gronpolene

Hi there! I would like to thank you all for the tremendous support I'm receiving from the community. Without further ado, let's jump into the action!

Time flies, and here I am again, reminiscing about my poker career and reflecting on the week that has passed so quickly. My MTT journey lasted approximately 2 years. I genuinely had a great time playing NLH MTT, but at the same time, as I recall the fond memories, I can also feel the pain of the significant mistakes I made with my bankroll.

I have recently transitioned from NLH Cash, and at that moment, MDA (Nick Howard's work) was quite hyped. Looking at the MTT landscape, there was a significant opportunity to start working with population data. I ran incredibly well playing micros; hence, I decided to invest in a deep mass population data analysis. I purchased the hands, hardware, and everything needed (of course, I overspent by a lot).

These moments of my life were when I put everything on the line. In this case, I went from a 10k bankroll to around 1.5k or something like this, which was definitely a mistake. So please learn from my mistakes, and before making any significant moves, think it through thoroughly.

One interesting aspect of that time was my contemplation on the transition from being a child to becoming an "adult." I never really felt that I had grown up, and life still seemed playful to me.

As the stakes grew larger, I began to feel the pressure, and a shift in my mindset started to unfold. It was during this period that I found myself without anyone to assist me. I'm not sure why, but before this, I always had a lingering sense that I needed something to support me—a new course, a coach, a team, or the next big thing.

After I invested all my bankroll in computers, software, hand history, and courses, the responsibility fell squarely on my shoulders, and I had to deliver. Consequently, I embarked on significant efforts, learning how to use tools like Monker, PIO, HRC, SPF, and the list goes on. Despite the challenges, I was content with the results. In just a few months, I had managed to rebuild my bankroll to 10k and began selling some of my work to teams and individual players.

My ego has often gotten the best of me in life, to be honest, quite a lot of times (lol). I can definitely say that it played a significant role in my super-aggressive bankroll management. My bankroll resembled a roller coaster, and every opportunity I had, I tried to play bigger. Needless to say, I went broke a few times (lol).

It was during one of these low points that a friend invited me to play PLO5. Honestly, I had nothing to lose because I could always go back to playing MTT in a few weeks. The painful feeling of never getting anywhere was constantly on my mind. Needless to say, nowadays I understand the process much better and don't bother much with self-judgment as long as I keep working hard.

I'm glad we've reached the PLO5 part of the history. I'm genuinely happy playing this game, and honestly, it's much more enjoyable than anything else I've played before. MTTs are super fun, but the lifestyle is worse compared to cash.

From now on, in the next posts, I will start talking about how I navigated through the scarcity of good information and made my transition from NLH to PLO5. Spoiler alert: it wasn't easy, but I have some good laughs and strategic ideas to share with you, so stay tuned.

Bankroll Challenge Update: From $5,000 to $50,000

Current Bankroll: $13916,3
Days Played: 37 (over the course of 7 weeks since the challenge commenced)
Hands Played: Approximately 115k
Hours Streamed (Playing): ~214 hours
Hours Streamed (Studying): ~101 hours

Week result: +486,5
Hands Played: ~
Playing Time: ~8 hours
Study Time: ~6 hours

This week, I can say with confidence that I was a bit lazy, and the excuses just got the better of me. Despite positive results and significant evolution in my strategy, I find myself less judgmental about my lazy behavior.

A monthly task involves creating content for a poker coach, and this week, I spent essentially three days on it. Although I could have completed it in one or two days, I took the opportunity to enjoy myself as well. Simultaneously, I coach a player twice a week as part of a staking arrangement. In the end, these are all excuses, and they got the best of me this week. I did grind a few days, but the sessions averaged two hours. My goal for the next week is to put in more volume.

The back and forth with different sites continues. This week, I tried BetOnline, and the games were quite good. However, I faced the same problem I mentioned before – people short stacking and trying to 2v1 me. I'm currently observing some PokerBros games and have already deposited money to try it out soon.

I would like to express my gratitude for taking the time to read this post and extend an invitation for you to join me during my streaming sessions. You are all more than welcome to accompany me on this journey!

Important note: I had problems with my tracker this week and I ended up losing some hands, I will ask the support to send them over but the graph is mesed up, so I decided to put the last week graph result, the sample is ridiculous I know.

www.twitch.com/ggR4f4

Hey everyone, it's been a week already! I’m thrilled to reconnect with all of you. Your support and comments mean a lot, so thanks for stopping by.

Let's take a little trip down memory lane to 2019, a pivotal year for me. That's when I took a giant leap into the world of NLH poker, fueled by dreams of high stakes glory and carving out a successful poker career. Picture this: I was fresh into the complex universe of PIO Solver, trying to decode its mysteries, and at the same time, I was clocking in a decent 5bb/100 at Zoom 25 on PokerStars.

But here’s the twist: Just when I was diving deep into the GTO strategies, my coaches threw a curveball. They advised me to put aside the solvers for a moment and focus on the classic hand review coaching.

I'm curious, have any of you faced similar crossroads in your poker journey? How did you navigate through the advice versus your personal strategy preference? Also, I’d love to hear your thoughts on balancing tech tools like solvers with traditional approaches.

My time with the team? Not super exciting, to be honest. I leveled up to 50 pretty fast, but the pace was too slow for my liking. Just coach sessions twice a week and a ton of hand reviews. It felt inefficient and my excitement started to fade.

Then, São Paulo happened. Great live games there, and I decided to leave the team to play 3/6 live. I got really serious about it – kept a solid routine with studying, healthy eating, and yoga. And guess what? It paid off big time. In just about 7 weeks, I bagged 10k USD, playing only 4 hours a day. Life was looking up!

During this period, the buzz about lucrative PLO5 games was everywhere. It seemed like all the veteran NLH players were making the switch to PLO5. Then, as COVID swept in and live games halted, it was clear I needed a new direction. Why not PLO5, right? A close buddy of mine was already taking his chances with it, and I decided it was my turn to join the fray.

So, we took the plunge and rented a house in the countryside, transforming it into a dedicated PLO5 bootcamp. Picture this: us, in this serene setting, grinding and playing (admittedly, not our best game) day in and day out. Back to the grind of micro stakes, I often found myself in a loop of hard work that seemed to lead nowhere. Our study materials? A few 'Run It Once' videos and Tom Chambers' book. Was there noticeable progress? Hardly. It felt more like countless hours of grinding and butting heads against the relentless rake trap of micro stakes.

Not long after, my best friend started dabbling in NLH MTTs, and I couldn't resist joining in. I had always heard that MTTs were softer than cash games. To be honest, it wasn't just curiosity driving me; I was also a bit scared of failing with no backup plan in place. But my MTT journey turned out to be a more pleasant experience than my cash games, especially in the beginning. Landing a hefty $20k USD prize in my first few months was a huge confidence boost and encouraged me to keep pushing forward.

I stuck with MTTs for a while, putting in the work and reaping some solid results. I'll dive deeper into my MTT experiences in my next post. But for now, let's switch gears and talk about how the past week has been in terms of results.

Bankroll Challenge Update: From $5,000 to $50,000

Current Bankroll: $13429,8
Days Played: 35
Hands Played: Approximately 110k
Hours Streamed (Playing): ~206 hours
Hours Streamed (Studying): ~95 hours

Week result: +1395,5
Hands Played: ~4,6k
Playing Time: ~12 hours
Study Time: ~12 hours

I must admit, my recent results have been almost frighteningly good. While running extremely well is exciting, it also leaves me a bit apprehensive, knowing that poker's unpredictable nature means a downturn could be just around the corner. Nevertheless, this past week has been incredibly enjoyable. Regarding the new graph I asked PS and Winamax to send me all my hand history, so this is the actual graph and I decided to use H2N for the future since I had few problems with Drivehud2.

Since parting ways with GG, I've been on a quest to find a new online poker haven. So far, PokerStars and Winamax have emerged as the frontrunners, offering the cleanest and most appealing environments I've encountered. However, this week I'm planning to venture into the world of PokerBros. I'm curious to see how it stacks up against the competition.

I'm approaching a sensitive topic now, but it's one that needs to be addressed, so I'll try to keep it brief. Over the past two years, I've increasingly encountered the unfortunate reality of colluders and bots in the online poker world. This is a challenging aspect of the game that we all wish didn't exist. I've particularly noticed suspicious play on the following sites:

-KKPoker
-WPT Global
-VBET Poker
-Coinpoker

So, what's the problem? My experience in heads-up play has given me a decent sense of the typical meta across various sites. However, on these platforms, I've observed gameplay that doesn't quite align. It often exhibits an unusually high level of discipline and more sophisticated range construction than usual. Another red flag is the apparent collaboration between players. Often, they seem to be teaming up 2v1 against me. When I leave a table, it quickly breaks up, and these players rarely engage in 1v1 play with me afterward.

Please remember, this is my personal observation and may be biased, so take it with a table spoon of salt. But I do advise staying clear of pools where you notice similar behavior. It’s better to be cautious in these situations. I grinded thousand of hands against them in the apps and was just a waste of time.

I won't delve too deeply into this issue, as it seems to be an unfortunate part of the job in online poker. Just like in many businesses, there are often some unfair practices in play. It's a reality we have to acknowledge and navigate as best we can.

In my upcoming posts, I'm planning to dive into the nuts and bolts of strategy construction. I'll be sharing the challenges and insights I've encountered while designing a poker strategy from scratch. If this topic intrigues you, let me know! I'm always eager to engage in a meaningful exchange of ideas.

Your constructive feedback is invaluable to me. I'm also on the lookout for opportunities to connect with fellow hard-working individuals in the poker community. Feel free to reach out and share your thoughts, opinions, or strategies.

Once again, a big thank you for joining me on this journey. Your presence and participation here mean a lot.

www.twitch.com/ggR4f4

Welcome back, and thank you for taking the time to read my posts. Your support and interest mean the world to me as I navigate the intriguing and challenging paths of my poker journey. In today's post, I'm excited to share with you some of the lessons and pivotal moments I've learned along the way. Whether you're a seasoned player or just curious about the world of poker, I hope my experiences resonate with you and maybe even inspire your own adventures in life.

The remarkable year of 2018 was filled with intense experiences, both good and bad. As the year began, I had already been living in Lebanon for two months. While Lebanon may not be as renowned for tourism as some major European destinations, it holds a special place in my heart. The country's beautiful Mediterranean landscape sets a unique tone. Like any country, Lebanon has its challenges, but my memories are fond. The food is outstanding, the people are friendly, and, all things considered, I felt safe there.

In terms of the games, I encountered a juicy 2/5 deep stack game that, in reality, felt more akin to a 5/10. With my 'nut peddling' strategy in tow, I initially found great success. After a few sessions, I was up by approximately eight buy-ins, and the poker dream felt very much alive. Living with me were two great friends – one I've already mentioned, and another I had known for some time. The atmosphere in our place struck a perfect balance between friendliness and professionalism.

Technically, I was still lagging behind my friends, continuing to play NL25 online on PokerStars. Despite studying every day, my progress was not as rapid as I had hoped. A few sessions later, my results took a downturn, culminating in a loss of around $12,000 – a painfully substantial sum. However, reflecting on it today, I see this period as a valuable learning experience that ultimately led to a better version of myself.

I wish I could sit here and say I recovered from the losses, but that wasn't the case. The results fluctuated, with swings that were both slow and relentless, gradually diminishing my will and sapping the joy from my life. Two years have passed, and my results have not improved. Recognizing this, I decided it was time to focus on improving my game before it became too late and my makeup (debt) grew too large.

Fortunately, there was a silver lining amidst these challenges. My best friend struck gold by winning approximately $1 million in the Poker Stars Sunday Million 10th Anniversary Edition. This incredible achievement meant that I didn't have to worry too much about repaying him, and it allowed me to focus solely on improving as a poker player.

I took a step forward by joining a NLH poker team, and it was around this time that I also began working with solvers. This period marked a new phase of independence for me. Although my friend was willing to support me financially, his recent windfall meant that our shared poker journey would change. He was financially secure and no longer needed to be actively involved in the game, leaving me to navigate the complexities of poker on my own.

I will share more about my journey in the upcoming posts, and we're quickly approaching the present moment. In the next update, I plan to discuss my start in the PLO5 games. For now, let's shift our focus to the results of my bankroll challenge.

Bankroll Challenge Update: From $5,000 to $50,000

Current Bankroll: $12,043.3
Days Played: 31 (over the course of 7 weeks since the challenge commenced)
Hands Played: Approximately 99,000
Hours Streamed (Playing): Around 194 hours
Hours Streamed (Studying): Close to 80 hours

Week result: +1600,43
Hands Played: ~1100
Playing Time: Approximately 8 hours
Study Time: Around 6 hours

Last week, my playtime was limited to just three days and fewer hours than usual. For some reason, I haven't felt much enthusiasm for studying or playing this week. However, as I write this, I'm starting to feel better and anticipate a return to my normal routine next week. The truth is, after an intense six months of study, I'm feeling a bit saturated. Additionally, some recent bad habits, like indulging in too much pizza, have begun to impact my performance and personal standards.

Despite these challenges, I am pleased with my professionalism and don't feel guilty about taking a few days off. In fact, I'm quite happy that I have the luxury to take some time for myself without worrying about finances. The confidence in knowing that I can beat the games provides a comfortable reassurance.

Platform Exploration Update:

This week, I spent some time watching games on Poker Bros, and they seemed quite appealing. However, before diving in, I'm looking to secure a better rakeback deal. I also gave VBet Poker a try. The experience was decent, but the action there was limited, and I encountered a few questionable situations that I prefer not to discuss here. If you're interested in more details about my exploration of these platforms, I invite you to join me on my streams. I'd be happy to discuss my experiences more in-depth and share insights with you.

I'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of you for your ongoing support. It's been an integral part of my journey and has meant a great deal to me. Now, let's turn our attention to a question from one of our readers, Mr. Marsh345. Below, I'll address his query in detail:

Question from Mr. Marsh345:
"I take it you never played much PLO4 and went straight into PLO5?"

Answer:
Actually, I did spend a significant amount of time studying 4c before delving into 5c material. I worked on creating models in Monker for 4c games to simulate some scenarios that are common in 5c. Additionally, I studied Cory Mikesell's 4-card Heads-Up Book, which I highly recommend.

Question from Mr. Marsh345:
"Is most live PLO 5 or 6-card, or can you still find 4-card games?"

Answer:
While I haven't been closely involved in the live scene recently, I can confidently say that 4-card and 5-card PLO games are still the norm. As for 6-card games, I'm less certain. It's crucial to check the rake structure before joining any game. Some places have no cap on the rake, which can turn the game into a rake trap.

Hello, I hope you're having a fantastic day!

Allow me to continue sharing my story and updating you on how the past few weeks have been. When I left college to pursue this career, I had very little experience with poker. I had only played it 4 to 6 times previously and hadn’t developed a passion for the game. I began playing NL2 on PokerStars back in 2017, and just a few weeks later, I had progressed to NL5. Let's go!

My great friend committed to the idea, and fortunately, when I decided to initiate the plan, he had returned to Brazil. He provided me with 6 hours of coaching every day for the 6 weeks we spent together. He also pledged to give me a monthly stipend of around 100 USD to help with my bills, eliminating the need to work as a waiter on weekends as I had done during college. Needless to say, I still regard this friend as an exemplary figure of love and kindness.

Initially, things were excellent; I felt a profound sense of commitment within me, which was a truly rewarding experience. When my friend returned to his poker endeavors outside of Brazil, I began playing live games back in my hometown. I remember the stakes were quite low, but with every hand I played, my heart raced intensely. I can still vividly recall winning my first significant pot.

Soon after consulting with my friend, I made the decision to move to São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, to play live games there. He had been there a few months prior and mentioned the games were quite promising. I packed my belongings (as shown in Photo 1) and set off. The weeks leading up to the move were filled with excitement for me, but now, as I reflect on the story, the enduring image is that of my mother crying in the living room after I informed her of my decision to leave college.

Live games in São Paulo are excellent. If you ever visit Brazil and have a passion for poker, I highly recommend checking out these games; both PLO and NLH offer great action. After a few weeks of playing $0.5/$1 stakes there, I was actually making decent money, and life felt incredible! I was grinding long hours and averaging an income of around $20/hour after 768 hours of play over 128 days. Remarkably, this was about the same as what a Senior Mechanical Engineer was making in Brazil back in 2017. And just for the record, it was during this time that I met a beautiful Colombian girl in Brazil, who is now my wife.

With the positive outcomes we were experiencing, we concluded it was time to aim higher and venture outside Brazil to play at higher stakes. This bold move came just six months after I began playing. I'll share more of this journey in upcoming posts. For now, let's circle back to recent events from the past few weeks.

After my recent, albeit brief, foray into high-stakes poker, I found myself contemplating several possibilities. I could travel abroad to play live games with a backer, grind at the midstakes online, or engage in ratholing, staked at $1k in Bovada—entering with a 30bb stack, doubling up, leaving the table, and then returning with 30bb in the next hand.

After a few days of deliberation, and considering the expected value, it was clear that ratholing was the financially logical choice. However, a friend of mine—a former PokerStars streamer—advised me to explore streaming. He believed it could be a beneficial long-term strategy for me.

I was intent on not hastening my decision among the options before me. Moreover, I sought to test the efficacy of the study methodology I have been developing against the formidable and currently most competitive online arena, GGPoker.

Bankroll Challenge Update: From $5,000 to $50,000

We're diving into the current status and my reflections on the bankroll challenge journey so far:

Current Bankroll: $10,443.26
Days Played: 25 (over the course of 7 weeks since the challenge commenced)
Hands Played: Approximately 96,000
Hours Streamed (Playing): Around 185 hours
Hours Streamed (Studying): Close to 75 hours
Stay tuned as we continue this exciting journey and strive towards the $50,000 goal!

Analysis of the GGPoker $100 Field:

The prevailing trend among players is a tendency to underbluff and overfold across all decision points in the game tree, with ranges tending to be linear.

From my perspective, the only viable strategy to profit in this environment, which is burdened with high rake (approximately 16bb/100 according to my data), is to commit to high-volume grinding. There are no shortcuts here; to offset the rake impact, one must leverage the benefits of the leaderboard, jackpots, and GGCare incentives.

Platform Exploration Update:

In order to re-tag my account, I took a hiatus from GGPoker. During the last 10 days, I've embarked on a journey to explore the various poker sites and apps accessible to me. Here's a snapshot of where I've been testing my skills:

PokerStars
Winamax
KKPoker
WPT Global
Coinpoker
ACR (America's Cardroom)
Currently, I'm delving into the offerings of Vbet, Ipoker, and PokerBros.

Stay tuned for more insights and my experiences on each platform!

Poker Platform Recommendation for Players

For those in search of reliable poker platforms, I suggest taking a look at PokerScout.com. This website offers a comprehensive directory and reviews of various online poker sites.

A piece of advice to keep in mind: prioritize your safety by choosing sites that enforce identity verification. It's an important step in ensuring a secure and enjoyable poker experience.

After evaluating various platforms, I've decided to continue playing primarily on PokerStars and Winamax. Here's a summary of my results over the past week:

Profit: $301.71
Hands Played: 1,955
Playing Time: Approximately 6 hours and 16 minutes
Study Time: Around 14 hours
Despite some personal appointments and minor health setbacks this week, the results have been positive.

I'll keep the updates brief (LOL), so in the upcoming posts, I'll delve into my study methodology and share insights into designing a strategy from scratch using a solver.

I'd also like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Slyless for the encouraging words. Wishing you and your family prosperity at the tables and a wonderful life journey.

Hey hit me up on discord, we have similar stories
GGron#2377

You can do use HRC but I guess you know it, the point is that it'll be much more precise if you know the calling range composition. I was chatting about this theme few days ago with a friend which you can pretty much shove anything pre flop vs steals but how we draw the line which hands make sense and wich doesn't.

The ideia is your tournament life has some weight on this decision same with the stage of the mtt you are in, edge pre and post flop also play a role on this equation but at the end of the day it's math, if they are not paying you enough you can just jam everything.

A much proper way to approach the situation is using 3bets within the strategy and monker/spf to build the strategy for you as you lock the vilan responses since you don't want to shove AA in a situation that people overfold, just an example.

Hope it could help, feel free to hit me up on discord we can talk about it.

GGron#2377