Just started using PokerJournal last month, so sample size is LOL small (first 100 hours.)

I play mostly 2/5, and usually 1/2 only when waiting for a 2/5 to become available. Maybe I should just stick to 1/2 cause obv 65BB/hr is sustainable...



And if u can't tell from my SD, I am a lagtard. (Curious to see what it will be once it stabilizes.) Also, hurray for round numbers.

Played another 100 hours. Continued to run bad for a while (including losing a huge hand SF over SF with no BBJ ). Then I decided to check out the casino 3 minutes away from the one I played and with a little better luck/games I'm now in the black.

201.75 hours
$+3,686
$18.27/hr

I think $30/hr might be achievable at this second casino (1/2/3).

Realized I didn't include chart earlier. Reminds me a bit of my old Rush poker charts. Not sure if that is a good thing. Prob need to cut down on spew a bit...

(Have more LT data, but just started with Poker Journal.)

I had a pretty good lol at your expense, you run awesome dude. Did it not qualify bc of the two cards play rule or was there just no bbj?

And yea, table selection is the #1 determining factor in live w/r. I will argue/debate this with anyone. I would venture a guess (myself and TAOxEagles have had conversations on this) that at least 30% of your w/r comes from good table selection. So good decision on exploring options and finding a better game.

The casino had no bbj. I lost with A2dd vs 67dd. It was pretty gross.

Like 30% of my winnings are from one guy. I was lucky enough to bluff AI & show him in the first hand we played together and he's pretty much had a vendetta against me since. Every time I see him I transfer to his table and he never folds against me, while getting hyperaggressive any time he has TPGK+. I don't think there's an easier villain type.

It's hard to table select when most villains are randoms though; other than leaving a bad table.

That is f***ing disgusting. I hate to give away where I play but that would have been a half a million dollar hand at one of my casinos. Wow

If I ever get off my lazy *** I'll post a COTM type thread on table selection. I've gotten pretty good at just knowing most of the local spewers at this point, but here are some tips (example would be like going into a new casino totally blind)

Whenever you walk in, kind of walk around the tables (assuming you have enough to choose from) Just look like you are looking for a friend or something don't be too obvious.

Here's what we want, in order of importance:

1) Straddlers. If you see a single straddle this table should go to the top of your list. Straddles are gambly type players that generally suck, and they also loosen up the whole table. Try to get the God seat (button on his straddle)

2) Sterotypes. mid 30s-40s asians and drug dealer gangster types. I may use this as selection this above all other criteria actually.

3) Deep stacks (several above max buy in). Obviously we want to be at deeper stacked tables if possible, but the reason is beyond math. It is because this is likely an active table, there have probably been some bad beats, some people are probably tilting, and others are probably on "winner's tilt"

3) Drinks. We want to be at the table with drunks. Simple enough.

4) Pot size. If I brush by a 1/2 table and an UTG opens for $20 and it goes 4 ways, I'm probably requesting this table.

There are a lot more but the straddle/stereotype stuff is top notch. Always request a table, even if you must sit at a random first. I almost never play on a table I am randomly assigned unless it turns out to be greater than anticipated while I was waiting for my requested table.

When facing a snap decision I will sit at the table with the deepest stacks. If waiting for a seat I will take a couple of laps taking notice of several factors.

Would definitely be interested in a cotm on table selection. Can't believe how much I overlooked its effect on wr when I started out.

Tbh, for me at least, for some reason I feel uncomfortable scoping tables out since I feel like it marks you as a thinking player. I know this doesn't matter and I just need to accept it since the juice is definitely worth the squeeze.

My new goal is going to be to become the best table selector in my casino. Shouldn't be any different, and is probably more important, than when I made my first goal in live poker to become the best pre flop player in the room.

I think I disagree with the rationale behind each and every one if those points above. While I agree I want a laggy deep stack table with active straddlers, I think the rationale you have as to why is faulty and can lead to some bad decisions. I also disagree with your order of importance and think much of what you mentioned is dated and was more applicable 10-15 years ago.

A few counterpoints (am on a smartphone and don't want to get too in-depth):

1) Don't assume a straddle is a fish or even that a straddle at the right table is -EV. Many times there are other dynamics at play.

2) stereotyping is ok with 0 other info, but don't rely too heavily on them. They are more of a last-ditch tiebreaker if everything else is 100% equal.

3) Drunk players often slow the game down.

4) I like a table with a lot of chips on the table because I have a huge edge in DS play. And, umm, they have a lot of chips and chips are good. More chips are more good. The other assumptions you made are dangerous, IMO.

5) Large Pot size and deep tables are often cause and effect.


If I have 0 info at a card room and have the luxury of selecting any table, I'll sit at the one with all the chips.

Of course it's just my opinion. Do whatever works for you.

Ooh, great post. I didn't consider these things before. The button to the straddler is especially interesting. I think you just added 1-2 BB's to my winrate.

I'd be interested to know when straddling is +EV.

All I can come up with is that the button and CO would have to be passive. And then you'll have multiway pots with random hands OOP vs everyone except the blinds. The ideal situation would be an aggressive image on a passive calling station table...but is that worth doubling your blinds cost and playing junk hands OOP?

Can loosen up a tight table or help meta game on a loose table. Straddle a few times and u can not it up and some players (like Avarita, for example) will be quick to label you as more of an action player than perhaps you really are.

I want players at the table thinking I came there to gamble and have a good time. I don't want them thinking I'm a nitty nut peddler that won't give them action. As some ppl say, you gotta give action to get action. An occasional straddle can be a relatively cheap way to give that action.

It also gives you an opportunity (since you are last to act PF) to play some more speculative hands pre if getting a good price. (Ie suited connectors, baby pairs.)

I'm not saying the straddle itself is +ev, but straddling can be +ev depending on game situations.


(And if you have a handle on table dynamics the straddle itself can be advantageous, but that is a much longer post that belongs more in theory than here. If you can't tell from my graph above, I have a high variance laggy style.)

I never see nits with big stacks unless they coolered someone hard.

Like KF said, a straddle is a cheap way to improve your image. You want to act like your there for a good time.

Ugh, thought I had more money than I do. Either I overestimated how much I actually had a couple weeks ago, or I lost a couple hundred somewhere. Either way, not good. Not a catastrophic amount, but I'm going to be keeping MUCH tighter track of where my money is at. Sometimes after a game night I will just put it in a sort of random "temporary" place when I get home. I'm guessing this is a bad idea, and I should just have one absolute place to put my money every time.

Of course I'm keeping perfect track of the game results themselves.

How you store your bankroll could go either way and has more to do with where you live, etc. Estimating your bankroll size, instead of actually counting is never OK though.

I'm really just getting back to regular live play. It's a part time thing for me (1-2 times/wk). I have an excellent paying full time job, and poker will only ever be a side income.

Regarding BRM, I've always felt 20-30BI was more of an online recommendation, given how much quicker the game plays and multi-tabling, etc. For a live part time player, isn't 10BI sufficient? I know personal tolerance factors in, but am I really over exposing myself if I start taking shots at 2/5 when I've built up to $5k?

For a rec player just whatever you can lose, these questions are getting very old.

tbh, most online players would say you want 100+ BI

Part time and rec are two different things. I don't rely on poker income for my nut, but that doesn't mean it's just an entertainment venue.

For pros and BRM ubernits, yeah. Then again, I've been out of the online world for a couple of years, so wtf do I know.

Sorry im sure this comes up a lot.... how do u figure out std deviation, if someone could point me to a place to figure out how to calculate it, or just explain in PM or something or here, thatd be greatly appreciated

Well.... no. They'd be wrong. It's a function of your win rate, variance, and, most importantly, if you're willing to move down if things hit the ****ter.

Poker journal calculates your std deviation for you.

Try google. Or just use excel, which will calculate the standard deviation of a series of numbers based on a sample.

I keep all my records by hand so I don't have a fancy PJ chart or sweet graph like Sol (nice job man!) but here are my 2/5 numbers since moving up in September. I tally up my session and calculate this stuff every two months or so and I'm very happy with my 2013 results so far although I should be putting in more hours.

Overall, 11.5bb/hr over 518 hrs.
In 2013 15.9bb/hr over 286 hrs.

This is in a 200-500 game with a $6 rake +$1 BBJ.

Unfortunately the 5/10 game died as I was taking shots so haven't been able to get in many hours in that game. Looking forward to deeper 2/5 and 5/10 games in Vegas this summer.

^^ Very nice, man. Even with a **** rake.

I just downloaded Poker Manager for Android, and entered in my sessions for the past month. Luckily, I've been keeping basic records (time played, win/loss). I'm curious to know what my stats will look like in 5-6 months.