Hey 2 + 2,

For those of you that know me in the travel section, my blog there will remain my long term project :

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/92...eyond-1357166/

And for those who have not been following, check it out if you are interested in travelling (mainly northern Canada, Vancouver and Asia and soon to be India...), some HHs and my general progress as a nomadic pro.

Anyhow, for the next 15 weeks, I will be focusing on this thread and the 25k challenge that it involves. Why this time frame, you might ask? I set the dates from June 1 until September 14, meaning from the time I get back to Dawson City (am presently on the Greyhound bus Montreal-Dawson City, 5 day ride ) until the season closing tournaments at the casino.

This thread will obviously contain a ton of HHs (mainly live, as this forum already has a ton of online HHs) daily updates of my progress, some alluring pics



Cancan dancers at my local casino, where 3 shows are presented daily in order to entertain our American + German cruise guests

and some northern Canadian stories or whatever can make this enjoyable for you guys (open to suggestions)

OK, so a few specifics on the challenge. First of all, let me say that having played summers in Dawson for a decade now, I can say that my EV is probably just about 25k, so I am aiming for a more ambitious 30-35k. Secondly, yes the games are low stakes - as the following schedule will attest -, yet I simply crush them

Here is the schedule at my local casino, where I usually spend about 30h/weekly :

note : because of Yukon gaming and Dawson being a minuscule town of 1500 people, the casino only opens from 7pm-2am on weekdays, and 2pm-2am on weekends and it mainly serves as entertaining grounds for the incoming Alaskan Holland America cruises

Monday : Omaha Hi/lo 5-10 limit

Tuesday : 100$ MTT (with 25$R + add on) - 1-2 NLH

Wednesday : 1-2 NLHE

Thursday : 5-10, 10-20 LHE

Friday : 1-2 NLHE

Saturday : 100$ MTT (with 25$R + add on) 1-2 NLHE

Sunday : 100$ MTT, (with 25$R + add on) 1-2 NLHE

I usually play all MTTs (where my ROI revolves around 200%), the 1-2 on the juicy weekend, the Hi/lo Omaha (50$/h) and 10-20 limit holdem. Understand that this not only one of the last frontier towns, but people still live like back then, and thus like to play like Wild Bill Hickok : firing lots of bullets and promptly pushing the chips in the middle

I will also be grinding online 25-30h/week, mainly the 50-100 NLHE speed games (Snap, FF and Rush) and a few 50R and 200FO MTTs.

edit : all figures are CAD$, not that it will change anything for the live games, but does for online, as I keep score by doing daily conversions.

Run good all

Good luck! I'm from Vancouver and would love to check out Dawson and its games at some point in the future.

Thx. Well, as you will see by my future HHs ITT, games are WAY more wild then they play in Vancouver (diametrically opposites, to be exact). The buy-in is capped at 200$, yet people are more than willing to stick it in for apparently as little a reason as third pair or fourth pair!!!

Anyhow, thx for following, challenge starts in 2 days (presently in Fort Nelson, BC).

Whose old lady are you going to beat up?
Good luck!

With a group of O8 players maybe it's worth a shot trying to get PLO8 or Big O going, those are action games more likely to get you to such an ambitious target.
Good luck, hope you bring us more photos from the can can girl dressing room and the old timey structures.

How many poker rooms are there in town?

I think I mentioned it in my other thread, but every time I had a losing session and was left somewhat on tilt, I would tell my gf to get ready, as we were going to find an old lady to rob and beat up to cover the losses I think as far as taboos go, it is pretty high up the list .

People love Omaha up in Dawson ; unfortunately, they tried to introduce pot limit to the dealers but, alas!, to no avail, as it slowed down the game and created more confusion than necessary... We did have a 1-2 NL dealer's choice game a few years back (where Omaha was selected about 90% of the time), but no PLO.

Only 1 casino in Dawson, as it is a small town of 1500 people (the same town shown in the Gold Rush show).




Diamond Tooth Gerties




Inside the casino


Not part of the challenge, but interesting hand nonetheless played in Edmonton, during my Greyhound trip up :


2-5, Yellowhead Casino, Edmonton


Effective stacks 600$ (I have villain covered)

V1, an OMC opens to 15$ in the hijack, a fish makes the call on the button, I defend in the BB, with A4.

Flop (47$)
J95

Great flop for us, but I don't want to X/C and play my hand face-up, so decide to lead for 30$. I put Old Man Coffee on a 99-AA, AQ+ range, and most likely can get him to fold half of those combos (A highs and possibly 1010). But he raises to 100$, button folds and I tank-call. This is why I hate to play draws OOP, but don't think I have any fold equity by 3betting flop...

Turn (247$)
J95 J

I take my time in checking. Villain tosses 50$ in the middle; I raise him to 200$ ; he snap-folds.

It came out a favorable run out for us, and thus easy to rep that Jx since we lead the flop. But not sure if it is not better to 3bet-stick it on the flop (we are 40.4% vs JJ+), as we will be forced to X/fold many turns and we are not guaranteed of getting paid off if a or an Ace comes... Thoughts?

Considering that we are starting this challenge on a Monday subsequent to spending 5 full days on the bus, I am somewhat content with my 6h grind today. For the record, I usually gun for 800$ in profit on the weekdays (Monday-Thursday), while aiming for 1200$ on the more lucrative weekends.

Played 3h30 of 5-10 limit dealer's choice at the casino tonight and lost 175$. Outside of being on the bad side of variance, twice I failed to notice that it was Omaha hi, and not 08, making my betting with the nut low not only spewy, but quite ******ed Grinded online also for 3h42 and made 330$, which somewhat compensates for my lack of awareness at the casino

They also switched LHE on Thursdays to a 10-20 limit Omaha high game... hummmm, not a game that I think I have a tremendous edge, but will definitely be grinding it.

Challenge : + 158.50$

Best of luck, will be following!

Quiet day at the office today : up 140$ at the casino, stuck roughly 200$ online. Still catching up with friends and having dinners and what not, so I forgive myself for the little amount time invested thus far...

Love the structure of the 85$+15$, 25R and 25$ add on at Diamond Tooth Gerties. The blind levels are 30 minutes, the stacks play deep and considering that many players still like to 5-6x preflop, I utilize a smallball approach, hence letting others make mistakes (which they unmistakably do ). That said, if it wasn't for the accumulated points that you get by placing in these tournaments (a Rakeback of 400$ at the end of the season for the winner), I wouldn't bother playing on a dead Tuesday : finished second for a profit of 140$ in 3h .

Challenge : + 101.86$




Land of the Midnight Sun : this shot was taken a few minutes ago, at 1h15am . Am staying in this old school with some friends and their kids. In fact, none of the houses in the town of Dawson can look modern, as certain building protocols need to be respected in order to fit into the Last Frontier façade portrayed for tourism

Day 3 : The rain came and put an end to my planned tennis match, unfortunately, but was alas quite beneficial for the grind : I managed to put in close to 10h today, 3h online (+152.12$) and 7h live (+895$). The action was definitely not lacking for a Wednesday evening, which I was more than happy to welcome

Example of crazy action : drunk guy shows up and shoves 92 for 175$ during the last hand of the evening (casino shuts down at 2 am). After I make sure that everyone else is folding (live tells), I call with AJ

I played an interesting hand vs a villain that I barely know ; this is our first time squaring off on the live felt, yet we have battled before in a 55$ FO on 888 (his username had Yukon in it, so I actually remember the stats that my hud has on him). Anyhow, villain is tight, solid, doesn't get out of line much, yet remains fairly predictable (doesn't bluff nearly often enough).

I raise 15$ from MP with AA, villain calls in the SB.

effective stacks 225$, I have villain covered.

Flop (36$)
AJ9

When villain checks to me, I give him a chance to catch up by checking back.

Turn (36$)
AJ9 5

Villain bet 15$, I raise to 40$, he calls fairly quickly. It is safe to assume that he does not have a set here while a pair remains unlikely (he would shove a set and I block Ax ; Jx and 9x most likely find a fold to my raise...), so the majority of his range consists of Q10 and 108, me thinks...

River (116$)
AJ9 5 K

I hate life when I see the K pop up, and despise everything - the Gods, cards, poker, variance and all that BS - when villain shoves for 175$. I try to find what hands I beat, but think better of it and fold my AA face up




Challenge : +1149$

The Omaha 10-20 limit game turned out to be what I anticipated it to be : money circulating the table (as the equity runs close) with the chips ultimately finding their way into the rake drop Unless they switch it to hi/lo, I will grind online on Thursdays. -90.00$ in 4h

Speaking of which, I am having difficulty putting in some volume online. The goal is to reach Palladium on Party and Platinum on 888 this month - which should be fairly easy regardless -, yet I struggle to play 3k hands/day lately... I will give it some time - I just got back after all -,yet I do wonder how people 8 table Zoom, thus playing 1.5k hands/hour : -300$ in 3h.

Thx friend, hope the journey will be entertaining for you

Challenge : +761.74$

Day 5 : Made a few bucks online, 150$, but really quiet night at the casino for a Friday evening. Had to grind 6h just to scrape out a profit of 450$ (very infinitesimal on a Friday evening...).

Nevertheless, working on my online cash game over the winter is paying out dividends :

CO and button both limp in for 5$ (2 passive fish), BB completes and I elect to squeeze my straddle to 20$ with 108 ; CO calls.

Flop (51$)
K72

I cbet 20$, villain calls. Having played with this villain for years, he always has a pair when he calls here, hence, too often I would of given up last year on the turn...

Turn (91$)
K72 4

If there was no K on board, I would most likely X and hope to bink river, but barreling again gets him to fold anything that is not a Kx or a set... I bet 50$, he folds. Easy game




Bombay Peggy's, the old brothel during the Gold Rush days. We still get some tourists, on occasion, asking where they can find some working girls

Challenge : +1354$

The action got a bit better tonight, yet we are still far off from the Wild Wild West - or far North, for that matter... Managed to book a small profit both online (100$ in 2h) and live (225$ in 7h), yet the best is yet to come, me thinks...

I straddle to 5$ (like I always do, as does half the table) and literally and get called in 5 different places when I look down at 88 and decide to make it 65$ to go. Not only do I get called in 4 spots, but get shoved on for 133$ Hoping to iso, I shove for 700$ (285$ effective), but alas!, to no avail, as we take a flop 5 way all in. Board runs 227JA and when I show my hand

Challenge : +1686$

Day 7 : whiffed the tournament for 250$ (had a few rebuys). God I love seeing people use 6-16bbs as a standard (and even open-shoving, with no limpers, 100bbs ). Made 70$ online.

Week in Review : I am satisfied with the profits thus far, especially it being my first week and that the action at the casino has been mediocre at best...

Online : Am happy with my volume, 25% of Palladium on Party (not a biggie to get, but if they do offer the summer sale again with 1k bonuses exclusively for the highest VIP level, I want to be ready ), and 22% of Platinum on 888 (extra 2.50$/h added incentive).

I haven't studied this week, but will do so for 2h weekly, which is not plentiful, I do admit, but satisfactory for the summer (the live games don't demand any study, and am not trying to move up online, at the moment, so...).

Live : It feels great to get away from the virtual felt and to take a flop at a pace of 25 hands per hour Also great to socialize a bit, as we have a bunch of interesting folks, up here in the Yukon I should average significantly more then the mere 35$/h from last summer...

Volume : 56h is a good start, but do want to stay north of 55h (will probably need 60-65h/week to achieve the 30k that I am aiming for in 15 weeks...). This is my time of the year to grind after all : my gf is in Asia, I do not drink anymore and I do want to save some monies before heading back to that continent...

Poll : Albeit the small sample, am surprised to see such a polarized range in the predictions : half the people believe I will reach 30k+, the other half 20k- (with 1 vote of 25-30k), which, with all things being relative and what not, my EV should be more in the middle of 20-30k

I think that most people have a decent experience in low limit games, and come to realize that averaging 35-50$ hourly is fairly easy (assuming you crush ), while the others - the non-believers -, can imagine how variance will have a say or how such a high winrate is hard to maintain over the long run. This said, the median of all predictions is the most realistic, obviously

Challenge : 1495.07$

Day 8

Mondays officially suck : both online and the casino are dry as hell I think Mondays will from now on be a semi off day, with 4-5h dedicated to the grind (got maintain volume online, as I need to achieve 50k hands/month on 888 alone...) and 2-3h for studying.

You guys know about Phil Hellmuth being HU in the Razz 10k for bracelet #14... Live stream right now :

http://www.wsop.com/2015/live-video/?tid=14217

This said, when I get a breakeven day like I did today in 5h of play, I try to put stuff in perspective by remembering what it was like to run kitchens for 25$/h while closing in on a burnout... (I am working on a long post about my kitchen days for my blog in the travel section...).

Challenge : +1474.61$

Day 9

Swingy day online, as I made 12 BIs on 888 and lost just about as many on Party

Played the tournament at the casino and got 2nd (only 9 people showed up, and fewer rebought ). My 99 couldn't hold up when we were HU and villain was shoving any 2 cards at that point (we were 40bbs effective).

It does feel like a grind to scrape out 400$ profit days, but unfortunately, none of the action-deep-pocket-players are in town (the most maniac player that I played with and also the 1 that drove most of the action - we are talking about 1-2-26$ preflp, and bet-bet-shove with bottom pair - barred himself from the casino ). Nonetheless, I have been enjoying the grind while playing with some decade old friends




All streets are dirt roads in Dawson City ; this is one on which the casino is situated. There are no sidewalks outside of a boardwalk found on 2 "commercial" streets


Challenge : +1855.17$

Day 10

Another swingy day at the office : was stuck 1000$ before making it back and booking a 300$ profit It would of been a big dent in my challenge, as I am still slightly behind the expected pace...

It all started with a 400$ loss online which put me on tilt before I got to the casino... the action was wild but alas!, once again, my big pairs could not hold up... at least until I started chipping up and doubling up through marginal spots, and then this hand happened.

Effective stack with villain 1, 285$
villain 2, 600$ (I have both covered)

Villain 1 opens to 7$ from MP, villain 2 makes the call as I look down on 99. I don't love life, as both these villains play their draws aggressively and are prompt to play for stacks (especially tonight...). But nevertheless, I have a clear 3bet to make for value, and do so by squeezing to 30$. Only villain 1 calls, which makes my life easier.

Flop (69$)
Q45

Good flop for us, and even though I usually cbet polarized vs these 2 specific villains (I merge vs the more passive players), I go ahead and bet 40$ for some reason ; she calls.

Turn (129$)
Q45 5

I decide to check ; she fires away 80$. She is a tricky player, has a ton of heart and knows how to use her table image to her advantage ; this said, she never has air in her bluffing range and thus often plays her hand somewhat face-up. Considering that she has a ton of Kx and Ax, I make the call.

River (289$)
Q45 5 3

I check, she shoves all in for 135$, I tank-call.







I missed out on an opportunity to further increase my stack when this next hand occurred :

Effective stacks 800$, I have villain covered

After a couple of limpers, I raise K10:clubs: to 15$ OTB, villain 3bets to 30$, I call. Having position and being this deep, it would be criminal to fold here.

Flop (66$)
AQK

Villain checks, as do I.

Turn (66$)
AQK 10

When villain checks again, he can only have a set here or AK (he is a very tight player with a predictable range). I tank for 1 minute, knowing that if I fire turn, I will have to double barrel on any non paired, non river and get away with murder... yet I don't For some reason, villains 17 outs (all and paired outs) prevent me from firing (even though I can still overbet a river...). For some reason, I check back, and let him steal this pot from me when the river bricks and his QQQ is good

Oh well, I am still really liking the handle I have on my game since the beginning of this challenge

Challenge : +2140.17$

Day 11

I decided to skip out on the Omaha game at the casino and grind online instead. It seems like Party will offer some incentive in the loyalty store next month and also want to obtain Platinum on 888, which means I limit, for the moment, my action to those 2 sites (I usually also play on Tilt and Stars when I solely play online).

I have not been doing great on the virtual felt since the beginning of this challenge, albeit most of it has to do with variance (I am quite happy with my game). This said, I still mainly play the 50 NLHE speed games - with occasional dips into the 100 NLHE speed games -, with 1 table of normal 6 handed at 100 NLHE, which can be frustrating at times, as my +3-4bbs/100 winrate at 50 doesn't transfer well to 100 , where I am a breakeven/small winner

Oh well, I will put in a ton of hours studying this winter to move up... But, to be honest, I am getting somewhat old for 700-800 hands/hour anyway, and seem to be leaning towards more live action in the future...

Played tennis for the first time today as well, and while my buddy beat me 3-6 in the first set, my feistiness came out in the second one, as I took him down 6-2




My backyard. Am living with a family, so it becomes an interesting dynamic of a family home in the daytime, while becoming somewhat of a party place in the evening (even though I don't partake)

Challenge : +2275.59$

Day 12

Things got off to a quick and promising start when I booked a 500$ win online, just before making my way to the casino ; with the shining sun, a positive mindset and a few action players in town, what possibly could go wrong...

I was steadily chipping up until, of course, the inescapable happened : Lady Luck bit me in the ass On top of 2 outers and 4 outers pushing 350bbs pots in the wrong direction, the spewtard in me came out and made some debatable hero calls cancelling in the process that 1.5k-2k profit I have been seeking... Nevertheless, I did manage to chip back up to almost even and still book a profit of 270$ for the day, which we will be content with, I guess...

Here is an example of the wild action we can get in this town

After a couple a straddle and 3 callers, I squeeze it to 40$ in the CO with AQ, only SB calls.

Flop (97$)
637

After villain checks, I have a clear value bet against this specific opponent : I fire 40$, he calls.

Turn (177$)
637 10

Villain checks, as do I.

River (177$)
637 10 8

Villain bets 105$. Against everyone else, this is a snap fold, as there is not many bluffs that we beat. But vs this opponent who plays about 90% of his hands, he has ALL the 4x and 5x in his range (not just the standard 56s or A5s). So I end up calling after a 20 second tank

It seems as if there is less money in town this year, but that being said, I will still fulfill this challenge

Challenge : +2482.49$

Day 13

Poker sucks. Even though we played 6-7 handed for about 3h, a format in which I have a tremendous amount of experience, variance just wasn't swinging my way. We all know the drill. We all have taken a beaten, from time to time... (or weekly, for that matter).

But because I do not want to focus on the negative, a few positives notes :

- Have been playing my A game most of the time. For example a hero fold on the turn when I got overflushed tonight (I had 8 high flush and villain always has the nuts when he check-raises in that spot).

- Haven't tilted extensively. This weekend has been emotionally challenging, to say the least, as I see the money up for grabs, yet couldn't do anything about it (or got 2 outered when I tried...). This said, sure I did tilt, made a few bad decisions, but benign in hindsight (or could of worse), and never for more than 30 minutes.

- There is less money in town, hence a diminished winrate. We are no longer in the midst of a gold rush, like we were 5 years ago, so money is not floating aimlessly around, waiting for me to make a move at it. This said, busy weekends are just around the corner, and I will get some considerable coin soon enough.

- I am enjoying my little routine of meditation, tennis, poker and meeting up for dinner with friends.

- This challenge is keeping me motivated. I do not take failure easily and since I am making daily assessments of my progress, this thread is keeping me grounded. Determined.

OK, that's it for today. I will grind for an hour or 2 online, then pass away in front of a movie...

Run good all

Challenge : +1879.68

Day 14

Slightly better day, as I managed a small profit of roughly 400$. Only 9 of us once again showed up to the tournament (we should start having 2-3 tables soon enough, with better 1st place money). Nonetheless, with the great/slow structure and all, I managed to end up HU with a 2.5/1 chip advantage (roughly 15k to 6.5k with blinds at 200-400), when villain offered this unorthodox deal.

He is an old school player, so an ICM deal would be a foreign concept to him (and I didn't want to offer it). So when he asked for a chop, I politely declined, counting the chips in the process, until he interjected "don't look at your cards, we will go all in blind, if I win, we chop it 50-50.". I snap-accepted, but lost the coin flip.

Week 2 in review

The negatives :

- Being behind pace - at roughly +2.3k - is not exactly where I would want to be thus far. At this rate, I would finish the challenge at 17.25k (more on this in a bit).

- Tilt has been a small issue, diminishing my so far A game to a C, C- game. Thankfully, I have not tilted more than 30 minutes at a time.

The Positives :

- Playing a really solid game, both online and live. I have also been on the wrong side of variance, so I am not too concerned about this slow start.

- I am enjoying myself. Poker is fun once again, I enjoy the community a lot and am simply in a good state of mind.

- Things will pick up. You guys ever watch The Gold Rush show? Me neither Nevertheless, Dawson is where it takes place, and because this is still a gold town, the majority of the money on the felt is dug from the ground. Taken in consideration our northern location, most gold diggers have not started sluicing yet and are - some of them -, dug into some 6 figure investments without having seen a return yet. Miners are just starting to sluice. Money will be finding its way to the tables soon enough Mark my word

Challenge : +2276.32$

Subbing for more pics and stories.
Good luck OP.

Day 15

Just came back from one of the most obnoxious table I have ever played... But decided to grind it out, because, well, I do this for a living, obviously...

I will definitely not make a habit of ranting about bad beats, but this hand was simply terrible, for a number of reasons...

Villain is as fishy as they come. Bottom feeder. Bottom of the lake. In fact, I do not remember having seen him once sober in the 15 years I have been coming up here... (and I am not the only one...). He is nevertheless 1 of the 3 fishes on a heater over the past few weeks, so when he comes back to the table 1h later and can only buy in for 350$ after cashing out 600$ (there is a 2h imposed lapse here to prevent hit-and-runs), the table snap-accepts. Yes he is the type to not know what is the bet sizing, when it is his turn to act or when put in the blinds and such, but these remain small details in comparison to the dead money that sits in front of him...

I open J10 to 15$ from the button and get called in 4 places.

Flop (75$)
789

Gin . When it is checked to me, I size my betting to 45$ ; villain makes it 125$ to go. After it is folded around to me, I shove for 385$ effective (I have villain covered) and he snap-calls with K10

When I saw his cards, I was simply horrified. Belittled. Yet kept my composure. My calm demeanor. And, more importantly, not one once of me tilted

It is good to keep stuff in perspective : I play a game I love for a living, I am from a first world country and, with my current state of mind, I will simply crush this challenge Watch me go

Challenge : +2464.27$

888 crashed after 1h40 of play, so cut short my online session, hang out with my housemate and decided to post early ITT. Up 400$ so far today (casino tonight).

Thx for following. You want pics? Alright, you asked for it :




Balla Canadian Surf & Turf, steak & lobster Price Tag : 27$, A+ taste Served at my local casino, I have it twice a week




Schoolyard that I cross on the way to the casino


I will go for a hike in the next couple of days and hence take some pics of Dawson and the surroundings, enough to try to include 1 pic/day during the next 13 weeks of this challenge.

As far as stories go, I can perhaps try to sneak in a weekly one, all of them revolving around Dawson characters (since the entirety of this challenge takes place here, in Dawson City). Alright, to start off, lets introduce non other than Cave Man Bill, an iconic character as they come in these parts

If you were to go to India, to Nepal or to some places of the world where being inclined to a rustic life is usually associated with Buddhism, you would think "oh, the guy is into meditation" or "is trying to reach enlightment", nope, not Cave Man Bill. He represents the heart and soul of the Yukon : he has a heavy past and a tendency to fall in love easily with the bottle.

Anyhow, the guy is a hermit, stays home for the most part (his cave has pedal bicycle-generated electricity and solar power) and does some random errands for locals for a few $$$. He is most likely one of the first Yukon characters you will encounter when the conversation involves Dawson City :

http://www.eatdrinktravel.com/meet-y...n-dawson-city/

Here is also a post in my travel thread from last year about the unfortunate ending of a fellow Yukoner that came up at the same time as I, 14 years ago :

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&postcount=143

Challenge : +2870$

Really cool stuff man. GL.