Keys to Game Selection

[Talking Poker]

I decided to give this a whirl tonight, and while it seems overwhelming at first, it's really not all that bad at all. I went ahead and downloaded all the install files first and then tried to figure out where to go from there. A better idea would have been to seek out and install (and run) each program one at a time. You'll be able to see how everything works together better that way.

Anyhoo.... I have to say, after following the instructions in this thread pretty much line by line (including Boobie's posted PM to mel), it's actually fairly straight forward and so far, everything is working like a champ! The only thing that I didn't see mentioned was where to install these files. I made a C:\Program Files\Poker\ folder and gave each program a folder in there. That way, they are all together and easy to find.

I'm to the point where I can successfully mine data for 10 Party tables at a time. I did that for not very long... maybe 20 or 30 minutes, and then quit. You definitely want to NOT be doing anything else at the same time that you are mining, btw, because if any other program takes control (becomes the active window) at the same time that iWitness is running through the table list, crazy shit happens. This includes AIM, other poker sites (when they pop up), etc. Lesson learned.

So, after that, I followed pshabi's instructions and filtered my new data in PT, exported Fish.csv and used his Buddy Importer thingee to import them into Party. Damn, that was easy.

Now, I've never actually used Party's Buddy List before, but I did tonight, just for kicks. Sure enough (since I had just mined the data), a number of them were still active, so I went and joined a few waiting lists, and in no time, I was literally swimming with the fishes. I didn't actually play, because I'm doing other stuff, but I did get to the point where I could have...

I also have that AutoSnap program running (very nice), and I set up the AutoResizer program too. Haven't used it yet, but it looks like it's going to be VERY helpful - eliminating all that annoying crap you have to do every time you sit at a new table (not to mention the Party SPAM), etc. It's freaking beautiful.

Like anything else, I'm sure this will take a little getting used to, but the point is, it's all right there and very doable. Just follow the instructions.

I wonder how many new "buddies" I'll have by morning if I mine overnight.

Two thumbs up, pshabi!!!

[Talking Poker]

I've been thinking about your "Fish" numbers a bit pshabi:

This is basically getting you everyone with over a 50% VPIP (with the small exception of the players who have 8-9% PRF). On top of that, it gets you the calling stations who are > 40% VPIP and < 8% PRF.

How did you come up with these numbers. I think they are a good starting point, but I think you could tweak them to be better. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have lots and lots of pretty big fish on your list, or fewer HUGER fish on your list.

I definitely like the calling station types and the complete pyschos, but I'm thinking I may tweak the numbers to be something along the lines of this, to get me even BIGGER fish:

-----
VP$IP > 40%
PFR < 8%

and

VP$IP > 60%
PFR > 15%
-----

Something like that. This is basically the same as your list, but I'm exclusing these guys:
VP$IP > 50% and VP$IP < 60%
PFR > 8% PFR < 15%

Yes, those are bad players... but are they bad enough?

As I'm typing this, I'm rethinking it. I mean, a guy who is 55/10 is pretty freaking bad. I guess I see why you are using the numbers that you are. You're saying "Give me EVERYONE over 50% VP$IP and also throw in the guys over 40% VP$IP who are < 8% PRF. Yeah, that makes sense. Now that I've reasoned it out, I think I like your numbers (even though you should change your 9% to an 8% to cover everyone). I'll go ahead and post this anyway though

Boobie - what numbers do you use?

[Boobie Lover]

I like to use "Went to showdown" percentage along with the VP$IP to qualify how big of a calling station the player is. The players with 50 VP$IP and 40+% went to showdown percentage are the biggest donators to me.

[Boobie Lover]

Does anyone else use alternative layouts for PokerAce? Here's the one I use.

hud.jpg

With this layout, it contains VP$IP, preflop raise %, went to showdown %, fold to flop and turn bet, and aggression frequency for each street. I like it much more than the standard layout. You can download it


{TP Edit: To download, right click and "Save Target As"}

[Talking Poker]

Damn..... that's sexy. I use a layout I made myself back in the day, but it pales in comparison to that one. I think I may have to give that a whirl. So much information!!!

Edit: And good call on the Went to Showdown for identifying fish. That's one of the fields I added to PAH when I first set it up. I want to know who I can bully and who is going to call me down every time, no matter how much strength I've shown. I think that's one of the most important stats, right behind VPIP and PFR, of course.

[PShabi]

Actually, my filters are greater than or equal to, so I do get those 50/8 guys.

[Robbie Robb]

I just started dabbling in the Limit games at Stars and have to agree with what was said above: that Went to Showdown is VITAL to spotting the biggest donators.

My PAHUD layout is essentially the default with the exception that I've added Went to Showdown to the list. Nikki had added it a while ago but I didn't add it until I started playing the limit games. I find it more valuable there as opposed to NL.

[PShabi]

I definitely show the WTSD rate in my PokerAce display. I just don't select it as a criteria for adding buddies to my list. I'm not looking to refine the list any further. I like a wide selection of fish.

[Talking Poker]

Dude. > <> >= & < <> <=

Thanks for confusing us all. Sheesh!

[PShabi]

Glad you got it all figured out. How long did you spend on it? I can't say for myself because it didn't all happen at once. I accumulated stuff through Mayhem's help and my own searches as well.

[Talking Poker]

Um... I dunno. Not in a hurry and testing one step at a time, I'd say it was less than an hour from the time I started until I had data importing. I was playing and doing some other things at the same time, so I wasn't giving it 100% of my attention.

To be conservative, call it 3-4 hours (one evening) from beginning all the way to having a functioning buddy list and having the AutoResizer and PAHud (which I already used) set up the way you like, etc.

[melioris]

thanks again pshabi, this system kicks ass. Unironic ->

Is anyone else having problems with searching for players? When I open the "find player" option and then click on the "buddies" button next to the text box, I only get a small subset of my buddy list, usually the same names. Is anyone else experiencing this problem?

[PShabi]

The only players that will appear in that box are those who are online at the time.

You see a small set because:

a) you don't have many in your list
b) not many are online at the time
c) you're not using the arrows to scroll

I probably only have 100 or so online at a given time, and my list is probably getting close to 1500.

Out of those 100, a substantially smaller amount are actually playing at my limit.

[melioris]

Thanks. My small subset is usually 50-75 from the buddy list of lots and lots. Essentially everyone at 1/2 falls under the parameters you recommend.

[Talking Poker]

I wonder if it would be a good idea to change your parameters to get a smaller sample. I was thinking of doing the same myself, so I could focus on the super-donks instead of just the donks. ie:

VP$IP >= 50
PRF <= 7

FP$IP >= 60
PFR >= 7

Something like that.

Cause those are SERIOUSLY bad players.

[Talking Poker]

I assume you're only getting the ones who are online at that very moment, which is going to be a small fraction of your entire list.

[johnp158]

My favorite so far: The 55/3 guy who you sat to the left of and drilled; next time you open party, he's at the 15/30 table instead of 3/6.

[MathBabe]

This is good stuff. I was home sick today, so I found and installed the hand grabber and iWitness. I also installed PartyPoker, since I had never played it on this machine - I gave up when I lost my initial deposit there, and was playing at lower limits than they offer.

Well, hello, $20 returning bonus! I had a little trouble with iWitness, but I spent the morning collecting data on Limit .50/$1 and the afternoon seeing if I could use it.

On the first table I joined, my fish disappeared as soon as the blinds got to me. It wasn't a waste of time, though, because I got dealt TT, A5s, and AKo in that orbit before I left, almost doubling my money on that round.

Then I found a guy who was VPIP 51% and PFR less than 2. I eventually managed to get to his left by joining the waitlist several times, and sat with him for half an hour until he decided to take his remaining $2 and leave.

It's beautiful playing against these calling stations! My $20 bonus is now $46.75 in my account, where I had $0 this morning. Thanks, Pshabi!