Yeah ditto this post. I think they're doing a better job than people think. The fear of getting owned by regs is real, people would much rather chalk it up to bots give up and move on.

Taking a pause in the BR challenge.

Honestly pretty disappointing results lately. Despite BR being back up to $1,400 now.

Feels like I'm grinding an impossible to win field. Literally getting destroyed in every spot lately. Back to the frustrations outlined in the first post of this thread really.

I've played 350,000 hands this year. But the past 100,000 hands or so it feels like the exact hands I have are purely being targeted. Especially in the biggest spots. Too many spots where I feel like they can see my cards.

Might be back at some point but I'll be limiting my online poker play likely to other websites when I am able to play on them! ACR is purely some form of ridiculousness.

Sup. Uri Peleg chose your blog for his new video. Some coaching tips and advice for you inside! Enjoy.

Hey thanks for pointing this out! Appreciate it greatly.

I'm glad he didn't roast me too bad!

I think I grew a lot over the course of these hands this year. Haven't completely given up but I did take a new job and a lot of huge things going on in my life right now that I have chosen to focus on in the meantime.

Upswing has done a lot for me over the years and it's really fun to see Uri having done this video on the blog. I would definitely take you up on having a chat sometime.

Please reach out, any time!

Wow still up because of how cool this is. Cannot express how happy I am this got some attention! All the points Uri makes are very fair.

It's funny his point about it basically being a rant and a lot of the early posting just being bad beats is so spot on. In fact this thread was originally posted in brags, bad beats, and variance. At some point when the thread started getting some hits it was moved to the poker strategy forum and I was using it more to share HH from some of the sessions versus just using it as a bit of a rant.

It then lived on the strategy forum for quite awhile before a moderator moved it to blogs. Originally I was upset about this because I think moving it to blogs ultimately killed the strategy discussion, but without that I doubt Uri would have found it. Anyways super amped tonight, that's why I'm still up this late!

Uri, would love to hear from you if you have the time to spare. Hope everyone has a great night!

Hi man this is Uri. I'm happy you enjoyed the vid! and I'm happy to hear things are going well. We can chat here or in pm whatever you prefer.

i get the desire to do it via pm, but i think it'd be better for the thread if it happened here but wouldn't hold it against either if it was taken to pm

I’m just not motivated to play this game much longer.

Can say without a doubt the last year of poker has been my best mental year at the tables by far of any year ever. I’m actually beating 50NL ACR after rakeback. Though it’s not even remotely worth the time that went into it.

People in live games who used to be total morons are talking about gto. Just walked off a $2/5 game where I had the entire table pegged as some kind of fish and just walked out of there with my biggest losing session ever at the stakes. And no I’m not going to complain about coolers or check folding 9/10 hands I opened tonight.

____

Here’s a fun hand, I’m fixing to leave soon anyways, $950 effective. Preflop raiser makes it $15 LJ. I did not notice the raise. First time this has happened all year. I almost never miss action preflop. I cannot stress this enough because I have Q7s otb and think I’m opening to $15. Anyways it’s a call.

Donkey in sb and bb call. Flop Kc3s4s, donkey bets $75, pfr calls. I decide to gamble here and take a turn. Turn As, checks to me $200, donkey jams for $600, guy behind tank calls, and I’m all in. Donkey has A4o and the guy behind somehow just has KJs.

Throw in the odds of A) first accidental “call” with a hand I’m always folding all year. Making a loose flop call, getting there on the turn, on the 1 card in the deck I’m never folding for any amount.

I’m just sick and tired of this ruining my day. It’s not like I’m broke because of this. I’m just tired of going home pissed off on nights like this.

_______

I’m tired of studying solvers. I’m tired of playing solid strategies against humans. Checking the flop 80% of the time OOP 5 way against donkeys just to go back home and play 500 hands against mostly bots and cheaters to be barely breakeven.

Tired of coming back to these forums and seeing the same 10 bagregs posting on everyones gdmf thread in the strategy section. “Yeah 25 hands with no showdown they’re this kind of fish” because vpip is 50. Yeah OK.

Between cell phones at tables, nash charts, gtowizard, everyone and their mother who is winning posting charts of “uponly” yeah I beat the game you should listen to me.

Sure live poker is still hella profitable, but the great nights at the tables just aren’t outwighing the bad ones anymore. Mentally this game is just not worth it if I’m seriously debating folding AKs pre every time I’m facing a 5b all in. I feel like a freaking nit but the reality is most of the players beating these games are nits.

Kudos to those who want to keep going on it but I’m not. Computers are only getting better. And the laws are unfavorable for people who enjoy playing online. I need a break.

Sorry if this disappoints anyone. Life is going pretty well I don’t need 8BI downswings in any game right now. Gonna get hitched and make babies.

Ttyl,

Soar

GG Solid rant. I feel the same way about poker these days, I get no joy out of it even when im crushing and when I lose im miserable because im getting rekt by windows lickers. Its boring now. I get more joy staring at a btc chart all day and scalping trades. Good luck with life outside of poker.

Screw this game. I’m not a quitter.

Time to train up and start destroying bigger live games.

Will post some interesting hh’s as they come from both online and live. Stay tuned.

Good luck! Subbed

I have some pretty good results in my career. Over 100k at SNGs playing $60s.

I am looking for people to help/chat with. How are you doing these days?

I browsed your entire Thread...

I played Poker on and off since 2005 where my Dad taught me Stud in the 90s and Hold Em in the 2000s. I played with Top Pros for a Blind(on-line) when you could do that. My dad sat down with the infamous Ferguson for a playhand LOL...

I miss the old days but I see a lot of the same old bad habits then as I do now. I remember my first sun run back in 2005 when I thought well I got a Trips with a K Kicker... I got my first lesson in humility when a guy ate my BR with an A kicker. The game definitely seemed softer to me then and most players seemed more like fun players but all types still exist.

I think by what I read you are fine/learning and you run well enough ... You seem to show a learning player who comes here who asks and can win and enjoys the game. We all have self doubt and want to quit and maybe that's okay if it's not productive but if it's fun and productive why quit... or 'either'

I am running rather bad cause I am rather distracted in Cash and I'm running Profitable in MTTs/STTs/Spins. I don't know if I will continue but these people are wonderful and there is 1 affordable coach I know of that has been running like a true Professional if you want a reference. I chatted with them and they seemed on the up and up!

P.S. Why ACR, it's chalked full of Russian Kids in Hoodies and since in Russia 300 bucks can be a monthly paycheck you can relate to their motivations? Then again it's a really beautiful site!

P.S.S. One can make a lot more at a Home Job than Poker(there are telejobs now) where you can sit on a phone for as little as 4 hours a day answering questions making $400 a month. I doubt most make that in poker unless they're seriously moving up in stakes after a period of time... (watched a guy on Twitch who went up to 5k in a BR Challenge in 20 days and 250,000 hands from 250 bucks)

At around 17k rake per year its better to change to the Elite Rewards than stay at the 27%. I think its probably too late in the year to switch for '22 since its done on a yearly calendar basis, but something to consider for '23.

Why dont you just play Ignition? Its much softer and if you are doing well at ACR you are for sure gonna crush at Ignition.

Hey man. I'm doing great! Just racked in my largest live tournament cash ever. Since I'm not playing full time anymore feels really good to be back in the streets. Haven't been playing too much but seems like live tournaments are the place to be as far as making poker work is concerned. I still do cash game and am having a great year live. After this tournament I might actually be bankrolled legitimately for $10/25, so that's cool.

Not sure how much I'll play it as it doesn't run as often as it used to. The $5/10 games here are definitely drying up a bit.

-------

AspiringPlay - thank you for your comment. Yeah I think ACR I'll keep to low stakes practice for now. No more grinding to win for real. Maybe just for 3-5 table MTT practice and playing some 10NL Blitz if I want to try some things. Mainly ACR because it's my only legal option.

To be honest I'm at a stage in my poker where I don't think a coach would really be good for me. Poker is not just about how much you study and grind but equally it's about how good you run. Even a lot of these big name pros nowadays can't talk the talk when they watch a game. There's a lot of good content nowadays out there but nothing I'm willing to pay for anymore.

I want to find partners who enjoy talking and bantering about the game as much as I do. I want to hang out with good players who value what I have to say about the game as well. My brain is so wired for this game it's actually just unbelievable. Even after the hiatus. This time more than ever it's like I was never even gone...

I've always had confidence vocally but in the back of my mind my biggest problem seems to be second guessing myself. One thing I've got good at in poker is not doing this. I played some pretty insane tournament spots tonight and I never took more than 10 seconds on a decision, the ENTIRE tournament. And felt confident and comfortable the decision I made was the right one.

Here's a weird spot as an example. 30BB deep sb vs bb. Don't think this spot requires much other context but:

30bb deep, hero in sb with A4o.

BB is a pro/bracelet winner.

Pre-Flop:
Hero Limp, bb checks.

Flop A67o C/C
Turn 5o
Hero bets 1.5bb, bb raises to 4.15bb. Hero calls.

River 2o
Hero checks, bb bets 10bb. Hero calls.

^^^^^^^
I made this call in 3 seconds, being very confident this is a better call than the vast majority of other hands I will have here.

Was I correct?

No.

Does it matter?

Not at all. I had a plan on turn and river. Most people still 3b without a plan. Even bracelet winners 3b a 20bb stack open and tank fold for 4b jams. Not even having a clue what they were 3betting for in the first place. I'm not about to let the ups and downs of poker piss me off anymore. Just going to play it when I want to and if it makes me happy I'll keep playing it.

Thanks again for reading.

You seem to have the right attitude toward poker. Run good cannot be overstated. I watch pros regularly on Twitch(people who have made millions) and their decision making varies. I ask them why they make decisions they did and the logic is really basic usually. All the Millionaires tend to offer coaching. One fellow tonight I watched Apestyle he seemed to be struggling and mentioned it as if he's off his game. I remember hearing Hansen said he was off his game shortly before he lost 20 Million.

I think being able to focus and make the right decisions must continually and keep an interest in poker/learning/evolving makes a winning player.

You seem to have a great philosophy to go forward I find myself to get a little bored with the grind and greedy. Enjoying the bigger spots too much. Think I need to start back at the beginning...

I'm not without my flaws too-

I think I'm overly confident bordering arrogance at times. Sometimes when my mouth opens in live games it won't stop.

It's a weak point of mine just knowing when to stop or maybe some things I should not say. I'll use arrogance or haughtiness to try and tilt a table or tilt people in playing back more. Knowing that while I'm doing all of this my strategy is beating the vast majority of players anyways and I'm not going to tilt if players battle back. I would say 90% of the time it's "good natured", nothing vulgar or abusive, almost exclusively about poker- or people's general demeanor. But I would consider it both a strength and a weakness. I have a hard time knowing where to draw the line. Final table spots- anyone? I actually just posted a thread about this in live tournament poker- it's not too long of a read.

Am I giving away information? Yeah maybe. But I think generally I've done better at tables where I've been on my A+ verbal game than those where I'm silent as a mouse- which is probably about half the time. I go after other s* talkers hard, especially. Nice people, not so much.

And the greed is the other part of it you mentioned- I used to never chop with people the first couple of years I played tournament. Thought I was hot s*. Now? I play down if no one says anything, but even when no one says anything people tend to ICM chop the second that I bust. Regardless if I bust in 3rd, 4th, 5th. I'm not sure if it's an insult or if they really just want to get me- either way I'm happy playing down but it is annoying busting in spots where I might have ICM'd for twice as much money.

One of the best things about this blog is that it exists and that I can look back on it.

Been back in the mix this week. Can’t say I’ve done a ton of studying in my hiatus but I have played in a few live tournaments and some cash game on the side.

Since my return I’m up 1500 bb in about 5k hands playing 10NL fast on ACR. Trying some new things and they seem to be working a lot. I had withdrawn my previous roll but effectively we’re sitting at around $1200 for the online BR. Maybe with some luck we can give 50NL some shots again.

One notable difference between the last 5k hands and most of my hh is that the red line is positive. Interesting, right?

Stay tuned I may post some hh soon.

Hi everyone,

Been almost a year now since I started this blog! Been some ups and downs here but I think after a year I've come to recognize it's mostly downs.

I think it's fair to say my hearts just not in it anymore. I guess ego gets the best of me in this game or something. Idk what's up. Playing games for $10 just isn't as fun as it used to be.

Not really willing to put in more work just to play on ACR and be upset. This game doesn't feel so much as a hobby anymore as it is an addiction. Losing pretty low stakes games also just seems like a waste of time for me at this point. If half a lifetime of poker doesn't allow me to beat $50NL somethings not right.

People are too good and I can't figure it out on my own. And I don't want to pay for someone's help. Everyone in this game seems mostly FOS. Doesn't matter how much theory I know, I get exploited in every spot somehow. Can't explain it and don't really care to anymore. Whatever explanation I find will likely make me more mad.

Tbh Uri's post got me playing games again, definitely motivated me for a little while. But every time I try and go back it just feels same old same old. I was doing really well at 10NL this time around. I'll chalk it up to luck. ACR might actually be rigged. The amount of times I've come back to the game and run hot for 10K hands before falling off a cliff is really astounding. Or these 10NL and 50NL pros really know how to adjust. Fast.

Really sucks. Oh well. Anyways you guys know I'll probably be back in 6 months. Hopefully not. Going to donate all my Doug Polk shirts to Planet Aid. Probably better I throw them out. Wouldn't want some other poor kid getting roped into this cancerous cycle of a game.

Cheers,

Soar

Edit: And sorry for the super pessimistic post. Hope everyone had a nice holiday and a great new year ahead.

Play live. I had the same experience on ACR. There is zero incentive for those sites to have a RNG or proove they have one. The bots and players cheating with either RTA or collusion has reached even the lower levels of the sites. If I lived in a state where poker stars was legal, I would try that out, it is regulated I believe?

Hi friend,

Appreciate the comment. My state unfortunately ACR is the only option. I will continue to play live poker! Looking forward my next Vegas trip as well.

rake is no go .s......