Grade 1 poker goals

So what do I need to do to pass Grade 1? Quite simply, I need to be profitable at both my games ($1.10 45-turbos and 5NL Rush) over an acceptable sample to graduate to the next grade. More specifically, I need to increase my Stars bankroll so that I can afford to play the next level of 45-turbos ($3.25). In order to do that I need to work on a few aspects of my game.

For the 45-turbos I have one main goal:

1. Pull the trigger on late stage pushes more often. Tourney poker, especially MTTs, requires the willingness to put your stack on the line in some pretty marginal spots. Even when you have a stack that seems somewhat healthy, sitting back on your laurels can result in getting blinded down and ending up desperately short. The most important time to pull the trigger in 45-turbos is when you get down to 12-15 players, where a key double-up can put you in great shape going into the final table.

At this point that's the one identifiable weakness of my tourney game. I'm doing pretty well in the 45-turbos and feel pretty comfortable with my MTT game at this level.

As for 5NL Rush, I have a few goals as I'm not in the zone at all when it comes to this game:

1. 3-bet more often from the Button and blinds
2. Stop getting involved in big pots with marginal holdings
3. Tighten up considerably in early and middle positions
4. Stop raising in late position purely to steal or set up a continuation bet - focus more on raising with hands that have good potential to hit big and are easy to play postflop

Why these goals? Several of them stem from the fact that Rush poker is in general a much taggier game than regular NLHE. The ability to quick-fold weak hands and immediately be dealt another hand means that players can afford to be more patient and throw away weak hands. That means when players enter a pot they are likely to have a stronger hand than you would typically see in micro stakes, which results in less open-limping and more open-raising. I have found that many players have picked up on this and try to take advantage of it by stealing frequently in late position. An effective way to combat late position steals is to 3-bet, particularly with speculative hands that can flop big and are easy to play postflop (like small pairs and small suited connectors). However, many players have also picked up on this strategy, meaning that your steals are more likely to face a 3-bet from the Button or blinds - much more likely than in regular micro NLHE, where 3-bets are quite rare. Thus the rationale for goal 4.

As for goal 2 (and 4 as well), the great thing about Rush poker is that because you see so many more hands in a session than you do playing regular NLHE, you can afford to be patient. You simply don't have to get mixed up in pots with marginal holdings - you can pick your spots and wait for more situations that are more clearly +ev.