacker fish iso, I 3b and BB fish and UTG both call, CO folds. Flop goes x/x/x and turn UTG bets just over 1/2, I just fold. Being OOP and in the middle makes it even worse. BB calls. River BB x and UTG shoves with BB calling for a split pot... I have no fecking idea what da feck went on in this hand... 🤯

MP and BTN limp, I iso and only MP calls, bet 1/3, 1/2 and pot and he just calls me down.

I open ATs, BTN and SB call, BTN whale and SB I perceived as a reg I think but not anymore lol. SB and me x/c 1/2 bet from BTN on flop and turn and he bet 1/2 on riv again with SB just calling and I folded... seems nitty but my concern was SB, saved myself 25BB anyway.

CO limps, 177BB deep and I iso to 5BB, good flop lol, small cb which he calls, big bet on turn which he calls, boom locked in on the river, big bet again and he raises almost 3x, easy shove and he snap called. Bad beat but then again, don't limp/call T9o lol. Would have been a sick river raise if I didn't hit a boat.

CO limp, I raise he calls, 1/2 flop he calls, big bet turn and he minraises, I just call, and he goes halfpot on riv so I just call again. Sometimes you see recs do funny stuff with their hands like donk or raise and then they get 'lucky'. They'll lose more often than win it though.

Nothing too special, rec jamming random crap, 35bb QJo good enough after I open and he jams.

Weird ass hand, BB is guy from above, CO opens, BTN 3b, I 4b, BB mad guy 5b, CO jams. I folded because didn't know CO, BTN nit reg. When BTN 3b, another reg 4b and you shove over it then it its pretty nutted so let my QQ go...

And a good fold... 43o bloody hell lol.

Regfish calls my open and I just call down his 1/2 bets on 3 streets, 43o like wtf. This guy plays often and multiple tables, I really don't get this eventhough I know he plays fishy even 43o is out of line lol.

MP opens, CO and BTN call, I squeeze and only BTN calls, I bet 1/2 and he minraises and I call, turn goes x/x, river I block 1/3 and he minraises me again and I just called. Random button clicking in action.

Open AK UTG, BTN min 3b so I 4b he calls, I bet 1/3 flop he calls, I bet 1/2 turn he calls and I stick it in on the riv and he calls... ty.

CO opens, BTN calls, I squeeze and both call, flop goes x/x/x and I bet 1/2 on turn, CO is reg so if he folds I'm happy, I knew BTN was a whale so don't care when money goes in. He minraised me and I just stuck it in... trips, good for him.

Weird hand, just started a session and I open and he calls, then he open jams lol... I'm like ffs, snap called it kinda, in hindsight prob not worth the 5BB pot...

And he shows the nuts ish...

Open JJ, BB min 3b like clicks it back, I 4b he calls, bet 1/3 flop he calls, I bet 1/2 on turn again but imo gets too thin, only get value of 99-88 and 66 and lower... and he clicks it back again, I call and river is like lol, he shoves and I call it off... can't exactly remember villain but guess it's ok ish if he's a whale, can't remember. Imo all depends on his previous hands etc.

CO opens, SB 45BB stack calls, I could squeeze but think it gets awkward with TJs vs the shorter stack and it does play good enough multiway. Flop TP and SB donks out pot, bit bizarre already but I call and CO folds. Then SB overbet shoves turn so I just call again, ok just random.

UTG halfstack opens, I 3b, CO jams and I call it off... again can't remember him but depends on previous hands, AJs is prob bottom part of what I call off, not too sure. Depends what I think about his spazzy percentage lol.

Calls 99 in BB, I x/r flop and he calls, I bet turn again and he raises which I called, then he shoves riv and I call... looks almost spew but all depends on how they played previous hands. Also all draws missed and I don't have a diamond. And if he had Qx or Tx of diamond good for him lol but doubt he would jam Txd.

Whale which I've known for a long time opens UTG, I 3b and he calls, I 1/2 and he calls, dream turn and I 1/2 again and he calls again, shove riv and he calls it down... 63o damn non believer lol.

Lots of these hands and situations, one or more limps, or iso and I squeeze and they all call, then I whiff the flop and mostly its just x/f as multiway its hard to have decent fold equity. I might sometimes stab depending on flop texture or villains but its rare. And in this case its easy fold vs big bet.

MP limp, I iso, BTN and MP call, well that's a nice flop! MP bets out pot lol, I call BTN folds, then he bets 1/2 on turn no reason to raise so easy call, and he shoves river... bad luck mate.

Vs 1 nit reg and tight rec. I open KK and both call. x to BTN who bets 1/2 and I x/r him. Nit reg CO jams LOL and BTN calls, easy fold. Nit reg had 55 and tight rec TT. Not sure I like nit reg his jam even though its a drawy board.

Open A9o on BTN, SB calls, BB squeezes. I fold obviously. SB calls, BB then bets big and SB calls, turn x/x and riv SB donks out 1/5 and BB calls... again a hand where I don't have a clue what either of them is doing 🤯

Think I 3b someone and SB and BB both called... crap flop for me and my hand. Then w/e action went on all money went in somehow lol. What are people thinking preflop.

CO opens, BTN 3b, I 4b and they both call lol, BTN reg with AK just calling, mad. Flop is crap even with TP as not much to improve my hand on a dynamic board but think CO bet out and BTN raised or something so I let this one go. Don't even know how he got it in there with AKo, try and bluff the rec with your As? Good luck...