If I'm disappointed will it help you not tilt/punt of your bankroll and have to work part time at burger king?

keep us updated my man . i hope you are still running good.

Thanks bro. Back in Cali now. Had a bit of a blow up my last night in Vegas and degened. I'll post the full update soon.

Right now, I'm grinding on Ignition. Just played a very frustrating hand at 1/2. Any winning players want to lend some insight on this one?

1/2. Villain is an obvious reg. Been 3b me a lot IP. $358. I cover. I open to $5 AhQc UTG1. V 3b B to $15. Folds to me. I decide to light 4b since I think he's getting OOL. Size up since we're deep. 4b to $47. He calls.

Thoughts so far?

Flop: 7c5c2s. Pot: $93

Obvious huge range advantage here for us. I decide to bet 33% with whole range on this texture. So I do, I bet $31. He calls.

Thoughts?

Turn: 10h. Pot: $155

This card is much better for V range. Expect him to have a lot of 99-KK. Of course he can also have a lot of suited Broadway and suited Ace, clubs and spades, type hands. Especially with small flop sizing. So I decide to continue for half pot. Bet $77.5. V calls.

Thoughts?

River: 9d Pot:$310 with $202 effective behind

Another card much better for Villains range. I decide to just give up at this point. He's folding bdfd on turn. He could have clubs but I'm blocking with Qc. TT gets there on turn. 99 gets there on river. I'm at bottom of my range but what am I targeting besides missed clubs which I block? JJ specifically? I doubt that folds at this point, for this price. KK never folding. So I check, give up. Bluff has to get through 40% of time to break even. And I don't think I'm getting that on this run out. I have best hand some of the time but I can't think of any better hands I'm getting to fold unless he finds a hero fold with JJ specifically.

Thoughts?

Edit: Never mind. I think I answered my own question. Think river is an obvious check with Qc in my hands. This isn't even a very interesting hand. Was just kind of tilted from the hand when I wrote this. Feel free to comment on any other streets, if you want, though. Wondering about my pre flop sizing specifically..

Hows it going bud?

+1. Absence of posting from a PG & C is usually not the best of news I hope this is an exception

Sorry I haven't really felt like posting. I had an epic blowup in Vegas and lost 10k in the pits. Snap left the next day even though I had an Airbnb paid for. That was about a month ago already. Since then, I have been focusing on 1/2 NL and PLO online exclusively, with some 2/4 and 2/5 mixed in recently. I've ran like God and am up roughly ~20k in this time frame. Thank God. My bankroll was down to 10k after that vegas fiasco so I really couldn't afford to go on a downswing at poker. Also a few days ago I was able to run up a casino bonus on ignition from 500 to 8.5k and unlocked it. Only the 2nd time I've been able to do that. So that's a nice little rakeback gift. Current bankroll is now ~37k.

lol why do you play in the pits? no hope of ever winning there. you might be saying welcome to subway. subway eat fresh! fairly soon if you keep degening.

It's easy to hate or laugh at people for playing casino/pit games. I did it for 10+ years. I'd use my free play and throw $20 into a slot once a month and then I'd play a spin or two on the roulette table for $5-$10 on my way out once in a while. That was it. Nothing more.

Then I lost $3,500 playing poker in one session. I sat down at a blackjack table with my last $500 I had with me and turned it into $8,000 in about 20-25 minutes. Not only did I recover my whole losing session, but I did it in just a few minutes and ended up profiting a ton on top of it.

I stayed away from casino games for a while because I knew they were toxic. That's until I had another bad session where I lost $2,000. I got it back again in about 20 minutes of blackjack and even left with a few hundred more on top.

Every time for the next 10-12 months I'd chase my losses whether it was online or in a casino. If I lost $200 at poker I'd be trying to get it back. Before you know it, I lost my entire $45,000 bankroll.

It's stupid, I'm sure OP knows that. I know that. But the quick and easy money that pit games bring suck you in. It's an expensive lesson and a tough habit to kick when you get into the routine of chasing losses.

My mental game was perfect for 10+ years. Until it wasn't and I turned into that degen I too would make fun of.

Props to OP for grinding out a sick month after that. I know the feeling. I, too, was once at the top of this game. I was playing 5kNL when I was 16 online and one of the biggest winners at HUNL for 600-2k many years ago.

It's tough to stay strong and get back to those levels nowadays. It's hard looking back at what you once were and being just a shell of that now. I can understand entirely. Best of luck going forward!

True. It's ******ed. I wish I could figure out why I do it. I think subconsciously I hate myself and try to self sabotage. But, I hate myself much less when I get into a good routine and stick to it. Since, being back from Vegas, I have been in a great routine. I used my last **** up as motivation. I have been meditating daily and have only missed the gym maybe 4-5 days out of the last month and I've never been happier. I'm crushing online, just moved up to 2/5 and 2/4 on ignition and global a few days ago and the games seem just as soft. So I'm super excited about my earning potential and the future.

When I was in Vegas I got out of my routine, did not work out once or meditate, was drinking daily, and just generally getting way OOL. It's a lot of fun, but with my personality type I have to be very careful in the future. When I'm in my routine staying disciplined seems easy but when I start to diverge from it, I can spiral quickly.

Bankroll up to 41k now before some expenses yesterday. My sister's car broke down yesterday and I paid for it for her, since they don't have much extra money month to month after paying bills. It feels really nice to be in a position to help out my family when they need it, after being broke and needing their help for the better part of the last year.

Sorry to hear about your Vegas slip up. Good on you for getting things back in the right direction brother.

Try to implement some sort of forced discipline that wont allow you to have access to more than say, 5 percent of your BR in a 24 hour period?

Sometimes when I used to degen so hard I would buy giftcards to the grocery store when I got a paycheck or pay my rent far in advance just to make sure I didnt punt it off, lol.

@ Quaddeuce, don't you think a tolerance zero in regards to all forms of gambling that is not poker should be established...? You know as much as I do what will happen if you do not self-impose some limits... And btw, it was disheartening reading that monthly recap of yours

GL bro

Why was it disheartening? It's not that big of a deal. I'm destroying poker and I've had one slip up in the last couple of months. That's a huge improvement for me. I was degening daily before. If I can keep it to once every couple months I'll still be rich. I didn't intend to make it sound so negative. Yeah I made a mistake but overall everything is going amazingly.

Ok, cool, glad to hear you are doing so well then It was disheartening, as I feared that it could/would happen again, but you seem to approach the future with confidence, so good on you bro

good to see op back up to 41k.
making the casino wealthier playing blackjack is silly.

Quick update: I started shot-taking 5/T online last night (was already shot taking 5/T live when BR was over 20K). And judging by that small sample size; the higher you go, the softer the games get. Seriously. This was my first time playing 5/T online since my hardcore degen days when I would go on tilt and move up to the highest stakes available to try to get even. And I was quite shocked how soft it was. Here was a couple hands I played:

Hand 1:
100bb eff. V open 3bb B. I defend 68o BB. flop 669dd. I check, villain cbets, I c/r 3b, villain 4b jams. I call and villain has JJ.

Hand 2:
200bb eff. Different villain. V limps B. I raise to 8.5bb with KK from SB. V calls. Flop 823. I cb 125% pot. Turn 5. I bet 125% and villain jams. I call. Villain has A8o.

So yeah I plan on playing a lot more 5/T in the future. I still would feel more comfortable with a larger roll but it's fine. 2/5 is my main game for now with some good 5/T sprinkled in and in due time I will be playing only 5/T and higher hopefully.

I played my first live session since Vegas over the weekend. I forgot how much fun social interaction can be. I've basically been a recluse over this last month, only going to the gym and spending the rest of my time in my room, playing online. Was a lot of fun, had a few beers with some poker friends and was getting way OOL 3b hands like 24s lol. Finished up about +400. Game wasn't very good though and my friend said games have been dead lately. Saturday the game never even started which is pretty crazy for a Saturday night. So it looks like I will be focusing on online for the foreseeable future but will also mix in a live session every now and then just for the lulz.

Maybe it was just a matter of small sample size. Just finished a ~2 hour session of 5/T and hit and ran because it was nothing but regs. Ran pretty good and finished up 1.5k... Got lucky on one hand where I 3b sb AKcc. Flop Q45r one club. I cb 1/3, call. Turn Tc. I over bet 1.5x, call. River nuts and I jam the rest and get called. Same guy (reg) defends his BB vs my open next orbit. I have QsQc. Flop T64ss. He checks, I bet half pot, he calls. Turn 6. He donks 1.5x over bet, I call. River 4, he 1.5x over bet again. I end up folding.

Not sure if I got super owned here. I feel like he has 6x a ton here but if I'm folding QQ am I just getting super exploited? I don't have many stronger hands in my range here. I'm checking back 6x and 4x the majority of the time. I decided on folding because I have the Qs. I guess call QQ with no spade and fold QQ with spade seemed like a good plan. What do you guys think?

rooting for ya. The swings are real. Next time I'm in Ebro I'll blind raise to $50 UTG in your honor.

Thanks Bob <3

-9K in the last 4 days including -5k today. I found a JUICY 5/5 no max game, at this tiny little card room that's a few hours drive here. The action was insane and it played huge. 2 whales had 5k+ stacks and would open 15-100 every hand and raise and re-raise a ton. Gii with A10s vs K6o, 1k effective, in one hand and lost. Re-buy and three hands later gii 1k effective with ATo pre when it goes: open 15. I call. One more call. Whale in SB 3! 200. Whale in BB calls. Opener folds. I jam. Fold. Fold. Whale in BB calls. He has J5s and wins.

Lost 1.7k effective when money goes all in on flop of J54r and I have QQ vs AQo. So didn't run too hot. Could have played better also though. The game dynamics were very unusual and it took me awhile to adjust. I think I can crush this game though, for a **** ton of money at that, if it keeps this same energy. It runs twice a week and one of the dealers told me it was pretty much always like this. And most of the same players every time. So fingers crossed.

I just need to be careful with BRM considerations. After going from 49k to 40k in less than a week, I'm going to move down stakes tomorrow. Plan going forward: For online poker, I plan to move back down in stakes to 200 for now. Crush it and re-gain some confidence and then move back up to 2/5 and 5/T once I feel ready and BR is a little healthier.

I've been wanting to play tournies lately. So, tomorrow, I'll play 3 or 4 tables of 200 cash and mix in the Sunday 150k guaranteed on ignition. And, as for live, I want to play this game, as much as possible. But, have to be careful and take calculated shots. I'm definitely not rolled for it yet. It plays like a T/20. But, I'm not ready to give up yet. I think as long as my roll is above 35K I will shot take this game the next day it runs. 35K seems like a reasonable number to me. If BR is below 35K or at any point in the future my BR is below 35K I WILL NOT PLAY THIS GAME.

All in all, this was a great month though. Disaster ending... but if when I was working at subway, 3 months ago, you would have told me I had a 40K roll by now, I would have been ecstatic! But today I'm depressed that my BR is at 40K. Everything is relative. I need to keep this all in perspective..

Subbed OP and GL staying away from Dgenning tendencies.

I have minimal tendencies myself thank goodness - especially live where I play exclusively. Online was different for some reason and I think it was for a few reasons.

1. Hope - being unrealistically hopeful about winning lost money back (when is it ever a good time to increase stakes while tilting). Having gotten out of a hole previously in the same circumstance feeds this.
2. Embarrassment around having lost already/not sticking to BRM rules.
3. Self loathing for the same reasons.
4. Wanting confirmation of self loathing by doing even more stupid things.
5. In the end becoming fatalistic - believing that run bad is too painful to bear, that it will just continue anyway and it is better to end the pain now and get back to self-loathing - confirming what I already knew about myself anyway....

Anyway, I am not moving to a higher stake until I have a conservatively good bankroll even though I pretty regularly play with, and beat a lot of the players that play higher than me.

I am studying and learning learning a lot each day so for the moment I am still happy to be in a "preparing for" mode.

.... On the other hand, if somebody offered me a stake to play higher, I would snap accept and would feel like I am a favourite to beat the game.

Have you thought about trying to get a stake to play the big Casino game and and 5/T online?

The thinking of "I need to move down in stakes, so I'll move down once I lose 5k more" is, imo, dangerous. What are your short and long term goals?

Well put my man. That's pretty much spot on. As for staking, I don't know. If someone offered it i would consider it but I'm not looking for a stake.

Played the big game again last night and it was the complete opposite experience. Ran en fuego and finished up +6270 in about 5.5 hours. Planning on playing this game every day it runs for the foreseeable future.

The Wsop circuit is coming to Sacramento at Thunder Valley Casino tomorrow. Games should be good so I booked an Airbnb for a week down there. Hopefully 5/T will be good and I can put a lot of hours in, at that game, this weekend. After that, I have some friends going to the following wsop circuit event, in coconut creek, FL. Debating if I should go to that one or stay closer to home and grind. Leaning towards staying here since I discovered this new game and it seems like a potential goldmine.