I just want to wish everyone gl this week on the felt. Today is my first session since my Cincy trip last week. I'm GUARANTEEING a win today. I'm getting ready to take my seat. We'll c later today how my first guarantee of the year went.

1 for 1 on the Guarantee!
Wasn’t sure if it was going to happen, but I got there in the last hour of the session. My table was pretty dead for a couple hours, so I switched to a more active table. I was stuck about $150 until one hand put me n the black.
Here’s the hand. Button ($800) straddles $7. 3 callers until I ($400) make it $25 w K K in late position. The straddler calls $25, and utg+1 calls $25. 3 to the flop of 843, all clubs! Utg+1 checks, I bet $35, button calls, Utg+1 then folds. After the button calls here on the flop, I’m a little worried he may have a big hand, but hoping its just a big draw. So I plan to just ch/call turn and river to manage the pot in case he did flop a big one. If he checks the turn, I will most likely value bet the river (if nonclub). Now Heads up and $150 in the pot going to the turn. The turn was a 9. I check, he bets $45, I call. Now there is $240 in the pot going to the river. River was a Q. I check, and he bets $100 bringing the pot to $340. I call, and he mucks.
It was a grind all day, and didn’t get a lot premium holdings to play with. Pretty much card dead for majority of the day, but overall, I was satisfied with my play. If I was grading my performance, I wd say B+. I think I made one bad call. Here is the hand… I ($250) have AK otb and make it $10 after 2 limpers. LB ($300), who is a bit snug, calls, and 2 Mp players call. The flop is A104. Lb surprisingly leads $20, 2 players fold, and I call otb. The turn is an 8. LB checks and I check. River is a 10, and LB bets $30, I then tank for a bit. This was a bet from an elderly day shift regular, who is a bit nitty, and never bluffs. After tanking for a bit, I said, ”I guess AK isn’t good”. He didn’t acknowledge the statement, nor did I get any kind of reaction. But he did show his 2 cards to his neighbor at this moment, which I’ve seen him do many times before. Every time he flips his cards up so his neighbor can see, he usually has the goods. Knowing that, I almost folded, but like a complete amateur, I decided to call. He shows A10. Know Ur Player, Idiot! I suck!
+$162 5hrs. Back to work tomorrow

I like the line you took with your Cowboys!
Also, I wouldn't beat yourself up over the AK hand.
Best of luck this week.

@seemsclean thanks man.

Just not sure...
Maybe I just hate working, and rather do other things, not sure. But for some reason, I just really hate being in the poker room. I’m not sure what it is about the poker room, but for the most part, the energy to me feels negative. As soon as I enter the Casino, it feels like I’m a degenerate by association. I am one of the few who goes to the Casino to play strictly poker, and only poker. Nothing else! I witness on the daily, people with bad gambling problems. It’s so very sad to see. They show up, lose, go to the ATM, lose again, go to the ATM, lose again, go to ATM, and lose again. Then they will wait a few days, and come back, and do it all over. Being around this, and seeing other’s misery; just doesn’t feel right inside my soul. In the casino, I also see a lot of addictive behavior; and people with no self control, also drug dealers, criminals, atheists, etc. The poker room can at times be a dark place, a place that makes me feel incomplete, shameful, and unproductive.
The monotony of it all is getting old too, but I guess it’s pretty much just like any job. The same old daily routine, get up, take a shower, take the same old drive to work, clock in work, see the same people, and sit for 7 hrs, hopefully cash out, drive home, and do it all over the next day. On top of this, I have always struggled with poker not being very productive for me. Yeah, I’m a gd player making a gd hourly, bringing home gd money, but does it always have to be about the money? Shouldn’t making an impact in the world be worth more than money? Everyday it’s just chasing money, playing all day for those 2 or 3 big hands; then cash out and count my Benjamins. The players are so bad at 1/2 it almost feels like stealing some days. I never really feel good about taking players money, but I guess that’s why we are there. It is a job that allows me to provide for my family. But, is it a job that makes me feel good? Or productive? The bad days in poker have an exponentially worse feeling, than the feeling of good days (if that makes sense). When I run badly along with not feeling productive, I feel like utter ****. On the good side, I do like the competition, and definitely need that in my life. I do like the fact that poker is humbling, and need that in my life. I like the fact of trying to be the best day n day out, and trying to get better every day. But something is missing w my job. Whatever that something is, it’s not making me feel wholesome. It might just be as simple as appreciating the game, and what it offers. Perhaps, I need to find a way to appreciate the game more, and be in good grace with the game of poker. I have to turn this negative energy to positive soon.
The last month, I have really been focusing on life balance. Trying to choose the paths that makes me most happy. I have been doing a lot of praying lately on this. I’m not quite sure what my purpose is in life, or how poker integrates into my lifelong plan. I want to live for God, but I’m not sure what the best plan is for me. Heck, I’m not even sure what God thinks of my career choice. To me, it feels like I should be serving others more, and doing things that are productive (beside the money chase).
I play poker for 2 main reasons: the competition, and to make money. It has always been a source of income for the last decade. But does life really got to be all about the money, all the time? Is this my calling in life? Keep chasing the money…I’m not sure. Some days I think our family should just live abroad and b missionaries; serving others, and making a difference. Would I be happier if this happened? Prob not… I’m sure I still wdnt b content. Mayb a big problem for me is, I constantly look towards the future instead of living in the moment. I’m extremely blessed from the Lord above, and constantly give Him praise for all his blessings He has provided. But internally, I struggle w never seeming satisfied w myself. I think there is a difference between feeling blessed, and feeling satisfied. I view being “blessed” as a bigger picture (health, family, friends), and “satisfied” as an individual smaller picture (myself and my desire for achievement). It’s a big personality fault of mine that my drives me and my gf nuts. I’m never content, never satisfied, always thinking I can do better; which leads to not being as happy as I should. I will continue to pray for life balance, and lay it at the cross.
Today was one of those days where the games were horrible, and it wasn’t worth sitting around. The day games are getting pretty junkie lately, so I’m really considering mixing in some night sessions. The Casino was playing heavy on me today; a hum drum feeling. I played 4 hours and left down -$17. Once I got outside of the casino, I felt so good. It was a sudden release of endorphins. It was just one of those glum Casino days… It happens.
2013 Cash Game Total as of today: $26,790. Behind the pace for $40K.

Trust me there are few 9-5's that feel very good, productive and make the world a better place. Many of them actually make the world a worse place. Life is a grind we need money to live the life we choose. As DN once said something along the lines of money does not buy happiness but experiences bring happiness and money buys experiences.

Make no mistake, we ALL go through times where we want to be other places besides the one we currently find ourselves. I think you would feel the exact same way in a 9-5 situation, where you HAVE to show up to get paid.

But there are SOOO many worse career paths (in my humble opinion) out there. For the successful poker player such as yourself, there is so much FREEDOM in poker - that's the part I love about it.

I think you hit something on the head in your last post - you struggle with never being satisfied with yourself. Believe me, I have lived much of my life feeling the very same way. But then I found myself without much at all, and a funny thing happened - I started appreciating every aspect of my life (I took many things for granted for a LONG time). And I feel blessed every day...to be healthy...to have a supportive family...to wake up in the U.S. every day...to be able to do something I LOVE for a living. Be careful man, because that feeling of never being satisfied doesn't go away on its own. You have to make a DECISION to let it go and be happy with who you are and what you've accomplished. It sounds to me, based on your posts over the last 9 months, that you lead a life that MANY PEOPLE in this world would envy. Don't forget that.

And those *bad* players are making a CHOICE to sit down and play poker. Don't waste your time feeling guilty about taking their $$$. Essentially they are paying for poker lessons , but how much they get out of those lessons is completely up to them.

Ray, I think you're an entrepreneur at heart. It sounds like you take your faith seriously as well, which I respect. What about a way to combine faith and competition (poker perhaps)? I don't know the answers to your internal dilemmas, but you sharing with the rest of us was a good first step.

Keep crushing brother - you're almost there!

Be a light in the dark place, Ray. You are salt. People face similar issues in their more traditional workplaces. Just be the light that God wants you to be...wherever you are.

omg what u said x1000!! I feel the same way about poker and being in a poker room! I got a hard playing long session because of it... I found that im way more happy in general by playing poker during daytime. I usualy play from 10am to 4-6pm then I go hang out with friends or do sports with friends during the night. I only play at night on Friday and Saturday because the games are so good I cant miss them. waking up late in the afternoon and playing at night makes me feel so bad and lonely because you cant hang out with regular people and even if you got some poker friends there usualy is nothing open or to do from 2am to 7-8am

You say it right

Just sounds like to me you are losing the motivation. I think you just need to remind yourself why you are playing the game. Ultimately it's not about taking other people's money, it's about providing for your family and yourself. I think you need to try and disconnect yourself from the emotions (the ones you get from being in the casino) and instead focus on making your life better, your family's life better, and to be happy.

Quit whining and go win your challenge. Play some nights and weekends so you aren't always playing with the 1 foot in the grave crowd. Its a better game when you're playing with interesting funny people (more profitable too). I guarantee you're hourly from 9 pm to 3 am would be at least 1.5x as much. And don't give me that you have to be there for your family in the evening bs. You could easily lay the kids down at night, go play til the drunks give it all away, sleep while kids are at school, better profit. If you really want to win your challenge (rather then just prove it's unwinnable) you have to make some sacrifices.

(tough love post)

Good luck!

Man @loucardfan you pulled down my pants, and gave me the belt! tough love style! i liked it. It reminded me of the days when i was a boy, running away from my Dad with a pillow tucked in my pants.
On a serious note, u r correct. I def need to play more nights. These day games r getting really crappy. I'm currently playing right now, and its plain awful! It's going to take a "cooler" today to win money at this table! Also, i think the word got out about this challenge, and it may be hurting me a bit. I'm not getting as much play as I was at beginning of year.
Right now up $11 on 5hrs. Currently killing it at $2.20/hr. Gonna play 3 more hours and hopefully make another $6.60. Update later.

"Im surrounded by drug dealers, criminals, athiests, etc.". Really guy? You are much smarter than that statement. How does religious affiliation have an impact on the 'type' of person you are.

I stopped reading at that point as well.

I'm sure you didn't intend to but you did come off slightly bigoted with that statement.

All I can say is remain positive and try to influence those who surround you. Don't let other people bring you down or dampen your spirit.

Please don't! Missionaries ring my door bell saying how wrong my religion are (they don't say it but that what they imply) and forcing you to listen to them. they constantly leaving pamphlet even I told them I don't read or have time to read.

I think religious lecture should be out law everywhere except churches. I think it should be against a law to go to someone house and lecture them about your lord and savior!

I apologize if this is how you took my statements. With all do respect, u def have it twisted! I was just saying, IMO, I rather not be surrounded by, what feels to be negative energy!
I'm not a good speaker, nor a gd writer. But, I was just trying to emphasize the negative energy I sometimes feel in the Casino. I figured when I casually threw in the word "Atheists" it might rub people the wrong way. I have friends who r Atheists. Even if I don't agree w their views on religion, I still respect them as a person. I'm just saying to me and my personal feelings, it feels dark. Which gives me a bit of negative energy. That's it! Just speaking my mind. No big deal.
This is a poker forum, I should know not to talk about religion, politics, and other hot topics. I thought this "negative energy topic" had relevance to the $40K Challenge. I was just trying to give a little perspective into my life, and how it RELATES to poker.
Looks like Ray Ray stirred the pot!
I was just trying to make a point that the Casino can be a dark place filled w negative energy (degenerates, drunks, addictive gamblers w serious problems, shady drug dealing, prostitution, crime, people arguing/fighting, people saying GD a lot, people popping pills, and yes…many nonbelievers). Maybe I’m digging a deeper hole here, but that’s all I was saying, nothing more. I’m definitely not saying I am better than anyone, because I’m far from perfect. My sin carries the same weight as a murderer, rapist, adulterers, drunks, wife beaters, prostitutes, etc. etc. etc. etc. Sin is sin no matter what! IMO, all sin the same in God’s eyes. I’m not better than anyone! I was just trying to make a point that Casinos can provide a negative energy FOR ME (not U). That’s it! I’m just being honest when I say, some days I just rather be elsewhere, and not surrounded by this negative energy. Yesterday was one of those days. I didn’t want to be there, and I could def feel my mood/emotions go from negative to positive once I left. It’s not like that all the time for me, but I do have days where I feel dispirited.
I’m sorry. I should probably just stick with poker post from here on out. Last night, I got a little too personal with my post. My intention was to give a little insight of my personal life and how it relates to poker and this $40K Challenge. If I didn't think it was relevant to this thread, I wouldn't have mentioned it. I respect everyone. My bad...
Ended up +$598 today. My money maker: blah blah blah about the players involved in this hand, and blah blah blah about preflop action. Not important. 4 to flop. No action on flop. All 4 players hit the gutter on the turn for straight. Yes all 4 players were holding a 6 for straights to 7! Fireworks on the turn, and “this guy” (me) has 6 8 on the button for the nut straight! Turn action is Bet, Call, All in, all before it gets to me. I min raise All in, initial better makes a great fold (said he had a 6), and the other guy goes All in too! I call. Brick river. $750ish pot. I fig it wd take a “cooler” at this table to get paid today. Win about $400 on that hand, and another couple hundo thereafter. Ended up being a gd day. Patience and playing great worked out. Also sold one of my main event seats to a gd buddy for $1500 today. Win/Win situation. He gets in the main event for $175 discount, and I profit $500.

If want to discuss what feels negative to me, and what doesn't feel negative to me; then please tweet at me at https://twitter.com/RayzRayl

Jesus was a pretty cool dude. He hung out with all of those people. Bums, drunks, prostitutes, poor people, tax collectors. Whoever the most hated people were, he hung with them

I'm not the best at talking religion. So I try to do it by my actions. Helping others, giving encouragement, TRYING to use good language. Some people can hang with bad people and it doesn't bother them, or they won't act on the temptations. Others can't. You seem to be able to considering you've been doing this so long. Good luck with what you do. You'll ultimately know in your heart.

Brothers and Sisters all butterfly is saying is the casino has a negative vibe to him! he wouldn't argue the fact that Jesus walked with all types of people! i think he knows that! he is only saying, sin is more prevalent in the casino, which dampens his spirit. how is this leading to all the nonsense? this is the best thread on 2+2, and now you want butterfly to pull back! thanks guys! now this thread will suck being all about poker with no flair. i am here to write that i don't want butterfly to change anything at all! butterfly, keep doing what you do, and write what you want! let the haters be hating. your posts always have a lot of great content! don't let these fools keep you down! gl and see you soon on the circuit.

I have really enjoyed following your thread,i voted on the over 40k,
I play some on the weekends at the HSI,the 1/2 game can play very big
at times,back when pool tournaments was going on,I saw a guy win over
4k in one session,
keep up the good work buddy,thanks for the daily updates,

+1

I think the vibe at HSI is much more negative than many places I've played. Haven't been there much over the past couple years but from what I remember it was. I think Cincinnati has a more upbeat feel and good people than most places I've been.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using 2+2 Forums

To think that we can be in the presence of a negative energy fields and not be impacted in anyway maybe a bit naive.

If all things being equal, religious people is the last group I want to hang around with. They think so highly and mighty of them self. It seems believing in a religion give them a license to be righteous.

Thanks for letting us know MegaOuts.
you are far from the boat on this one! must be the people you are hanging with clouding your brain!