Thanks man. I believe I have good bankroll management and I understand my sample size is very small. I am totally prepared for and expecting downswings much larger than this one.

Still, it feels bad to lose and it can be cathartic to talk about it somewhere.

Played 7 hours of 1/3 and booked a $757 win today. A win is nice even if it isn't huge. I also take some solace in having some friends at the poker table, whether dealer or player. Some people are actually empathetic. As a rule I don't expect people to give a damn, but it's nice to have friends.

Lost $838 in 8 hours playing 1/3. The downswing continues, down 18.6k over the last 49 hours.

Playing a good 5/5/10/20 game tomorrow though so I am excited for that. Bummed that I am going to have to miss a good game next on Thursday to attend a funeral.

Allergies have also been wrecking my life. Mold is high. Feeling fatigued constantly.

Just wondering what your process is while playing?

What could really help during a downswing is using a so called circle of attention during a session.
Everytime you feel yourself being distracted with unhelpful thoughts you take possession of the mind and bring it back to circle 1, which is the process.
The further you are from the first circle, the worse your decisions tend to get.

Let me know if you have any questions, keep it up! GL GL

I try to use solver based ranges and lines as a baseline and try to exploit where possible. I try to randomize some actions. I usually buy in for 2k but sometimes buy in for more to cover a specific player or if the game has gotten deep. I tend to do that after getting stacked as well. Maybe there is something there? I think I am somewhat prone to tilt and get over aggressive.

I try to play as long as I can, but often this will cap at 7 or 8 hours due to family obligations. I think overall I tend to function well for long periods of time. I have ADD but Vyvamse helps. I think I tend to be rational and dispassionate even in long sessions, although occasionally playing tired will cause me to miss something. Despite being prone to tilt, I think overall I have a good stomach for the swings of poker and not being results oriented.

sounds like u have a great approach and doing better than half the people reading your post

The "flip" for 5k being the only exception ..but... it is a slight possibility that i have made more than 1 ill-advised bet myself before
----

are you adding in lowstakes online volume for reps?

Yes I play 1/2 blitz on acr, and 200 zone / 200 6 max on bovada.

Run bad continues.



Played a 5/5/10 mainly with 25 double straddle and occasionally more. Stand up game hands killed me. Lost 4.6k in 7 hours. $100 per player and three people standing including me. 8 players, 7 to pay out if you lose.

Game is 5/5/10/25/50 and hero is in first $5 blind. Rec who is sitting (won atandup game already) limps in CO (covers hero). Hero (3.5k effective) raises to $400 in sb with Td9d.

Why so large? Well, there is a rec in the bb and a pro in the 25 Straddle still standing and I want to isolate them out of the pot. Right now my EV of paying out the standup game is -233, but if one of them sits, it goes to -350. Additionally, if I win goes to +$100. So I increase my EV by 333 if I win, and risk an incremental loss of EV of -120 if one of them wins. So there is a whole lot at stake here for me which the players sitting down do not have at stake.

Rec (2k effective) standing up still in BB calls 400. Folds to CO limp calls.

Flop $1,285 Qd8d5d, we flop a flush. We cbet $400. Rec In BB jams for 1.6k. Rec in CO jams for 3.1k effective. Hero snaps. Turn is a 4d, river brick.

BB has Qx no diamond. CO has Ad9s. Got 6 outed because Jd gives me a straight flush. 75.5% equity for the main pot and almost the same in the side bar runner runner boat. And that is 9.1k pot scooped if I won. The difference between a 4.5k win and the 4.6k loss I had.

And just like that we are on a $25k downswing over the last 65 hours. For 2024, we are up $340 over 195 hours. Since going pro, we are up $61k over 625 hours. The hourly rate is currently at $98 since going pro.

Rough times, but I have to recognize at the same time that games only exist because recreational players will win a significant amount of the time. It is what it is. The game was insanely good. Still feeling good about my play and bankroll management overall.

Decided to change it up today, holed up and played some online poker, mostly 200nl blitz with a little 200 reg and 400nl reg:



In retrospect, I probably should have played some live poker as there was a good game I may have been able to play today, including with one out of towner mega-action player. But it is what it is. Live and learn. I feel like a change of scenery was worth a shot at least.

I am still a lifetime loser in online poker, but most of that is from volume played on my phone on Bovada and ACR prior to playing full time. I still haven't put in a ton of volume since playing full time as my focus has been live poker, but I did start playing on my desktop and got a HUD a few months back. Here are my results going back to November 25, 2023 on ACR where my HUD stats start:



This is my NL200 graph where most of my volume has been at (contains small volume of HU):



Overall stats by game type:




HUD Stats:



Again, I know the volume is small, but any advice is welcome.

GL!

I’d be interested to know roughly where in the country you’re playing, if you’re comfortable sharing those details.

Texas.

Looks good. Id say keep doing what you are doing because it seems to be working well. Based off the stats 22/18 it looks like you can RFI from the btn more and you are likely not 3betting enough in SBvBU, BBvBU and BBvSB nodes. Ball park should be 15, 13, and 17 respectively in those nodes.

That crazy straddle game. If they are calling $400 with hands like A9o then I would be opening pre WAY bigger than any solver would ever tell me to. Sounds like the type of game where you can open for 1k with KK and get multiple callers.

I absolutely guarantee you are a losing player in 200 blitz. It doesn't make sense to play that game. If you want to practice strategy play like 25nl, it is still going to be miles tougher than any live game.

The A7o all in hand from a while ago is an egregious punt. If you play like that you should expect gigantic downswings all the time

Thanks for the advice. I will look into those nodes.

And yeah, it is a crazy game. Opening to 1j probably overshoots it, but yeah I was getting called by a sitting rec $10 blind with 74s when I opened to $300 with 2 other guys standing. I would love a preflop solver for standup game to see if I am thinking about opening sizings correctly.

If you judge every poker player by their worst mistakes, we would all be punters.

Props for posting your online stats.

I'd echo what Bobby said, 22/18 is very tight for 6max so you can open up a bit more, especially BTN and SB.

200nl blitz on ACR is a gauntlet (hell most people can't even beat 50nl blitz) so there is no shame in losing in that pool. I'd post some hands in the microstakes forum/in this thread if you want to get more specific on where you are leaking.

Maybe hire a coach to get a DB review (not me), I'd recommend Brokenstars or Anero.

Lol—just saw thread title, ty. Story checks out based on game descriptions.

I appreciate the advice. I may hit up a coach at some point. I went and studied some of the GTO RFI ranges and I was definitely missing a few percent, especially from the CO and button. Will need to look over my SB 3bet range as well.

Any thoughts on my fold to 3bet, 4bet, fold to 4bet, and 4bet fold stats?

The thing is, all those stats are a product of your preflop opening ranges. So when I say you call too many 3bets preflop, yeah your calling % is a little high but that's because you're opening less hands so it makes sense that it is higher.

Overall though to me, poker is about concepts. I'll talk about myself as an example, I had very similar stats about 2 years ago to what I have now and I was a 1bb/100 winner at 100nl. Now, same stats and I play 200nl with a very good winrate.

It's funny because my preflop statistics and flop statistics were virtually identical. But I didn't understand how to manipulate my range to get my opponent to do what I want so my winrate was low. And I also didn't understand how to play vs fish. These are the two most important things to learn if you want to boost your winrate imo.

It's basically impossible to tell you what you are good at/not good at looking at generic stats once you get past a certain threshold of skill. This is why I like posting in the microstakes forum (not as much now but earlier in my development). You get a microcosm of how people think about a spot and then you compare it to how you think about a spot.

I talk about a bunch of this stuff in my PG&C, check it out if you have some time. GL man.

Forget online. You’re not in Texas to play online. Double down on live games and accept that your upswing sample may have been inflated data and now your overall results are becoming closer to accurate. Just grind it out, you’ll be alright.

I'm going to be really blunt. You decided to quit your job to play poker based off past results in the games you are playing, correct? Texas live poker has to be one of if not the softest game on the planet. Yes, you read that right, in the entire world.

You are not good at the game, and how can you be? You never ran or looked at a sim in your life. If you're taking this seriously hire a coach ASAP. I don't coach so this isn't me trying to shill. You have a wife and kids and I'd like to see you not lose everything that you've worked for.

Blows my mind you went pro and don't even have basic preflop ranges down. Find a mentor/coach and learn how to run sims or use a sim database. Save yourself the headache in the future by putting in the work now. GL.

No one in poker sticks up for anyone else and that is the problem with this forum and community. Most poker players (and humans in general) are complete cowards and yes I want ALL THE SMOKE.

I bolded all the parts that are completely out of line.

Toxic as.s 2p2 never fails.

1. Practicing Game Selection is a soft skill, Mlark should be commended for playing in Texas, not looked down upon. You are SUPPOSED to play in soft games if you are playing for a living (save top .1%).

2. He's playing live poker in Texas, your first point contradicts your second point (now I already know you suck at this game). He doesn't need to look at sims to play live poker. Have you ever heard of Bart Hanson? Alec Torreli? Those guys are legit millionaires off poker and they probably have run single digit sims in their lifetime.

3. Good is relative. Good compared to whom? Obviously he is good compared to his competition, like you said, he is playing in the softest games in the world (again you contradict yourself).

4. Dude he is off by a few % points. Stop using hyperbole to make your point, it does the opposite.

You lost all credibility when you said my post is toxic lmao, absolutely fkn pathetic, no white knighting needed sugartits. OP if you are going to hire a coach, don't hire this guy. I never posted my comment to put you down, just to bring you to reality. Clearly hes so soft he actually somehow found offense in my post LMAO, you really can't make this **** up. Do your research and post back in this thread and I'm sure you'll find someone that can vouch for whoever you pick.

He doesn't need to look at sims to play live poker? Are you fkn ******ed? He doesn't need to learn a basic understanding of game theory to thrive in poker in the long run? To play this game day in and day out, you think he shouldn't spend some time on theory? Jesus fk, you are lost.

This is why we have ppl with mental disorders making threads overdrawing their account playing 20 PLO on app games saying they'll make it lmao. Ppl like you are the fkn problem. Whatever you do OP don't hire this dude as a coach.

I gave an honest opinion on what your next step should be to improve at the game to thrive in the long run and you have this shitter posting nonsense.

3. Fkn obviously, but anyone with half a brain should realize that they're not very good at the game just bc they're winning in the softest games on this planet. It blows my mind that you think my opinion on getting a live coach/mentor to work on some theory when he plays live is wrong lmao. Theory comes first, then you can deviate to what you think generates highest EV in the pools you play.

4. He's a few % off? Have you looked at his HH? Have you went over his strategy preflop? What about post flop? What about 3b pots Sb vs BTN or other common nodes? The fact that you're that confident in his strat makes it seem as though you've seen his play and have already worked with him in the past. If you haven't then how the fk would you be confident that he's strat is solid vs meta?

All I recommended is he hire a live coach/mentor and start running/looking at sims and you go off on a some pointless rant trying to defend OP when I never attacked him in the first place. I'd highly recommend no one ever hire this dude as a coach or staker. He's clearly mentally unhinged.

I'm not a fan of DDP really (sorry boss ) but he's definitely not the one coming off as ranty, toxic, or mentally unhinged here.

That said, investing some money in coaching should pay serious dividends grinding a game with as much upside as Texas live cash. A good coach should help you shore up some theory leaks and find some exploits to increase your wr in very splashy live environment, so probably wouldn't look for an online specialist. Investing money in improving yourself as a pro is a no-brainer and will more than pay for itself over time.

All good my man, I'm not for everyone.

Seeing someone get triggered on a forum over the word toxic and have a complete meltdown is akin to finding that one reliable tell on someone in a poker game.

I'm going to get some butter on my popcorn

Don’t play fast fold games. Get some coaching from Hunter Cichy on run it once. He plays deep live stack games.