F* it - We'll do it live! 10K Challenge
02-28-2023
, 03:43 AM
Quick update for last sessions and then will wrap up February - not going to have time to play again.
Played 2 cash sessions for
+$867
-$93
Played 2 MTT's for
-$194
Quick Thoughts: Live poker is alive and well. The 1/3 game plays fairly deep and most people are buying for 100+BB's - usually multiple people straddle every orbit so its really like a 1/3/6 game. Almost always there are multiple fun players who clearly have no concept of hand range's or positional awareness. 3! bets are almost non-existent and if you do see one it is a super tight range most of the time. Also there is a lot of misapplied aggression, ie if I check the turn the player in position will just blast because I look weak. Not sure if its just the area or post covid people have money to burn but I can't ever recall live action games being this good anywhere I've played. Maybe its more that I've put some study time in away from table and in the online streets. $25NL & $50NL on online are way tougher games.
I hit a high hand bonus which I included with my winnings -
I straddle btn to $6, EP opens $20, MP calls, and I defend my btn w/ J8o
Flop JJJ - ep x, MP donks $25, I call, EP folds
Turn 4x - MP leads $25 again, I call
River 4x - MP leads $50 and I jam $250ish more, he calls and says he has 66 after I show
Questionable hand:
2 limps, btn $12, I call sb k7cc, 1 limper call
Flop Ac3c6x, x to btn $15, all call
Turn Ad, x round
River 5c, I lead $50, limper (fun player) min clicks to $100, btn f, I have about $250 back, and just call
Spot really felt like he has a smaller flush or just a weak ace and I should be jamming. I would never expect anything worse to raise my lead let alone call a jam, however this villan type was defiantly the perfect candidate to jam on. He shows 8 high flush and I scoop.
MTT's
I max late regged which was defiantly a mistake as I busted within 30mins. My first bullet I sat with 20bb's -
1st hand I play
I defended my BB vs a 3x btn open and sb flat with 68o. Probably a mistake to even defend here, should just be fold/jam but figured it was OK with the sb's dead money.
Flop 778, btn cbets 2/3rd pot, sb fold and I jam, he calls with J8o and its lights out
2nd MTT bagged about 15BB stack for day two
We're about 4 off from the money and I still have about 15BB's just folding for the mincash/spinup. I then see some guy light a 35ish BB stack on fire, which was fairly big stack for this fast structure. Zero f's given or just had no clue what he was doing?
Funny Bubble Hand (not mine)
EP opens 2.6x off ~30BB's, LP 3b! to 7BB with barely covering
Flop J72r forget the action but these guys end up allin and show the following hands
LP - ATo
EP - 44
T on the river busts out the guy with 44 just before the bubble pops
I bust on a fairly standard hand I think
I have about 12BB stack after posting BB + ante
Folds to SB who jams 30bb stack and is young and competent. I look down at A2o and call. He has K7o and I bust for a min cash.
February Wrap-Up
Was really hoping to hit the halfway mark and be at $5k, I was close but ended up falling just short. I'll chalk it up to Feburary being the shortest month of the year!
Cash +$2,295
MTT -$194
Total: +$2,101
Challenge update:
Played 2 cash sessions for
+$867
-$93
Played 2 MTT's for
-$194
Quick Thoughts: Live poker is alive and well. The 1/3 game plays fairly deep and most people are buying for 100+BB's - usually multiple people straddle every orbit so its really like a 1/3/6 game. Almost always there are multiple fun players who clearly have no concept of hand range's or positional awareness. 3! bets are almost non-existent and if you do see one it is a super tight range most of the time. Also there is a lot of misapplied aggression, ie if I check the turn the player in position will just blast because I look weak. Not sure if its just the area or post covid people have money to burn but I can't ever recall live action games being this good anywhere I've played. Maybe its more that I've put some study time in away from table and in the online streets. $25NL & $50NL on online are way tougher games.
I hit a high hand bonus which I included with my winnings -
I straddle btn to $6, EP opens $20, MP calls, and I defend my btn w/ J8o
Flop JJJ - ep x, MP donks $25, I call, EP folds
Turn 4x - MP leads $25 again, I call
River 4x - MP leads $50 and I jam $250ish more, he calls and says he has 66 after I show
Questionable hand:
2 limps, btn $12, I call sb k7cc, 1 limper call
Flop Ac3c6x, x to btn $15, all call
Turn Ad, x round
River 5c, I lead $50, limper (fun player) min clicks to $100, btn f, I have about $250 back, and just call
Spot really felt like he has a smaller flush or just a weak ace and I should be jamming. I would never expect anything worse to raise my lead let alone call a jam, however this villan type was defiantly the perfect candidate to jam on. He shows 8 high flush and I scoop.
MTT's
I max late regged which was defiantly a mistake as I busted within 30mins. My first bullet I sat with 20bb's -
1st hand I play
I defended my BB vs a 3x btn open and sb flat with 68o. Probably a mistake to even defend here, should just be fold/jam but figured it was OK with the sb's dead money.
Flop 778, btn cbets 2/3rd pot, sb fold and I jam, he calls with J8o and its lights out
2nd MTT bagged about 15BB stack for day two
We're about 4 off from the money and I still have about 15BB's just folding for the mincash/spinup. I then see some guy light a 35ish BB stack on fire, which was fairly big stack for this fast structure. Zero f's given or just had no clue what he was doing?
Funny Bubble Hand (not mine)
EP opens 2.6x off ~30BB's, LP 3b! to 7BB with barely covering
Flop J72r forget the action but these guys end up allin and show the following hands
LP - ATo
EP - 44
T on the river busts out the guy with 44 just before the bubble pops
I bust on a fairly standard hand I think
I have about 12BB stack after posting BB + ante
Folds to SB who jams 30bb stack and is young and competent. I look down at A2o and call. He has K7o and I bust for a min cash.
February Wrap-Up
Was really hoping to hit the halfway mark and be at $5k, I was close but ended up falling just short. I'll chalk it up to Feburary being the shortest month of the year!
Cash +$2,295
MTT -$194
Total: +$2,101
Challenge update:
03-05-2023
, 06:27 AM
1st March update - Played two more sessions.
-$1,222 -> 5hr9min
+$817 -> 8hr14min
First session went awful and had a big loss. I had a feeling this would happen sooner or later as i've had multiple times where I was deep underwater but pulled back for a small win. First session was a weekday and my time was limited - dug a big hole and could not stay any later. Games were not great, could not hit a hand and did not play great. Deadly combination.
I also noticed I started to deviate from my standard strategy during this session. Had a few spots where I tried a bluff that did not work out & just played too aggressive in general vs guys who are not folding.
Most hands from this session were just me running bad.
-Ran AK into aces on my straddle after I 3b!/ called an effectively 40BB's jam
-another straddle pot ran 2 pair into a better 2 pair when we shared top pair
Had a nice comeback on the weekend with my 2nd session.
I'm starting to feel like im picking up some bad habits. I'm finding spots where I think I should be bluffing and/or bluff catching but decide to pass. I feel like the population just under bluffs and call's river bets way too much. Very hard to push someone off top pair.
Arriving in spots with a weak or marginal hand's facing a river bet I find that population will turn all sorts of weird stuff into bluff's - even when they have showdown value. I doubt they know what they are doing but if you show weakness they will just blindly bet without consideration of hand range.
Worst played hand:
Straddle pot - SB opens $20 first to act, BB 3b! $60, MP jams 170, and I look down at AKo jam, $600, LP wakes up and cold calls ~$300, SB & BB Fold. I run into AA and KK of course.
Clearly should have just passed on this spot and I did debate just folding. My thoughts at the time were SB & BB put dead money in the pot and I'm happy to run AK against whatever the MP has. However, this is live poker and after a 3b and jam of course the dudes range is only two hands aa & KK. Unfortunatly LP eneded up waking up with aces as well but really never sould have even been in the pot.
Best played
Utg limps I open $15 in the co w/ TsTh, sb and utg call
Flop 9hqxr -x to me and I cbet $25, both call
Turn qh - x round
4x River - sb leads $60, utg call, I fold, sb has q6hh
This is a spot I would usually bluff catch, but after a bet and call the fold is much easier.
Interesting hand(s)
Honestly there were not many interesting hands. I did find a two spots where I was able to jam the flop with a semi-bluff and got there. Id.
Few limps and I open SB $20 with KK, 2 guys call
Flop 944r - checks around
Turn 9x - I x limper 1 bets $30, p2 min rise to $60, I dont really know what to do here but I cold call (p2 has been spewing all over but running well), limper 1 folds
River 6x - p2 thinks long then overbets 2x pot $220, my original plan was to call a bet but he 2x the pot - this is not really something I see live at these stakes and I think his range is so wide he could easily have a 9 or 4 here. I just pass and fold. He happily turns over random cards which are 85o
Biggest pot
I thought I played this one face up but again it was against a fun player who just could not fold. He even commented how tight and solid I had been playing a little earlier.
2 limps to me and I open $15 with 22, lp makes it $45, BB Cold calls, Im fairly deep with LP and he is a fun player so I call as well
Flop 278dd - BB x, I x, LP cbet's $85, BB folds, I raise to $220, LP calls
Turn Jd - I jam $450ish and he call's
River Qx - and I scoop vs unknown hand but probably aces
Other hands
I open MP $10 mp T7hh, p6 call, btn 3b! $30, sb call, I call, p6 folds
Flop 678hh - x to btn who cbets $50, sb folds, I jam about $180, he call with AA and I hit the turn to scoop
Utg straddle, +1 opens $25, I call MP KQcc, utg calls
J72cc utg open donk jams ~$130, +1 calls, I jam $300ish and +1 folds
I hit a club and scoop. UTG was a fun player and +1 is a solid reg who also knows this.
Ran pretty well this session overall.
Challenge Status:
-$1,222 -> 5hr9min
+$817 -> 8hr14min
First session went awful and had a big loss. I had a feeling this would happen sooner or later as i've had multiple times where I was deep underwater but pulled back for a small win. First session was a weekday and my time was limited - dug a big hole and could not stay any later. Games were not great, could not hit a hand and did not play great. Deadly combination.
I also noticed I started to deviate from my standard strategy during this session. Had a few spots where I tried a bluff that did not work out & just played too aggressive in general vs guys who are not folding.
Most hands from this session were just me running bad.
-Ran AK into aces on my straddle after I 3b!/ called an effectively 40BB's jam
-another straddle pot ran 2 pair into a better 2 pair when we shared top pair
Had a nice comeback on the weekend with my 2nd session.
I'm starting to feel like im picking up some bad habits. I'm finding spots where I think I should be bluffing and/or bluff catching but decide to pass. I feel like the population just under bluffs and call's river bets way too much. Very hard to push someone off top pair.
Arriving in spots with a weak or marginal hand's facing a river bet I find that population will turn all sorts of weird stuff into bluff's - even when they have showdown value. I doubt they know what they are doing but if you show weakness they will just blindly bet without consideration of hand range.
Worst played hand:
Straddle pot - SB opens $20 first to act, BB 3b! $60, MP jams 170, and I look down at AKo jam, $600, LP wakes up and cold calls ~$300, SB & BB Fold. I run into AA and KK of course.
Clearly should have just passed on this spot and I did debate just folding. My thoughts at the time were SB & BB put dead money in the pot and I'm happy to run AK against whatever the MP has. However, this is live poker and after a 3b and jam of course the dudes range is only two hands aa & KK. Unfortunatly LP eneded up waking up with aces as well but really never sould have even been in the pot.
Best played
Utg limps I open $15 in the co w/ TsTh, sb and utg call
Flop 9hqxr -x to me and I cbet $25, both call
Turn qh - x round
4x River - sb leads $60, utg call, I fold, sb has q6hh
This is a spot I would usually bluff catch, but after a bet and call the fold is much easier.
Interesting hand(s)
Honestly there were not many interesting hands. I did find a two spots where I was able to jam the flop with a semi-bluff and got there. Id.
Few limps and I open SB $20 with KK, 2 guys call
Flop 944r - checks around
Turn 9x - I x limper 1 bets $30, p2 min rise to $60, I dont really know what to do here but I cold call (p2 has been spewing all over but running well), limper 1 folds
River 6x - p2 thinks long then overbets 2x pot $220, my original plan was to call a bet but he 2x the pot - this is not really something I see live at these stakes and I think his range is so wide he could easily have a 9 or 4 here. I just pass and fold. He happily turns over random cards which are 85o
Biggest pot
I thought I played this one face up but again it was against a fun player who just could not fold. He even commented how tight and solid I had been playing a little earlier.
2 limps to me and I open $15 with 22, lp makes it $45, BB Cold calls, Im fairly deep with LP and he is a fun player so I call as well
Flop 278dd - BB x, I x, LP cbet's $85, BB folds, I raise to $220, LP calls
Turn Jd - I jam $450ish and he call's
River Qx - and I scoop vs unknown hand but probably aces
Other hands
I open MP $10 mp T7hh, p6 call, btn 3b! $30, sb call, I call, p6 folds
Flop 678hh - x to btn who cbets $50, sb folds, I jam about $180, he call with AA and I hit the turn to scoop
Utg straddle, +1 opens $25, I call MP KQcc, utg calls
J72cc utg open donk jams ~$130, +1 calls, I jam $300ish and +1 folds
I hit a club and scoop. UTG was a fun player and +1 is a solid reg who also knows this.
Ran pretty well this session overall.
Challenge Status:
04-01-2023
, 01:25 PM
End of March Update
oof! March is in the books and was super swinggy month. Couple of weird things happened as well. Overall have a lot to work on and need to get my discipline in check. One of my bigger leaks has always been the mental game and I need to reel that in and work on it.
Too many hands to go over but felt like I ran bad in some big spots and overall did not play great. Several times I was up $700+ but did not leave because either games were good or my time played was short. Ended up losing most of it back and putting myself in a bad mindset.
Weird thing that happened was one day I was overpaid by 3 black chips at the cage. Towards the end of the session I had a few black chips in my pocket and ended up dropping one somewhere, could not find it. Neither of these things has ever happened to me before. Im still holding the 3 black chips in case I get asked to repay and did not count that in my total's. The lost chip is accounted for as a loss on that day even though I technically did not lose it through playing.
I also gave in to some temptation and played some video poker, ended up losing $200. There was an ultimate x machine with leftover multipliers so I was going to take a 1 spin shot and see if I could hit anything. Nope, immediately lost and then chased. I counted this as a loss in the challenge on the day and deducted from my poker winnings.
Also had a few unrelated life expenses come up, my refrigerator broke down -$200 & garage door broke -$100. Not even big expenses when Im swinging hundreds of dollars in poker weekly but for some reason put me in a bad mental space.
March Results
Hours Played: 56:28
Profit/Loss: -$821
Tips:$177
Challenge Update:
April Goals:
-Discipline! Need to improve mental game
*set a time to leave/pickup and stick to it
*don't be scared to pickup and leave early if significantly up
-No slots, just poker
-Finish reading Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo
-Play 60 hours
oof! March is in the books and was super swinggy month. Couple of weird things happened as well. Overall have a lot to work on and need to get my discipline in check. One of my bigger leaks has always been the mental game and I need to reel that in and work on it.
Too many hands to go over but felt like I ran bad in some big spots and overall did not play great. Several times I was up $700+ but did not leave because either games were good or my time played was short. Ended up losing most of it back and putting myself in a bad mindset.
Weird thing that happened was one day I was overpaid by 3 black chips at the cage. Towards the end of the session I had a few black chips in my pocket and ended up dropping one somewhere, could not find it. Neither of these things has ever happened to me before. Im still holding the 3 black chips in case I get asked to repay and did not count that in my total's. The lost chip is accounted for as a loss on that day even though I technically did not lose it through playing.
I also gave in to some temptation and played some video poker, ended up losing $200. There was an ultimate x machine with leftover multipliers so I was going to take a 1 spin shot and see if I could hit anything. Nope, immediately lost and then chased. I counted this as a loss in the challenge on the day and deducted from my poker winnings.
Also had a few unrelated life expenses come up, my refrigerator broke down -$200 & garage door broke -$100. Not even big expenses when Im swinging hundreds of dollars in poker weekly but for some reason put me in a bad mental space.
March Results
Hours Played: 56:28
Profit/Loss: -$821
Tips:$177
Challenge Update:
April Goals:
-Discipline! Need to improve mental game
*set a time to leave/pickup and stick to it
*don't be scared to pickup and leave early if significantly up
-No slots, just poker
-Finish reading Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo
-Play 60 hours
04-09-2023
, 11:57 PM
April going well so far. Local casino running some big promotions this month bringing out some characters.
4 sessions
-21hrs 44mins, +$2,101
Ended up killing a little time in the $2/$5 games while waiting for $1/$3 - games are noticeably much much larger and deeper. Mostly filled with serious players and they are sitting deep. Game feels much more like $5/$10+ and is much more aggressive than im used to. Eventually I plan to spend some time here but not yet.
Im working on my discipline, setting a time to leave and sticking to it has been working well. Also, if im up a decent amount early ($700) i've decided to cut my session short and leave. I am aware of the conventional wisdom on this and realize not something I want to do long term, but for now just trying it out. Typically I should be playing longer if running well and leave early if running bad.
Had to wait 2hrs 45mins to get on a table this weekend. Mostly just heading back out to my car and killing time relaxing or reading my book a bit. I was also scoping out some ultimate x machines and considering sniping any I find with multipliers. Trying to resist that and just focus on getting in a good mindset pre session may be more important though. Too much time to kill on the weekends.
I've also been taking extensive notes in my phone and defining session goals which I think is helping me stay focused. Overall the games are extremely soft so I find im working more on my mental game rather than my strategy. The nuances of live play which mostly do not have to do with the cards are really important. Honestly just playing ABC strategy passive out of position and aggressive in position is good enough. Most pots are multiway and people just hate to fold.
Trying to work on:
-Finding more spots to 3b! pre and get aggressive preflop
-Reducing my bluff catching and folding more rivers
-Value betting much thinner
-Find more spots to block bet
-Sticking to my game and overall strategy
Too many hands to discuss but i'll post one I thought was interesting but overall poorly played by me.
HH
EP limps, I open $15 KsKc, 4 callers
Flop J79ddx ($75) - SB x, BB x, limper x, Hero $40, btn F, SB call, BB call
Turn Th ($195) - SB now donks $50, BB folds and I have about $240 behind
Really confused here as I block KQ, he really shouldn't have any KQ, and I can. Also I do not have the Kd - He did call mutliway from sb so I suppose he could have some weird hands and he is now donking reping a lot of strength. His sizing however is just so pathetic it Feels like 2 pair, pair + draw or some kind of picked up equity, or obviously some random straight. I don't think I can fold for that size but I really hate calling. Anyways I think I just leveled myself here and jammed. He tank called with 89dd but river was an offsuit Q to bail me out.
4 sessions
-21hrs 44mins, +$2,101
Ended up killing a little time in the $2/$5 games while waiting for $1/$3 - games are noticeably much much larger and deeper. Mostly filled with serious players and they are sitting deep. Game feels much more like $5/$10+ and is much more aggressive than im used to. Eventually I plan to spend some time here but not yet.
Im working on my discipline, setting a time to leave and sticking to it has been working well. Also, if im up a decent amount early ($700) i've decided to cut my session short and leave. I am aware of the conventional wisdom on this and realize not something I want to do long term, but for now just trying it out. Typically I should be playing longer if running well and leave early if running bad.
Had to wait 2hrs 45mins to get on a table this weekend. Mostly just heading back out to my car and killing time relaxing or reading my book a bit. I was also scoping out some ultimate x machines and considering sniping any I find with multipliers. Trying to resist that and just focus on getting in a good mindset pre session may be more important though. Too much time to kill on the weekends.
I've also been taking extensive notes in my phone and defining session goals which I think is helping me stay focused. Overall the games are extremely soft so I find im working more on my mental game rather than my strategy. The nuances of live play which mostly do not have to do with the cards are really important. Honestly just playing ABC strategy passive out of position and aggressive in position is good enough. Most pots are multiway and people just hate to fold.
Trying to work on:
-Finding more spots to 3b! pre and get aggressive preflop
-Reducing my bluff catching and folding more rivers
-Value betting much thinner
-Find more spots to block bet
-Sticking to my game and overall strategy
Too many hands to discuss but i'll post one I thought was interesting but overall poorly played by me.
HH
EP limps, I open $15 KsKc, 4 callers
Flop J79ddx ($75) - SB x, BB x, limper x, Hero $40, btn F, SB call, BB call
Turn Th ($195) - SB now donks $50, BB folds and I have about $240 behind
Really confused here as I block KQ, he really shouldn't have any KQ, and I can. Also I do not have the Kd - He did call mutliway from sb so I suppose he could have some weird hands and he is now donking reping a lot of strength. His sizing however is just so pathetic it Feels like 2 pair, pair + draw or some kind of picked up equity, or obviously some random straight. I don't think I can fold for that size but I really hate calling. Anyways I think I just leveled myself here and jammed. He tank called with 89dd but river was an offsuit Q to bail me out.
04-23-2023
, 06:32 PM
April Update
Month is going well, again seems to be quite swingy. One day you can't miss and hit everything another day you just can't hold with anything. I think a few of the guidelines I've implemented this month have really helped. Just need to stick to them and stay disciplined. Focusing a lot on my mental game has been helping. Implementing strategy improvements seems marginal as it just doesn't feel like they matter against population. Its just way more important to value bet correctly and have the best hand.
I think i've mentioned this before but a few things im focusing on each session:
-Sticking to a play time schedule and leaving at a set time
-OK to leave early if up a significant amount of $$
-documenting my thoughts and goals each session while taking notes
-3b! pre flop more
-finding more spots to block bet
Not a lot of of interesting hands from my perspective but always fun to see what random weird hands my opponents will turn over. I'm finding that sticking to my strategy playing fundamentally sound mostly ABC value poker is best. People just hate to fold and are so imbalanced in most spots it can sometimes make things confusing.
A few fun ones:
Agro Fun player opens $15 from LJ, CO calls, I 3b! $60 from sb w/ AQo, Fun player only caller
($135) 553r - im thinking about what size to bet and all of a sudden the LJ tosses out $30, im like I haven't acted yet to the dealer and he pulls it back. I inquire if the bet stands if I check (I know it does) the dealer confirms and I check/insta jam for about $210 effective. LJ tanks and says some random weird stuff then call's off and flips K9o instantly.
I open $10 from the LJ w/ TJs, HJ calls, sb & bb call
($40) 782cc - sb x, bb donks $10, I raise to $40, HJ calls, SB calls, BB calls (whoops)
($200) 9x - x, x, I $175 and HJ jams ~$220 eff, sb f, bb tank folds and I call
9x river and he shows 88 to scoop.
He then proceeds to play every hand and complain to me each time he loses a pot with a bad hand. I remind him of the nice river and $700 pot he scooped with it and he proceeds to tell me hes down $2K today at $1/$3. He spreads those chips around the rest of table and gets up with a nub of about $100 and calls it a day.
April Stats:
Hours Played: 40:07
Profit/Loss: +$3,542
Overall Challenge:
Month is going well, again seems to be quite swingy. One day you can't miss and hit everything another day you just can't hold with anything. I think a few of the guidelines I've implemented this month have really helped. Just need to stick to them and stay disciplined. Focusing a lot on my mental game has been helping. Implementing strategy improvements seems marginal as it just doesn't feel like they matter against population. Its just way more important to value bet correctly and have the best hand.
I think i've mentioned this before but a few things im focusing on each session:
-Sticking to a play time schedule and leaving at a set time
-OK to leave early if up a significant amount of $$
-documenting my thoughts and goals each session while taking notes
-3b! pre flop more
-finding more spots to block bet
Not a lot of of interesting hands from my perspective but always fun to see what random weird hands my opponents will turn over. I'm finding that sticking to my strategy playing fundamentally sound mostly ABC value poker is best. People just hate to fold and are so imbalanced in most spots it can sometimes make things confusing.
A few fun ones:
Agro Fun player opens $15 from LJ, CO calls, I 3b! $60 from sb w/ AQo, Fun player only caller
($135) 553r - im thinking about what size to bet and all of a sudden the LJ tosses out $30, im like I haven't acted yet to the dealer and he pulls it back. I inquire if the bet stands if I check (I know it does) the dealer confirms and I check/insta jam for about $210 effective. LJ tanks and says some random weird stuff then call's off and flips K9o instantly.
I open $10 from the LJ w/ TJs, HJ calls, sb & bb call
($40) 782cc - sb x, bb donks $10, I raise to $40, HJ calls, SB calls, BB calls (whoops)
($200) 9x - x, x, I $175 and HJ jams ~$220 eff, sb f, bb tank folds and I call
9x river and he shows 88 to scoop.
He then proceeds to play every hand and complain to me each time he loses a pot with a bad hand. I remind him of the nice river and $700 pot he scooped with it and he proceeds to tell me hes down $2K today at $1/$3. He spreads those chips around the rest of table and gets up with a nub of about $100 and calls it a day.
April Stats:
Hours Played: 40:07
Profit/Loss: +$3,542
Overall Challenge:
Last edited by GutPunch; 04-23-2023 at 06:42 PM.
04-30-2023
, 06:54 PM
End of April Update
Best month yet! Makes up for a crappy March. Games are still unbelievably great. I do feel like i've been playing fairly well but not really doing anything special strategically. For the most part I think im running good in big spots and games overall are just fairly passive.
I do worry that the strategy I've been implementing is only good specifically in this player pool. The good player/fun player ratio for this population is very lopsided. Even a lot of the regs are mostly just fun players who don't seem to have a solid foundation of starting hands or positional awareness preflop. So many seemingly decent players just show up with card holdings I would not even consider playing. I try to stay open minded and observe post flop but so many mistakes stem from preflop hand selection.
I have been working on my mental game and I think some of the rules have really helped me overall. Picking a session length and sticking to it has been one of the most difficult things. Deciding to leave when i'm up a cretin amount of $ has also been really helpful I think. The feeling of leaving the casino with more money than I came with is exhilarating. Not playing any slots or table games has not been that difficult but often I find that im just sitting around for long periods of time waiting for my seat. Becoming more comfortable with feeling bored and staying patient has probably helped my overall game too.
Before starting every session I like to take a few notes and assess my initial table and write down my session goals such as:
-identify some regs and recall hands I've seen them play
-Positive vibes or maintain good mental clarity
-session length or hard stops for $$
-mandatory break times
-strategic points to focus on, *3b! more, find spots to overbet, preflop sizings, block betting spots, ect.
-stay focused, stay off phone, watch the action in pots not involved in, stay present
Some Notes from this month:
-Tiny weak ass bets are usually just that, weak hands. I can raise much thinner for value but should not be bluff catching. Also I don't think its generally good to raise and turn my weak hands into bluffs because opponents just do not like to fold. I will have to experiment more with this concept though.
-Identify block bets and how to exploit them
-population will put infinite money in pre
A few recent hands:
Straddle pot, EP opens $24, I flat MP KJcc, Straddle calls.
Q89xxc ($72) x to btn who bets $50, only I call
4c ($172) I donk jam ~$160, villain calls and I get there on river
Probably bad play by me but btn was an agro reg. I felt his pf call and flop bet were meaningless and his range was super wide. Best way for me to win the pot with my stack size was the play I made and the turn card was perfect semi-bluff card for me. Blocking TJ and knowing his range is very weak he should be folding almost everything other than some 2 pair Q9 or 89 type hands. meh..
#2
Ep opens $10 (fun player), MP $30 (agro woman), btn (whale) cold calls, Hero looks at AKs in BB and cold 4b! to $100, MP & Btn call
A46hhx ($310) Hero x, MP $200, Btn calls allin for less about $150, Hero jams for about $500 total and MP snap calls, btn shows QQ and MP shows AJo clean runout and Hero scoops $1500 pot
#3
EP limp, MP Hero $20 5c5s, 4 calls
345hhx ($100), BB Donks $15, hero $65, lp call, btn call, BB call
2h ($360), BB donks $100, hero calls, LP folds, btn calls
LP accidentally exposes his hand as he folds and 63o flashes. BB is a whale/fun player who has donked multiple hands previously, usually has something good but no positional awareness and does not seem to understand relative hand strength. Btn is super super loose pre but has had my number all night and previously stacked me when I overplayed trips. Obviously worst card in the deck for me but mehhh pot is huge and we have a good amount behind and I have a set. I start to pray.
River 2x ($660) BB donks $100 again, Hero jams about $450, btn tank calls, bb says f it and calls too! btn says nut flush and bb says straight. Hero scoops a $2K pot.
April Stats:
Challenge Update:
-Looking at my overall stats im happy to see my hourly rate ticking back up.
-BB/hr seems fine but not really sure what is attainable at the 1/3 level.
-Looks like my idle time is quite outrageous - long commute & waitlists are killer.
-I've spent $644 on tips over 218 hours which equates to about $3/hr in tips. Not sure if that is high or low but would defiantly rather have that added to my win rate considering how much rake is taken from each pot.
-I've spent $71 on mostly water!
Goals for May:
-complete challenge!
-make good food choices at casino (eat more Salads!)
-read more chapters from my selected books
-GTO Wizard study plan
Best month yet! Makes up for a crappy March. Games are still unbelievably great. I do feel like i've been playing fairly well but not really doing anything special strategically. For the most part I think im running good in big spots and games overall are just fairly passive.
I do worry that the strategy I've been implementing is only good specifically in this player pool. The good player/fun player ratio for this population is very lopsided. Even a lot of the regs are mostly just fun players who don't seem to have a solid foundation of starting hands or positional awareness preflop. So many seemingly decent players just show up with card holdings I would not even consider playing. I try to stay open minded and observe post flop but so many mistakes stem from preflop hand selection.
I have been working on my mental game and I think some of the rules have really helped me overall. Picking a session length and sticking to it has been one of the most difficult things. Deciding to leave when i'm up a cretin amount of $ has also been really helpful I think. The feeling of leaving the casino with more money than I came with is exhilarating. Not playing any slots or table games has not been that difficult but often I find that im just sitting around for long periods of time waiting for my seat. Becoming more comfortable with feeling bored and staying patient has probably helped my overall game too.
Before starting every session I like to take a few notes and assess my initial table and write down my session goals such as:
-identify some regs and recall hands I've seen them play
-Positive vibes or maintain good mental clarity
-session length or hard stops for $$
-mandatory break times
-strategic points to focus on, *3b! more, find spots to overbet, preflop sizings, block betting spots, ect.
-stay focused, stay off phone, watch the action in pots not involved in, stay present
Some Notes from this month:
-Tiny weak ass bets are usually just that, weak hands. I can raise much thinner for value but should not be bluff catching. Also I don't think its generally good to raise and turn my weak hands into bluffs because opponents just do not like to fold. I will have to experiment more with this concept though.
-Identify block bets and how to exploit them
-population will put infinite money in pre
A few recent hands:
Straddle pot, EP opens $24, I flat MP KJcc, Straddle calls.
Q89xxc ($72) x to btn who bets $50, only I call
4c ($172) I donk jam ~$160, villain calls and I get there on river
Probably bad play by me but btn was an agro reg. I felt his pf call and flop bet were meaningless and his range was super wide. Best way for me to win the pot with my stack size was the play I made and the turn card was perfect semi-bluff card for me. Blocking TJ and knowing his range is very weak he should be folding almost everything other than some 2 pair Q9 or 89 type hands. meh..
#2
Ep opens $10 (fun player), MP $30 (agro woman), btn (whale) cold calls, Hero looks at AKs in BB and cold 4b! to $100, MP & Btn call
A46hhx ($310) Hero x, MP $200, Btn calls allin for less about $150, Hero jams for about $500 total and MP snap calls, btn shows QQ and MP shows AJo clean runout and Hero scoops $1500 pot
#3
EP limp, MP Hero $20 5c5s, 4 calls
345hhx ($100), BB Donks $15, hero $65, lp call, btn call, BB call
2h ($360), BB donks $100, hero calls, LP folds, btn calls
LP accidentally exposes his hand as he folds and 63o flashes. BB is a whale/fun player who has donked multiple hands previously, usually has something good but no positional awareness and does not seem to understand relative hand strength. Btn is super super loose pre but has had my number all night and previously stacked me when I overplayed trips. Obviously worst card in the deck for me but mehhh pot is huge and we have a good amount behind and I have a set. I start to pray.
River 2x ($660) BB donks $100 again, Hero jams about $450, btn tank calls, bb says f it and calls too! btn says nut flush and bb says straight. Hero scoops a $2K pot.
April Stats:
Challenge Update:
-Looking at my overall stats im happy to see my hourly rate ticking back up.
-BB/hr seems fine but not really sure what is attainable at the 1/3 level.
-Looks like my idle time is quite outrageous - long commute & waitlists are killer.
-I've spent $644 on tips over 218 hours which equates to about $3/hr in tips. Not sure if that is high or low but would defiantly rather have that added to my win rate considering how much rake is taken from each pot.
-I've spent $71 on mostly water!
Goals for May:
-complete challenge!
-make good food choices at casino (eat more Salads!)
-read more chapters from my selected books
-GTO Wizard study plan
05-01-2023
, 10:47 AM
Nice month!
Good luck in May
Good luck in May
05-25-2023
, 08:54 PM
WooHoo!! Challenge officially completed!
So many hands I have notes on but overall running really well this month. Took down a huge 3bet multiway pot for like $1800 with AQ v AK last session to scoop up a nice win and push me way over. Still have a few more sessions planned to close out the month, hopefully, with a bang.
I'll do a write up at the end of the month with my full thoughts on the challenge and future plans. 5 months of grinding and it feels really good man!
So many hands I have notes on but overall running really well this month. Took down a huge 3bet multiway pot for like $1800 with AQ v AK last session to scoop up a nice win and push me way over. Still have a few more sessions planned to close out the month, hopefully, with a bang.
I'll do a write up at the end of the month with my full thoughts on the challenge and future plans. 5 months of grinding and it feels really good man!
06-04-2023
, 10:50 PM
End of Challenge
***$10,000 Challenge Completed***
Very satisfying to complete this challenge! 5 months of grinding, hard work & dedication. Have not had this much cash on hand in a long time. Did not spend a dime yet just building for the rest of this year. Feels good to know I have this in my back pocket if something unexpected comes up.
End of May Results
Last two sessions in May were slight losers. I did notice a slight shift in my mindset after I completed the challenge. I will defiantly need to maintain proper mindset if I continue playing. Its one of the most important intangible aspects I feel. Although I didn't run great in these sessions the beats did not really bother me.
Challenge thoughts and wrap up
I will say the most difficult part of this challenge has not been beating the game, but rather the non-poker related issues around the challenge. I spent quite a lot of time traveling back and forth to the casino and lots of wasted time waiting for a seat.
Keeping a proper winning mindset and maintaining my discipline was crucial as well. A small change I made but something I felt was important - its always difficult to know when to quit a session or stay. Setting some general guidelines around this helped me hold on to my winnings and limit my losses. Leave after x hours or $x won was important for me personally.
Also there are so many temptations in the casino. Only had one small session of video poker and it was a loser. Other than that I stayed away from table games and slots. Very important to remember why I am at the casino.
Dealing with the various personalities at the tables is also quite challenging. People love to talk poker at the table and they mostly say some ridiculous or just flat out illogical things. Possibly my fault by not engaging too deep in conversation. Also there are many mizregs who just complain about everything from the cards to dealers ect. If there is something not working in their favor they will complain about it. Remembering to stay positive and remember how lucky I really am to be there is critical.
Overall games are really good. One of the biggest leaks for the pool is their preflop hand selection. This is probably the case for most low stakes games but players just want to see flops and any two cards are good enough to do so. If you have a solid understanding of preflop fundamentals you should be able to beat these games.
I averaged just about 55 hours per month of time at the table which I think is pretty good pace for me all things considered. My hourly was almost $40/per which seems good. Winning at a rate of 13.24 big blinds per hour. Not sure if $50/hour is attainable at the $1/$3 level.
RAKE! Rake at this room is absurd. They take 10% up to $6+$1 promotion. If I say 50% or $3 per hand on average +$1 promo = $4 on average taken from every pot. I won approx 753 hands (thats how much I tipped) multiply by $4 we get ~$3,012 PAID IN RAKE! Now add in the amount of $$ spent on tips and drinks ($838) and we have a lot of big blinds at the table siphoned off my winrate.
In conclusion I would say anything above $30/hour is amazing. Extrapolated that's around $60K+ per year if you put in a full time schedule of 40 hours per week. I would question the long term sustainability of this room but the overall room economy seems very healthy - plenty of money in the area.
Moving forward and future plans
I have had barely any engagement in this thread so not much a reason to continue it. However, I do plan to continue playing and will still try to post an end of month update for the rest of this year to help keep myself accountable.
I do plan on shot taking the $2/$5 games. I think anytime Im over $11K for the year I'll play $2/$5 and if I drop below $10K I'll move back down to $1/$3. I know the 2/5 is going to be much more aggressive game but would like to start logging some hours there.
I do have some big life events coming up and have a feeling my hours available to play will decrease. I'm probably going to take $1k and toss online to start grinding some low stake MTT's as well. That way I can still play while just being at home with family. I haven't played much online this year but defiantly prefer that to the casino.
I will continue to spend a little time studying every week as well. I sill have a few books to finish up and may pickup an online training site subscription. Lots of good free content out there as now though.
***$10,000 Challenge Completed***
Very satisfying to complete this challenge! 5 months of grinding, hard work & dedication. Have not had this much cash on hand in a long time. Did not spend a dime yet just building for the rest of this year. Feels good to know I have this in my back pocket if something unexpected comes up.
End of May Results
Last two sessions in May were slight losers. I did notice a slight shift in my mindset after I completed the challenge. I will defiantly need to maintain proper mindset if I continue playing. Its one of the most important intangible aspects I feel. Although I didn't run great in these sessions the beats did not really bother me.
Challenge thoughts and wrap up
I will say the most difficult part of this challenge has not been beating the game, but rather the non-poker related issues around the challenge. I spent quite a lot of time traveling back and forth to the casino and lots of wasted time waiting for a seat.
Keeping a proper winning mindset and maintaining my discipline was crucial as well. A small change I made but something I felt was important - its always difficult to know when to quit a session or stay. Setting some general guidelines around this helped me hold on to my winnings and limit my losses. Leave after x hours or $x won was important for me personally.
Also there are so many temptations in the casino. Only had one small session of video poker and it was a loser. Other than that I stayed away from table games and slots. Very important to remember why I am at the casino.
Dealing with the various personalities at the tables is also quite challenging. People love to talk poker at the table and they mostly say some ridiculous or just flat out illogical things. Possibly my fault by not engaging too deep in conversation. Also there are many mizregs who just complain about everything from the cards to dealers ect. If there is something not working in their favor they will complain about it. Remembering to stay positive and remember how lucky I really am to be there is critical.
Overall games are really good. One of the biggest leaks for the pool is their preflop hand selection. This is probably the case for most low stakes games but players just want to see flops and any two cards are good enough to do so. If you have a solid understanding of preflop fundamentals you should be able to beat these games.
I averaged just about 55 hours per month of time at the table which I think is pretty good pace for me all things considered. My hourly was almost $40/per which seems good. Winning at a rate of 13.24 big blinds per hour. Not sure if $50/hour is attainable at the $1/$3 level.
RAKE! Rake at this room is absurd. They take 10% up to $6+$1 promotion. If I say 50% or $3 per hand on average +$1 promo = $4 on average taken from every pot. I won approx 753 hands (thats how much I tipped) multiply by $4 we get ~$3,012 PAID IN RAKE! Now add in the amount of $$ spent on tips and drinks ($838) and we have a lot of big blinds at the table siphoned off my winrate.
In conclusion I would say anything above $30/hour is amazing. Extrapolated that's around $60K+ per year if you put in a full time schedule of 40 hours per week. I would question the long term sustainability of this room but the overall room economy seems very healthy - plenty of money in the area.
Moving forward and future plans
I have had barely any engagement in this thread so not much a reason to continue it. However, I do plan to continue playing and will still try to post an end of month update for the rest of this year to help keep myself accountable.
I do plan on shot taking the $2/$5 games. I think anytime Im over $11K for the year I'll play $2/$5 and if I drop below $10K I'll move back down to $1/$3. I know the 2/5 is going to be much more aggressive game but would like to start logging some hours there.
I do have some big life events coming up and have a feeling my hours available to play will decrease. I'm probably going to take $1k and toss online to start grinding some low stake MTT's as well. That way I can still play while just being at home with family. I haven't played much online this year but defiantly prefer that to the casino.
I will continue to spend a little time studying every week as well. I sill have a few books to finish up and may pickup an online training site subscription. Lots of good free content out there as now though.
07-02-2023
, 12:13 AM
June is in the books. Overall an OK month - played a few $2/$5 sessions and did OK.
Last session of the month did not go well. Was feeling a bit frustrated due to being card dead which lead to some bad decisions. Almost cut my sesh short and picked up to leave as a small winner but decided to stick it out and lost a few buyins. Ended up staying way too late. Need to stay disciplined and listen to my gut.
End of June Results
Last session of the month did not go well. Was feeling a bit frustrated due to being card dead which lead to some bad decisions. Almost cut my sesh short and picked up to leave as a small winner but decided to stick it out and lost a few buyins. Ended up staying way too late. Need to stay disciplined and listen to my gut.
End of June Results