December Wrap Up, Plans For New Year

December was a fairly short month poker-wise. I only had the chance to play 75k hands which took 65 hours. This was good for 15$/hr before rakeback. Since I am only platinum star at the moment, rakeback at 50nl is only worth about 10$/hr. But 25$/hr playing cards isn't too bad :).

I started the month at 25nl since I hadn't played for 10 days due to studying for my actuarial exam. My results at 25nl were very good (5ptbb over 25k hands, but I ran SUPERGOOD). I also played a lot looser at 25nl than I would at 50nl. I suppose this is due to my comfort at that those limits.

My results at 50nl were somewhat mixed. On one hand, as soon as I moved up from 25nl to 50nl I immediately dropped 9BI in 1 session (-$450). On the other hand, since then I have been able to mass table (24) and maintain 2.5ptbb. Also, during this stretch there were a number of times were I played poorly, paid people off, spewed a few stacks, and generally played poorly. If I were to cut these out, I'm sure my winrate would be over 4ptbb over this sample (40k hands). Assuming I can stop making those mistakes when I return, I will definitely consider moving up. Finally, today I ran like god at 50NL and made 10BI in a cool 5.5k hands (9ptbb, lol).

Here is the graph of today, so pretty!



Here is the monthly graph.



My goal previously was to improve my redline as I thought this was a major leak. As you can see my redline is much better over a lot of the sample but the overall winrate is not. I cannot be entirely sure that the redline dip near the end is correlated to winning more - or if I was just running way better. Regardless, I feel a little more comfortable playing somewhat weak-tight; I need to find the right balance to maximize my earnings - regardless of if it's with or without showdown.

I will be taking most of the rest of the month away from poker to study for finals. I have 4 finals spread over Monday and Tuesday next week, the most difficult (and only difficult) which is Tuesday morning. For the next few days, I will be banging my head against the wall in the library. After finals, I fly to Uruguay on X-mas eve and fly back New Years eve (GG FML :( ). My grandparents live down there and my grandfather recently turned 90 so the family is heading down.

When I return in January I have 19 days off before my final semester of college.
My immediate goals are:

• Not forget entirely how to play poker
• Jump back into 25nl and win at 4ptbb/100 over decent sample before moving back up, hopefully take no more than 3 days
  
• Move back up to 50nl and get comfortable again - win at 3ptbb/100 masstabling, play 10k hands a day for 14 days (at least)

Long Term:

• Move up to 100nl by march
• Win at 2ptbb mass tabling by May
• Get coaching if necessary - although I'd really rather develop my own style and progression
  

Here are a few interesting hands from today in order of my favorite:

Hand 1 is against a very strong reg at 50nl, perhaps one of the best players at the limit. I do not have particular history with him but he knows who I am and knows that I know who he is. Also, in retrospect this is a pretty bad play - his 4bet range is only 1.6% in my DB, but it just felt like he did not have it. 5-bet light anyone?

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 429925
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

BB: $55.00
UTG: $50.75
UTG+1: $104.70
UTG+2: $50.00
MP1: $53.70
MP2: $51.40
CO: $50.35
Hero (BTN): $52.00
SB: $47.35

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with A 3
5 folds, CO raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $4.50, 2 folds, CO raises to $12.50, Hero raises to $21, 1 fold

---

This second hand I would appreciate feedback for. I'm not really sure if it's a +EV move; it worked this time but who knows. Villain is 13/11 over 1.2k and a solid winner at 50NL according to PTR. He check raises flops 11%. My image should be pretty nitty looking, but from the CO my range includes all sets on the board + nut straight and I know that he knows this. My flop 3bet should be negligible in his DB.

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 429927
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

UTG+2: $50.75
MP1: $54.90
MP2: $99.15
Hero (CO): $99.80
BTN: $68.80
SB: $56.70
BB: $25.75
UTG: $50.00
UTG+1: $56.70

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with 2 2
2 folds, UTG+2 raises to $2, 2 folds, Hero calls $2, 3 folds

Flop: ($4.75) 5 7 6 (2 players)
UTG+2 checks, Hero bets $2.50, UTG+2 raises to $6.50, Hero raises to $12, UTG+2 folds

Again, I would really appreciate feedback. This would probably be a better bluff assuming I actually had some equity if he calls like a gutshot or up and down or something... I assume if he had a set he's calling in order to bink FH or shoving and definitely not folding.

---

And finally, one hand where I run like god (like I said, been running like god all day). Villain here is a 45/3/1.8agg mega fish. Pretty sure after he minraises the turn I can get his stack assuming I improve. I was not expecting aces, but obviously made a note on him after the hand.

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 9 players - View hand 429930
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

CO: $47.35
BTN: $55.65
SB: $77.00
Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $68.05
UTG+1: $57.95
UTG+2: $25.00
MP1: $60.70
MP2: $58.95

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with 4 5
4 folds, MP2 raises to $1.50, CO calls $1.50, 2 folds, Hero calls $1

Flop: ($4.75) 3 K 4 (3 players)
Hero bets $3, MP2 folds, CO calls $3

Turn: ($10.75) 6 (2 players)
Hero bets $3.50, CO raises to $7, Hero calls $3.50

River: ($24.75) 2 (2 players) SKEEEEEEEET
Hero bets $19, CO raises to $35.85 all in, Hero calls $16.85

Final Pot: $96.45
CO shows A A (a pair of Aces)
Hero shows 4 5 (a straight, Deuce to Six)
Hero wins $93.45
(Rake: $3.00)


Have a great holiday everyone and see you on the tables in 2010!