Or even better..u hit a set with it too lol

AA on KQJT board and river a set! It's gonna happen!

Local news reporting that last night someone cashed out from MGMNH and was followed home for 20 miles to Woodbridge, VA where he was shot and robbed. Be careful, folks. There are bad people out there. Reminded me of this unsettling interaction. I wish I had said something to someone about that young girl. I was really disturbed.

It may be time to get a box.

Ran it up at 2/5 mostly tonight, lost a little at 5-card and 1/3. 2/5 GII AA v. KK AI pre for $300 against ss, then l/rr KK, took it down pre, and won a couple smaller pots too. 5-card bet the nut flush on a board-pairing river which I didn't notice, got called by a boat of course. Otherwise uneventful/card dead except AAT97hh 3! BTN v. CO and flopped nut flush, he flopped smaller flush, and I slowplayed since I also flopped top two so I have the board on pretty much lock down, and I got a couple streets from V.

1/3 sit with my friends Dennis and Paytes, one of my first hands limp 44, four ways to J95dd flop which checks through, turn 4, I $20, two callers including Dennis in SB. River: 9, MP now donks $25, I raise $75, Dennis comes over the top $250, folds to me and I tank fold after he showed me a 5h since it's never a bluff for this sizing with 5x and he just has a bigger boat, as weird as it seemed that he somehow checked two streets with two pair or a set of 5s with a few draws possible otf. He later said he had 95s. :/ Later played a "GTO AA" hand where I flatted a 3! and c/r flop, jammed turn and held v. AQ on Q2223 runout. Ended the night up around $250. I'll take it.

Home game tonight, cashed in tourney and made another $85 in cash game for a decent $135 profit. No really big hands of note, a couple sets, but mostly just lots of value betting in smaller pots to charge draws.

One interesting hand: SB limps, I raise AdAs $2, he calls. Flop: 5-6-9dd. X/$2, c/r $5, I call. Turn: T. X/x. River: Td. V open jams $24 into $14. Fold. I guess I should have bet turn?

5-card up $1,100, down $100 at 1/3 and down $150 at 2/5. 1/3 played too passively and made a couple bad reads. Checked option in BB with 52dd, flopped flush draw, turned flush, called $10 bets from IP played on both streets, then MP c/r to $25 ott when flush hit on K-6d-7d-8d, we called, MP bet $55 otr (9c) and BTN said "I have to call." I decided to let it go figuring I was overflushed, but MP had just T9o and BTN had KTo.

Then opened JJ and went six ways to a 985r flop, I just x/f to a MP $30 bet and two calls. Seemed like a low equity spot, hard to navigate most turns. Unfortunately runout was Q-T and I would have scooped against K8o, ATo, and 9x ($30 bettor had most likely a fd). Against the field I was certainly dog but still getting the right price to peel.

Then rec who bets small with weak hands raised to $10, BB calls and I call A9hh, flop 973sch. We both x/c $25. Turn: 8. We x/c $25 again. River: 8. We x/c $25 again and pfr has QQ. :/ This hand was frustrating because he bet almost pot otf which may have set off alarm bells, but then sized down similar to how he sized down in prior hands when he was quite weaker than an OP.

2/5 3! AK SB and fun player limp/called EP, I x/f J94r flop which he bet $400 into. Then opened AKdd, whiffed, reg to my immediate left had flatted AA (he showed after the hand was over). Playas always tryin' to be trappin' Dumbo.

5-card GII AA pre three ways and river nut flush, then GII middle set and boat up four ways. Won a couple smaller pots flopping nut flush and later broadway.

5-card lost $550, was up $100 after GII pre with AA until I GII with AA again against another tight reg's AA and an unknown's KK (KK had us both covered) and KK scooped. Would have beat the other AA HU. Rebought, flopped nut flush multiway in SB and flop checked through. Turn was a brick and I potted it, rec player called as did someone behind him. River paired the top card on the board and rec player bet, I x/f. Rec player says cheekily "slowplay, sh*t happens." This was very shortly after I lost the big AA pot and I was definitely steaming. I gave him a piece of my mind and left.

Went to 2/5 where I 3! a $20 open and two calls to $120 in SB with AKdd, folded to fun BTN (and I wanted a call), he was deliberating and I chimed in "you're the only one who can keep me honest." He called. Flop 9-2-3hh, I jam my last $160, he snap calls. Turn: 8. River: 5. I table, he shows A5o for a gutshot, rivered pair of 5s. Smh.

Feeling pretty crappy at this point so I take a break, chat it up with my friends a little, then hop into a juicy 1/3 game where this maniac is sitting. I wake up with KK UTG and limp, ss BB raises to $23, I min-click it something I'll get some callers behind me, ss will jam and I can re-jam. Instead, everyone folded including the maniac and ss just flatted. Flop was A-high and he open jammed $75, I tank as I have no diamond and there's a fd (but he raised to $23, so he has a lotta Ax), I ask "you got it?" and he actually just goes ahead and shows me his hand: AJcc. I muck. I am pretty sure he was just happy with the $120 in the pot at this point and wanted to take it down risk-free. Merry Christmas, buddy.

Then get AA UTG, limp, UTG1 $15, UTG2 $30, maniac cold calls, I $130, fold, ss UTG2 AI less, maniac calls (yes!), flop A-9-9ss. X/x. Turn: 2. X/x. River: 3s. I jam hoping he has something, he calls pretty quickly with 54 for the rivered wheel. Now only stuck $500, clawing my way out of that hole. Maniac leaves, game much worse, I move to the only remaining 2/5 which looks exceptional. First hand raise KQ, three callers and K-J-3xxs flop. Bet/only UTG limper calls. Turn: 9s. X/x. River: Ts. He donks $125 (about PSB), I snap, he has A6ss. :/

Make a little back in smaller pots but didn't really get too involved. Ended down $450 at 2/5 and ended down $610 on the day.

Also, in the spirit of Christmas: for anyone out there who I've written about who didn't appreciate it, I just want to apologize. This thread has grown since it started and in all likelihood many more people in the room frequent it than I was aware of even a few months ago. I write this because I am pretty sure Pro X knows about the thread now thanks to someone who had been upset with me ever since he saw one of my posts about him. Anyway, if you're reading this and I offended you or betrayed your trust, please accept my apologies. I still respect and admire your game. If anyone I've written about here would like me to delete any posts about them, please PM me or let me know through other channels and I will gladly direct the mods to do so.

And finally, an early New Year's resolution: the past several weeks have been rough results-wise and it's impacting my mental game. Silly comments get under my skin, I say things I regret soon after that I know I wouldn't say if I was running well. I honestly am starting not to like these changes and need to work on my attitude.

Yeah, it's good to see you've identified that you may be reacting poorly to small needles/comments as the slow play comment shouldn't affect you at all. Gl in 2020

Thanks. With everything else I have had to cope with in life, it's important that poker remains a positive experience, as it started out, and yet has been anything but lately. A lot of this is within my control so I'll just have to work on it moving forward and remain grateful for what I have.

Christmas Eve/early Christmas morning brought a little cheer, up $275 2/5, $180 5-card, down $30 1/3. 2/5 played well, 3! black QQ in SB, CRAI on 8-high hh flop, V snapped and I held. Then caught a bluff for once with 9d9c after calling a raise in SB and leading turn after J-7-3hh checked through, 2s turn, then only field caller bet $60 into $100 on 7d river and I made the call unblocking hearts and 54 and I was good. I guess I finally got tired of folding this month.

Happy Holidays all!

After Christmas dinner with friends and family, headed to MDL for a change of pace where I lost $64 at 1/3 while waiting for 5-card and ran it up there around $365 (top set a couple times chopped once, held once, quads once, ez game).

Called it a quick session as I need to get back to a decent sleep schedule with the sun setting at 4:30 pm nowadays. That's pretty much it.

Happy holidays!

Selling a comped meal to somebody for $105 is bad. Especially to somebody who is keeping the game good. I’m reading through your thread, so maybe things change as I read further; however, while it’s evident your skills improve throughout this journey, for god’s sake, you need to work on keeping a game good. It may be the most important thing in today’s poker landscape. You should have just given it to him for, at most, whatever it would have cost. But probably should have just given it to him.

Just being honest here, you need to let some things roll off your back. I absolutely hate letting things go. I’m stubborn and sometimes I feel the need to be proven right. But that doesn’t help you in poker. I noticed you mention you play tennis with your sis, I’m a tennis instructor...it’s the the same in tennis. Something doesn’t go your way on the court, if you dwell on it, it’s only going to hurt you. Skipping certain dealer downs, or not tipping certain dealers...man, that’s way too emotional. You have need to be stronger mentally. Your game has come a long way, but you can’t have the emotional side hold you back. Do what you can to keep the games good.

Been a good read.

I wish I could say it gets better.... It's actually gotten so bad lately I am playing at another casino. Between running bad, getting angry at the table, and thread drama, I really needed a change of scenery to regain my composure. I was starting to feel like poker was bringing out the worst in me, and that was not a good feeling at all. I just wasn't myself - or, I'd changed for the worse. Either way, I wanted it to stop.

Oh, and I still tip dealers, don't worry. (Although I'm certainly not the most generous tipper.)

Thanks for the honest feedback and for reading!

Running decently at 5-card in overnight game until GII AAKQ4ss for $750 against two players and one (who had me covered) improved and I didn’t, but not before being called a f*gg*t by this complete moron who has had it out for me from day one after I beat him in a relatively small pot. This time I couldn’t let it go and called the floor over to reprimand him. Apparently no matter where I go I can’t stop running into low-life idiots. Must be endemic to poker. Ended down $400 with this jerk jumping for joy that I lost the last hand. Now at 1/3 trying to stay up long enough to reset my terrible schedule wondering when it’ll all get better.

it's horrible behaviour but are you sure you are not instigating it somehow?

I have played in a lot of different countries and cultures including ones where I was obviously the winning "outsider" and I have never copped any abuse directly.

isn’t staying up longer worst for ur sleep schedule? I’m speaking in terms of deprivation

Yeah that's not how you reset your sleep schedule. You need to stop eating when you want to be asleep first of all. So if you want to sleep at 10pm stop eating at 8pm or earlier. Also eat when you want to be awake. Avoid screens and be in the dark when you want to be sleeping. And look at the sun a little bit during the day.

Some people are negative and will call names for no reason for sure. But there is a chance that there is something about OP's demeanor and attitude that is attracting all this negativity. Based on the amount of negativity received I'm guessing OP is responsible for a good portion of it. For instance thinking someone is a low life idiot for getting excited about winning a hand. Thinking that he is getting excited because OP lost rather than the villain won a hand.

The way I've always reset is to stay up late, go to bed exhausted, and wake up early (like I did today - yippie!).

The whole story about this bad apple name-calling dude is: my first time in the new casino playing 5-card after a long hiatus I pot/pot multiway and lose a decent pot. At showdown I announce "set" kinda defeated even though flush and straights got there. Of course someone unsurprisingly had a flush and I lost. Annoying guy not involved in the hand says "set no good on that board, man!" to which I reply "that's why I didn't show," and then begins repeatedly laughing in my face, then - unprovoked - says "this guy plays one hand every two hours!" and thought it was funny for me to lose the one hand I play every two hours. (Imagine how I felt.) The floor happens to be standing right behind me during this, I complain, another player at the table chastises him for needling me too, and the floor tells this guy to be nice.

Next day, same guy calls me a "f*gg*t/f*gg*t a$$" repeatedly after I river him in a small pot (I chopped anyway with a third V, so I didn't even win outright). We haven't exchanged a word up until this point in the session. I call the floor on him again. I go on to lose a $2.5k pot AI with AA three ways and this same guy shouts to V, "I've never rooted for you before but I am rooting for you now!" and after I lose he is super happy, celebrating and everything, and tells the victor to rack up immediately and go home (which he does).

So yes, I believe this is a case of some young dude seeing competition he doesn't like and lashing out. At one point he murmured to his friend that "it's gonna be hard to get his money." I spoke to the floor a couple hours later and he said he took the kid aside and told him not to talk that way to people and something about him getting written up in his file.

I am being EXTREMELY conscientious about table presence and demeanor this time around. Not making the same mistakes I have at MGM. It's a goal of mine moving forward to get better in this area, so I highly doubt it was anything I have said or done to provoke him. (Other than call the floor on him, which IMO was totally deserved.) Are you saying I should not bother calling the floor in these situations?

And yes, anyone who still uses the word "f*gg*t" to refer to another person today is a low-life idiot in my book. Sorry if you disagree, Rick.

Oh, and @Rick again: at what point does anyone "deserve" to be called such an ugly word? At what point does someone "deserve" to be called the f-word, n-word, or some other blatantly hateful term? The fact that you said I might be provoking it is revealing because it implies that such terrible speech can be justified under certain circumstances. Maybe that wasn't your intention, and if it wasn't, you should clarify.

Your initial response to him was hostile (when he said set no good). Just say “yea ugly river” or something like that instead. The only acceptable time for you to talk to the floor was when he called you f****t. Talking to the floor the other two times was childish and will not make you well liked among your peers.

I think you definitely have acted in ways that are bad for the game and can lead to negative interactions but ofc you don't deserve to be called any of those words (nor does anyone). It doesn't sound like you've ever been malicious, more just naive and unaware. That guy sounds like an absolute c***.

Pretty much this. Part of the job, is it not?

If there weren't any ******s at my table I wouldn't even bother playing

I'm not saying you deserve it but you certainly provoked it. If I bump into a Hell's Angel, refuse to apologize and flip him the bird I wouldn't deserve to be murdered but I would have provoked it. It doesn't matter what I think deserves to happen either, what you need to be thinking is what these people think deserves to happen. That Hell's Angel guy would think I "deserve" to die. And annoying guy thinks you "deserve" to be called the f-slur. Don't do things that would make anyone think you deserve any kind of negative response. And for what? To protect your ego?

As trob888 said your response to annoying guys needle was hostile. "That's why I didn't show". You could have just showed your cards first of all. I don't like when winning players don't wanna show they're hand. That's annoying. If it's your turn to show then just flip over your cards. Sometimes I'll make a winning reg show his hand in that spot before I show. The reason I don't mind a fun player announcing garbage and not showing is obviously different than the reason you don't show. The fun player might be embarrassed to show because he made a bad play. You don't wanna show because you're trying not to give out information. If you don't annoyingly do that you don't get needled in the first place. If you don't respond arrogantly and with hostility you wouldn't be called such a hurtful name. You could have done better and you provoked it.

Personally whenever it's my turn to show my hand, you know what I do? I just table my cards. Simple. And if someone needles my play I just agree that I'm an idiot. Having an ego at the poker table serves no purpose.



Good luck buddy. Try being happy at the poker table. That's really all you gotta do.