Q & A with HoLLLLLaments

HoLLLLLaments

RedJoker wrote: »

Does your opinion change if it's 6max or do you just lean more heavily towards a fold?
i dont really lean towards a fold. like if villian is weakish player who chks back a tonne of flops he misses then its probly an easy chk fold. if villian cbets a tonne of flops then c/r is fine. in spots like this by c/r your basically eliminating all the hands that you beat which is usually not a good thing(see raising for info) but because playing this hand oop will be so difficult its not a bad result to take the pot on flop. i probly chk call 0% of the time here.


Also what's the biggest difference between a winning 1/2 reg and a winning 3/6 or 5/10 reg?
work ethic/experience. thought process

RedJoker

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

your vvip/pfr/ag

im playing 35/26/2 over last 20k hands. too nittty imo

Is that HU or 6max, or a mix of both?

HoLLLLLaments

RedJoker wrote: »

Is that HU or 6max, or a mix of both?

mix of everything in my newest db, think theres even some 3 handed 10/20 minbet in it.

RedJoker

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

mix of everything in my newest db, think theres even some 3 handed 10/20 minbet in it.

lol, what are your typical numbers for 6max, hu and, most importantly, 3 handed limit?

HoLLLLLaments

RedJoker wrote: »

lol, what are your typical numbers for 6max, hu and, most importantly, 3 handed limit?

hu 46/41
6 max 25/22 this is from my old db, numbers a probly a little bigger. maybe like 30/27 after i play enough hands
3 handed limit 58/50 small sample tho lol

Hitman Actual

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

vodka v Tequila
after 10 vodkas tequila

Good answer. Some from me:

1. How hard are the stakes you're playing now compared to a couple of years ago?

2. A couple of good players here (robinlacey and ianmc, iirc) talked about playing more at 3-6 rather than 5-10 these days as it's less stressful. Are you of the same opinion?

3. Pick 5 other boardsies that would make a really tough 6-max NLHE table to play at. Would you have an edge at that table (or is that a silly question?).

4. Would you agree that most players have an idea what folding equity is, but very few can give a good 'technical' explanation of it? What's your definition of folding equity?

Some non-poker:
5. What are you studying in College? Is it something you're interested in, or is it just a grind?

6. Do you, or have you in the past, played any sports?

7. Opinions on "The Raconteurs"?

Best of luck, HoLLLLLaments.

RoadSweeper

Maybe it was answered:

Where you playing at the moment?

Do you rely on Rake back as an income?


Since you became good (when you got coaching from the pro after going busto) and were practising good br management, did you have any bad downswings, details please?


Why dont you post hands and theory here? Do you post much on 2+2


You seem to have only come as a new member here recently, how did you find us>?

Ste05

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

against weak opponents i dont mind getting caught firing a few barrells early on it a match because it doesnt matter what happens after they will always think u have air when u fire multiple streets again.

Until they hit and run you, it's my biggest pet peeve playing HU... :mad: If everyone stayed til they were broke it would be swell.

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

I liked sbrugby1, about taking responsibility for your own results. AEjones maybe, i hear timex is going to be making vids for cardrunners so itll probly be him even if his vids suck. also actionjeffs sng vids for cardrunners were great

Watch Ansky's video's, they are better then everyone I've ever seen, incl. CTS and Aba (although I haven't seen aejones, who I hear is good)

Re: you're post about thinking about changing your open raise to a min bet, something I've been experimenting lately with is opening to 4-5x BB's instead of pot or 3x and have found it good, playing bigger pots in position is good, as opposed to stealing blinds for as cheaply as possible. Discuss.

Also, top 5 strat posters on 2+2. And who do you have on ignore in NVG?

HoLLLLLaments

1. How hard are the stakes you're playing now compared to a couple of years ago?
probably alot harder. By all accounts party was a goldmine a year ago. I think lolol pulled like 3 million in a year out of the 10/20 games there. if you put the best players now into those games it would be really sick. The fishpool is getting smaller because players are getting better. I dont think its that the fish are stopping playing, just that they are getting better. Like on party some of the sng players use to 8 table the 200s and maintain a 20%roi. That would be impossible to do now.

2. A couple of good players here (robinlacey and ianmc, iirc) talked about playing more at 3-6 rather than 5-10 these days as it's less stressful. Are you of the same opinion
I dont really get stressed out. I prefer playing 3/6 hunl because i think its alot softer than 5/10 and even 2/4 but if theres a bunch of fish sitting at 5/10 hunl tables as oppsoed to the usual regs im going to play.Suppose if your winrate was alot smaller at 5/10 then its a good idea. I think good regs who are beating 3/6 for a decent earn should be able to beat 5/10 tho. It might just be a mental thing. like 1knl isnt a much bigger game then 600nl so maybe its like a mental thing that causes the stress factor.
3. Pick 5 other boardsies that would make a really tough 6-max NLHE table to play at. Would you have an edge at that table (or is that a silly question?).
Ian, halibut2, cardshark, phantom lord,valor,. anybody whos a winner at 2/4+ basically. Like a table full of solid regs who dont make many mistakes is tougher than a table of 2 of the best players in the world and 3 fish. Maybe not exactly that ratio but you understand what im saying. Id rather be at a table with CTS,Antonius,uberdonk1,uberfish1,uberwhale1 then be at a table with 5 winning 10/20 players.

4. Would you agree that most players have an idea what folding equity is, but very few can give a good 'technical' explanation of it? What's your definition of folding equity?
im sure alot of people understand what it is but dont know the word for word definition. Alot of poker concepts are like that tho. like im sure people who have never heard of fold equity have some basic understanding of what it is. if i was explaining it to a newb: fold equity is when your range for pushing+the times your opponent folds will have enough equity over his range for calling to make it profitable. maybe one thing is people dont put enough thought into narrowing down a range for opponent. I always try to work in "the spite call" factor. people probably dont explain it in depth very well because it gets a little complicated. not the most complicated of concepts but to people who have only a basic understanding of it the math might be a little confusing

5. What are you studying in College? Is it something you're interested in, or is it just a grind?
i was studying electrical engineering, no will do something different if i go back.

6. Do you, or have you in the past, played any sports?
played football when i was younger. not since about 14 for a club.
7. Opinions on "The Raconteurs"?
i liked the first album. havnt heard the second one yet. i prefer the white stripes tho.

HoLLLLLaments

Where you playing at the moment?
all over, i was thinking about rounding up all my money tho and just playing on stars, ipoker. Ill probly keep a few k on ftp for horse games and mtts.
Do you rely on Rake back as an income?
no, altho its part of my income on some sites i suppose. if there was no rakeback id still make a nice living so i dont rely on it.

Since you became good (when you got coaching from the pro after going busto) and were practising good br management, did you have any bad downswings, details please?
nothing crazy. ive had + or -20bi days. i never really had a bad swing when i was playing sngs. everyone was ridiculously bad. i lost a bunch of money playing 4k in like 20 mins playing 100/200 limit before. that was pretty sick.

Why dont you post hands and theory here? Do you post much on 2+2
i answered this in other post i think. i do post a little in the hhs section tho. not alot. i have like 300 posts there maybe.

You seem to have only come as a new member here recently, how did you find us
i always knew about this forum. not sure how. i might have just googled Irish poker forum. then when i started posting a bit on 2+2 i did here also.

HoLLLLLaments

Until they hit and run you, it's my biggest pet peeve playing HU... :mad: If everyone stayed til they were broke it would be swell.

everyone gets so pissed about shortstackers HU. they are usually terrible. obviously its frustrating when someone buys in for 200$ vs your 1k doubles up 3 times and sits out but that doesnt happen alot. most of the time they just spew money away.
Watch Ansky's video's, they are better then everyone I've ever seen, incl. CTS and Aba (although I haven't seen aejones, who I hear is good)
ill probly join pokersavvy soon.

Re: you're post about thinking about changing your open raise to a min bet, something I've been experimenting lately with is opening to 4-5x BB's instead of pot or 3x and have found it good, playing bigger pots in position is good, as opposed to stealing blinds for as cheaply as possible. Discuss.
i talked about this for hours one day on aim with livb112.opening 4-5X. i think it works against bad players. in hunl good players will adjust but playing bigger pots in position is obviously a good thing.

Also, top 5 strat posters on 2+2. And who do you have on ignore in NVG?
i like jman, gigabet has some amazing posts. so did samo before em2 chased him away. dj sensei, oh and riverboatking is awesome

Mellor

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

nothing crazy. ive had + or -20bi days.

You say you have never had crazy swings, I supose its relative, but I'd consider +/- 20 BI days on the crazy side.

How many buy-ins do you consider necessery for a level. I'm guessing it increases with level, so what kind of BI would ou recommend for say, 50nl, 200nl and 600nl

colquhom

good well, cheers for doing this,

When did you decide to play predominantly heads-up?

What were the reasons for the switch?

How did you develop your heads-up game, was it through talking with friends, videos, forums etc or just lots and lots of practice?

Do you feel that long term, there is more money to be made and a greater future in the game for someone concentrating on heads-up?

I pretty much never call from the bb when playing heads up, i either 3bet or fold in an effort to never play pots out of position. I sometimes feel however, that by taking hands towards the top of my range and flat calling rather than 3 betting, i could get to play pots against his weaker opening range in comparison to my calling range, albeit at a positional disadvantage.

Is there any argument for doing this?

Basically my point is, i sometimes feel that given i have a fairly wide 3bet range from the bb, whenever i get called, i'm playing oop against a range of hands that is generally ahead of me. Essentially, i'm turning hands that would do very well against calling a raise, but that don't do well when called in a 3bet situation. What could i do to combat this or is it standard?

What are your thoughts on floating in position in 3 bet pots, is it something you do often heads-up? What would be the criteria for a good situation to do this? I find myself that i have trouble in this regard with assuming that i can take almost every pot away from people who 3bet me heads up and then end up spewing quite a bit.

HoLLLLLaments

You say you have never had crazy swings, I supose its relative, but I'd consider +/- 20 BI days on the crazy side.
like if you play 10k hands in a day sometimes and are running above or below expectation big swings can happen pretty easy. i say nothing crazy because its pretty standard to run hot or cold over 10k hands. other days i could play 10k hands and breakeven.

How many buy-ins do you consider necessery for a level. I'm guessing it increases with level, so what kind of BI would ou recommend for say, 50nl, 200nl and 600nl

for 50nl id say 40bis which is 2k, id step up to to 100nl around 4k and drop back if i dropped below 3800. id move to 200nl when i had 8500-9k and drop back if i dropped below 8k. I woudnt move to 400nl until i had 20k. i woudnt even take shots around 19k. Ill explain this in a second. for 600nl id want 30k to be a reg in those games. Id drop back to 400nl if i lost 2400/4bis.

The reason i dont think taking shots is a good idea at higher levels is because the money is starting to matter. When you take 35 bi shots or w/e at 100nl the games will be softer so you have more of a chance to succeed. Also if you dont succeed its easier to grind back up. If you take 35 bi shots at 600nl and lose 6bis, thats a big chunk of money and its harder to grind back. Also people think that taking shots or w/e will be a process over a couple of weeks. alot of the time its not the case. Sometimes youll take a 35bi shot lose 4 bis in an hour and right then and there have to sit out at all your tables and drop down. some people have trouble doing this. When i was moving from 30$sngs-50$sngs i had switched levels 5 times in day. dropping back down to the 30s and grinding then playing the 50s, losing and dropping back down to the 30s for an hour.

RoadSweeper

Thanks again danny for answering.

Im impressed with you BR ideas. Looks like youir a bit of a nit compare to your starting out ways.

Just a few more, you dont have to answer them if ya dont waanna expose anything.

Whats your vpip/pfr/agg for 6 max?

Do you use Holdem manger or PT?

Screen shots?

RedJoker

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

5. What aspirations in poker & life do you have
to not play poker for the rest of my life and do something that doesnt soulcrush you.

Why do you think poker soulcrushes you? Do you think reading all those NVG drama threads adds to this view?

I used to waste so much time in BBV/4Life, even had an undertitle, do you ever wish you spent less time on BBV/NVG or do you view it as entertainment and a way to let off steam?

zuutroy

Wow, your bankroll reqs are tight....I thought I was nitty for moving up to $200nl at $7k and dropping back down at $6k (1k hands later, lol ty poker). I do think you need 40 bi to be comfortable at a level, but I think shots at 35, drop down at 30 is ok....I guess this goes up for MSNL.
Some good answers btw.

HoLLLLLaments

When did you decide to play predominantly heads-up?

not sure, more of a gradual process, i still play 6 max tho. i never play fr.

What were the reasons for the switch?

i play mostly HU because its more profitable if you do the right things. Not as in poker skill. But game selection, tilt control etc.

How did you develop your heads-up game, was it through talking with friends, videos, forums etc or just lots and lots of practice?

playing alot. talking strat with people. a few of taylor cabys videos were really great. you really cant beat just playing as much as you can. I remember reading a quote from greg raymer saying you should educate yourself as much as you possibly can on poker. Thinking back i cant really remember a poker book or such that really helped my hu game. Lots of small things combined with playing a tonne of hands.

Do you feel that long term, there is more money to be made and a greater future in the game for someone concentrating on heads-up?

yeh HU is definitely where the moneys at at higher stakes. once you get to a certain skill level game selection is really the biggest thing for maximizing profit.

I pretty much never call from the bb when playing heads up, i either 3bet or fold in an effort to never play pots out of position. I sometimes feel however, that by taking hands towards the top of my range and flat calling rather than 3 betting, i could get to play pots against his weaker opening range in comparison to my calling range, albeit at a positional disadvantage.

Is there any argument for doing this?
I think your going to lose value by not 3betting the top of your range especially if your always normally 3betting. Playing any hand oop can be difficult even premiums. I think you have to remember you cant win every pot HU. like you dont have to 3bet every Suited one gapper.

Basically my point is, i sometimes feel that given i have a fairly wide 3bet range from the bb, whenever i get called, i'm playing oop against a range of hands that is generally ahead of me. Essentially, i'm turning hands that would do very well against calling a raise, but that don't do well when called in a 3bet situation. What could i do to combat this or is it standard?

In HU alot of people confuse position with being the aggressor in the pot. Your problem is that when you 3bet and get called your hand does not fair well vs their range. First like i said you cant win every pot. If your 3betting every pot your going to win it right there a lot but your going to get called sometimes and put in a difficult spot. This is unavoidable if your going to 3bet a lot. So what your asking is how to minimize the difficulty of the spots you get into when your 3bet gets called. Theres a few small things you can do like figure out there range for calling 3bets and dont cbet flops that hit it etc. but alot of the time you will just have to try and successfully maneuver the hand oop. My solution to avoid getting to these spots in 3bet pots oop is to not 3bet so much. Like you say you never call oop. I think you should maybe try calling. Alot of people think about it wrong when they smoothcall preflop. On an A72r or K83r flop they will just chk fold. Well if someone has a really wide range for opening the button they will be cbetting these flops almost 100% of the time but most of the time it wont hit their range. I really bluff raise peoples cbets an absolute tonne on these flops. They either have it or they dont and most of the time they dont. Its also really hard for them do put you on anything they beat or can get you to fold. Your range is usually air or a strong top+. that was a bit rambly but basically dont try and win every pot preflop. try and take some away postflop. Its easier and it will help if your getting into tough spots in raised pots oop.

What are your thoughts on floating in position in 3 bet pots, is it something you do often heads-up? What would be the criteria for a good situation to do this? I find myself that i have trouble in this regard with assuming that i can take almost every pot away from people who 3bet me heads up and then end up spewing quite a bit.
Really sounds like your trying to win every pot. Floating a lot of pots HU is a leak. Theres only a few rare occasions when floating is profitable. Just because someone cbets 100% of their range in 3bet pots doesnt necessarily mean that its a good idea to float. Always have a plan for every card that can come. Not just "well if the flush fills im going to bet". think about every possible situation that could occur. Also try and determine what your repping. Like if you float his cbet in a 3bet flop on a QJ4r board and he chks a 2 on turn to u and u bet what are you repping? In general id say float and 3bet less

HoLLLLLaments

Why do you think poker soulcrushes you?
lack of interaction? i went to a therapist about this and she said i was unhappy with poker because all of my interaction with people was under social circumstances going out with friends etc. and poker was the cause of this.
who knows, maybe subconsciously the swings get to me but i dont think so.

Do you think reading all those NVG drama threads adds to this view?
i dont read nvg as much as you think i do. maybe like a combined 1-2hrs a week. less even

I used to waste so much time in BBV/4Life, even had an undertitle, do you ever wish you spent less time on BBV/NVG or do you view it as entertainment and a way to let off steam?

i like tv poker/ am a fanboy or w/e so i like reading about durrr vs hellmuth hu for rollz or w/e else is going on. Its just entertaining. most of the **** their is crap. I usually skim tru the title page and open w/e will look interesting. usually thats 1-3 threads a day

HoLLLLLaments

Whats your vpip/pfr/agg for 6 max?
anwsered abover
Do you use Holdem manger or PT?
pt

HoLLLLLaments

zuutroy wrote: »

Wow, your bankroll reqs are tight....I thought I was nitty for moving up to $200nl at $7k and dropping back down at $6k (1k hands later, lol ty poker). I do think you need 40 bi to be comfortable at a level, but I think shots at 35, drop down at 30 is ok....I guess this goes up for MSNL.
Some good answers btw.

well ill put it like this, if its your livelihood you need to be careful. If you have another source of income and can afford to drop down if needs be then you can use more lenient roll management. The thing is a lot of people have trouble with stepping down. You could have a one million $ roll lose 400k in a week and i guarantee for most people in that spot 600k would feel like a tenner.

RedJoker

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

Why do you think poker soulcrushes you?
lack of interaction? i went to a therapist about this and she said i was unhappy with poker because all of my interaction with people was under social circumstances going out with friends etc. and poker was the cause of this.

Interacting with people is overrated afaik.

Good well and thanks for answering my questions.

max_power

What kinda setup/computers are you using?

Any pics?

shoutman

What did you study in College? Why Manchester?

HoLLLLLaments

max_power wrote: »

What kinda setup/computers are you using?

Any pics?

oldish dell laptop
dell xps 720 with 2 24 inch dell monitors.
i really like dells. they never seem to break. was supposed to get 2 new laptops ages ago. a macbook air and the top spec dell xps but just havent bothered yet. might just get the mackbook air.

HoLLLLLaments

shoutman wrote: »

What did you study in College? Why Manchester?

Manchester's a really vibrant city. studied electrical engineering

nicnicnic

good stuff

CaptainNemo

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

Finding nemo seems a bit of a nut. not sure if we got our wires crossed but in the thread where he said he was consistently losing and i said he should reevaluate his game trying to help, he went nuts so he obv wants me dead but w/e.

That was me, and I don't want you dead! Just your standard online wires-crossed argument I'm guessing. I thought you were being deliberately insulting for no reason at all, maybe I got it wrong.

The Tourist

(1) How would you compare the bankroll requirements/variance for heads up to those for full ring (and 6 max)?

(2) I recently started playing HU cash games and found that the rake is a lot more apparant because there are only two players. How does this affect your play?

(3) Heads up: cash or S&G's? Why?

Mr.Plough

And one other thing, how can you work out the poker stove odds while playing a live game ???

This quote in another thread got me thinking about different hand equities against various ranges etc.

What common hand equity situations do you think all serious poker players should know and remember?
e.g. Overpairs on low drawy boards v range of sets/2pairs/draws etc