Sup PC&G!

Been lurking PC&G for years and I'm super excited to finally start my own. I've always loved the idea of tracking your progress and getting support/feedback from fellow grinders.

So now for some background on me. I'm a 19 year old college student living in Southern California studying Finance and Mathematics. I come from a small town in the Pacific Northwest where access to poker was very slim. I have always been enamored with poker, and eventually deposited some money online a couple years ago and have been playing off and on ever since.

I have crushed 10nl and been a moderate winner at 25nl, but have yet been able to make the jump to 50nl. I have also made a multiple trips to Indian casinos back home and those were extremely successful. Now that I'm living in SoCal I will have access to Indian casinos in the area and I am ready to take my shot at live poker!

So the plan as of now is to grind my bankroll up playing $1/2 until I can start playing $1/3 and eventually do the same with $2/5, hopefully by the end of this school year.

I also will try to play the occasional MTT if possible, but as a 19 year old those are fewer and farther between. I love the competitive aspect of MTTs, and from my experience the fields are INSANELY soft, so I'd like to capitalize on that when possible.

On the non-poker front, I have gotten much more into lifting this past year. I have always played sports, but never focused on my body and how to improve it, more so just my skills at each specific sport. I will be working out a lot (that's the plan at least!) with my roommate as he is very involved in health and fitness, so I will post updates on my lifting as well.

So yeah that pretty much wraps it up. I'll post interesting hands and spots that I get into in here, as well as updates on my hours and progress. Thanks for reading everyone and good luck at the tables!

8/28: 3hrs (-$400)

Sat down and within 30 minutes I played a hand where I raised UTG with 1010, was called by a semi tilting player in the BB. Flop came down K105ss, he c/r my cbet and called my jam for about 75bb with KQcc and my hand held.

From there I coasted for about an hour, value betting TPTK and a set against a big fish who called me down with a FD both times and c/f to a river bet when the flush draws missed.

After that, however, it went downhill fast. A fish donked tiny into me heads up on a K107hh board and I called with A7xx. On the turn the flush hit and the fish bet $25 which I raised up to $75. He thought for about 30 seconds before calling. I checked back a blank river and was shown 24hh.

A few hands later I opened UTG+1 to $13 with KK and was called by four players. I bet out $50 into $70 on a 643cc flop and was c/r by a 40 something yo guy I had no history with. I called it off and was shown 44.

I reloaded and within 5 hands I get AA in MP and raise it up to $13 after one guy limps UTG. I'm called in two spots and I cbet a Q75hh board and am called by both. The 8h hits the turn and I bet $50. The first guy folds but the second opponent raises to $110. With about $110 back I jam and am shown J9hh when the river bricks out.

I'm utilizing a 2-buy in stop loss while my roll is still growing, so after that hand I was done for the day. Going to get back after it tomorrow!

Woke up this morning feeling good. Went for a quick mile run and headed to the casino. Been playing for about 3hrs and am down a little bit less than a buy in.

Best of luck man - how well rolled are you for $1/2 and what kind of volume do you anticipate?

$3k roll. Been playing a lot this past week but volume is going to slow down once school starts (next week). Goal for September is going to be 80hrs.

8/29: 6.5hrs (-$500)

Well that was a little gross. Over the first couple hours of play I lost a stack gradually, losing TPTK vs a shortstackers set all in on the flop. Then doubled another guy who was short TPTK vs top set all in on the turn.

From there I stayed steady for a couple hours until I won a $310 pot AK vs KQ on a Khi board when the guy overbet pot donked into me and I jammed and we GII.

At this point a fish had lost about three stacks after building his first up to $600 and was clearly steaming, calling or raising every hand, bluffing a ton post flop.

I 3bet an UTG open from $11 to $31 with AQo, the fish cold called from the BB and the UTG raiser folded.

Flop came down K65 and I checked back after the fish checked to me.

Turn brought the 10s, bringing a BDFD and giving me a gutshot. I bet $45 into a $75 pot, Villain calls.

River brings an off suit 3 and Villain insta jams for $109 into $163. I tanked for a little over a minute before getting the clock called on me. I reluctantly called to shown 43cc, and the fish ships the pot with his pair of 3s.

Just a few hands later, I opened to 20 with Q10hh over two limpers and was called by a fishy old Asian man OTB and the same fish from the previous hand in the BB.

On a 1054dd board I bet $50 into a $63 pot and was called only by the BB fish.

The turn pairs the 4 and I jam for a little less than pot when checked to and Villain snap calls.

River is an off suit 3 and after showing my hand, Villain semi slow rolls me and flips up 33 for a rivered boat.

Feel a little dejected as this is the first live downswing I've been on (lol sample size), but it helps when it comes from being two outered vs a massive fish and not being from my poor play.

Anyways, trying to decide whether I want to play tomorrow. I really want to get the hours in before classes start, but I want to be able to play my best and I don't know if I've subconsciously accumulated tilt from my three consecutive losing sessions. We will see how I'm feeling tomorrow I guess.

GL. I'm offering a free coaching trial session for live if you're interested

What a relaxing day! Slept in, made breakfast, played 5 on 5 basketball for a couple hours, and then hit the pool. Some of my friends live at this really nice apartment complex up the street so I went and hung with them at the pool for a while.

Got a late lunch, took a nap, and now headed to the casino. Hoping to get a long session in tonight, let the run good return.

Running bad sucks, trust me I know

All we can do is make the correct +EV play. So good luck and all that and hope it turns around. I'll be lurking and wishing you well

dgi...

8/30: 4hrs 37 min (+219)

Man does it feel good to get a winning session! Coming off four consecutive losing sessions my confidence was not high, so I came to the tables today focused on making solid plays and minimizing mistakes.

That got thrown at the window when I misread a player and bluff shoved river only to run into his flopped flush. The way the hand played out I should have snap folded turn, but he checked dark flop and turn and I misread it for weakness.

I topped off and things were relatively quiet for a while, winning some pots with cbets and losing a couple small/medium pots vs the tops of villains' ranges.

The next big hand I played came when I raised up the CO's limp (passive fish) to $12 OTB with J10o. BB (nitty hoodie wearing late 20s) called as well as the limper.

Flop came down 975r, giving me two overs a gutshot. I cbet $25 into $36 after being checked to and was only called by the BB. (Does anyone check back here? I have a ton of equity but this flop smashes CO's limp/calling range.

The turn brings an A completing the rainbow. BB checked to me again and after some deliberation I jammed for just under pot (I had Villain covered).

He tanked for two minutes before calling it off. The dealer rips an 8 giving me the nuts and I rake in the pot against BB's slowplayed QQ.

Even though BB showed up with QQ, I really like my turn jam. I ran into the absolute top of his range, against almost his entire range I'm going to have solid equity. The A coming down is such a good card for me as I think he's going to fold any 9 or 7 when I jam it. Took a note that Villain was cable of flatting QQ OOP vs a limper and a button open.

From there things were quiet until I got into a huge multiway pot. I flat called an UTG+1 raise with KQo OTB and we go four way to flop with me, two fishy Asians and an older cowboy looking guy who is extremely deep.

I flop top two on a KQ7ss board and get called by everyone when I bet after getting checked to. The turn brings an off suit J and I bet $125 into $173. One of the fishy Asians c/jams for $93 more and the original opener hums and haws for maybe a minute before folding what I expect was AK.

The river is the 4s and I'm about to puke as I think he hit a flush here a large % of the time, but I'm happily shown Q10o for second pair and a gutshot ott.

I rake in the $515 pot and call it a session as I don't want to play 300bb deep with my roll being relatively short. Going to get some food and rest and be back to the grind later today.

While I've definitely been running bad this past week, I've been making some horrendous mistakes as well.

The transition to live poker from online isn't quite as seamless as I would have hoped, but I can definitely see myself making improvements already. I just am going to focus on limiting my mistakes and riding out the negative variance.

Use PLO to get out of your downswing.

8/31: 6hrs 48min (+$32)

Counting both sessions (split by an hour meal/rest break) I played for around 11hrs tonight, by far the most I've ever played in a night. I felt solid mentally, but the physical fatigue started to set in around the 9th or 10th hour.

Came back from my break to find a table full of splashy Asian fish going at it. Within an orbit I 4b GII with KK against one of the Asian fish to double my stack.

I changed seats to get position on one of the fish specifically right before this hand came up.

Two limps to Hero($400) in the HJ who raises to $15 with KJdd. Young Asian whale OTB($350) calls as does BB($115) and both limpers.

($75) Flop is 1097dd. Checks to Hero who bets $50. Whale OTB calls and BB c/r all in for $50 more. BB seems like a competent reg from what I've seen of him. Gets back to Hero who flats, Whale flats as well.

($375) Turn brings the beautiful Kh and Hero jams after some deliberation and the Whale quickly folds JJ face up.

($375) The river brings an offsuit 6 and BB flips up 89hh for a rivered straight.

Really no idea what BB was doing here. After the hand he apologized and tried to rationalize his play saying that since these Asian whales were hitting their cards it was bound to happen for him or something like that. Oh well, brushed it off and didn't really think more about it.

Couple hours later I get a table change to the most passive table I've ever played at. Flop is being seen 5-6 way every hand and guys are limp calling huge ranges.

I play super tight and wait to value own these guys, and it works out perfect when I flop a boat vs a guys NFD that turns TP and double.

Later on I iso 3b a grumpy old mans MP raise with 54hh. He plays so face up and I think I can run him over post flop.

He flats my 3b and I flop an OESFD on 1067hh. He calls my cbet and we check back a offsuit 6 OTT. The river brings a black Queen and he checks to me. I go to reach for chips and he instantly goes to reach towards his stack as well, clearly trying to scare me into checking back river. I bet $125 into $175 and he grumbles about how he missed his huge draw and folds. I turn to him and show the 54hh and ask 5hi no good? He instantly calls me a smart ass kid and both visibly and audibly steams for the next half hour haha.

Going home to rest. I want to play another session tonight but we will see. Not sure if I want to play through the night again and that would probably be the time I would go. Both casinos I play at are having big Labor Day tourneys so I'm definitely going to grind then as the cash games will probably be extra juicy.

that's like using gasoline to put out your fire...

PLO has DOUBLE the variance as hold-em...

It's great that you can see and acknowledge your mistakes, that is the crucial step needed to work your way through the runbad.

Patience is key, relax, be patience, and let them give you their money. They want to, they really do. All we need to do is just wait for the right opportunities to strike and the right villains to fleece.

Some of my best friends from freshman year got into town last night so I hung out with them and had an awesome time catching up.

Got some lunch on campus after meeting with my advisor. Only have four classes currently, trying to decide if I want to get a fifth. I came in to college with 9 credits so it's not a big deal if I only have four, but I would like to stay ahead as much as possible.

Heading to the casino right now, hoping the games are good and people are still there from the Labor Day tourney they held.

Going to write up some goals for September as well. I've started to write down tangible goals lately and it really helps motivate me. Just having something written down that you can work towards is so crucial towards success IMO.

Couple hours into the session, at a great table. Guy just limp/called my $22 raise with a $100 stack w/K10ss and hit his flush when we GII on 822ss against my KK. Back to sitting on a $200 stack.

9/1: 4hrs 50min (-$138)

Boring session, was really uneventful. Played tight and only went past the flop on one or two hands, all of the others either being won by a cbet or me just check folding.

Had one interesting hand where an old man c/r me (after checking dark) multi way on 663 where I had 77. I tanked a little bit and he started talking to me which I couldn't really get a read on. Decided to toss the hand and just wait for a better spot, to which he flips up a 7.

Going to try to get in a long session or two tomorrow as it's the last day before classes start. Also I'm going to post my goals for September tomorrow morning once I get them all written out.

September Goals

~80hrs of live 1/2
~Lift 3x per week
~Run 3x per week
~Do not miss any classes
~Sign up for intramurals and yoga
~No soda

Here are my six goals I'm going to work towards this month. Since being back in SoCal I haven't been able to lift as my schools rec has been closed, but it is opening back up tomorrow so I'm going to get back into it. I've been able to get some runs in, but I want to make sure that I am running consistently three times a week.

My goal for live is to get in 80 hours this month. With school starting I am going to need to cut back on my hours, but I think 80 is definitely doable. Going to see what days fit best in my schedule for playing, but I think it's going to end up being Tuesday's and Thursday's with a full day or two of grinding on the weekend.

As it is the start of the semester I don't have any real specific goals academically to set in place, so I'm just hoping to not miss any classes. My overall goal for the semester is to get all A's, so to give myself the best chance at doing that I'm going to go to every single class.

Lastly I want to make sure to sign up for intramural basketball, soccer, and a yoga class. I've felt extremely tight lately and playing all the hours of live poker is not helping. I want to join a yoga class to work on flexibility and also just to relax a bit. Plus I get a half credit by doing it through the University

I think I'm going to break this down even further and set myself weekly goals on here and give updates to that as a way to hold myself accountable. No grinding today, getting all my **** together for the start of school tomorrow.

First day of school went well. Obviously pretty boring as it was mostly them talking about their syllabus and what not, but my classes look promising.

Got in a nice 1 mile run before classes and then tonight I played a couple hours of pick up soccer before getting a solid lift in. Feels good to stay active even when in the back of my mind I know I want to just go home and nap haha.

I only have two classes tomorrow, so after class going to head to the casino and try to get a long session in.

9/4: 3hrs 34min (-$66)

Tonight may have been the most boring session I've ever played. Played for about three and a half hours before racking up as the games were average at best.

Had almost no interesting hands the entire night. Spent most of the night folding, including when everyone went crazy over the $100 being put in random pots after each touchdown of the Seahawks v Packers game (also six given at once for the safety).

Played one hand where I bet flop and turn on an A98ssKx2x board with A4o and lost to AJ after river got checked through (A4o a fold when unopened to Hero in the CO?)

My first table of the night was the most passive and nitty table I have ever been at. Almost every pot was being chopped pre and the pots that went to post were either being folded on the flop or checked down. Regs were BLATANTLY soft playing each other which sickened me. I saw a reg open to $10 with KK and then check down a 552ss610xx board when the other guy in the hand had A4ss, like wtf?

The only interesting hand came after I changed tables and found myself at a little bit less passive game than before.

Reads: Middle aged Asian man. Just a few hands before lost with AA against Q9o when a tilting old white guy (had been sucked out on KK vs JJ and AA vs JJ back to back) limp called UTG against the Asian guys $16 raise, call his cbet on K105 and rip the old J on the turn. Villain had been limp calling a decent bit, but I hadn't seen him show down many hands besides the AA hand. He didn't seem to be on tilt at all from the AA hand. Also, Hero had iso'd his limps twice and both times he folded to a cbet on the flop. Villain has $225, Hero covers.

Preflop: Straddled pot. Limps UTG and UTG+1, Hero raises to $17 in MP (too small?), Villain in the straddle calls as does UTG.

Flop: AQ9 Villain donks out for $25. UTG folds. Hero thinks and then raises to $75. Villain asks dealer how much and then quickly calls.

Turn: 6 Villain checks. Hero thinks for about 10 seconds and then checks back.

River 2 Villain checks. Hero tanks for about 20 seconds before eventually deciding to check back. Villain flips up A10 for the chop.

I really dislike how I played the hand. When Villain lead into me I read it as a medium strength hand trying to see a cheap turn. I put him on weak Ax, FD, and maybe KQ? Really poor ranging here, but that's what I thought at the time. Raising really only is getting value from A7 and A8, and if I really thought about it, this isn't the type of player to lead/call with a FD. As played, I should have just shoved the turn, but I didn't think worse would call so I just checked it back.

I really want to get a long session in ASAP, but I have friends visiting town tomorrow so I'm going to go out with them. Hopefully I can get a massive grind in Saturday. If not, I'll likely try to grind some 25nl as the games on Merge have been incredibly soft lately.

Couple hours into the session. Folded for hours straight then stacked two guys in three hands with AA. Sitting on $640 in for $200.

9/6: 11hrs 29min (+311)

Played a long session through the night last night. Got there and there were quite a few games running so I was excited to hop right in the games and get playing. I decided to try to right down every hand I played in (got about 90%) so I'm going to post all of them. Would love some feedback on any of these hands.

Hands:

H1:UTG ($68) limps, Hero UTG+2 ($200) raises to $12 with AJss. MP calls ($125) and UTG calls.

Flop: ($36) Ah8h7x UTG checks, Hero bets $25, MP Folds, UTG shoves for $31, Hero calls.


H2: Hero ($275) opens to $10 in the CO with A3dd, button ($200) calls, SB ($115) calls, and BB ($85) calls.

Flop: ($40) 752dxx. Checks to Hero who bets $28, button and SB folds, BB jams, Hero folds.


H3: Limp UTG, UTG+1 raises to $7, Hero calls in the SB with KQcc, UTG calls.

Flop: ($21) J108cc. Checks through.

Turn: ($21) Hero leads for $15, both fold.


H4: UTG ($350) limps, UTG+1 ($200) limps as well after looking like he wanted to raise, Hero ($200) raises to $15 in MP with AhAd, tilting old guy in SB ($200) calls, BB calls, and both limpers call.

Flop: ($75) K63cc. Checks to Hero who bets $50, tilting old guy only caller.

Turn: ($175) 10o. Old guy checks, Hero jams, Old guy calls and MHIG on blank river.


H5: Just two hands after previous hand. UTG ($250) limps, Hero ($400) raises to $15 from UTG+1 with AA. HJ ($200) calls, Old guy from previous hand calls OTB ($170), limper folds.

Flop: ($48) A44hxx checks through.

Turn: ($48) 5h. Hero bets $30, both call.

River: ($138) 9o. Hero bets $75, HJ jams, Old guy folds, Hero calls and MHIG vs 55.


H6: 2 limpts to Hero OTB ($600) who limps with 88. BB ($200) raises to $10, all limpers call.

Flop: ($40) Q73r. Checks to Hero who bets $25, only BB calls.

Turn: ($90) 6o. BB leads for $40, Hero folds.


H7: MP limp, Hero ($600) raises to $15 from the HJ, Button calls ($100), SB calls ($190), limper folds.

Flop: ($47) Q96r. SB checks, Hero bets $32, both fold.


H8: UTG ($300) limps, folds to Hero OTB ($650) who raises to $15 with J10dd, BB ($190) calls, limper folds.

Flop: ($32) 998hh. BB checks, Hero bets $20, BB folds.


H9: Hero ($650) is UTG+1 and raises to $12 with KK. CO calls, Button ($325) calls, SB calls, and BB ($110) calls.

Flop: ($60) 932cc. Checks to Hero who bets $45. Button calls and BB goes all in for $65 more. Hero is contemplating what to do, and just as he is about to shove, BB flips up 33 as he thinks the action is done. Hero folds, Button folds.


H10: 5 limps to Hero who checks his BB with Ah2d.

Flop: ($8) A37hh. Hero bets $7, MP ($60, huge fish) calls.

Turn: ($22) 4h. Hero bets $15, MP calls.

River: ($52) 10h. Hero jams, MP calls and MHIG.


H11: 3 limps to Villain ($150) in the CO who raises to $10. Hero ($550) calls in the SB with A10ss, all limpers call.

Flop: ($50) AK7hxx. Checks through.

Turn: ($50) 9h. Hero bets $35 all fold.


H12: 5 limps to Hero who completes with K8hh.

Flop: ($8) KJ5cc. Hero leads for $7, only caller is huge fish from Ah2d hand.

Turn: ($22) 4o. Hero bets $15 Villain calls.

River: ($52) 4o. Hero bets $25, Villain raises to $50, Hero folds. Villain shows 104cc.


H13: UTG limps, UTG+1 limps, fish in MP raises to $6, Hero in the CO calls with KJo, Button calls, SB calls, and BB calls.

Flop: 442hh. SB leads, Hero folds.


H14: UTG limp, MP ($425, big fish) raises to $13 from MP, Hero flats OTB ($600) with A3ss, limper folds.

Flop: ($31) AJ5r. Fish bets $29, Hero calls.

Turn: ($89) 3h bringing BDFD. Fish tries to bet $40 but it is called a string bet and he can only bet $20. Hero raises to $85, fish calls.

River: ($259) 10o. Fish instantly jams for $315. Hero tanks, asks fish if he will show if he folds, fish says yes, Hero folds. Fish shows A10o.


H15: 2 limps to Hero in CO who raises to $16 with A9dd, everyone folds.


H16: 7handed. UTG raises to $7 ($600), 3 callers, Hero ($500) calls OTB with J10o.

Flop: ($34) KJ10r. Checks to Hero who bets $26. Folds back to CO (Middle Eastern fish, $325) who calls.

Turn: ($86) Ko. Check check.

River: ($86) 8o. CO bets $40, Hero folds.


H17: UTG ($600) raises to $10, mid 30s rec fish ($450) 3bets to $20 from the HJ. Hero ($500) has 55 OTB and flats, UTG calls.

Flop: ($60) 997cc. UTG checks, MP bets $15, Hero calls, UTG folds.

Turn: ($90) 7o. MP checks, Hero bets $60, MP snap folds.


H18: 3 limps to Hero who has 1010 in the CO and raises to $18. SB calls and all 3 limpers call.

Flop: ($90) Q75dd. Checks to who Hero who bets $45, everyone folds.


H19: UTG ($420) limp, UTG+1 limp, MP limp, Hero ($600) raises to $10 with 77 from the HJ. BB flats, UTG reraises to $26, Hero calls, everyone else folds.

Flop: ($65) AJ5r. UTG checks, Hero bets $35, UTG calls.

Turn: ($135) 10o. Check check.

River: ($135) UTG leads for $60, Hero folds.


H20: UTG limp, Hero ($450) raises to $15 from UTG+1 with AhAs. MP ($800) calls and limper calls.

Flop: ($45) 532hh. Hero bets $30, MP calls, UTG folds.

Turn: ($105) Jd. Hero bets $75, MP folds.


So there are all my hands from the session. I think I played pretty well and kept to my strategy of playing tight and just waiting for spots to value own people.

H14 the call pre may be a little loose, but the raiser was a huge fish and we were 200bb deep. My turn raise sizing in that hand was definitely too small. I should be raising that to something like $125-$140 so that I can jam most rivers. What do you guys think?

Also, my flop bet from H19 was a mistake as well. Again, we were really deep so I'm fine with my flat of his l/r, but when the flop comes AJ5 and he checks to me, this is just always a check back. The only hand I'm really targeting here is KK, and he's probably not even folding that hand tbh. This guy was a crazy aggressive fish and I didn't really know how to adjust to him. He had come to the table and called it off with a gutshot against a turn jam and got there on the river, and ever since had just been barreling off constantly. As played, this has to be a check back otf.

Fitness

I've been getting back into a consistent workout routine which has been going well. I've been sticking to running at least every other morning when I wake up, and I've started back on the lifting regimen. My muscles are ridiculously sore, but I'm really excited to get back into the swing of things. Chest day tomorrow!

9/9: 4hrs 1min (+179)

Got in a decent grind today. Had to wait for about an hour as there were only two tables running so that was annoying, but once I got in it went pretty well. Unfortunately I was catching the tail end of a bunch of people's sessions so the table started to thin out about an hour after I sat down.

Eventually it got to the point after a few more hours where the table was incredibly nitty so I just decided to rack up and call it a night. This is something I think I can start doing sooner and need to be conscious of.

Here are some hands from the session.

Hand 1

Preflop: Hero has just sat down at the table, so no reads. Folds to Hero in HJ ($200) who raises to $12 with KQo over one limper. SB ($1000) and BB ($150) both call, limper folds.

Flop: ($36) J106 SB looks over to me and says same bet and bets $12. BB calls and I call.

Turn: ($72) 9 SB thinks for a couple seconds before betting $2. The BB calls and I raise it to $45. SB starts to posture, moving around his stacks of chips. He asks how much I have and brings out $200 in front of him before eventually folding. BB quickly folds.

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

Hand 2

Preflop: Again, relatively new to the table so not much history. Hero ($250) limps UTG with 44. 2 more limps to the SB ($350) who raises to $5. BB ($200) looks like he wants to raise for about 30 seconds before eventually calling. Hero calls and all limpers call.

Flop: ($27) 984 SB checks, BB leads for $23, Hero thinks and then raises to $82. CO thinks for about 30 seconds and folds. BB tanks for over a minute, asking Hero multiple questions, Hero doesn't respond. He eventually folds and says he had K9s.

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

Hand 3

Reads: Villain is same Villain as last hand. He is a Beats/hoodie wearing mid 20yo but he actually seems pretty bad. He is a wannabe LAG but is overvaluing hands a lot and putting himself in unnecessarily tough spots. Capable of betting/raising as a bluff.

Preflop: One limp in EP, folds to Villain OTB ($300) who raises to $16. Hero ($290) 3bets from the SB with KQo. Villain looks at Hero and sort of whispers asking if Hero has a jackpot hand and would like to check it down. Hero responds that he doesn't make deals like that, Villain calls.

At this point I'm confident he has a medium strength pair (9s, 10s, JJ) or Ax based on his jackpot comment. Depending on the board I think I can barrel him off a lot of these hands.

Flop: ($99) 1033 Hero bets $65. Villain tanks. Villain asks Hero how much he has behind, thinks for another minute and then folds JJ face up

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

Hand 4

Reads: Same Villain from the previous two hands. At this point I have realized this guy is bad. He has no idea what he is doing with his aggression and is just kind of randomly picking spots. He c/minraised the flop on 1085cc with 75dd.

Preflop: Hero ($335) raises to $12 UTG+1 7 handed with A10 and Villain is the only caller in BB ($300)

Flop: ($24) A96 Villain checks to Hero who bets $16, Villain calls.

Turn: ($56) 8 Villain quickly leads for $45, Hero tanks. Villain asks Hero if he's going to let Villain finally win a hand against him. He starts to hold his cards out like he's going to muck them (seen him do this twice before, once with value hand once as a semi-bluff). Hero folds after about 20 seconds of deliberation. Villain shows the 7

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

So yeah, not a ton of interesting hands, but I felt I played really well this session. I think my only real mistake may have been opening A10o in that last hand, most likely from boredom and wanting to get into some pots.

I feel great about my play the last few weeks. I've been sticking to my game and am getting better about not forcing the issue. I need to remember that just by playing the top of my range and value owning guys I'm printing money, and FPS is just burning money at this level.

9/14: 7hrs 13min (-$510)

Yuck yuck yuck. Last night I arrived at the casino around midnight and the games were looking great. Got seated at what looked like a great table and within two hands I had lost a stack. I think I definitely misplayed the hand based on not having any reads on the table, but imo I didn't make any HUGE mistakes.

From there I just played tight and my stack hovered around $250 for hours before eventually I was able to build it up to about $400 by getting paid off by second pair on paired + flush board with my nut flush . After this, however, it all went downhill.

I lost K7 v K9 all in otf on K75, then I lost AK vs 72 (l/c from UTG wtf?) on A76 all in on the flop, and finally I ran my AdKh into a whale's flopped two pair on Q76ddd. After that hand I decided to cut my losses and just call it a night.

Besides those hands I think I actually played very well. I utilized my image to the best of my abilities and was able to move people off hands when I felt they were weak. I ran bad against a couple huge fish in that when I hit my hands I didn't get paid off, and when I had medium strength hands they seemed to run into the nuts.

I also had one really good bluff spot where I ran into the absolute top of a fishes range (he checked his top set on a 764dd board after raising pre, again wtf?), but I'm happy with myself that I pulled the trigger even though I got picked off.

Need to catch up on hours played for the month, going to look and see exactly where I'm at and probably post an update for my monthly goals tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure I'm a little bit behind. For the next little bit I'm probably going to focus on playing as solid as possible and not getting out of line as the BR isn't exactly loving its situation right now.

Fitness has been going great, besides me being sick the past few days . Along with playing soccer, basketball, and holding myself to consistent lifting, I joined a yoga class as well which I'm really excited about. I've wanted to work on my flexibility a lot as I think it will help my athleticism a ton, but have always been too lazy to force myself to stretch consistently, hopefully this will hold me to that.

Month Update

32/80hrs of live 1/2
3/3 lifts per week
3/3 runs per week
Do not miss any classes
Sign up for intramurals and yoga
Don't drink any soda

So unfortunately my volume for the month so far has been piss poor. With school starting I haven't been able to play as much as I would have liked, but it is mostly my fault for not allocating time. Also being sick all of last weekend made me not really want to grind, so there's that.

This weekend I actually have a PACKED weekend, so I do not know how much I will be able to grind. I'm going to a Drake/Lil Wayne concert Saturday night and a Giants v Padres game Sunday, but I'm going to try to get a session in both tonight and tomorrow. I still think I can hit the 80hr goal for the month if I really put my head down these next few weeks.

Fitness has been going great. I've gotten back into a lifting routine with some buddies as well as making sure to run in the mornings before class at least 3x a week. I've been upping my distance every week, so this week I've been running 2miles per run, next week will be 2.5miles etc. We will see how long I can keep it up.

Both yoga and intramurals I am yet to have signed up for, but I still think I can do both. Apparently I signed up too late for the on campus yoga classes, but there is a yoga place right next to my apartment so I'm going to go check that out when I get the chance. I still have another few days to sign up for intramurals so I just need to get that done. Unfortunately I broke down and drank soda multiple times within the first week . I haven't since, but still I'm disappointed in my lack of self control for something so meaningless.

Just wanted to pop in and post a semi-halfway monthly update. Going to get back on the grind tonight, hopefully I'll have some interesting hands to post tomorrow!