Lost $1388 today in 5 hours. Set vs flush draw, etc. Bleh...

Sometimes my fancy plays don't work out...

Tournament player playing like 60/5 raises over a couple limpers to $25, hero calls in SB with TT, limpers call.

Flop QT9, $110
I lead $80, limpers fold, PFR calls with about $700 behind.

Turn 4, pot $270
I check expecting him to bet almost his entire flop calling range, he checks behind.

River 5, pot $270
I jam, he folds JJ faceup.

Really hate that donk vs a mtt player, chr call it off ainec versus your typical mtt player.

^ I thought his most likely holdings were 1 pair type hands (KQ - AA) which he would check behind on the river. The typical MTT player playing 60/5 is pretty bad :P

Played well overall, still lost $2430 in 5 hours. fml. I will total up 2014 trip results/hours sometime but I think I'm approaching 600 hours of being in over a 5 figure downswing right now...

Where you playing right now?

Downswings happen - I dropped 6K in PLO on my recent trip to the east coast(listened to the PLO siren songs from you and Limon LDO). Fortunately recovered a bit with NLH. Good thing is you have the roll to ride it out.

Up $4608 in 5 hours of 5/10 NLHE, finally a big day

Hand 1: Loose whacky V1 raises to $45 from MP, tight V2 flats on BTN, hero raises to $170 with AJ from SB, both call. V1 has $1k, V2 has $1.5k, I cover.

Flop 643, pot $520
Checks through.

Turn Q, pot $520
Hero bets $200, V1 folds, V2 calls. I'm thinking like 77-TT a lot, *possibly* either flush draw.

River 2, pot $920
Hero bets $550, V2 folds.

~~~

Hand 2: Villain is guy who sat down very recently and raised his first hand UTG with 96s and doubled up with a flush, so obviously rec player (he posted UTG!). Effective stacks $1800.

Hero raises CO with T5 to $40, SB calls, V in BB calls.

Flop Q53, pot $120
SB checks, V bets $40, hero raises to $140, SB folds, V calls.

Turn A, pot $400
V checks, hero bets $250, V calls.

River 5, pot $900
V checks, hero bets $450, V snapcalls with A4. My river sizing here is because I thought V was very level 1 and had Qx a lot. Should have made it bigger though, mistake.

A little off topic, but I noticed in your WSOP selling thread that you had a place at the Rio for some time. How much did that run you for long term if you care to share?

I honestly am not sure. I had really really goofy discounts too, like my ex-gf having connections with a Caesar's higher up, me getting double comps from Horseshoe Cleveland since it opened halfway through the year, and suspect I also got a massive discount through a glitch in their system (they gave me a rate, and literally 5 minutes later gave me a rate that was like 20% the price of the first).

subbing for the strat!

gl and gratz on making it this far - haven't read the behemoth of a thread but seems like you've 'made it' at least from original goals. I don't feel like I'd enjoy the live grind but very nice to see others making it happen and staying positive.

shout out WashU!!

Thanks for the comments everyone.

I do hate poker sometimes when losing (like I recently posted, I'm still down some 5-figure amount over the past 500+ hours), but usually I enjoy spending time at the tables as well as poker study.

So I calculated my totals since starting this trip out west (starting from Oklahoma), I'm up $7204 in 176 hours- more than doubled my short-term trip hourly with just today. That also puts me roughly even for 2014, given the disaster start from when I was taking shots in big Tunica games. Of course, in my mind, I'm still working back from the aforementioned 500+ hour downswing.

I'm actually stuck a bunch in PLO this trip, lol. Making up for it in NLHE =P

Here to follow your progress. The strategy is a bit over my head right now but i love the life advice and mental game strategy. Good luck to you sir!

Up $787 today, mostly from PLO for a change.

I hate this spot:

Tilty pro makes it $15 from MP, whale calls in CO, Hero calls with KK95 on BTN, older Vegas pro calls in BB.

Flop T85, pot $65
Checked to me, I bet $45, BB calls, tilty guy folds, whale calls.

Turn 3, pot $200
Checked to me, I bet $170, BB raises to $710, whale folds... I would have ~$1100 behind if I call. Hero?

folds without a second thought.

Thanks for posting about the 500 hour downswing. It gives a lot of perspective hearing excellent players like yourself and limon talk about massive downswing and breakeven stretches. This info is more important than any strategy tip to all of us new and up and coming players.

Hmm. I was leveling myself thinking that he would never play a nut flush that way because why would he want to blow out the whale who will pay him off with like 2 pair out of the hand by c/r'ing in these positions instead of just leading or calling?

If he's going to fast play a set then he would do so on the flop when he thinks he has more chances to hit his outs. Guys aren't calling the flop in hopes to run a turn bluff with the blocker. He could be spazzing with T8 w the blocker but it just doesn't happen enough.

He doesn't want to risk the river getting checked through, players hero call, fish may gamble with his two pair+, etc. People just play straight forward, especially in multiway spots, especially with fish involved, too often to start hero-ing here without specific reads.

How tight is the vegas pro preflop? I think its a pretty important question here... If he's really tight pre I think its a very easy laydown as he has so few bare ace combos in his BB defending range. If he's really loose it becomes closer.. I'd still fold most the time though.

Also, general aggression/ability is pretty important. Some pro's are very rarely floating with players behind and bluff raising turn.

Also, his line is perfect if he has a bluff or value, unless the fish is a huge whale (getting 3 streets with a bad flush).. maybe sizing a bit smaller on the turn to keep in sets.

This was my thoughts exactly, but the straightforward play would just be to lead turn (given his flop line) with the fish in between us. I ended up thinking for a long time and then folding.

Up $837 today in 5 hours.

Another weird line for you guys that I think was fairly optimal vs. villain. Aggro whale opens to $15 from MP, MP+1 calls, HJ calls, I make it $80 on BTN with AK, folds to MP who calls. Hero's image is perceived as tight (for a change).

Flop KJ8, pot $200
Villain checks, hero bets $125, villain calls. I miscalculated the pot in game, meant to bet like 3/4.

Turn 9, pot $450
Check/check.

River 6, pot $450
Villain checks, hero bets $125, villain raises to $470, hero calls.

Villain bluffed his gutshot or diamond draw? Why not barrel the turn on this board?

You called... What did he have?

he didn't show

These are the toughest spots in PLO. If you figure that you are way ahead on the flop and we want to keep the fish in and bb has a history of check raising then checking behind is fine here. Let him bet river and hopefully whale calls and you call or raise.

What makes this interesting is knowing if the bb is smart enough to know that you would think he leads w flushes in the turn and would want to keep whale in. Now he is check potting as a bluff w the nuts maybe and trying to level you into calling. If he is that good, this is a wtf spot.

Sometimes I level myself trying to think how they think about their lines. Odds are that he has the nuts here bc you say older. I see these older guys play the nuts or top set on the flop by check calling and the check raising safe turns.

My game is extremely based on exploitability. While fish are fish- they play too many hands, don't like folding, chase draws without odds, bluff in spots that don't make sense, don't value bet thin- many of the older higher stakes fish (in LA in particular, due to the culture here) have been playing poker for a long time- like this guy has probably been playing 10+ years. Normally I have a pretty LAG/spewy image, but at the time I had a tight image so even this guy should easily be able to assume I have AK+ if I double this board strong. That's exactly what I *don't* want him to do if I have AK here.

However if I check behind, while he won't literally think my range is capped because he doesn't know what "capped range" means, he WILL sense weakness and on some level assume I can't call if he makes a move on the river.

Against a typical loose-passive I'm obviously taking a bet/bet/bet line here.

Watched your LATB performance today. It seemed it was you, Brian, Andrew and Ryan who knew what they were doing. It seemed no one else at the table did. Could you please reveal your thought processes on two hands: light J3s 3-bet hand and the 56o light 3-bet vs Havaro hand?

P.S. Why wasn't the game $5/$10 as scheduled?