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For the report I have discussed 2 non-specific points on area's that I think you can improve on, and have taken 2 hand examples from your HEM to provide feedback in more detail in those two specific areas:
General:
In general I believe you are playing well, apart from the odd spew, however you are playing far too many hands pre-flop:
Your VPIP, PFR and 3 Bet stats are 41%, 23% and 4%...these should be more like 23%, 19%, and 7% !!! At the stakes you are playing it is not a big problem and is highly compensated for, by the fact that you play post-flop very well and have good aggression tendencies; however at higher stakes this would be very problematic (as the standard of play post-flop is significantly increased).
Specifically you should aim to play a lot less marginal hands from the small blind and big blind, as these are the least profitable spots on the table (they are the least profitably spots because you have to play the rest of the hand out of position).
I would also aim to play every hand with a full stack, as the stack size can impact hand strategies and change tables if they have 3 or below players (as 3 handed/heads up are completely different to 6 max)
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Anyway, there are many factors that can be discussed, I have chosen these two at random.
1) Bet Sizing:
When browsing through the hands I saw a few examples where you under-value bet the pot when playing a loose passive player (a genuine fish). The loose passive players are the best players to play against, it is from these people that you will make the most money.
If you can find a table where you have position on a loose passive player then you are sitting on a gold mine, I'm not going to discuss table selection too deep (at this stake it is not that important due to the general level of play, but will definately be a factor you need to consider if you move up the stakes) - however as a general tip, aim to sit on tables with the fish, ideally with position on them and when they have a big stack, and leave the tables where the standard of play is better.
Loose passive players have stats like 40% VPIP, 5% PFR - they only press the raise button when they have what they believe to be the nuts (and it is usually a minimum raise), these players do not interpret bet sizes well and play poker at a very basic level, i.e. they see their cards, they see the cards on the board and then decide whether they want to play or not, they hate folding if they have any hand that is 1 pair or above post-flop which makes them very hard to bluff (so just try to avoid bluffing the fish past a C-Bet, as it is just wasted on them - any bet after a C-bet should be considered a value bet and that is when you believe you have the best hand).
It is important to understand how players think and play to ensure you are taking the most profitable route against them.
However if you bet pot or more than the pot then I believe the fish have just about enough awareness to realise something is not right, so you can adjust your bet sizes accordingly within half pot - pot range given the situation. Correct bet sizing is very important as it is compounded on every street...this will make more sense in hand example
Generally bet on the lower end of the range when you want them to fold to a C-Bet (i.e. Half pot for C bet when you have AQ on a 569 board or a nice trick is to type in a number like 2.89 that looks bigger than it actually is), and the higher end when you are just trying to maximise value (i.e. AA on a 569 board; opposite to before, you can make a bet look smaller by typing a number that contains small digits...e.g. 5.01. The 2.89 bet makes a bigger stack animation than the 5.01 also lol)
Aim to value bet 3/4 or 4/5 the pot when there is a good chance you have the best hand, and apply this for any street (save the tricky bets, like 1/4 pot, for the tricky players to invite them to make mistakes, e.g. if you want an aggressive player to bluff you or if you have history with the player, etc.)
Hand example 1) below discusses one of these situations in more detail (one of your hand history's)
Hand Example 1:
Table: Thysetes VII
Date: 04/13/2011 16:37:38
(Use the date to find the hand in your own HEM and watch it using the hand history re-player)
You make a min raise to .50 with QTss from the cut off position. Generally I would say raise at least 3x the big blind in cash as you ideally only want to play against 1 player to increase your chance of winning the pot, however the min raise here isn't too bad because the big blind is a very tight player and short stacked. Winning the pot uncontested is a good result (winning pots uncontested is how you make money in cash poker...if you don't believe me check your graph in HEM; click "showdown winnings" and you will see that the red "non showdown winnings" line dominates)
The small blind calls your raise
Flop (1.25)
The flop brings Qd Tc 5d.
It is a good result for you that the small blind called because you have position on him post flop and he is obviously a poor player; you can tell this by his stats. Although you only have 32 hands on him, he has played 35% of them and only raised 6% of them, it is easy to categorise this player as loose-passive from this and predict his post flop tendencies.
Because he plays 35% of hands it is very hard at this stage to isolate his hand range, however your top 2 pair is going to the best hand a lot of the time and with the flush draw (any 2 diamonds) and straight draw (JK, J9, 98, 87) possibilities you need to value bet and protect your hand - you also need to value bet against hands that are weaker than yours but have hit a part of the flop, e.g. TJ QJ A5, etc. because he is a very passive player, C-betting here is a must. If he was a very aggressive player, then checking strong hands would not be too bad because you can expect an aggressive player to bluff into you a lot once you have feign weakness (although on this board I would still C-Bet).
OK now the important bit, you bet 0.50 into 1.25...you should bet 1.00 here. It seems insignificant, but it is important as it is starting to build a pot that you want to make big (because it is very likely you have the best hand) and also decreases his implied odds - because you have less money behind and more already in the pot. It also means that you are charging him more while there are still opportunities to charge (i.e. you will not be able to charge a fish to see another card on the river, as there are no cards left to come)
You bet 0.5 and he calls
Turn (2.25)
The turn brings 4c
Once any player calls a C-Bet the first thing you should do is consider the range of cards they could call you with to further isolate their range (and hence make your future plays more profitable), then consider how the turn card affects that range. As he is a fish, you do not have to worry about what hand you represent - he is only looking at his own hand and the board.
Based on the type of player he is, and the wide range of cards that he can potentially call with pre-flop, I would say his range after calling the flop bet is in the region of any single pair, any straight draw and any flush draw (i.e. AQ, AJ, AT, A5, KQ, KJ, KT, QJ, QT, Q9, JT, J9, T9, T8, 56 - and any flush draw) and rarely a monster like TT, 55 (less likely he has TT as you have a T and there is a T on the board). I have discounted AA KK AK QQ JJ as I am assuming he 3 bets these hands pre-flop.
So what impact does the turn have on his range? The 4c does not have any impact on his range, which means it is safe to assume that you still have the best hand and that he will call another bet (if he has called a bet on the flop and the turn card has changed nothing, then he will surely call a bet on the turn as well?). Hence you should value bet the turn, and around 3/4 or 4/5 of the pot.
You bet 0.90 and he calls
River (4.05)
The river brings 3d
He checks and you check behind to win the pot of 4.05. Seeing as the player is very loose-passive I would value bet the river and fold if he raises (loose passive players rarely check-raise rivers on bluffs), I think you can value bet the QT against a player like this as he will call you down a lot of the time with a single pair holding like AT or Q9 - checking the player's "Went to Showdown" Stat will give you a good indication as to whether you can value bet here or not (the bigger the number, the bigger the range they call). In this case he has 42% which is extremely high but only over a small sample.
So you won the pot of 4.05, but also gave him two cheap cards that would have lost you the pot.
Now consider the hand again with 3/4 or 4/5 bet sizing post flop:
Flop 1.25, he checks, you raise 1.00 and he calls
Turn 3.25, he checks, you raise 3.00 and he calls
River 9.25, he checks and you check behind and win 9.25 which is over double what you won previous - but more importantly you have over charged him to see the turn and river (this will more than compensate for the times when he hits his hand on the turn or river and also decrease his implied odds)
If you consider the hand again with a raise to 0.75 pre-flop
Flop 1.75, he checks, you raise 1.5 he calls
Turn 4.75, he checks, you raise 4.25 he calls
River 13.25, he checks and you check behind and win 13.25 which is over three times what you won previous - because the bets made are compounded on each street played (and if you value bet the river for 11 and he calls with KQ then you have won a very tasty pot!), it also means his implied odds are significantly decreased because there is a lot more money in the pot than in the stack sizes behind.
It is also important to remember that if he folds to your raise it is a good result. The reason is because of pot equity, as explained below:
On the turn the pot was 2.25, you had top 2 pair and he had a straight draw. This means you win the pot 82% of the time when it goes to showdown and he wins 18% of the time (I.e. if you were both playing the cards face up). So you own 82% of the the pot. If you raise the turn, and he folds, then he has folded all his 18% of his equity in the pot which is a good result because you have stolen his 18%! (this is shown as non-showdown winnings on your HEM graph). However if you check or bet small, then you are allowing him to have his 18% equity for a good price.
OK so the obvious response is: "but maybe I don't want him to fold when I have the best hand, maybe he could bluff and I will make more money" - Sometimes it can be very profitably to slow play or induce a bluff with a smaller raise and increase your showdown winnings, this is definately true. The key to applying this correctly is understanding your opponent and what they are capable of.
In this hand the player is rarely capable of bluffing and rarely capable of even raising with a mediocre or strong hand, but he is very capable of calling light - so to maximise your profits in this specific hand against this specific player you have to value bet a good amount on the flop and turn and maybe consider value betting on the river.
Every situation is unique, do whatever you believe is the most profitable play in each hand, based on the information available.
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2) Went to Showdown:
I attached a screen shot from HEM, it is a basic filter showing what hands you made it to showdown with and how much profit/loss for each.
As expected the one pair/high card scenarios are at the bottom of the list, but the numbers are worse than they need to be and the "won hand %" for these hands are very low 0% and 25%.
The easiest way improve in this area is to apply the following:
- Small hand = Small pot
- Medium hand = Medium pot
- Big hand = Big pot
To put this into perspective, if you find yourself in a situation where you have a small hand (relative to the situation), but the pot is middle sized or getting big...then most of the time you will be beat (simple right?)
You should also consider that when you have a big hand (relative to the situation), you should be aiming towards creating a big pot (discussed in the bet sizing section!)
The "relative to the situation" factors include the board, pre-flop action, your opponent in the hand, etc. etc. Hand example 2) below discusses one of these situations in more detail (one of your hand history's).
Hand Example 2:
Table: Freda VII
Date: 04/15/2011 08:35:58
(Use the date to find the hand in your own HEM and watch it using the hand history re-player)
You raise to 0.80 with AJss from UTG+1 which is good and the button / big blind call.
What is immediately interesting about this hand is that the table you are on is not very good: the player you have position on is very tight (VPIP 13%/ PFR 11%) and does not have a very big stack (12.50), it is rare you will make a lot of money from him. None of the other players appear very weak either, they generally have tight stats and have similar numbers for VPIP and PFR (which is the sign of a stronger player).
Flop 2.50
The flop brings 6d Jc 3c
The big blind checks and you bet 1.80, this is a good amount as there is a good chance you have the best hand and need to charge a multitude of draws and other cards (such as K or Q).
The button calls and the big blind folds. Once the button calls, as before, as you should consider his range, this will aid in decision making later on later streets. Seeing as he has quite a high VPIP (24%), and he has called a C-Bet, I would assume his range to include a single pair (44, 55, 77, 88, 99, KJ, QJ, JT, 67), a flush draw (e.g. A5cc) and rarely a set (33, 66) - it is less likely that he has a J holding as you have a J and there is a J on the board and again I assume he 3 bets pre-flop AA KK AK QQ JJ (if he did not 3 bet these pre-flop, he would probably raise them now no such a dangerous board).
You bet 1.80 and the button calls
Turn 6.10
The turn brings 8c
In a few hands I watched I saw that you had a problem when a draw was completed on a turn and often reverted to a check-call check-call strategy....this is an expensive strategy and should only be used against players who you are know are capable of bluffing when checked to.
In this spot you should bet again and around 4.00, there is three good reasons for betting;
- The first reason is that against the range of hands we assigned the player to be on the flop, you are marginally ahead and hence have good odds to bet and for him to fold or call with a weaker hand (4.00 to win 6.10 and also showdown equity if he calls)
- The second reason is that betting actually slows down the action, it is rare that a player will bluff in this spot against a second barrel, but will usually call or fold...if he raises then most of the time (subject to the player) he will have a very strong hand such as a set or flush.
- The third reason is that if the player was floating the flop with a hand like 44, 55, 67, 77, or air, then it will be very hard for him to bluff you as you have represented a lot of strength and a willingness to proceed - where as if you check-call it is hard to know whether you have the best hand or not (you would need a very good read on your opponent)
Check-raising the turn is another option, however I would generally only do this against players I feel I have a good read on and usually with a hand that has little or no showdown equity.
If the player raises or calls your bet on the turn, then you should seriously consider slowing down/folding because most of the time he is raising believing that you have a big hand (and hence must have a big hand himself to raise you), the reason you should seriously consider folding is because...
- Small hand = Small pot
- Medium hand = Medium pot
- Big hand = Big pot
Relative to the board and the action, you have a small/medium hand (top pair and top kicker, when there is a very probably potential flush) and if raised on the turn the pot will be medium/big.
Another good reason to fold is that your hand will rarely improve on the river, however a lot of his potential hands can improve on the river, and also, you cannot improve to a hand that beats already made hands (such as a set or a flush).
Further to this the size of the pot can definately increase on the river to an undesirable amount - especially as you are playing out of position.
Folding in spots like this will save you a lot of money in the long run and avoid a lot of troublesome river decisions.
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