*****October-fest Poker Chat Thread!******

[zachvac]

I just want to know your guys motivation, I tried 4 tabling (don't laugh too hard please)9 player ring game and it bores the crap out of me. I didn't win, didnt lose much, have only played a few times, how can I get motivated to start liking it. And being back at work almost full time I will never have the time to put the hands in you guys do. So should I just give it up and stick to my sngs? Tell me your deepest secrets, lol.

What were your stats? If you're playing like 6/6 or so you could open up and probably make more money as well as not be as bored. But yeah if it's boring you can always play more tables. Of course I sorta took the boring not to mean you had a ton of time where you weren't doing anything but that it just wasn't enjoyable. Sorry can't really relate to that, I always enjoy trying to put together the puzzle, what kind of range does my opponent have, how can I play best against that range, and just thinking things through. Of course it's not quite as much fun when no matter how wide his range is he always shows up with the nuts .

Personal motivation? It's just fun mainly, and the money isn't exactly a bad thing .

 

[BelgoSuisse]

I just want to know your guys motivation

Well, what is YOUR motivation for playing poker?

I think there are two main possible sources of fun in poker.

1. the mental challenge of choosing the right decisions, of outwitting your opponents
2. the excitement of waiting for the results of cards being revealed to know if you won or lost.

Even thought all forms of poker involve both aspects, tournaments tend to emphasize the second one, especially in the later stages where a lot of play is just preflop push-fold. Ring games, especially multitabling, especially if you stack the tables instead of tiling them, emphasize the first. Actually, a lot of the times I don't even see the result of my decisions until I check for them in the previous HH.

Ring game multitablers enjoy the game because they primarily enjoy the decision making part. And when they actually become good players, they learn to become indifferent to the actual results provided they took the right decisions.

 

[Steveg1976]

I have decided to give Cash games a shot. After an initial horrible run at 2nl, I did a bit of a sweat session with Mr. Sticker and I think he has got me on the right path, I am up anyway. Over a tiny sample however, so we will see. This has been a real eye opening experience so I will be reading Professional no limit hold'em this weekend and hopefully be able to not donk it up too much out there making stupid hero calls, etc.

My biggest problems so far seem to be:

Not being to play for stacks with big hands

Bet sizing (I am sure mine is off and I can't interpret other bets well)

Patience and letting go of hands when I am beat but at the same time folding too much when I might be good.

Calling to much with speculative hands.

I will post a graph at the end of the month whatever my results maybe then.

 

[ph_il]

*snip*

I think you were sitting at one of my 2nl tables the other day.

GL with everything. I'm just starting getting into cash games seriously and I'm starting with 2nl as well. 9-12 tabling at a time. I hope to see an awesome graph at the end of this month.

 

[Steveg1976]

I think you were sitting at one of my 2nl tables the other day.

GL with everything. I'm just starting getting into cash games seriously and I'm starting with 2nl as well. 9-12 tabling at a time. I hope to see an awesome graph at the end of this month.

I said hi but figured you had the chat off since you never responded. Oh, and quickly left as waters got a little to scary

 

[ph_il]

I said hi but figured you had the chat off since you never responded. Oh, and quickly left as waters got a little to scary

My bad. I had tables constantly popping up on me so I didn't even notice the chat. I wasn't even 100% sure it was you, TBH. The table was a bit soft IIRC-no need to be scared. LOL. I think I left only because there were a lot of empty seats and not a lot of action. I like staying on full tables so I can see as many hands as possible without having to pay blinds often.

 

[Steveg1976]

The table was a bit soft

QFT....I buddy listed one for sure

 

[ph_il]

QFT....I buddy listed one for sure

Very nice.

Hmmm..I'm still going to continue playing 2nl-just for the hell of it, but I think I want to give 25nl a shot. I have a big enough BR, so I can afford it. I'm thinking about giving myself 8 buy-ins for 25nl and seeing how well that goes. Its not that many buy-ins and I'll be 1-2 tabling at a time only, but this is just to test the waters of 25nl. If I don't do too well, I still have about a $650 BR to fall back on. Its a big jump from 2nl to 25nl, but I just want to take that chance with it. If it goes well, I'll stick with it and if not, I can drop down to 10nl or possibly 5nl.

...And yeah, maybe I'm way over-rolled for 2nl? Is 425 (100bb) buy-ins too BR nitty? LOL.

However, I feel like I'm more comfortable with cash games and would like to lean towards making profits rather than just playing and trying to get used to it. Im sure 25nl is way different than 2nl, which is why I'm only giving myself an 8 buy-in limit, even though I have 34 buy-ins available. I would rather have at least 40 buy-ins, though, just to play it safe.

The reason why I'm making the jump and starting with 25nl with the idea of dropping down if I need too instead of starting with 10nl and moving up is because I'm looking to maximize profits as much as possible. And this is the highest buy-in I can afford. If it goes well, I'll continue at 25nl and move up and if not I'll move down. I think its better than starting with at a limit below what you can afford, playing for a length of time, and then moving up to the limit I should have been playing already. That might be the safer route to take (building my way up, instead of starting at the top), but this is why I'm giving myself such a big BR cushion.

Anyway, we'll see how this goes.

 

[feitr]

lol wtf...play nl10 first. There is absolutely no point to jumping up 10x in stakes right away.

I just don't get that at all :S You are going to have to start potentially dealing with $70+ swings if you play nl25, which i would have thought would be close to impossible if you are used to nl2. Not to mention, that while nl25 play is terrible, it is into the realms of "real poker" which nl2 certainly isn't so it might very well be hard to adjust in one giant transition.

Your bankroll shouldn't really be the primary determining factor on what stakes you should be playing. It should be your comfort level (why all of the sudden you want to play nl25 when you weren't even comfortable playing nl10?), your cash experience at similar playing stakes (ie. nl10 and nl2 not nl2 and nl25) and it helps to have a win rate over a decent sample. By the time i'll be rolled and emotionally ready to play nl200 on what i haven't withdrawn from pokerstars, i'll have been comfortably rolled for nl400 had i not withdrawn money, but that doesn't mean i should redeposit my "offline roll" and skip 200nl and play 400nl.

 

[Steveg1976]

lol wtf...

If he is rolled for it, go for it. There are plenty of players here than can help him out with the changes. and he stands to make much better profits at the higher level.

 

[jewboy07]

To philth

if you think you can handle losing a $25 and only see it as one buyin as apposed to "omg i just lost 10 buyins at my old level" then i say try it

good luck for real

 

[feitr]

If he is rolled for it, go for it. There are plenty of players here than can help him out with the changes. and he stands to make much better profits at the higher level.

I don't care one way or the other. When i started cash i started at nl20 because i didn't want to play any lower. But that said, I have never had a problem with losing $20 either, which doesn't seem to be philthy's view seeing as he didn't want to even play nl5 in some other thread. Simply making the point that nl2 to nl25 is a HUGE jump, both in the quality of play and in the amount of money. If you are ready to deal with swings/different style of players then sure skip nl10, but it is a big jump and moving from nl2 to nl25 to "maximize profit" just doesn't make sense to me.

But then again, i'm a pretty big believer in moving up stakes little by little and not skipping any level (unless ofc you want to start higher because you can't really make money in micro micro cash levels).

 

[JimmyBrizzy]

Philthy, I'm a little confused about the jump to 25NL, no that I doubt your abilities. I just remember you saying you didn't feel comfortable at 5NL (or was it 10NL?) not too long ago. I figured you'd try 10NL before 25NL.

Either way, good luck and go get 'em.

 

[dg1267]

Maximizing profit is also a good way to maximize your losses. I know you have the BR for it, philthy, but even with your plan to drop down if you lose, you've still lost. I don't see that as a good move. I'm with feitr on this one.

I remember where you dropped down because you did'nt feel comfortable at the higher level. I just think you are setting yourself up for failure jumping so much. But good luck with whichever way you decide to go.

 

[eagle jim]

Philthy,
I would agree to make the gradual move up to 25nl. I played 2nl, then 5nl, then 10nl, then 25nl, then 50nl(ouch) then back to 25nl where I am now at. I think from reading your earlier posts you would be more comfortable with a gradual move up instead of jumping into the fire. Just my 2 cents. Also as you move up you should be increasing your br to make the 25nl even easier. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[ph_il]

I have no problem dropping $25 or 10 buy-ins at 2nl at a given time. Which is why I'm setting the the 8 buy-in limit in the first place. I have the BR to make the 'huge' jump in stakes and seeing how it goes. I'm not putting my whole BR on the line to play 25nl. I have them separated $200 side BR for 25nl (8 buy-ins) and $650 regular BR for everything else. So even if I lose a buy-in at 25nl, I'll only be losing it from the BR I put aside for it.

This is just an experiment basically. I'm putting $200 on the side to try and build a BR from 25nl. If it goes well, I'll stick with it on that BR. If it doesn't, I still have the other $650 BR to fall back on with 5nl-10nl.

Its funny, but I dont know why I was feeling so uncomfortable before. I think it was the whole idea of trying something new that really got to me. I honestly do not know what was bothering me so much about last week and now when it comes with the BR, TBPH. Its like, I have no problems with losing money. My BR can be very swingy at times, so is very odd to me why I was so worried about a few little losses. I guess my frame of mind just wasn't right at the time...

Anyway, I understand what everyone is saying about moving up gradually and I'll do that if this little 8 buy-in experiment doesn't work. Is it a big jump from what I'm used to? Yes. Is it stupid? Probably, but I'm willing to take that risk with my BR without any worry if things go wrong.

...I'm actually touched so many people are actually concerned about my BR.

 

[feitr]

You were playing nl2 with an $850 roll? :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S :S

And i think it might be more confused than concerned Just seems odd that somebody would want to play 2nl and then suddenly jump up to 25nl which is in no way similar in terms of play nor money. Anyways good luck.

 

[ph_il]

You were playing nl2 with an $850 roll?
And i think it might be more confused than concerned Just seems odd that somebody would want to play 2nl and then suddenly jump up to 25nl which is in no way similar in terms of play nor money. Anyways good luck.

Yeah, I was playing 2nl with an $850. Well, actually about a $970 BR, but I gave $50 to a friend, $50 for freak and Lady T, and $50 to KC and about $30 in profits from 2nl.

LOL...yeah, like I said overrolled. But I was typically playing 2nl on the side just for the hell of playing something while I continued to play SNGs as my main source of BR building. I was basically playing 2nl just for the sake of having something play. I guess playing for X-amount of hours with $4 profits for my efforts just doesn't appeal to me anymore. LOL.

And I agree, the jump is big and I know its completely different than 2nl but if I don't see the problem if I a) Have a big enough BR for it b) I'm limiting myself c) I have not problems taking the risk with my current BR. Its not really a big concern at all if do bad and lose the money. This isn't a source income for me and I've been treating it like such (worried about losing and not having fun with it.) Its just a hobby to me and I want to treat it like such and be a bit more open and loose with the BR, but within reason.

I predict a lot of disapproval with this idea.

 

[zachvac]

Personally, I'd try to play a few thousand hands at 10nl just to get the hang of it, as iirc 10nl is where the game starts to get a bit better. Even if you're rolled for 25nl I'd just play a few days at 10nl so you can settle in a bit. I obviously don't know how you're thinking but I know I'd go apeshit if I saw myself lose 12 and a half times what I was used to losing. Now the upside is that you'll win that much more when you win . I mean as long as you don't tilt, and as long as you move down immediately after losing the money it can't be that bad, but I'd just do it for experience. 10nl imo is where it actually starts to be a good amount of people who at least understand the basics of the game.

So I guess if you feel up for it it's fine to go through with your 25nl plan, but I would seriously consider at least giving 10nl a shot first.

 

[Irexes]

Ho ho ho

Poker Stars, $22 Buy-in (200/400 blinds, 50 ante) NL Hold'em Tourney, 9 Players
Hand History Converter by Stoxpoker

UTG: 15,174 (37.9 bb)
UTG+1: 12,037 (30.1 bb)
MP1: 6,129 (15.3 bb)
MP2: 23,984 (60 bb)
BTN: 13,240 (33.1 bb)
SB: 12,346 (30.9 bb)
Hero (BB): 5,102 (12.8 bb)
MP3: 26,545 (66.4 bb)
CO: 9,995 (25 bb)

Pre-Flop: Hero is BB with 9

K

MP3 calls 400, CO folds, UTG raises to 1,200, 5 folds, Hero raises to 5,052 and is all-in, MP3 calls 4,652, UTG raises to 15,124 and is all-in, MP3 calls 10,072

Flop: (35,950) 9

9

5

(3 players, 2 are all-in)
Turn: (35,950) Q

(3 players, 2 are all-in)
River: (35,950) 5

(3 players, 2 are all-in)
Results: 35,950 pot
MP3 showed A

K

(two pairs, Nines and Fives) and lost (-15,174 net)
UTG showed K

K

(two pairs, Kings and Nines) and won 20,144 (4,970 net)
Hero showed 9

K

(a full house, Nines full of Fives) and won 15,806 (10,704 net)

 

[NineLions]

Personally, I'd try to play a few thousand hands at 10nl just to get the hang of it, as iirc 10nl is where the game starts to get a bit better.

I dunno if 0.01/0.02 and 0.02/0.05 vary, but I know those going to $10NL changes, and going to $25NL changes again. Like Zach and others have said, I'd recommend beating $10NL before trying another jump.


And how do you go from being a superbankroll nit to jumping to $25? Does not compute, does not compute, ...

 

[ph_il]

And how do you go from being a superbankroll nit to jumping to $25? Does not compute, does not compute, ...

Im just not as concerned with the BR anymore.

 

[Jagsti]

Hmmm, I don't like poker today . Don't think I won a CB in 1k hands imfo!

 

[icemonkey9]

Here's my graph so far. Careful, it'll make you sea sick so take your pills.

 

[Kreepy]

So far things are going Solid.

Up about $10 at the .05/.10 tables
Won a $26 Token at FTP
And Im learning my game and changing the needed.

So over all I cant complain about october. Hopefully it will only get better.