awesome, keep doing well

how's life?

happy to see you're back mate! keep those 25bi days up and you'll be able to quit your job soon

Life's brilliant thank you, couldn't be in a better place to crack on with the poker! Looking forward to mixing in some mixed games as soon as I'm happy with my NLHE games and winning at a decent level. How's everything at you end?

Thanks man, although I love the new job despite the horrendous hours. I qualify in three years, hopefully by then I'll have a decent bankroll to be playing myself and saved enough to start a small stable of my own. Make my money work for me instead of converting it into alcohol while using my accountancy qualifications...

Good to see you back man, expect some $5/10 updates soon

Great to se you back... Gl at the tables

Fingers crossed, although pigs flying might be more likely! Hoping to power through though and put all my time into it outside work.

How's everything with you?

Thanks!! How's everything going with you?

Nice to see this thread back.

More pics from helicopter jaunts needed imo

Good luck with your return to poker.

I'll put some up this evening when I get home!

Ok, ask and you shall receive, this was a trip to Berwick for a party at the end of last year.

Ascot Racecourse:


Lunch stop somewhere in the Pennines I think...


Waiting to refuel at Newcastle Airport so we watched the football for a bit


Coming in to land at Newcastle, had to wait for a certain Premiership team to refuel their plane before they got to us. Divas...


Had to land in darkness which isn't the easiest thing int he world when you haven't been there before but it was a great sunset.

First session at 5nl Zoom done. Kept things pretty similar as at 2nl and am still running hotter than the sun, hopefully with some OK play mixed in as well.



Bankroll is up to $180, next goal is $300 and 10nl!

Great pics, thanks!

So as some of you might know I used to work in sales and recruitment. I can't say I was completely happy with it and used poker as an escape and potentially a way out, especially when things were looking positive on the live cash side. A lot has change since then so I though I'd briefly let you know what I've been doing during my 6 month hiatus from 2p2.

After a whirlwind recruitment process I managed to get a place ont he graduate scheme at a Big 4 Accountancy/Consultancy firm. It was something I had always wanted to do, get a qualification (ACA) that would stand me in good stead for the future whatever I decide to do. After a pretty intense couple of weeks of introductory stuff we were thrown in to our teams and got down to work. As you can imagine that actual work itself isn't always exciting but I love the mental challenge that some of it presents, it's a completely different world to the sales environment I've been working in for the last few years.

My qualification consists of 15 exams over a couple of years, 5 of which I have first time passes in so far. It's a globally recognised qualification and it's useful across every industry. I'm working in financial services but there should be more doors open to me if I choose to leave after qualification. My next lot of exams start next week with a month or so of college and then the actual exams in early June. This will cut into my poker time but a necessary evil!

The dreaded part of this job is the busy season from September to March, depending on what business unit you are in. Given how my rotation has worked I've actually been in busy season for almost all of it barring some exam respite. The hardest but most reward part was during January and February. We recently won the largest audit in the world and as it was our first year, was probably the largest audit transition in history. The hours were tough, I was often work 15 hours a day and some weekends but I was by no means suffering the worst, some of our team were doing over 100 hours a week including weekends. Ok if you're an entrepreneur working on your own startup but not so much fun doing audit work!

IT's been great so far and I don't see myself just staying for the qualification. A lot of people complain about the job but many of them have come straight from university and don't know any better. They see the better short term prospects in industry and overlook the fantastic opportunities at a firm like this. It definitely isn't for everyone but I've been loving it so far.

Poker wise, had a pretty quiet few sessions and lost a couple of buyins but given how I've been sun running over the last few days you won't hear a complaint from me...

Congrats on the placement! Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

Good luck with the zoom grind!

Best of luck with the HSBC audit!

I'm free!!!!!!!! (Until June....)

Subed nice thread!

Haha you never know mate!

Coincidently, I stop playing too around the same time as you then started back up again about a week ago. Jumped straight back into the same cash games and nothing's changed. Same old regs passing money about, waiting for the fish to drop a few BIs each night

'copter pics very much missed!

I've passed through the Vic a couple of times over the last few months and it never changes, same old people playing. I have some enforced time off coming up hopefully so I might try get a stake together for a 1-3 week full time live cash period.

Glad you like the pics, my poker life is very boring tbh so I try to liven it up a bit with other stuff I get up to!

Glad you're enjoying it. I left Big 4 FS Audit on the day my training contract ended. Too much bs office politics and struggled to respect many of the managers. Don't get me wrong all of the Partners I worked with were highly intelligent and motivated but most of the people from Manager to Director level that I worked with were self-important dicks who just got promoted by default because the more ambitious people left. It's still a great place to start your career though and you can make some great friends so best of luck!

Hope you manage to grind out of the nanos soon as enjoyed reading about your live exploits.

Sweet pics, dunno how you make flying in a helicopter look so casual!

Thanks man, I definitely appreciate your point of view. I have run ridiculously good in terms of the teams I have worked on and have some really good relationships but I know that could easily change.

Actually had a pretty bad session today, dropping 6BI at 5nl lol. Considering how hot I've been running I can't complain. My schedule is going to be playing sessions in the evening and doing hand reviews in the morning of the evening before, all live on stream. Hopefully other people starting grinding the micros might learn from my multitude of mistakes!

I hope to get out of the micros soon too! I know I'm not a great player but hopefully I can get to an OK level and potentially venture out into the live games once more. Regardless, life goes on and I'll try keep the thread interesting despite the nano stakes poker...

One I didn't put up.... We were flying up during the Rugby World Cup and we weren't going to miss it. Had to tether my iPad to my iPhone and stream the game over 4g on Sky Player while we were flying up

Warning: Boring poker content!

PokerStars - $0.05 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 84 BB (VPIP: 12.50, PFR: 12.50, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 8)
Hero (SB): 157.8 BB
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 3)
UTG: 147.4 BB (VPIP: 17.24, PFR: 12.64, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 91)
MP: 98 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 2)
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 17.39, PFR: 17.39, 3Bet Preflop: 7.69, Hands: 47)

Hero posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has A Q

UTG raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 10 BB, BB calls 9 BB, UTG calls 7 BB

Perhaps this 3b against a tight UTG raiser is not the best move. I like to have the initiative if I don't have position but what are your thoughts on this?

Flop: (30 BB, 3 players) 2 8 A
Hero bets 20 BB, BB calls 20 BB, fold

Given the circumstances this seems like a pretty standard cbet.

Turn: (70 BB, 2 players) T
Hero bets 34 BB, BB raises to 70 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 36 BB

Again, maybe this should be a check call? As played once I bet and he shoves I don't think I can fold even though it's hard to find something that we beat.

River: (210 BB, 2 players) 5





PokerStars - $0.05 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 86.4 BB
SB: 289.8 BB (VPIP: 31.25, PFR: 31.25, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 16)
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 100 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
MP: 285.4 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
Hero (CO): 138.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has T J

fold, fold, Hero raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 2 BB

Flop: (6.4 BB, 2 players) K J T
BB bets 4.2 BB, Hero calls 4.2 BB

Turn: (14.8 BB, 2 players) 7
BB bets 10.6 BB, Hero calls 10.6 BB

Once he's lead he flop and turn in hindsight maybe I should have thought more about what he is doing this with. I don't think he is doing this with worse value hands are rarely with a bluff.

River: (36 BB, 2 players) 2
BB bets 13.8 BB, Hero calls 13.8 BB



These are a couple of hands I played yesterday; it wasn't a good session and ended up dropping 6 buyins! BR is looking ok as I had some bonuses I was due so we're still at $145 but I haven't been doing too well at $5nl which is rather embarrassing if not predictable....