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mersenneary's picture
Welcome to the [June edition of the] Mersenneary FastTrack Forum! (Always open for questions/comments)

You've just purchased a month of access to me for the price of an hour of traditional coaching and I'm looking forward to working with you.Here are the biggest highlights so far:Article Discussion ThreadsHow and when to 3-bet light 30-75bb deepReacting to People who 3-bet wide 30-75bb deepHow and when to check/raise lightEndgame Strategy InterviewCorrectly Applying "Shove or Fold" Endgame StrategyTaking Advantage of Image against riyyc225, h2olga, and livb112Errors by Erik Seidel, Chris Moneymaker, and Vanessa Rousso in NBC HU Jamming expectation against a wide button opener 20bb deep Readless Ranges: What to do 20bb deep from the big blind against an unknown opponentLeak Plugging: Do you call too tight OOP?11-14bb with marginal hands from the Small Blind: Raise, Openshove, Fold, or Limp? (Advanced ROFL Theory)Chubokov: What it is, what it isn't, and how to separate its useful information from the useless dead ends of SklanskylandBy Request: Calculating pot odds and how often your opponent has to fold to your bluff Threads started by StudentsJSH's HH thread - A MUST READ for all superturbo playersXereles HH thread - Recommended for reg speed/turbo players.Bankroll management discussionPrimordialAA answers a few questionsI think the threads of all students are worth reading, but here are some good resources to get you started. Definitely check out the "recommended reading list" for more. What we've decided is that it works best if each user has their own thread for HH/checkup type questions (reasons discussed below). You can go ahead and create your hand review thread now (it's ok if you don't have a question to start).

animal's picture
Wow, this was an amazing

Wow, this was an amazing idea. There is so much information out there - some good, some bad, some just a regurgitation of the conventional wisdom - that it is easy to get lost in it all.It is obvious that some serious thought went into this. You obviously know what information is the real deal, and cutting through the waste-of-time info and pointing out the serious game-improving info is huge. Plus, the method of payment and participation you devised makes it a good value for participants while maximizing the return on your time. Very impressive. I have already seen some of the videos on your list, but I am going to go to the beginning and work my way through all of them with a fresh mind. I hadn't read any of the articles or forum posts that you linked to, so the links you created to the worthwhile posts in the vast sea of words that exists is gold.As soon as I have some worthwhile questions, I will start posting them. In the mean time, I just wanted to say thanks for putting this together! 

mersenneary's picture
That's the idea. Your

That's the idea. Your studying time is really valuable. This should be a lot better than trying to wade through the massive amounts of advice that's out there and get personalized input on your play (without some hour-by-hour time clock!)Looking forward to the first HH question posted!

mersenneary's picture
Hi all, Here's an idea I

Hi all,Here's an idea I thought about during dinner today: How would you like it if each person had a thread for their questions? This would help organize all of your personalized responses in one place, make it easier to find when I'm talking to you, and a couple other benefits. For example, while reading JackTheShipper today I got the urge to pull from different questions to give him broader advice about his thought process, and tried to do this a bit, but it would be a lot easier if his questions were in the same place. You'd all still be encouraged to give advice to each other, of course. The downside to this is that it could lead to more jumbled discussion if people are talking about different questions simultaneously in the same thread.Thoughts? Just wanted to throw it out there. Remember that this is your forum, I want you to own it and be involved in what this learning community turns out to be.

animal's picture
That is an excellent idea!

That is an excellent idea!

zZzTILT's picture
I'd like it if these

I'd like it if these "personalized" threads would only be for specific hand histories. I think general (theory) questions you still be asked directly in the forum so that everyone can have a quick look at it and not have to look into every thread.Edit: Or everyone gets a thread for theory questions and one for specific hand histories? I dont know... :)

mersenneary's picture
"I'd like it if these

"I'd like it if these "personalized" threads would only be for specific hand histories. I think general (theory) questions you still be asked directly in the forum so that everyone can have a quick look at it and not have to look into every thread." Yeah, this sounds like it would work really well.The webmaster is working on giving me full mod access at the moment, so I say let's plan on doing this, but continue posting normally for now. Those who haven't chimed in, please do so though.

chugenemes's picture
I like the idea of a thread

I like the idea of a thread each in theory, will be up for trying it out for 2 weeks or so to see if it works well. :p

reallymonkeyish's picture
Really like the idea of

Really like the idea of continuity, one of my big problems with normal HH posting is that a lot of personal context and thought processes get lost.Also agree on normal forum posts for theory threads.

JackTheShipper's picture
yeah i really like that idea

yeah i really like that idea mers, i feel like my game is not SUPERflawed in single hands because sometimes i can figure out the right move, just by rething the hand, , but more in my overall way of thinking (because i obviously fail to think of the right move in game, like often i will make a dumb bluff where im not reppin anythin, and then as soon as i clicked the bet button feel like, damn wtf am i even repping, this is so dumb. and if i then would post the hand, u would tell me to not bluff, but that doesnt help me much, i really have to just stop doing it kinda, ugh it sounds wrong, it sounds like a discipline problem, which it isnt imo, but i hope u somewhat know what i mean, as a non native english speaker, i sometimes have a hard time wording my thoughts correctly, please bare with me.) im trying to illustrate that to you by posting singular , individual hands, which isnt easy and to be honest, makes me feel a bit like im not asking my questions right, if that makes sense? also for future reference, if its easier for you, i dont mind you referring to me as jack or jts, if thats shorter to type :P i really really like this idea tho fwiw, also as u can see, ive slowed down a bit on the massive hand posting ;) dont wanna post TOO much just had a massive session this weekend ( 13hrs straight and played +- 5K hands) therefor, i figured might post like 10ish to get it started, hope i didnt overdo it, im really not trying to squeeze everything out i can and i really dont want to come off as if im trying to somehow exploit the "system" uve made here. just wanted to kick it off !! much love to all J

bbq's picture
I really like the idea of a

I really like the idea of a personal thread for questions/HH's etc.

mersenneary's picture
After thinking it over some

After thinking it over some more and getting all the positive responses, let's do this. If each of you could create your own threads now (put your username in the title, if you would, and make it clear this is your thread for that purpose), that will be great.Since the initial HH discussions are older, I can't actually merge them in to your new threads. Feel free to keep discussing those there until they die out.Continue to use this thread for suggestions/comments: I very much welcome your feedback, both positive and in terms of what you'd like to see differently.

ThisWillFitForSure's picture
i would like something along

i would like something along the lines of "topic of the week" by popular demand/special request/your own decision about whats benefical/a trend u notice a lot in some hhs, could be something like some theory behind spots representing that topic and a few hh excercises dissecting ranges like: "playing oop in 3bet pots", "good boards to bet bet shove", "when a c/shove river is good as value/bluff"*, etc *very interested in this topic :) ty for your time mers

zZzTILT's picture
very good idea! sth like this

very good idea!sth like this would be great ;) 

xDmi3x's picture
zZzTILT, can you give a link

zZzTILT, can you give a link to the forum shown on this screenshot?PS Sorry guys, i'm new here and couldn't find a way how to write a PM :(

mersenneary's picture
The project was cancelled

The project was cancelled before it started.

mersenneary's picture
yep, that's what we're

yep, that's what we're building towards.

jackoneill's picture
I'm also very excited and

I'm also very excited and looking forward to this :-)Most likely, I won't be around too much this week, I'm about to head out to a bar to get really, really drunk, sleep all day tomorrow, then celebrate St. Patrick's Day ...Just wanted to say hello to everybody :-)


JackTheShipper's picture
hey jackoneill ;)   weve

hey jackoneill ;) weve played before on stars i believe at the 110 turbs.i quit stars tho only ftp atm.nice to see u here ;:):)     

mersenneary's picture
Gonna post some scheduling

Gonna post some scheduling notes in here as we go.In general, mornings and evenings are when you should expect me around the forum. This weekend/today is actually less active than I'll be in general: Pretty crazy weekend with friends from out of town staying with me and trying to get all this set up. You can expect a pretty decent routine of me going through threads in the morning and then commenting on follow-ups new ones that evening/the next morning. You also can expect a theory thread for me once or twice a week.Today, I'm about to head out and have another hectic day seeing the friends off, but will be putting in an hour this afternoon and then a big session of responding tomorrow morning.

meatwad's picture
Any chance we can merge all

Any chance we can merge all of JacktheShipper's posts into one HH post?  It would make the forum much more "readable" IMO. 

mersenneary's picture
Can't do it right now with

Can't do it right now with this software, the old ones will die off, he has his thread now.

mersenneary's picture
If ever you click on a thread

If ever you click on a thread and get re-directed to a sign-up page, it's probably because I changed the thread title, which changes the link to the thread. Just refresh the page and you should be OK, if you clear your cookies/cache you'll definitely be OK.

mersenneary's picture
Travelling a lot the last

Travelling a lot the last couple days - going to crash now but will have everybody's threads updated in the next 24 hours.Hope people are running well! :)

mersenneary's picture
Feel free to keep posting

Feel free to keep posting questions, of course!

nicoasp's picture
Any updates or further info

Any updates or further info about the skype group-sessions? Possible dates, themes etc?Thx!

zZzTILT's picture
I'd find it great if you

I'd find it great if you could give each student a short feedback, maybe after the group coaching session about areas which need improvement and flaws in their thought process. What do you think about it?

ThisWillFitForSure's picture
If that is based on the hh we

If that is based on the hh we are posting regularly + the questions asked in the group chat i think its a great idea

zZzTILT's picture
Ah yes, of course. Forgot to

Ah yes, of course. Forgot to mention that.

mersenneary's picture
"Any updates or further info

"Any updates or further info about the skype group-sessions? Possible dates, themes etc? Thx!"At the start of next week I'm going to send out an initial email/PM about this. It will be an initial questionaire that asks you your stakes, what times generally work the best for you, what you're interested in learning, and those types of things. Because I don't have a lot of experience with group coaching yet (although some would say 200 hours of teaching math to petulant middle schoolers qualifies), the groups will be fairly small this time: We'll have at least 4 and maybe even 5 groups, which means that there will be 4-6 students for each session, with 4-5 being the most typical."I'd find it great if you could give each student a short feedback, maybe after the group coaching session about areas which need improvement and flaws in their thought process. What do you think about it?"Yep, I already had this planned. Basically after you send me all of the pre-group of information, I'm going to make a packet that talks about everything I'm going to talk about in the session, so basically you get to have my presentation notes after it, which should help if people get lost in the hour. In addition to that, I'll write up a little cover letter to each person (following the theme of individualisation I'm trying to maintain) about what I've seen from you this month and what you've improved on and what to look for going forward.In return for this, I'm going to ask that each of you complete a surveymonkey questionaire as a manadatory part of this program (well, fine, I can't enforce it as mandatory, but just go with me here). It'll ask about your experience and I'll use that data to help tailor the program in the future.Privately, I think what will happen is we'll finish this initial group, stop the program for a couple of weeks to evaluate how to tinker with it, and take applications for the next month which will start May 1.How does this all sound?

zZzTILT's picture
Until the part where you say

Until the part where you say that you want to stop the program for a couple of weeks it sounded great. Still great, though. ;)

ThisWillFitForSure's picture
If you wanna stop it is fine

If you wanna stop it is fine i think but i assume this forum stays closed in the sense of no more posting (like locked) but accesible for reading only to all students.All in all ive been finding your answers and feedback top notch but im eagerly waiting for the group session and the more "personalized" feel of this, the pre-group info and stuff seems like what i wanted to see here and im very happy you were planning this already.As a feedback i think running a "challenge" weekly would be great and keep things entertaining like non-doctored hh of a husng won in more than 10 hands without losing any pot, maybe that make some of us spew but could be a great excercise, or maybe winning 3 sngs in a row just limping EVERY hand, or calling any suited junk to mr oop and winning 3 ina  row or smth, the winner of the challenge gets to suggest next weekly strategy article/topic or gets to write a commentary analyzed by you on how that particular challenge was easy/hard/whatever and what did he learn/have trouble with (this idea need tailoring imo :p)If you think re openning this in May and keeping it closed on Apr for tweaking purposes is better then im with you but if this keep going in the right direction then count me in again on May :)oh, im sending u a pm on 2p2 with something, pls read :)

JSH06's picture
What about having a quiz at

What about having a quiz at the end of each month?  You could put together some hands or just basic range questions & then just put the answers of what you would do in each spot either at the bottom or in a seperate thread?  Questions would cover a range of stack depths & topics.  I think this would be great not only for learning, but of getting a better idea of where we stand & what our leaks are.

mersenneary's picture
Hi all, We had a member

Hi all, We had a member withdraw from the program today. I just want to be 100% clear about something: If you're at all dissatisfied with some aspect of this, please let me know about it so that I can do something about it first :) I've been really encouraged at the success so far and how happy most everybody seems to be, but if you're not one of those people, just shoot me a message, it's that easy. Expect an article on 3betting light 30-75bb deep tonight! (posted this in the wrong thread the first time)

meatwad's picture
Hey Mers, I think you should

Hey Mers,I think you should run a contest to all the first go participants.  Competition is "best idea to improve the program".  Winner gets another month in the program or free coaching or a T-shirt - whatever.  Could be fun and beneficial.

mersenneary's picture
Not a bad idea - I'll give it

Not a bad idea - I'll give it some thought.

zZzTILT's picture
Just a suggestion for the

Just a suggestion for the last couple of days. If there isnt going on so much in the personal threads you could maybe pick some interesting hands from your games and write a bit about your thought process.

jackoneill's picture
Good point.  Or maybe pick

Good point.  Or maybe pick some interesting hands from 2+2 ?  There were some interesting hands in the last two weeks with a lot of controversy about the right lines.


mersenneary's picture
feel free to link me to which

feel free to link me to which ones you want input on!

JackTheShipper's picture
ive just had an idea, and

ive just had an idea, and would like to suggest it, its concerning the group coaching sessions.i was thinking, if it would be possible for you (mers) to record the skype audio or chat + the actual screen, during the group coaching sessions, and then afterwards share the group a / b sesh with group C and group b and c with a, etc that way everyone gets the most out of it, and just simply recording it, doesnt seem like much extra work? just a thought tho 

ThisWillFitForSure's picture
im with JTS, good idea

im with JTS, good idea

mersenneary's picture
Great idea, no reason not to.

Great idea, no reason not to. Let's do it.

zZzTILT's picture
Great stuff. :)

Great stuff. :)

JackTheShipper's picture
cool i figured, that way

cool i figured, that way everyone gets to see like, EVERYONE in the entire coaching groups questions and mindset, and thinking level, and i figured, this way, if u can rewatch the vids later as well, it will have MASSIVE benefits over just a single hour of coaching from anyone else. ((and that way i can also see the st coaching sesh :P ))

Mareen's picture
Mers, do you think, the

Mers, do you think, the people who didn't reached the aim of 200 games per month and therefore aren't allowed to participate at the group coaching, can get access to the records of your coachings after all? That would be very super nice!  

mersenneary's picture
Unfortunately, the group

Unfortunately, the group coaching benefits are going to be for those who reached the volume requirement, as initially agreed upon.

mersenneary's picture
Here's the "application" for

Here's the "application" for the May session, but I can pretty much categorically say that if you're interested in another month, I'll accept you, since you all were a fantastic group to demo this with.http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R3BDDJW

jackoneill's picture
I'm so happy that your're

I'm so happy that your're doing this again :-)


zZzTILT's picture
When are you planning on

When are you planning on sending us your feedback?:)

kingkong's picture
"I'm so happy that your're

"I'm so happy that your're doing this again :-)"Me to! I have just filled out the application.

mersenneary's picture
zzzTilt, I'll send you

zzzTilt, I'll send you something next week :) I think I can categorically say anybody from this month who applies will be accepted for next month, including you two. Make sure to get the applications in before Tuesday, for others interested, so that I don't fill your spot.

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