Over the past 30 years, Poker has been a big part of my life. But at the end of the day, I’m a software engineer at heart. And the more I’ve worked on improving my poker game, the more I’ve realized the overlap is real.
Discipline. Rigor. Process. And yes…lots of caffeine….let’s never forget the caffeine.
Anyways, for anyone who’s looked at this site, you’ll know that over the past four months, I’ve been taking a more intentional approach to improving my game — especially at the microstakes ($0.05/$0.10). For what it’s worth, this isn’t a story about a breakthrough, it’s a story about little incremental improvements and the leaks that are still very much there.
Preflop – From Passive to Intentional
If there’s one area where I’ve made real progress, it’s my preflop game.
Before, my biggest leaks were simple:
- Calling too much
- Limping too often
- Convincing myself that marginal hands were playable
I don’t even think I could tell you which was worse — the calling or the limping. Both were costing me money.
The biggest shift has been this:
If I’m entering a pot, I’m usually raising.
That one change has had a real impact.
Hands like KJ in early position or K10 in middle position used to be “maybe” hands for me. I’d find reasons to call. Now they’re easy folds. No debate, no justification.
I’m also:
- Raising much more frequently (~90% of the time when I play a hand)
- Adjusting sizing based on limpers ahead of me (which matters a ton at microstakes)
- Starting to factor in position more consistently
That said, I’m not there yet.
I still don’t fully adjust my ranges based on position the way I should. And I’m probably still too loose with Ax hands.
So, my preflop is improving — but it’s not solved.
My Postflop is where the Real Work Starts
This is where things get interesting — and where most of my leaks still live.
I’ve gotten better about one key thing:
- C-betting when I’m the preflop aggressor
That’s helped me win more small pots and stay in control of hands.
But the bigger issue is what happens after that.
Here’s a real hand from a live session about a week ago.
I’m on the button with AJs.
A very loose player UTG — someone playing about 70% of hands and raising a big chunk of them — opens to 5x the big blind.
I 3-bet to 12x to isolate. He calls.
Flop: A–Q–J
He checks. I bet about half pot. He calls.
At this point, I’m feeling good. Top pair on a dynamic board with the #3 pair on my kicker against a loose player.
Turn: 9
Now the board gets very wet:
- Straight draws are everywhere
- To make matters worse, flush draws developing
He checks again. I bet again. He calls. And now I start to do something stupid. I start to get pissed.
River: 8
The board completes a lot:
- Straights get there
- Flushes are possible
- Two-pair and set combinations are still in play
He checks. And I… fire again.
He calls.
He shows A–Q. I lose a big pot.
What Actually Went Wrong
This wasn’t a bad beat. It was a failure to adjust what I put him on.
There were multiple signals to slow down:
- A loose player calling multiple streets
- A board getting progressively worse for my exact hand
- A range that heavily includes hands like AQ, K10, sets, and draws that get there
But I didn’t slow down.
And the reason wasn’t technical — it was psychological.
I was trying to “teach him a lesson.”
He’s loose. He plays too many hands. I had a strong hand. I wanted to punish him.
Instead, I punished myself.
There were so many hands that beat me by the time we got to the river. Even ignoring sets:
- Straights
- Flushes
- Better two-pair
And I kept building the pot anyway.
The correct adjustment?
At some point — likely the turn — I needed to:
- Check back
- Control the pot
- Be willing to fold if he showed strength
Instead, I kept pushing. And lost.
I played my hand. I didn’t play his range.
What I should really be surprised about was that he only had 2 pair.
So be it.
Journey results so far – Encouraging, But Not Consistent
The good news is:
- I’m more profitable overall
- Live play has been especially strong (often doubling or tripling buy-ins in cash scenarios)
- Even online, despite leaks, I’m trending upward
I’m also starting to see the game differently:
- I can identify weaker players quickly
- I’m recognizing patterns and tendencies
- I can see mistakes — both theirs and mine
That’s real progress.
But there’s still a gap.
I have moments — especially online — where I get loose, undisciplined, or impatient. And those moments can erase a lot of good decisions.
The edge is there. The consistency isn’t.
The Big Realization
Preflop used to be my biggest problem.
Now it’s postflop.
The game has shifted from:
- “What hands should I play?”
To:
- “What does my opponent have, and how should I respond?”
That’s a harder game.
And it’s the one I’m learning now.
What I’m Working on Next
My focus is pretty clear:
- Improving hand reading
- Thinking in ranges, not hands
- Adjusting as the board and action evolve
- Controlling pot size when necessary
- Bringing my online discipline up to my live standard
And strategically:
I play preflop a little too honestly.
I don’t semi-bluff enough.
I rarely bluff at all.
That’s limiting my ceiling.
If You’re Playing Microstakes
If you’re in the same place I am, here’s what I’d focus on:
Preflop:
Stop limping. If you’re playing a hand, raise — or fold.
Postflop:
Don’t just ask “What do I have?”
Ask “What does my opponent have — and how has that changed?”
That one shift changes everything.
Closing
This is still a work in progress.
I’ve made real improvements — especially preflop — but the next step is learning how to navigate hands after the flop with more precision.
The goal isn’t just to win.
It’s to become a consistent, disciplined winning player.
And I’m not there yet.
But I’m getting closer.