Getting wrecked at NL10 in 2026

Some hands now. Not so much asking for help here, just entertainment and my thoughts really. Had been some funny spots today. Of course you may still point out what I did wrong, please always feel free to do so.

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.05/$0.10 - 6 players

UTG: $39.85 (399 bb)
MP: $10.00 (100 bb)
CO: $10.00 (100 bb)
BU: $10.47 (105 bb)
SB: $10.20 (102 bb)
BB (Hero): $10.10 (101 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with 9♥ 9♠
UTG raises to $0.20, MP calls $0.20, 1 fold, BTN calls $0.20, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to $1.35, 1 fold, MP calls $1.15, BTN calls $1.15

Flop: ($4.30) 6♣ 9♦ 5♣ (3 players)
Hero checks, MP checks, BTN checks

Turn: ($4.30) 5♦ (3 players)
Hero bets $2.08, MP folds, BTN calls $2.08

River: ($8.46) K♠ (2 players)
Hero bets $6.67 (all-in), BTN calls $6.67

Total pot: $21.80 (Rake: $0.98)

Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows 9♥ 9♠ (a full house, Nines full of Fives)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 81%, Flop: 96%, Turn: 100%, River: 100%)

BU shows 4♦ 4♥ (two pair, Fives and Fours)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 19%, Flop: 4%, Turn: 0%, River: 0%)

BB (Hero) wins $20.82

c/r flop of course was the plan. threeway I won't cbet flop a lot and almost never on that texture. Guess he put me on a busted draw. I think his play is kind of outrageous for these stakes though. Barely anyone will follow through with a busted draw three-way in this spot. On top of that he loses to 77, AK, KQ, KJs, KTs. Of course, I will seldomly have 77 here, or 99 even (but that's anyway unlikely here, as are all the sets), as these hands are mostly calls preflop, but all the Kings I got all the time. Plus they fit my line perfectly. Overpairs and AK, I will have all the time. Anyway, his bluffcatch makes sense against busted draws only. I will have a shitton of less busted draws than AK, KQ, KJ, KT, JJ, QQ, KK, AA. JJ, QQ the only thing I won't jam river for value with arguably. Also, what busted draws can I have? 78 also makes the straight and the suited connectors I will only have with a low frequency, as these are mostly calls pre. So are most small AXs, except 3 combos A5s and I saw a4s now too as low fq, but I was not aware of that even. Maybe because my turn bet was too small. I see this as the only argument for his bluff really. But I think he leveled himself into some bullshit here, clearly he is dead against my range on river. Okay, AQ I could have too. But ye, not enough bluffs here for me. Never. I'd feel super stupid bluffing this. Idk. Maybe he thinks I won't jam much nuts here on river or not all Kings. I can't tell. Maybe he was not thinking anything and just tilt.

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.05/$0.10 - 6 players

UTG: $12.31 (123 bb)
MP: $9.85 (99 bb)
CO: $7.55 (76 bb)
BU: $10.00 (100 bb)
SB: $11.99 (120 bb)
BB (Hero): $19.97 (200 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with 2♠ A♣
4 players fold, SB raises to $0.30, Hero 3-bets to $0.90, SB calls $0.60

Flop: ($1.80) T♠ 6♠ A♠ (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $1, SB calls $1

Turn: ($3.80) T♥ (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($3.80) 6♥ (2 players)
SB bets $2.32, Hero calls $2.32

Total pot: $8.44 (Rake: $0.38)

Showdown:
SB shows J♥ Q♠ (two pair, Tens and Sixes)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 44%, Flop: 45%, Turn: 25%, River: 0%)

BB (Hero) shows 2♠ A♣ (two pair, Aces and Tens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 56%, Flop: 55%, Turn: 75%, River: 100%)

BB (Hero) wins $8.06

The bluff is too obvious here, I'd call down any catcher. Depends on the player type of course. But dude play like 22/19/19 10 AF on 80 hands. No brainer. I think this bluff is horrible against reg, but not 100% sure. If someone knows better, let me know please. Just given my range I can have tons of bluff catchers and I will snap them all. If he such a maniac, he should also have stats on me and know that I will snap that.. anyway. Next.

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.05/$0.10 - 6 players

UTG (Hero): $9.80 (98 bb)
MP: $10.13 (101 bb)
CO: $10.12 (101 bb)
BU: $11.05 (111 bb)
SB: $10.00 (100 bb)
BB: $19.72 (197 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.15) Hero is UTG with K♣ Q♦
Hero raises to $0.20, 3 players fold, SB calls $0.15, 1 fold

Flop: ($0.50) 6♥ J♣ 3♣ (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.28, SB calls $0.28

Turn: ($1.06) 4♦ (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks

River: ($1.06) 7♣ (2 players)
SB bets $0.10, Hero calls $0.10

Total pot: $1.26 (Rake: $0.06)

Showdown:
SB shows 9♥ 9♣ (a pair of Nines)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 55%, Flop: 71%, Turn: 86%, River: 100%)

UTG (Hero) mucks K♣ Q♦ (high card, King)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 45%, Flop: 29%, Turn: 14%, River: 0%)

SB wins $1.20

I was immediately angry with myself after that call. It is moronic actually. The thing is, 4tabling I just didn't think about it. Only saw the damage when I had called. I guess at least I noticed then. Super stupid call.

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.05/$0.10 - 6 players

UTG: $10.00 (100 bb)
MP: $10.99 (110 bb)
CO: $27.08 (271 bb)
BU (Hero): $13.01 (130 bb)
SB: $10.42 (104 bb)
BB: $17.13 (171 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BTN with 5♠ 5♣
1 fold, MP raises to $0.20, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.20, 2 players fold

Flop: ($0.55) J♠ T♠ 7♣ (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.55) K♦ (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks

River: ($0.55) Q♦ (2 players)
MP bets $0.10, Hero calls $0.10

Total pot: $0.75 (Rake: $0.03)

Showdown:
MP shows 4♣ A♣ (a straight, Ten to Ace)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 33%, Flop: 20%, Turn: 16%, River: 100%)

BU (Hero) mucks 5♠ 5♣ (a pair of Fives)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 67%, Flop: 80%, Turn: 84%, River: 0%)

MP wins $0.72

I mean, preflop is borderline, but not the end of the world. I guess I can call this with small frequency. Also we a wee bit deepah. Just kidding. I should probably bet turn, or as played just fold river. Was looking for this hand now specifically, as it is the same ******ed call as in the last hand above. Really ****ing stupid call. Minbet bias I guess. Clearly a leak of mine.

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.05/$0.10 - 6 players

UTG: $15.52 (155 bb)
MP: $5.71 (57 bb)
CO: $62.13 (621 bb)
BU (Hero): $12.71 (127 bb)
SB: $1.87 (19 bb)
BB: $10.10 (101 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BTN with Q♠ A♥
1 fold, MP raises to $0.30, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to $1.05, 2 players fold, MP 4-bets to $1.80, Hero calls $0.75

Flop: ($3.75) T♠ 4♠ J♠ (2 players)
MP bets $1.31, Hero raises to $7.51, MP calls $2.60 (all-in)

Turn: ($11.57) 7♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($11.57) Q♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $11.57 (Rake: $0.52)

Showdown:
BU (Hero) shows Q♠ A♥ (a pair of Queens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 7%, Flop: 12%, Turn: 7%, River: 0%)

MP shows A♠ A♣ (a pair of Aces)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 93%, Flop: 88%, Turn: 93%, River: 100%)

MP wins $11.05

50bb midstack reg. Just a cooler. Only showing it because of the next hand. Both happened within minutes from each other.

PokerStars Zoom, Hold'em No Limit - $0.05/$0.10 - 6 players

UTG: $12.83 (128 bb)
MP: $12.15 (122 bb)
CO: $11.21 (112 bb)
BU: $10.42 (104 bb)
SB: $5.05 (51 bb)
BB (Hero): $10.00 (100 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($0.15) Hero is BB with Q♠ Q♣
4 players fold, SB raises to $0.24, Hero 3-bets to $0.92, SB calls $0.68

Flop: ($1.84) 6♣ 7♥ 2♠ (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $0.49, SB raises to $1.31, Hero raises to $5.69, SB calls $2.82 (all-in)

Turn: ($10.10) J♥ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($10.10) A♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $10.10 (Rake: $0.45)

Showdown:
BB (Hero) shows Q♠ Q♣ (a pair of Queens)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 80%, Flop: 9%, Turn: 5%, River: 0%)

SB shows 6♠ 6♥ (three of a kind, Sixes)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 20%, Flop: 91%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

SB wins $9.65

First I thought this should be clearly wrong to flat 66 here 50bb deep. Then I checked and it is exactly the exception. Like 55 you can't flat, you must jam kinda. But 66 should be called. Obviously I am not well versed with the 50bb ranges. Midstacking on NL10 is a bit overkill though. I had a bit of a suspicion this might be a bot. Can't really tell. But I got a lot of hands and he's 29/23/7 3.5 AF on 2k hands. cbet only 51. I mean VPIP and generally VPIP/PFR gap appears to be a bit too high/big. But he's really solid. Also hitting like a monster this guy, as can be seen in these two hands.

@zahmadhi I wouldn't want to give anyone bad advice, I can only speak about how I play, but for me it works. You may think using an RNG is unnecessary at the micros however i don't believe so. My goal is to make it to at least mid stakes online, that means playing a fundamentally sound game, also because I'm very aware of how to exploit the imbalances in people's game I recognise how important balance is in mine if I want to progress. It also can simplify the game.
For example, say I'm studying a spot and I see the machine wants to bet x amount of the time, I now know what the baseline. So if I'm unsure what to do with my hand, whether the blockers are good or bad, i now have something to base that decision on. i know the baseline and I can RNG. This is actually what some CFP's teach, instead of worrying about the blocker/unblocking properties of your hand if you know the baseline frequency you can RNG and capture 99% of the EV.

I think the other guy's point is that you should rather base you decision on villains stats. If he looks like a calling station and you are indifferent between bet and slowplay, you should absolutely bet 100% of the time. If he looks like a maniac, you should probably do the opposite. We are often wrong about these estimates about our opponents, but that's another story. By RNGing these spots we lose that potential EV from reading the player type correctly. While there is nothing wrong with RNGing spots, I also cannot see the theoretical value in it really. It can only be some additional armor we wear when at risk of being exploited ourselves. A way of telling ourselves that we did nothing wrong. Which probably is the wrong approach to lower stakes in particular. But I might be wrong, can't tell. Not like my exploits going super well thus far on NL10 😉

Updated All-time graph. Still looks dire, but I don't care. Can pretty surely conclude that with the current 50% RB I am even a slight winner now. Maybe I even win pre-rakeback on like the last 25k hands. Can't tell for sure, the sample is way too small.

Some small things, like a more stable internet connection and fixed HUD positions (therefore I don't have to move them in the beginning of every session), also help a lot. I am quite quick now and usually be able to play 4 tables Zoom without many mistakes due to being overwhelmed by too many spots at once. Like, I won't forget what the actions were much.

Definitely got a little bit better lately, however it is probably not much. The blog and some hand reviews help the most I would say. I also study a lot of preflop still with the solver to be more precise there against most player types. On the rivers and generally against aggression I learned that there are many less bluffs than I thought. Red line therefore looks a bit worse, by the EV line looks much better 😉. I think the red line MUST go down at these stakes quite heavily by now, otherwise you probably can't win. Anyone telling me anything else, I would like to see proof first. All of this doesn't mean I don't bluff myself. Actually I learned a bit better to find profitable bluff spots on turn and river. Nowhere near good now, but I improved a little bit for sure. Also watching quite some videos. It also helps a bit.

Pretty sure I am one of the stronger regs on these limits now, even though there are clearly some that are better. Let's see how it goes. Not planning to change much for now, just continuing for a bit, eventually probably moving up to NL25. The roll also grew a bit, so I should probably at some point just do it. Maybe I am a bit too conservative with that. But then again, who cares. I will just do what I feel like.

I’d suggest a simple plan. Bluff everywhere and only bluff catch vs fish. Don’t pay off the nits.

Tons of aggro regs bluffing constantly though. That I don't call the 1 AF guy whenever he goes over board is quite obvious. Fish bluff too, but not as much. Bluffing everywhere.. Well, I am looking to expand my repertoire with more and more spots for that. Will keep trying to incorporate even more bluffs for sure.

Thanks for the tips.

It's tough reading through so many hand descriptions) But good luck to you—go crush it.

Let me break it down for you a little more. Everyone will have bluffs. Regs at 10nl aren't going to have enough bluffs to make you indifferent with your bluffcatchers in nearly every spot, so you can just fold. Even against a GTO bot, this wouldn't lose money. You only lose EV with this strategy if they are going above and beyond GTO bluffs. There are probably some spots where they do this, but on average, they aren't. So when you are in a spot facing a big raise or bet, ask yourself if you beat or chop with some of their value. If you do, call. If you are in a spot with a pure bluff catcher, meaning you beat none of their value and all of their bluffs, then just fold. EZ game. The tighter the pre flop formation is, the harder it is for them to find bluffs. So if you are in a single raised pot, SB vs BB, they will have a lot of bluffs, maybe too many. If you are in a 4 bet pot EP vs CO, they won't have any bluffs.

You need to funnel fish into lines where they have too many bluffs because their range is too wide. It starts pre flop, they play too many hands, so when you put them in lines with checks and small bets, they don't know how to control their frequencies, so they will have too many bluffs in most spots. Pay attention to sizing. Most (not all) fish will bet pot or bigger when they have it and 1/2 pot or smaller when they don't. When you see one who breaks this trend, make a note and move on.

The opposite is also true. Because they play too many hands pre flop, they overfold on every street, so you can run them over.

Also, one thing Uri Peleg talks about a lot that helped me with things like value betting is just think about how much your had is worth and try to put an appropriate amount in. Like if you are BTN vs BB single raised pot flop is K72 and you have K4, your hand is worth about 2 bets, so think about ways to do that. You can check flop with the intention of bluff catching or betting turn and river, you can bet flop and check turn, to bluff catch or bet river, etc. Also, think about what your bet sizing does to the villain's range. Every bet makes their range stronger, so you if you have a bluff catching type of hand, funnel them into spots where you can bluff catch, etc.

hehe. Show me your red line please 😀 I would like to compare and get in detail spot descriptions that would change that (without losing EV). Thanks a lot for your help.

Yes, I agree with almost everything you said. I already do all of that to the best of my knowledge - and more.

The trick is to get this right und find the mistakes in ones own play. That goes for anything. The power of habit is strong. Trying my best to improve and play more accurate according to all of these concepts and some more. Also definitely I need to get a bit better to adjusting/exploiting obvious fish in the best possible way. There I can definitely see a lot of potential. What is a bit of an issue for me there is that fish have very different profiles, they range from the 45 VPIP calling station all down to the bet every street maniac. The main problem I have here is that often I have only 10-15 hands of those and it is obviously just a small indication of what type of fish it might be. Sometimes it also turns out it was just some reg having a hot streak or currently on tilt punting it off a bit. I do tons of tagging, have a big part of the population tagged - basically every reg that plays daily is tagged.

One tiny thing maybe that isn't really relevant from your list here is 4bet pots, as they do have bluffs and a lot of value comes from being a bit looser against someone you don't have reads on or a reg going off with a5s. Fish sometimes still showing any2 in preflop allins. Regs there might not be the best regs in the world of online poker, but they can read GTO Wizard ranges and while they will probably significantly underbluff 4 and 5bet pre allins, they still do some at some frequency. You'd be surprised how many 4bet/folds I get, even though my 3bet range is not crazy with around 8-9% total. They like shoving a lot of A5s and stuff like that too, just according to GTO. This is an easy thing to do and tell yourself that you did nothing wrong. And they are doing that. In this case you probably undererstimate the skill of some of them massively. Yet I still agree that 4bet pots are not really relevant here. We tend to overestimate them due to their immediate influence on the graph, however, the margin for error and therefore EV loss here is much smaller than in unraised, srp and 3bet. In that order.

I am doing my best. It is going quite well now, after some trouble during the beginning. However also, one thing is impossible: I cannot better the red line AND fold more to reg aggression at the same time. That's just not possible. We have to decide what we want. EV line, or red line. Red line above the attributed rake line already means that we are bluffing more than the average on the stake. All of that is not saying that I cannot find even more spots to bluff myself. I am sure there are still many clear missed opportunities and I am trying to find those.

Thanks a lot for the help and all the details.

Someone with your redline isn’t doing any of this. You’re delusional, but good luck.