what difficulty should i be training at?
the game im presently training to improve at is 5nl 6max cash on bovada. im roughly a break even player (slight winner if you dont count my losses on zone\speed poker which is a whole other animal.) i started my training at 2/5 on apt, but those games dont seem to accurately represent the types of tables i usually see on bovada, that is there is nowhere near as many crazy lags and its perfectly common to see 1-2 tags besides myself per table, sometimes more, although there actual skill level can vary. theres usually at least 1 fish or whale per table, and at least 1 knit every other table. so all that being said, what would be a good difficulty level that can simulate similar table dynamics while still providing a fair challenge to a break even player like myself? thanks in advance.
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In a similar position myself and also joined quite recently hoping to plug leaks and improve my winrate. I have switched from easy to medium because it was too easy. I also think it is worth playing around with the aggression level, I have found that makes it a little more realistic. Overall I think I have learned the most from the Beat the Pro challenges so far because you isolate one particular aspect of play at a time
I practice MTT's. Lately I've been practicing some at the medium level and some at the hardest level.
Medium level trains me to identify and exploit leaks without being too easy.
Hardest teaches me to identify and fix my own leaks.
You need to do both.
Hi. Can you explain how this works - i.e., how medium helps you identify and exploit opponents leaks, but hardest teaches you to identify your own leaks? I'd really appreciate your insight.
At the medium level most of the players have leaks, such as being too loose or tight preflop, or being too aggressive or passive postflop. Some are calling stations with a street of honesty. Some fold too much. Many of them open limp or limp behind too much. Some C-bet too much. Some just have frequencies that are a little off. But the leaks aren't blatantly obvious. You have to actively scan for them. Some of the opponents may not actually have leaks that are very exploitable. This is good practice scanning for and exploiting opponents' leaks, which is the most crucial skill in poker.
At the hardest level, the players adjust to your statistics and will attack your leaks. You have to balance your ranges. They play differently from each other at this level, but the differences are better described as tendencies rather than leaks. It's advisable to check your session report after each session at this level and examine the hands that have been flagged for review. If you have leaks, they will appear in your weekly training plan.
One thing I'm considering but haven't started yet is checking the option to not save my stats when I practice at the medium difficulty level. That's because I actively work to exploit the players, and also do a lot of experimentation at this difficulty level. I'm at the age where have to I learn by doing. For example, I have to make a stupid call of a shove in a certain spot and then pay the price to learn not to do it when real money is at stake. Practice sessions in which I'm not saving the hands are a good time to do this experimentation.