^^^^ Reading is hard.

Keep it up Carl. Seems like you have turned a corner.

I've been playing 1/2 and 1/3 since I left the stake in July.





Thanks, how have you been?

This is a fantastic Zen Proverb. Thanks again for sharing.

I find that this aligns itself well with poker. All we can do is follow the righteous path of +EV play.

keep up the grinding and the good quotes! best of luck pureagression

"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness" - Chinese Proverb

I believe it is much smarter to focus on improving a situation even if only slightly rather than bitching and complaining and doing nothing.



Fremont St

I put in a pretty long session, played alright.

Hand 1:

V1 (120)- 70 yo white male, loose
Hero's Image (250)- 25 yo white male, tag

Preflop (4):
V1 limps MP, Hero is MP dealt AK
Hero raises to 10, BTN calls, BB calls, V1 calls.

Flop (36):
T93
Checks through.

Turn (36):
Q
Checks to Hero who bets 30, fold back to V1 who calls.

River (96):
4
Checked to Hero who bets 35, V1 tanks and calls.



Hand 2:

V1 (180)- 30 yo white female, tight
Hero's Image (200)- 25 yo white male, tag

Preflop (4):
Hero is SB dealt QQ 2 limps, V1 limps BTN, Hero raises to 14, 3 calls, V1 calls.

Flop (70):
643
Hero bets 50, folds to V1 who calls.

Turn (170):
A
Checked through.

River (170):
6
Checked through.



I am glad to share these great quotes from great individuals better than anything I could come up with.


Will do, thanks!

Mini Challenge

9/9 hhs posted
9/9 hhs commented on
3/3 motivational quotes
3/3 encouragement to others

December 2013

Total hours played- 22.5/120
Average hourly winrate- $17
Winnings- $381

2013 YTD

hours played- 1401.5
Average hourly winrate- $17
Winnings- $23696

AKdd hand:

Turn semibluff is too large if you plan to bet river. Why? Because you are getting calls from all kinds of OESD +1 pair weak made hands like J9. If you make a small river bet, they will cry call.

If I bet turn and river, it's going to be $20 / $50 because those same weak hands <Qx are going to fold to that river sizing more often. The smaller turn bet makes his range wider too. THe $35 sizing otr is lighting money on fire based on the 85% turn bet sizing.

Either you can bet large on turn and give up, or bet larger on river than you did (like 70+)if you feel 9x oesd and weak Tx will call the turn for that same amount of $30 on the turn.

i like 22 on the turn and 60 river a lot of hands will peel once on that texture and fold to a river bet and id imagine villian would lead a Q on turn a high % of the time. Great thread btw and good luck getting back to crushing.

Love the pics in each write up. Your attitude is great too - keep the insights coming!

Gl gl

If you can get staked you probably should.. I'm sure it will improve your game tremendously since you won't be scared money anymore. I don't think it is a coincidence that you had such a high hourly while previously being backed. If you have 1500 a month in expenses and less than 1k bankroll... it is just a matter of time before the inevitable. Either way wish you the best of luck!

It's not just coincidence I was going to mention that great quote a few days ago, I forgot. Now that I'm back I see it got some attention. Very good quote PA.

"The wise man should be prepared for everything that does not lie within his control." - Pythagoras

This is applicable to the variance in poker, we can't control it but we should expect it and practice good bankroll management to avoid being out of action.



3 airplanes lined up in the sky ready to land

Vegas has been overrun with Cowboys the last week for a Rodeo. They love it when I play "Cowboys from Hell" by Pantera.

Hand 1:

V1 (179)- 25 yo white male, loose
Hero's Image (290)- 25 yo white male, tag

Preflop (3):
Hero is SB dealt AK
V1 raises to 12 from BTN, Hero 3bets to 48, V1 calls.

Flop (94):
QJ5
Hero bets 50, V1 calls.

Turn (194):
Q
Hero checks, V1 shoves for 81, Hero folds.

Kind of an awkward spot, still have 10 like outs but I have to discount them as I could be up against Qx, blank turns I AM fine with shoving. As it turns out I don't quite have the odds to call assuming I am behind.



Hand 2:

V1 (355)- 25 yo white male, drunk maniac, seen him spaz out with weak draws and air, usual pfr size is 12
Hero's Image (335)- 25 yo white male, nit

Preflop (3):
Hero is BTN dealt KJ V1 raises to 8, one MP call, Hero calls.

Flop (25):
AJ6
V1 checks dark, MP checks, Hero bets 16, V1 calls, MP folds.

Turn (55):
A
V1 bets 27, Hero thinks for sec and calls.

River (109):
2
V1 shoves for 280, Hero tanks and calls.



Tough call but I would expect villain to make a standard sized pfr with Ax.

playing guitar on the strip for $$ is badass. nice call with KJ, very villian dependent and good for you for paying enough attention to collect that money. AKo hand you can probably just jam turn but your line is nbd at all. the AKdd hand from earlier- your river sizing sucks balls. If you are planning a double barrel strap on your man pants and bet big on the turn, and bet big on the river to collect that turn bet! "he has one pair empty all clips"

Looks like my last post got amputated somehow so I'll repost the second half.

Edit: happened again, multi quote is spazing out. Thanks for the comments all, I'll try and reply to them again tomorrow.

I love the quotes, you definitely have a great attitude about the game and I hope you succeed.

I also agree you should look into getting staked

In hand 2 I like check the flop back with the top of the middle of your range and playing it as a bluff catcher on later streets.

Pretty heroic call otr but drunk maniac gonna drunk maniac. Gotta be good here s very high % though.

Way to grab a pair and call with KJo hand. The drunk whale is the rare guy I may flat with this small open because we are IP, fine against his range, and we have a skill advantage. A 3b is probably atrocious because it's not going to narrow his range down since he will always continue.

I have a cousin that is "Hazing" for the steer wrestling competition in the Rodeo that you are referring to. (Surely what I said, ie Hazing, steer wrestling, is foreign to most 2+2r's, if not then NH WP.)

I have long heard that Cowboys don't make much in the way of a poker player although most have a pretty high opinion of their skills.

Nice time to put in some hours and clean up.

"Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before." - Polybius

We are in the home stretch of the year. I have some regrets about not putting in enough effort in past months and it has lead to me busting my roll. I take full responsibility. I am determined to finish the year strong and stick to my goals. I want to carry this momentum into 2014 and have my best year ever.

My father is an avid runner and I used to do some running as well when I was a teenager mostly 5ks and 10ks. When we see the finish line that is when it is time to turn up the heat, sprint and give it everything we have.



Hard Rock

I think played well this session. Not too many big hands.

Hand 1:

V1 (250)- 55 yo white male, nit
Hero's Image (300)- 25 yo white male, tag

Preflop (3):
Hero is LP dealt JT
3 limps, Hero limps, V1 limps LP.

Flop (12):
JT3
Checks to Hero who bets 10, V1 raises to 20, Hero folds.

Hand 2:

V1 (100)- 30 yo white male, saw him l/r A3o
Hero's Image (300)- 25 yo white male, tag

Preflop (4):
Hero is UTG dealt TT
Hero raises to 10, V1 calls from MP, 1 LP call.

Flop (70):
973
Hero bets 20, V1 raises to 40, LP folds, Hero 3 bets to 90, V1 calls and is AI.



Mini Challenge

15/15 hhs posted
15/15 hhs commented on
5/5 motivational quotes
5/5 encouragement to others

December 2013

Total hours played- 29.5/120
Average hourly winrate- $27
Winnings- $790

2013 YTD

hours played- 1408.5
Average hourly winrate- $17
Winnings- $24105

Well I just typed out a response to all the replies and 2+2 glitched and cut them all off again I'm on life tilt right now. 3 strikes haha.

Wow. Great call with the KJ, but his overbet shove on the river is total spew and can't possibly be for value.

Why did you fold top two pair for a minraise? You're deep enough to see the turn and see if you can hit your 4-outer and stack him. I'm never folding top two for such a small amount. Maybe that's a leak, but if we hit we are taking his stack.

Keep it up. Finish 2013 strong.

Hi Pure. I love this thread, but I think this hand was misplayed (and God knows I do sh*t like this way too often myself). I like your 3-bet to 48, but after Villain call there is already like 98 in the pot, and it seems like he only has 131 left.

With a flop like Q-J-5 why not just ship it in front with your two overs + gutshot? That way you avoid the difficult decision on the turn, and you know that you always have outs even if called. Sure, it might cause our holding to be a bit transparent, but I think this bet would work against most 1$-2$ players who just see 'oh f*ck, huge bet, I only have a Jack' or whatever, and fold.

That being said, I know I do this way too often myself, just because I fall in the habit of betting my 'standard' amount, and not studying villains stack-size properly enough to plan out how to play the hand if he calls etc.

Anyway, keep grinding, and threads like yours are an inspiration. And since I live way too far from Vegas to go there often, I really love the pictures from The Strip etc

^^^ Yeah I believe we are priced in to draw to 4 outs here actually. 10 more to win his entire $250 stack I'd believe. 18% equity against the top of his range and 10% for one street

I am going to run through these a couple at a time so I don't risk losing them all like the last 3 attempts.

TY for the analysis, I see what you're saying.


TY for the thoughts.