I'm a 23 year old Singaporean, playing poker for the past 3.5 years. I play 2/4 as my main limit, with some 3/6 and 5/10 added to the mix. In May I went through a big downswing and my internship started.

I made the decision to move down in limits because
a. Forcing yourself to grind and analyse with a full-time job is really draining and I might be playing badly for another 2 months
b. I had a lot of free time in the Office and I wanted to use it to write a Poker Book. I wrote a 20 000 words book previously but couldn't really market it well since I wasn't allowed to publicise it on any forums besides a Singaporean website. Ended up selling 20 copies only, which was a decent effort I suppose, given that I hardly marketed the book and it was done in a very amateurish manner. Looking to change that in the future.

So I moved down to NL25 with a 600$ bankroll in June. Did not give myself a deadline but I have played for around 50hours+ so far. I will try to move back to NL200 Zoom as soon as possible.

All my graphs are in my desktop so I can't upload them for now. Meanwhile, I'm currently in Macau, playing some live games. I am going to head for Hong Kong for another week.

I've been posting some stuff about Macau in my blog beeejoe.wordpress.com but I suppose I will cross-post some stuff from today onwards.

I will also try to post 2-3 hands from my daily sessions with a little analysis when I get back to Singapore on 28th july.

I wouldn’t say I’m very experienced in live games now but I am quite familiar with how things work at this point in time. Here are some observations…

1) 50/100 is probably the toughest limit. All the full-time grinders play at this limit. Some may play 100/200 or 300/600 but a lot of the time, those limits are only affordable to the rich tourists wanting a gamble. Lower limits are of course softer since there is also a higher proportion of recreational players.

The typical lineup in a 50/100 game is 2 strong regs, 2 fishes and 5-6 mediocre regs. There’s still money to be made, but it’s not going to be that profitable if you are an online pro.

2) Some tells by observing appearances
Many of the Mainland Chinese regs like to wear Buddhist beads on their wrists. Not really sure why, maybe for some fortune/blessing?
Guys listening to headphones are almost always tight regs who want to just mind their own business and pass the time by listening to music and waiting for good cards
Koreans and Japanese are almost always recreational players. You just don’t see Jap/Korean grinders at all.
White men who are old are recreational players. they are there for pleasure
Young white men are likely to be regs. Some are super tough but I thnk majority of them are just tight and mediocre.
Players who buy in ultra deep or have a super huge stash of extra chips are probably regs
Someone who doesn’t complete the SB with any two cards with multiple limpers in front is probably mediocre/tight
Someone who appears to be flashy (clothing or accessories) is probably a fish

These reads generally aren’t that helpful since you can probably guess player tendencies within 2 orbits. However this may be good for seat selection when you are starting a table.

3) Try not to muck your hand prematurely

I also made 2 mistakes so far. The first was when I thought the limped pot was headsup so I bet 300 and mucked my hand after the first guy folded. The second mistake was when I bet 1200 with A7 on the flop on a AQJ2K board and the fish threw in 5200. I thought he made a raise so I folded. Luckily the dealer returned me my hand and he said it was a call. the fish was stupid enough not to bet the Turn and River and I beat his 77.

I realized that the trick to avoiding such mistakes is to place your cards only 20% across the betting line. If the hand is over, the dealer will reach out for ur cards. If others are still in the hand, you could argue that you did not finish mucking your hand since 80% of your cards are still behind the betting line.

4) Get used to tighter raising ranges and different stack/pot ratios

I have not played microstakes fullring throughout my career so I am less familiar with hyper tight reraising ranges. Isoraises and opening ranges are generally larger but stacks are also deeper as well. It just creates a lot of difficult and unfamiliar situations for the online player.

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

Other than the live games...

Gambling
I'm not too keen about the idea of gambling. I think it's ok to play a little -EV Blackjack just to pass some time but playing high stakes is just stupid. Here's what usually happens...
A) You lose big. You lose a **** lot of money.
B) You win big. You splurge at least half of your winnings on expensive casino food and other crap. The money goes back into the Macanese Tourism Industry.

In short, avoid gambling as much as possible

Food
Actually the food is quite decent in Macau. Cheap and affordable (compared to Europe), and you have some restaurants all over, like Portuguese and also some decent Chinese eateries around selling Roasted meat or noodles.

Weather
I've been to Macau twice so far, both times during the Summer. The weather sucks. Maybe those of you from Russia or canada may love the heat but I certainly don't. May be a better idea to come during the other 3 seasons. From what I saw in wikipedia, the coldest temp is only 10 degrees in winter which is really nice.

So far I'm stuck around 26000 HKD playing 50/100 HKD and 1200 HKD playing BlackJack and today is my last day in Macau before I head down to Hong Kong for a vacation. I'm kind of sad at the results and maybe I'm over-estimating my edge over the other live pros. While I may be better in techinical skill, they may have edges in other areas, including being more familiar with how live games play as well as small stuff like tells.

Therefore, I have decided to avoid the Singapore casinos when I return. And I'm not going to try playing the nosebleeds at 100/200 SGD. It's just suicidal. Going to stick to a strict work ethic playing 6 hours a day. I still have one more year of school to go and I can't wait for it to end so I can focus on poker full-time.

Anyway here are the links, I don't really want to repost cos the pictures take really long to upload and hyperlink.

Travel
http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/macau-day-4/

Poker
http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/day-4-poker/

Will def check out the blog when I get a bit of spare time, GL!

I decided not to go out today. Ran hot and won 300+ at NL50 in 900 hands, 2 hours. First part of my session was 10+ tables of regular tables and 2nd part was 4 table zoom. I was 4-tabling at the start without a HUD then I started adding more tables once I realized that I wasn't importing any hands. The Zoom HUD isn't working properly and I'm lazy to fix that so I stopped playing after a while.



1) I believe that NL50 regs aren't capable of value jamming AX here (if he somehow had nut flush draw). Draws are busted and I also expect him to reship Turn some of the time with the nuts for protection so I decided to bluff catch.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $50.75
SB: $53.84
Hero (BB): $50.29
UTG: $37.96
CO: $53.67

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BB with J K
2 folds, BTN raises to $1.10, 1 fold, Hero calls $0.60

Flop: ($2.45) 5 T 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $1.50, Hero raises to $4.75, BTN calls $3.25

Turn: ($11.95) A (2 players)
Hero bets $11.00, BTN calls $11

River: ($33.95) J (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $33.90, Hero calls $33.44 all in



2) This was kind of a guessing dangerous play. I felt that the other guy was kind of weak and also that he would 3barrel most AX for value against my JX hand. I think many players tend to bet bigger on all streets as well with stronger hands. I was contemplating between a raise or a call on the Turn with my combodraw but decided that
a) stacks were a little deep
b) I have a gutshot SFD instead of an OESFD
thus I can't really commit my stack

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $51.75
BB: $60.66
UTG: $50.50
MP: $50.84
CO: $50.75
Hero (BTN): $69.45

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with K Q
1 fold, MP raises to $1.50, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.50, 2 folds

Flop: ($3.75) J 9 3 (2 players)
MP bets $2.50, Hero calls $2.50

Turn: ($8.75) A (2 players)
MP bets $5.50, Hero calls $5.50

River: ($19.75) 6 (2 players)
MP bets $12.00, Hero raises to $59.95, MP folds



That's all for today.

I played about 50 hands of NL/PLO mixed at 50c/1$. Some reg was sitting at a 6max table so I just started a game with him for fun. Lost around $40. I lost in 2 small pots making smallish mistakes, won an allin for a PLO hand and lost an allin for a NL hand.

1) Start of match. By right HU regs know how to c/r Flop for thin value right away (but 6max/9max regs rarely do that). Maybe I should not call twice? But I wanted to get a read.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players - View hand 1831078
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN/SB): $100.00
BB: $102.73

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BTN/SB with 5 K
Hero raises to $2, BB calls $1

Flop: ($4.00) 9 5 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $2, BB raises to $8, Hero calls $6

Turn: ($20.00) 8 (2 players)
BB bets $15, Hero calls $15

River: ($50.00) 4 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Final Pot: $50.00
Hero mucks 5 K
BB shows Q 9 (a pair of Nines)
BB wins $49.50
(Rake: $0.50)

2) At this point in time we played about 6 hands of NL and 6 hands of PLO. I opened every single BU in both games and I think he was 3betting a bit. Purposely snap 4bet, trying to induce some sort of bull**** 5bet raise. I suppose as played it's pretty standard.

Poker Stars $100.00 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players - View hand 1831072
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN/SB): $100.00
BB: $128.23

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BTN/SB with T T
Hero raises to $2, BB raises to $7, Hero raises to $14, BB calls $7

Flop: ($28.00) A 2 T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $10.00, BB raises to $45, Hero raises to $86, BB calls $41

Turn: ($200.00) J (2 players)

River: ($200.00) 4 (2 players)

Final Pot: $200.00
Hero mucks T T
BB shows 9 K
BB wins $199.50
(Rake: $0.50)

3) Initially I thought he misplayed his hand. I dont have Omaha manager on my netbook. After using pro poker tools and realising that he had double flush draws and 3 pairs, it turned out that he was a 55% favourite. Funny how the nuts isn't the nuts on the Turn which is almost impossible even in Omaha.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 2 players - View hand 1831073
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $101.50
BTN/SB: $226.23

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with J 9 J 6
BTN/SB raises to $3, Hero calls $2

Flop: ($6.00) 8 5 T (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets $5, Hero calls $5

Turn: ($16.00) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $14.50, BTN/SB raises to $59, Hero raises to $93.50 all in, BTN/SB calls $34.50

River: ($203.00) A (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $203.00
Hero shows J 9 J 6 (a straight, Eight to Queen)
BTN/SB mucks T 2 Q 8
Hero wins $202.50
(Rake: $0.50)

4) I'm not all that familiar with PLO though I have certainly played a decent amt of HU and 6max and watched many videos. Anyway I decided to donk Turn to rep the flush

Poker Stars $0.50/$1 Pot Limit Omaha Hi - 2 players - View hand 1831077
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $223.87
BTN/SB: $102.05

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with 9 A 7 J
BTN/SB raises to $3, Hero calls $2

Flop: ($6.00) T 4 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN/SB bets $4, Hero calls $4

Turn: ($14.00) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $11.50, BTN/SB folds

Final Pot: $14.00
Hero mucks 9 A 7 J
Hero wins $13.50
(Rake: $0.50)

He left after around 45 hands when he realized he didnt have an edge. I thought that both of us weren't too strong in PLO. I was minraising in NL and he was minraising in PLO. Not sure whose play was better??? 3X for him might have been good cos I wasn't 3betting him at all. But I just didn't pick up any suited junk to 3bet with. Also didn't pick up 3 broadway type of hands or run downs so I was mostly flatting his minraises with a fairly wide range OOP.

Short Post about Macau Day 5

http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/macau-day-5/

Going to HK today. Feeling quite excited since my official vacation is finally starting. Macau is kind of boring after a while...

Maybe I'll be back after I graduate from school next year? If I do come back, I'm going to be grinding my way up from the bottom and stay for extended periods of time.

Profit: +$70
Limit: NL50 Regular (6max)
No of Tables: 8-15

I must say that I'm starting to like regular/deep tables a lot more especially at lower limits. Those guys are just terrible.

1) Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1831376
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $69.12
Hero (UTG): $339.37
MP: $23.52
CO: $161.86
BTN: $138.40
SB: $147.07

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with K A
Hero raises to $2, MP calls $2, 1 fold, BTN calls $2, 1 fold, BB raises to $9, Hero calls $7, 1 fold, BTN calls $7

Flop: ($29.25) 3 4 5 (3 players)
BB bets $21.00, Hero raises to $330.27, BTN calls $129.40 all in, BB calls $39.12 all in

Turn: ($348.17) A (3 players - 2 are all in)

River: ($348.17) Q (3 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $348.17
BB shows Q Q
Hero shows K A
BTN shows 3 3
BB wins $207.41
(Rake: $2.10)

I think I did not play it optimally. Should just call and wait to see what happens. But the 3better misplayed his hand so bad. I am on a NFD type of hand very often but when the other guy calls he always has a set.

Turns out the worst player wins

2) This guy is some 60/40/25 fish who was 3betting a ton. Clear 4bet for value with TT even when we are deep. I know he's spewy enough to bluff his stack off so I just opted for c/c c/c regardless of turn cards.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1831377
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $134.83
Hero (SB): $98.66
BB: $72.38
UTG: $123.75
MP: $131.65
CO: $154.91

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with T T
4 folds, Hero raises to $1.50, BB raises to $6, Hero raises to $14, BB calls $8

Flop: ($28.00) 3 7 K (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $22.00, Hero calls $22

Turn: ($72.00) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BB bets $36.28, Hero calls $36.28

River: ($144.56) Q (2 players)

Final Pot: $144.56
Hero shows T T
BB shows 4 Q
BB wins $142.66
(Rake: $1.90)

3) Don't think I like villain's play. Maybe he might want to squeeze the off-suit variants but I was running at 30/25/12 at this table and 4betting 3 out of the 5 past times so unless he was very sure he could just ship ATs and expect me to fold a ton, he should not be squeezing.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1831378
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $83.41
SB: $81.25
BB: $50.00
Hero (UTG): $61.19
CO: $74.65

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with Q Q
Hero raises to $1.50, CO calls $1.50, BTN calls $1.50, SB raises to $7.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $13.50, 2 folds, SB raises to $81.25, Hero calls $47.69 all in

Flop: ($125.88) J A 7 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($125.88) 9 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($125.88) 6 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $125.88
SB shows A T
Hero shows Q Q
SB wins $103.32
(Rake: $2.50)

Now for some winning hands... I felt that I crushed the opposition pretty hard this session.

4) Funny to see the way these guys overplay their hands

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1831378
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $83.41
SB: $81.25
BB: $50.00
Hero (UTG): $61.19
CO: $74.65

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with Q Q
Hero raises to $1.50, CO calls $1.50, BTN calls $1.50, SB raises to $7.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $13.50, 2 folds, SB raises to $81.25, Hero calls $47.69 all in

Flop: ($125.88) J A 7 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Turn: ($125.88) 9 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($125.88) 6 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $125.88
SB shows A T
Hero shows Q Q
SB wins $103.32
(Rake: $2.50)

5) Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1831379
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $160.03
BB: $126.47
UTG: $125.80
Hero (CO): $105.60
BTN: $209.11

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with 6 7
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.50, BTN raises to $5, 2 folds, Hero raises to $15, BTN calls $10

Flop: ($30.75) A 9 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $21.50, BTN calls $21.50

Turn: ($73.75) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $69.00, BTN calls $69

River: ($211.75) 6 (2 players)

Final Pot: $211.75
Hero shows 6 7
BTN shows A 7
Hero wins $209.75
(Rake: $2.00)

6) Against the same spazzy fish from the earlier hand when I had TT vs Q4.

Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1831380
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP: $131.15
Hero (CO): $253.82
BTN: $137.02
SB: $148.35
BB: $125.00
UTG: $125.98

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with A T
1 fold, MP raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $5.25, BTN calls $5.25, 2 folds, MP calls $3.75

Flop: ($16.50) 8 3 T (3 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $11.00, BTN calls $11, MP folds

Turn: ($38.50) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $20.00, Hero calls $20

River: ($78.50) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $50.00, Hero calls $50

Final Pot: $178.50
Hero shows A T
BTN shows 6 9
Hero wins $176.60
(Rake: $1.90)

7) Poker Stars $50.00 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players - View hand 1831381
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BTN): $128.10
SB: $50.00
BB: $89.19
UTG: $51.61
MP: $74.91
CO: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with 8 J
3 folds, Hero raises to $1, 1 fold, BB calls $0.50

Flop: ($2.25) 3 8 J (2 players)
BB bets $1.00, Hero raises to $2, BB raises to $7, Hero raises to $14.25, BB raises to $52.50, Hero raises to $127.10, BB calls $35.69 all in

Turn: ($178.63) 2 (2 players - 1 is all in)

River: ($178.63) 6 (2 players - 1 is all in)

Final Pot: $178.63
Hero shows 8 J
BB shows K J
Hero wins $176.13
(Rake: $2.50)

8) Against the guy in hand 6

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em $0.10 Ante - 6 players - View hand 1831382
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $158.68
BB: $129.59
UTG: $123.84
Hero (MP): $208.00
CO: $126.35
BTN: $72.97

Pre Flop: ($1.35) Hero is MP with J J
1 fold, Hero raises to $1.75, CO raises to $6.10, 3 folds, Hero raises to $16, CO calls $9.90

Flop: ($33.35) 5 K 5 (2 players)
Hero bets $15.92, CO calls $15.92

Turn: ($65.19) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $31.34, Hero calls $31.34

River: ($127.87) T (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Final Pot: $127.87
Hero shows J J (two pair, Jacks and Fives)
CO mucks A J
Hero wins $125.37
(Rake: $2.50)

Everyone loves graphs so here's one

http://beeejoe.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/21jul.jpg

that's all for today I guess. Going to have lunch soon and then head to the Ferry Terminal

Liked the hands and great results even though karma wasn't on your side
Subscribed

So we have an annoying level 10 Typhoon in Hong Kong at the moment. My friends went over to Macau and I think they are trapped there since the Typhoon intensified over the day. It has not stopped raining for the past 15 hours and I am trapped indoors.

Thus, I had no choice but to grind I actually posted a lot more hands but I don't know what converters are compatible with wordpress (HTML from handconverter.com doesn't work and weaktight/flopturnriver sucks)

http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07...poker-session/

I think I need about 25-30 hours more of gameplay, then I should be able to hit 3k and move up to NL100.

My friends came back pretty late so I spent the whole day in the apartment and grinded quite a bit. Went out to eat some delicious food in the evening. Some pics in my blog

http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/hong-kong-day-4

Ran bad again. Currently I'm up 100 on my netbook over 15 hours of play, EV profit is 700+. Played 3h of NL50 and 2h of NL100.



1) I don't think I should bluff the River given that all draws missed and esp when the board paired. I should pot flush rivers. May be okay for creating dynamic but I seriously doubt I will remember this villain.

Poker Stars $100.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (BB): $122.05
UTG: $82.76
CO: $63.41
BTN: $40.00
SB: $217.79

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with A T
3 folds, SB raises to $2.60, Hero calls $1.60

Flop: ($5.20) 8 9 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $2.98, SB calls $2.98

Turn: ($11.16) K (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $14.00, SB calls $14

River: ($39.16) 7 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $44.00, SB calls $44

Final Pot: $127.16
Hero shows A T
SB shows 5 K
SB wins $125.01
(Rake: $2.15)

2) I like my play a lot. Plan is to bet/call river cos I think I'm ahead 80-90% of the time vs this super aggro guy and I can still go for super thin value. I doubt he ever plays JJ+ this way so I might occasionally valuecut myself against AT and KT but I'm probably good here most of the time.

His play may be ok vs a fish cos a fish may bluff some % of the time and he can bluff catch profitably. however against me I'm never bluffing ever with this sizing.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em $0.20 Ante - 2 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BB: $261.42
Hero (BTN/SB): $147.89

Pre Flop: ($1.90) Hero is BTN/SB with J T
Hero raises to $2.50, BB raises to $8, Hero calls $5.50

Flop: ($16.40) 2 2 T (2 players)
BB bets $5, Hero calls $5

Turn: ($26.40) 3 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $12.95, BB raises to $35, Hero calls $22.05

River: ($96.40) 7 (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $15, BB calls $15

Final Pot: $126.40
BB mucks A 3
Hero shows J T (two pair, Tens and Deuces)
Hero wins $125.90
(Rake: $0.50)

3) Villain is 55/45 and folds 17% to 3bets. He opens very wide from all positions and gives up quite a lot on flops. I was abusing him a lot by 3betting 20%+ from most positions and cbetting a ton. Flop is quite bad and I would give up quite often but I had a crappy gutshot so I decided to cbet and hope for the best (he does not only have pairs and coordinating cards since his range is so wide).

On the river I decided that a Jack does not necessarily bet with such a huge sizing since I have QQ/KK some of the time + millions of draws missed. I'm getting sufficient odds to call so I did.

Poker Stars $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em $0.20 Ante - 5 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $379.95
BB: $100.00
UTG: $287.43
CO: $306.10
Hero (BTN): $155.74

Pre Flop: ($2.50) Hero is BTN with 9 8
UTG raises to $2, 1 fold, Hero raises to $8, 2 folds, UTG calls $6

Flop: ($18.50) 7 J A (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $10, UTG calls $10

Turn: ($38.50) A (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero checks

River: ($38.50) 8 (2 players)
UTG bets $21, Hero calls $21

Final Pot: $80.50
UTG shows 3 K (a pair of Aces)
Hero shows 9 8 (two pair, Aces and Eights)
Hero wins $77.70
(Rake: $2.80)

4) Villain's bet sizings felt really polarized and he was loose. The 9 completes a straight but I still think enough flush draws and the lower straight draw missed so I opted for another c/c

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

SB: $50.81
BB: $121.59
UTG: $52.61
MP: $100.00
Hero (CO): $50.00
BTN: $57.21

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with 8 7
UTG calls $0.50, 1 fold, Hero raises to $2.25, BTN calls $2.25, 3 folds

Flop: ($5.75) 4 8 J (2 players)
Hero bets $3.29, BTN calls $3.29

Turn: ($12.33) 2 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $11, Hero calls $11

River: ($34.33) 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $26, Hero calls $26

Final Pot: $86.33
Hero shows 8 7 (a pair of Eights)
BTN shows A 7 (high card Ace)
Hero wins $83.83
(Rake: $2.50)

A bunch of really frustrating hands. Lost multiple buy-ins because of them

5) Badly misplayed by villain. I'm never betting the Turn light so his check/raise all-in is pretty terrible.

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

CO: $62.65
Hero (BTN): $50.00
SB: $58.85
BB: $20.00
UTG: $48.38

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is BTN with 7 A
1 fold, CO raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $3.75, 2 folds, CO calls $2.25

Flop: ($8.25) 9 6 8 (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $4, CO calls $4

Turn: ($16.25) T (2 players)
CO checks, Hero bets $10, CO raises to $54.90 all in, Hero calls $32.25 all in

River: ($100.75) 6 (2 players - 2 are all in)

Final Pot: $100.75
CO shows T T (a full house, Tens full of Sixes)
Hero shows 7 A (a straight, Six to Ten)
CO wins $98.25
(Rake: $2.50)

6) Opted for a pot control and bluff induce line.

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

CO: $101.07
BTN: $71.36
Hero (SB): $65.90
BB: $69.37
UTG: $50.00

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with J J
2 folds, BTN raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $5, 1 fold, BTN calls $3.50

Flop: ($10.50) T 8 9 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $5.75, Hero calls $5.75

Turn: ($22.00) 7 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $11, Hero calls $11

River: ($44.00) Q (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $49.61 all in, Hero calls $44.15 all in

Final Pot: $132.30
BTN shows J A (a flush, Ace high)
Hero shows J J (a straight, Eight to Queen)
BTN wins $129.80
(Rake: $2.50)

7) Seeing TT really pissed me off. Don't think I can fold given that the FDs missed and I'm getting 25% pot odds.

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 4 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

CO: $20.00
BTN: $59.20
Hero (SB): $88.87
BB: $42.06

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is SB with 7 7
1 fold, BTN raises to $1.50, Hero calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($3.50) 7 9 J (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $3, Hero raises to $11, BTN calls $8

Turn: ($25.50) K (2 players)
Hero bets $17, BTN calls $17

River: ($59.50) 8 (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $29.70 all in, Hero calls $29.70

Final Pot: $118.90
BTN shows T T (a straight, Seven to Jack)
Hero shows 7 7 (three of a kind, Sevens)
BTN wins $117.40
(Rake: $1.50)

8)

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

MP: $33.75
CO: $50.00
BTN: $113.02
SB: $73.08
BB: $116.06
Hero (UTG): $51.61

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is UTG with T Q
Hero raises to $1.50, 2 folds, BTN raises to $4, 2 folds, Hero calls $2.50

Flop: ($8.75) 8 2 J (2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $4.50, Hero raises to $11, BTN calls $6.50

Turn: ($30.75) 9 (2 players)
Hero bets $14.68, BTN calls $14.68

River: ($60.11) 3 (2 players)
Hero bets $21.93 all in, BTN calls $21.93

Final Pot: $103.97
BTN shows 4 J (a flush, Jack high)
Hero shows T Q (a straight, Eight to Queen)
BTN wins $101.47
(Rake: $2.50)

9) I think I should be folding at some point. My 7X loses to all other 7X hands and T9 got there as well. This guy is kind of passive so...

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em - 6 players
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

Hero (CO): $70.00
BTN: $86.83
SB: $51.37
BB: $60.55
UTG: $50.00
MP: $46.95

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with 6 7
1 fold, MP calls $0.50, Hero raises to $2.25, 3 folds, MP calls $1.75

Flop: ($5.25) 7 7 8 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $3.75, MP calls $3.75

Turn: ($12.75) J (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $9.50, MP raises to $19, Hero calls $9.50

River: ($50.75) 2 (2 players)
MP bets $21.95 all in, Hero calls $21.95

Final Pot: $94.65
Hero shows 6 7 (three of a kind, Sevens)
MP shows J J (a full house, Jacks full of Sevens)
MP wins $92.15
(Rake: $2.50)

I just returned to Hong Kong from Shen Zhen. I will be flying back to Singapore tomorrow so you can expect more poker updates from me in the coming days when I start playing long sessions.

Travel
http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07...en-zhen-day-1/
http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07...en-zhen-day-2/
http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07...ng-kong-day-5/

Poker
Basically I played multiple headsup sessions on my Iphone at NL100 and NL50 in the hotel in ShenZhen. Ended up winning 500-600. I think my edge is significantly larger than the opposition but I'm quite surprised at the number of players who were willing to give me action. In the past I often had to challenge at least 3-4 guys before I could find a non bum-hunting reg who was willing to play.

http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07...-30-july-2012/

Played some today, finally got the hand converter working. Ran kind of bad and still made some money. Will put in more volume tomorrow.

I think I kind of messed up the challenge since I did not put clear goals for myself and try to achieve them. Will think of it when I wake up so that I can start with a clean slate on 1 Aug.

http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/07...-31-july-2012/

games are getting tougher

I feel like restarting the challenge. So far on my database, I have played 80 hours, 82k hands, and made only 711$, EV profit is $1300 and I believe I have ran a lot colder in many cooler spots. Kind of depressing to get such bad results given that I have way more experience than most of my opponents.
I’ll set an official challenge here now. Previously I was very half-hearted about this and did not set a specific goal. Previously I built my bankroll up from $600 to $2000+ including bonuses and also some play on my iphone in the train or at work. Now I’ll assume that I have a $2000 bankroll and I’ll give myself one month (1 Sep 2012) to reach NL200 with a $6000 bankroll. Seems pretty hard if I’m playing NL50 and NL25 so I’ll try my best to move up to NL100 as soon as I have $2500.

Click on the link for today's hands
http://beeejoe.wordpress.com/2012/08...ug-2012-poker/

Feel free to post questions here if you are curious about my thought process in any of the hands