Evaluation of my 50NL Challenge upon completion…

50K Hands Summary:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I guess glancing at win rates I could rank my games in order:

1. 6-Max Deep-Ante
2. Zoom
3. Heads-Up
4. Heads-Up Zoom
5. 6-Max

Dynamics of challenge:

• To play uber-laggy! Redline-monkey stuff! VPIP: 36-38 / PFR: 32-34 at the 6-Max games. Something like that.
• To at least achieve both a positive blueline (showdown winnings) and redline (non-showdown winnings) at all game variants and of course overall.

So how did I fare here?

Well not including the Heads-Up games my average VPIP/PFR was 35/30. For Zoom only it was 32/28.

And blue/redlines?

Over the whole 50K hands my total winnings was made up from roughly half blueline (showdown winnings) and half redline (non-showdown winnings). The individual variants tell a different story, none of them share showdown and non-showdown winnings like this, what I mean by this is that they are extreme one way or the other, they have one breakeven line and the other line reflects that of the EV figure. So this is where the winnings came from:

Blueline (showdown winnings)

• 6-Max
• 6-Max Deep-Ante
• Heads-Up Zoom

Redline (non-showdown winnings)

• Zoom
• Heads-Up

One of my biggest findings was regarding the redline. To quote my pre-challenge notes ‘…Redline-monkey stuff! VPIP: 36-38 / PFR: 32-34…’. Having always previously thought that the looser you are and the more you bluff your redline will go up (not necessarily your EV line though!) I have now found this to be majorly flawed. The flaw comes with the looser you are and the more you bluff you may need to fold in bigger pots on a later street (always trying to make +EV plays) so this example hinders the redline. So as it inevitably does it all comes back to BALANCE. My Zoom game played at 32/28 and, combining that with my post-flop game, it was here that I found my balance. To always think and to always remain balanced improves your redline.

So my findings when I take everything into account and not just win rate I can safely say that my best game is…

ZOOM!

Zoom 10K Hands:

And I’m happy with that as some very important positives come with Zoom:

• I can play more hands
• My sessions can start / stop / pause whenever I like. This is a major plus. If I need the toilet, if I need to be disturbed, if I need a drink or need a window open, or if I’m feeling heated and potentially tilted I never have to struggle along. Just sit out, sort yourself out and come back fresh and ready.
• I enjoy it
• I never get impatient
• I feel like I’m playing strategy vs strategy as opposed to dynamics of a regular table, so with this I feel more switched on to +EV.

So, challenge completed! I have learnt lots from testing myself at the different variants and am very happy to have this knowledge under my belt! I am excited to press on with playing a further 50K hands of Zoom and get as close as I can to perfecting my strategy which I have built!

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo