Chester Copperpot’s Pirate Treasure Hunt (1 Viewer)

[Chester Copperpot]

Welcome to Chester Copperpot’s Pirate Treasure Hunt, where I’ll seek the online pirate booty.

I have decided that I want to log my development as a poker player somewhere. The idea is to share with the community here my ups and downs in an honest and transparent way, while also improving and soaking in some community knowledge. I want to learn.

I’ve played poker a long time casually, and usually in my groups, I have been one of the stronger players. I have won and cashed lot of home game tournaments, and in small sample sizes, have done well in casinos (both cash games and tournaments).

Last fall I decided to start learning the game at a higher level and devote myself to study. I was mostly playing $3 Triple Up SNGs on Bovada. I played frequently a few months, and by spring had fallen off. I wasn’t keeping any kind of stats, but know I was overall a winner just based on bankroll growth.

When I came back, I kicked it up to the $7 Triple Up SNGs, and continued my study. Again, found success with continued bankroll growth.

Then I started watching a lot of Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme, getting more intrigued by the cash game. I decided to switch to cash, and start at the 25NL level. I am not properly rolled for 25NL, but I have disposable income and am willing to give it a 10,000 hand run to see where I am at. I am 1400 hands in so far, playing most nights, and trying to get 100 hands in on a single, full ring table.

I purchased PokerTracker4, and have been logging my sessions. I have only scratched the surface of this software, but I can already see how it is and will benefit my game. I study poker every day in some fashion. I have signed up at Jonathan Little’s site for the basic paid membership, but it seems underwhelming. The content that interests me most is the premium content. I probably won’t renew after this first month is done.

In this thread, I’ll discuss my strategies, ask questions, share hands, stories, and vent. While I don’t know that I have much to offer, I am also glad to answer any questions y’all may have, as even that could help me through my own introspection.

Overall, I just really want to get better as a poker player and become the best that I can. Holding myself accountable here is one way I think I can do that.

I don’t know how this will end, but I’m gonna give it a go.

 

[FDLmold]

Following.

(I'm doing something similar. I have $100 in ACR and I'm starting by playing 1000 hands each of PLO, NLHE, PLO8, and STUD8. If I like it enough, I'll study some more and try to make a little $$.)

 

[Legend5555]

I'll be interest to see how this develops as well.

I was an online .50/1 and 1/2 grinder back before black Friday. Not a huge winner, but I was beating the games for a profit outside of my rakeback. Not sure I could beat those stakes anymore today. I wish I had the time to devote to studying some again. But I don't have to the time with 2 kids under 5 and a job that requires me to wake up at 5am.

i did something similar though. A few years back, maybe 2016, I found I had $100 sitting on Ignition/Bovada that I forgot about. I started playing 10nl Zoom/Zone and built that up. Then started playing full ring because it was way easier. I moved all the way up to 50nl when I got around $1200. Finally cashed out about $1500 when wife and I went to SQM2020. I did all this without a HUD, and without serious study. I just used some info I'd picked up watching some occasional Bart Hanson and Doug Polk videos. And I had maybe 2 tournament scores in the 100-150 range.

Side note: I distinctly remember thinking that 50nl was easier than 25nl. I think you get more casual players at 50nl as it's the most common home game stakes.

 

[chutracheese]

As you got into studying, what do you feel has been most beneficial? There is so much information out there I feel like I'm drinking from the firehose.

 

[Legend5555]

As you got into studying, what do you feel has been most beneficial? There is so much information out there I feel like I'm drinking from the firehose.

I know you are directing this at @Chester Copperpot , but I'll take a gander at your question as well.

There is a lot out there. And it really depends on where you are at with your game. And a lot has changed since the wild west days of 2005 when I really started studying. And between black Friday and 2016, I basically didn't play or follow the game at all.

For NLHE cash, I don't think diving head first into GTO, solvers, etc is going to help. Hell, I don't have the time for solvers. First and foremost is to get a grasp on math, hand ranges you should be playing, from what positions you should be playing them, and bet sizing. For live games 1/2 and below (and even a lot of 2/5), these basic concepts can get you like 90% of the way there IMO.

I don't know what books there are these days, but I'm sure there is something good out there for this stuff.

Hopefully @Chester Copperpot can tell you the best place to start these days.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

@chutracheese, I think the first training site I really found and started to read was Upswing. There is a lot of free content on the site. Jonathan Little’s PokerCoaching.com also has a tremendous amount of free content. And of course, YouTube has tons of free content as well. Owen and Neeme have hundreds of cash game blogs out there, and they do a good job of explaining what they do and why, from whatever position they are in.

In general, I think preflop ranges are a good place to begin your study, and really incorporating ranges and position into your thinking. For a few weeks, I regularly referenced the Upswing preflop charts as I played. It really helped me understand the hands I should be playing and in what positions I should be playing them. Eventually, you’ll understand them inherently, and you’ll use that along with the table dynamics and your table image to fully realize your style of play at a given moment and table.

If you’re just looking for a place to start your study, I’d focus on hand ranges. Play hands using good reference ranges to understand how ranges and positions tie together.

Honestly, I think playing fundamentally sound poker, and not playing too many hands, will still get you a long way. Especially in cash games - if you’re unsure, just wait to play a hand until you’re in better position. Understanding how opening with KJo (and other similar hands) in a full ring game is often a recipe for disaster will go a long way in reducing the junk hands you play and increase your win rate.

And @Legend5555 remarks about bet sizing is good too. Understand why you’re betting what you’re betting. Understanding who has the range advantage and nut advantage all inform bet sizing. Also good to understand when to cbet and when not. And learning when to call cbets and float.

Once you feel like you have a good grasp of ranges and position, you’ll naturally start to understand some of the other moves you’re seeing made by other players: button/cutoff steals, SB 3bets,and what your options are to respond to these moves.

That’s my take anyway!

 

[FDLmold]

Played about 200 hands of full ring holdem tonight. I forgot how boring it is.

 

[Legend5555]

Played about 200 hands of full ring holdem tonight. I forgot how boring it is.

You need to play at least 4 tables of full ring otherwise your might die of boredom. So far in my experience, the games on ACR are tighter and a little tougher than those on Bovada/Ignition.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

I can see why people would be bored playing a single table ... you can spend a lot of time folding, folding, and folding.

Had my first session today since posting the thread. Wanted to get some hands in last night, but wasn't able to. Played 114 hands in a bit less than two and a half hours. Booked a $19.97 win for the session, with a couple of big hands (boated up with pocket sixes) and not much else. None of my normal value range was really connecting on the flop, and wasn't able to maneuver much post flop as I often had another player or two to my left. Not a lot of great hands in position. I didn't get dealt any big pairs, save for pocket jacks UTG one time. Lost a few pots donking off chips when I clearly shouldn't have ... the type of move I'm really trying to eliminate from my game (and improving at that).

So this was a win, but would definitely like a few moves back. I'll be sure to post losses as well. Sitting at 1568 hands, solidly in positive territory and green line trending up. I may get some more hands in later tonight, we'll see.

 

[DrStrange]

If you post individual hand histories, please give each of them their own thread. Perhaps link them in this thread.

And yes, you should have an occasional hand history.

DrStrange

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Thanks - I’ll do that. Good idea to have their own thread with links posted here. I had been thinking about what the best way would be.

 

[boltonguy]

Good luck Chester! I have been on a similar journey this year. In June I switched over to .02/.05 NL Zone exclusively on Ignition. I had been playing .02/.05 NL full ring and 6 max using the PT4 HUD, and moved up to .10/.25 NL and was multi-tabling 6 max but was getting bored which made me make dumb decisions out of boredom. I like Zone a lot - I started playing 2 tables of .02/.05 NL Zone but then had a bad month so am now single-tabling while I develop my game and return to profitability

My goal is to beat this stake and move up to .10/.25 Zone in October if I can have another net positive month in Sept. June was a net positive month playing 2 tables of Zone (+$93 over 14k hands) and then I read a book by Ed Miller and started making very bad decisions, changing multiple elements of my game, hemorrhaging money and tilting, so July was a net negative month (-$74 over 13k hands). In August I returned to my June play style, playing only one Zone table and to date am up $62 for the month over 3,173 hands. So less volume but better decision-making IMHO. I usually play an hour a day five days per week, about 250 hands per one hour session.

Key for me to winning is using solid positional hand ranges, hand reading, betting "properly" (getting better hands to fold, worse hands to call), and generally folding to large turn or river bets at these stakes as they have it 90%+ of the time.

I use pokersnowie to drill in GTO preflop hand ranges. I use the trainer and it has been immensely helpful. I have played hundreds of thousands of hands in the trainer and have my 6 max opening ranges cold. It has also helped me better understand postflop GTO play.

On Ignition you can download hand histories with V's hole cards 24 hours after the session - I created a second PT4 DB to download hand histories and review V's cards. This can help you understand how the pool is playing. I went through 350+ hands where I was 3bet pre to capture all of the hands the the pool is 3 betting. This results in 3bet calling ranges that deviate from GTO but that IMHO work better than GTO. Also you can see that the pool folds a lot to 3bets, and being anonymous in zone allows for more 3betting light, etc. which is another GTO deviation but which works. Each day after my session I usually d/l the prior day's hand histories and review in the PT4 player all of the hands that I lost to see V's hole cards, how V played, etc.

GLGL!

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Thanks, @boltonguy!

I'm not plowing through hands like many do online - I'm going at slower and more deliberate pace, but it's a good pace for me that allows me to focus on each hand individually as I progress. I feel like this is better for my study and performance. Having PT4 really is a great help to review hands, though I haven't been downloading hands after the fact. I probably should. It's also nice being able to see your chart, and visualize where you make mistakes and how they can impact your line.

Good luck on your journey!

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Couple more sessions to report. Played a second session last night, wound up losing $14.96, with a $25 (one buy-in) loss after flopping a straight with KQ. Still was up about $5, or around 20 BB on the day over 150 hands.

Today's session got off to a terrible start, as I exhibited some of my worst tendencies in the very second hand in the SB. Leveled myself and wound up getting it in with AJ against 88 in the BB. I know. I also knew to take a break, so I did. Came back after dinner and immediately lost almost almost another half buy-in in the early going. Managed to focus and grind, and fought back to get the lost buy-in back. Had played about 160 hands at this point, and caught a big hand against the other big stack, and managed to stack him. That got me to up a buy-in on the night. I finished the orbit until my big blind, then called it.

Finished the night at 1807 hands. I'm unsure how long it will take me to get to 10K, but I'm guessing a few months. Thanks to those sticking around.

 

[Legend5555]

Getting to 10k is much harder than people think. It's possible, especially on anonymous Bovada. But once you hit 100nl, you'll be in for quite a shock in terms of how much better and more aggressive the play will be than at lower stakes. Also doing it on a site with no rakeback kinda sucks.

 

[jonplayspoker]

Best of luck Chester!

Used to multi-table 100nl for a living for a short while after college, so this really brings back fond memories. Looking forward to your updates!

 

[Legend5555]

Best of luck Chester!

Used to multi-table 100nl for a living for a short while after college, so this really brings back fond memories. Looking forward to your updates!

I did the same, some 200nl too. Back when I wasn't as good and the majority were even worse.

 

[jonplayspoker]

I did the same, some 200nl too. Back when I wasn't as good and the majority were even worse.

Ahhh, the good ol' days where you could open up 6-8 tables and make a good chunk of change just playing ABC poker

Did you play much live @Legend5555?

 

[Legend5555]

Ahhh, the good ol' days where you could open up 6-8 tables and make a good chunk of change just playing ABC poker

Did you play much live @Legend5555?

Sent you a PM. Don't want to clog the thread.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Took last night off, but got in another 87 hands tonight, booking a win for $8.01. Nothing real interesting to report, just playing solid hands in good position and taking down some pots.

I'm at 1894 hands, averaging only 44 hands an hour. Slow and steady.

 

[FDLmold]

I broke even at holdem yesterday, about 100 hands. Made about 10 big bets playing about 50 hands of stud8. My best hand was a scoop of a 3-way monster pot with a hidden high. Every time I tighten up my preflop/third street in either of these games, I seem to do better.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Just got stacked in the SB with pocket kings. Button had pocket aces. It all got in preflop. It happens. Reloaded and kept going, it's all I can do. Keeping my head cool.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Feel really good about tonight. Got that cooler in my second orbit, and stayed calm. Reloaded, and ground out 111 hands on the night, and finished up on the evening almost a full buy-in - cashing out for $73.08.

I crossed the 2000 hand mark as well, so that feels like a milestone, however small it is.

My observations thus far are this: Bovada 25NL is soft. I know I'm not a great poker player, but I do feel like I am somewhat competent, and even I can recognize a tremendous amount of donks at this level. It really feels like as long as I don't personally donk off my chips on dumb bluffs and chasing cards, and sit back and wait, they're going to give me their chips. Play your good hands strongly, fold when you should, and you're going to do well, it seems.

I'm also really enjoying PT4 and all that it offers. Really able to get some good insights into my game, even at the small level I understand and implement its tools.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Also, @Legend5555 - I have been playing back against the small stacks more and realized they usually aren’t strong players. I don’t know why I thought they were trying some fancy stuff, they really aren’t.

 

[FDLmold]

Also, @Legend5555 - I have been playing back against the small stacks more and realized they usually aren’t strong players. I don’t know why I thought they were trying some fancy stuff, they really aren’t.

I went to Four Winds South Bend, the poker room, when I was driving by once, but did not have time to play.
They spread 1-2 NLHE, and that's about it unless it is very busy. Buyin $50-200.
During the time I was there, it was not the good players coming back to the desk to buy in for $50.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. It was something along the lines of "they're playing small stack poker, probably trying to get it in on any made hand, and it's not worth taking them on for the small stack they have." So I generally avoided them. I think I lost some value there, for sure.

 

[FDLmold]

The worst player I have seen at stud8 .40/.80 buys in short for $4 every time. The most he can jam his best hands for is 5 big bets. That is so -EV.

 

[Legend5555]

I have money spread out on several sites right now. Ignition/Bovada, ACR (w/ rakeback), and a Mavens site with decent traffic. So far, ACR has the toughest players. Which I sort of expected given its not anonymous and tracking software is allowed.

I've been down a good bit through a combo of factors. General run bad, tilt, and playing while distracted. Tough to get any decent time in when you have a job and 2 kids under 5yo. And when things go bad and the kids are bugging you, it makes things worse. No one to blame but myself though.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

I hear you about kids. I have a four year old and a six year old. Part of the reason I only play one table - if they’re still up, it is easier to manage.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Logged 98 hands tonight for a win of $8.96. At 2104 hands. Seems like I'm on some kind of heater.