play higher, less tables?

So to try and get out of the funk i've been in, and since i only have my laptop here at the new house, i decided to 6 table 200 no limit. The fish were out tonight, and I had some of the biggest pots i've won to date. Here's two of the highlights.


Villian in this hand is a tight aggressive regular,very positionally aware. The turn was either a great or sucky card, and i breathed a big sigh of relief at seeing AK.


PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (8 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com



UTG ($395.65)

UTG+1 ($193.20)

MP1 ($200)

MP2 ($231.45)

Hero (CO) ($206)

Button ($200)

SB ($200)

BB ($177.90)



Preflop: Hero is CO with Q, Q

4 folds, Hero bets $6, 1 fold, SB raises to $20, 1 fold, Hero calls $14



Flop: ($42) Q, 5, 6 (2 players)

SB bets $22, Hero calls $22



Turn: ($86) K (2 players)

SB checks, Hero bets $50, SB calls $50



River: ($186) 6 (2 players)

SB bets $108 (All-In), Hero calls $108



Total pot: $402 | Rake: $3



Results:

SB had K, A (two pair, Kings and sixes).

Hero had Q, Q (full house, Queens over sixes).

Outcome: Hero won $399




Hand 2:

The big blind is this hand is a megadonk. He had been playing 100% of his hands, and saw a showdown a whopping 47% of the time! The player in middle position was a somewhat loose passive player who was positionally aware.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (9 handed) - Poker-Stars Converter Tool from FlopTurnRiver.com



Hero (MP3) ($245.35)

CO ($216.25)

Button ($200)

SB ($200)

BB ($206.90)

UTG ($220.55)

UTG+1 ($169.10)

MP1 ($200)

MP2 ($256.70)



Preflop: Hero is MP3 with 3, 3

2 folds, MP1 bets $11, 1 fold, Hero calls $11, 3 folds, BB raises to $20, MP1 calls $9, Hero calls $9



Flop: ($61) 9, 3, 4 (3 players)

BB checks, MP1 checks, Hero bets $30, BB raises to $60, 1 fold, Hero raises to $90, BB calls $30



Turn: ($241) 3 (2 players)

BB checks, Hero bets $30, BB calls $30



River: ($301) 4 (2 players)

BB bets $10, Hero raises to $105.35 (All-In), BB calls $56.90 (All-In)



Total pot: $434.80 | Rake: $3



Results:

BB had A, A (two pair, Aces and fours).

Hero had 3, 3 (four of a kind, threes).

Outcome: Hero won $434.80

So after thinking about my game for awhile, I realized one thing: i simply haven't put in enough effort lately, and my progress has stagnated. so i've resolved to do a few things. There's a few key skills that i know i need to improve on, and that are so fundamental to good poker. So at least twice per month, as a "homework assignment," i will do what those in harvard law do, which is to learn by analyzing cases. There's a few questions that i want to focus on when i'm doing these "case studies."

1. What is villians range during all stages of the hand?
2. What equity do I need to make a bet or fold break even?
3. If I bet or raise for value, what hands am I trying to get villian to call?
4. If I bet or raise as a bluff, what better hands do i want to fold?
5. At any point in a hand, what is the optimal play against villian's range?

I think these are fundamental questions that I need to delve into. To be honest, I hate doing this type of analysis, it's hard work! Well i've been slacking off and it's time to get better...