Recently found this thread. We have definitely played together typically on Fridays. Great stuff and I look forward to reading more. Subbed and I'm sure I'll be playing with you, probably Friday...good luck with the journey.

Thanks! I'm not sure who you are but I think I have a pretty good idea. Good luck whenever you're not playing me!

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Anything but a boring 1/2 session last night. For a good two hours, the average pot size was somewhere between $200 and $300. Average stacks were also around $400 to $500, which made for a pretty interesting game. There really isn't that much I feel is share worthy other than this one hand. I just stacked SB prior orbit when I flopped nut straight against whatever he had. I think I had played with him before and that he was a maniac, but wasn't 100% sure. Anyways, two players limp. I raise AA to $11 OTB. Blinds and limpers call.

Flop ($55): T83
Checks around to me, I bet $40. There is a TON worse that can call but not much better on this flop. SB calls, everyone else folds.

Turn ($135): 9
SB donks for $50. Interesting card. I think he has all gutshots in his range, all 98, all T9, J9, 97, etc. I think a raise here isn't necessarily the best play. I'm either way behind or slightly ahead. Having the A as well is kind of a bummer as it means he can't be bluffing with the diamond NFD.

Actually putting a range around the board in Flopzilla, I'm a 3 to 1 DOG. I think it's honestly because he can have all of the straight combos. That's 48 combos. There are also tons of two pair combos. However getting the price that I am, I can't fold. So I call.

River ($235): 8
Not the best card. He jams for like $239. I took a long time over the decision. Improves his 8x, but makes his T9 worse. He could potentially turn a hand like J9 or 97 into a bluff. My hand is pretty face up at this point though. Flopzilla says I'm now a 2 to 1 dog, and I thought it was pretty close. But if it's close against a guy like this, I lean towards a fold. So I folded. Too many straight and 8x combos I think and again, 1/2 players just aren't turning made hands like a T9 or a JT into a bluff enough.

Ironically, I'd be the one to essentially send him to the rail. He BTN straddles, two players limp, I raise TT to $25 in CO, he jams for $330, I call. I bink a T on the flop, which was not needed as he had 66. Yeah, he was tilting.

I thought I played a great session. The game was soft and action fierce. The difference between this Tuesday and last Tuesday night's sessions is that something clicked. A soft table is only soft if you're playing the way you can. If you're forcing action when you shouldn't, you're going to help make the game soft. Ironically I watched something about this between the two sessions, and it kind of resonated. Yeah, I know I probably have an edge over most of the table, but I shouldn't play out of my comfort zone to expand that edge by opening and playing hands that I really shouldn't.

3 hours
+$630

nh

WARNING: TL;DR post incoming

So where do we start with? Let's start life stuff. I'm at work Wednesday afternoon. I'm actually motivated today, realizing that if I get **** done as quick as possible, that I'll have free time that I can potentially leave early. My manager walks in and says "I think your car has been in an accident."

Well, wtf does that mean? My car is parked in a parking lot and the parking lot is quite packed. Well, I go outside and there lies a police car with a guy and my car....minus a front bumper. Except it wasn't without a front bumper, the bumper was just laying on the ground. So I'm playing it all cool on the outside and on the inside I'm just thinking "why do this to me? Why?"

Thankfully my car was driveable, but I had to take all day Thursday to figure out how the insurance was going to work, whether I'd get a rental car, when I could get my car fixed. Which gives me an unwanted 4 day weekend. So no session on Thursday night as has been the norm.

It's like I swear, something always happens every month, some unexpected expense.

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

Yesterday I lost again at PLO. One of those days where my mindset has to be "the fish have to win sometimes." I actually played pretty well when I was at the 1/2 and 2/5 tables, overall a $220 profit in 2 1/2 hours.

PLO, I just couldn't get anything going. I did manage to turn quad Aces for a nice pot, but my kryptonite was the fishiest player at the table. I lost two big pots to him. One of them, the one that actually started the downswing, I limp KK32shsh in SB to BTN straddle (which still kills games). A few limps.

I forget the betting pattern, but I flop top set + two backdoor second nut flush draws. Flop was Kx6h2s. Bet, he's the only call.

Turn is the Qh, so I pick up the FD. I bet close to pot, he calls.

River is the 7h. I bet small to try to get something to call, he raises. I'm just like ****. I call. He shows something like A8hh2x5x. This is why we play Omaha, because players don't know that that hand preflop is bad to play, postflop is atrocious.

I did have one fun hand against him. We GII on an AcKx9c flop. I have QdJcTc4c against his KcKxTxXx. We run it twice and it takes me to the second river for me to hit one of my many outs.

It was a fun session despite the "big" PLO loss.

5 hours 40 minutes
-$542 (PLO -$757, NLHE +$223)

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

I've been seeing a lot of pros wanting to get back to something other than poker. And recently, it has been making me question whether I want to do this thing or not.

I recently had an epiphany about it. And this goes beyond the "I want to live life with no regrets" type of thing. A lot of the people I see who try to get out of poker have these big college degrees or left lucrative careers. They know what it's like to make $80k+ without poker as an additional income. It seems like the real life grind sucks, so they try poker. The grind becomes a bit different and all of a sudden it feels like a real job again. They then want to go back into something else.

What would I be leaving behind? I'm not leaving behind an $80k+/year job with potential to earn much more than that. If I did quit, I'm leaving behind a ~$40k/year job where I have almost no potential to earn much more. I think I could earn that fairly easily....well, not easily, but with less time spent and more fun than where I'm currently at. I think I'm going to take the next month or so to make a plan. If I do it, I have a rough estimate as to when I want to embark on the journey.

Good luck out there everyone!

I don't want this to go dark. I've played 0 live hands since last Friday. I'll probably be playing 0 live hands until my car is fixed. Just adds an unnecessary added stressor. Add to that, my exercise machine was broken last weekend by my niece and/or gf's best friend's daughter. And an absolutely ****ty work schedule. It's just been a ****ing weird week.

February is going to be a revamped month. I feel ****ty not getting the volume I wanted in this month, but more external events just take over. I do have somewhat of a plan for the next few months. I think over the next few months I'm going to focus on volume over studying. Try to squeeze in an additional session a week (if I can) and cut out PLO for the foreseeable future. Maybe this is because I lost at the game, but I'm kicking myself for leaving the 2/5 last week. The 2/5 lineup when I left was soft as ****. That's a bankroll building opportunity. Maybe not cut PLO out, but be more vigilant. If the NL table(s) are good, don't leave. I know NL far better and the variance is far less.

In the same boat re PLO vs NLH. Hope you have a good Feb and get **** back on track.

My January goals are just whatever they are. Obviously I couldn't get the volume goal with the stuff that happened at the end of the month. Just life run bad I guess.

-60 hours of volume ---- But excused. The real question actually should be "was I on pace?" Well, 8 + 3 + 3.5 + 3 + 3.5 = 21 hours. I missed out on 21 hours of play. So I would have been short unless I snuck another session in somewhere.
-Watch 4 videos on CLP with note taking
-Finish Essential Mathematics of Poker

Overall for January, I played 35 hours and had a profit of +$786. Not excited, not glamorous, but again **** happens. Think if I stay away from the PLO games it's probably closer to +$2k, but who knows.

I liked how I was playing towards the latter end of January. I need to keep that focus for the rest of the time and continuously try to get better.

February will be a hectic month. There is so much miscellaneous stuff to do during the month, as well as just 28 days. An important milestone will happen in February. One year of this thread and the (re)beginning of live poker. I'm kind of excited about that to see what kind of results I pulled in for an entire year sample.

Another thing I want to mention is that I've gotta find ways to play more. My girlfriend is on board with this, so I have to take advantage of the extra time. February will not be the large volume month though. March will be.

-50 hours (damned February)
-NO PLO. Not that I don't think I'm a winner at the game, but my bread and butter is NLHE. I need to maximize the few hours I have to play with NLHE and not PLO. When I have more time to play, I can start implementing PLO back into the mix.
-Finish my current book and do decent work in the workbook.
-Watch and notetake over 3 videos.

Again, not going to be a pretty volume month, so gotta maximize these few hours. Good luck at the tables everyone!

I haven't updated much because, well, there hasn't been anything to update about. My car was out of commission for two weeks, and then when I finally got it back the battery was draining. So that took another 3 days to take care of. All because some guy wanted to cut through the parking lot. Caused over $2k in damage. Thankfully I didn't have to pay for any of that.

I did play one 4 hour session of +$94 poker. Woot!

Then, I'm not kidding, I got sick literally right after my car battery was better. It's just all going my way. And all of this got me excited to play a long session today!

Played like an hour of 1/2 and won +$84. Then the 2/5 started, and holy hell what a line-up! Throughout the entire day, I would say it was the second softest line-up I've played in in the last 2 1/2 months.

The session starts 5-handed. BTN straddles, both blinds limp. I see AA and limp. Mistake 1. One of the things I learned, and it could have easily been from being rusty, was to not FPS in live poker....for the most part. Should definitely raise here. It's just bad. BTN checks.

Flop ($40): Q46
Check. BB, who is a maniac, bets $25. I raise to $65. I may be able to make it a bit larger, but I'm fine with the sizing overall with the $600 effective stacks. Folds to him who calls.

Turn ($170): 8
He checks. I bet $70. Again, I'm fine with the betsizing here I think. I'm targeting a wide range from him. But I could also go to like $110 or $120 to price draws and set up potential river shows on good cards. He raises to $170. Here is where mistake 1 from above compounds itself. My hand can be underrepped. There is no way he thinks I have aces. But I can have 66/44/75hh. Think this turn is close, but knowing him to be a draw chaser - chasing/raising straight and flush draws - I decide to call.

River ($510): 2
He bets $225. I call. After I call the turn, I have to fold river. Me raising flop, betting turn and calling a turn check/raise is indicative of strength. Even he isn't going to bluff into strength like that.



Reload.

My stack fluctuates for a bit until we get closeish to full. One raise, I see AK in CO and raise to $20. BTN and limper call.

Flop ($67): AJ4
Check, I bet $40, BTN calls and limper folds. BTN is a loose player who does tend to respect my game. Loud but friendly.

Turn ($147): T
I bet $95. There are quite a few worse hands that can call again, hence the large betsize. KJ/QJ/QT/KT/worse aces/FDs, so go for the fat value. He calls.

River ($337): K
Not the best card. I'm thinking for a bit and he bets $125 out of turn. I decide to bet $145. Whether it's right to check, let him bet and call, or bet the amount I want to bet, seems like a moot point. I don't want to get into scummy habits and would like to be able to sleep at night. He jams.

-In live poker, this has to be a fold. It's a Q nearly 100% of the time. However, I've just recently started reading the applications of no limit book, so I go by the mathematics. I don't have many Q's, and he could turn a hand into a bluff like KT or KJ. I call the additional $200 because I only needed to be right less that 20% of the time.



Those were, I feel, the only mistakes I made during the session. They unfortunately wound up being large mistakes, but even the last one I can claim that I called due to mathematics.

However, it seemed like no matter what happened, I was on the short end every single time. I did learn to not try to completely run over the table if I felt like I was the best player at the table from the previous instance. It was just one of those days where the good players (there was another solid player at the table) got their *******s stretched by the fish, but again just gotta tell yourself that they have to win sometimes to keep playing.

7 hours 30 minutes
-$1,431

AK is fold and x riv

Yeah, AK is a fold. I tried to use math as reasoning, but the simplicity of it is that live players aren't raising rivers as bluffs. And, you know, KISS.

And the downswing continues.

So I come in, excited and pumped up to play. And halfway through my first orbit, BAM! KK into AA AIPF.

No biggie, brush it off, it happens. But then something else happens. I can't win a pot. And I have to fold some big hands, like flopping top two pair with KJ on a KsTsJx flop with the Js and the turn/river coming Ax and 7s.

So I'm topping off, topping off. Eventually, the table goes from good to REALLY BAD. One minute our side is kind of shooting the **** and the table in general is having a good time. The next? Dead silence. 15 seconds of waiting time before making a preflop action.

Just want to let you guys know, if poker dies, THAT is why. The only conversation I heard was across the table strategy talk. That table is why poker dies. It got so bad, I debated going to a 1/2 game or even breaking my no PLO rule for the month.

The hand where I bowed out at, a regular looking guy opens to $20 in HJ. Literally, one of the players to my right were always opening. I see Ah9c in CO, $550 effective, and make it $65. He thinks for a little and calls.

Flop ($137): 962
He checks. I bet $75. Because I have a roughly 100bb stack, I don't think he'd slowplay a hand like KK or QQ preflop. Too vulnerable. AA, yeah, but I have a good blocker. I have an even better blocker with the Ah and not Ad. He calls.

Turn ($287): 6
He checks. I bet $140. My reasoning behind this is I'm using it as a bluff to bluff away TT and JJ. This bet size does the trick I think. Set up a small river bet to sucker him in. Then he does something odd. After asking how much I have behind ($275), he jams.

What hand other than AA takes this line? Maybe he calls with 76s or 65s preflop, but given the shortness of stacks it seems unlikely. Is he bluffing with AdXd? Wouldn't he raise that on the flop? The line makes no sense other than AA or the rare 76/65 (which has to not only call preflop but also call flop not holding the FD). I call because it makes no sense.

Then, the guy turns into a total douchebag tool. I always run it twice. Cuts down on variance. I ask him, he says I don't care, I say I always run it twice. He then says once. Then he says "I only run it once or three times."

I haven't wanted to punch a guy at the poker table ever. I wanted to punch him right in the face. Where the **** are your manners? But then I have to realize some guys are just scummy. He's one.

Anyways, getting back to the hand. Why the hell shove TT there? What can you possibly be trying to bluff me off of? I have maybe some 9x, but not a lot. Maybe 50% of the A9 and MAYBE 3 combos of K9s. Which means there really isn't any value to be had. It's a terrible play on his part. My call? If I think he only has AA and some 65/76s, I literally need two bluffs. And this probably is a player who has bluffs in his range.

I called it a night after that. No use playing in a REALLY BAD 2/5 game.

2 hours 15 minutes
-$1,300

He had TT?

Also logic is very bad. For one, fold pre. A9o just sucks. Second, the bet on the turn should be thought as a value bet and if it's not you should be checking behind. Saying you're betting to fold out an overpair is really bad.

A9s probably should be used instead of A9o. And that's something that I've been learning more and more about, but haven't felt the chance to use it. Randomizing 3bet bluffs and other bluffs through suitedness. I don't think A9o is horrible given positions as a 3bet bluff/plan to fold to 4bets.

I think the turn bet can be used as a two-way bet. TT/JJ have very little chance to improve, so if they're behind they're way behind and have to risk calling a river jam. A hand like 87 or XdXd isn't too far behind and can convince themselves of a call via implied odds. I may be wrong, but that was my thought process when betting.

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Couple of little mid week tidbits. First, I got a very unexpected raise at work. It's a smaller but significant raise. I don't remember a time when I got an unexpected raise (that didn't come with extra job responsibility), so I'm very ecstatic over it.

Second has to do with poker. I realize in the last couple of months or so, pretty much ever since I stopped recording my sessions with my memo app and started with poker income app, I've been slowly note taking on far fewer hands. That's going to be a point of focus in upcoming sessions. I think that helps myself think of the hands away from the table and replay them in my mind to see if I can pick up on something I may have missed during the hand. Also will allow for more hand histories to be posted in here.

My BR - which I'm kind of waiting until taxes to solidify - is getting a little close to the 20 BI mark for 2/5. Not there yet, but it's always difficult after a -5 BI losing weekend. This part is really unfortunate. It's a mix of things. One thing I have to stop doing is giving money away. This is a little tough for me to say on here, because it is kind of personal. I've loaned out money to a friend and a family member. I've yet to see the money return. I've also helped another family member with bills ever since I've moved out. Every month, it's a kind of significant amount that I know I'll never see again. I'd say it's about $3,000 that have gone from my BR since moving out to family members and a friend. And unfortunately, that's something I MUST cut out. I actually just finished reading Jonathan Little on Live Cash, and he mentions this exact same thing. I have to understand that family members and friends don't understand that I need the money to make more money. It's ammunition. If I run low on ammunition, I severely limit the hunt that I can bring home.

This is real talk. This challenge thread is to show that someone can make it from the absolute bottoms and work up. This is part of that journey. Be cautious. It will suck telling someone you love NO, but you have to do it to preserve your BR.

First off, really been enjoying the thread. I'm definitely a 9-5 (more like 9-7 or 8) kind of drone, and really envy you if you find the freedom to pursue your passion. Also really like your approach to the game and you seem to have great ranging skills, which is something I struggle with when playing.

I don't understand your point above on running it multiple times though. If he likes to run it one or three times, isn't that his prerogative? I often hear people say they only like to run it once or three times, because they don't want to split the pot 50/50. Not sure it makes sense, but I have a hard time seeing how it's scummy.

Personally, I pretty much always just run it once unless pot is huge or V is a fish, in which case I do whatever he wants.

Thanks for reading and commenting! All it takes is some practice to hand range at the tables.

Regarding the comment, I don't think I conveyed it in the proper message. I don't care if someone says to run it once or twice. That's fine by me, either way the outcome over the long haul will wind up the same.

It's when you offer to do it how I want, then say something completely opposite, which is what this guy did here. And then rub it in the face with a snide comment. That whole mixture is what perturbed me, not the running it once.

Ah, I get it. It was like a run it twice slow roll? I almost did that once. Was playing with a fish, gii on the turn, and he asks about running it multiple times. I said something like "whatever you want" and he said let's do it 3 times. I then responded that I usually prefer twice, but then realized I was being a jerk and said to do it 3 times.

The streak ended!

No, not the losing streak. The losing $1k+ streak!

All kidding aside, I felt like I was on my A game for the majority of the session. I paid attention to the action all the time, I noted took on almost all of my hands, and I made some big folds.

The problem with that is if you have to make a lot of folds, you're not going to win. Which is unfortunate, because the table was again fairly soft. Some of the major or questionable hands:

Unknown young white kid, very unkempt, opens to $15 UTG+1. A nearly 100% VPIP player flats, as well as unknown in SB. I see AQ in BB and raise to $85. Only 100% VPIP calls.

Flop ($200): A4J
I bet $115, leaving myself $280 left. He calls.

Turn ($430): 6
I jam, he folds.

Fairly standard.

This one I think I wish I could have back, not 100% on it though.I see 55 UTG and raise to $20. Loose, MAWG calls in CO and tight seeming older white guy calls in BB.

Flop ($62): 974
Check, I bet $45. CO raises to $100 and BB calls. I fold for obvious reasons.

I wish I could have this one back because while I do have overpairs in my range, they have hands with equity. Lots of equity. I'm also at the bottom part of my range. If I don't have an overpair, I have a huge equity disadvantage against these players. So no use betting this board.

This next hand, I'm ok with how I played it I think. Two players limp, I limp 96 in CO. I'm like 140bb deep and again, the table isn't great. Blinds call.

Flop ($25): J47
Checks to an older guy who is a bit looser than you would think and he bets $15. HJ calls. I call. The call is questionable, but it is a limped pot and I have quite a few barreling opportunities. IMO raising is probably better than the line I took since I do have all of the barreling opportunities.

Turn ($70): 6
Checks to me. I bet $55. The bet is fine I think as long as I follow it up with a substantial river bet. I'm not planning on getting a meh J to fold this street, but I do on the river when a lot of uncomfortable cards can come. The older guy calls and HJ folds.

River ($180): T
He checks, I bet $110. Probably need to make this like $130. He thinks for a little before calling and shows KJo. I'm not sure that's necessarily a hand I'm trying to get to fold. Kind of surprised by the check on the turn.

Here's the first big fold. UTG opens to $20. UTG has raised maybe once in the two hours I had been there. I see AK UTG+1. I flat. I don't feel good about 3betting someone who has been so tight and given our positions and his position. An MP player calls and BB calls. BB is a looser player who can be a little aggro. He just won a big pot.

Flop ($82): AQ8
Check, UTG bets $100. I call. He has as many AK as AQ, and he can have some AJ too. Folds to BB who raises to $300. UTG then jams. My hand is fairly underrepped. I think for a little bit before folding. Think I would have been tempted to GII against BB. Well, UTG has AKo and BB had 88.

I want to post this hand just to show how good this 100 VPIP player runs. There is a BTN straddle and he limps in BB. Folds to me, I see 99 and raise to $40. BTN straddle, a very loose always defend my straddle player, calls as well as BB.

Flop ($120): Q44
BB checks, I check, BTN bets $60, BB calls and I call.

Turn ($300): 5
BB checks, I check, BTN bets something, BB goes all in, I fold, BTN calls. BB flips over Q4s. The second time in a straddled pot he flops a boat with a garbage hand.

I'm ok with this. It's his money. Eventually he's going to run out of luck like that.

Next hand, two limps including 100 VPIP. Guy from KJ hand raises to $20. I flat with $425 behind with JJ. This I think is closer to a 3bet than the AK hand, but again this specific player doesn't open enough for me to feel like I would 3betting and getting called by much worse. One limper calls, the 100 VPIP player makes it $135. Older guy folds. I decide to jam here. I haven't seen him do this, but I'm very certain I'm ahead of his range here. Fold, he calls and shows QQ.

I made another fold value betting AQ on a AJT4 board when some old guy just instantly check jams over my bet. GG, you have KQ, yuck.

The big hand of the night, I'm fairly confident about the way I played. 100 VPIP straddles OTB. Folds to me in UTG+1, $1300 deep and I open 55 to $30. 2 players call along with BTN.

Flop ($137): 323
I bet $75. This is a decent flop and given my image, I think I can get a fair number of folds from overcards. Well, two players call, including BTN.

Turn ($362): 4
It's a nice card. Two flush draws on the board, I wouldn't be surprised if I was ahead. And if not, will 77 or 88 really call another barrel? So I bet $190. In between player folds, and 100 VPIP raises to $500. The suck part is he can have literally every. single. three. I think for a little bit. I don't think he would throw in a bluff for that much. Even though I'm getting a very good price, I fold.

7 hours 20 minutes
-$566

In Q44 hand, why are you check/calling w 99 on the flop vs a bet and a call?

I also think in general isolating hands like 55 pre-flop is -EV in LLSNL. You have no fold equity pre-flop and aside from hitting (often bad) sets, you have a poor hand to navigate post-flop with. I think the best way to play these hands are to invest as little as possible pre, such as completing in the blinds, limping in LP, etc.

With the 99 hand, there are a few worse hands that these particular players can bet. Bluffs, FDs, etc. And the BB is calling fairly wide. I can say though that I'm not sure exactly what cards I want to see on the turn/river.

The 55 hand wasn't an iso - I raised first in. The $30 sizing is just because there was a BTN straddle to $10. I do agree that if this was a raise to $10, I wouldn't be iso-ing and instead just limping behind.

Point still stands re 55. There's money in the pot and you're gtd to be OOP to someone who simply won't fold, esp to that sizing. I'm pretty sure most would agree re the last 55 hand here it should be a CC/limp or fold pre from EP depending on table, leaning strongly towards folding 8+ handed.

I can see that being the case at a tough table. But this was a soft table and we're about 150bb deep with the fish (given the $10 straddle, about 300bb deep at the normal stake). If we bonk the set, we're talking about a huge pot. Plus, 3 players had already folded (SB, BB, and UTG) so the table was 5 handed at this point. I don't see how we can or should ever fold 55 preflop at this table 5 handed, even OOP, or how we just limp along when the player we're targeting already has the straddle in the pot.

idc about open pre with 55, but cbet isnt very good

Sometimes you have to vent. I think this session allows me the perfect opportunity to do so.

I played very well at the 2/5. At the must move, built my stack from the original BI of $500 all the way to about $1,100. Then it was my turn to go to the must move. It looked soft, but not as soft as the table I was currently at. And sitting there, 100% VPIP player from above, sitting on like a $4k stack. First hand at the table, 100 VPIP hits runner runner straight for a $2k pot against one of the players.

Then this happened. This was my second or third hand at the main table. BTN straddles. BB limps. I thought this was just his BB and raise Q9 to $30 when everyone folds to me in the lojack. 100% VPIP calls in CO as does BTN and BB.

Flop ($120): JT8
Bink. We're about $1,100 deep with 100% VPIP. BB checks, I bet $90, 100% VPIP calls.

Turn ($300): 2
I bet $195. He thinks for a little before raising to $625. I jam all-in for just under $1,000. He calls. We agree to run it twice. He flips over JTo for two pair.

Both rivers are a T. He scoops the entire pot.

3 hours 15 minutes
-$520

****ing brutal mang. Takes a while to monetarily recover from those ones too. Good tat it didn't effect you much. =]