Finally back to normal - a losing session! Made $150 at 2/5 and $60 at 5/10 before heading back to 1/3 where I lost $450, so around a $250 loss tonight. At 1/3, KQ ran into AK on JT22K runout, QQ got raised all in for $150 more on 88263 runout when I bet/check/bet-folded to rec limp/caller's river jam. Chased the nut flush draw and got there on K67KK runout. Wrong goddamn diamond on the river. Raised and missed a few times. Also, couldn't find a good table. Typical Saturday night I guess. Weekdays are much better!

Wore my glasses tonight and the difference at the tables was quite noticeable. Only downside is giving off the book smart/nerdy vibe to other players. Maybe I will do the surgery after all....

How long did you play at 5/10 for to win $60?

Just an hour. Raised AQdd UTG (SB) in BTN straddle, two callers, check to BTN who bets $100, I CRAI on Kd-6d-4s flop and took it down. I was up $250 at this point but lost some when I raised 99 UTG, three callers including BTN, BB makes it $135, I call, call, call, BTN backraises $500 (FOS), BB calls, rest fold.

Oh, and $14/hr. time rake is a jewel.

Just filled out my tax returns. (Yes, I declared my poker income.) Mixed emotions, mainly annoyed. Just tax the billionaires more and leave us poor people alone for god's sake! Annoyance is tinged only slightly with pride for earning enough from poker to actually file. But definitely primarily annoyance.

I know many people don't believe in declaring their poker winnings. But I'm a lawyer too, so getting caught tax evading (however remote a possibility - and I know it's remote) would have worse consequences for me than just a tax penalty. I.e., disbarment.

Back at it tonight. Doing one set of each instead of two. Up to 1 min 30 sec planks, same wall sit, 27 push ups. What do they say? Shoot for the moon, end up among the stars. Some nonsense like that. Not sure they had my lazy ass in mind when they coined the phrase.

I was curious about the lines quoted above. Why do you believe it is harder to find good tables on weekends and what makes weekdays much better?

Cool that your reporting I’ve always wanted t also but always lose or spend everything before I need to

Can you explain the process though? Do you have to file self employed? Did you have income from another job as well? If you did is there just another line where you claim you earned x amount of dollars?

Glgl out there

The myth is that competent "weekend grinders" come out Fri/Sat nights when they have time off from their day jobs.

And only degenerate gamblers with day jobs lack the discipline not to play during the week.

FWIW, I think this applies moreso to 1/3 and less to 2/5 and above. 2/5 can be pretty reg-infested during the week.

You probably still need to declare even if you spend it all. Losing it all, no. But spending it, yes.

I am self-employed with two sources of income (lawyer and poker player) so I have to fill out a bunch of additional forms. But I put the poker income on form 1040 schedule 1, line 21 ("other income").

Last night was fine. Started at 2/5 where I got lots of value out of A4 in single-raised pot on AA76Q runout with 77. Also, raised QQ (second raise in a row), dude who 3! AK previously 3! me to $50, I 4! $125, he calls, I jam 8-high flop, he calls, MHIG. Up around $350.

Moved to 1/3, basically broke even for a while until I flopped a straight on KJT with Q9 in BB (limped), stacked nice lady who I was drinking with on a flush draw. Ended up $80.

Overall, up $420.

"This one deserves a long post. Or, the home game from hell."

Went to free poker to drop off a poker table top to my friend Elena another player gave to her and left at my last home game for me to deliver (lol). While there, a couple of free poker players spread the word about a home game. Devin, this relatively unknown person to me, offered to host. He's maybe 23, white dude, some would call him handsome, always wears a button down and a tie. His face is pale, clean-shaven, and pointy in the nose and chin, rekindling images of the masks from V for Vendetta and The Purge. According to my friend Dennis, he'd been drinking and would be good for the game. I couldn't refuse a profitable proposition.

Dennis drives me over there and we enter a dimly lit parking area directly outside a row of apartments. Devin comes out to lead us down a windy path to his place, down a short flight of stairs and hidden from street view. We enter an equally dim living space, hardly furnished. Everything about this place screams bachelor pad - and not in a good way. Trap music is playing on his tv with lude videos of gangsters carrying AK-47s and getting blow jobs from hookers. The apartment wreaks of what I suspect are sex odors. This suspicion is confirmed after one of the attendees spills Corona on the couch adjacent to the poker table and our host says "guess what I did there last night?" The kitchen counter top was riddled with empty scented candles and the fireplace had been used recently (it has been seasonably warm). The trash can was overflowing.

We take our seats at the inappropriately placed poker table - wedged between the couch and the fireplace (there was an entire room devoid of any furniture that would have served better) - and get playing chips Dennis brought over along with the beers and decks of cards. (Devin wasn't prepared to host; he just offered. We brought the essentials.) Every few hands Devin calls someone "stupid," but draws out the syllables in his drunken voice so it sounds more like "stooopeeed."

A couple hands in, our beloved host puts out a $10 chip silently and two people (including me) call behind him. He says "I made it $10." We tell him he didn't say anything and he says "house rules." We begrudgingly let it go to keep our customer happy and take back our limps. Someone makes it $25, Devin calls, and AA holds. Dennis saw Devin's cards - they were 43cc.

Devin raises and wins a pot, shows his cards to the player to his left. By now, my friend Elena has heard about this juicy game and showed up and asks to see Devin's cards as well. He throws them in the muck. "House rules," he says.

We're playing four-handed, the game is dwindling. Everyone wants a piece of the carcass sitting in front of us before the game breaks. Dennis raises $1.25 BTN, Devin 3! $5, I 4! $15 with A5ss, Dennis folds, Devin jams $23, I call, I'm up against 22. I flop an A; Devin rivers a deuce. "Nice hand," I tell him.

Then Dennis stacks him, AI pre with AKhh against Devin's A7o. Devin is on his last buy in. He puts out one $10 chip as he had all night and says what sounded like "ten." I look down at KK. I jam $35. Devin now says "I called. I said 'I'm in,' not 'ten'." If he had then said "house rules," I think I might have punched him in his evil face. Instead, I said I thought he raised, and every other time he put out one $10 chip he had intended to raise. He says, "fine, I'm all in!" I ask if he was sure, he says "Yeah, you probably have aces." I said I had kings. "Do you still want to go all in?" "Sure," Devin says. I hold.

Devin then spits out "everyone, get out of my house." We hurriedly rack up the chips and cash everyone out while Devin uses the restroom (oddly, the only clean room in the entire place). We're not quite finished when he returns a minute later. "What's taking so long for you all to leave?" I leave my $10 profit on the table, a token of my disgust, and thank him for hosting.

I happily head to MGM where I lose $16 playing 2/5 for a couple hours. The table was truly juicy, I just didn't find many good spots. Until next time.

*Lewd.

>You probably still need to declare even if you spend it all. Losing it all, no. But spending it, yes.

I'm no tax attorney, but I'm pretty sure you only get to claim your gambling losses if you itemize. And then only up to your win total, no additional deduction or carry over.

Gambling laws in the US are absolutely ridiculous and some states are straight up absurd.

Agreed!

Last night was back to normal. Started at 2/5 where I lost my first big hand that I played, raised AA, MP 3! $75, I 4! $175, he flats with $200 behind. We GII on A-8-4ddd and he makes his flush with QdQx. Shrugged it off (even though he hit and ran).

Raised 88, flopped set. Not a lot of action. Got a cbet called, that was it.

3! 99 on BTN against CO iso, get value over two streets on 7-high flop.

Raised AKdd in straddle from MP, two callers, straddler jams $90, I iso, we're heads up, I lose on 3677K to 97s.

Raise AKs again in CO, BTN calls, SB 3!, I 4!, all fold. Ended up $250.

Got tired after eating and game got tougher so went to 1/3 for rest of night. Called EP open with JJ, then short stack 3! $35, we both call. He cbets $40 on 9-high flop, I raise him all in for $60 more, he has 99....

Never really recovered from that hand, ended down $150 at 1/3.

The weather is beautiful. Can’t be mad about anything really.

Last night was not great. 2/5 for 6 hours or so, down $417. Only reason I played beyond my $300 stop-loss was because it was a good table with one prime target. I didn't get into any big hands against him though. Mainly just bled down folding my blinds. I was totally card dead for a few hours. Finally picked up AK and just limped behind, same with 88. (Won both.) I think being card dead for so long got into my head. Unfortunate thing about being card dead is when you do have a hand you typically get no action. Bad combination.

At one point fun player to my left was raise-happy and I limped KK in EP, but no one raised behind me. I led $15 on flop but check/folded turn when MP bet $40 on 4689 runout.

Called a few raises with AK (in SB), AJs, A4s, missed; iso'd 66, 77 (could have overlimped), got 3! both times, folded. Got 3! twice in CO by BTN (fun player) - folded J7dd and A5s when tight BB overcalled.

Completed SB KJo in limped pot called $15/$15/$20 on 9TJ and lost to 87. One bluff didn't get through either, lost around $80 that way.

Don't think I made any big mistakes really. Should have iso'd AK that one hand (maybe 88 too), but that's pretty much it. Just poor timing, didn't hit flops, and mostly card dead. Oh well.

$300 stop loss at 2/5? How can you have a <100bb stop loss?

Just trying to keep losses to a minimum while I continue to build my roll. If I lose my first $300 early I just play 1/3.

Hey man, still following your journey. The homegame you recently played, I could smell that couch from your description. lol I've been playing home/private games for the last few years but really stepped it up a notch since January (also no more casinos). Best of luck on your continued progress. I enjoy the detail you put into your posts.

Lol. Glad you enjoy. Thanks for following. Nice to know the effort I put into my writing isn’t unnoticed. Gl to you too!

Writing you “live” from table 3 at MGM where I am sitting on a stump of $117. Sat at this table to play with lunatic I’ve gambled with before and it backfired badly. Made the mistake of not 3! him pre to get HU where I would have played much better. Instead, I went multiway in a couple pots and it cost me. I made a call where I knew I was probably good against lunatic but had at least one player to act behind me who had me beat. Also, lost big pot with AQ where I raised pre, maniac called, 9TQ4J runout where luny b/b/b and I folded river.

Also made a bad bluff and call with AJcc. Started off like a plan but went south. Tight player raised BTN, I called SB, BB called. Flop 789cdd. This shouldn’t hit BTN hard so I think I can take it away over three streets assuming BB isn’t strong. Plus bdfd and gutshot. I lead out. BB calls, BTN tank calls. Turn: 9. I continue for $40, BB asks how much I have left ($250) and calls. BTN folds. River is a brick and I check. BB snap bets $50. I talk myself into a call given pot size and diamonds bricked. He had 95o!

Down $485 as of this writing. Lunatic is gone. I should call it a night soon. Not tilted but just getting a little tired. Session hasn’t worked out as planned. :/

Just busted my last $150. MP raises $10 (sizing tell), one call, I 3! AQo $35, four callers.
Flop 678. All check. Turn: A. MP caller leads $35, I’m pretty sure he has an A that I beat, I jam $110, BTN Re-jams and has T9. Interesting call of a short stack’s 3! Pre but can’t be results oriented. Oh well. Down $640 on the session.

Feel like I kinda failed miserably tonight. But then again, I've had these sessions/swings before and I've always recovered. Gotta keep the long term in mind on days like today!

Hate the AJcc flat facing button open (assuming there werent a bunch of limps in front). We are way ahead of button range, and when we flat we give BB a good price to complete with whatever trash equity we prefer fold pre.

Just my very quick overall 2cents without knowing all the facts:

- I'm fine with the KK limp/reraise plan, especially in this spot, just unlucky, and nice postflop fold
- I'm rarely calling raises with AJs- (unless perhaps they are likely to go very multiway with morans for an ok price), especially OOP, especially in pots that will likely end up HU OOP against a tight raiser (I'm a nit)
- attempting to iso with 77/66 in a game where a 3bet can go 5ways is probably not the best idea (yeah, limp, imo)
- in multiway limped pot with KJo on JT9 board, even to lol bet sizes, I think we have to lean to folding sooner than later
- AQ hand against maniac I'm probably raising flop to get in stacks if the SPR is reasonably small
- I don't attempt to bluff the 987dd board OOP against 2 opponents (including the raiser) with little equity (too FPS, imo)
- lol, love the $35 3bet with just $145 and getting 4 callers, lol live standard, amirite (I'm also going broke on the turn)

Ggoodluck,gogogo,andmakesuretoenjoyVegas!G