4 hours broke 100% dead even. Picked up from my first table with $800 proft, got that $800 in flipping as a small favorite at my 2nd table and lost.

I'm very gunshy this year. There was an AMAZING 10-25-50 game running 3 handed at the Rio for quite some time, I'm not even sure how this is possible as normally it would insta-fill within 5 minutes, but I find a lot of pros have a "follow the leader" mentality and just assume that the game isn't good since no one else is sitting in it. I stared at it for a long time but ended up passing since I didn't feel like dealing with the variance. I realize if this trend of passing up high +EV and high variance spots continues if it will be near impossible to replicate last year's results, but I'm fine with that. I'm just slowly pulling out of close to 1000 hours of breakeven and I might just lose my mind if I fall back in the hole another $10k lol

Overall though games at Rio suck much more than last year. I'm not even sure if I want to stay out here for the main event, kind of sick of Vegas. Although it's partly my fault for having a pretty unhealthy lifestyle this year of grind -> eat -> grind -> eat -> sleep -> repeat instead of devoting more time to socializing/fun.

Ask Brian Hastings or Galen Hall

^ I feel like this is a joke that I don't get =P

LOL just overheard guy talking about sports: "I root for whichever team has the most white players"

Instincts correct. Hastings was selling his ME this year at 2.0 and apparently sold out. And I recall last year Galen Hall had a package where he was selling at a range of 2.0 to 3.0 for several MTTs.

Super weird thing happened today: only ONE game of PLO running at Rio at 4 AM, and it was a 1/2 game. I tried to go play at Wynn since I saw 10/20 PLO on Bravo, since I figure PLO doesn't run often there so maybe it's a bunch of NLHE regs? NOPE WAS WRONG. GAME SUCKED. One guy playing 99% VPIP but overall pretty nitty.

Min-bought (like I said just a few posts up, I was being gun-shy) and doubled up my very first hand I'm dealt by flatting an LP open from BB with KJ88. Flop K85hhx, I check/call. Turn Tx, I check/raise all in for less than a PSB back to him, he snapcalls with KTxx. Get my stack in again 3 ways AIPF with AKJ7ds, lose to AKQ9ss, then say fk this and go back to Rio. Was down $950 from Wynn.

Played 5/10 NLHE, was up $2036 but the game was really really good and this is actually the worst I've *ever* felt in my entire poker career to book a $2k win. 3-handed with 1 player literally just telling me what she had in most of the hands she played- and I'm not exaggerating- LITERALLY TELLING ME WHAT SHE HAD. Super super fun session though with lots of banter, entire table was laughing for hours straight.

Up $1086 total in 5 hours.

scumbags

iirc galen was selling 10k plo at 1.5 with very limited plo experience

Few hands 4-handed, 1 vs. each opponent.

Hand 1: Loose pro BTN straddle to $20. Hero raises to $75 from CO with K8, BTN calls. We have no history at this point I just sat down.

Flop J42, pot $165
Checks through.

Turn 8, pot $165
Hero bets $125, villain calls.

River T, pot $315
Hero bets $200, villain calls MHIG.

This hand is a really good example of why it's so important to be aware of your image. I thought that villain thought I was a weak player, (level 3) so he probably thinks I never check back Jx+ on the flop, then thinks I never value bet worse than Jx on that river for that sizing. Therefore my perceived value range is ridiculously narrow to him. If I thought villain perceived me as a good player (which he found out shortly after), then I would check this river.

~~~~

Hand 2: CO limps, BTN folds, recreational villain completes SB, I check BB with 72.

Flop K75, pot $30
SB leads $20, hero raises to $65, CO folds, SB calls.

Turn Q, pot $160
SB checks, hero bets $65, SB calls.

River T, pot $290
SB checks, hero checks MHIG.

If I already decide I'm not going to call blank rivers if I check behind turn and he leads river with some range of value/missed draws, then my very exploitable "block raise/block bet" line here makes me lose the minimum vs. better hands, and win the maximum vs. draws.

~~~~

Hand 3: Honest friendly rec player worth millions limps CO, hero raises to $50 on BTN with QQ, blinds fold, CO calls.

Flop 852, pot $115
Villain (I feel silly using the terminology "villain" for the other player in this hand lol) checks and says "if you bet I will check raise you". Some table talk ensues, I learn V is very strong and check behind.

Turn 7, pot $115
V checks, I ask "will you still check/raise if I bet", V says yes, I ask "do you promise?", V says yes, I check behind.

River J, pot $115
V bets $75 and tells me to fold, I fold. V cheerfully shows 88.

This is a great example of live poker profitability/reciprocality. I probably win over $1k if hands are reversed, instead I lost $50.

why would charging that amount of markup make them scumbags? if they are for different reasons then ok, but it's not like anyone is forced to pay for it, that's the price they're offering and people can take it or leave it. seems stupid to not charge that much if you can get it.

i'm not saying they're worth it either, or that it's not a degree of arrogance, but that seems way besides the point.

Agree mostly. Although it's probably wrong imo to charge an amount you don't think you can earn. They have lofty opinions of themselves so they probably think they can earn over the MU.

+1 to players charging whatever markup they believe will sell. It's an open marketplace, if you don't think it's a good investment simply don't buy, or attempt to negotiate. If anyone can sell action at those sorts of prices then power to them I reckon

Took a shot in a fantastic 75-150 limit O8 game today with more than half the table playing over 85% VPIP. I have shared a TON of table selection tips in this thread, but this time I used one I've never shared before- maybe sometime in the future.

Unfortunately I lost $3900 in my 5 hour session (like ~25 big bets, bleh). After this, makes my Vegas total to be +$11593 in 224 hours. Leaning towards not staying out here for the main.

using your rep to take every penny you can from the less informed is scummy imo (these are the only people who would buy brian at 2.0 in ME or galen at 1.5 in a 10k plo)

i didnt look at brians thread selling ME action, but i'd guess if it sold out people who bought were people with low post counts and later registration dates, probably some people he plays live with in florida or know of him.

meh most markup is bull****, but the main is a completely different animal. and stinger is really good. don't think his ME markup and galen's markup are remotely comparable- one of those players is a hot running donk, the other is one of the better poker players on the planet playing in the softest event of the year.

I remember a main event 1.5 markup feeler from last year ITT

I think you should feel fine asking 1.2 FWIW

Thinking that Galen and Hastings are scummy for asking for a certain MU is silly. Their equity is worth what people would pay for it (probably more than they charged), and it's the responsibility of the investor to research whether or not something is a good investment.

Sorry for continuing the derail

^ lol yea since I'm kind of getting tired of Vegas I might do something like that again (charge an amount I think I'm an underdog to reach -> leave Vegas if I don't reach it, stay if I do).

~~~~~~~~~

I basically think anyone is welcome to try and legally sell whatever they want- markup is no different. I mean there's a big spectrum of what we should consider scummy, and I don't know anything about those two players but I have a hard time seeing how they're being scummy. For example my opinion of stuff on a scale from 1-5:

Fencing (knowingly purchasing and re-selling stolen goods, e.g., car radios): 5/5

Attaching an additional fee to a product that is mentioned nowhere else except one time in a 15 page "terms and conditions" document: 4/5

Gas prices rising to exorbitant amounts in 2008, followed by Exxon breaking the all-time annual profit record for any single company: 3/5

Gift shop in the Cosmopolitan selling water bottles for $4: 2/5

Guys charging high markup than their ROI as long as they aren't lying about their history, even if it's higher than they think their ROI is: 1/5

how is this scummy, exxon wants to make money, you want to buy oil

Exxon makes like 8 cents on the dollar selling oil products. If they sell for less they go bankrupt (in fact, individual gas station owners going busto over price jolts is commonplace).

Those "record profits" are based on volume, not on price gouging. The fact is everyone and everything relies on oil fuel to function.

don't take it too seriously :P

someone needs to defend exxon from the little guys

Lol

literally lol'd. wp

xD sorry man, I take stuff too seriously in general.

i retract what i say about stinger his 10k mix package looks really reasonable. inclined to think he just thinks he has that big an edge in ME which im sure he knows more about than me ( only played once )

sry for derail as well