It clearly takes time to adequately incorporate a newly learned, complex concept in any recurring endeavor. I mentioned awhile back that I needed to add an element of aggression into my game, a vital element that had been previously absent. Well, February was the month - and I think yesterday was the turning point.
There are several low stakes grinders who have multitabled their way to SNE status on Stars, chalking up somewhat decent long-term winrates of a few bbs/100 in the process. Generally, however, you see these grinders with VPIP/PRF ratios of something along the lines of 11/9. They're waiting for good hands - admittedly, with remarkable discipline - and pushing them to the limit for all they are worth. This strategy can clearly result in one becoming a solid winner at, say, the $0.50/$1.00 level. But it's not going to do anything to improve one's game to the point where that player can effectively compete at higher levels.
I have no interest in remaining at $0.50/$1.00. Accordingly, I've gone through an ongoing process which has resulted in a fairly constant transformation in my playing style. Late last year, I came to the conclusion that I was taking top pair type hands too far - so I made a conscious effort to stop that, and saw a vast improvement in my winrate for late December and January.
The next step was to significantly open up my aggression level - by stealing blinds more liberally, 3-betting light in position and from the blinds against the right opponents, 4-bet bluffing against habitual 3-bettors, squeezing more regularly and taking fold equity to the felt in inflated pots. Initially, this resulted in a complete reversal of my previous fortunes - whereas I had previously been a consistent loser in hands that didn't get to showdown but a huge winner in hands that did, I was now playing somewhat breakeven in both categories. This was obviously a great result for hands that do not get to showdown - but a disastrous turn of events for hands that did.
In reviewing my play - particularly after my nightmarish session on Tuesday - I realized that while I had more than embraced all of the aggressive concepts mentioned above, I was doing so far too liberally. The net effect of this resulted in a somewhat aggro-donk style of play, which did not reflect favorably upon my winrate. In fact, after Tuesday, I found myself in the hole to the tune of almost $500 for the month of February - leaving me in danger of posting my first monthly loss ever.
Fortunately, due to my fairly high self-monitoring nature, I feel as though I've rapidly identified the instances in which I've been incorrectly applying this newfound aggression - and have already started making the requisite adjustments to my game. While it's still too soon to weigh in on this point definitively, my session last night seems to reflect this belief - considering I tabled one of my best sessions ever only 24 hours after completing one of my worst.
If I'm correct, then I do believe there are blue skies on the immediate horizon...
Current Bankroll: $14,362.14
Tuesday: 3106 hands; down $755.05; EV: -$298.22
Wednesday: 1972 hands; up $535.40; EV: +$432.35
Month To Date: 52,420 hands; up $47; 0.09 bb/100
Year to Date: 88,711 hands; up $1,776; 2.00 bb/100
