hey **** you, man

I just always used to think those guys were gonna make moves on me. Now I realize they just play super ABC.

Shark Mode went pretty well for the first 5.5 hours of my session. I was playing tight, value betting when I got an opportunity, staying focused and tilt-free, and overall playing a solid game.

Then this hand came up:

More Spew

Reads: Villain is in the straddle. $300 effective. He is a spewtard LAG. However, he's got over $2000 in front of him and is getting absolutely smashed with the deck. He's playing somewhat solidly tonight but is known to be a huge spewtard who bluffs a lot and barrels a ton with weak hands.

Preflop: Hero is dealt AK in the SB.

4 limps. Hero raises to $40. Villain calls. Limpers fold.

[b]Flop:[b/] 973 Hero bets $60. Villain raises to $170.

Hero should have folded. But you know what hero did.

I thought he was bluffing. That's all I can say. Obviously, its ******ed for me to do anything other than fold in this spot.

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

Other than that, I played really well. There really weren't any other mistakes that I can see from noting down every hand I VPIP'd. I made sure to stay solid and waited to make big hands to stack the fish. Unfortunately, no hands came. I missed nearly every flop and my opponents seemingly hit every flop when I played a hand with them.

-$505 tonight.

I did something idiotic again today and didn't ask myself, "would an idiot do this?" like I was for most of the night. I'll attribute it to once again refusing to lose and thinking people are bluffing when they clearly have it. The big mistake I made that led to this spew was probably letting myself go so far overdue for a break. I told myself before the session that I'd take a walk every 60-90 minutes. I didn't take my first break until 2 hours in the session but it was very beneficial to me to get my thoughts in order and take a breath. It gave me an opportunity to review my goals for the session, think briefly about my longterm goals, and remind myself what I needed to do in order to win.

Unfortunately, I went like 3 hours without a break and every time I told myself I'd go on one after this orbit, I just paid my big blind. Then as the time wore on, I got really impatient from being card-dead, impatient from not being able to hit any big hands, frustrated that I was missing every flop, and lost control of myself.

I'd like to think that if I had taken a break to cool down, look at the notes I had put into my phone notepad to remind myself what I needed to do to accomplish a good session, I probably would have thought better of shoving the AK. But maybe I would have anyway. Maybe I just really really felt (hoped) he was bluffing.

Regardless, I can't let these mistakes ruin me. I can't let tilt and spew prevent me from unlocking my potential as a poker player. I know how to win and what it takes to win at live poker in terms of game-theory and poker strategy. But the mental game and all the constant losing I've dealt with is ****ing that up.

Tomorrow is a new day. You get a new hand soon after you fold. I will keep myself in Shark Mode for every hand - because I know the moment I get out of it, I'm liable to do something stupid.

Bankroll: $5400

Sick Sick Game

I had the ****tiest week of poker up until two days ago since I started to grind the 1/3 game in November. I was playing badly, running badly, and absolutely BLEEDING money. My stack of $100 bills was thinning, my bankroll had been cut by a third, and my confidence had been severed altogether. I felt like I couldn't make any right plays. Even if I did play well for a while, I ruined the entire night by making one big spewtarded play.

The last two nights I toned down the LAG play, played better, focused more, and ran better. I was stuck $1800 to start the new year but made it all up the last two nights and I'm now back to even. I feel refreshed and relieved. My confidence is back, my mental game has been on point, and I feel like I have grown and learned so much this week from experimenting with the super-LAG style that I implemented.

Its amazing to me how quickly things can change how you can go from being low to high in just a couple of nights. I need to keep working on my mental game so that the swings don't affect me as much. I also need to make sure I'm playing my best at all times. That hasn't been the case this week unfortunately. Too much spew.

I reigned that demon in the last couple of nights, though. I've managed to play a lot more solid and a lot less reckless. I'm using selective aggression now rather than ruthless aggression and its working out much better for me.

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

Now for some hands...

H1: Choking Under Pressure aka the Peyton Manning-style Spaz

Reads: Villain A is a huge fish. He overvalues hands and calls way too often and way too lightly.

Villain B is a solid ABC reg. He doesn't get out of line too often but he is on tilt today. He has made some very light call downs that are uncharacteristic for him. He and I are friendly and generally he stays out of my way. $425-450 effective with both.

Hero is completely unknown to Villain A. Hero is perceived to be a TAG solid grinder to Villain B.

Preflop: Hero is dealt AA UTG +1.

Villain A raises to $16. Hero 3-bets to $55. Villain B 4-bets to $160. Villain A tank-calls. Hero tank-calls.

5-bet jamming pre-flop will turn my hand face up to AA and I am never getting value from a worse hand. Villain B is smart enough to know - if he has KK - I never am doing this with QQ/AK. Villain A, despite being a huge fish, will fold his range of JJ/TT, AK/AQ to a 5-bet jam. Its better to just hope the flop comes low cards and get it in with KK-JJ or whatever. I'm confident Villain A will pay me off lighter than he should post-flop and that Villain B will get it in with me if he has KK.

Flop: ($480) K74 Villain A checks. Hero goes all-in for $270.

LOL. Absolute choke under pressure in a big pot after 5-6 straight losing sessions. This was early in the session and I had a chance to win a big pot that I really really needed. Obvious play is to check. I hated seeing the K and didn't know what the **** to do now. I thought since the K was on the flop, AK was more likely than KK for Villain B. Villain A could have a club draw or AK as well and pay me off. This is stupid because WTF is AK even beating? Better play is to check and let them jam AK or let the turn come out and jam and hope to get called by AK. I don't think I'm ever folding because of the fact that Villain B is on tilt and liable to do something stupid with AK. If he was playing his usual ABC solid game, I could maybe find a fold here since his range is far more weighted towards KK in that circumstance.

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

HAND 2

Reads: Villain is a loose/semi-passive calling station. He is capable of betting out with value hands, though. However, he calls way too lightly. $550 effective.

Preflop: Hero is dealt AQ OTB.

Loose player limps. Villain limps. Young aggressive grinder kid raises to $20. Hero 3-bets to $60. 1 Fold. Villain calls. 1 Fold. Heads up.

Flop: ($140) AQT Villain checks. Hero checks.

I should just value bet here obviously against a calling station. He's probably not folding any ace here. I just thought that I smashed this board and that there aren't a lot of worse hands that can give us action. In reality, that's not true and the turn isn't likely to make things any better in that regard even if it were true.

Turn: ($140) 5 Villain bets $85 leaving $400 behind. Hero goes all-in for $485 total.

I'm not sure if this is correct. My rationale was that this guy was a pretty big calling station who I had seen was not afraid to stack off. He frequently wins and loses stacks without the nuts. I thought he would call with AT, A5, and QT. While KJ, 55, and TT are possible, the fact that the turn brings a flush draw, and opens up pair + flush draw possibilities, I felt my shove was +EV and set me up to get maximum value.

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

H3: Aces? vs. Kings, LOL Live Reads?

Reads: Villain is a young grinder black kid. My buddy said he is a very good, tough player who grinds 2/5 at a nearby casino. He is across the table from me. I am being friendly and making small talk with a good aggressive grinder kid who is directly to my right. I say to the kid on my right, "[Villain] seems like a good player." And he responds, "He's my friend. We usually play at Parx, but we're here to change things up a bit."

He has seen me 3-bet AQo in position and since I am young, he probably sees me as an aggressive player. I am also being very talkative and very annoying today so its possible he could perceive me to be spewy. I have not shut my mouth since I joined the table.

$587 effective.

Preflop: Hero is dealt KK UTG.

Hero raises to $16. Villain 3-bets to $64. Hero 4-bets to $150. Villain 5-bet jams to $587.

He snap-jammed on me which I felt made it less likely he had AA - especially since he was a good, thinking player. He should have at least debated flatting my 4-bet and also probably would have hollywooded a bit if he wanted to jam. I was also complaining about, "Ugh, I ALWAYS get aces vs. kings, this is so sick, etc etc etc" as I was in the tank. While I was talking to him, he was just stone-faced like a statue. Even when I cracked up and laughed, he didn't even crack a grin. I didn't feel like he looked especially relaxed like a lot of people do when they have the nuts - and they ALWAYS have the nuts so I feel like I know how people act by now when they have it.

Finally, I guess he got annoyed or impatient with me trying to talk to him. He had ignored me for a couple of minutes but then said to me, "I have A9o. Kings are good. Call." LOL live reads, but I thought if he had the nuts, he'd never say anything about the strength of his hand.

Putting that together with the fact that he saw me 3-bet AQo before, probably thought of me as aggro/spewy/gambley, and was a good aggressive player himself, I decided to call.

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

H4: Taking Advantage of Noobs and Getting MAX Value

Reads: Villain is a middle-aged woman who has barely a clue how to play. She seems like she just learned the game. She is betting $10 into pots of $100 and doesn't understand live poker structure. She is slowing down the game because she needs everything explained to her. $350 effective.

Preflop: Hero is dealt 88 on the BB.

2 Limps. Villain completes her SB. Hero checks his option.

Flop: ($12) 887 Checks around.

Turn: ($12) 3 Villain leads $10. Hero raises to $25. 2 Folds. Villain calls.

I range her on 99-TT, flush draws, 7x, and 3x. JJ-QQ are even possible here.

River: ($62) A Villain leads $20. Hero jams $300.

Obviously I don't think 99-TT and a naked 7x and 3x are calling this jam. But when the Ace comes out, which also completes the flush, I don't think she bets those hands anyway. (Also, I'm reading absolutely NOTHING into her bet size because she has no idea how to size her bets) Judging by her extreme passivity, I think she leads things like A7, A3, flushes, 77, and 33. She's not getting away from any of that because she doesn't understand hand value, pot odds, or anything about poker.

Sure, sometimes she could have a weak one pair - since she doesn't understand hand value, its possible she'd lead river with those hands - and I'll miss $40 of value by not raising a standard amount. But I think its more than made up for the fact that she will not fold her 2-pair or better even to a huge overbet jam. Thoughts?

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

The last two nights have been a lot of fun for me. Not just because I'm winning but that's a big part of it. I've come to the realization that a lot of times its just better to be at tables against a bunch of ABC loose/passive fish than it is to be at a table of spewy/LAG whales. Against the ABC fish, I'm never going to be in any tough spots. While I won't win racks upon racks in one session like its possible to do against the whales, I'll be able to grind out a very steady, consistent, low-variance profit. After a long losing streak, that was the best thing for me the past two nights. Those are also the most fun games overall because they're very stress free. Absolutely 0 tough decisions the last two nights. If I ****ed a hand up, its because I got in my own way.

I'm taking Sunday off and then I'm going to start a morning/afternoon grind on Monday. The evening 1/3 games have recently filled up with grinders and nitty regs. While there are still tons of fish, you really have to share them. I've heard the morning games are not much different in terms of action, but have less tough players in the line up. So I'll give those a shot to see how it goes.

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

The bankroll is finally healthy again and my stack of $100s is once again nice and thick after winning $1800 the last two nights.

Bankroll: $7000

I'm in a decent range now where I'd feel comfortable taking a $1000 shot at the 2/5 $500 max game at Borgata during the winter tournaments. Hopefully I can add some more to my roll before I take the AC trip on the 24th, though.

Good job OP. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

H1 was played fine preflop. Probably a flop check/call line is best.

H2 was a bad flop check. I would probably c-bet smallish (40-45) because a turn K or J could bring in a 1-liner that would kill your action. Turn shove is fine if Villain thinks that a shove looks bluffy. Otherwise, I would raise to $225 turn to set up river shove for less than 50% pot.

H3 is a very good example of taking a lot of time to make a better decision in a big pot. I really like how you took your time to get the maximum information before deciding what to do.

H4 is a great river overbet shove spot against a clueless fish. Well done on recognizing a spot for getting maximum value.

hand 1:

I wouldn't beat yourself up over this. I like your flat preflop. The main reason I like it is that it probably extracts the most value from Villain A by letting him hit a piece and give us value/spaz post flop. Our EV in calling vs shoving is probably pretty similar vs villain B.

On a tangent, if villain A folds to the 4 bet, I would err on the side of gii pre because I highly doubt villain B is does this light/is EVER folding. I know you mentioned you think your hand is face up as AA, but i'm not giving villain A credit to fold KK, or a hand he thought was good enough to cold 4bet. If we flat we risk the rare possibility of having our action killed due to a scary flop.

As for checking or betting this flop TBH I don't think it makes much of a difference. I don't think AK is ever going to fold. A flush draw is pretty close to getting the right price to calling your shove. The only argument I can see for checking being better is if MAYBE villain B checks something like QQ, allowing villain A to spaz out on the turn. Pretty unlikely though.


Hand 2:

Preflop: good.
Flop check= extremely FPS which I see you have recognized.
Must bet.

Hand 3:

Nice slowroll.

Hand 4:

I would raise bigger OTT. Her range ott, as you recognized otr, is probably pretty inelastic.Whatever she calls 25 with she'll probably call 35-40 or more with.

While I like the idea on the river, I think shoving is overkill. I would just raise really big b/c she may be clueless enough to call with the midpairs in her range you mentioned but will almost always fold these for 300.

I agree with that. I just didn't expect her to lead out with midpairs so I discounted that from her range. She had been quite passive up to this point.

She actually ended up snap-calling me with TT lol.

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

I played a pretty good session this afternoon after taking last night off. I felt it was pretty mistake-free and FPS-free. It was also my first "set-less" session in forever.

I decided I was going to play from 10 AM - 7 PM but I didn't wake up until 11:30. But I'll get that right tomorrow since I expect I'll be able to get to bed early. I'm playing the morning/afternoon sessions now because the night games have not been as great as they were when I first started playing. While the day games will never have the big whales the night games do, they also will never have the amount of solid grinders that the night games do. I really only play against a bunch of bad regulars and average grinders. The average grinders are extremely easy to play against and exploit.

Today was a prime example of why I love the afternoon games, actually. I played for 5-6 hours and was not in any tough spots. All I had to do was value bet when I made hands and fold when I faced aggression. Everyone plays their cards super face up and ABC. This leads to low-variance, steady games. The night games generally have multiple people who are either unpredictable because they're whales or because they're good aggressive grinders. This, on the other hand, leads to more variance. While I still plan on playing Friday/Saturday nights, I like my Monday-Thursday morning schedule.

I ended up finishing +$820 today mostly thanks to this hand:

HAND 1

Reads: $625 effective. Villain is a young Asian. He is a huge calling station. He plays almost any two cards preflop and has a very wide continuing range postflop. He had stack close to $2000 in front of him but has donked off almost half of that and is noticeably upset/tilted about it. He is calling down even lighter than he was when I first sat down.

Preflop: Hero is dealt AK in the SB. Straddled pot.

3 limpers. Hero raises to $40. Villain in the BB calls. All others fold.

Flop: ($100) K86 Hero bets $80. Villain calls.

His range should be one pair and draws. He would probably raise two pair and sets. I've seen him twice now play the flop very aggressively with big hands. He is probably looking to get his big stack back also so I don't think he'd be waiting to get the money in.

Turn: ($260) J Hero checks. Villain checks.

I expect him to bet all of his good draws here. I've seen him play his draws aggressively before when it was checked to him. I was planning on jamming over his bet and expecting him to call with a lot of worse hands. I did not expect to get value from something like 8x with a big bet. He has folded to my big turn bet before on a pairing turn card. I felt the best options were bet small/call and check/shove. When he checks back, I think a lot his range will be weak one pair hands with some draws that he decided to check behind with.

River: ($260) A Hero checks. Villain bets $300. Hero calls.

This is obviously a huge bet and I felt if he had the flush, he wouldn't make it this big. That was my first thought but that soon passed and I discounted it because he was on tilt and might make this bet in an attempt to get even. However, it was unlikely because I had checked two streets in a row. I also thought he could have a hand like A6 or A8 and bet so big for value because I checked the river and he was convinced I didn't have the flush. But again, I had checked two streets in a row presumably giving up, why would he make it so big?

Finally, I asked him, "If I fold, will you show?" He says nothing and doesn't look at me. I think for a bit longer and ask him louder, "You'll show me if I fold??" He doesn't flinch.

In my experience, people are much more willing to say something if they have something. That combined with the fact that his bet sizing made no sense and his line for having a flush/set made no sense, I decided to call.

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

I made a couple of other bluff catches and a few very thin value bets that 2013-Duke would absolutely not have made. I'm very excited with my progress and where my game is going in the coming months. I've won big three sessions in a row and I'm hoping to keep the momentum rolling until later this month when I take a $1000 shot at the 2/5 $500max game at Borgata.

In the meantime, I might also try a $500 shot at any soft 2/5 game that I see at Harrah's Philly. Last time I took a shot at 2/5, I ran super well and played well too. I felt more in tune and focused because I was jumping to that next stake. I also felt a lot more patient, conservative, and disciplined. I definitely wouldn't be anywhere close to having a healthy bankroll for 2/5 if not for how well my last shot at 2/5 went.

Bankroll: $8000

My three session win streak - and more importantly, my three sessions in a row of playing really well - came to an end today with a really bad session in terms of both profit and how I'd grade my game.

I'd definitely give myself a C tonight mainly because of two horrendous calls that I made for a total of $420. I'm actually too embarrassed to even post them since both spots were such easy folds.

I fell behind early tonight and was never able to recover. I ran okay, except for a couple of spots, and so this big loss today is all on me. I'll correct it for the future and hopefully cut down on how frequently I make these mental game mistakes.

The biggest thing is that I need to play my A-game as much as possible. I wrote it down in my notes that if I lost a big pot early, I wouldn't get down on myself. I'd note the hand, move on, and keep playing. I was able to do that better than I usually am in the past, but it came back to bite me eventually.

Tomorrow, I'm going to continue to emphasize taking frequent breaks to review my goals for the session and keep my mental game on point. I also need to always play like I have $1500 in front of me. When I have a big stack in front of me, I always seem to play very well. I play solid, don't push the issue, and wait for spots to come to me rather than forcing them. I'm more able to use logic rather than emotion in these spots - which helps me make tough folds, tough calls, and go after thin value.

Tomorrow's another day.

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

1/14: -$550

Bankroll: $7450

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

I'm looking to move out of my parents house pretty soon, so my bankroll may take a slight hit in the coming days or weeks. I feel confident that I can survive the swings of 1/3 with 15 buy-ins for a bankroll. Its really not a swingy game since most people play so ABC fit-or-fold and loose/passive. There are very few tough spots and no one ever really puts me to the test. While its not the best game for going on runs of winning wheelbarrows full of chips, its also not the type of game where a 10 BI downswing is going to happen.

"Winning is so easy, but we make it so complicated." <<< Thought that was a great quote by my buddy JoeyBlaze and I need to pound that **** into my head. I know that if I don't make mistakes, I'll win.

HANDS FROM JAN 15

Hand 1

Reads: Villain is unknown but playing pretty tight and solid. $180-200 effective.

Preflop: AQ in the CO. 2 limps, Hero raises to $20. Villain calls from BTN. Limpers fold. K3 exposed.

Flop: ($45) KQ3 Hero bets $30. Villain calls.

Should I bet $25 here? Since a King was already exposed, I'm going for value from his weaker queens. He seems pretty solid but since a King was exposed, he might call me a bit lighter with QJ/QT/Q9s and JT. This was pretty thin, IMO, but not sure if I should have even bet it.

Turn: ($105) Hero checks. Villain bets $50. Hero folds.

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

Hand 2

Reads: Villain has been more aggressive than average but still somewhat passive. I'm still new to the table. He plays a decent number of hands but nothing crazy.

Preflop: KT in the CO. Hero raises to $15. Villain calls from the BB.

Flop: ($30) T96 Villain donks $25. Hero calls.

I actually wanted to fold here because pot sized donk bets are generally really strong. I thought he may have flopped a set or two pair and wanted to protect it on this wet board. But I guess he could have like JT/QT, QJ, or a flush draw too.

Turn: ($80) J Villain leads $45. Hero?

I probably don't beat anything here. Can I ever get away from this on the flop?

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

Hand 3

Reads: Villain is super loose/passive. He limps his entire range and plays fit or fold post-flop.

Preflop: AA UTG. Hero raises to $16. BTN calls. Villain calls in SB.

Flop: ($45) JT7 Villain donks $40. Hero calls. BTN calls.

Turn: ($165) 8 Villain bets $100. Hero folds.

Can I get away on the flop at all? The guy was very loose/passive and I wasn't sure what he was leading with a pot-sized bet with. AJ-QJ seems kind of optimistic. I guess KK/QQ is possible for him. But I thought a lot of the time he just had a set or JT. I hated calling flop.

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

Hand 4

Reads: Villain A is loose/passive fit-or-fold. He just doubled his stack from $100 to $200 in the previous hand.

Villain B was playing tight/solid earlier but is now playing loose/passive fit-or-fold. He just got doubled up through by Villain A in the previous hand. He has a $100-150 stack.

Preflop: A5 in the CO. Straddled pot. Hero opens to $20. Villain A calls from BTN. Villain B calls in the Straddle.

Is this too wide? There was a big fish in the BB but I kind of wanted to fold because neither the BTN nor BB were deep. However, I felt they'd fold any flop they whiffed if they called my raise preflop. I expected to get 1 or 2 callers preflop.

Flop: ($60) TT2 Villain 2 checks. Hero?

Is this a standard c-bet spot despite the fact that both Villains are short-stacked?

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

Hand 5

Reads: Villain is a huge fish. He called almost ATC preflop and continues pretty wide postflop. He is somewhat capable of bluffing when his opponent has shown weakness. $325 effective.

Preflop: AT MP. Hero opens to $15. Villain calls from BTN. 2 others call in the blinds.

Flop: ($60) K92 BB and SB check. Hero leads $35. Villain calls. 2 Folds.

Is leading into 3 players a mistake here? I'm likely only getting called by worse flush draws and Kx. Do I have enough fold equity to c-bet? With my flush draw and 1 over card, I probably don't need much. So I decided to bet.

Turn: ($130) T Hero checks. Villain bets $75. Hero calls leaving $205 behind.

I'm getting about 2.35:1 (30%) to hit 2pair or better and 4.2:1 to hit my flush (19%). If only my flush outs are good, I need to win $110 on the river to make this break-even. If my two pair and trips outs are good some of the time, I'm getting direct odds to call. I thought this was a pretty clear call because I knew there was a good chance he'd pay me off on the river.

River: ($280) J Hero jams $205. Villain folds.

He said, "I don't think you have the flush. I think you have KQ. Is there a better line I could have taken here? Maybe C/R flop rather than c-bet into 3 players?

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

Hand 6

Reads: Villain A and Villain B are almost the same person. They both play almost any two cards preflop and play aggressively postflop with too weak hands. They're both capable of bluffing as well. $400+ deep with both.

Preflop: QQ in EP. Straddled pot. Hero opens $22. Villain A calls from the BTN. Villain B calls from the BB.

Flop: ($65) 965 Villain B checks. Hero bets $45. Villain A snap calls. Villain B snap calls.

Turn: ($200) 4 Villain B checks. Hero?

Should I value bet the turn or check to Villain A?

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

Hand 7

Reads: Villain is a complete unknown. In the very previous hand, he made a huge river bluff with Ace-high. He hasn't been playing crazy, though.

Preflop: AA UTG +1. Hero opens to $20. SB calls. Villain calls from BB.

Flop: ($60) 852 SB checks. Villain checks.Hero bets $45. Villain tank-calls.

Turn: ($150) K Villain tanks, checks his cards, tanks more, slowly counts out chips, and leads $110. Hero?

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

Hand 8

Reads: Villain from previous hand. He has been playing pretty snug.

Preflop: T8 in EP/MP. 7 handed. Hero opens to $15. Villain calls from SB. BB calls.

The open was a bit loose but the players behind me were pretty passive/ABC. I felt even if I was called, I could take it down with a c-bet anytime they missed. Also, I was never going to get 3-bet.

Flop: ($45) T97 Hero bets $35. Villain calls. BB folds.

Turn: ($115) 3 Villain checks. Hero checks.

Did I miss a value bet here? I think his range is straight draws, flush draws, and better Tx. I didn't want to get raised off of my equity and I felt a value bet was pretty thin so I decided to check it back.

River: ($115) 2 Villain bets $55. Hero calls.

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

I would appreciate thoughts on all hands and streets. I thought I played considerably better tonight than I did last night. I was thinking clearly, focused, making good decisions, and sticking with what I knew worked - value betting and not paying off.

I kept both my short term and long term goals in my head tonight and tried to just make the best decisions possible. The cards didn't fall my way early in the session and I got stuck $400 in the first few hours. I didn't make any big mistakes - it was mostly just opening value hands and my opponents making better hands on me. C-betting and giving up got pretty expensive. Eventually, though, I got a nice run of cards, got paid a bit, and got back to even on the night.

I'm happy with the bounce back and expect even more from myself tomorrow.

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

I'm going to look at a room that I'm interested in renting tomorrow morning in South Philly. I'm very excited to move out of my parents house and be living on my own again. Its been almost a year since I was on my own and I miss that life a lot. Will post pics in this thread if I get the place!

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

hand 2 i snap fold preflop without even thinking about it. KTo is so, so bad.

Why don't you just move in with JB?

Hand 3 I might be inclined to call this off or jam it depending on stacks. You are beating JQ+, QQ+, AA and are losing to J8J,9J,10j. It looks like a TP hand where he wants to end the hand against 'your AK'. The loose passive guys tend to get scared against the agros when they have a hand that they know they can't let go like TPGK.
Any other reads on this guy? Have you seen him donk into a raiser before?

The LLNL villains often think that you would raise here on the flop with AA so to him your range looks like AK and that's pretty much it.

I've seen him be very passive and weak tight overall. I haven't seen him specifically donk.

Ive seen him c-bet a flop and then c/give up turn when an over card to his pair came. He's just the definition of weak/loose/passive/scared.

I was suspicious on the flop when he made a pot sized donk bet into 2 players. On the turn, I knew I was behind. I'm not sure if this player bets so strongly twice with KJ.

I played a session today on literally no sleep but somehow I actually played pretty well.

I laid on my bed wide awake with my mind racing from about 4:30AM-8:30AM until I just decided, **** it, I'm going to go grind the morning session.

The game was pretty good for the entire day. I table changed a couple times and seat changed as well to get myself in the best position to succeed, but overall, there wasn't much to do but sit there, value bet, not pay off, and LOL as my opponents played their cards 100% face up. Even though I'll probably never have a big $1500+ score at these types of games like I could when the drunken whales sit down at 2 AM, I love the low variance and ease of the situations I'm put in in these games. I've said this a million times, but no one EVER puts me in a tough spot when they're playing super loose/passive, ABC, fit-or-fold. Its low variance, easy, steady money. Sure, they'll never just gift-wrap me their stack like a whale will, but slowly but surely I'll get it all at the end.

I finished today +$407 and quit after about 6 hours. I could tell the sleep deprivation was getting to me when I acted like an ******* towards the front desk girl that I previously wanted to ask out on a date.

I requested a table change to a juicy table but when a seat opened up, some dude from my table just took the seat without telling the front desk or floor. Instead of confront him directly, which I guess I should have done, I went to the front desk and calmly asked "was he in front of me?" The poor girl did everything in her power to get me the seat but the floor overruled her and said that since the player had already been dealt cards, he could not be removed from the seat.

But LOL at me. I snapped at the girl and gave her some stupid, sarcastic remark like "Oh, yea, you're doing a great job..."

I'll tip her $10 tomorrow and hope she forgives me. I do appreciate her effort as she's ALWAYS gone out of her way to get me into the best possible games and even bent the rules a couple times to get me into super juicy games.

The moral of my rant is that sleep is an extremely important factor in playing your A-game. I definitely was on my C-game today but still was able to stay focused through each hand and REALIZE that I was on my C-game. I made good decisions (or rather, avoided bad decisions) on almost every hand I VPIP'd. I probably didn't play a lot of hands optimally or perfectly, but avoiding disaster today was probably a blessing in itself with the state of mind I was in.

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Now onto some hands from today's session.

Hand 1 - Villain annoyingly folds OTR after putting in 2/3 of her stack

Reads: Villain is a lady I have never seen before. She is very tight and seemingly passive. She has not raised yet and has not limped a lot like most women do. $290 effective.

Preflop: 66 OTB. Villain opens to $8 from UTG. CO calls. Hero calls. SB calls. BB calls.

Flop: ($40) A63 SB checks. BB checks. Villain bets $40. 1 fold. Hero raises to $80. 2 folds. Villain calls.

I just min-raise here to allow the super loose/passive/stationy/fishy blinds a chance to come along with crushed hands. I also wanted to keep the tight lady in with her Ax. I didn't think she had a FD here too often because the A was already on the board. I put her range almost all on Ax. I thought if I made it too big, she might get away. $80 is super small, but this leaves her 1 PSB left which still will make it super easy to get the money in.

Turn: ($200) T Villain checks. Hero bets $100.

There's no reason to shove here IMO because I think she could possibly get away from Ax if I put her all-in. She was pretty weak/tight, not aggressive at all, and I'd never seen her before. So, I felt the best course of action was to gradually put her stack in rather than get it in all at once. When I bet $100 here, I think she calls the remaining $100 on almost any river. She has to, right?

River: ($400) J Villain checks. Hero bets $100. Villain folds.

I still don't think she had a FD. She probably just didn't want to be all-in so early in her session and it was quite clear that top pair wasn't going to be the winning hand at this point. Is there a better line I could have taken to get her entire stack? Obviously raising more on the flop is one way to go.

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Hand 2 - I get floated???

Reads: Villain is a complete unknown. I've never seen him before. He's wearing a beanie and headphones. He's young and definitely has a clue of what he's doing. His bet sizing, decisions to raise pre rather than limp, and overall table demeanor tell me he is not a fish and he may even be a decent player. $300 effective.

Preflop: AQ UTG. Straddled pot. Hero opens to $25. Villain calls.

Off-topic kind of: I'm in the camp of fold AQo preflop UTG in a full ring game. I didn't do it here, though, because the pot is straddled and I have position on one more player.

Flop: ($50) 877 Villain checks. Hero bets $30. Villain calls.

Turn: ($110) A Villain checks. Hero bets $60. Villain calls.

River: ($230) $185 left. 6 Villain checks. Hero checks. Villain shows AJ?????

I don't really know anything about floating, but I assume this is a reasonable play since he thinks I'm c-betting a lot of hands on this paired board. In reality, though, I'm probably not c-betting this against the average rec-player because this flop is somewhat up their alley and I have position to catch one of my 6 outs. Also, they'll be less likely to bluff the turn OOP.

However, I could tell this player was solid. I don't think he was calling $25 preflop with $300 stacks in a straddled pot with too many 8s or 7s. I put him mostly on pocket pairs and flush draws. Even straight draws, while possible, might be a bit unlikelier than usual due to him being a solid/tight player.

When he checks the river to me, I actually do think he could be trapping with a better hand some portion of the time. These might include flushes, 77, AK, and maybe a few combos of T9s. Maybe he figures I am not that strong here a lot of the time and he isn't really getting value from much.

Also, I don't think I get any more value from 99-JJ, so I felt the river was a clear check back. I honestly never expected him to have AJ because I almost never ever see people float with ace-high on the flop.

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I've managed to play very well the last two sessions. 5 of my last 6 have actually gone very well in regards to how I'd grade my performance. I'm going to just keep that momentum going into the weekend and hopefully I'll be able to run good in some juicy games the next two nights.

Bankroll: $7750 + I'm owed about $600 that I know is definitely coming at some point soon.

Also, still sweating my futures bet on the Seahawks OR Broncos to win the Superbowl. I risked (invested lol) $500 to win $800 back in the first month of the season. A $1300 addition to my bankroll would be the sweetest thing.

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Last thing: The apartment search in South Philly has gone pitifully. The place I went to see today was the dirtiest ****ing excuse for a house I've ever seen. The guy was also extremely weird and said he liked me because I'm an immigrant - and he doesn't like Americans. LOL.

Also, I have no way to prove any income AND a lot of tenants are asking for first month + last month + security. I definitely cannot pay $1500-2000 JUST to move into a place. Fortunately, I have more prospects for this weekend and am going to keep on hunting until I find the situation that is perfect for my situation.

Thanks for anyone who is reading!

I'd definitely appreciate comments on hand histories in private or on here.

KTo in the CO with a nit (Chun, he was playing like a nit, pretty much asleep) OTB and a couple of ABC players in the blinds who I have position on... seems like a good raise IMO. I think even though my hand is kind of weak and dominated a lot, I'm able to get away from it so often when I'm crushed because those villains almost never show aggression without a big hand. Also, I win so often when they call me wide pre and just c/f every time they miss the board.

He already has a place he's comfortable in besides for the horrible commute so probably not gonna happen. We haven't really talked about that at all but he said he wanted to move to South Philly at some point, though, so it could be a possibility down the road if he's up for it. It'd definitely be very convenient and I'd be down for it. I'll have to ask him about it when I see him. Would be cool.

Don't think it's floating when V c/c three streets.

Also, first last security is pretty standard. Maybe look for roommate situations?

Yea like I said idk anything about floating lol. But just the fact that he called flop with ace-high was funny. I wonder what his plan was on any other turn. Knowing most live villains though, I doubt he ever tries to bluff at it. He'll probably just hope to get to showdown for as cheaply as possible rather than take me off something like AK, AQ... Which is actually a lot of my range UTG straddled lol.

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After a great week where I played well and ran decently, I finally have 20 buy-ins for 2/5!

I honestly never thought I'd be at this point so quickly. I started off the new year so poorly. I was spewying, playing out of my mind, and also running pretty badly. I was stuck $1800 very quickly but have ended up making that all back and then some. I'm now up $1750 this month and have won 6 of my last 7 sessions including a 3 session winning streak.

I feel like this is so deserved, honestly, as I've worked hard on my game in the past couple of months. Looking back at when I started playing live poker in October, I realize how terrible I was. And I hope that when I look back on my current self in April or May that I think "wow, January-Duke was awful. I've improved so much since then." I'm honestly very satisifed with all but one hand I played all this week. I've been noting every hand that isn't 100% standard just so I can review it later. I look at those hands, and while I'm probably not playing every spot optimally, I don't think I'm doing too much that's -ev. The one thing I need to cut out of my game completely is those disastrous brain-farts where I'll do something that's hugely hugely -ev and ruin a winning session or turn a small loser into a big loser. This week, I was successful in that and my bankroll grew because of it.

I'm going to gradually ease into 2/5 now. My main game is still going to be 1/3 at Harrah's Chester for a while longer but I'll definitely game select 2/5 there and at Parx. I'm also hoping to get down to Borgata this weekend for 2/5 $500-max that should be extra juicy this time of year because of the Winter tournament.

I took today off to watch football and study and review my sessions for the week. I'll be back to the grind tomorrow and hopefully there will be good action because of MLK day.

My goal for this week will be to put in 55+ quality hours of poker and spend more time reviewing my hands, posting in LLSNL, and watching training videos. I also want to mix in a couple of work outs at the gym as well. If I do make it out to Borgata this weekend to grind 2/5, I want to be in peak mental shape and have my game flowing like an ocean so that I can get the most out of that trip.

Practice hard so that the game is easy.

Bankroll: $10,000

Five fig roll is a great accomplishment, esspecially with the rough start to the month. Keep killing it, time to build it up to 6 figs!

I booked a $58 win last night and it was the sweetest $58 win I've ever booked.

I started off the session down $600 after taking one sick beat and one cooler. Overall, I was playing really well despite the 2 BI loss. My reads were spot on in a lot of tough spots and I was winning tons of Galfond bucks. Here are some hands I played where I was put to the test and had to make a big decision.

Hand 1

Reads: Villain ($350 effective) is a middle aged Asian guy. He plays ATC pre-flop and spews post-flop if he's on tilt. When he's not on tilt, he generally plays loose/passive post-flop. He is capable of bluffing and he often overvalues top pair.

Preflop: AQ OTB. Villain limps from EP. Hero raises to $20. Villain calls.

Flop: ($40) 622 Villain checks. Hero bets $25. Villain calls.

Turn: ($90) A Villain checks. Hero bets $55. Villain goes all-in for $250. Hero folds.

Villain shows 2

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Hand 2

Reads: Same Villain from Hand 1. $220 effective.

Preflop: AK in the SB. Villain limps. Hero raises to $20. Villain calls.

Flop: ($40) AJ8 Hero bets $35. Villain calls.

Turn: ($110) 7 Hero bets $85. Villain goes all-in for $165. Hero snap-calls.

River: ($440) Q

Villain shows QQ LOL

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Hand 3

Reads: Villain is usually very TAG and ABC. He is a middle aged white guy. However, he's been steaming the last couple of nights and playing super aggressively. $300 effective.

Preflop: TT in the UTG. Hero raises to $20. Villain calls UTG+1.

Flop: ($40) 872 Hero bets $30. Villain raises to $90. Hero goes all-in for $280. Villain calls.

Turn and river are under cards that do not complete the flush draw or straight draw. Villain mucks.

Hand 4

Reads: Same Villain from Hand 1

Preflop: JJ OTB. Villain limps. Hero raises to $20. Villain calls.

Flop: ($40) 873 Villain checks. Hero bets $35. Villain calls.

Turn: ($110) 4 Villain leads $50. Hero calls.

River: ($210) 2 Villain leads $100. Hero calls.

I didn't raise the turn because I know villain's C/C flop/lead turn range is weak. Its generally a "see where I'm at" bet that he makes with top pair or under cards if an overcard came off on the turn. For example, a couple nights ago, he C/C QQ on a J-high board against me and then led the turn when a K came off. On the river, I tanked a bit because I thought he could have hit his flush, but I think there's a lot more top pair or TT in his range. He ended up having T8.

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Hand 5

Reads: Villain is unknown. I have never seen him before but he is young, white, and has played aggressively so far. He has made some light calls as well. The table is also playing very loose and aggressively. Many of the villains are paying off very lightly.

[/b]Preflop:[/b] T9 EP. 1 limp. Hero limps. Villain limps MP. 2 limps. SB completes. BB checks.

Flop: ($20) Q82 Hero bets $15. Villain raises to $50. Hero raises to $100. Villain goes all-in for $400. Hero calls.

Still not sure if I should fold to his all-in, but either way, its marginal in terms of EV. I think he does show up with worse flushes and sets sometimes. He could also show up with AQ sometimes. I probably fold this to most villains, and even fold pre at most tables, but the dynamic this table had made me feel it was best to call in both spots.

The only thing I'd change for sure is making my 4-bet bigger on the flop. I'm trying to get value from sets, NFD, and worse flushes. Making it $140 doesn't increase my fold equity by much compared to making it $100. Anyway, he showed K2.

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The 1/3 game here in Philly plays very loose/passive overall and so I really can't remember the last time I was in so many tough spots. Even the last few hand histories I've posted are littered with hard spots. These decisions, looking back, aren't exactly super hard or anything - but usually, the game plays very easy and I have no trouble making any decisions.

After this, and a few more losses at the next table I changed to, I found myself stuck $600. Usually, I'd just call it a night at this point. But tonight I was playing well, felt good, and so decided to keep on trucking. I managed to stay off tilt even after I lost some more pots. I played my A-game for most of the session and it ended in me making everything back and then some. I walked away with $50 profit after getting max value from hitting quads on an old spewy guy who I feel like is out to get me because he NEVER folds to me.

After that hand, I picked up QQ against him and won the rest of his $200 stack (he had me covered in the quads hand). After THAT hand, I picked up a sick run of hands. Four times in a row I got AJ or better and won all but one of them. I also picked up a couple of cheap pots with air when everyone showed me weakness, bluffed a reg off his top pair when I missed my flush draw, and picked up a $60 pot when I flopped quads again.

Last night was definitely some of the best poker I've ever played and I was hoping to keep that momentum going into today. However, its a snow day and the games are dead according to Bravo so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

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Bankroll: $10,100

It looks like I'm definitely going to be able to make that trip to Borgata this upcoming weekend to grind the 2/5 $500max games. I'll probably get there Friday afternoon and leave very early Sunday morning so if anyone else is there and wants to meet up, let me know!

I just got home from a two day trip to Atlantic City. Does anyone else hate the Borgata?

Maybe its just the fact that I can't win there that makes me so uncomfortable. I always feel out of place and way out of my comfort zone. I hate the way they do table changes, how their staff is so unfriendly, and the fact that I can't smoothly handle their chips.

I've said this before, but the fact that I feel so in control and in the zone at Harrah's Philly has to be at least a small portion of my winrate. I feel like I'm the best player in the 1/3 and 2/5 player pools and I know how everyone else plays. I even have a clue at how the unknowns will play. Borgata has just been a different animal with all the random players. I feel so at home in Chester and have never really been afraid of or threatened by any situation.

I'm 0 for 3 now in trips to Atlantic City in terms of winning and losing - but these past two nights have been quite successful in terms of making good decisions, playing my A-game consistently, and winning a load of Galfond-Bucks. I'll be back grinding 6 days a week in Philly starting Monday and hopefully the ratio of US Dollars to G-Bux won can improve a little bit.

-$129 for the trip but I was stuck $600 at one point so winning $471 from that point on is the positive way to see it.

Overall, I felt I made really good decisions, stayed within my gameplan, and refrained from spewing in order to get even.

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Here are some hands I played from the last two nights:

Hand 1

Reads: Villain A ($200) is an unknown shortstacker. I've seen him open a few times before. Villain's B and C ($500) are assumed to be rec-fish based on their appearance and demeanor - and the fact that Villain B is a middle aged woman.

Preflop: 55 in MP. Villain A raises to $30 from EP. Villain's B and C call. Hero calls.

I bent the set-mining rules a bit. I thought since Villain A was a shortstack, he'd be putting his money in on as light as top pair and/or 8+ out draws. The two fish who called were my main targets. I figured I could make a lot of money off of them calling me with worse hands postflop. Is this too light of a call and setmine?

Flop: ($125) KQ2 Checks to Hero. Hero bets $75. Villain A calls. 2 Folds.

Once the PFR checks, I always think to myself that this is a chance to steal the pot. When the two field callers checked after him, I discounted Kx from their range. I decided to bet $75 which is about 60% pot but also has the feel of a strong/large bet in absolute terms. I thought the PFR could c/f hands like JJ/TT, AJ, and maybe even some AQ/KQ.

Turn: ($275) 7 Villain A goes all-in for $95. Hero folds.

Flop may be too light of a call. If 15:1 IOs are acceptable to call with preflop, I need to make $360 postflop to breakeven. Because I feel I can stack one of the fish a lot of times when I hit, easily get the PFR's $200 because he is short and more willing to get his money in lightly, and the fact that I have position - thus the ability to steal the pot every now and then - I felt the call was very slightly +EV. I felt the bet on the flop was +EV as well because the only hand that anyone could really continue with was JT and Kx. I don't tihnk anyone would check Kx on the flop.

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Hand 2

Reads: Villain A in the BB is a huge fish. He calls too much and overvalues hands. Villain B seems very ABC but is not a good player. He probably lacks fundamentals but isn't a complete idiot. $500 effective with both.

Preflop: A9 in LP. 3 limps. Hero over-limps. Villain B over-limps from CO. SB completes. Villain A in BB checks.

Flop: ($35) AQ3 Villain A leads $15. Hero calls. Villain B calls.

Turn: ($80) 6 Villain A checks. Hero checks. Villain B bets $45. Villain A calls. Hero calls.

River: ($215) 3 Villain A checks. Hero checks. Villain B checks.

Standard or did I play TP + NFD too passively? OTF, if I raised, I felt like I wasn't getting value from anything. A weak ace may find a fold. A stronger ace is definitely in both of their ranges because of the propensity of villains at LLSNL to over-limp or check big aces in the BB. OTT, same thoughts. But, I could probably lead turn here for $45 to get weaker aces and weaker flush draws to call. When Villain A checks, he almost never has a better ace. But I was still somewhat worried about Villain B. OTR, if I bet, I felt like I wasn't getting any worse hands to call me.

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Hand 3

Reads: Villain is an older guy. He has an accent and foreign look. I am new to the table so no other reads. $500 effective.

Preflop: 65 Villain limps EP. Hero raises to $20. SB fish calls. BB fish calls. Villain calls.

Flop: ($80) AQ6 SB checks. BB checks. Villain checks. Hero checks.

Flop check back is more or less standard? Anyone of these guys could easily be checking an ace to me since I am the PFR. I'm also getting called by any diamond draws.

Turn: ($80) 5 SB checks. BB checks. Villain bets $65. Hero raises to $155.

Villain could easily have A6 or A5 here but he is more likely to have a one pair ace such as AJ-A7 - more weighted towards AJ/AT based on his sizing. Perhaps even TP + flush draw. By raising, I felt I could easily r/f since older guys are more likely to just flat their big draws and top pair hands rather than jam. I think he only would jam with 66/55/AQ/A6/A5. He should flat with a lot of other worse hands.

I felt I couldn't call because then I'm allowing anyone behind me odds to draw to a flush or straight.

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u]Hand 4[/u]

Reads: Villain is completely new to the table. He is a middle-aged Indian guy who looks like a recreational player. There are also two fish in the blinds. $500 effective.

Preflop: K8 in the CO. Villain posts $5. Hero raises to $30. Villain calls.

Flop: ($65) KJ9 Villain checks. Hero checks.

I decided to check because I had almost no information about the villain. I didn't want to inflate the pot with TPWK. On a rainbow board, I wasn't sure how much value I could get from him compared to the times I'd value-own myself against a better Kx.

Turn: ($65) 9 Villain leads $50. Hero calls.

I gave him a range of 9x, strong Jx, Kx, and some straight draws like T8, AT, or Qx. I felt like I was ahead of enough hands to call this.

River: ($165) T Villain checks. Hero checks.

Did I miss a value bet here? He's never checking 9x and shouldn't be checking Kx. When he checked this, I felt like he either busted his draw and didn't bluff or had some weak Jx hand. Either way, I wasn't sure if he'd pay off a bet unless I made it like $55. Even then, I was afraid to value-own myself against the better Kx portion of his range that he may have weak/passively checked to me

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Hand 5

Reads: Villain is a loose/passive rec-fish. He is about mid-20s, drinking, and just having fun.

Preflop: A8 Villain limps EP. Hero raises $25 OTB. Villain calls.

Flop: ($55) 643 Villain checks. Hero bets $35. Villain calls.

Turn: ($125) T Villain checks. Hero checks.

River: ($125) T Villain bets $65. Hero calls.

Am I right to give him a range of 5x, XXhh, and Tx? Do you think a loose/passive fish would turn 65 or 54 into a bluff here? I only need to be good 1 time in 4, so I assume a call is +EV when you consider the large amounts of XXhh and 5x he has in his range.

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Hand 6

Reads: Villain is youngish and knows what he is doing. He is sufficiently aggressive and has come in for raises frequently rather than open limping like the rest of the table.

Preflop: KJ SB. 5 limps including Villain in CO. Hero completes. BB checks.

Flop: ($35) KK3 Hero checks. Villain bets $25. Hero calls.

Should I just lead right out on this board? There doesn't seem like too much I can get value from. I decided I'd c/c instead but when the only other competent player led out, I changed the plan to c/c and value bet low non-heart turn cards. Do you think I get more value from this line or a c/r? I felt like c/r this guy would turn my hand face up and allow him to fold hands I wanted to get value from later on.

Turn: A Hero checks. Villain checks.

River:[/b] 4 Hero checks. Villain checks.

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Hand 7

Reads: Villain A is a middle aged woman. She has been very tight so far. Villain B is loose/passive. $500 effective with both.

Preflop: AA OTB. Villain opens $25 EP. Villain B in the CO calls. Hero 3-bets to $75. Villain A calls. Villain B calls.

Before Villain A called my 3-bet, she tanked and said, "He hasn't played a hand all day." She was clearly concerned about playing a hand with me due to my tight image. I thought there was a good chance she could have KK or QQ. Villain B snap-called as I expected him to do with many dominated hands.

Flop: ($230) QQ6 Villain A checks. Villain B checks. Hero checks.

Villain A was already suspicious of me having AA so I decided to check and disguise my hand. I thought it would be difficult to get 3 streets of value from KK anyway.

Turn: ($230) 8 Villain A leads $60. Villain B folds. Hero calls.

LLSNL players generally have no clue how to size their bets so I didn't make anything of this except for the fact that she wasn't too worried about protecting her hand. I felt she wouldn't call a raise with KK because of my tight image and she'd insta-fold JJ. I was worried she called my pre-flop with AQ or KQs.

River: ($350) 8 Villain A leads $100. Hero calls.

She had $265 left on the river after she bet $100. I probably should have jammed but I still felt she would have folded KK. I decided to flat on the on off chance she had AQ, KQ, or QQ. Too passive? I guess its a mistake to under-rep my hand and then play it passively after I do that. I just wasn't sure how to get the money in without looking super strong. But checking back the flop wasn't only to under-rep my hand. Because she was suspicious of AA and there were two Queens already on the board, I felt she'd have a tough time putting her money in with KK.

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Hand 8

Reads: Villain is completely unknown. New table. He is young, white, wearing headphones, and has a buddy casually sweating him. I have a suspicion that he is a decent player who has a clue.

Preflop: QQ MP. 3 limpers. Hero raises to $35. LP cold calls. 1 limper calls. Villain limp/calls.

Flop: ($155) 976 2 checks. Hero bets $105. 2 folds. Villain quickly calls.

He made a quick call without thinking about raising. I weighted his range heavily towards flush draws and 5x now. T8 and 98 are also possible.

Turn: ($365) 5 Villain checks. Hero checks.

River: ($365) 2 Villain bets $100. Hero calls.

5x got there but his spade draws all missed. Also, he could potentially turn something like 54 into a bluff. While it sucks that I have the Q, I still think there are enough missed spades in his range to justify a call. I only have to be good 18% of the time given these great pot odds.

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Thoughts on all hands would be greatly appreciated.

I'm going to continue the 2/5 shot this Monday if there is a good game available. I'll probably start the session playing the morning/afternoon 1/3 and then transition into 2/5 once the game gets going and the fish show up.

I'm still planning on playing a lot of 2/5 until my bankroll either shoots through the roof or gets down to $8000 - since that is the point where I'm comfortable grinding 1/3 without worrying about money.

Moving up in stakes definitely has its benefits besides more money. Its keeping me super interested in the game, striving to improve every day, dreaming big, and keeping me very focused. I often auto-pilot the 1/3 because its so easy and has become my bread and butter. I feel like I can crush the game without much of a thought. This is probably not entirely true but my confidence is very high in that game. I feel like I'm easily the best player in my room's player pool. When I play 2/5, though, my mind is constantly racing and I'm tuned in and dialed in. I get the best out of myself when I'm shot taking and playing bigger games.

Despite the small loss in AC, the last few weeks have been great for me poker-wise and I'm hoping to continue to keep that momentum going. I feel like my game is better than its ever been and is also improving every single day.

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Bankroll: $9,800

I'm kind of sad that I'm back in the 4-figures but I did have just barely over $1000 only a few months ago so I've definitely come a long way. My next milestone is going to be $25,000. Once I get there, I'm planning on moving to Maryland to grind the 2/5 at Maryland Live. That amount would give me 35 buy-ins + 6 month life expenses in the bank. I'm hoping to achieve that by June 1st, but depending on how my 2/5 shot goes and how much 2/5 I'm able to play in the next few months, it may come much, much sooner.

There's a lot of money out there to be made. As my brother would say, you just got to reach into the cookie jar.

hand 1

gross. you admit you stretch the laws of set-mining, then, additionally, burn $75 with a crappy flop steal attempt.

hand 2
might be tempted to raise the flop bet with TP and NFD

hand 3
new to the table and no reads, i'd just fold pre until i had reads on the table

hand 4
'i don't want to inflate the pot with TPWK.'

then why the F--- are you raising it pre? totally contradictory analysis ... raise pre; then don't know what to do on the flop. FFS, you raised pre and flopped TP ... bet it.

hand 5
'villain is loose PASSIVE'

how often do passive players bluff the river?

hand 6
lead the flop to charge the flush draw.

hand 7
if she folds KK, so be it.

she probably put you on AK ... shoving the river only gets called by better.

hand 8
probably making a crying call here as well. but i'm guessing you're beat here

It sounds as though a 5-figure roll is a psychological threshold for you. Do you think it might make taking shots at 2/5 more pain-free if you were to build to, say $11k, giving you a few buffer buyins in case of runbad your first few sessions of 2/5?

Just a thought.

I'm not really sad haha I was joking

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Thanks, chipkelly for your comments. You are definitely the counter to my spew demon.

Also the majority of my going back into the 4-figures was a couple hundred in life expenses. My car is like 2k miles overdue for an oil change lol.