That needs to change. Find friends. Find a girlfriend/boyfriend.

Find 2plus2ers who are out there and enjoy life. You only have to play 20 10-hour sessions a month to make 200 hours. What are you doing the other 10 days? Balance is important in life. You've left your friends behind, so hopefully, loneliness won't seep in and derail you.

Good luck as I live vicariously through you.

I shipped a 1.3k pot today, the biggest of my life iirc. Nothing special- new guy sits and first hand he opens to 25, 1 call, I make it 100 with kings. He asks me how many bills I'm playing then jams. I snap he flips queens, I hold up.

I didn't play 10 hrs today becuase I got a headache . It will be tough to hit my 200 hr target but I am determined.

I'm not very outgoing but I'm sure I'll make new friends and meet some girls eventually.

This is my first month in poker paridise. I really want to grind it out, pad the bankroll and hopefully set myself up to be able to chill out a little volume-wise in the months to come.

June

Total hours played- 101.5

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 667.5

Any history with villain which made you snap call or do you have a predetermined amount of BB's to always call with KK?

OP, don't sweat it too much if you don't make your "total hours played" goal for the month. You did a good job coming home when you got a headache! If you play 100 more hours this month in the right mindset, then cool & good for you. If you play 79 more hours on your "A" game for 90% of it, then cool & good for you.

I got c/r with air twice today, I guess people are going to play back when I'm cbetting most flops.

Here is a hand I played-

I have K10 in the bb, lp opens for 15, 1 call, I call.

Flop- Q97
I lead out for 30 into 43, pfr calls other guy folds. I'm pretty sure he has a queen

Turn- 10
I bet 60 into 103, he calls

River- 8
I tank then bet 200 into 223. Villain thinks it over I say "I can beat a queen". He calls with QJ, perfect river .

I only got in 8 hrs, got a headache again and I couldn't stumble upon any really good tables.

It was his first hand at the table, never played with him before but he was about 28 and bought in for the max which means he can stack off wider than KK+ I might think twice if it was an 85 yr old nit. Usually around 100bb I am never folding kings pf. My 3bet range is wider than the average player's so people probably play back a little lighter.

I'm not sure how realistic my goal is at this point, still going to try. I don't want to push myself to put in hrs if I am not able to focus and play good.

June

Total hours played- 108.5

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 675.5

200bbs + and then I might think about folding KK, and only if playing 5/5+

Today I was pretty card dead battling boredom. I ran into a couple friends from the bay area that are in town.

June

Total hours played- 113.5

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 680.5

I turn quads and villain c/r me, I tank call. Then I did my new favorite move- just saying "all in" on the river without putting any chips in the pot. I tell him I think it might be a chop and he pays me off.

I am operating based on a lot of assumptions and stereotypes. It is amazing how much info I can pick up in the first orbit. It is really easy to pick out the serious knowledgeable players from the recreational players.

Failing pretty hard as far as putting in 10 hr sessions.

June

Total hours played- 117.5

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 682.5

I am finding more spots to value bet thin when in the past I would have checked back. I have realized that the times I run into big hands are more than compensated for by being called down light. I am paying more attention to people's turn and river tendancies. I look for bluffing frequency and how wide they value bet.

June

Total hours played- 120.5

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 686

Why aren't you posting your current bankroll and $ won and your hourly...?

One poster suggested Op should concern himself with the long term rather than short term.

FWIW I liked the plus and minus info.

I am obviously not going to hit 200. I guess i'll lower the bar a little bit because I'm lazy. I'll just try to put in more volume than my highest of the yr which was 150 back in Jan.

I'm posting from my phone because the internet here is ****ed up.

I think that not posting daily results has had a positive effect on my game. I have been playing well and not donking off chips in the manner I was a couple weeks ago. Stats will be posted at the end off the month.

June

Total hours played- 124.5

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 690

why are you obsessed with 200 hours? sounds like something else you need to eliminate from your mindset - play your best poker when you FEEL like playing and when you think you can play at your best.

the work week is 37.5 hours for most americans. that's 150 per 4 weeks. don't push yourself. don't play when you're tired. if you need a day off, you have the luxury of taking it. i can't choose to work a 4-day work week next week if i want. you can.

and continued good luck.

Yeah I know I can play whenever I want or feel like. I have come to take the freedom for granted a little bit, I've been playing poker for longer than any other job I've had in the past.

I just have been trying to push myself so I can build a bankroll to move up stakes and buy a car, a guitar and other random ****.

I'm not sure how tough the 5/10 games are but i'll start taking some shots when my bankroll hits 10k

I played at a 2/5 table with Mason Malmuth for awhile at Aria. I also saw Durrrr walk by, he looks a lot taller in person.

June

Total hours played- 134.5

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 700

You have been playing poker for a living for several months now and I'm sure you will be able to survive doing this.My only concern is your bankroll management.I strongly suggest that you stick with 1/2 or 1/3NL until you have a bankroll of $10,000 then you can try 2/5NL The 5% buyin of bankroll with 6 months living expense rule is very important.Don't put your poker career at risk.

pure_aggression, Why have you started excluding results? It's probably the most interesting aspect for the casual reader (myself).

Also, good on you for taking shots. I'm afraid to take $5/10 shots with $23k.

Take shots if you can handle the stress, most successful pros took shots at some point and that's how they were able to grow and be the best.

There's not a huge difference bankroll wise between a $500 1/2 buyin and half stacking 5/10.

this

Not this

Hey pure, great thread I enjoy following. I have 2 questions.

1.) Why aren't you posting your results, it's kind of what we all look forward to when we check your updates.

2.) If i understand correctly you moved to Vegas to play poker. You kinda left your old life/friends behind. If you are finding it hard to play 150 hours a week what do you do and how do you spend and occupy all of your free time, since I am assuming you don't know many people and probably don't have a lot of friends yet since your new to the city?

I agree I feel like this thread has gotten a little boring since you have'nt been posting results and HH's. Pretty cool that you saw Durrrr. I met him last summer at the Rio when I was in town for the WSOP.

I need to play at least 10 hrs to top 150 for June, very doable.

Here are a couple more pics of some of the places I play at

The Venetian



The Wynn



Here is a hand I played-

I've got QQ on the btn, 3 limps I make it 20 and get 2 calls. effective stacks are 600

Flop- K73
Villain donks for 27 into 61, I raise to 70 he calls.

Turn- 10
check, check

River- 5
Villain bets 95 into 201. I'd seen villain run some big river bluffs. I ask "will you show if I fold" he says "yes". He is staring me down, I decide to look him up. I show he mucks.

I think I should definitely be playing mostly 2/5 with 100bb, my winrate has been about double my 1/2 winrate. I'll probably drop back to playing 1/2 and 1/3 if my bankroll gets down to 5k. I would like to have 6 month living expenses and a 20k bankroll to feel comfortable, so that's a long term goal.

I stopped posting daily results because I want to keep my focus on raking in the galfond bucks (range vs range equity) and disregard the actually $ swings. I think it was kind of counterproductive to place emphasis on it in past posts.

I think stats and graphs are interesting too, it's one of the reasons I was hooked on internet poker before black friday. So I'll post all that junk once the month is wrapped up.

I remember when I finally took shots at the 2/4 game at Oaks, it took a few tries but eventually I figured it out. I think 23k is plenty to at least take a shot. The number 1 rule is only play if the game is good.

Also whenever the pot is straddled I think of it as taking a 1 hand "shot" at the higher level.

I agree with the first part. 500 will be going in the middle a lot more often half stacking 5/10 than 250bb deep at 1/2 but I guess that's not too big of a stretch to say.

1- already answered
2- It does kind of suck having to quit the band to come out here and leave behind my circle of friends. I've mostly kept to myself when I'm not playing poker. I have jammed at guitar center a couple times, seen a few movies but haven't done too much fun stuff or socializing. I think I want to do a hike one of these days. I should probably make more of an effort to make some friends here. But yeah there is no excuse for me to not be logging a ton of hrs at the tables.

I'll be at the 2p2 party next week if anyone wants to say what's up.
I'll try to post more hands, I was posting from my phone the past few days but I guess the internet here is fixed. Durrrr is the man, was always one of my favorite players on hsp. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSqkhN9Rqk0

June

Total hours played- 140

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 706

I'm a big-time lurker, but coming out of hiding to let you know that I just read this entire thread. I'm rooting for you to do well; it's fun to live vicariously through someone younger who is doing something that I wish I had done.

Because I started at post one and just read straight through, I wasn't sure what I'd find at the end of the thread. It's nice to see that you're actually in Vegas and playing well. Best of luck to you.

Yea he is a G. Him and Ivey are my two favorites. I think he is the best NLHE cash player in the world.

I have a rule, if the blinds get chopped twice in a row I am automatically getting a table change. If the table is good the blinds should virtually never get chopped, recreational players limp in almost every hand.

I was railing a 25/50 nl game at Aria while taking a break. I see a guy call off 10k with tp 4th kicker and a gutshot vs bottom 2p haha must be a juicy game.

Ok here is a funny one-

I pick up 72 in the sb, an active player has opened in HJ for 15, btn a weak tight player calls, I make it 45 with a nit image.

Flop- 2610
I bet 75 into 136, fold, fold. I show, HJ said he had AK I got a little entertainment value out of it...

I thought I could get some meta game going, 2 hands later I ended up flopping mid set on a 3 flush and raised flop, barreled turn but the river was a 4th flush card on the unpaired board and I shut down, villain had flopped third nf sigh

I'm always amazed when people say they've read through the whole thread, you guys are sick! Thanks for the well wishs. I feel like I got a job promotion haha. Nicer office, comp dollars, cocktail waitresses keeping my clients thoroughly inebriated... it's ****ing awesome here.

I have a ton of respect for Dwan for being the first member of FT to come out and answer questions about the whole black friday situation.

One of the things that he is an expert at is sensing timing tells and physical tells, if you watch him play you'll notice he takes time on every street to pick them up.

June

Total hours played- 148

2012 YTD

Total hours played- 714