Hi Everyone,

I am a long time lurker but first time poster for PG&C. I am at the point in my poker journey where I have a good opportunity to chase some of my poker dreams.


Goals For This Thread
1. Finding my leaks and fixing them one at a time
2. Challenge myself each time I hit the felt to become a little bit better each time
3. Track my progress as a 1/2 player to playing 2/5, 5/10, etc.
4. Have fun!!

The Plan
Starting bankroll: 5.1K
- I plan to take shots at 2/5, as long as my bankroll is above 4,000
- My buy-in will be 500 for now and I intend to cash out once my stack hits 1,000 (thank you DgiHarris, I think this is a good idea)
-Study more HHs on 2+2 and finish reading Mental Game of Poker

Quick Bio:
I graduated school in the past year and have entered the working world. Have been playing live poker for the past few years but have never played with a goal in mind other than I always wanted to play 2/5 lol.

I am a Rec player because
1. I don't depend on poker as a income
2. I play mainly for the challenge and secondary because I like to win

Honest Reflection of My Poker Game
1. I am a solid winning player at 1/2 (but I would not fit digiharris's definition of CRUSHING)
2. I still have tons of leaks in cash games that I am discovering 1 by 1
3. Playing 2/5 with 5,000 at my current skill level may seem like a bad idea but I can easily reload if I go busto and I do not have a big ego and can just play 1/2 if I need to.

Inspirations
Dgiharris (obv lol), RobFarha (CT represent!), LotGrinder (Entertaining and surprising good had histories)

Thanks for Reading
-BenzY

The Calm before the Storm

First session: I decided to play a few hours at 1/2 today before taking a shot at 2/5 tomorrow. It is about 8:00 pm and I sit down with 300. The first table was pretty bad, a couple big stacks with a bunch of short stacks. I decide to table change after 10 minutes.

Second table is not much better filled with ABC/nits and one LAG to my direct left. I am not feeling that great today and my game was between B/C. I was committed to sticking it out for at least a few hours when this hand happens.

Hero SB (243) with A8o, have not really played many hands and my image is probably a nit but I don't think anyone is really paying attention.

Villain BB (covers): LAG, no real reads but from what I can tell is a pretty solid player

Preflop: two limps to hero, raises to 13, Villain calls, limpers fold

Flop (30): 887
I lead for 20 because I think I will be called by a wide range of hands

Turn (70): 4
I check to Villain because I think he would bet real hands for protection or try to take it away with air because it was checked to him. Villain bets 30, I raise small to 70, Villain calls

River (210) 10:
I tank for maybe 20-30 seconds and shove for 140






I muck without showing, say nice hand and tap the table. I call it for the day at -300 since the table was pretty bad and I didn't feel like playing anymore.

O well, I hope things go a little better tomorrow

I hate the turn checkraise.. it just screams strength. I would snap fold everything there except for trips/boat or a straight vs an unknown live player. Obv this guy got lucky but I think its better if you just bet 70 on the turn instead of checkraising to 70. It keeps your range wider and doesn't turn your hand face up.

Yea I'm starting to think this is the more +EV play against the majority of players.

Welcome to the Show

I prepare for a 12 hour session by working out for 30 minutes. I get a table at 1/2 with 300. One interesting hand that came up was against this rec-fish that recently lost a 600+ pot when he called big flop and turn bets with a gut-shot straight draw and jammed river for 170+ after hitting on the river when the board paired on the turn. This was about a couple hands after that when V reloaded for another 300

Hero (350) gets dealt KQ

Preflop: V (300) limps in EP, folds to hero, hero raises 10, V calls

Flop (20): Q85
Hero leads 20, V instantly min-raises to 40, hero tank calls
In my mind V could easily be doing this with Qx and this is a raise for info

Turn (100) J
V snap bets 65, hero tank calls again

River (230) K
V shoves, Hero calls, V shows Q3
In my mind the most likely value shove hand would've been Qx w/ two clubs. I also know V just lost a big pot in which he over valued a gut-shot straight draw. This this made it more of a call, but I don't know if I am ever good enough to give V credit for a back-door flush.

Gross, this is the second time I've been river'd for a 500+ pot in two days.

A 2/5 must move game soon opens up and I buy in for 500. One thing I noticed was how nervous I was, I hope nobody picked up on this but basically I felt as excited/nervous as my first live 1/2 game. The game is 6 handed and everyone is playing a combination of TAG and Weak tight with the exception of one Super Aggro Whale. I basically play weak-tight because I didn't feel very comfortable, this being my first time. Soon me and Super Aggro Whale get in to a big pot. He just lost a big put in which he 3-bet 100 pre-flop and got $1000 in the pot on a KJx board and lost to QQ

V1 CO (490): Super Aggro Whale
V2 BB (covers) : TAG
Hero BTN (502): Has 77

Preflop: V1 raises 15, hero calls, V2 calls
Flop(45): 743 rainbow
V2 bets 35, V1 calls, hero calls.
Turn (150): J
V2 bets 85, V1 jams, hero calls
River (1115) 2
MHIG, wow not a bad first time for my first 2/5 session, I rack up +539 a few minutes, sticking to my original plan, I play for 2 more hours later and lost about $10

This was obviously a good result for today. My most obvious leak/weakness is I am playing nervous and it is def making me a weak-tight player. I need to need to get keep my brain thinking in big pots in order to maximize the situations. This was the first 1K+ i've ever played. Another observation is the bet sizing is more normal like 2/3 to 3/4 pot most of the time and that more players are TAG with less limping going on.

My goal is for the next session is to not play so nervous and to keep making the most +EV more no matter how big the pot is. Basically I need to tell myself to get more comfortable. I will also try to get more dialed in with the table dynamics of this level.

Good luck with your goals man. I am in the same situation as you, as far as br is concerned. Those three are my top inspirations as well!

Gl

Thank you Won'tAskWhatIf! Good luck with your goals too! looks like we both have pretty good mind sets lol

None of That Weak-Tight Stuff

2/5 +544 5 hours
1/2 +205 6 hours

As I was to driving to the casino today, I kept telling myself to be more comfortable and relaxed. My goal was to be more TAG this session than last session. I was happy with my overall play in my second session, although it was not perfect of course. First hand I play I get A9o on the button w/ two limpers, I raise to 25, one short-stack (~150) calls. He is one of those LAG Reg-wannabe pro types that likes to talk strategy at the table

Flop (62) K42
I bet 35, short-stack snap jams, I fold and he shows 63 lol owned. Then he proceeds to talk about how much he owned me and how he knew I would fold.

I chip up to around 750 when I made my biggest misstep of the day. I had 97o on the button

Preflop : V ~435(ABC-Tight) raises to 20 in EP, one call in MP, I call, BB calls

Flop (80): 977
V bets 40, MP folds, I call, BB folds

Turn (160): 3
V bets 75, I tank call

River (310): J
checks down V has QQ

Thoughts: yea, I played this hand pretty bad , I thought about raising on both the flop and turn as a bluff but I changed my mind both times b/c of this stack sizes. Also the board was not nearly scary enough to execute this bluff and I actually did put V on an overpair because I never see him c-betting into 3 people w/o a real hand

I lose a few more pots calling raises or taking stabs on flops and I am down to 500 when I pick up KK UTG

V is a rec fish that just sat down, he covers

Preflop: I raise to 20, V snap 3-bets to 55, folds around to me I tank 4-bet to 110, V insta calls

Flop (220): A22 rainbow
I check, V bets 100, I fold, He later tells me he had AK suited

Soon I am down to ~320-330, and I debate adding on, leaving, or staying. I settle on staying although I didn't like any of my options

A few hands later I get 99 on the BB

Preflop: there is a straddle this hand, 4 calls to hero, I raise to 65, straddler folds, 3 people call including the LAG "Pro" from the first hand.

Flop: Q83 w/ two clubs
I bet 130, LAG tank-shoves all in for (500+), everyone else folds, I call

Turn: K

River: 4

LAG mucks, and MHIG

I chip up to 1,000+ in a head in which I am happy my brain did not shut down in a big pot. I am in the CO w/ QJ

V1 BTN: older rec-player that is ABC w/ 600+
V2 MP: LAG ~400

Preflop: raise 20 from EP from an ABC player, V2 calls, another call, I call, V1 calls

Flop (100): checks to hero who bets 80, V1 calls, V2 calls

Turn (340): V2 checks, hero bets 220, V1 folds, V2 folds

I my mind I am likely to be up against a flush/straight draw and Qx possible KQ. I thought the best play was to bet to get Qx to fold and also set a bad price for draws to call. I could have check turn (which was what the weak-tight play would've been, but felt that betting was more +EV


Overall I felt more comfortable at the table even though I still made some weak-tight plays such as folding AJ from a $30 EP raise from a tight player because I didn't want to be hands up. Next session I am thinking about buying in for $600 at an 800 max game because I like playing deep.

Opps, I really had 109o , 97 would've been the nuts obv haha

lol oh good, i was puzzled by this haha

Subbed. May the rungoods be with you. Looking forward to hearing how it goes...

When ABC tight player raises to $20 from EP (in 2/5, I assume) with only a $435 stack, your T9o on the button should instantly be in the muck. Don't have stack depth to make hand worth it if you do bink (which is quite unlikely), nor do you have stack depth to put pressure on to semi-bluff/steal against most ABC tight players at 2/5.

Thanks rufus!

Valid point, the problem is that wasn't running through my head at the time but I do think it's an adjustment I can easily make in the future

Scared Money Don't Make Money

1/2 -244 2 hours
2/5 +406 4 hours

I got a comped room for today which was pretty sweet , always makes me feel like a high roller. I decide play 1/2 for a couple of hours before moving on to 2/5. I would rate my session at 1/2 as a C- today. The good news is I know what my trigger was and I think I could better deal with it in the future. The source of my bad play was due to a super Laggy trash-talking rec player that beat me out of two sizable pots. The worst part was they were due to me making ego plays in situations where the best play would've been to just give up. I took a walk to reset before my 2/5 session.

I buy in for 600 this time (800 max), and start at a must move table. My goal today was to work on finding good spots to put the chips in. The problem was there weren't too many good spots because my tables always had 4+ solid regs (I think all of them were good and probably more skilled than me, for now ). I played like scared money for the first two hours due to not getting hands in good spots. But my patience was rewarded as I eventually chipped up slowly. I was open raising any pair from any position, and J10+ from HJ or button and C-betting all dry flops. Not many notable hands today other than I folded to a 3-bet to 160 after raising to 30 when I had AK to one of those regs I was talking about and was shown QQ

I'm planning on playing a little more 1/2 tomorrow

1/2 -301 5 hours

I think I definitely played better today than yesterday. I was making a lot of correct reads on my opponent's hands and picking good spots to bluff/value bet. Unfortunately I was losing a lot of pots in pretty standard situations. The table was pretty straightforward and full of ABC-Rec players. I was calling with SCs and PPs and bricking every flop. I would raise with hands like Q10s or K10s, brick flop and get called if i C-bet, etc.

I played one interesting hand where I may or may not have lost value against my opponents range I had J10o in either the HJ or BTN

effective stacks ~250

Preflop: limped 5 ways

Flop (10): 1085
ABC asian player EP bets 6, I raise to 21, get called by BB, asian player calls

Turn (73) J
asian player checks, I bet 65, BB folds, asian player calls

River (203) K
checks to me and I check, asian player shows 108o

Thoughts
I interpreted the bet on the flop as either weakness or a drawing hand. The turn check/call also made me think they the asian player was likely to be on a draw. My plan was to jam any card that didn't complete a straight or flush on the river. I my mind, my opponent's range was missed draws, small flush (too afraid to bet), or just a 10x. Maybe a small bet of 65 would've been called, I would be snap folding if raised of course.


The last hand of the day I lost ~200. The hand was not very interesting, basically I had K10 in HJ and raised to 11 over 1 limp and got 4 callers. Flop was A1010 and I got it in against A10 on the river.

Losing is.....

an option [x]
not an option []

Poker Beginnings:

When I first starting playing poker with friends I was very competitive. I still am very competitive but not to the extent I once was. Whenever we played tournys or cash games for 5 dollars I always had to come out on top. When I first started playing online, I had no idea what I was doing, I ended up depositing 3 times: $50, $20, and $25. Each time I lost a deposit it was super depressing for me. I was in a bad mood for a month after I lost my second deposit (yes it was only $20!). On the 3rd deposit I actually ran it up to 3.5K playing mainly $11 18-man sngs before BF. But it was by no means an easy ride. I hated losing every single buy in not matter if it was $2.20 or $22 (the highest I ever played lol). I would dwell on my mistakes no matter how minor and would always think of what-ifs.

When I first started playing live; I was a break-even player. The main reason being I would have major leaks when it came to chasing losses. I would stay at the casino for as long as I was able to keep playing to get even. Every time I went to the ATM I felt desperate to get my money back. Fortunately my biggest lost in one day was only at $1,100. My need to chase losses was stemmed from being afraid to lose, like it equated to failure. To me, I was a failure every time I lost. There was one point where I was down ~$2,900 over one months time. This was huge money for me at the time (being in college and not having much cash). I felt so bad I seriously considered quitting because it was so painful. This was the only time in my life that I felt like a degenerate.

Fortunately I got better at losing over my short poker career (still sucks of course). My need to be even over one session or chase my losses has almost completely dissipated. I have not felt the need to go to the ATM for a long time. I have a set buy-in of 800 for 1/2, and 500-600 for 2/5 at the moment and I am confident I can adhere to those rules. Over the past 1.5 months I have been crushed for -600 or more three times but I was able to leave my frustrations at the table each time; not carrying them over to the next day or my everyday life. Even when I am only down $10, a the end of the session I can comfortably pick up without any qualms.

I have learned slowly over my time playing that losing is ok . Being able to accept your losses is an important part of poker because it is an unavoidable part of this game. Now I see losing as a test to see how good I really am, if I can still keep playing well despite running like crap. So I guess it's my way of saying your not a failure if you lose!

Winning is good, but losing is also ok

-BenzY

Trial and Error

2/5 +330 7 hours

My plan today was to go out of my comfort zone and play more aggressively in certain situations. I have passed up quite a few +EV situations in my last few sessions because I was afraid to put my money in bad. Overall I was very happy with my play even though I messed up in a few spots.

Hand 1. I have 95 in the BB, loose player with sizing tells raises to 15 in EP, this gets 3 addition callers. I raise to 75 and take down the pot.

Thoughts: I didn't think the loose player was very strong and if he folded I knew everyone else was going to fold.

Hand 2. I have 88 in the C/O, two limps to me, I raise to 25, BB calls, and the two limpers call. Flop: A46, checks to me I bet 65, BB folds, V (ABC-TAG) raises to 200, folds to me and I fold

Thoughts: My plan was to rep a big hand with a c-bet and perhaps bet again on the turn depending on the action. I realized after that it was a bad play because of stack sizes ($550ef). Maybe it would've been better if stacks were deeper and against weak-tight players

Hand 3. I have J10o in MP, ef stacks 500~. We are 6 or 7 handed at this point and I feel like that play has tighten up. I limp, ABC-TAG Player raises to 20, SB and BB call, and I call. Flop J72 rainbow, checks to me, I bet 40, ABC-TAG raises to 120, folds around to me and I re-raise to 290, V folds.

Thoughts: Having played with V for the past 6 hours, I know when he raises it is always A10+ or 99+ (he even limped with AQ once ). When it checks to me I bet 40 hoping to take the pot down, when V raises to 120 I know it is probably (AJ, QQ+, and sometimes AK or AQ). The reason I think V raised was because my bet looks weak. I decide to re-raise because it would look very strong and I know V almost never has a set on this board and he could fold an over-pair or better jack. If I get called I still have some outs.

1/2 nl -68 4 hours

Thought I played pretty well, but got into a few coolers

November totals
1/2 +648 62.5 hours

2/5 +1809 19 hours

Bankroll: 6.2k

Assessment:

I don't plan on playing again until December, so these totals are probably final. I think these are good results for me and I am happy with how I played over the month. I definitely had moments were I was spewing or making ego plays but they were at a lower frequency than in the past. I am still hungry for bigger results and to improve my game so I can hang with the big boys.

My Game is a Work In Progress

I have read about 40% of "The Mental Game of Poker" by Jared Tendler. So far, I would give this book an A+ in terms of the potential to improve my game long term. There are still so many aspects in my mental game I can improve upon and this is the type of book where you have to read more than once to get the full benefit.

I would like to outline the type of leaks I have corrected or improvements I have made in the past 6 months and things I can still work on going forward

Leaks Corrected(Last 6 months)
1. Calling bets on the river in situations where I am 90%+ sure I am beat.
2. Not quitting when I am tired or the table is bad because I was planning on playing at least an x number of hours
3. Calling raises OOP against good players with marginal hands because I "had the odds"
4. Not folding decent holdings such as AK to small preflop 3-bets in situations where I am likely dominated. (I would always call a small preflop 3-bet because it was AK lol)

Improvements (Last 6 months)
1. Raising good hands such as J10+ or 88+ in position (BTN, HJ, C/O)
2. Value betting more thinly in situations where I am only good >60% of the time
4. Being able to profile players more quickly and making decisions more specific to the type of villain (in addition, I table change quite frequently if I am at a bad table)

Things I Would Like to Work on (Not all inclusive but it's a start lol)
1. Playing Longer While Running Bad (my standard response is to just quit, but after reading this book I realize it's because I have a tilt problem. If my A and B game are +ev and my C game is -ev I need to learn how keep playing at least my B game longer)

2. Work on my "Tilt" issues: wow this book has made me realize I am actually tilting without realizing it. I want to be able to recognize my tilt issues more quickly and control them before I lose too much money. My main tilt issues are injustice, entitlement, and revenge tilt. The results from these are that I play way too loose, make big plays without even thinking, call in situations without thinking of the long term EV.

3. Getting over my fear of playing bigger stakes: this probably comes with my experience but I realize now it is actually also a mental game issue

My biggest strength in poker is my self-assessment abilities. I am not afraid to assess my game honestly and accurately and to say when I actually played stupid or horrendously.

I hope I can take my game and bankroll to the next level.

-BenzY

The A8o hand is not a raise in the SB.

I wouldn't have raised the 99 hand either.

Fold the T9 on the btn....From now on a ten is T not 10 when doing hand histories.

The 95dd raise hand is lighting money on fire even though it worked that time.

The TJ hand is a b/f on the river against the asian player

Not sure I like the l/c with TJo and not sure about the raise either but it worked for you.

If you feel yourself going on tilt get up and take a walk, go get some food, or just rack up for the day. No need to chase money because it will always be there. You def are spot on when you should quit even if you haven't reached X amount of hours set for the day. Sometimes I'm in and out in 30 mins or sometimes I just don't even go if I'm not feeling it.

Def start posting and reading in the LLSNL forum. Books are also a good way to learn. There are some really good books out there dealing with LLSNL.

Best of luck and don't give up.

2/5 -25 4.5 hours

Made quite a few mistakes today and I honesty feel lucky I was only down 25 and not my whole 600 buy in. Was my first losing session at 2/5 and also the first time I got AA after 19 hours. Here are some key misplayed hands (not all of them unfortunately)

1. I have AK on the BTN, folds around to Lag-Reg who raises 20 in MP, I call and it goes heads up.

Flop: 677 two hearts, checks to me I bet 25, V calls
Turn: Jh, checks around
River: 4, villain bets 55, and hero calls, V has AJ
I don't think V has air very often and there is a very good chance he would check Ace high

2. I have Ad4d on the BTN with $226, straddled pot, Pro-Lag raises to 50 in MP, call 50 from rec player, I jam, Pro-Lag re-raises 600+, rec player folds

Pro-lag has 99 but I get lucky and make trip 4s. I actually thought he raised to 30 instead of 50 and I would've actually folded if I didn't misread the raise size.

3. I have AK in MP with 500, straddled pot, rec player makes it 25 in EP, I raise to 80, rec player calls, heads up.

Flop T76, checks around
Turn T, checks to me, I bet 110, rec player raises to 350, I fold
Not sure I was suppose to bet there, rec-player has been calling 3-bets with a wide range of hands and I am not sure he would fold a pair to a 110 bet

The one silver lining for this session was that I was able to make a disciplined fold in a spot where some people may go broke.

I have JJ (eff stacks 600) in the BB, folds around to HJ who raises to 20, call from BTN, call from SB, I 3-bet to 90, HJ 4-bets to 220, BTN calls, I fold
FYI flop comes T74, turn rag, river rag. HJ had KK and BTN had JJ too

Back to the drawing board

2/5 -1100 4 hours

buy in for 600, lose within 1 hour when my KK runs into AA (aipf). O well, that's variance

buy in for another 500, chip up to 1000+, then proceed to lose it all after making a questionable call on the river against a sticky asian player for 300 and then making two spew plays (spew b/c I acted based on impulse and not actual logic).

No excuses, I played terrible the last two sessions

A little Break From Poker

I haven't really played that much in the last two weeks due to being busy outside of poker (life of a rec player ). When I have played I wasn't able to play that long or focus completely on the game. As a result I was -295 in 3 hours and -307 in 2 hours. I was reflecting on my last session at 2/5 where I recorded my biggest lost to date and I took away a few important lessons. The most vital thing I learned was game selection, the table I played at was without a doubt the toughest one I ever played in. Although I love to play against good players I don't think I was ready skill-wise (but I will be back one day!). I was put in many unfamiliar spots and it resulted in me making big mistakes.

As a rec player I absolutely love the competition that the higher games bring and there is something about playing 2/5 that makes me feel absolutely ALIVE!

I am a definitely a poker fan, even though I feel more like being an observer for the time being. I've been watching poker on youtube the past few days (Monte Carlo High Roller 2013 and Phil Galfond High Stakes Adventure). I am absolutely amazed at some of the plays that were made from some of these players (mainly Nikalas Heinecker folding KK after checking turn and river on an all undercard board).

I've been read some other PG&C threads and I am both inspired by the results of some of my fellow 2+2ers and also amazed at some of HHs posted (taking lines I couldn't possibly make at this current time (someday!)

I'll try to book a few more sessions this month at 1/2 (trying to get back on track).

1/2 +540 2 hours

Most this came from one hand in which I raised to 12 w/ QTo (eff stacks ~350) from MP and got 5 callers. Flop (72) QT6 w/ 2s, chks to me, I C-bet 42 and get 2 callers. Turn (198) 7o, chks to me, I bet 125 and got one caller. River (348) 5o, chks to me I go all in, call, MHIG.

I cut my session short to hang out with friends and because there was one solid
lag-reg who had 700+ to my left. This was a much needed win for me in terms of helping my confidence for the next session.

Live Tells?

I've played two sessions since my last update:

1/2 +52 8 hours
1/2 +476 4 hours

I'm embarrassed to admit that the 8 hour session was the longest one I've played in the entire month of December . It was also the first losing month I've had since I started tracking my results in July, 2013. I've learned quite a lot in my last few sessions in the form of live tells. There is so much information that can be used by simply observing your opponent. Here are two examples,

1. The stare down
Preflop (eff stacks 300): I have AA in the SB, V limps in EP (no reads), call from MP, I raise to 15, folds to V who calls, MP calls

Flop (45): flop QT7 w/ two
I bet 25, V stares at me for a good 30 seconds before calling, MP folds

Turn (95): 5o
I bet 60, V calls again after another lengthy stare. As I was thinking about how much to bet V never took his eyes off me. When players do this I've come to realize that they have either a marginal or weak hand and are either trying to stop you from bluffing or scare you into not betting a hand like Qx

River: 8o
At this point im pretty sure V has something like QJ, KQ, by the way he is looking at me I feel like he really does not want me to bomb the river and wants to see a cheap showdown. I decide to bet 85 because I really wanted a call (V called and MHIG). If you wondering if I would bet if a hit the answer is YES b/c I really did put V on Qx rather than a straight/flush draw.

2. I reserve the right to raise
There is a straddle on this hand and I have A10o on the BTN. V is in the BB he has built up a healthy stack 700+ playing a very loose passive style.

Preflop (eff stracks 450~, V covers)
1 limp in MP to me, I raise to 20, V calls in BB and we are heads up

Flop (48): 953 two
V checks and says " I reserve the right the raise", when he says this it is because he will never raise in this spot and either has nothing or a 1 pair type of hand, I bet 27, he tank calls and looking quite uncomfortable in the process

Turn (102): 4
V checks to me again, I bet 51, V says "I would've called 50", shows a 9 and folds. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if he called b/c I still have a 2, T, or A as an out and I could have used a J, Q, K as a scare card.

I feel comfortable enough to take another shot at 2/5 for my next session. my bankroll is currently at 5.5 K. LETS DO THIS!