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

Stumbling blocks of Heads-Up:

• Hit-n-runners rank highest
• Wanting to finish challenge so not turning down any action
• Not enough action to multi-table Heads-Up so end up multi-tabling 6-Max Deep-Ante with it (I think mixing games definitely reduces win rates for me)
• Never wanting to sit out for fear villain will leave (the amount of times I have needed the toilet during these sessions!)
• The whole uncertainty of when someone will quit. I realise something I’m not good at is quitting, I basically never quit Heads-Up games but am always conscious and maybe even a little nervous that the villain will quit, and figuring out ‘what makes this villain quit’ is a dynamic that is just annoying for me.

The ‘what makes this villain quit’ question is an article in itself. Be it a winning streak or a losing streak, losing at the end of a winning streak or winning at the end of a losing streak, a big pot, a tough game, getting even or just that my HUD stats aren’t desirable enough for them! I have had someone quit because I 3-bet too much and I have had someone quit the first time I 4-bet them, “I don’t play people who 4-bet” (!!!). It blows my mind.

During playing Heads-Up yesterday, the final day of completing my challenge, I had a reg quit me for being too loose. I guess too aggro would be his thinking (??). Later another reg quit me stating I’m too tight. I guess not giving anything away would be his thinking (??). (!!!). Later in the day I thought about it and found it to be a big complement, here’s my thinking…

If I’m TOO loose then you can exploit me, and if I’m TOO tight you can exploit me, however you are not exploiting me, you are both quitting, and why? Because what you really mean is “I can’t figure out how to exploit your ranges”. I’m happy with that.

So, challenge completed and I’m very happy! My next post will review my completed 50NL Challenge!

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo

50K Hands Summary:

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo

5th-10K Hands Summary:

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo

But more like this…

Ha.

Actually, my graph is ok really, and the final results of this 10K period are very good also, but I have a feeling of not achieving during this period all due to one session where I tilted off $400 in EV! Looking back at the graph it clearly happens between about 3,000-4,500 hands. So 1,500 of pure hindrance when it comes to analysing my play during this challenge, the point of which is to improve. Even up to now my biggest losing session in terms of EV is not much more than $100 so roughly 200bb’s so this tilt session stands alone (and lets hope it continues to stand alone!). Why did it happen? Well I ran dreadfully, but really I think I can put it down to getting used to playing Heads-Up again, the majority of my play during this period has been Heads-Up (mainly Heads-Up Zoom) and at this time I was doing too much playing a couple of the Zoom variant tables and a couple of regular Heads-Up tables and wasn’t giving any one table my full concentration. I struggle to get regular Heads-Up action so the players that tend to sit down are on the better side and all this hit-n-run business I keep experiencing is very tilting anyway but it all culminated in me losing 300bb’s in one pot in Heads-Up Zoom where I played the hand appallingly (I pride myself on playing Deep so I am particularly annoyed about this), but hey-ho. I should still be proud of my big climb out of that hole (helped somewhat by finding some juicy fishes in the 6-Max Deep-Ante games) and finishing the period with another decent score!

Here’s to the final push!

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo

40K Hands Summary:

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo

4th-10K Hands Summary:

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo

However, to remain balanced is always key.

Another side of my game I thought a lot about was things like day/time of day/game selection. During this third period of the challenge I played at good peak times and only opened a maximum of four tables to reserve my concentration for the quality of my game. This I feel is so important to continue to do so going forward.

So…

My results in this third 10K hands are excellent. My nananoko-esk graph is borderline erotic! Ha. The hands were pretty evenly spread between 6-Max Deep-Ante, Zoom and Heads-Up, as were the win rates. In Zoom I felt I particularly did well in so completed the 10K quota for this variant and look forward to playing this again once I complete my challenge. For now though I have the Deep-Ante quota to finish, then to focus on Heads-Up and Head-Up Zoom…

Play good. Run good.

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo

30K Hands Summary:

Good luck at the tables! #runlikekiddo