"Breakthrough"-day

**chja** · 02-20-2011

I feel like today was a bit of a breakthrough in my play.

I'm a pretty crummy player overall, playing low stakes and winning very slightly.

However, today i made a few modifications to my playstyle. Basically, what i've done is:

1. Playing position more heavily than before. Playing marginal or drawing hands from the button if there have been no raises, and raising aggressively in these cases.
2. Avoiding limping in with drawing hands. Raising or folding, depending on position.
3. Tried to bet consistent amounts, never trying to get too clever.

Well, this might be variance and all, but... goodness! I've actually managed to increase my bankroll by over 33% in a day! I went from having around 40 maximum buy-ins and ended the day at around 55 buy-ins. And, this is while still sticking to proper bankroll management, not taking a stab at a higher stake or whatever.

Things are looking up, and i'm thinking of moving up the ladder if i can keep this pace up.

**Jarr3tt88** · 02-20-2011

Nice man, keep it up! We all dream to move up the stakes

Just not too soon!

**KnightofNarg** · 02-20-2011

Yeah, that is a BIG upswing, but at the same time those sound like really good improvements you made to your game.

**ImNotSpecial** · 02-21-2011

One thing i never really took into account when i first started (i was a crummy player) was the fact that i didnt actually know how to play each hand in each situation... such as playing trips on a flush draw board..

so it took me a long while before i learnt these things...
Ive still got a long way to go, and i know theres errors in my game... im working on them though..
at the minute i am focusing on what im doing at the tables (live atm, so i know then what people think im doing) =D
either way keep practicing, if you have any questions were all here to help.

**chja** · 02-21-2011

Originally Posted by ImNotSpecial

One thing i never really took into account when i first started (i was a crummy player) was the fact that i didnt actually know how to play each hand in each situation... such as playing trips on a flush draw board..

so it took me a long while before i learnt these things...
Ive still got a long way to go, and i know theres errors in my game... im working on them though..
at the minute i am focusing on what im doing at the tables (live atm, so i know then what people think im doing) =D
either way keep practicing, if you have any questions were all here to help.

Good advice!

Just to take a stab at your example:

I'd raise around 75% pot, but if i'm out of position i might try a slight overbet, hoping to make their drawing hands unprofitable to follow. Depending on my kicker, and the stacksizes, i might shove to a reraise or just call. I would probably not respect someone representing a full house, though that might depend on the player and what cards were flopped.

How would you play it?

EDIT: I might add that 75% is my regular bet size

**ImNotSpecial** · 02-21-2011

lets use this hand for example...
your BB with 77..
button raises ...
you $25
button $25
button raises to $1
you call
flop 7h Jh 4s
pot $2.10 (cos of sb)
i would bet about $1.75 if not an over over bet of $2.60 to get him to re ship...(if he was a donkey)
this would be a standard bet/raise as you dont want him to hit... if he calls and the turn comes a heart... you may be in trouble, or he might have AJ KJ QJ QQ KK possibly 1010...
so i would check call a bet from him, if the river is a heart and does not pair the board, i would consider folding depending on how much he bets.

another case
if the turn brough a J... i would bet anyways with a full house, because everyone expects you to slow play your full house and let him hit flush draw... but for me, i think he may have a flush draw, he may have a Big J... if he has a big J, raise, if he re raises. just flat call

then i would check river, let him hang himself by betting big (he would probably ship or try a value bet about 1/2 1/3 pot, where i would then raise about 2.5x his bet

theres not a correct way of playing the hand IMO... it all depends on the player your against, stack sizes, his range etc...
every time you play this situation it will be played differently...

take this into account, IM NOT A PRO lol i dont even class myself a good player but i think i can make some good plays sometimes...

**chja** · 02-21-2011

Ah, i thought of trips as having a community pair with a third in hand.

I would probably bet standard in your case, although i'm not sure. His odds of having hearts in the first place is very slim (around 6% if i'm not mistaken, though it's affected by his range a bit), and even if he has it, there is a significant change that he:
a: Doesn't make the flush
b: Loses, after you make a boat or quads.

Your hand is stealthy and hard to beat, so i'd probably just play "business as usual"

**KnightofNarg** · 02-21-2011

This may just be the thread of the week imo.

Few quick things...

Set = Having a pocket pair (AA) on a 7AQ Board
Trips = Having (AK) on a AA7 board

Standard raise size is 50-100% pot, generally the looser the player, and they more draws they have, the larger you can bet.

His chance of having hearts is dependent upon his range. At the turn his range will consist of a far larger portion of flushdraws.

**chja** · 02-21-2011

Seems like i'm still going strong! Up a few more buy-ins today, despite losing a few to bad beats.

Just a question: Does anyone have a perspective on how the difficulty switches from 2BB to 4BB? Is there a significant difference, or is it roughly the same skill level?

**ImNotSpecial** · 02-21-2011

Rather a large difference

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