-20,000th Hand Update-

I'm going to crosspost this on Two Plus Two, and I hope to get some feedback.

I just played my 20,000th hand of online poker (since I bought Poker Tracker, anyway), and I figured now is as good a time as ever to revisit ALL my stats across ALL levels, however painful or embarassing.

Some quick background: I learned how to play Hold 'Em last year from my brother, who's now a pro. He gave me some good advice, and I knew a few basics, but I ran hot right away and overestimated my abilities. I built $50 into almost $300 playing $25 NL on Party Poker, then came crashing back to Earth and went bust.

Since then, I've read Theory of Poker and Cloutier's book on Hold 'Em tourneys. And I've bought back into both Party and Poker Stars and played many different games at different levels. And for the last couple months I've been reading Two Plus Two quite a bit, and soaking up as much knowledge as I can.

At this point, I'm pretty sure I'm a winning player at lower limit games. But I'm interested to see what comments people might have.

I'm not going to spare myself with these bad hand histories... I'm going to post some of my most embarassing hands. I'll also post one where I got lucky as a skunk.

First, I'll delve into the stats.

Hands: 20,002
VP$IP: 16.17
PFR%: 4.98
Amount won: $459.95

These aren't representative of my most recent game, $0.50/$1.00, in case you were wondering.

Now, here are the levels I've played, how many hands I've played at each level, and how much I've won at each level.

NL $25: 5,825 and $268.60
NL $0.02: 5,520 and $81.43
$0.25/$0.50: 4,573 and -$19.95
$0.50/$1.00: 2,955 and $111.49
$0.05/$0.10: 1,074 and $7.08
PL $25: 39 and $16.80
$1.00/$2.00: 16 and -$5.50

Finally, here are my win rates per 100 hands at the same levels, excluding PL $25 and $1/$2 because the sample sizes are microscopic.

NL $25: 4.61 BB/100
NL $0.02: 36.88 BB/100 (misleading because the blinds are so small)
$0.25/$0.50: -0.87 BB/100
$0.50/$1.00: 3.77 BB/100
$0.05/$0.10: 6.59 BB/100

Although I've made the most money at $25 NL, I now consider myself a limit player. I found that I couldn't handle the swings at NL. When I resumed playing after busting the first time, I once again found myself running hot. But this time I had studied the game, so I was even more confident. Of course, I ran bad for a couple thousand hands and hit some incredible beats. Ultimately, though, the problem wasn't the beats--it was my ability to deal with them.

So I finally took a break, cashed out and went to the micro tables on PokerStars. The $0.01/$0.02 game was easy, but not profitable enough to really pursue, so I decided to teach myself limit. So far, it's been a wise decision.

About that time, I also started reading the micro forum at 2+2 religiously. There were plays I didn't understand that now make perfect sense.

I know I've got a long way to go, but I want to thank everyone on this board for helping me progress as far as I have.

Having said all that, I'm now going to post some of the dumbest moves I've ever made in poker. You can rip me one, but I already know these are stupid.

Hand 1: What the crap was I thinking?

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed)

UTG ($27.95)
UTG+1 ($12)
Hero ($20.35)
MP2 ($68.75)
CO ($1.50)
Button ($24)
SB ($28.20)
BB ($7)

[b]Preflop:[/b] Hero is MP1 with 8:club:, 8:diamond:.
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, Hero calls $0.50, MP2 folds, CO folds, Button folds, SB completes, BB checks.

[b]Flop:[/b] ($1.50) J:club:, 3:diamond:, J:heart: [color:blue](3 players)[/color]
SB checks, BB checks, [color:CC3333]Hero bets $2[/color], SB calls $2, BB folds.

[b]Turn:[/b] ($5.50) 7:heart: [color:blue](2 players)[/color]
SB checks, [color:CC3333]Hero bets $7[/color], SB calls $7.

[b]River:[/b] ($19.50) 4:club: [color:blue](2 players)[/color]
[color:CC3333]SB bets $18.7 (All-In)[/color], Hero calls $10.85 (All-In).

[b]Final Pot:[/b] $49.05
[color:green]Main Pot: $41.20, between Hero and SB.[/color] > [color:white]Pot won by SB ($41.20).[/color]
[color:green]Pot 2: $7.84, returned to SB.[/color]

Results in white below: [color:white]
Hero shows 8c 8d (two pair, jacks and eights).
SB shows 7c Jd (full house, jacks full of sevens).
Outcome: SB wins $49.04. [/color]

Hand 2: Just fold!

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed)

MP2 ($45.55)
Hero ($21)
CO ($10.55)
Button ($30.05)
SB ($49.40)
BB ($26.70)
UTG ($15.25)
UTG+1 ($10.33)
MP1 ($25.55)

[b]Preflop:[/b] Hero is MP3 with Q:diamond:, A:club:.
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, [color:CC3333]Hero raises to $3[/color], CO folds, Button calls $3, SB folds, [color:CC3333]BB raises to $7[/color], [color:CC3333]Hero raises to $21 (All-In)[/color], Button folds, BB calls $14.

[b]Flop:[/b] ($45.25) 5:club:, J:diamond:, 8:heart: [color:blue](2 players, 1 all-in)[/color]

[b]Turn:[/b] ($45.25) 6:diamond: [color:blue](2 players, 1 all-in)[/color]

[b]River:[/b] ($45.25) 9:diamond: [color:blue](2 players, 1 all-in)[/color]

[b]Final Pot:[/b] $45.25
[color:green]Main Pot: $45.25, between Hero and BB.[/color] > [color:white]Pot won by BB ($45.25).[/color]

Results in white below: [color:white]
BB shows Td Ts (one pair, tens).
Hero shows Qd Ac (high card, ace).
Outcome: BB wins $45.25. [/color]

Hand 3: This is why I quit NL

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

UTG ($7.60)
UTG+1 ($55.20)
UTG+2 ($20.40)
MP1 ($71.38)
Hero ($24.25)
MP3 ($33.20)
CO ($26.75)
Button ($20.90)
SB ($55.55)
BB ($20)

[b]Preflop:[/b] Hero is MP2 with K:spade:, Q:spade:.
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 calls $0.50, MP1 folds, Hero calls $0.50, MP3 calls $0.50, CO folds, Button calls $0.50, SB folds, BB checks.

[b]Flop:[/b] ($3.25) J:diamond:, 8:heart:, Q:diamond: [color:blue](6 players)[/color]
BB checks, UTG folds, [color:CC3333]UTG+2 bets $0.5[/color], [color:CC3333]Hero raises to $6[/color], MP3 folds, Button folds, BB folds, UTG+2 calls $5.50.

[b]Turn:[/b] ($15.25) 8:diamond: [color:blue](2 players)[/color]
[color:CC3333]UTG+2 bets $0.5[/color], [color:CC3333]Hero raises to $13.9[/color], UTG+2 calls $13.40 (All-In).

[b]River:[/b] ($43.05) 7:club: [color:blue](2 players, 1 all-in)[/color]

[b]Final Pot:[/b] $43.05
[color:green]Main Pot: $43.05, between UTG+2 and Hero.[/color] > [color:white]Pot won by UTG+2 ($43.05).[/color]

Results in white below: [color:white]
UTG+2 shows 9d 5d (flush, queen high).
Hero shows Ks Qs (two pair, queens and eights).
Outcome: UTG+2 wins $43.05. [/color]

Hand 4: Too aggressive!!!

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (8 handed)

UTG+1 ($57.40)
MP1 ($21.05)
Hero ($34.10)
CO ($69.30)
Button ($29.95)
SB ($20.25)
BB ($33.50)
UTG ($20.95)

[b]Preflop:[/b] Hero is MP2 with J:club:, A:club:.
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 folds, MP1 folds, [color:CC3333]Hero raises to $1[/color], CO calls $1, Button folds, SB folds, BB folds, UTG calls $0.50.

[b]Flop:[/b] ($3.75) 4:heart:, 2:heart:, A:diamond: [color:blue](3 players)[/color]
[color:CC3333]UTG bets $1[/color], [color:CC3333]Hero raises to $6[/color], CO calls $6, UTG folds.

[b]Turn:[/b] ($16.75) 8:club: [color:blue](2 players)[/color]
[color:CC3333]Hero bets $20[/color], CO calls $20.

[b]River:[/b] ($56.75) K:heart: [color:blue](2 players)[/color]
[color:CC3333]Hero bets $7.1 (All-In)[/color], CO calls $7.10.

[b]Final Pot:[/b] $70.95
[color:green]Main Pot: $70.95, between Hero and CO.[/color] > [color:white]Pot won by CO ($70.95).[/color]

Results in white below: [color:white]
Hero shows Jc Ac (one pair, aces).
CO shows 4c Ah (two pair, aces and fours).
Outcome: CO wins $70.95. [/color]

Hand 5: Here's one where I got lucky. On the river, I tried to push, but accidentally clicked the minimum bet. It worked out okay.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (10 handed)

CO ($98.85)
Button ($31.96)
SB ($13)
Hero ($31.80)
UTG ($39.20)
UTG+1 ($19.50)
UTG+2 ($9.50)
MP1 ($20.40)
MP2 ($23.03)
MP3 ($32.09)

[b]Preflop:[/b] Hero is BB with 4:spade:, 7:club:.
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 folds, UTG+2 folds, MP1 calls $0.50, MP2 calls $0.50, MP3 calls $0.50, CO calls $0.50, Button calls $0.50, SB completes, Hero checks.

[b]Flop:[/b] ($4) 5:diamond:, 4:diamond:, 4:club: [color:blue](8 players)[/color]
SB checks, [color:CC3333]Hero bets $4[/color], [color:CC3333]UTG raises to $8[/color], MP1 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 calls $8, CO folds, Button folds, SB folds, Hero calls $4.

[b]Turn:[/b] ($28) 4:heart: [color:blue](3 players)[/color]
Hero checks, [color:CC3333]UTG bets $5[/color], MP3 folds, Hero calls $5.

[b]River:[/b] ($38) A:spade: [color:blue](2 players)[/color]
[color:CC3333]Hero bets $0.5[/color], [color:CC3333]UTG raises to $25.7 (All-In)[/color], Hero calls $17.80 (All-In).

[b]Final Pot:[/b] $82
[color:green]Main Pot: $74.60, between Hero and UTG.[/color] > [color:white]Pot won by Hero ($74.60).[/color]
[color:green]Pot 2: $7.40, returned to UTG.[/color]

Results in white below: [color:white]
Hero shows 4s 7c (four of a kind, fours).
UTG shows 5c 6c (full house, fours full of fives).
Outcome: Hero wins $74.60. UTG wins $7.40. [/color]