I played 6.5 hours today and won $59. Spotted a pretty obvious tell, heads up on the turn a have tptk it is checked to me and right as i'm about to put villain all in he beats into the pot about 80 into 150. I almost c/f it but end up putting it in anyway. He said he had 2p but I get saved by the river.

July 2011

Total hours played- 64
Pace- 72
Average hourly winrate- $15
Winnings- $952

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 366.5
Average hourly winrate- $19
Winnings- $7122

Keep it up, Great Thread

I played 8.5 hours today and won $99. Played okay accept for a hand where called a min 3bet oop with AK and c/c 3 streets on a K10348 board and got owned by 1010. Dumped 270 on that hand otherwise I could've a had a great session. All this week a have been missing some obvious folds.

Thanks man.

July 2011

Total hours played- 72.5
Pace- 77
Average hourly winrate- $14
Winnings- $1051

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 375
Average hourly winrate- $19
Winnings- $7221

How much are you tipping?

What are your requirements for ending a session?

I'm thinking about doing this... but I need to put together a more substantial BR together first. I'll be playing online mostly with maybe a trip to Mohegan/Foxwoods twice a month. I'll also be padding my BR with $100 a week.

Mohegan's 1/2 is a $300 bi while Foxwood's is $100.

I played 5.5 hours today and lost $42. I played at the 2/4 table for a couple hours until it broke (played with a 50bb stack) and half the time it was short handed.

Here is a hand I played 3 handed-

Btn limps, sb completes, I check in the bb with 63

Flop- 543

sb leads for 20 into 11. I make it 50. btn folds, sb calls.

Turn- 4

Villian leads for 20 again I think about raising again but I don't think there is much that he is bet folding so I opt to call getting odds to draw at my straight.

River- 9

Villian checks and I check behind and give up. Villian flips 23 for a chop. Looks like I should have fired like 75 on the end.

Here is a hand back at the 1/2 table:

I've got AK raise it to 12 over one limper from mp, get 2 lp calls and the limper calls.

Flop- 557

Checks around

Turn- A

I fire 15, one call from lp, ep makes it 50. I call lp folds.

River- 2

ep leads for 75 into 160 with 25 behind. I ask him if he has a fh he said he pleads the 5th. Villian could show up here with a Q or J and maybe a 5. I make to crying call and he flips 77 nh sir. I guess I could have dumped it on the turn.

I tip $1 for any pot over about $50. This comes out to about $1 or $2 an hour or between 5 and 10% of my winrate. Dealers have a tough job and they deserve every toke they get. When you take care of them they keep the game moving and make less mistakes.

I usually end a session when I feel the table conditions are not that great (not much dead money up for grabs). I usually scan the other tables to see if there are any better options, if not I just take off. I'll also quit if I am tired and don't feel I can concentrate and play well. I'll obviously end the session when I lose all the money in my wallet, lucky that has only happened once so far this year.

July 2011

Total hours played- 78
Pace- 88
Average hourly winrate- $13
Winnings- $1009

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 380.5
Average hourly winrate- $19
Winnings- $7179

I don't want to call you cheap and I know you are trying to make a living at poker, but the dealers are trying to make a living too. And they aren't getting shipped $300 pots every couple of hours.

I tip $1 on EVERY pot I win. I tip $2, $3, $4 or more depending on the size of the pot. I tip a redbird whenever I feel it's necessary.

Does it cut into my win rate? Yes. But the dealers have families to feed and I am doing this to supplement my income.

If I moved to another casino, I'd like to think I'd cut back on my tipping. But I would never eliminate tipping on pots below $50.

Maybe it's because I am a good tipper, but I know several dealers who complain about not getting tipped when they ship big pots.

Anyone ever tipping more than 1$ a hand at 1/2 is an idiot. Sure sometimes you tip 2 when you hit a 1 or 2 outer or so
But if you actually added up your tips or keep track of them. You will see why. The fish will tip more cause they dont play often. The dealers understand you are trying to make a living grinding and can't tip as well as a fish

I played 7 hours today and won $95. I played in the 2/4 game for most of the day. I feel comfortable playing in the bigger game, but still don't want to play with more than 10% of my bankroll on the table. I dumped my first 50bb buyin JJ vs AA aipf. I managed to make it back by making some moves and playing a little more aggressive than usual.

To each his own. I have tipped 2 dollars for big pots but I think I am just going to stick to the standard of 1 dollar a pot from now on. I feel my contribution of $2k-$3k a year to dealers is sufficient. I think by being frugal I can decrease my risk of ruin and ensure I can stay in action (and toking) for years to come.

Recreational players tend to tip more because their whole buyin is expendable. If they are losing players they tip big because it feels good and every chip in front of them will be gone eventually if they continue to play. Of the 33% or so who are winning players most are winning at a very small rate and if they tip too generously their meager profit will go right into the dealer's pocket.

July 2011

Total hours played- 85
Pace- 98
Average hourly winrate- $13
Winnings- $1104

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 387.5
Average hourly winrate- $19
Winnings- $7274

Tipping $1 per pot and $2 for big stacks is both standard and generous. It's difficult to beat rake as it is in 1/2, and dealers will make decent money if everyone tips like this consistently.

I played 11 hours today and lost $325. I played well but took some standard beats AA vs JJ, QQ vs KK. Kind of funny whenever I played AKs the flop would be the opposite color . Other than the run bad I felt I still had a high level of focus throughout the long session. I'm planning to put in some more 10 hr+ sessions to hit my goal this month.

He is a hand I played-

I'm in lp and pick up 1010 I raise to 16 over 3 limps. bb makes it 32 and the rest fold. I study him for a minute and decide he doesn't have to have an over pair so I make the call. Stacks are 200 effective.

Flop- QQ8 villain donks 45, I feel like this a stab and he didn't connect. I make the call.

Turn- J check, check

River- J check check. He of course flips AK nh sir. I don't think there is much I could have done here maybe fire on the turn or river? Villain is a station and I had recently seen him snap off a river bet with underpair on a 4 straight 3 flush board.

July 2011

Total hours played- 96
Pace- 108
Average hourly winrate- $8
Winnings- $779

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 398.5
Average hourly winrate- $17
Winnings- $6949

Yea that last hand sucks but when you call the pre flop raise and the flop raise you look strong and if you have a read on the player, stick with it. You thought he didn't connect and your right ( yea its easier now to say that now but with the check on the turn you could kinda tell that he is slowing down after your call) So looking back on it i think you could have bet the turn and taken down the pot there.

I think maybe shove the flop. You get to rep Qx hands plus 88, and any other pair 99 - JJ, basically anything that gets a fold there. Either way tough hand.

Best of luck, been following. Really respect the live grind game. If I had an option that would be my route so I'm really routing for you here. GL

dont forget to include your stack sizes on your HH. Keep it up though good luck!

Tipping doesnt really encourage dealers. I would consider not tipping at all, 3-4k a year is a **** ton of money.


Also, dump the AK on the 755A board that raise screams FH