Last day of the Blaze Promo on Betvictor today and even after all that's happened, the swings, the roundabouts the rungood (not often tbh), the monster bad beats and the poor plays and all the other fun stuff, I'll still miss it. I must be a bloody masochist.

Anyway, since I got kicked out at stoploss very quickly yesterday I thought I'd take a chill pill and ponder on the my good and bad points, the bits I like and the bits I don't about the experience. A sort of pros and cons if you will.



Pros first!

Volume:
Stoploss permitting, I can get huge volume from this game, I think 100K a month isn't even close to being beyond reach, not by any stretch of the imagination. If there is one thing I can certainly do it's volume. Suits me sir!

Player Pool:
Not the greatest players around. Yes there are the regs but for obvious reasons they're easily identifiable and most of the rest are gamblers all turning up for a shot at that cannon. Games are very loose indeed, especially preflop; in fact, probably the loosest I've encountered so far. Once a player is in a hand you often need a crowbar to get them out! Both pros and cons there.


Available games:[i][/i]
Plenty of seats available to keep the multitablers busy. I played 6 on occasion when it was a regfest and all nitty/passive stuff going on but mostly played 2, sometimes 3 and sometimes 4. The pool is usually around the 120-150 mark but can go way over that on a weekend. playing late the numbers drop but the standard drops further still.

Rakeback:
Rakeback is nice; rakeback is always nice. There's the Betvictor 4K rake race and the pokerVIP top 777 race to add to that, so it adds up and if you can put plenty of volume in it becomes a nice little earner.

Learning:
I would say my thoughts about learning are ambiguous as far as Blaze poker is concerned but I wont delve too far into that here. Suffice to say, volume and learning can go hand in hand if well balanced and utilized to the fullest, giving a progressive player an almost exponential advantage over standard table players imo. Yes yes, pros and cons; I know, I know.

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Speaking of cons,

Cons,

Fast Folding:
Fast fold poker is just that, fast fold. Once you click that fold button the game is gone and you're moved to a new one. Watch out for the rhythm of it, you can fold monster hands by getting a nice little cadence going folding out trash on 4 - 6 tables, it's relentless and then you spot JJ utg and - oops, snap/folded, dammit!

I've been guilty of both cadence and auto-piloting by the way. Take you time, don't miss out on those button hands and think before you act.

Advice: Take your hand off the bloody mouse before it's your turn to act - and stop hovering the mouse pointer over the fold button before you get dealt in even!
Slow down, it's not a fucking race to see who can fold the most hands in an hour, chill, let the game come to you, don't try to keep up with it.

Another problem here is that again, once the fold button is clicked the game has gone and so has all the action. So, no history of how people play, unless you are in a lot of situations with each person in the pool of course. This involves volume again and many people just haven't the time, which is why they might play Blaze in the first place, to get a lot of hands in for a short time, then jump out.

HUD/Tracking:
There is no HUD in Blaze so tracking in PT4 isn't available and although HM2 works at tracking to a certain extent without a HUD, it's a mediocre solution at best..
Some may think progression is stifled because of this but I disagree somewhat, particularly at the start of a player's journey and have said so on many an occasion, but I do agree posting hands etc for advice becomes problematic. I don't know if there is the option of having your hand history sent to you.
There is a recent trend of sites restricting tracking software anyway, so we may not even have the option soon.

Tilt:
This is a biggie. Because you play so many hands in a short period, bad beats and suckouts are also going to happen a lot more frequently. Be wary of this as getting stacked by some random 3 or 4 hands in super quick succession can very easily put a microstakes player on tilt.

As mentioned earlier, these games a very loose and very swingy in nature, so you could lose 10BI in a session here playing sensible and it wouldn't be insane. Seriously, I know from experience.

Advice: Think about how strong your mental preparation is before jumping into Blaze, or any other fast fold variant for that matter. Be very sure to work on it a lot and hang your ego on a coat peg before you play or you'll go broke in this game very quickly. It's ok, you can pick it up again on the way out.
I would also, if you are just starting out at a fast fold game, have a bit larger bankroll, just to be comfortable until you settle in.


That should do it for me for now. I'm a bit tired now and need food! I know it's not a comprehensive guide to fast fold variants, that's not the intention. The intention is for me to remember this stuff for myself.

My own experiences at Blaze? Not entirely an unmitigated disaster, but a disaster nonetheless. Why? Well,

I think I was unprepared for the swingy nature and such loose play.

I also think at the start I assumed I could just walk in and smash the game like I did standard tables and when I didn't I was unlucky, right?. I was, but that wasn't the whole story.

I've lost so much I got so embarrassed I stopped wanting to log into skype and admit it so I stayed 'invisible'. Tit.

It's taken me some time to come to terms with all that happened, I've had quite the rollercoaster ride. I would say I've learned how to control my game and thinking a by a huge margin, I've stopped all that really fastfold cadence crap and I top to think before I act.
I've learned to read people's bet sizes much easier and can bluff-catch for Wales. I can spot an orphan pot a mile away and am more confident making bigger sized bets to take them down.
My barreling frequencies have improved and my 3bet and 4bet bluffs have jumped up an immense amount, as has my squeeze percent.

I'm pretty sure the latter two are now bigger than my 3bet percent was before Blaze.

So lots of positives even if I lost money. this time however, I'm not going to say I'll expect to beat the standard games easier now, because I've learned easier is a ruse, but let's just say I'm confident and leave it there.


Too long didn't read I suspect? I got owned in blaze and it hurt, lost huge, learned a lot and my game is stronger for it.

Just adding in that seat selection isn't available in these games which has been a big part of my game, so adjusting to that could take longer than maybe one would expect.

So, the fail that was Blaze behind me, today should see me somewhat back to normality, if there is such a thing. No, fail is a poor word; partial success might be better description even though the bottom line is what it's all about in the end.

I'll do some more flop textures because I like doing it and play a bit later on.

Cycle to town with the mrs first to keep her company on her way to work first, she's not feeling very well so I hope the bloody rain and wind drop off before we go is all.



Have fun.

So back to anon tables today for a short but profitable session. Good start and a pleasant improvement, I get tons of time to think and make notes, so that's a win from Blaze straight away.

I've made a nice shiny new database, a bit like a clean start for my stats. I know I can just filter my overall db for dates but the truth is my pc is older than me and the hamster is getting a bit tired so I'll delete the old ones.

Back to the grindstone later, go me.

Nooooooo!!!!

Deleting your database is literally the biggest mental fish thing to do!!! It isn't a fresh start it is just a way of forgetting what you did before so you repeat all the old mistakes!!

I know, can't be helped I think unless I can find a way around it. I'll try to think of something but it looks inevitable so far.

What do you mean? :')

So, had a squint around and it appears my RAM needs upgrading. Looks to be around the £25 mark so that'll have to be put on hold for now and I'll just have to grin and bare it.

Had a nice session back at standard tabs and made a few euros but a bit reggy today so trying to fix the machine a bit instead, can't afford a new one that's for sure and certainly not from last months kicking.

Game later if I don't get all tilty over the desktop pc freezing up, it's making hand posting impossible, won't even do a copy.

Oh well, find a solution time it is then.

'Low Memory' messages popping up with monotonous regularity so tidying up things on the machine. I've got 1GB RAM ordered that I hope will arrive today, courtesy of my ever obliging and supportive mrs who is 10x the person on a bad day I'll ever be - and who gave up her first night out with the girls from work in 2 years to pay for it. Htf do I repay that?
The hard part was explaining what RAM was and what it did, she'd do well to spell pc but that's not important anyway.

I hope it does work, I cant get PT4 to export a hand history, it just freezes up, but if this does the job I'll order another 2GB for myself.

So, back at normal tabs I've had a few winning days on the trot, let's see if I can sustain the run until the end of the month.
Still getting stacked by the weird stuff, if I can get a handle on those hands I'll be crushing again.

My mouth looks like I got lipstick on and is fraying round the edge, I thought my lips were there to stop that!

No kissing sucks so trip to doc and got a vitamin B deficiency apparently. Looked it up and there're loads of vitamin Bs and no idea which one(s) are affecting me but it looks like maybe B12 which our bodies can't make so we need to ingest it.

Anyway, got some steroids from the doc so when I kiss the mrs I'll be like a hoover now. Maybe I'll leave it lying around ...

I wonder if a nit on steroids is a 16/14?


Have a fun weekend, I'll be fiddling with my memory.

@MattVIP any thoughts on best ways to tidy up memory and get some free space?

I am not a computer guy, just fiddle with my own machine, but since it is an old machine it could be do to registries and startup processes. Since it is an older computer and you have been using it a while and no doubt downloading and installing tons of programs over the years, you may find that a lot of those programs are preloading some or all of themselves on startup and they are running a bit of themselves in the background. Any little bit wil use up some of the RAM.

I got a program called Glary Utilities. It is free. I am sure there are others. It can do all that stuff. It will basically show you all the programs that running on startup and allow you to disable them if they are programs you don't use at all or that frequently. It will do registry cleanups, you can do disk defrags and disk cleanups as well.

Also might want to check for adware and spyware with something like Spybot. Also free as far as I know. Just some stuff I have done over the years to kind of keep my machine running pretty good. My machine is about 5 years old now and I can run plenty of stuff on it. Not sure how much RAM it has, maybe 4GB.

Watched w34z4l's totally awesome review vid of me again and found a complementary one Winning Without Showdown, again by the main man w34z4l.
I have worked hard on these lessons and frankly it's beginning to show.

'How so?' you may (or may not be bothered to) ask.

Well,

1. I save so much in a bad session like yesterday, instead of losing 4BI I lost 1.1BI by applying the lessons learned at the appropriate times.

2. Who needs showdowns anyway, orphan pots with 54o and capped ranges OOP will do me tyvm.

3. Aggression and confidence increases to the point where I don't give a shit if it's a regfest anymore, I know I can outplay them or get them to time out if I get it right anyway. Sometimes they fail at their one trick pony act too often and sit out anyway.

4. Paying more attention means I can adapt quicker than they do. (see point 3)

It's not all about the red line but a solidification of preflop and flop play, since I think at these low limits the river often takes care of itself now.

There're many more positives and no negatives with this stuff if I look around first and pick nice situations, so looking forward to the rest of the month, win or lose.

More breaking news, bet you can't wait.

It's 30 degrees here out in the sticks and I made a great decision to cycle 4 miles to make an appointment for a blood test. When I got there they said I had to phone and I said I'd tried 12 times and got the engaged signal but they were having none of it of course, fkn jobsworth crap.

So I cycle the 4 fucking miles back home covered in poxy sweat, stumble into the house, kick the dog and collapse in a heap on the sofa; phoned them - and got through immediately. So I'll be cycling, sweating and kicking again tomorrow. ...


Take care peeps.

Seems I'm back to winning often again since the Blaze promo ended. I learned much from it though so no complaints here.




Kinda zig-zaggy but my game has changed a lot and I don't mind if the table is a regfest anymore, it feeds my ego to see them try their one trick pony act, fail and sit out!

Not sure what'll happen next month yet, Staking ending and I can't magic a bankroll I'm afraid, so unless something exciting happens I'll be on a short break until I can save up a bit.
Tried putting the mrs out on the street but no joy, she came home with a stray cat and a police caution for loitering, a bag of potatoes (wtf!?) and a sympathy note for me.

Oh well, I tried.

I thought since I'm beating them up at nl10 so hard I'd shot a couple of nl20 alongside again. I do think nl20 is more passive overall. Seems they either play silly buggers and aggro preflop or postflop but rarely both - unless they're have it of course.
Basically, lots of fit/fold and slowplaying going on, just find out who does what and it's easy game..

I still need to stop the occasional non-believer stuff though. I lost 45e in 3 hands, 35e of those by back to back bad play. Tough to take when you double up on 2 tables without an all in and it's obvious you're out-playing them. So I sat out for a -7e session ... I'll be back.

Here're a couple hands. If the fish shoves pre or on the flop I'll snap him off.


$0.10/$0.20 No Limit Holdem Prima
6 Players

Blinds 0.5BB/1BB6
UTG Player 1 $45.9BB
UTG+1 Player 2 $98.9BB
CO Player 3 $218.3BB
DHero $166.4BB
SB Player 5 $105.2BB
BB Player 6 $108BB
Flop
3$40.5BB94K
Player 1 checks, Player 3 checks, Hero bets14BB, Player folds, Player folds

I nearly cbet 12bb versus these two - a fit/fold weak/passive reg and a fish, no need to go mental.

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Think this is called backraising the 18.5% 3bet fish. Once the utg reg flats the 3bet he's dead money anyway.

$0.10/$0.20 No Limit Holdem Prima
6 Players

Blinds 0.5BB/1BB6
UTG Player 2 $527.9BB
UTG+1 Player 3 $182.3BB
COHero $100BB
D Player 5 $70BB
SB Player 6 $100BB
BB Player 1 $62.1BB



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Just trying to play a little more aggressively against these weak guys and it's going very well; well enough that I wont be beating myself up over the odd oops for now at least. I'm playing mostly fearless now and it's a lot more fun. Isn't it amazing what a little time pressure can do to motivate me into moving my arse!

My staking deal comes to an end for me this weekend, bah humbug, so I'll probably not be playing for a bit. It's ok, I can study the CrazyCookie videos, the poker courses and some math etc, it'll do me good to put in more work off-table anyway.

You all have a fun week but watch out on those anon tables for 'player 6'.

Just played my last session for the month and the last of the staking deal. Unfortunately though, the Lady Variance was a bit miffed today and I finished -10e on a mix of nl10 and nl20.
Managed to get few hands in since the Blaze promo finished but damn, it's been swingy as fuck,




Anyway, got some time now to study until I can get a few coins together and go again so it'll be the advanced course for me!

I'd have to say being a part of the staking group has been motivating and the guys were fun to have around and they worked to get better to, just a shame we couldn't get together more often on Teamviewer etc.

The bossman's knowledge is insane and not just on theory and mechanics of poker but mindset, motivation, goal setting, blah blah blah, if you need it he has it tucked away somewhere in a corner of his cerebral server. He's probably forgotten more about poker than I'll ever learn. Just a cool guy and so patient with me not being the quickest learner, just brilliant.

So, rather than waffle on and on and on, suffice to say it has definitely been an honour and a pleasure and I have learned and improved out of all recognition to previous levels mostly because of being a part of it.

I'll be back at nl20 by the end of the year for sure but for now this is the end of this albeit journey.

Work hard, have fun and may the Lady Variance have a smile on her face for you when you play.

Pwll, sat out

Makes me a bit sad to read really. I had a great time too, I'll always still be around on Skype and currently as you already know building a roll up on Stars and can still do some sweats and all that

Btw one thing I've found is that since leaving and taking a little more free time doing other stuff, I've found my thinking to be a lot clearer... almost as if all the stuff I learnt has kinda suddenly come out and I'm playing much better. Sometimes spending so much time focusing on one thing means that although you're learning lots, it doesn't always get to shine until you take a step back and then come back in.

Hope you can get something going again and remember I'll always be around!

I used to have the same trouble at uni doing mathematics, it's why I didn't get to do a PhD. I got so engrossed in the technicalities I couldn't see the woods for the trees.
My professor called it 'Scared Learning', too scared to stop working and take in the overall picture. I also learned in steps rather than an exponential curve which didn't help.

What have you been doing with your spare time now your not playing ? Have you applied for the new staking program?

Hi Bod

Ye I've not played yet, got a bit ill so having injections and stuff for it, so just sitting around playing with flop textures, calculating ev and watching the Olympics; those people come under the 'Awesome' tag and I get tired just watching.

I haven't the bankroll to play anyway but my mrs said she'll try to get me £50 to play by the ned of the month, probably on 888. I registered but no money coming yet so all is on hold there to.

I started the application for the new staking people but I withdrew it, I didn't want to be letting people down by not being able to play or attend a coaching or whatever because of my condition. Shame really, start at nl20 and get 5 coachings a month = easy game. The guy I talked to seems pleasant enough as well and plenty of experience behind.

That is a huge shame mate and really sad to hear it! Hope you get better and get back on the horse

Update time.

Got diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency which lowers energy levels and makes for flaky skin, also got high blood pressure.
Should have been caught after the virus I had ages ago but it seem medical staff are too busy to take time for ill people. The nurse I saw was furious and said my blood pressure was dangerously high and reported the doctor for being a lazy tit.

I can vouch for the flaky skin for sure, the B12 thing makes my mouth red round the outside and the lips fray round the edge. I call it zombie gob.

Anyhooooo, got some tabs for the blood pressure and the B12 and take 4 a day for 4 weeks then 2 a day of each forever. I've been having injections every two days to boost my B12 but down to one every 3 months from today. the zombie gob should clear after a while.

So, not serious, just an inconvenience.


In other gossip my mrs won a small prize at work for being awesome at serving some mystery shopper who was being an (obviously deliberately) awkward shit. Mr proud as fuck aren't I.

haven't played much, we could only scrape a few quid together so I went to 888 with a br of about $11 and fkd around at nl2 Snap game while I waited for the anti-zombie stuff to kick in. Jeeze, talk about a bingofest!

Maybe I'll reapply for staking again if they'll reconsider me; I've been reading posts about those guys and if the bossman says they're kosher that's definitely good enough for me and let's face it, I can't sit here donking about at nl fkn 2 forever can I ffs, I'd give it up.

Later peeps, work hard, run good and have fun.

Flaky out.