Paisting ended 2020 with a $13k loss.
In 2021, he managed to almost double his winnings, losing only $7,286.63 over 250,000 hands.
– ''Plans for 2022 are to win back $2.5k on ACR and forget about this room'', Paisting shared in the final report. – ''Terrible field and huge commissions for deposits, it cost me dearly. Cash remains my main discipline, but I will play some tournaments. Let's believe that this year I will finally be able to finish a month on the plus side for the first time.''
However, there were no dramatic changes in the first month of 2022
“The start of the year was just terrible. When it seems to you that you have already seen everything, next month is sure to be even worse. In January, I was 40 buy-ins below EV. Each session started with me losing 5 buy-ins in flips and bluffs, and then trying to win it back. Moreover, the weakest rivals always beat me, which only increases my irritation. It seems that it is on the ACR where the most cruel coolers happen. Another pattern – if at the beginning of the month I start out well, then very quickly everything will return to normal. But this doesn't happen with my losses.
February ended with a modest loss of $200, but Paisting noticed positive changes:
– ''In February, I almost did not play, but at least I regained part of the EV. Almost all sessions caused me to tilt – 2 buy-ins up, then 3 down, again 1 up, but this is always followed by several moves down. There are only idiots at the tables with 12/10 stats who do not know how to play postflop at all. I won almost everything from them. I'm great at playing against stealers and players who never fold. I bluff them easily post-flop, which has significantly reduced my losses. Their strategy is getting worse every year.
The March report turned out to be quite short:
– ''This time I lost a little more. There were several big pots where I had over 90% equity. One I even decided to show you.''
April, the author called "catastrophic":
– ''I played a lot,I lost 65 buy ins, you understand everything yourself. Constant losing, but this is not the only reason for my disappointment. NL2 is just a terrible field, sometimes it reminds of the golden days of poker. There are 3-4 whales sitting at each table, who limp all hands, and half after that also call any raises. Post-flop, they hit the call button until they hit their two pair or better. Miracles happen in every hand. Whales catch trips with 200bb+ stacks, get flushes on the river, and so on. There are also players who only 3-bet. 4 rounds they re-raise, no one calls them, then I shove and, of course, they have something strong.
In such a field it is impossible to win. If I won at least half of the flips, the results would not be so sad. This is the third reason for such a depressing result. I lose a lot of flips in deep stacks. And this happens all the time.
Even if you deny that in poker there are players who are luckier than others, then my bad luck is simply unrealistic to ignore. A new month has begun, I don’t want to live in the past, but this situation pisses me off.
The May report was also not very diverse:
– The month turned out to be very poor. I didn't play that much. On the positive side, I went over EV a bit. However, in previous months my shortfall exceeded 100 buy-ins, so it will not be easy to win that back.
The second positive thing is that I played well against the most important whales. One of them is Dilettantt. I've been playing NL2 for over 10 years and I've learned a lot about opponents who like to steal. I raise from UTG, they always 3b me from late positions, and they play very passively and predictably postflop. Against him, I already have a huge trick, I have long understood what sizings he uses in various situations. I understand perfectly when he will 3-bet/call and when he will 3-bet/fold. All upstreaks on the chart are hands won from him.
In June, Paisting lost only about $100 for the first time in a long time:
– ''Again played very little. Once again I tried to mix two rooms – 888 and ACR. But I'm clearly better off picking one. The fields are too different. On 888, I win against the players "20/18" and lose "60/2". What pleased me most of all was that at the end of the month I managed to return a decent part of EV. Although the overall shortfall is still huge.
In July, Paisting played 40,000 hands, but the month brought him new disappointments:
– ''Terrible month. I played a lot, lost a bit, but I have never seen such a field as at the NL2 ACR limit. Aces with the worst kicker win all the time. When you have a set, you will definitely be shown a set higher or a flush draw that will hit on the river.
I watch a lot of streams and different videos and I have never seen an ace with the worst kicker win. And that the flush on the river, I saw it only once. On the other hand, in NL2, my set against a flush draw, on the other hand, will hold up once in a hundred. Play for yourself if you don't believe me.
August seemed to bring the author closer to his cherished dream – to finish in the black for the first time:
– ''A very good month except for one session at the very end. But again, 12 buy-ins short, that's always annoying.
My strategy against late position stealers is getting better every month. They can't beat me. I re-raise them with full trash or the nuts and call with average hands. If they 4-bet light, I shove my entire raising range and they usually fold. Sometimes I call and check-shove the flop. When they c-bet 30% of the pot, I always raise and they fold 90% of their hands. On the flop, I'll either shove with full trash or the nuts, let them guess. They've had some amazing calls with just a gutshot when I have four of a kind or a full house. All this has significantly reduced my losses. It seems that we are on the precipice of the first positive month.''
However, in September, thoughts about a plus month had to be shelved:
– ''Just a terrible result with a loss of $113.6, all due to moving. I've always been flat-called with big pairs this month. Opponents, who always steal from the button, showed me only aces. Another 30 hands went like this: I raise, a fish calls, the flop comes big cards, I overbet huge with the nuts, and he hits a set on later streets. In multiway pots, they were also exposed to custom cards all the time. I haven't seen such a passive game like in September for many years. Endless limp calls, even if everyone knew perfectly well that on the flop I would make them fold 9 out of 10 times. They raise too small and don't fold to reraises at all. All this is just incredible. They minraise and then call when I rejam 6-7 times. In 90% of the hands I just destroy them, and they can't do anything about it. As soon as we wait for a month in which all my hands hold, there will be no losses and shortages, you will see how I tear. There are simply no good players at these stakes.
October did not improve his mood either:
“Another terrible month. With incredible frequency, my opponents outdrew me on the turn after calling the flop with complete crap. Lost a bunch of 200bb+ pots. The only positive thing is that I played a lot of hands and perfectly noticed the trends of the field, which have changed very much over the past six months. This has not happened in all the previous 15 years. For example, 80% of the time they call with big pairs and are very passive post-flop. In the past, even the tightest players would almost always raise. Sets are also played passively, even on very drawy boards. Everyone's sizing is very small even in multiway pots. No one thinks, just put their micro bets on autopilot on any flops, I bluff raise and get an instant fold. I always show what I have. Too bad I can't see their faces right now.
Some readers do not give up trying to help the unlucky micro-limiter. Some give wise advice, others analyze the hands right on his blog (as a rule, in any hand, the first advice is to fold preflop). But all this is completely useless. Paisting always has one answer – he is simply unlucky, and without luck it is impossible to play in the plus at NL2. Because of his stubbornness, many no longer believe in the veracity of his results. There are suspicions that this is a long-term trolling. At the same time, his blog on 2 + 2 remains one of the most popular.