K.H.: +3bb/100 at NL500–5k

“It's a no-brainer. Whether you're good or bad at theory when you join, there will always be a ton of takeaways.”

Where I started, and where I am now

Over the contract I played roughly 700k hands. Stakes are still 500NL–5kNL, but my winrate has definitely increased, probably by 2–3bb/100, which is massive for these stakes given my results weren't bad before joining. I had my biggest year ever in the year I started the contract, and despite my biggest downswing ever this year, I'm still up more than in the year before joining.

How my game has evolved

I've become more comfortable approaching spots at real equilibrium, and better at recognising patterns in how to exploit tendencies in the player pools. I had a good theory baseline when I joined and it has improved too, but the main thing is how to deviate appropriately against villains' errors.

The biggest difference from 12 months ago

I've got a lot better at looking at the overall picture in solver outputs. Instead of just trying to mirror them, I focus on understanding the reasons behind what the solver does and how we usually want to sway it in game, which helps with simplicity and with understanding where the EV comes from when villains make mistakes.

What made the biggest impact

Cameron's thread helped a lot in understanding how to exploit people's mistakes in game. He posts all his hands, so you quickly start seeing the trends. No single video stood out, but there were plenty where something clicked: stunning and unstunning, cleansing, and betting more thin value that wants protection when people don't check-raise enough. Recently, Bart's breakdown of the five categories (thin value, thick value, showdown value, nuts and air), and how thin value and showdown value always have forced action.

Breakthroughs and turning points

G's 1-on-1 session on Andorra regs was a big eye-opener about how people size for what their exact hand wants in a vacuum, even at higher stakes. I also had some really good 1-on-1 sessions with Cameron exploring how we respond when we nodelock realistic villain outputs instead of solver outputs.

To a strong mid-stakes player who's unsure

It's a no-brainer. Whether you're good or bad at theory when you join, there will always be a ton of takeaways. They're really good at simplifying complex content and explaining why the solver does what it does, and all the coaches are extremely good at exploiting villains and player pools. If you want to improve, BitB is the place to be.

Anything else

The BitB trip to Budapest was amazing, and I'm looking forward to the next one. It's really nice to meet the coaches and players in real life.