There’s a 5T cheating scandal?

You win $2k a week?

Yes, three Dominican guys started playing the 5/T at MGMNH last week at the same time, always sitting together and always in the same seats. They pretended not to know each other but it was obvious for many reasons (not just the coincidence of showing up at mgm at the same time and all looking like they were from the same country) that they were related in some way. They were winning a lot and I told my friend I suspected they were cheating because I had played with them one session and they were terrible poker players yet were consistently winning a lot. One cold called a $500 3/4! with JTo for instance. I did not know how they were cheating at the time.

Another player started paying close attention and saw that they were signaling their hand strength to each other using their chips. He alerted the other regs, and they told management and eventually it became clear the floor was not going to do anything, so the regs confronted them. Once confronted, the suspected cheaters all stopped playing hands and just folded and left shortly thereafter. I have not seen them back since. According to one of the regs, management said they would not ban these three but they would not be allowed to play at the same table if they came back.

Someone tried to post their photos in the MGMNH venues & communities thread but the mod deleted the post. FYI they were latinx, one short and chubby and lighter skinned with stubble wearing a tan/beige hoodie, one darker skinned with a beard wearing a black supreme hat (both in their late 20s-30s) and one older (50s-60s) wearing a blue medical mask and a hat as well. They allegedly cheated by making discreet motions with their chips preflop to signal whether they had a good hand and rarely got involved in pots postflop together. And like I said, once confronted they stopped playing and have not been seen since.

Funny, the chubby one was sad when I left the table and tried to get me back into the game the next day. Not sure if he was serious or using reverse psychology because I think I actually broke even against them or won a little.

Not exactly, it's around there give or take. This year has been pretty rough to be honest but I am still ahead of where I was this time last year, and that was my best year ever.

LOL…they must have watched Rounders for the first time recently

Bruh you are a sun-runner

Except they forgot about the part where they get roughed up after being caught...wish mgm had done something before they left.

That’s some serious shit…tell everyone at the tables when they are there

Lol no...I have been having a mediocre year imo. Sun running this year would mean $150,000+. I am actually kinda unhappy with my play the past few months. Also does not help that 5/5 is not as juicy as it used to be...can thank home games for that.

I would be surprised if they ever came back again. “The jig is up.”

Session was fine, even if 5/t/25 was absolutely horrid...just card dead most of the night and most of my 3!s were not getting action so I lost a few hundo there. At least I ran well at plo and made $1,700 with AA getting there in a couple pots. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to run good! Something to be thankful for I suppose.

I forgot a couple tidbits from last night's session in my rush to get to bed. But first, I had a dream last night that I got it in for $2,500 against a whale with dsAA and we ran it out, except the flop was AAA and we realize the dealer dealt from the wrong deck...oh no! What to do?

Anyway, at 5/T unknown rec sits down and he has gone to showdown with a limp/called K2o so his range is very wide. We open 3h3c otb and both payers call three-handed. Flop ($90): 245cc. I cbet $40, sb folds rec calls. Turn ($170): 8c. X/x. River: Kh. Rec bets $160 pretty quickly. I grab some calling chips while I contemplate what to do and immediately get a live read and he also starts to nod his head as if he wants me to call (lol), and after some thinking I call. In theory not the best calling candidate since I block a lot of missed straight draws and unblock pairs (but at least I have a club). But whatever live read for the call. He says "straight" and tables 73o. That's not a straight buddy.

I leave for dinner with my new poker buddy and as I get up from PLO tell his reg I was leaving because I did not want to play with him (very in jest...we give each other a hard time a lot). Ratholer from the other night who just sat down buts in and says "good, get your ass up and get out of here" - not in a friendly tone. I call the floor on his ratholing a$$ and he gets a warning and I leave for dinner and catch up with my bud.

Shout out to Zefa poker again for a fun vlog...heads up against janandez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VencbIU4IMM.

According to zefa, "live poker unbeatable" . . . so he's playing online. Rofl.

Another very slow session, missed a couple draws in plo5 near the beginning like oesd+nfd, left for 5/t/25 for a little where I made a little $200 profit before the game became very short-handed and I was not interested anymore. Wrapped up grinding it out for a few more hours at plo again where I made the nut flush with dsAA multiway and some other small ball pots for a hundo net profit at plo (also lost $100 at 2/5 briefly while waiting for 5/t t open...got 3! when I had 88 once and 3! huge - $30 to $160 - when I had AKo by rec in SB versus utg open (I flatted utg1) and I let both of them go pre). That's about it. Brushing up on preflop ranges in hold 'em now, felt a little rusty.

Extremely uneventful session, mostly card dead all damn night in mostly lame games until picked up AA at 5/t/25 ear the end and got the double. Dealer at 5/5 exposed my mucked cards that inadvertently flipped over but they were not all exposed and rather than expose the couple that were, the dealer immediately exposed all five of them and unfortunately for my image I had folded a mediocre dsQQ in EP. I was not pleased the dealer exposed them all rather than the ones that were actually visible. Also, the floor does not know the rule that a game beaks only by unanimous consent and forced us to break over my protest (I was hunting a whale who had gotten the better of me the past few months and the whale was the one suggesting that we break 5-handed). The floor did not even want us to draw for seats. Sheesh. Between that bad floor ruling and the exposed cards earlier, I was so over it at that point, dear lord I wish Florida was not so far away. I could be crushing 5-card there not having to deal with all this nonsense either. My buddy says he'll take a trip with me later in the year.

Grinded overight again into this afternoon and ran good at plo, best I have in a while despite losing top boat to quads at obe point, up $2,500 on the day! Got a string of monster hands preflop at plo and connected on the flop too. Nice to be reminded that I am not cursed to run cold for the rest of my life.

Woke up earlier than expected...some hands from the session: iso AAKK9ds, flop T55r, checks through. Turn: K. Bink! Checks to second to act who best $150 into $240, I call. River: 3. Check, he bets $150,I c/r $350, he snaps (oops...should have gone a little bigger), mhig.

Iso AAKhJhJ, flop Ah7h8s. Cbet, called. Turn Ts. Bet $300 into side pot, feel fine doing so with two JJs for blockers, called. River: Th. Bet $700, tan folds what he claims was a turned J9.

Open KQQ98, flop Q-6-5ss. Cbet, five callers including an all in. Turn: 4d bringing my bdfd, checks through. River: 6s. Short stack jams last $50, I flat next to act, deeper stacked V jams $700 eff. (pot is over $900), I tank call thinking short stack has a weird 6x boat too and lose to quads. (Short stack is a terrible player and just had the nut flush, bad read.)

Got some compliments from a player, said I was very methodical and when I am at his table he is just "zen." Lol.

Played another long session to reset my schedule (woke up at an odd hour), started out getting demolished at plo, all my made hands getting outdrawn, my draws missing, my AA/KK not holding pre for -$2,300. I did get one bluff through this reg who bet-folded Q4 on 44Q67 when I raised river with Q7, so that was nice. Got a little unstuck at 2/5 (+$850) with KK in 3! pot, 3!, cold call, call, three ways to 775r, donk, I call, cold caller crai, folds to me and I snap and mhig (I had 3! A7s against V earlier so maybe he thought I was a little fos).

Jumped back into plo where I started winning, made a big come back with AK988ds on A728 for a good side pot against a draw ott, river 2, and earlier QJJ22ccss on T629ccss, c/r turn to $500 for value with oesd, two flush draws, and bottom set (clean up my equity against/force out the original bettor who probably had top two or top set), x/called river all in $400 when one of my flush draws got there (this V had a tendency to bluff). It was a long, swingy session that ended up all right, up $500 or so overall. Got some more compliments on my game, there was another big winner at our table and this action player kept calling him me best player, then would call him the best player, pitting us against each other. Lol. Someone asked me if I played poker professionally and I said I was a lawyer. He said I was a good player so he thought I was a pro. I don't like people thinking I am a pro.

Got some good rest and woke up to some sun shining finally...has been a few days since I saw the sun up!

Very disappointing session, stated doing well (up $900 or so) but then lost it all in a big hand 4! backraised dsAAQJ3, $25-->call-->l/re-raise to $100, call-->I raise to $410, three ways to KQ3dd (my suit) flop, jammed last $500, both called - one with bottom set and the other with T-high flush draw and 88. Turn: 8. River: 2. :/ Winner started bragging about how he was the best plo player at the table after I commented his call on the flop was "ambitious." Got no hands after that and left down a couple hundo.

Forgot a couple hands I lost...AQJ93ds, clueless player raises, I 3! SB, several callers. Flop A65hh, checks to reg who bets 2/3 pot, clueless calls, short stack all in for less...I decided to just let it go and couple have won at showdown. Also call AhKhTd7d5 with clueless player, flop A-8-6dd, clueless cbets $50, call, I c/r pot, unfortunately nitty player in EP check raises all in for $750, clueless calls, I tank fold figuring I am crushed, clueless went in with bare open-ender, nitty had set+nut flush draw and I would have stacked him for the side pot. :/

All this is to say, I feel really bad at poker lately. On the bright side, subtracting a couple bad losses at 5/t/25 I would be up $8k this month. So plo is still going fine overall.

Finished the month on a high note, after losing a little at 20/40 mix was called for plo5 where I ran well, limped/called rainbow AA and flopped low wrap and gii three ways and held. Got 34567ds otb and 3! a CO open, got several callers and called a short stack's jam on 469r, made my straight and scooped. I think this light 3! got the attention of a new player in the game because later on I 3! again, this time dsAA, and b/b/jammed A-9-2-J-9 and he called with J2 for a $3k pot?? Finally, got sdAA again, 3! again, got 4! jammed on by two players and scooped an A-high flop. Ended up $3.5k on the day, not far off from my monthly goal and that much closer to reaching $100k profit for the year.

Made $850 or so to start the month on a good note, small ball at plo really. Left when the game started to die down and played 5/10/25 where I got AKo in SB, made it $100, both blinds called, and jammed my last $450 on K-T-3ss (I made a pair!) flop and held!

Re-posting...on playing with mentally disabled people:

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/2.../#post57935954

Like I've said before, poker is predatory (even Brad Owen used this term to describe poker in one of his vlogs). You can white wash it all you want by claiming to be providing entertainment value for the recreational players, but at the end of the day you're just taking their money. Plus, most of us are not even that entertaining.

I'm guilty of it too. But I am not pretending to be providing a benefit to anyone. I recognize professional poker for what it is: legal (yet immoral) theft.

The benefits are great if you are willing to throw away your moral qualms. I can indefinitely afford my $1,300/month. medication, for example. Yes, for those paying attention, it got more expensive somehow now that I am on a higher dose.

Even as I write this, all I can think is, "boy, society sure is fked."

Played a good session, lost a little at 5/t/25 bluffcatching, won over $2k at plo. Biggest pots were KJT98ds in backraised 4! pot, flopped top pair and went runner runner flush, and later dsAA ai pre multiway, ended up with aces full of deuces. Chatted up a good player, we exchanged numbers to join a group chat to share hands

Very close to $100,000k profit this year, within $5k or so...!!! Super stoked. I feel like my hard work and hours have paid off but as always I only want to improve and take my game to the next level. It's marvelous I did this well compared to last year when 5/5 plo ran more often and the games were frankly better. Proud of myself.

Here are some adjustments I think I need to make to my game moving forward:

- don't bluff catch as much without very good reads, they just have it more often than not at these stakes;

- don't go ham pre without the goods (been getting better at this);

- stop limp/calling marginal hands in plo (losing in the session is no excuse!), these add up and hurt the winrate; just stop limping mediocre hands;

- stop slowplaying;

- stop playing hold 'em (gasp!). It's a little ego blow but when I do so well at one game and not as well in another I think the answer is obvious;

- improve my network of poker players (been working on this...); and

- try to shot take some bigger games once in a while like the 5/5/25/50 at mdl, but don't make it a habit.

If I can top $100k by the end of the month I will be a happy camper, and the way December has started it's looking more and more likely. Historically I have done pretty well in the last month of the year, hoping that trend to continue. May you all run good during the holiday season as well!

Speaking of holidays and giving, my friend got me this amazing fleece for my birthday!! Here's some chip pron and puppy love too:

Up $2,100 plo, up $600 5/T/25, down a few undo at 2/5, for a nice profit on the day. Added bonus to running good early on is that I could come home early and try to get back to a somewhat normal sleep schedule before the work week starts. Yearly profit very close to $100k now, just $2k away. Maybe December will be another massive sun run month like I had a few months ago? At this rate it's looking quite possible!