let's do one of these softer threads. this is inspired by a thread that i started earlier called life as a plo pro - tell your story

it left out all the casual players and i'm very curious to hear your stories and thoughts regarding plo and poker. this is your chance to tell a little bit more about your approach to the game and your relationship to plo. it will be interesting to learn about fellow posters, too.

i'll give few questions to start with, feel free to share more than just answer these questions:

-what got you started with plo?
-why plo?
-how much time do you devote to the game?
-what does plo give you and what does it take from you?
-what have you learned playing plo?
-strenghts/weaknesses as a poker/plo player?
-has 2p2 ssplo helped your game? if so, how?
-do you assess yourself as a player objectively? how do you see and realize your edge at the table?
-what makes you a winning player?
-what kinda BRM plan do you have?
-what do you do to work on your game? what has been the biggest factor in your development as a player?
-what are your short term / long term goals in poker?
-why are you not playing mid/high stakes already? (in case you aren't)
-do you see yourself playing poker/plo in 2/5/10 years?

I was a giant nitball at NLH when I started and I knew that this sh*t wouldn't fly once I moved up past the nano/micro stakes.

I saw Sam Farha on HSP season 4 and saw he was playing so LAG even though he was a pro; I heard he was a PLO player and I decided to learn the game to play LAG and be comfortable with the style.

For a few months, my routine would become

Move up roll from 200$ to $1k => play 25plo => move back down to 10 or 25 NLH => redo

I was probably a small winning player, but I played a 45/35 super LAG style on full tilt with 27.5% RB at the micro stakes, so I would end up having my roll raked away most of the time. I didn't barrel nearly enough to make up for my preflop aggression either.

Come for the gamble, stay for the edge.

Once I realized my edge in PLO is bigger than my edge in NLH I saw no reason to play NLH.


Can't put it in hours, it's a lifestyle. I play maybe 30k hands/month, but I log on in the morning, check 2+2 at the same time as Facebook and Reddit and check what I missed on the Skype network or groups I'm in.


To be honest, it gave me a lot of self confidence in other areas of my life to be successful at something early in life. However, since all I did was play and coach poker this summer work-wise, I sometimes get into recluse-poker-grind mode and need to break it to get back into social-outgoing-non degen mode.


Check raising river for thin value with a Q high flush is pretty awesome when you get paid


I think I make myself fairly hard to play against and I can find and exploit leaks in people pretty fast.

I lack the deeper theory of the game, a thing I'm slowly working on with Lemay and I think I have tendencies to spew. Sometimes my thought process will be logical but erroneous and I'll commit to my read and spew off a stack.


Massively so. I give it credit for most of my development as a player.


Yes, I realize pretty fast if I am playing bad or not and I try to figure opponents out as fast as I can, especially HU. I just try to see the number of thing I can exploit out of someone and how big of a leak it is.

Someone playing 70/15 or 70/60 is obviously easy to exploit unless he's running good. So are giant nits, so long as you don't delude yourself into thinking they are capable of bluffing.


Solid A game, exploiting opponents and never EVER going full ******.


BRM is pretty fluid, I think I made a post in the digest a couple of months back. 100 BI is a good rule of thumb and loose shot taking when the games are good and I'm confident/running well.


2+2, skype group discussions, sweat sessions with other players at similar skill levels, thinking spots trough and avoiding tilt.

Move up to the nosebleeds and crush


I guess 200 is midstakes, Ill move up once my roll allows me to


Yeah, even if I'm not a "pro" anymore, I'll still probably hit the better casino games just for the mental exercise and to sheriff the wild games

-what got you started with plo?

seemed like more ppl didn't know what they were doing than in NL

-why plo?

NL is dried up and tourneys tilt the f out of me

-how much time do you devote to the game?

not enough. maybe a couple hours a day

-what does plo give you and what does it take from you?

it gives me an income, a chance to practice things, and sometimes just something to do. it takes time, energy, and commitment from me

-what have you learned playing plo?

lots of psychological things about how other people approach everything

-strengths/weaknesses as a poker/plo player?

understanding types of players well is a strength of mine, i think. one weakness is not putting in enough time

-has 2p2 ssplo helped your game? if so, how?

it helps a ton in the beginning. my game accelerated from zero to a higher number closer to where i am now really fast because of everyone posting HH.

-do you assess yourself as a player objectively?

not really. my lens' are usually pretty tinted

-what makes you a winning player?

experience + playing A game more often that others i think

-what kinda BRM plan do you have?

changes on life situations and how i'm doing in the games. the healthier the money i have outside of my poker acct is, the more willing i am to try something risky. don't usually have set numbers

-what do you do to work on your game? what has been the biggest factor in your development as a player?

going over HH, asking questions to other player's when i really want a second opinion + some videos too

-what are your short term / long term goals in poker?

short term: move up to 400+
long term: not sure how long i wanna play. but make something that resembles a tiny nest egg for future stuff

-why are you not playing mid/high stakes already? (in case you aren't)

i run worse than all of you

-do you see yourself playing poker/plo in 2/5/10 years?

2 - yes, at the same rate i am now
5 - yes, not sure at what volume rate tho
10 - idk

always kinda embarrassing to be the first one in these (I picture myself sitting @ a AA meeting being the first one to tell my story), but here we go:
EDIT: too slow.

I'm 23, study philosophy (maj) & maths (min) and got started with online poker during my first office job. started out with micro NL, ran good, then ran bad which made me try out PLO, and never went back (PLO is like crack, yo)

this game just suits me better than holdem in regards of both skill and passion.
I have been playing semi regularly for most of the time till this july when i started playing 1k+ hands daily + 1h study.
I mainly play due to my competitive nature, but obv it'd be nice to make some decent money from PLO sometime in the future. Right now the only thing i see poker taking away from me is time, but it does not feel like that so the effort/reward ratio is ok for me.

the main thing i improved on since i started out with PLO surely is handling variance.
on my list of strenght's i'd include solid understanding of the game, competitive drive &
the will to learn.
but i gotta admit i'm a huge idiot when it comes to preparation and stuff. I often play tired or stoned or both, my schedule is often messed up leading to night sessions and so forth. I'm in the process of learning these things slowly right now, getting rid of smoking way too much weed, starting to do sports (tennis) again and eating properly.

2p2 splo surely has done a great job helping me with my development since i have no friends in real life that understand anything but the most fundamental stuff about poker.
I also gotta admit there are some really funny guys around here making me laugh on a regular basis ( Gabethebabe, where can I sign up for that porn site study group thing?)

As to how i see myself as a player, I'm well aware I'm a fkn nit. but that's ok at the stakes i play.

my BRM is pretty standard imo. 50BI rule till 100PLO and i prevent myself from shot taking since the last 3 times it went wrong.

discussing hands, analyzing with pt3 and playing did the most for my development, but I obv still suck since i do not play midstakes already. still believe i'll be able to do decent in the nearer future once i got things sorted out. short term goal is always the same: playing well & bust everybody's ass @ the tables. I'm not so much into long time goals. don't see me here or there in 5 yrs, be that poker related or not.

I started playing NLÑHE and after havihng mnoved up to FRNL 100/200 I got kinda bored to I started mixing a bit of PLO into it, more for fun than anything else. I also got kinda bored with the nits and shortstackers that played on iPoker and PLO was more fun.

After I got back into poker 2-3 months ago, I choose PLO, because it is more fun.

I think I play around 40h/week. If I do not play I pick one3 of the most frequent opponents and replay all his games with known holecards.

PLO gives me some $$ and fun, it takes time and it takes my focus. The last is quite important I would like to reduce it, it would be good for me to be able to disconnect quickly from a game and focus 100% back on my family life, which is pretty difficult, unfortunately.

I think playing PLO I have learned to read my opponents better than I did at NLHE

My weakness is that I am still a weaktight nit at heart and avoid meh spots, probably leaving money on the table, but avoiding high variance.

2+2 has helped me a LOT developing my game, but mainly the FR NLHE forum. I don't feel the SS PLO forum has helped my game much yet, even though there are far better players than me commenting here.
My strength as PLO/Poker player is my discipline.

I am probably a decent TAG PLO player, with enough intuition to avoid bad spots and controlled aggression to pick up pots without having a hand, without FPS syndrome or ending up spewing too much. Just playing the good starting hands automatically creates more profitable spots.

I am a winning player because all other spanish players are donks and because I am actually putting time into learning the game - forums, videos, PLO books, etc. I think discussing hands in the FR NLHE has been the best way for me to develop my game, even though that was some years ago.

My BRM is currently kind of shaky, playing PLO with less than 20 BI, because I feel I have an edge. If I continue to move up to PLO50/100, I will probably not go below 30-50 BI.

My short time goal is turning the $10 I started with into €1000. My long term goal is making enough money to add something significant to my income, reducing impact of the current financial crisis.

I am not playing mid/high stakes because of a likely lack of talent and because of the lack of bankroll. If my development allows, I will certainly take shots, because playing midstakes PLO and winning can make me a poker semipro.

My poker life in 2-5 years depends on the development I am currently making and on the Spanish laws that might have an impact on the life expectancy of winning online poker.

-what got you started with plo?

Many people said that there is more value than in holdem. Tried it several times on the side of holdem and finally omaha became my maingame.

-why plo?

More action in hup than in holdem. Maybe more value too

-how much time do you devote to the game?

I play ~80h in a month, haven't really studied the game outside of the tables anymore. In the past I devoted a lot more. I put easily a lot more hours in poker than I put on my school/ studies

-what does plo give you and what does it take from you?

Gives bread and butter. Doesn't take that much anymore after learning how to deal with my emotions. Anyhow poker has made me much more cynical, cold and calculating person than I'd be without poker.

-what have you learned playing plo?

Lot about handling my emotions and how I act in different situations. Lot's of other stuff too

-strenghts/weaknesses as a poker/plo player?

+ I tilt less than average player
+ Better playing routines than average players

- Sh*tty volume hand wise/ can't play many tables at a same time
- laziness
- Still some ego issues (improved massively)

-has 2p2 ssplo helped your game? if so, how?

Not really. Some good articles you have got here.

-do you assess yourself as a player objectively? how do you see and realize your edge at the table?

Yes. I'm pretty confident I have a massive edge on stakes I play at the moment - plo100-400 hup. I have basically played same stakes at least 3 years now.

-what makes you a winning player?

So fukking many hours of work I have put in this. Also my competitive personality and the fact that I won't quit going after my goals very easily. ~6 years ago I said to my mom that I will play poker for a living some day - it took 4 years or so but I made it

-what kinda BRM plan do you have?

Could be looser. Some might say much looser. Should take more shots at least

-what do you do to work on your game? what has been the biggest factor in your development as a player?

Talking with poker friend(s) has been the best for my game. I have done everything else too and all of them has helped me a lot.
The biggest thing for my game was the day I realize that I just can't tilt - as silly as it sounds - and the fact that I have to start doing some serious work to avoid tilting.

-what are your short term / long term goals in poker?

short term $$, long term $$ and have fun

-why are you not playing mid/high stakes already? (in case you aren't

I hate big swings and I lack in so badly in volume.

-do you see yourself playing poker/plo in 2/5/10 years?

For sure. Hopefully not as a full time pro anymore.

bump for more

..

Never got into replying to the "pro" thread since I've only called myself a pro for the past 7 months

-what got you started with plo?

Ilari Sahamies + curiosity

-why plo?

Seemed more fun than NLHE when I first tried it

-how much time do you devote to the game?

3-4hrs daily

-what does plo give you and what does it take from you?

gives money and a rush, takes time and a solid CV


-what have you learned playing plo?

the importance of the right mindset

-strenghts/weaknesses as a poker/plo player?

strengths: brave when needed and down to earth
weaknesses: I take HU too personally, which can cloud my judgement even in 6max reg wars

-has 2p2 ssplo helped your game? if so, how?

It's helped me a lot, especially by helping me create a network of peers. A guy playing higher up just PMed me one day saying he wanted to help, was pretty awesome.

-do you assess yourself as a player objectively? how do you see and
realize your edge at the table?

I'd like to think I'm fairly realistic, but sometimes can't resist the challenge from better regs even when I should play nitty vs them

-what makes you a winning player?

courage and instincts

-what kinda BRM plan do you have?

really conservative. I started at PLO25 in Jan -09 with 600 bucks and have never gone busto since

-what do you do to work on your game? what has been the biggest factor
in your development as a player?

I get coaching, an outside view is always helpful

-what are your short term / long term goals in poker?

pay off my mortgage asap/sky's the limit

-do you see yourself playing poker/plo in 2/5/10 years?

def in 5 years, hard to say about 10 as I'll be pushing 40, lol

Don't really remember. Might have been Jarcon's guide to PLO. I was playing recreationally with some no deposit bonus that I managed to run up to a few hundred, and slowly I found myself playing more PLO than NL.
Well, obviously games are better, and I never really was a NL player. Started PLO before I started playing regularly, and never looked back.
Too little. Depends on what I have going on (work, school). Spend a lot of time on the forums, but don't work on my game enough. Maybe 20h per week, mostly playing.
PLO has given me money, which has given me freedom, as in I haven't needed to get a crappy job to make up savings. It has given me some sort of self confidence, I guess, and helped my thinking process. This also makes me probably more calculative, over-analytical in real life. It also takes time, but never really stopped me from going out with friends or anything.
I've learned realism, composure (never was hot-headed, though) and the importance of honesty to oneself. You can't succeed in this game if you lie to yourself.
Looking for creative ways to win the pot. Counts as a strength, as well as a weakness. I think I'm a pretty good reader of situations. On the other hand, me looking for bluff spots all the time, makes me see them and hero-call too much. I just think that this is a good post to bluff, so I should call, when in reality, the villain doesn't think like that. I also have a tendency to get into reg wars.
Definitely. If it wasn't for 2p2, I probably wouldn't be playing anymore.
I doubt nobody really does. Of course I try, but it's hard. I still find myself making excuses to myself way too often.
Same as everybody - flopping well in 3bet and 4bet pots. Lately, I'd say playing against players I know I can beat, and how. Much easier to win when you have players you can abuse by 3 and 4betting, than playing against other regs, and trying to figure out in each hand, where to gain a bit of an edge.
I used to have a pretty bad BRM management. When I was 18, I had built my roll up to around 7k by PLO100 and PLO200. That's already loose. Was playing on a small network, so games weren't always on, and if I felt like playing, I might play PLO400. Once lost a buyin at PLO1k too. Now I don't have to think about BRM as much, as I've been playing on a stake. The BRM is set by others, and the swings don't affect me that much.
As said, I do far too little. Probably biggest factor has been reading poker forums (mostly this one), and participating in conversations. Writing articles and commenting on hand histories has helped me a lot, as it forces me to think about the situation and rationalize my thinking instead of auto-piloting, as one easily might when actually playing.
Make a bit of money alongside my studies so I don't need to work on the side. Would be cool to attend a live tournament abroad.
Too lazy. I probably could be playing, if I was constantly working on my game. I've played PLO pretty much as long as GGARJ. If he could do it with hard work, I probably could've too.
In 2 years, definitely, most likely as much as now. 5-10 years, it's getting a lot less likelier. Probably still playing occasionally, maybe as a casino regular or something. We'll see. Don't know what I'll be doing regarding anything in 5-10 years.

was tired of playin sngs, NL and tournaments

don't know, 4 cards playin seemed good

everyday 4-6 hours (sometimes even more)

it gives me money and take from me time and my nerves

to be patient and you learn that a suckout is normal in that game

secret

in the past days it helped a lot but in these days not to much to be honest (not to many people post hands here)

I think I'm quite honest with myself and I have a lot of reads and notes on other players...so its quite easy to see an edge or not

making less big mistakes than my opponents and learing from these mitakes

100 buy ins

thinking about opponents and how to adept on their tendencies...I don't if there was one big factor, I think there are many factors which are leading to a good developement as a player

beating the games over years and beeing there a good winner...making my money with poker

zoom + bigger br needed


[/QUOTE]

Yes, I think so

Dude, I don't know how many days you have left before your "free" but I think you should post a pre-pro "this is what I envisage it'll be like" version of your story in here.

And then once your start crushing full time make an updated version of "how it actually goes down" in the other thread... Will def be an insightful transitioning read. Thanks for making these threads, - very insightful!!!

yeah i've been thinking of reflecting on that but not sure if i can provide anything really meaningful....i'll think about it and see if i can come up with something interesting.

running a couple dozen k above EV helps too

I saw that all of the nosebleed players played what seemed like nothing but PLO, so I gave it a shot (at .01/.02 of course :P) and failed miserably. Gave it another shot late last year and its just about the only online game I play.

I feel a lot more comfortable in PLO. In a way it feels like it hurt my NL game because I always seem to know exactly where I am in a hand in PLO. It's a lot more face up. Plus stacks are constantly getting shoved around.

A TON of time. I play all the time and it's constantly on my mind. I study HH all the time and absolutely love everything about it. Even though it takes up a LOT of my time. I would say counting playing, studying, reading, and talking about poker it easily hits 160hrs per month, sometimes pushes 200hrs.

It takes away my time and when I was still a fish (at poker in general) it generally left me in a foul mood. My tilt issues have long since been solved and it seems time is the only thing it takes from me. It gives me extra money and quenches my thirst for competition.

It has taught me to control tilt. About 2 years ago when I first started I was the worst, but after reading anything I could get my hands on, PLO is just a crazy variance roller coaster. I can lose 5 bi in 10 minutes, but if I check over the hands and see that I got my money in good I have no problem with it. Going along with that point it also taught me the most important thing of all. BRM. I would play with 5 BI when I was playing holdem and had no shame. PLO was like "Sorry Jason, time to bend over." It taught me that I could be the best player in the world, and playing PLO on anything less than 30 buyins is just lighting money on fire.

I play primarily HU PLO and I seem to be very good at hand reading while playing PLO. I feel like I always know where I'm at in a hand and won't second guess my reads. Weaknesses were I used to be extremely nitty. I'm not a nit anymore but I sometimes pass up spots that are marginal that I really should be raising in. I feel like not having the super gamble in me keeps my bottom line a little lower because I pass in some decent spots sometimes.

I never really used these forums for help to be honest. I lurk a bit, but never really used it for help.

I'm very self aware and can see when I'm not playing my best and when its time to leave. I'm pretty harsh on myself and am always looking for leaks. I'm never satisfied with my play. I also have RL friends that I can talk to that rail me and I can talk hands with them later and see what kinds of different lines would have been better.

I feel the reason I am a winning player is because I'm not a big gambler. I treat poker as a way to make money. I don't take losses personally and don't let myself get into dick waving wars like the other regs that just try to swing their e-peens around. I am able to look at my play and see what went wrong and not just chalk up every loss to variance. (Something I see a lot of players do.)

My BRM right now isn't exactly "correct" right now, because I have a job to supplement it. If I had no money to reload, or was playing for a living, I would play on no less than a 50-100BI roll. But I don't. So I play 50-200HUPLO on around a 15-20BI roll. But luckily I don't have to worry about it because I can always reload since I have a "bankroll" that is always increasing.

I am always reviewing HHs and lurking the forums around here. I am also always talking to my friends about hands. The funny thing is they don't even really play PLO. They know how, but don't play. But it helps me to also get a NLH player's point of view and not just look at it from my eyes. Talking hands with other players is the best way to improve. Hands down.

Short term I would like to get a stake to play higher. I play 50-100HUPLO regularly on Merge but can no longer get action from the already small player pool at SSHUPLO. I was talking to my buddy about it. Nobody will play me, I get insta-sat out and when I ask why they all just say "you're better" or "I don't play other regs." It's flattering but frustrating. I have taken shots at 200HUPLO lately buying in short because its the only way I can get any action. And when I play 6max 50 or 100 the other HU regs sit out as soon as I win a bi or so from ANYONE at the 6max table. I just don't have the roll to play higher and playing 50bb HUPLO is dumb. I would play under another skin but I need the RB. The only thing is that I never saw this coming, I was crushing without using PokerTracker or HUDs so I never used any programs like that to track results. I was crushing. I wouldn't have ever thought of asking for a stake. But now that no one will play me and I don't have the stats to back up my play, nobody would consider staking me. (Funny side story, I applied at imwhalestaking in early June. I was contacted by them a week later saying they liked my application and wanted to chat. I responded back three different times over the course of a month and got 2 vague replies saying they would contact me in a week. It's been another 4 weeks since then. I really thought that was my chance to get a stake.)

Long term is that I want to support myself 100% by playing poker. I want to not have to work retail anymore. I'm not the type that works well in this environment. I have put up with retail for too long. I want to play professionally by early next year, I'm just worried this won't happen unless I get some sort of stake. I want to play professionally and do some other interests on the side. I also want to be able to play and take some online classes at the same time. I feel I should have some sort of backup if poker doesn't work out for me. But if I don't follow my dream to play professionally I will regret it forever.

I just don't have the bankroll for it and it is pretty static right now since I can't get any action. I have played high stakes before though. I have taken a few different shots at $1000 and $2000 6max PLO when I was feeling godlike. It was kind've funny seeing 6x the amount of money I make every 2 weeks on the table. My friend called me after the session flipping his **** about it, but while I was playing, that money was just chips to me. I was able to completely detach the money from my mind and just play my best poker. After those sessions I feel like I can make it as a high stakes PLO pro in the future.

Yes I see myself playing 2/5/10 years in the future. I hope to play this game professionally for a LONG time. If it never works out that way I will still be playing in the future as a side income. Poker will always be a part of my life. I love it too much and sink too much time thinking about it and playing it for it to ever go away.

Jep,

I'm not calling you out, but some points you make don't make sense.

You are a winning player who is grinding good volume (easily over 100hrs/month) and you have a job (so shouldn't need to withdraw for living expenses) but your online roll is only 20bi thus you want a stake.

If traffic sucks and you're a winning player, just switch sites regardless of the rake back. With your volume, even at a modest win rate, you should be able to build a roll over time.

160-200 hrs a month + job?

Anything less is lazy imo

True, if you're living on some other planet.

I really don't mind anyone questioning my work ethic because I know 90% of people who aren't full time players are not putting in that kind of time.

But I can clear some of your points up. First of all I am not a middle aged man with a career. I am 20 years old with a part time job selling cell phones that pays next to nothing. I only get 15-20 hours a week. (took job because I was originally promised 30-40 which I was getting at my old job, just with this job I would get commission. They forgot to tell me it was the lowest traffic store in the entire region.) I work mostly mornings while my friends mostly work nights being that many of them work at restaurants while a handful do overnight stocking at supermarkets. So we don't get to hang out too much. I have a lot of time on my hands. I do have a few friends that work mornings like me....only those friends that work mornings like me are also poker players. We always end up getting 4-5 of us at someone's house and grind all day while bull****ting and watching TV while playing.

We all play at the minimum 30 hours a week. When you are around people like that you seem to naturally play more. But anyways, that 150-200 hours a week included everything poker related, not just online heads up. This includes small home games I play around 3 times a week. But these games are very small, $10 aon sngs and $25 cash games. I'm including those types of games in my hours. Plus studying, watching videos, and of course talking with my 4-5 poker friends that I see at least 4 or 5 times a week.

I used to spend at minimum 35-40 hours a week actually playing online. Ever since June though I'm lucky to get 15-20 hours of HUPLO in since I can hardly find anyone to play me. I'm lucky to get a few fish that binked some $1 tourneys.

But yes, most of my winnings get cashed out and spent on bills. I make around $600-700 from my job every month and have about $800-$900 a month in living expenses for everything from food to car insurance. It used to only be around $400 or so (which is why I didnt mind playing higher than my roll allowed, because I had extra money to spend) but I had to start paying back student loans and school debts which has bumped it up as well as my car insurance just got put in my name (originally on my parents name) So when I win 3 bi or whatever it is in a session I do a player transfer to one of my friends who then gives me cash, and do the same for them when I can since we are all in the same boat. And I keep most of my winnings cashed out because I am always worrying about how I'm going to pay for next month. Especially now that I only get action less than 20 hours a week.

Yes I'm looking for a stake,
I have 20 buyins, but at 50PLO, like I said I can no longer get action at 50-100 PLO. And I'm not about to jump to 200plo with 5 buyins.

I'm thinking about getting a second job at night, just until I save some extra money up, but I was really hoping to start some online classes within the next couple of months, which is why I currently looking for a stake.

That's my story.

EDIT: Sorry for all the errors. I typed this on my phone. While at work of course. Like I said, nobody comes in here.

The problem is that Jep lives in the US (look at his location) and his choice of networks is, in essence, restricted to Merge and Revolution. Selected rakeback deals on both are among the biggest in the industry, but their aggregate traffic indeed sucks even at 6-max, leave alone HU where it's almost dead. Fwiw it's even worse at Bovada, add anonymous tables and absence of rakeback and you'll understand that Bovada is not a way out.

So I see only getting a stake or expatriation as possible ultimate solutions. Living in the US sucks, especially as a poker player. As a partial solution, switch to 6-max PLO and (I hate to say this) risk some funds at Lock to double the available traffic. I don't know much about ways for Americans to resolve cashout issues (WU transfers get lost too often), if you have European friends, try sending P2P transfers to them.

Yeah Bovado is a no go for me. Period. And I'm on a Mac, so I cant play on revolution network without dual booting windows. Which I really don't want to do.

And I wouldn't deposit at Lock until I had enough aside to get the full 200% first deposit bonus. Which is like 2K for the full 4K bonus.

Like I said though 6 max is almost as bad as HU we have a combined total of like 6-8 50/100plo tables running. Most of them full, and whenever I win a big hand and sitting 200bbs or deeper the regs sit out making the fish sit out.

As far as cashing out I'll put in to get a check very rarely because they are too much trouble and take too long (and have bounced) WU sucks too. So like I said I normally to a player to player transfer with a friend just to get some cash off to pay bills.

I just want FT and PS Back. I only played micros on their sites because I was a fish 2 years ago when I played there. Now I see how valuable their player pools were to people like me.

Afaik Lock has a Mac client (other Revolution skins don't)!

The problem with depositing to Lock is not the amount (as of now, their bonus can be applied as many times as you can, with the same code - that's for a limited time) but that you risk not to see this money again because Lock are now too generous to be true. Read their sponsored forum (link above) to see how many shortcomings they're experiencing now. They'll either go under or become great, but I can't predict it.

I haven't looked into anything about Lock for quite a long time. I'll check it out. Thanks for the heads up

-what got you started with plo?
I like the action and the big pots. I also just find it a much more interesting game than NLHE
-why plo?
Twice the cards and six times the fun of hold’em

-how much time do you devote to the game?
Since I am in between jobs I am really focusing on playing fulltime. I am currently trying to put in about 100 hours a month and another 10-20 in studying. I would like to have my playing time up to120 hours a month before January so that I can try and make a play for SNE.

-what does plo give you and what does it take from you?
Pretty tough, I think PLPO really gives me every day back that I want. I love playing poker and I get to stay home and play instead of finding a steady job. PLO doesn’t take much from me, a little time and effort but that’s about it. Probably my ability to fold to a 3b in NLHE which really sucks.

-what have you learned playing plo?
How to lose, lose a lot and lose often. What ups and downs really are like

-strenghts/weaknesses as a poker/plo player?

Too many options with too many cards. I definitely play a little too much from EP and the blinds. But it’s so easy to justify when you typically need <30% equity

-has 2p2 ssplo helped your game? if so, how?
Yes it helps to just review the postings and the guide is actually a great place for players to start.

-do you assess yourself as a player objectively? how do you see and realize your edge at the table?
Yes and no, the hardest thing about paying PLO is when you start to lose your edge at a table. I find it easy to start and gamble and just GII assuming that you have some equity.

-what makes you a winning player?
I am not really sure, I think that I do pretty well at not going on absolute tilt which is easy to spot at the tables in your opponents. I am also pretty good at taking the actions in a hand to help me either realize my equity or define my opponents range.

-what kinda BRM plan do you have?
I kind of got lucky on my start up and ran a $500 shot at 50PLO into my bankroll for 100PLO today. Now that I am playing fulltime I do find that the swings of moving up are a little more stressful so I think that I will probably waiting until I have a 100BI roll for 200PLO until I take a some more shots

-what do you do to work on your game? what has been the biggest factor in your development as a player?

I watch a few videos and read the forums but just spending a lot of time on propokertools and figuring out how different board textures change the values of the made hands is important. I also have slowly worked on adding and playing more hands each month. I think that this has helped me actually work on my game and volume which will obviously help my bottom line.


-what are your short term / long term goals in poker?

Short term goal is to get myself comfortable at playing a volume and stake so that I can make a run at SNE next year. I would like to have the bankroll to play 200PLO and put in about 120+ hours a month.
I don’t have any long term goals but imagine that I will play cards or some form of gambling as long as I can.

-why are you not playing mid/high stakes already? (in case you aren't)

Just got started at and would like to move up the ladders. I would like to play mid high stakes at some point. There is still a lot of work to do in my game but it is definitely a long term goal.

-do you see yourself playing poker/plo in 2/5/10 years?

Love the game, I am sure that I will be playing for as long as I can.