Sick. Good job folding. I would have most likely lost more than 67bb.

Hang tough, OP.

Thanks! It was actually a surprisingly easy fold to make. Once the old guy limp/jams, considering I had seen it before, it was just Aces every time. Kind of glad he did that, because if he folds then I'm getting it in against the SB.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, poker is dead.

Sunday night, two players limp. I limp 75 in CO. Button calls and the blinds are in.

Flop ($12): 643
Hmm. Checks to HJ. HJ bets $10. Normally, I'm not one for FPS but I did here. I call the $10. An older guy on the button raises to $25. SB and HJ both call. I 3bet to $75. Button AND SB both call, HJ folds.

Turn ($262): T
SB checks. They both have roughly $300 left. I bet $150. BTN calls, SB folds.

-Please no board pair, please no board pair, please no board pair-

River ($562): T
DAMMIT! I check, BTN checks. I show my 75, and it's good against button's 63o. SB says that he had 22

**Poker is dead though

Then tonight, I get to the table and I almost immediately want a table change. 3 decent looking players, I can find better for a 1/2 game. However, there is a massive whale at the table and almost immediately one of the decent players gets up and leaves. He is replaced by another player that I want to play with.

Tonight I just ran better than I have all of 2017. KK > AKs AIPF, twice I flopped trips, I actually flopped pairs for a change. It felt nice. The one hand I want to point out, however, isn't a hand I ran well in. 3 players limp, I check 98 in BB

Flop ($8): 975
SB checks, I bet $6, a VIP calls and the other players fold

Turn ($20): 3
I bet $10. So much value to be had imo. I could even bump it up to $15. VIP calls.

River ($40): 8
So when he calls turn, he has a bunch of pair + draw hands. And a key concept I've learned is that players love to call down light on boards like this. So I bet $15. This is a spot a few months ago where I wouldn't even dare go for value. But players just don't turn hands like 87 or T7 into bluffs. Unfortunately, he raises to $60 and I muck rather quickly.

The last two sessions certainly feel like I'm running better. It's also amazing, I've played about the last 30 or so hours at 1/2. After such a long time playing 2/5, the drop in skill level is incredible. It's a much easier game, not that the 2/5 is a super tough game. There isn't as much aggression so you can see more flops in position for cheaper. They're also not used to aggression.

When do I move back up to 2/5? Not sure. Maybe the end of June, maybe after another $1k in winnings. Right now, it's just easier and it feels good to work on the basics.

Sunday: 4.1 hours, +$485
Monday: 3.1 hours, +$618

Welcome into the world my new nephew



Funny story about this one. Months ago, my brother asks me to not work the night of June 14th, which is ironically the day of the week I always work my "required night." We're going to a baseball game with my oldest nephew for his birthday. So I don't.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and my oldest nephew can't go because his mom had scheduled a vacation for him. What a *****. But we're still going.

Fast forward to June 14th. I'm at work, just making sure with my brother that we're going and whatever. Yup, everything is fine. I get a call like half an hour before I'm to leave work. I don't answer. Well, apparently his girlfriend's water broke. So he couldn't go to the baseball game either. Because his kid was about to be born.

So me, my girlfriend, my other brother, and my roommate are all at this baseball game. We're getting our asses kicked. And about halfway through, we all get a text from my mom with a picture of the new baby. We leave like after the 7th, score was 7-0 (as I was in the gift shop, they hit another home run to make it 10-0) and I got the new baby a onesie with the logo of the local team. When he's older, I'll tell him about the baseball game his dad had planned out for months and how it all went to hell for him. Then show him the onesie that came from it

Not sure if I talked about my Thursday session or not. Probably not.

Anyways, Thursday I'm excited. I was off for a vacation day (ironically planned two weeks ago, had no idea my nephew would be born the night before), I limp in J9 after 3 limps in the SB, there are high hands going on and the flop comes...

T87

Wait, what?

I had to do a double take. Did I really just flop a straight flush? I check, it checks all the way to this unknown guy who bets $10. Perfect, the pot now qualifies for a high hand (which is something I don't play for, but gotta know in the event something like this happens). I call, all else fold. Turn is 3. I check, he bets $16, I raise to $35 and he calls. River is 8. I bet $50, he jams I snap call. He has J9o. Poker is dead, folks.

The theme of the last week and a half, however, has been losing massive pots with KK. You'll see. One player limps, I raise KK to $11 UTG+2. An unknown, massive white guy calls in MP, a pro-ish looking kid calls OTB, and the UTG limper calls.

Flop ($45): 343
Checks to me, I bet $25, massive guy calls as well as UTG limper.

Turn ($120): 5
Only A2 completes. I think I can still get value from FDs, 66-QQ (massive guy can have QQ, saw him play it passively before), etc. UTG checks, I bet $75. The massive guy tanks, breathes heavily, and raises to $160. UTG goes all in for like $14. I think for like 30 seconds before just lol'ing and folding. Massive guy had A3, UTG had 43o.

That hand was at the very end. But I wound up with a +$231 profitable day ($200 from the promotion).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday was a roller coaster, and honestly very much needed. I made quite a few mistakes that I pretty much went against my gut on and kind of leveled myself. I think the one thing I finally got through my thick skull is that raises are VERY different from bets.

Right from the outset I was stuck like $300. I kept running medium strength hands into an old guy sunrunning. I did make a mistake against him, but other than that he just always had it.

I also ran KK into AA yet again. This time, there was one limp. A MABG who seemed loose raised to $11 UTG+1. Girl in HJ calls, I'm in CO and see KK and 3bet to $50. He INSTA raises to $161. Folds to me. I call. I don't fold yet, but it's on my mind.

Flop ($330): Q95
He insta jams for like $250. The way he is holding his cards, I can for sure see one A. Here is an interesting exercise. If I can see an A, and I have two K, he is MORE likely to have AA than AK. I fold, and sure enough he has KK.

This last hand I'm going to share is probably one of the bigger mistakes I've made this year. Girl limps UTG+1. I raise KK to $11. Loose black guy calls, both the blinds call, and UTG calls.

Flop ($55): QJ8
Checks to me. I bet $35. Folds to SB who calls. UTG raises to $90 with like $45 behind.

So...odds are good that SB doesn't have a large hand. I counted on that much. What I didn't count on, was the check-raise. UTG had been very loose, shown down a lot of weak hands for what she was betting, etc. But the check-raise with another caller in the hand means business. I put her on a relatively weak range at the time. Pair + straight draw, pair + FD, etc. Especially since I know she'd raise any of the pocket pairs that flopped sets preflop.

But she has a nutted hand. She told me she had a nutted hand, and I didn't listen. I slid out a stack of greens. I figured I could get SB out of the hand with his likely weak holding, and then (at the time) get HU against what I thought was UTG's weak range. Again though, the mistake I made was discounting SB. SB being in the hand inherently makes her range SOOOOOO MUCH stronger.

SB calls, to my surprise, and UTG calls.

UTG had T9s, SB had JT. SB wound up winning (unfortunately, since he had a total of like $250).

There was a small voice inside my head that said to fold, and subconsciously it was because of the SB being in the hand. I knew it, I didn't apply it. Could have saved me $200 there.

And there were a few spots like that during the session, although on a much smaller scale. The funny thing is, when I didn't have a lapse in thinking, I was absolutely crushing the table. When I had my lapse's in thinking, I lost. But each time I did, I had that small voice inside my mind telling me what to do, and instead looked for a reason to not do it.

But that's just it. I've gotten to the point where I know what to do based on hand reading, position, betting, tells, etc. If I thoroughly think through the hands, I can be great.

I did wind up profiting a sad +$28 for the session. Like I said, brilliance mixed with wishing.

------------------------------------------------------------------

On a more personal note, around this time every year I get a little....angered. Frustrated. I grew up with no father. My father left me and my brothers and mom before I was 3. He never made an attempt to reconcile the relationship until we were adults, and by that time I wanted nothing to do with him.

My grandfather was the closest thing I had to a father. He was a great man. He owned his own church, was a pastor, and truly spoke what he preached. He helped many with his tireless work of his food pantry. I visited his grave for the first time in 7 years yesterday. Even though he was a Christian and a pastor, he knew that (when he was around) I had started to dabble a tiny bit in poker. Like, $5 tournaments and such on pokerstars. He never told me to stop doing it. He just told me to be careful.

And I remember, the day before he died, I had probably one of the more meaningful conversations I've ever had. It's personal, but the main point of it is that he told me to "do what I think is right." This was almost 8 years ago. This whole poker thing, this working 60+ hours a week, it's tough. It's physically and mentally draining. Especially when I go into work for 40 hours and just dread it. But I know going into poker is right for me. I can do so much more with poker. I just gotta keep doing what I'm doing. It'll be worth it in the end. Thank you.

That last post was solid, as have been many of your previous posts. Thanks for sharing! I am consistantly entertained and enlightened by your work in this thread.

I was curious if you meant this hand conclusion below as you wrote it though. Doesn't seem like you meant to say that V had KK in that hand.

Thanks again, and keep up to the good work!

Thanks Zombie! I always find myself reading your thread as well, definitely looking on how taking the plunge works out!

You are correct, the villain had AA and not KK.

Last night's session could have been pretty good, results wise. I think it was pretty good decision making wise and play wise.

First hand I'm dealt, there is this unknown Asian who limps in MP2. I have A9 and raise to $10 in CO. An unknown older black guy calls OTB and the Asian calls.

Flop ($30): A43
Asian checks, I bet $20, both call.

So BTN's range can have me beaten with AT/AJ/AQ. I think I remember playing with him briefly before, and he was fairly loose. I don't think Asian has me beaten. He has incentive to raise his AJ+ hands preflop (even an unknown 1/2 player will do this). 44/33 probably raise, along with A4/A3. So I feel ok about the situation. BTN doesn't have much left.

Turn ($90): T
Asian checks, I bet $50, BTN calls with like $14 behind, Asian, with his hand over his mouth, raises to $100. I think for a bit. AT is a possibility and a hand a lot of 1/2 players don't raise for whatever reason. I decide to fold. General population read. BTN calls for less. River is a 2, Asian has A8o ?!?!?!?!?!?!? and BTN has 65o ?!?!?!??!?!

So, my read everywhere except the turn raise was correct. No biggie, most players aren't turning A8o into a bluff.

His hand over his mouth actually helped me later on when I called with a small boat on a 8288 board and was going to call him on any river based on preflop play. Unfortunately, the river was a 2 and he decided he couldn't bluff.

This next hand is where the session was decided. We're 8 handed and I raise QJ to $10 UTG. 3 callers, neither fairly good.

Flop ($40): KT3
SB checks. I decide to check this back. Why?

Well, these three players would call fairly light. This is also a board that hits a lot of calling ranges. They're aren't going to fold once, there are some good double barrel cards along with equity, but the money doesn't come from making bad players fold TP.

Loose older black guy checks. An older white guy bets $25. I've played with him a bit, he is capable of tilt and loose plays and stuff. He has about $150 behind. SB folds, I call, UTG+1 folds.

Turn ($90): 4
I check. CO bets $30. It's a strange bet. Now, I think that given he knows me as a tighter, value heavy player, I can jam with the 15-card equity and can get him to fold some TPs. If there was one of the players who can fold TP in the hand, he was it. So I jam for $150 total. I need him to fold, just straight up, about 56% of the time. I think he does fold more than this actually. And even when he calls, most of the time I have like 33% equity. He tanks for a bit, quite a bit actually, and calls.

River ($390): 8
I turn over my flush. He turns over K9. I know him. That, and AK, are the ONLY Kx of diamond hands that he could have. I think I would play this hand the same way against the same villain 100% of the time. And based on how long he tanked, I'm even more confident he is folding a pair there considering he took like 30s-1m to think with TP and FD.

Quite a hilarious hand happened as well. We're 5handed. CO limps, I raise KQo OTB. Me and CO have been having nice banter, he's been showing me some hands and I've been raising his limps a lot. He folds, and I show him just to return the favor and show him one.

Dealer says "There is still a player in the hand." Oh ****. But! I can play with my hand face up if I want. So I do. SB is in the hand.

Flop ($22): 7JQ
SB checks. I bet $15, he calls.

Turn ($52): K
Wait, what? SB checks. I bet $30. He calls.

Ok, so a bunch of Tx, maybe some club draws, etc. I'm frankly quite surprised he hasn't tried to raise, considering he can literally see my cards.

River ($112): Q
Well then. He doesn't even check, he just mucks his hand. So first time playing with my cards turned over, a big success. I don't want to do that again though.

3.25 hours
+$102

I think the jump back to 2/5 is going to happen fairly soon. Probably not this week, but I can tell that my game is much sharper than it has been before, my confidence (despite knowing that taking KK out of my range during my 1/2 stint would add like $1k to my results) is fairly high, and my BR also isn't as dented.

I also talked briefly with a player at my 1/2 table last night. He told me that, basically since he started shot taking 2/5 a few weeks ago, all he wants to play is 2/5 and 1/2 feels like dimes and quarters. And I kind of reflected on that a bit. Yeah, it's a smaller stake. But it's still poker. It's still fun to sit around the table, shoot the ****, and play cards. Financial wise, yeah I'd rather play 2/5 than 1/2 as well. But, you know, I still have fun nevertheless. And that, I feel, is the key when playing poker.

One player limps UTG. This guy was the only player other than me to know what raising preflop was. We're 7 handed. I look at AT in UTG+1 and raise to $12. This old guy who will literally call anything calls to my left, as well as a very splashy bearded guy in SB who I just stack. UTG calls as well.

Flop ($50): AQ9
SB donk bets for $20. UTG calls. SB and BB both roughly have the same amount behind. I think SB is doing this with a bunch of draw type of hands. My hand is best now, but I don't want to see another card. So I raise to $75. Could be bigger, but it leaves about a PSB left. Old guy folds, SB folds.

UTG jams for $214 total.

WTF? I wasn't expecting that. I took about a minute and a half. This is a snap fold against any other opponent at the table. But this guy.....he KNOWS how to raise preflop. He would raise AA or QQ or 99 7 handed. He would raise AQ. And on such a drawy board, does he really not raise Q9 or A9 to the donk bet?

I think long and hard, and finally make the call. He says "good call". Turn is J, river A. My hand was good before the river.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday was something. At my first table, I ran from -$200 to +$250 to -$100 and just a roller coaster of a ride. In fact, there I lost twice when a SS was AIOTT with just a flush draw against my AK top pair. Both flushes came out. I also got 45bb in preflop when I raise/called a jam from a MEGA WHALE. I was in a hand when he jammed prior, and he showed 99. So, when he UTG straddles and I raise KJo from SB (after everyone folds) and he jams, it's like a snap call. Sure enough, he had 77 and I lost the flip.

It was also the first time I've ever requested to move away from a 1/2 table. Earlier in the day, it was perhaps one of the softest tables I'd ever played at. Within 30 minutes, a super nit sat down, an old old regular sat down, an old lady sat down, and then two younger players who, one looked like he knew what he was doing and the other 3bet me. I'll take that at 2/5 if I have to.....not at 1/2. Much easier money to be made.

I may have lost quite a bit of hands at that old table, but other than being flushed out and losing the flip, there really wasn't anything monumental that I can remember.

There was this nice hand where, after the prior hand I top off for another $100 to $399. 3 players limp, and I see AA in CO and raise to $15. Both of the blinds call and the limpers all call.

****.

Flop ($90): A49
Well, now....and before I can think, BB donk bets $50 and I'm just like OMGOSH HE HAZ SET I GET ALL HIS MONEY!!!!! Folds to me. I just call. I raised preflop, but it's weird because I think if I raise here, he may be able to get away from it at some point.

Turn ($190): 8
He bets $80. Again, I call. I'm not worried about him having a straight or flush draw. I know what he has. I think it's better to raise here than to let one more card come and potentially scare him with a flushing card. So this was a mistake.

River ($350): J
Whew. Thank heavens it didn't flush. BB bets $120, I jam for like $255 total, he snap calls and shows 99.

All about hand reading. I think I'll start moving back up to 2/5 sometime next week. For now, I'm just enjoying the 7 session winning streak!

7.75 hours
+$415

Interesting hand # 1. When I play $1/2 I find this scenario unfolds quite frequently. Where you had the lead preflop, and get donk bet into with a small amount that screams "I want to see the next card cheaply, please don't raise". I've seen this be be as low as 1/10th pot before. It can be difficult when you have other players in the field, and you have a medium to strong hand.

Then you get lead into two paths of thinking (3 if you consider folding)

1) I can raise and "hopefully" get heads up vs the player we almost certainly are ahead of right now. This is very logical, the only issue is the field, and our hand strength vs them. At 1/2, I find the play very passive preflop, so there could easily be AJ to even AK in there. Although, against decent, thinking players, your raise here might get them to dump AJ or maaaybe AQ, which would be great.

2) Calling. This invites the field in and lets the donk better accomplish his/her goal of seeing a cheap turn. Not only that you could get raised by the field after calling.

Given those, I like how you played it. I've value owned myself before when a field player had me outkicked, but I just hate path #2 so much.

Great thread, it still delivers!

I shared the hand a bit afterwards and it seemed like no one had a clear route as to where to go (other than fold pre, but come on, 7 handed with me UTG+1 AND being table captain?).

Ironically, after the hand the guy in SB said he folded AJ. If he did, I assure you it is the tippy top of his leading range there. I just felt like the board was so saturated that I didn't want to give a (relatively) cheap card to the field. And then when he jams, it's one of those where you kind of close your eyes and call because his line doesn't really seem consistent with a big hand. Thanks for reading!

I don't know if I want to jinx it or not......

I sat in the 2/5 game for the first time this month. Shorthanded the entire time. And of course, the second hand I'm dealt, I river a boat with 77 on KQQ47 after flop and turn checks 3 way, and a guy with a $50 stack turns over KQs. That he limped with. And to add insult to injury....his hand gets on the high hand board. WHICH I NORMALLY DON'T POINT OUT OR CARE ABOUT, EXCEPT....two hands later, I flop quad tens with pocket tens in my hand. To beat his boat.

SWEET VENGENCE *****!

Except he seems like a nice guy. Just for effect.

The difference in the session here...we're 5 handed. A very loose meh player opens to $15 in CO. BTN calls. I have AK and 3bet to $65 in BB. CO calls with like $125 behind. BTN folds.

Flop ($145): J83
He has $125 left. I have two overs and BD draws. I just ship it. He snap calls. We run it twice, except he has J8.

#pokerisdead

Wind up down $50 before the table breaks. Then I go to one of the most action 1/2 games I've seen in a long time. This guy was raising 100% of hands preflop, and this super tilting Chinese woman was calling 100% of hands preflop, along with seat 9 who was calling like 90% of hands. $$$$$$

Unfortunately I couldn't get much going. Lost a couple of medium pots. One where I had AQo on QT2, bet the flop, get a snap call from tilty Chinese lady, and promptly get insta shipped on on a 3 turn.

I did win a huge chunk back a couple of hands before I got up. I'm really posting this hand because of river play. Two limps, I raise AK to $12 in CO. BB calls, tilty Chinese lady calls, and seat 9 calls.

Flop ($50): K62
Checks to me. I bet $30. Dry board. Only the Chinese lady calls.

Turn ($110): 5
She checks. I bet $70. She snap verbalizes a call.

River ($250): 4
She checks. I check?

How often should we be betting the river against this player? She was very, very sticky postflop and obviously tilting. She had about $200 behind for this river.



But, with the $250 promo, I wind up winning $151 on 3.5 hours of play.

Just as a pointed, my longest live winning streak is 9 sessions back in October.

It felt good to have a "monster" session. I did remember to take some chip porn:



Since the stack was over the $1k for 1/2 mark. The hand that really got it going was a bit of luck though. An unknown who was tight raises to $12 UTG 8 handed. An OMC calls in UTG+1. Everyone else calls to me in SB with 65 and I call. BB calls also.

Flop ($96): 875
Heads-up this may be a spot for a donk bet. This multiway though, not quite. I check. BB checks. UTG jams for $75. UTG+1 rejams for $135. It folds to me. UTG ALWAYS has an overpair. In that instance, I have 13 outs.

What does UTG+1 have? Against a set, I have 8 outs. I don't think he has a better 6x combo. I think in his position and the way he was playing, he'd only play the suited ones. Problem is, there is just 2 total suiteds of that. And he didn't seem like the gambol type. So I think his range isn't a lot of straights or straight draws, and more overpairs, sets, and maybe 2 pair. I call.

Putting their exact hands in pokercruncher, I was actually a favorite 3 way. Putting in UTG+1's range in, I'm still a favorite. UTG has QQ, UTG+1 has KK. The dream scenario. Turn is a 4, river 7 and I scoop the pot.

I did enjoy the player to my right. She was the nicest person, but unfortunately for her she couldn't fold. And I had to take advantage of it. 3 players limp to me, I check J2o in BB.

Flop ($8): J24
. SB donk bets for $6, I raise to $15, UTG lady calls, everyone else folds.

Turn ($44): J
I bet $25, she calls.

When she calls, I feel like she almost always has to have a jack.

River ($94): Q
Not the best card. But still, I put her in for her remaining $86. She tanks and tanks and is holding up her cards so that I can see. J5s. She finally calls, and MHIG.

I actually FINALLY won a decent sized pot with KK instead of this torturous awful luck with it...and bad play. Before, again, losing with more terrible luck getting it in 3way on a T83 flop against 98 and AQ. They both wound up beating me.

I'm also an hour away from my hours goal for the month, with 2 sessions left to play. I can't stress how big making that hours goal is. I also didn't jinx, thankfully, and tied my longest winning streak. I've also pretty much entirely recovered from that downswing coming back from vacation. It makes me feel a lot better.

6.75 hours
+$720

The good and the bad.

Good: Got that 10th consecutive session win.
Bad: I probably shouldn't have played last night.

Mental fatigue really. I just wasn't playing my A game. Hell, there is a chance I was at best a B- game. Or so it felt to me. But I wanted to get hours in. Thankfully, there was a player just dumping BI after BI and not really caring about it. I doubled up through him after he jammed $400 into a $105 pot (after I bet flop) on J87r with J3o. I had 88.

There was also a hand where I held AKo. A solid player, but one who opens a few too many hands UTG, opened and I just flatted. IMO with position I have to 3bet that wide range and I just didn't.

Made a terrible check back very multiway on a monotone flop with two pair.

I was just exhausted mentally. It definitely wears on you taking the schedule I've been taking. But nobody ever said accomplishing dreams was easy. If it was, everyone would do it.

Unfortunately, the 2/5 table broke like 20 minutes before I planned on leaving, so a short session but record breaking.

2.95 hours
+$525

10 w's in a row is pretty sick, gz.

Thanks! Unfortunately I couldn't get it to 11 yesterday. However, something better happened yesterday. Better than a winning session, I got an aha moment!

I was at the 2/5 game and realized, perhaps from help with something that I've been using recently, that these players are opening too wide. So, if they're opening too wide....well, I'll let you guys come to your own conclusion on that one.

There were three big hands in the session that I played, and I lost two of the three. One of them, I 3bet a fish with AKo in a straddled pot and cbet a 753 board, just to have him shove. Meh.

The next one, one of the players who opens too wide opens to 15 UTG. I call with AJ in HJ. Don't think I can 3bet bluff this hand, but plays well against his range. The blinds both call.

Flop ($60): A98
Checks to me. I bet $40. Blinds fold and UTG raises to $110. I can't fold yet. I have BD draws and its very unorthodox to take this line. He also has about $300 behind. I call.

Turn ($280): 8

This is a great card. I already didn't think he had a ton of value hands, and this just narrows them down more. I think he has a lot of AX hands, some broadway spade hands, and MAYBE a combo of 99. You take the flop xr line as the PFR to maximize fold equity. He bets $110. I call.

River ($500): 2
He jams for $185. I call. Unfortunately, he has one of the 3 hands that are better than mine in AQ. But I still think he has just a wide array of hands that I'm ahead of, and I think I'd take this same line again against him.

The other one is fairly simple. An old lady limps in MP, a massively tilting player raises to $20 in HJ. I call with 55 OTB, and the lady calls.

Flop ($65): KJ5
MP checks, HJ bets $35. He has about $350 behind. So, to ensure I can get stacks in, I bump it up to $75. MP folds, HJ calls.

Turn ($215): Q
He checks. I bet $135. He jams for his remainder. I call, and he has K4o?!?!?!

Ironically, I would use this hand as a basis to 3bet him from SB with A9o later. I would check down an AT7A5 runout. He bet $100 OTR and I just flatted. He had AKo. Reciprocality. I get his whole stack with his hand. He doesn't get mine though.

7 hours
-$252

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As far as June goes, it was a great month. Exactly what I needed. Lots of volume, good results, and a re-confidence in my gam, along with a thirst to get better than everyone at my home casino.

-60 hours of poker play Played 69 hours this month!
-Finish both books that I'm in the middle of. Well, sort of. I finished one, and I'm in the middle of two more, so combined it's like two books.
-Get back to the basics Yup! Value bet a lot, didn't try fancy **** at 1/2, and it paid off
-Post more in either forum I posted quite a bit in the CLP forum, as well as their messaging board
-Continue hand review And another success! I'm even hand reviewing in forums and with the aid of another resource.

I think that may be the first time that I've been able to highlight every goal for a month green! Also, I had a profit of +$2,678 for the month, with most hours coming at 1/2

Now for July. June was a massive month for me. I entered June on a downswing, never game up, and pulled out of it. As big of a month as June was, July is an even bigger month. I kept, mostly as a joke, a "minimum day" countdown to myself for work. Well, that minimum day countdown is at 4. 4 days until my life roll is where I want it to be to take the shot.

Now, my BR isn't where I want it to be. That's what is holding me back. That's why this is such a big month for me.

-60 hours
-Finish both books
-Keep on studying
-Stay motivated at work, even though it feels like a dead-end job

Good luck!

It's happening.

I went into work Monday morning. And for the first time, I truly knew my future wasn't there. Do you know how hard it is to get motivation when you know the work you're doing now isn't for the future?

And then the micromanaging. Oh my gosh. I'm sitting in my office, counting up how many times a person takes just a couple of minutes longer on their break. Really? And then the boss brings someone into my office. And rips into them. This employee makes about 4-5x less than the boss, and is also in his late 70s. Absolute disrespect.

And then I go to the jobs. I offer people jobs that you can't make a living off of. And there is no upward mobility, at least where I live. I'm in a pretty entry level position, and that's pretty much the only place I would have a shot at. There are only 4 jobs in my career path higher than mine, and 3 of them are on the same step.

I never told anyone that, back in October, I was job hunting. Back then, I was feeling about the same way I feel now, although this is worse. There is no fulfillment in my job, no happiness, just showing up for a paycheck. But I guess I'm lucky. If I feel that way, I can only imagine how others must feel. I've wanted to do this for years. But this is the best time to do it.

(Also played a session I didn't put on here Sunday night, 4 hours +$245)

A little late, but way to go, 10 wins in a row. Keep bringing your A game.

Sick thread, subbed for more

Dead set at the exact same point as you @ my job. :')

Thanks, I definitely intend on doing that! In fact I just got done with a brief training session with Snowie. At 7am!

Thank you sir!

Are you planning on leaving your job as well meale? It seems like heading into the summer tends to be a high turnover period for a lot of companies, at least my own for sure. What are you planning on doing, if anything?

I was in a near identical situation with my past employment. I have espoused it some in my thread, but just wanted to reiterate it here. I would be so anxious the evenings and mornings before work that I thought I would become physically ill. Those feelings stemmed from some of the same thoughts that you are having.

Principally I felt that my job had no future upward mobility that didn't include some really nefarious behavior and scrounging to the top. I also felt that I was hurting individuals that didn't have the financial means or acumen to properly assess their financial situations. I saw good employees treated really poorly and with little respect, all the while the attitude from management would be one of "this is normal" and "this is the nature of all employment." In my mind, I made the decision of, "**** That!"

In the final analysis I came to the conclusion that I would rather starve than work for someone other than myself. Perhaps someday my attitude will change, but I have no intentions of making other people money and wealth, all the while wasting my precious time, that I can't get back, on any pursuit other than personal enrichment.

Sorry for the diatribe and derailment. This may have been better suited for my own thread. However, I thought it may be salient to your current mindset and situation. My effort to provide thoughts from the standpoint of someone who felt the same, and left their employment.

+1,000,000

Yeah actually just today we had a function celebrating 100 years since this company's inception. There was one bloke who'd been slaving as a manual labour type operator for 48 ****ing years. And in a room of a hundred or so people, there was 20+ who had been there for 30+ years.

I will shortly be quitting my job for the same reasons you and Zombie mention. I'll be attempting to play 2/5 live professionally - I'm confident I can make a much better hourly doing that than at my current job and I won't have to deal with the general ****tiness that goes with being an employee.

What a difference a day makes.

So I'm sitting at the 1/2 table. I'm playing 1/2 instead of 2/5 because of my plan as to how I would go about things. My boss calls me. Which, normally we're not allowed to be called after hours. She asks me if I would be able to train the new hire.

Literally, one of 4 very rare things that could have been proposed for me to stay a bit longer. I just like teaching people and training others and it's something I can't really say no to. Plus, it's not the worst thing in the world. Adds on about another month of me building up my BR.

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As far as the session went, I was fairly pleased with my play. I raised a few more combos of hands that I normally wouldn't have. 3bet more hands than usually, which is really a focus and really something that Snowie is opening my eyes to.

One of the bigger hands I wanted to point out was a "hero" call I made. Two players limp, I raise QTo to $12 in HJ. Maybe a bit loose, but position is my friend. BB, a close to 100% VPIP player who has been aggro, calls as does one of the limpers.

Flop ($40): Q22
Checks to me. I check back. Only A or K are cards I'm afraid of, and it's very difficult for me to get any value.

Turn ($40): J
BB checks, MP checks. I bet $15. I could probably go to $25 here, but I still felt like the board was fairly dry. BB calls and MP folds.

River ($70): 3
BB, fairly quickly, throws out 2 green chips. So I think a little bit. First, does A2 take a line like this? I don't think so, not with the turn bringing in so many potential draws and my small bet size. I block QQ, and I know he has a 3bet button preflop so I discount JJ.

All this time, he is just staring at me. Intently. I don't think he has QJ/KQ/AQ because those are almost certainly betting turn. Going further, what hands do I beat? Well, T9/KT/K9 missed. Clubs missed. Everything missed. So after a bit of time, it becomes a fairly easy call. He announces K-hi and I scoop the pot.

Another hand against this player. Folds to me in CO. BTN folds out of turn. I raise T9o to $10. BB, the 100% VPIP player, calls.

Flop ($20): 865
BB checks. This is an interesting flop. A flop where I have overcard equity + gutshot equity, and one where I can barrel overcard turns. I bet $15. He calls.

Turn ($50): 7
Like, bink. He checks. I bet $30. He calls.

River ($110): 2
What a beautiful card. He donk bets $50, I jam for his remaining $75, he calls with 98

I don't like his play at all. Raise flop, raise turn, something.

With the slightly extra time, I'm probably going to shot take 2/5 again instead of just staying at 1/2, although the idea of just building the BR towards a much more very comfortable shot with less stress is an appealing idea.

6.75 hours
+$490

89dd seems a pretty easy flop and turn call?

I can see the reasons behind a flop and turn call, but imo a hand like that on that board against a preflop raiser should be pushed to the max. Tons of equity and that board usually isn't one I'm looking to get stacks in on with most of my range. I also very rarely have a pure bluff there so he isn't missing out on much value.

It also may be as a result of Snowie getting me to play more aggressively. I had a very similar hand earlier in the session where I flatted a BB's raise to $7 in SB with T8hh after 3 others called. I check raised him on a Jh8d7h flop and Qx turn because of the fold equity and my equity. Yeah, he called, but he put me on T9, so I don't know why he called. But most players don't like being put to the test there, and I showed up with the best case scenario. He could have done the same thing as well.

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As an aside, if anybody ever needs motivation, my girlfriend and I have just started watching highway through hell. These men work 24+ hours routinely. Puts poker players to shame with their mindset and balance bullcrap. That is motivation, being able to stay up that long and still able to perform well enough to clear massive wrecks safely and efficiently.