2014: I Ain’t Trying to Survive, I’m Trying to Live it to The (No) Limit
08-14-2014
, 12:13 PM
August 13 – “Thank God for granting me, this moment of clarity, this moment of honesty, the world will feel my truth.”
So after a day of rest to recover from staying up 27 hours, I got back on the felt. I was debating playing or not, because I still felt tired, but I felt like I had to get some volume in.
Hand No. 1
There’s one limp and he flashes me his cards, so I make it $25 with T
5
to iso. You can call this unethical, but I have a policy on it that I feel fine about and it doesn’t include telling the guy in the middle of the hand when I’m in position. I typically give people one heads up about it after the first hand in which they do it, unless they are the type to obviously know better.
Anyway.. the CO calls and the limper calls. He has KJ
by the way.
Flop ($75): T96
He checks, I bet $45, the CO folds and he calls.
Turn ($165): A
He checks, I bomb it for his last $120, he calls.
River ($405): Jx
He takes it, slow rolling me, but given that I know what he has, it doesn’t really matter.
Hand No. 2
I limp JTo and call a raise to $25 from the blinds.
Flop ($81): JJ7r
It checks to me and I bet $35. A player in LP raises to $130 with $49 behind, so I flat. Basically the money is always going in with any value hands at this point, so I might as well keep his complete bluffs in on the next street.
Turn ($341): 8x
I check, he jams $49, I snap.
River ($439): 9x
He shows 88 and takes it. Spiked the 2 outer on the turn, and I’m sure the money was going in regardless, but nothing I can do.
Hand No. 3
I’m in the CO and raise to $20 with KJ. The blinds both call.
Flop ($59): J7
5
It checks to me, I bet $40 and the BB calls. He’s a young guy who looks decent, but he’s played less than an orbit so no real reads.
Turn ($139): 6
He checks, I bet $85 and he calls.
River ($309): A
He checks, and I bet $150. He calls and my hand is good.
Hand No. 4
I’m in MP and raise to $20 with AJ. The button and SB call.
Flop ($64): Q75
The SB bets $30. He’s been pretty tight so far. I call, the button folds.
Turn ($124): 6
He checks, with about 270 left. I bet $80. He calls.
River ($284): 9
He checks, I jam, and he folds pretty quickly.
Hand No. 5
I limp and call a raise with 22.
Flop ($120): J92
An EP player bets $60 and I flat, hoping the PFR will raise cause he’s been kind of aggro. He flats as well.
Turn ($300) 9
The donk bettor checks, I bet $150, the PFR folds and the donk bettor jams $203 total. I snap and he shows J9o and I miss my quad draw.
Results: -$299 in 3 hours, 22 minutes ($14 in tips)
A Possible Adjustment
Through talking to a few players I respect, it looks like there’s an adjustment to my game that I can make that should boost my winrate. It came up when giving someone some advice for 1/2 based on my playbook, and while I didn’t carry it over to 2/5 because I didn’t think it translated as well given stack depths, I didn’t make the exact adjustment they suggest. It’s worked for a few people I respect so I’m going to give it a try and see what happens.
I’ve been running bad for a couple sessions now, so I was probably more open to suggestions than usual, which may have been good timing for a moment of clarity.
Sorry to be vague with it, but some things, especially general overall strategy that impacts your ranges, it’s best not to share publicly once you're getting into 2/5 with ambitions of 5/10 and beyond.
So after a day of rest to recover from staying up 27 hours, I got back on the felt. I was debating playing or not, because I still felt tired, but I felt like I had to get some volume in.
Hand No. 1
There’s one limp and he flashes me his cards, so I make it $25 with T
5 to iso. You can call this unethical, but I have a policy on it that I feel fine about and it doesn’t include telling the guy in the middle of the hand when I’m in position. I typically give people one heads up about it after the first hand in which they do it, unless they are the type to obviously know better.Anyway.. the CO calls and the limper calls. He has K
J by the way.Flop ($75): T
96He checks, I bet $45, the CO folds and he calls.
Turn ($165): A
He checks, I bomb it for his last $120, he calls.
River ($405): Jx
He takes it, slow rolling me, but given that I know what he has, it doesn’t really matter.
Hand No. 2
I limp JTo and call a raise to $25 from the blinds.
Flop ($81): JJ7r
It checks to me and I bet $35. A player in LP raises to $130 with $49 behind, so I flat. Basically the money is always going in with any value hands at this point, so I might as well keep his complete bluffs in on the next street.
Turn ($341): 8x
I check, he jams $49, I snap.
River ($439): 9x
He shows 88 and takes it. Spiked the 2 outer on the turn, and I’m sure the money was going in regardless, but nothing I can do.
Hand No. 3
I’m in the CO and raise to $20 with K
J. The blinds both call.Flop ($59): J
75It checks to me, I bet $40 and the BB calls. He’s a young guy who looks decent, but he’s played less than an orbit so no real reads.
Turn ($139): 6
He checks, I bet $85 and he calls.
River ($309): A
He checks, and I bet $150. He calls and my hand is good.
Hand No. 4
I’m in MP and raise to $20 with A
J. The button and SB call.Flop ($64): Q
75The SB bets $30. He’s been pretty tight so far. I call, the button folds.
Turn ($124): 6
He checks, with about 270 left. I bet $80. He calls.
River ($284): 9
He checks, I jam, and he folds pretty quickly.
Hand No. 5
I limp and call a raise with 22.
Flop ($120): J
92An EP player bets $60 and I flat, hoping the PFR will raise cause he’s been kind of aggro. He flats as well.
Turn ($300) 9
The donk bettor checks, I bet $150, the PFR folds and the donk bettor jams $203 total. I snap and he shows J9o and I miss my quad draw.
Results: -$299 in 3 hours, 22 minutes ($14 in tips)
A Possible Adjustment
Through talking to a few players I respect, it looks like there’s an adjustment to my game that I can make that should boost my winrate. It came up when giving someone some advice for 1/2 based on my playbook, and while I didn’t carry it over to 2/5 because I didn’t think it translated as well given stack depths, I didn’t make the exact adjustment they suggest. It’s worked for a few people I respect so I’m going to give it a try and see what happens.
I’ve been running bad for a couple sessions now, so I was probably more open to suggestions than usual, which may have been good timing for a moment of clarity.
Sorry to be vague with it, but some things, especially general overall strategy that impacts your ranges, it’s best not to share publicly once you're getting into 2/5 with ambitions of 5/10 and beyond.
08-14-2014
, 01:45 PM
08-14-2014
, 02:03 PM
08-14-2014
, 02:13 PM
08-14-2014
, 02:16 PM
08-14-2014
, 02:18 PM
08-14-2014
, 02:24 PM
I swear on 2p2 a girl is either Kate Upton or everyone's like nah she's ass ugly. People probably think she's too fat, too.
08-14-2014
, 03:34 PM
08-14-2014
, 05:33 PM
08-14-2014
, 06:17 PM
08-14-2014
, 06:30 PM
08-14-2014
, 07:16 PM
08-14-2014
, 09:29 PM
08-14-2014
, 10:37 PM
08-14-2014
, 11:18 PM
08-15-2014
, 02:28 AM
August 14 - "Live fast, die young, that's my choice. / Get money, get money like an invoice."
That seems like a good lyric for this week - I definitely lived fast. I don't have any plans on dying young, though.... But the girl I'm seeing who is actually quite a bit younger than me says she wants to - she doesn't like the idea of living past 40 or 50. I find that INCREDIBLY odd, but too each their own. I get people who say they don't want to live to be 100, or 80, or whatever... But me? What's the record, like 126? Sign me up.
Hit and Run the 1/2
So far since moving up to 2/5, I've played 1/2 while waiting for a seat for 33 minutes and lost a total of $81. Yikes, that's like -80bb/hr. So obviously I was due for some positive 1/2 variance. I played 17 minutes today and won two big pots... One with AK calling a limp-shove and holding against a likely dominated hand since I took it down with A high. The other I had QQ, the flop kept me an overpair and the turn gave me a set I didn't need and I took a nice pot.
Result: +$187 in 17 minutes ($2 in tips)
A Nondescript 2/5 Session
There weren't really many hands of note in this session. I only took notes on two...
Hand No. 1
EP raises to $25 and I call with AJ. He looks like a body builder and through about 15 minutes seems like a recfish.
Flop ($56): 789
He bets $30, I raise to $100 and he calls.
Turn ($256): 8
He checks, I check.
River ($256): T
He bets $215. I tank and call and he shows QQ and my hand is good. I think he was value betting on the river, based on his reaction.
Hand No. 2
I have K9 in the HJ and limp behind two limpers. The CO and BTN limp, the BB checks.
Flop ($31): 954
It checks to me and I bet $20. The CO calls. The BTN raises to $60. It folds to me. My gut tells me he has a drawing hand, and I expect his turn bet to clarify this a lot. I call. The CO flats, which is a bit of a surprise.
Turn ($211): 5
I check, CO checks, BTN bets $100. I still feel he's on a draw and I call. The CO ships $75 more. BTN calls. I call.
River ($736): 7
I check, BTN checks. "I just have a nine," he says and turns over 9T. I table, and the CO slow rolls us with JJ.
Result: +$309 in 7 hrs, 35 minutes ($29 in tips)
I take a break and go get dinner. I'm a little frustrated I had a great read on the button and the CO taking a weird line on basically every street with JJ somehow got him paid off on a nice pot. It's a weird form of variance, I guess. Nothing a little teriyaki chicken and rice with green tea from the Hibachi joint can't fix. I take a walk to my room, pack a bit, then get back in the 2/5.
Session 2
I get onto a table that has a massive stack of like 3.5-4K and the God seat is open so I take it. He's not at the table at the moment, but when he returns, we immediately play a hand. He's a young kid who could be a grinder based on appearance. That and the fact that he's likely either really good aggro or really bad aggro based on his stack size is all I can go on.
Hand No. 1
There's a limp and an MP player makes it $10, possibly by accident based on his reaction. The big stack who had posted makes it $40 and I peak at KK. I decide to flat, and the BB and initial raiser come along.
Flop ($160): K93
When you flat KK and dream of a flop, this is it. It checks to the big stack and he fires $110. I flat with $330 behind. Everyone else folds and he gives me a funny look.
Turn ($380): 5
He jams, I snap call, and he asks if I have a set. I nod. The river is a 3 and I show my KK. He angrily mucks AA.
Hand No. 2
About three hands later, a guy with about $330 makes it $20. I look down at KK and make it $60. It folds to him and he ships, and I shrug and snap call. He looks happy, and I ask if he has AA. He nods.
The board runs out... 8357K
He freaks out about the river and shows AA with an A. Everyone talks about how it's a one outer, not realizing that I had the K in my hand.
I Slow Rolled Duke
Duke and I are often texting each other about the prop bet and just talking trash, so I texted him after those hands. Keep in mind the basis of the bet was him thinking I'm too loose and me thinking he's a nit. He's also got a history of finding spots to fold KK, and we'll never know if they're correct or not.
Me: I ran KK into AA twice in 4 hands... so sick... so good for you in the prop bet...
Duke: Yea see that's where my edge is. I would have folded to the first 3bet
Duke: Both times
...
...
Me: BUT I won both
Duke: Oh ok nice
Duke: Not sure how that's good for me though
Me: It's not I prop bet slow rolled you
Duke: I know you did
Duke: Pretty bad etiquette
I think the fact that he tried to needle me that he would have folded and gotten away from it just made the slow roll that much sweeter. I took deep satisfaction from it.
"What's an extra 7 million?"
It folds to my CO and I make it $20 with QJo. The BB pops it to $40. I call. It's a weird raise for her and she tells me she misclicked and meant to grab 2 greens. She bets the flop that I whiffed and I fold. I ask her if she's been watching the Big One for One Drop, given her misclick (those guys were doing it like crazy due to the chip denominations).
This leads to another player talking about Negreanu's call with K high against Colman. He says he'd never make that call outside of the money, it's only cause he was in the money and didn't care. I tell him it's a bigger deal there because the jump is like $7-8 million.
Him: "Yeah, but once he's already won $8 million, he doesn't care, he has it locked up, and he will make bad calls."
Me: "I don't know man, $7 million is a lot of money."
Him: "No, not once you've won $8 million. What's an extra $7 million?"
I look at him and blink a couple of times.
Him: "Ahhh.. nowwww you see."
Me: "Um, yeah, ok."
Hand No. 3
There's a straddle and MP raises to $20. There are two calls and I call from the BB with KQ. The straddle calls.
Flop ($99): T85
It checks to the PFR who bets $20. I call and the straddle calls.
Turn ($159): 3
It checks through.
River ($159): 4
It checks through and my hand is good.
Results: +$594 in 1 hour, 54 minutes ($7 in tips)
So for the day I was +$1,090... It's funny, it didn't feel like a big day but it was a solid win that gets me going back in the right direction.
That seems like a good lyric for this week - I definitely lived fast. I don't have any plans on dying young, though.... But the girl I'm seeing who is actually quite a bit younger than me says she wants to - she doesn't like the idea of living past 40 or 50. I find that INCREDIBLY odd, but too each their own. I get people who say they don't want to live to be 100, or 80, or whatever... But me? What's the record, like 126? Sign me up.
Hit and Run the 1/2
So far since moving up to 2/5, I've played 1/2 while waiting for a seat for 33 minutes and lost a total of $81. Yikes, that's like -80bb/hr. So obviously I was due for some positive 1/2 variance. I played 17 minutes today and won two big pots... One with AK calling a limp-shove and holding against a likely dominated hand since I took it down with A high. The other I had QQ, the flop kept me an overpair and the turn gave me a set I didn't need and I took a nice pot.
Result: +$187 in 17 minutes ($2 in tips)
A Nondescript 2/5 Session
There weren't really many hands of note in this session. I only took notes on two...
Hand No. 1
EP raises to $25 and I call with A
J. He looks like a body builder and through about 15 minutes seems like a recfish.Flop ($56): 7
89He bets $30, I raise to $100 and he calls.
Turn ($256): 8
He checks, I check.
River ($256): T
He bets $215. I tank and call and he shows Q
Q and my hand is good. I think he was value betting on the river, based on his reaction.Hand No. 2
I have K
9 in the HJ and limp behind two limpers. The CO and BTN limp, the BB checks. Flop ($31): 9
54It checks to me and I bet $20. The CO calls. The BTN raises to $60. It folds to me. My gut tells me he has a drawing hand, and I expect his turn bet to clarify this a lot. I call. The CO flats, which is a bit of a surprise.
Turn ($211): 5
I check, CO checks, BTN bets $100. I still feel he's on a draw and I call. The CO ships $75 more. BTN calls. I call.
River ($736): 7
I check, BTN checks. "I just have a nine," he says and turns over 9
T. I table, and the CO slow rolls us with JJ. Result: +$309 in 7 hrs, 35 minutes ($29 in tips)
I take a break and go get dinner. I'm a little frustrated I had a great read on the button and the CO taking a weird line on basically every street with JJ somehow got him paid off on a nice pot. It's a weird form of variance, I guess. Nothing a little teriyaki chicken and rice with green tea from the Hibachi joint can't fix. I take a walk to my room, pack a bit, then get back in the 2/5.
Session 2
I get onto a table that has a massive stack of like 3.5-4K and the God seat is open so I take it. He's not at the table at the moment, but when he returns, we immediately play a hand. He's a young kid who could be a grinder based on appearance. That and the fact that he's likely either really good aggro or really bad aggro based on his stack size is all I can go on.
Hand No. 1
There's a limp and an MP player makes it $10, possibly by accident based on his reaction. The big stack who had posted makes it $40 and I peak at K
K. I decide to flat, and the BB and initial raiser come along.Flop ($160): K
93When you flat KK and dream of a flop, this is it. It checks to the big stack and he fires $110. I flat with $330 behind. Everyone else folds and he gives me a funny look.
Turn ($380): 5
He jams, I snap call, and he asks if I have a set. I nod. The river is a 3 and I show my KK. He angrily mucks AA.
Hand No. 2
About three hands later, a guy with about $330 makes it $20. I look down at K
K and make it $60. It folds to him and he ships, and I shrug and snap call. He looks happy, and I ask if he has AA. He nods.The board runs out... 8
357KHe freaks out about the river and shows AA with an A
. Everyone talks about how it's a one outer, not realizing that I had the K in my hand. I Slow Rolled Duke
Duke and I are often texting each other about the prop bet and just talking trash, so I texted him after those hands. Keep in mind the basis of the bet was him thinking I'm too loose and me thinking he's a nit. He's also got a history of finding spots to fold KK, and we'll never know if they're correct or not.
Me: I ran KK into AA twice in 4 hands... so sick... so good for you in the prop bet...
Duke: Yea see that's where my edge is. I would have folded to the first 3bet
Duke: Both times
...
...
Me: BUT I won both
Duke: Oh ok nice
Duke: Not sure how that's good for me though
Me: It's not I prop bet slow rolled you
Duke: I know you did
Duke: Pretty bad etiquette
I think the fact that he tried to needle me that he would have folded and gotten away from it just made the slow roll that much sweeter. I took deep satisfaction from it.
"What's an extra 7 million?"
It folds to my CO and I make it $20 with QJo. The BB pops it to $40. I call. It's a weird raise for her and she tells me she misclicked and meant to grab 2 greens. She bets the flop that I whiffed and I fold. I ask her if she's been watching the Big One for One Drop, given her misclick (those guys were doing it like crazy due to the chip denominations).
This leads to another player talking about Negreanu's call with K high against Colman. He says he'd never make that call outside of the money, it's only cause he was in the money and didn't care. I tell him it's a bigger deal there because the jump is like $7-8 million.
Him: "Yeah, but once he's already won $8 million, he doesn't care, he has it locked up, and he will make bad calls."
Me: "I don't know man, $7 million is a lot of money."
Him: "No, not once you've won $8 million. What's an extra $7 million?"
I look at him and blink a couple of times.
Him: "Ahhh.. nowwww you see."
Me: "Um, yeah, ok."
Hand No. 3
There's a straddle and MP raises to $20. There are two calls and I call from the BB with K
Q. The straddle calls.Flop ($99): T
85It checks to the PFR who bets $20. I call and the straddle calls.
Turn ($159): 3
It checks through.
River ($159): 4
It checks through and my hand is good.
Results: +$594 in 1 hour, 54 minutes ($7 in tips)
So for the day I was +$1,090... It's funny, it didn't feel like a big day but it was a solid win that gets me going back in the right direction.
08-15-2014
, 10:32 AM
08-15-2014
, 03:04 PM
08-16-2014
, 12:39 AM
08-16-2014
, 02:48 AM
