Micros to Macau
02-09-2016
, 02:22 AM
02-09-2016
, 08:38 PM
02-10-2016
, 08:25 PM
02-11-2016
, 05:29 PM
02-11-2016
, 05:31 PM
02-12-2016
, 07:00 PM
Quote:
Any opinions on this hand?
Check back turn or bet fold turn? Or bet fold turn and call off brick rivers?
300 hands on V but no solid postflop reads, playing 27/23/8 and aggressive 4bet stats, WWSF 50.
https://www.weaktight.com/h/56b98544d3904322778b461a
Check back turn or bet fold turn? Or bet fold turn and call off brick rivers?
300 hands on V but no solid postflop reads, playing 27/23/8 and aggressive 4bet stats, WWSF 50.
https://www.weaktight.com/h/56b98544d3904322778b461a
Feels like a call once he raises since he will likely never **** with our river range too much, although I wouldn't even hate a fold OTT since the majority of his nonSD equity is likely to lead turn.
Def fold river. Us having the Qx actually isn't good since it blocks his already narrow bluffing range (JQ/KQ) and he can have plenty of value. Our range also has some flushes, 99, AA, AT(?) which makes us reasonably protected too.
Awesome thread btw - your writing style is delightful
02-14-2016
, 08:03 AM
Quote:
Betting turn seems to be the way to go. Tons of value, and makes sense for us to check a decent portion on this flop with our air as well to delay bluff, and it's not too frequent of a spot to get raised.
Feels like a call once he raises since he will likely never **** with our river range too much, although I wouldn't even hate a fold OTT since the majority of his nonSD equity is likely to lead turn.
Def fold river. Us having the Qx actually isn't good since it blocks his already narrow bluffing range (JQ/KQ) and he can have plenty of value. Our range also has some flushes, 99, AA, AT(?) which makes us reasonably protected too.
Awesome thread btw - your writing style is delightful
Feels like a call once he raises since he will likely never **** with our river range too much, although I wouldn't even hate a fold OTT since the majority of his nonSD equity is likely to lead turn.
Def fold river. Us having the Qx actually isn't good since it blocks his already narrow bluffing range (JQ/KQ) and he can have plenty of value. Our range also has some flushes, 99, AA, AT(?) which makes us reasonably protected too.
Awesome thread btw - your writing style is delightful
02-16-2016
, 03:13 AM
Working off the tables, losing on them
Only clocked around 5k hands last week which would seem on the surface as a pretty lazy effort. And it was, to some extent.
However, it was definitely a +ev week in the long run given the amount of off the table study, database analysis and the long awaited move from PT4 to Holdem Manager. From what I understand, PT4 is a much better product when it comes to really delving into data but for those that are borderline ******ed when it comes to computers, the basics are the most important and HEM allows me to easily understand how to build my HUD effectively with all the key stats that I couldn't find while using Poker Tracker.
Really happy with the new HUD and giving the work I've put in with it over the past week, I can quickly locate and understand the key statistics that will give me a further edge at the tables.
Here's the weekly graph:
As you can see, the first day of the week started well booking around $700 and then the rest came tumbling down pretty quickly.
Definitely didn't play my A game after the first day, I hadn't checked cashier until the weekend but could feel myself making bad turn calls and river folds or just generally getting too stubborn against nitty / passive players.
Have started this week with better poker but definitely crushing the bankroll the first two days.
Going away to Palm Beach for a relaxing weekend in the sun so the plan is to continue to smash out a solid week of grind so I can enjoy my time away knowing it was well earned.
Despite some poor results this week I can feel a massive improvement in my general understanding of how to approach poker and am confident that success will follow over a large sample with a continued focus on improving and learning.
Bankroll has dropped down to $4,642.50 as of today.
Gl at the tables
Only clocked around 5k hands last week which would seem on the surface as a pretty lazy effort. And it was, to some extent.
However, it was definitely a +ev week in the long run given the amount of off the table study, database analysis and the long awaited move from PT4 to Holdem Manager. From what I understand, PT4 is a much better product when it comes to really delving into data but for those that are borderline ******ed when it comes to computers, the basics are the most important and HEM allows me to easily understand how to build my HUD effectively with all the key stats that I couldn't find while using Poker Tracker.
Really happy with the new HUD and giving the work I've put in with it over the past week, I can quickly locate and understand the key statistics that will give me a further edge at the tables.
Here's the weekly graph:
As you can see, the first day of the week started well booking around $700 and then the rest came tumbling down pretty quickly.
Definitely didn't play my A game after the first day, I hadn't checked cashier until the weekend but could feel myself making bad turn calls and river folds or just generally getting too stubborn against nitty / passive players.
Have started this week with better poker but definitely crushing the bankroll the first two days.
Going away to Palm Beach for a relaxing weekend in the sun so the plan is to continue to smash out a solid week of grind so I can enjoy my time away knowing it was well earned.
Despite some poor results this week I can feel a massive improvement in my general understanding of how to approach poker and am confident that success will follow over a large sample with a continued focus on improving and learning.
Bankroll has dropped down to $4,642.50 as of today.
Gl at the tables
03-07-2016
, 05:58 AM
‘You must act as if the goal is infinitely far off’
It’s been a while since my last entry. This is due to a combination of factors; firstly, a tough time at the tables made updating less appealing. I say this despite the significant benefits I gain from my venting my thoughts and feelings during these tougher periods. Secondly, when I acknowledged that these were the ideal times to post, I wrote a lengthy and detailed update and analysis of the last couple of weeks only to accidentally close the ‘twoplustwo’ tab and lose it all. I had prepared for such a **** up by copying all the text from the post but this strategy isn’t so effective when you instantly copy a picture link afterwards. 40 minutes of heart pour and some embedded image text to show for my troubles. Fear.
Anyway, so figured I’d give it another go here and update my progress and results over the last few weeks.
The week following the last update consisted of a 5 day grind as myself and Kate had planned a few days away for a long beach weekend with my parents who, recently retired, are moving over in Aus eventually and are back here buying a house to spend post-working days.
I planned to get as much grind in as possible but with other commitments, it was often more rushing to get sessions done and work it around other busy activities. This is a recipe for disaster when it comes to playing A game poker, couple that with a period of losing results and the mindset just isn’t where it needs to be.
I posted a bad week prior to the trip away and could feel myself getting irritated at the coolers and bad beats with an increasingly results orientated approach. Given how much the game has changed over the last few years I consider myself an apprentice that needs to pay my dues and focus on learning rather than becoming overly eager to jump up through the limits.
Graph for the week:
I took the opportunity to use my beach / relaxation time constructively and read Larry Phillips’ ‘Zen and the Art of Poker’ when I came across a free PDF version online. The timing couldn’t have been better, and although I didn’t agree with every detail, the core fundamentals of the book really hit home and have had a significant impact on my overall mindset. Playing for the long run is focusing on improving my game each and every day is absolutely key for me which was a key principle emphasised in the book. They use a Bobby Baldwin quote to further illustrate this who once described poker as ‘one continuous game’ that goes on forever starts up the next day.
After the trip away I felt a strong sense of motivation and drive but with a more long term relaxed view about my poker journey and my overall skill improvement. It was a good week to put my more logical mental mindset to the test after playing solid poker but running 8 buy ins under EV.
Graph 2:
I was happy with how I played throughout the week, staying disciplined and focusing one decision at a time. Had I been running so far under EV the previous week I’m certain it would have lead to a calamity of errors and blowups.
This mindset continued this week and with some solid decision making and some EV back in my favour, I finished completed a very solid week of results.
Graph 3:
My bankroll has yo-yo’d down as low as $3,900 and now sits a little over $4,910 as of today.
After a month playing purely online I made the decision to take a shot down at the casino and play some live cash. With my real passion being in the live setting, my plan is to play online Monday - Thursday and at the casino on Thursday nights along with all day Friday, Saturday and or Sunday. It was great to be back at the live poker table squeezing out cards and shuffling chips.
After 4 hours of play at the 2/3 table I’d sat pretty much around 100 bigs for the entire time, give or take $50. I’d been playing solid disciplined poker and was feeling very comfortable before this hand took place.
UTG, who looks like a long lost member of ZZ top, limps with three $1 chips, passive young guy calls behind and I make it $15 from the BB with A
T
. ZZ quickly calls and the young kid folds. Flop is K
78, I cbet $23 and he makes the call. My plan at this point is to barrel off on spades with my Ace of spades blocker and any turned BD straight cards. My read on ZZ so far is that he’s been playing pretty straight forwardly and passively and his range after the limp call pre and flat otf is super wide. The 9 rolls off on the turn and I fire a healthy $65 with my turned OESD and plan to bet any spade as a bluff and the straight outs for value. He announces call and slides his chips into the middle. The dealer turns over a T
on the river leaving any 6 or J completing the straight. With my T blocking JT combos in addition to his body language and general demeanour when the ten ball hit, I decided it was a solid spot to fire the third bullet.
With circa $200 in the pot and $250 behind I figured shoving would give me the most fold equity and smoothly pushed my stack towards the dealer. He goes into the tank for a couple of minutes which I consider great news given the board texture so I'm preying this interesting looking character comes to his senses and tosses them into the muck. For what seemed like 10 minutes but in all likelihood was no longer than a few minutes, he says ‘I think you have AK as well so I’m going to call’. Sigh. In reality of course I’m never overbet shoving the river on such an ugly runout with AK but his call translates into ‘I know you have me beat but I’ve massively butchered my AK here and now I just can’t let it go’. Alas, such is poker, I’m happy with my decision to apply pressure and my improved mindset has kept me focused on rolling with the punches.
While at the casino, I took the opportunity to book my seat for the $300 opening APC series event for day 1 flight 4 starting at 12:30pm this Friday. With 400+ runners expected it should make for an awesome prize pool and a great event. I’ll be sure to update in detail once I’ve taken it down.
Below are a few snaps over the past couple of weeks:
Beach trip:
Jamaican party at ours:
Spider I battled with in the living room - think it was a harmless Huntsman but still unsure...
Ticket to shipville:
For those that don't know what the ZZ top guys look like:
Gl at the tables
It’s been a while since my last entry. This is due to a combination of factors; firstly, a tough time at the tables made updating less appealing. I say this despite the significant benefits I gain from my venting my thoughts and feelings during these tougher periods. Secondly, when I acknowledged that these were the ideal times to post, I wrote a lengthy and detailed update and analysis of the last couple of weeks only to accidentally close the ‘twoplustwo’ tab and lose it all. I had prepared for such a **** up by copying all the text from the post but this strategy isn’t so effective when you instantly copy a picture link afterwards. 40 minutes of heart pour and some embedded image text to show for my troubles. Fear.
Anyway, so figured I’d give it another go here and update my progress and results over the last few weeks.
The week following the last update consisted of a 5 day grind as myself and Kate had planned a few days away for a long beach weekend with my parents who, recently retired, are moving over in Aus eventually and are back here buying a house to spend post-working days.
I planned to get as much grind in as possible but with other commitments, it was often more rushing to get sessions done and work it around other busy activities. This is a recipe for disaster when it comes to playing A game poker, couple that with a period of losing results and the mindset just isn’t where it needs to be.
I posted a bad week prior to the trip away and could feel myself getting irritated at the coolers and bad beats with an increasingly results orientated approach. Given how much the game has changed over the last few years I consider myself an apprentice that needs to pay my dues and focus on learning rather than becoming overly eager to jump up through the limits.
Graph for the week:
I took the opportunity to use my beach / relaxation time constructively and read Larry Phillips’ ‘Zen and the Art of Poker’ when I came across a free PDF version online. The timing couldn’t have been better, and although I didn’t agree with every detail, the core fundamentals of the book really hit home and have had a significant impact on my overall mindset. Playing for the long run is focusing on improving my game each and every day is absolutely key for me which was a key principle emphasised in the book. They use a Bobby Baldwin quote to further illustrate this who once described poker as ‘one continuous game’ that goes on forever starts up the next day.
After the trip away I felt a strong sense of motivation and drive but with a more long term relaxed view about my poker journey and my overall skill improvement. It was a good week to put my more logical mental mindset to the test after playing solid poker but running 8 buy ins under EV.
Graph 2:
I was happy with how I played throughout the week, staying disciplined and focusing one decision at a time. Had I been running so far under EV the previous week I’m certain it would have lead to a calamity of errors and blowups.
This mindset continued this week and with some solid decision making and some EV back in my favour, I finished completed a very solid week of results.
Graph 3:
My bankroll has yo-yo’d down as low as $3,900 and now sits a little over $4,910 as of today.
After a month playing purely online I made the decision to take a shot down at the casino and play some live cash. With my real passion being in the live setting, my plan is to play online Monday - Thursday and at the casino on Thursday nights along with all day Friday, Saturday and or Sunday. It was great to be back at the live poker table squeezing out cards and shuffling chips.
After 4 hours of play at the 2/3 table I’d sat pretty much around 100 bigs for the entire time, give or take $50. I’d been playing solid disciplined poker and was feeling very comfortable before this hand took place.
UTG, who looks like a long lost member of ZZ top, limps with three $1 chips, passive young guy calls behind and I make it $15 from the BB with A
T. ZZ quickly calls and the young kid folds. Flop is K78, I cbet $23 and he makes the call. My plan at this point is to barrel off on spades with my Ace of spades blocker and any turned BD straight cards. My read on ZZ so far is that he’s been playing pretty straight forwardly and passively and his range after the limp call pre and flat otf is super wide. The 9 rolls off on the turn and I fire a healthy $65 with my turned OESD and plan to bet any spade as a bluff and the straight outs for value. He announces call and slides his chips into the middle. The dealer turns over a T on the river leaving any 6 or J completing the straight. With my T blocking JT combos in addition to his body language and general demeanour when the ten ball hit, I decided it was a solid spot to fire the third bullet. With circa $200 in the pot and $250 behind I figured shoving would give me the most fold equity and smoothly pushed my stack towards the dealer. He goes into the tank for a couple of minutes which I consider great news given the board texture so I'm preying this interesting looking character comes to his senses and tosses them into the muck. For what seemed like 10 minutes but in all likelihood was no longer than a few minutes, he says ‘I think you have AK as well so I’m going to call’. Sigh. In reality of course I’m never overbet shoving the river on such an ugly runout with AK but his call translates into ‘I know you have me beat but I’ve massively butchered my AK here and now I just can’t let it go’. Alas, such is poker, I’m happy with my decision to apply pressure and my improved mindset has kept me focused on rolling with the punches.
While at the casino, I took the opportunity to book my seat for the $300 opening APC series event for day 1 flight 4 starting at 12:30pm this Friday. With 400+ runners expected it should make for an awesome prize pool and a great event. I’ll be sure to update in detail once I’ve taken it down.
Below are a few snaps over the past couple of weeks:
Beach trip:
Jamaican party at ours:
Spider I battled with in the living room - think it was a harmless Huntsman but still unsure...
Ticket to shipville:
For those that don't know what the ZZ top guys look like:
Gl at the tables
03-09-2016
, 01:40 AM
03-10-2016
, 03:33 AM
03-10-2016
, 05:42 AM
Quote:
Haha - yeah, I think these ones are harmless but still terrifying when scrambling across the floor towards you!
Thanks, I hope to go on a deep run for sure.
Played a few today to get sharp, busted $27 knockout in 10th after being 3rd with 10 left but enjoyed the ride nonetheless.
Do you play any live games at all here?
Thanks, I hope to go on a deep run for sure.
Played a few today to get sharp, busted $27 knockout in 10th after being 3rd with 10 left but enjoyed the ride nonetheless.
Do you play any live games at all here?
I can make an okay hourly wage playing husngs without much risk of ruin while I feel I could get destroyed at the 1-3 nl games at the star. Maybe not though.... What's the level of play like there?
03-12-2016
, 12:10 AM
03-16-2016
, 09:38 AM
Tourney bricks, cash game donations and life changing decisions
After checking the board for what seemed like an eternity, the table maniac flipped over 76 for the winning straight sending my two pair into the muck and the $820 pot in his direction. I tapped the table and offered a softly spoken 'nice hand' before getting myself as far away from the felt as possible.
Despite this mother of all slowrolls, this lunatic playing a 100/80/35 style was there to have fun, not to mention line the pockets of any solid winning poker players in the long run should he choose to return. It wasn't an intentional malicious act, it's just his entertainment and when a player turns up with stacks of cash willing to gamble in every pot, you better be sure to to keep him happy. This simple 'don't tap the glass' concept seems to be forgotten by any of the semi-decent / still terrible 'regs' that fill the 2/3 tables at The Star casino in Sydney. I've never heard such berating in my life, bordering on flat out abuse, it makes very little sense. Such is live poker. There is one thing is for sure though, for me at least, the good far outweighs the bad.
This is my personal breakdown:
Drawbacks of live:
- SLOWWWWW
- Scumbags
- Rake
Pros of live:
- Horrendous competition
- Squeezing out the cards
- Teaching patience
- Reading souls
- Being in a social environment
- Building chip stacks
With such a passion for the game, it doesn't feel right not to be playing consistent poker in a live setting. It presents a bind as my ambitions in the game are big and thus I want to improve as quickly as possible and play with the best. This is a unarguable positive for grinding long hours of poker online. However, with the golden days of a healthy life roll well behind me, it's down to crunch time - sink or swim. I need to be earning, withdrawing and living of my winnings each week to continue to pursue my dream. The training wheels are well and truly off!
As I find myself in this situation, which of course I knew was always inevitable, I want to be satisfied that I've done both everything to make my dream become a reality and that I've enjoyed the ride to the fullest extent for however long it may last. The latter being a key driver for my decision to commit to a minimum of 3 sessions of live poker at the casino each week in addition to maintaining similar online grind volume. With a new schedule mapped out I'll need to be a little more selfish with my time but I didn't quit my 6 figure job to chase a dream without making damn sure I give it everything I've got.
Although I'd rather be further in my development as a player and have boat loads of cash behind me, I'm delighted with how far I've progressed my game since my decision to go at it full time. I do feel a sense of pride in the fact that I'm going after something I love and taking a risk that many wouldn't consider. The 4+ years of working hard 10+ hours a day in the office while joining the rat race almost drowned out the belief that it's possible to go after your dreams in life, but here I am, doing it. If I'm busto next week, next month, next year or next century I'll still feel immensely proud of my decision to go for it.
Donkaments and weekend roundup
There was no better feeling than walking towards table 73 at 'The Star' and slipping into the 7 seat for the largest live field tourney I've competed in. Day 1 flight 4 commenced with 250 players taking the total to around 850 which is a huge turnout and paints a very positive outlook for the current state of the Australian poker scene.
With a decent enough structure and reasonable starting sacks I felt quietly confident about my chances of going on a run and tried to stamp out thoughts of a $60k+ score and focus on the task at hand. In spite of my initial optimism and enthusiasm the poker gods didn't seem interested in giving me shot as I experienced the coldest run of starting cards that I can remember (and I've played a fair amount of live poker in my time!). This was apart from one hand I caught early on.
Stacks:
Hero: 8,750
Villain: circa 18,000
Blinds: 50/100
I picked up Jacks in MP and opened to 3x and was called in one spot by the table 'captain' / fish and everyone else folds. This guy was in every pot, betting and raising, calling huge 4bet shoves with KQo and spiking - you get the idea. I lead into him on the 235 flop for 550 into 750 and he raises to 1300 almost immediately. Given the hands he's been calling off I'm definitely ahead of his 'gii' range but decided to keep his bluffs in and the pot small so made the call. The turn bring the semi meaningless Q and my check is quickly followed with a 2k barrel which I duly oblige. The river puts out the nut worst card in the deck, an ugly 4. To my surprise he checks back and somehow I ship the pot.
That little morsel was as good as it got though with a ridiculous run of dry cards and the ever increasing blinds. Some timely reshoves kept me afloat but without a playable hand for 2 hours I shipped my 85 and was swiftly met with an AJ rejam plummeting my hopes of a deep run. The 8 in the window gave me a shred of hope before the A quickly followed on the turn. GG.
Despite the tourney bust out, and the sickening lack of cards, it was a great experience and I soaked up every inch of atmosphere in the room.
With Kate (my gf) ironically accepting a Business Development Manager role at none other than 'The Star' casino that started this week, we received the first taste of the corporate teat with VIP tickets to their main club 'Marquee'. I'm not a massive club man but this place is quality, a real treat and free of charge so that softened the blow of the previous 6 hours when I returned to the casino and done in two buy ins at 2/3.
Marquee blurrrrrr snap
A quick online grind update, I only played just over 1,000 hands online last week with the rest of the time at the casino or playing tournaments online as my final prep for the big one.
With new plans in mind around where I'm going and what I'm doing, I've dropped down to 50nl again and am withdrawing half of the roll so I am semi rolled for the live 2/3.
Here's this weeks 50nl graph so far where I've put in 8k hands over the first 3 days while tomorrow, Friday and either Saturday or Sundays will consist of one online grind session and 8 hours of live.
I've also put a lot of work studying recently, a combination of RIO videos, flopzilla analysis and sweat sessions. I've found the sweat sessions extremely useful talking through spots in detail and spotting and plugging leaks. My mate Ken and another grinder Matt who my coach introduced me to have been making videos and reviewing mine. This has definitely been the most valuable improvement / study method and I'm really appreciative of it.
My blogging plans from now on is to include more hands, both online and live, so at the very least I'm thinking deeply about them when breaking down any potential leaks. This will definitely help me improve and should be some interesting spots for anybody that wishes to contribute their opinions.
First day of live grind after the morning session tomorrow, can't wait to get down there!
As of Monday this week I'm now officially relying on poker as my only source of income which means it's time to work HARD. It's an exciting time and I feel I'm as ready as I'll ever be to make it happen.
Time to boss it.
Gl at the tables
After checking the board for what seemed like an eternity, the table maniac flipped over 7
6 for the winning straight sending my two pair into the muck and the $820 pot in his direction. I tapped the table and offered a softly spoken 'nice hand' before getting myself as far away from the felt as possible. Despite this mother of all slowrolls, this lunatic playing a 100/80/35 style was there to have fun, not to mention line the pockets of any solid winning poker players in the long run should he choose to return. It wasn't an intentional malicious act, it's just his entertainment and when a player turns up with stacks of cash willing to gamble in every pot, you better be sure to to keep him happy. This simple 'don't tap the glass' concept seems to be forgotten by any of the semi-decent / still terrible 'regs' that fill the 2/3 tables at The Star casino in Sydney. I've never heard such berating in my life, bordering on flat out abuse, it makes very little sense. Such is live poker. There is one thing is for sure though, for me at least, the good far outweighs the bad.
This is my personal breakdown:
Drawbacks of live:
- SLOWWWWW
- Scumbags
- Rake
Pros of live:
- Horrendous competition
- Squeezing out the cards
- Teaching patience
- Reading souls
- Being in a social environment
- Building chip stacks
With such a passion for the game, it doesn't feel right not to be playing consistent poker in a live setting. It presents a bind as my ambitions in the game are big and thus I want to improve as quickly as possible and play with the best. This is a unarguable positive for grinding long hours of poker online. However, with the golden days of a healthy life roll well behind me, it's down to crunch time - sink or swim. I need to be earning, withdrawing and living of my winnings each week to continue to pursue my dream. The training wheels are well and truly off!
As I find myself in this situation, which of course I knew was always inevitable, I want to be satisfied that I've done both everything to make my dream become a reality and that I've enjoyed the ride to the fullest extent for however long it may last. The latter being a key driver for my decision to commit to a minimum of 3 sessions of live poker at the casino each week in addition to maintaining similar online grind volume. With a new schedule mapped out I'll need to be a little more selfish with my time but I didn't quit my 6 figure job to chase a dream without making damn sure I give it everything I've got.
Although I'd rather be further in my development as a player and have boat loads of cash behind me, I'm delighted with how far I've progressed my game since my decision to go at it full time. I do feel a sense of pride in the fact that I'm going after something I love and taking a risk that many wouldn't consider. The 4+ years of working hard 10+ hours a day in the office while joining the rat race almost drowned out the belief that it's possible to go after your dreams in life, but here I am, doing it. If I'm busto next week, next month, next year or next century I'll still feel immensely proud of my decision to go for it.
Donkaments and weekend roundup
There was no better feeling than walking towards table 73 at 'The Star' and slipping into the 7 seat for the largest live field tourney I've competed in. Day 1 flight 4 commenced with 250 players taking the total to around 850 which is a huge turnout and paints a very positive outlook for the current state of the Australian poker scene.
With a decent enough structure and reasonable starting sacks I felt quietly confident about my chances of going on a run and tried to stamp out thoughts of a $60k+ score and focus on the task at hand. In spite of my initial optimism and enthusiasm the poker gods didn't seem interested in giving me shot as I experienced the coldest run of starting cards that I can remember (and I've played a fair amount of live poker in my time!). This was apart from one hand I caught early on.
Stacks:
Hero: 8,750
Villain: circa 18,000
Blinds: 50/100
I picked up Jacks in MP and opened to 3x and was called in one spot by the table 'captain' / fish and everyone else folds. This guy was in every pot, betting and raising, calling huge 4bet shoves with KQo and spiking - you get the idea. I lead into him on the 2
35 flop for 550 into 750 and he raises to 1300 almost immediately. Given the hands he's been calling off I'm definitely ahead of his 'gii' range but decided to keep his bluffs in and the pot small so made the call. The turn bring the semi meaningless Q and my check is quickly followed with a 2k barrel which I duly oblige. The river puts out the nut worst card in the deck, an ugly 4. To my surprise he checks back and somehow I ship the pot. That little morsel was as good as it got though with a ridiculous run of dry cards and the ever increasing blinds. Some timely reshoves kept me afloat but without a playable hand for 2 hours I shipped my 8
5 and was swiftly met with an AJ rejam plummeting my hopes of a deep run. The 8 in the window gave me a shred of hope before the A quickly followed on the turn. GG. Despite the tourney bust out, and the sickening lack of cards, it was a great experience and I soaked up every inch of atmosphere in the room.
With Kate (my gf) ironically accepting a Business Development Manager role at none other than 'The Star' casino that started this week, we received the first taste of the corporate teat with VIP tickets to their main club 'Marquee'. I'm not a massive club man but this place is quality, a real treat and free of charge so that softened the blow of the previous 6 hours when I returned to the casino and done in two buy ins at 2/3.
Marquee blurrrrrr snap
A quick online grind update, I only played just over 1,000 hands online last week with the rest of the time at the casino or playing tournaments online as my final prep for the big one.
With new plans in mind around where I'm going and what I'm doing, I've dropped down to 50nl again and am withdrawing half of the roll so I am semi rolled for the live 2/3.
Here's this weeks 50nl graph so far where I've put in 8k hands over the first 3 days while tomorrow, Friday and either Saturday or Sundays will consist of one online grind session and 8 hours of live.
I've also put a lot of work studying recently, a combination of RIO videos, flopzilla analysis and sweat sessions. I've found the sweat sessions extremely useful talking through spots in detail and spotting and plugging leaks. My mate Ken and another grinder Matt who my coach introduced me to have been making videos and reviewing mine. This has definitely been the most valuable improvement / study method and I'm really appreciative of it.
My blogging plans from now on is to include more hands, both online and live, so at the very least I'm thinking deeply about them when breaking down any potential leaks. This will definitely help me improve and should be some interesting spots for anybody that wishes to contribute their opinions.
First day of live grind after the morning session tomorrow, can't wait to get down there!
As of Monday this week I'm now officially relying on poker as my only source of income which means it's time to work HARD. It's an exciting time and I feel I'm as ready as I'll ever be to make it happen.
Time to boss it.
Gl at the tables
03-16-2016
, 09:41 AM
03-17-2016
, 04:31 AM
03-23-2016
, 12:52 AM
New weekly hand history analysis:
As mentioned in my previous I wanted to share some more HH's in the blog, particularly those with non-standard lines / interesting spots.
I'll do a full weekly report for both my online and casino grind tomorrow.
In the mean time...
Hand one:
HU hand trying to build a table. Villain is a competent player, I'm assuming a reg although only circa 300 hands on him playing 24/20/11.
I prefer flatting A9s as it doesn't play great out of position if we're facing a 4bet and would likely be forced to throw it away unless a serious dynamic. I don't think 3betting is bad if you know he's defending wide and not doesn't have a high 4bet frequency.
Awesome flop for our hand, I'd already check raised him a couple of times since the HU game began so figured top top would be a great spot to get value and hopefully make him spew.
Q turn is basically irrelevant and an easy value bet on the turn then the K hits. Again, this isn't gong to hit his range pretty much ever but given that he can have a ton of floats with equity and is unlikely to call us with worse I opted to check / snap option and it worked out.
Hand 2:
This one's a lot more complex and presents some interesting concepts. Still not entirely sure if we should be setting up turn and river bets against an almost certain overcall otf by the squeezer but when this particular river hits I'm confident he can fold.
Fish opens UTG playing passive, stationy poker. I widen my calling range IP to play a pot with him as his abc strategy is literally printing money to me.
Then a newish reg who I have 2k hands with squeezes in the BB. Although UTG is a fish he's reasonably tight so when he bets the flop I'm not 100% sure I'm ahead of his range but I am sure I can take the pot off him on later streets given his straight forward passive style so I take one off.
The BB then overcalls which sets alarm bells off - given our history I'm now putting him on a solid pair, potentially an overpair.
The turn is an interesting card and when the fish check I know he's done with the hand so I try something a little non-standard and put a 1/4 pot bet with the intention of shoving river and hoping the reg (who is capable of folding) lets it go. I also have any Q, any 9 as clean outs.
The T peals off on the river and although I can't rep too many 8s or KQ it's still hell for him if he's sat there with an overpair so I shove and he folds.
Would be interested to hear any opinions on the line taken in this hand as I think its a pretty unique and interesting spot. Could be FPS, could be genius - often a thin line separates the two!
Hand 3:
Villain is a solid thinking player and an active 3bettor in good spots. We have played around 3k hands together and I respect his game.
I would consider Q9s towards the bottom of my 3bet defend range from the CO and would fold OOP but definitely a call in position against an aggressive reg.
His flop checking range is well balanced so I don't ever expect him to check fold this flop pretty much ever. In light of this I opt to value bet flop and get value from his 99-JJ and potentially AK if he decides to check flop with it.
The turn bricks and I decide to check for three reasons. One, he's unlikely to pay off another bet with 99-JJ, although its possible. Two, he can have 3bet all combos of QJs and potentially KQ may take this line and thus Q9 isn't a three street value hand here. Three, for deception to make it look like I'm stabbing a dry flop when checked to and then getting paid.
River comes the perfect brick 3 and I level him into a call with an overbet that doesn't make a great deal of sense.
Finally, no analysis need for this one.
Hand 4, yes, I run good..:
The hand history converter has stopped working so here's the link:
https://www.weaktight.com/h/56f21ff6d3904391668b456e
I'll be looking to write a full update of the week tomorrow.
Gl Gl
As mentioned in my previous I wanted to share some more HH's in the blog, particularly those with non-standard lines / interesting spots.
I'll do a full weekly report for both my online and casino grind tomorrow.
In the mean time...
Hand one:
HU hand trying to build a table. Villain is a competent player, I'm assuming a reg although only circa 300 hands on him playing 24/20/11.
I prefer flatting A9s as it doesn't play great out of position if we're facing a 4bet and would likely be forced to throw it away unless a serious dynamic. I don't think 3betting is bad if you know he's defending wide and not doesn't have a high 4bet frequency.
Awesome flop for our hand, I'd already check raised him a couple of times since the HU game began so figured top top would be a great spot to get value and hopefully make him spew.
Q turn is basically irrelevant and an easy value bet on the turn then the K hits. Again, this isn't gong to hit his range pretty much ever but given that he can have a ton of floats with equity and is unlikely to call us with worse I opted to check / snap option and it worked out.
Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50, $0.10 ante No Limit Hold'em Cash, 2 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite. View Hand #37281725
SB: $50 (100 bb)
Hero (BB): $50.60 (101.2 bb)
Preflop: Hero is BB with A 9
SB raises to $1.25, Hero calls $0.75
Flop: ($2.70) 9 4 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $1.80, Hero raises to $5.50, SB calls $3.70
Turn: ($13.70) Q (2 players)
Hero bets $8.50, SB calls $8.50
River: ($30.70) K (2 players)
Hero checks, SB bets $16.61, Hero calls $16.61
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite. View Hand #37281725
SB: $50 (100 bb)
Hero (BB): $50.60 (101.2 bb)
Preflop: Hero is BB with A
9SB raises to $1.25, Hero calls $0.75
Flop: ($2.70) 9
4 6 (2 players)Hero checks, SB bets $1.80, Hero raises to $5.50, SB calls $3.70
Turn: ($13.70) Q
(2 players)Hero bets $8.50, SB calls $8.50
River: ($30.70) K
(2 players)Hero checks, SB bets $16.61, Hero calls $16.61
Spoiler:
Hand 2:
This one's a lot more complex and presents some interesting concepts. Still not entirely sure if we should be setting up turn and river bets against an almost certain overcall otf by the squeezer but when this particular river hits I'm confident he can fold.
Fish opens UTG playing passive, stationy poker. I widen my calling range IP to play a pot with him as his abc strategy is literally printing money to me.
Then a newish reg who I have 2k hands with squeezes in the BB. Although UTG is a fish he's reasonably tight so when he bets the flop I'm not 100% sure I'm ahead of his range but I am sure I can take the pot off him on later streets given his straight forward passive style so I take one off.
The BB then overcalls which sets alarm bells off - given our history I'm now putting him on a solid pair, potentially an overpair.
The turn is an interesting card and when the fish check I know he's done with the hand so I try something a little non-standard and put a 1/4 pot bet with the intention of shoving river and hoping the reg (who is capable of folding) lets it go. I also have any Q, any 9 as clean outs.
The T peals off on the river and although I can't rep too many 8s or KQ it's still hell for him if he's sat there with an overpair so I shove and he folds.
Would be interested to hear any opinions on the line taken in this hand as I think its a pretty unique and interesting spot. Could be FPS, could be genius - often a thin line separates the two!
Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 6 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite. View Hand #37281726
CO: $68.60 (137.2 bb)
Hero (BTN): $51.72 (103.4 bb)
SB: $50 (100 bb)
BB: $51.72 (103.4 bb)
UTG: $72.52 (145 bb)
MP: $46.76 (93.5 bb)
Preflop: Hero is BTN with Q 9
UTG folds, MP raises to $1.50, CO folds, Hero calls $1.50, SB folds, BB raises to $6, MP calls $4.50, Hero calls $4.50
Flop: ($18.25) 9 7 5 (3 players)
BB checks, MP bets $9.06, Hero calls $9.06, BB calls $9.06
Turn: ($45.43) J (3 players)
BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets $9, BB calls $9, MP folds
River: ($63.43) T (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $27.66 and is all-in, BB folds
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite. View Hand #37281726
CO: $68.60 (137.2 bb)
Hero (BTN): $51.72 (103.4 bb)
SB: $50 (100 bb)
BB: $51.72 (103.4 bb)
UTG: $72.52 (145 bb)
MP: $46.76 (93.5 bb)
Preflop: Hero is BTN with Q
9UTG folds, MP raises to $1.50, CO folds, Hero calls $1.50, SB folds, BB raises to $6, MP calls $4.50, Hero calls $4.50
Flop: ($18.25) 9
7 5 (3 players)BB checks, MP bets $9.06, Hero calls $9.06, BB calls $9.06
Turn: ($45.43) J
(3 players)BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets $9, BB calls $9, MP folds
River: ($63.43) T
(2 players)BB checks, Hero bets $27.66 and is all-in, BB folds
Spoiler:
Hand 3:
Villain is a solid thinking player and an active 3bettor in good spots. We have played around 3k hands together and I respect his game.
I would consider Q9s towards the bottom of my 3bet defend range from the CO and would fold OOP but definitely a call in position against an aggressive reg.
His flop checking range is well balanced so I don't ever expect him to check fold this flop pretty much ever. In light of this I opt to value bet flop and get value from his 99-JJ and potentially AK if he decides to check flop with it.
The turn bricks and I decide to check for three reasons. One, he's unlikely to pay off another bet with 99-JJ, although its possible. Two, he can have 3bet all combos of QJs and potentially KQ may take this line and thus Q9 isn't a three street value hand here. Three, for deception to make it look like I'm stabbing a dry flop when checked to and then getting paid.
River comes the perfect brick 3 and I level him into a call with an overbet that doesn't make a great deal of sense.
Poker Stars, $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold'em Cash, 5 Players
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite. View Hand #37281728
Hero (CO): $52.50 (105 bb)
BTN: $80.84 (161.7 bb)
SB: $65.67 (131.3 bb)
BB: $51.70 (103.4 bb)
MP: $54.87 (109.7 bb)
Preflop: Hero is CO with 9 Q
MP folds, Hero raises to $1.25, BTN folds, SB raises to $4.50, BB folds, Hero calls $3.25
Flop: ($9.50) 3 Q 5 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $4.50, SB calls $4.50
Turn: ($18.50) 4 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero checks
River: ($18.50) 3 (2 players)
SB checks, Hero bets $22, SB calls $22
Poker Tools Powered By Holdem Manager - The Ultimate Poker Software Suite. View Hand #37281728
Hero (CO): $52.50 (105 bb)
BTN: $80.84 (161.7 bb)
SB: $65.67 (131.3 bb)
BB: $51.70 (103.4 bb)
MP: $54.87 (109.7 bb)
Preflop: Hero is CO with 9
QMP folds, Hero raises to $1.25, BTN folds, SB raises to $4.50, BB folds, Hero calls $3.25
Flop: ($9.50) 3
Q 5 (2 players)SB checks, Hero bets $4.50, SB calls $4.50
Turn: ($18.50) 4
(2 players)SB checks, Hero checks
River: ($18.50) 3
(2 players)SB checks, Hero bets $22, SB calls $22
Spoiler:
Finally, no analysis need for this one.
Hand 4, yes, I run good..:
The hand history converter has stopped working so here's the link:
https://www.weaktight.com/h/56f21ff6d3904391668b456e
I'll be looking to write a full update of the week tomorrow.
Gl Gl
03-24-2016
, 01:14 AM
More poker, more balance?
After failing to hold my top two vs his nut flush draw, I’m quickly down $300 in my first live session of the week. Not the start I was hoping for. The next 6 hours consisted of a lot of folding, flop bricking and small pot winning but I was pleased that I could keep my discipline despite such a dry run and the early stacking. This patience paid off when my J8hh two pair faded a boat load of outs vs his T9cc combo draw after I called his turn 3bet on a J62cc8d2h board. I racked up for the day $160 and it felt just as sweet, if not more, than some of my substantially bigger winning days.
Day one chip stack:
The following day was Friday and I’d arranged to meet some old work friends for lunch in the city before heading to the casino. It was an unspoken rule that all the lads would keep Friday lunch time free each week and head to the nearest pub / restaurant for a bite to eat and beers. What started as an 60-90 minute lunch break progressed to 2-3 hours with a few intermittent weeks of ‘**** it, get another round in, we’re not going back!’. With myself and my mate Nick both moved on from the company it was a meeting of the old school elite reuniting for lunch so I was quite excited to have a proper catch up with everyone. The classy establishment chosen this Friday was the ‘Mens gallery’ strip club in the city where its free entry and $10 steaks (and I mean high quality big steaks with home cut chips and double sized plates). The food deal was to get the punters in of course but situated in the banking territory of the city there was no shortage of sleazy customers arriving in their drones to blow off some steam. The busy atmosphere meant not being hassled for a ‘private show’ by the girls and getting to enjoy the cheap delicious food and stage shows for minimal cost.
Focusing all of my time and efforts on poker has been an amazing life experience and the drive to succeed and go after something I’m grateful for every day. One thing I’ve found though, is not to fall off the grid too much. It’s a difficult line to judge between sacrifice, focus and maintaining balance and if I can schedule in a regular lunch and catch up with some good mates along with continuing at least one social event on the weekend, I think it’s both important and beneficial.
I’d only been sat down at the table for 20 minutes of my second live session and had already established a LAG image and could over hear two of the older guys referring to me as a ‘bully’ and shaking their heads in annoyance. In reality though, these check raises and double barrel then fold lines were with legitimate hands as lady luck decided to give me a positive start to the day.
After getting involved in 4 of my first 7 hands, I wake up with AQ in SB and bump it to $20 after 3 limpers. BB and the first limper folds but the Josef Fritzl doppelganger sat in the CO makes the call along with the young Asian ‘reg’ on the button. The flop rolls out a beautiful Q42 and I fire $40 into the middle. Fritzl quickly folds and the young kid ponders for a while before making the call.
Given my image I’m not putting our villain on a strong range here at all and believe he’s less weighted towards hands with showdown value so I check when the 5 hits the turn. My check pays off when he makes it $80 to go and I fake deliberate a little before making the call. The river bricks a harmless 8 and again I check to the button. He takes some time playing with his chips before deciding on 1 black $100 chip and 4 $5 reds. I snap him off and he shows AJss for a busted turned flush draw. I make a mental note that he limped behind two players with such a strong hand on the button and count my stack.
The very next hand, the same three players limp and I make it $20 again with the sexy 87. Fritzl and our previous villain are the only callers again and fortuna once again rewarded me with a sexy 9TJ flop. I decide to keep it consistent and bet $40, although I think potting it on this texture vs weaker players is probably optimal. Fritzl matches the bet and the ‘reg’ makes it $130 with another $150ish behind. I waste no time in putting it in and hold against his J9 to ship the pot.
Although I started like a house on fire I barely got involved for the next few hours before racking up for a dinner break with Kate at an awesome food spot on the gaming floor called the ‘Fat Noodle’.
My post dinner session continued along the same slow pace getting involved in one pot where a young solid regular raised my turn bet after I’d opened 8s UTG. The T97 flop was checked round and I decided to semi bluff repping AK when the Kc hits the turn. He quickly met my turn lead with a raise and I essentially couldn’t put him on any hands of value so I called. The 7 river went check check and it turns out he had the hand I was trying to rep!
A couple of hours later a new action player joins the table and annoyingly he’s wearing the exact same shirt as me, a grey ralph polo. We look odd sat next to each other wearing identical clothes but I wasn’t too bothered after he churned through a quick couple of buy ins playing every pot and bluffing in every situation imaginable. After another solid 45 minutes of folding I get my opportunity and 3bet his $15 MP open to $45 with two red 9s on the button. He quickly calls and we see a QJ7 flop, he checks, I check back. The turn comes a J and again he checks and makes a weird face when I check back behind him. The river bricks a deuce and he bets $110 into $90ish. The funny thing is, he had an identical pot the hand before where he calls a 3bet OOP and he bets the exact same sizing with a busted draw on the river. He oddly makes reference to that fact after his bet with me. I deliberate for a little but decide there's no way I can fold and he mucks. 1-0.
The very next hand, same shirt makes it $15 and I can’t believe my luck as I squeeze out KK and make it $45 again. He snap 4bets me to $150 with another 220ish behind and postures his chips as if to say ‘if you’re shoving I’m calling’. Normally this sign of weakness may encourage me to flat but he’s done this before and stuck his chips in anyway and given that he’d 4bet to such a big sizing and seemed in the mood to gamble I shove it in and he insta calls as promised. I turn over my kings and he keeps his hand concealed as the dealer delivers a J...T...7...4… he still hasn’t turned his cards over so I’m assuming I’m ahead. All I can hear in my head is ‘no Ace, no Ace!’ - ‘3 of clubs’ the dealer says. Phew. As I get ready to stack my biggest pot of the day same shirt flips up his hand. 73! FFS. He sheepishly looks forward with a wry smile on his face. 1-1. Despite having such a cash machine at the table I decided to call it a day and settle our score another day.
Despite the Kings fiasco I finish up a healthy + $475 for day and the satisfaction of knowing I brought my A game. As I head for the train home I check up on some boxing news and find out one of my favourite boxers ‘St. George Groves’ has been added to the Anthony Joshua word title bill on the 9th April against an undefeated Scottish prospect. Literally buzzing for what will likely be a huge event for British boxing and a good excuse to celebrate my birthday with some mates watching something we love! All in all, pretty much one of the most enjoyable days that I can remember. I'm enjoying this new life of mine.
Stack from session 2:
I had one more interesting hand that I was going to share from my third and final live session of the week but I feel this has probably gone on a little long now so will start to wrap it up. In a short but dazzling Sunday casino session I went to valuetown on a fish with AK in 3bet pot and stacked him on an A high board and played an interesting pot with a reg where I flop trips and river a straight. In 4 hours of play I grew my stack to over $1,100 and finished up +$715 for the day.
Stack three day:
Despite my live success, my online results were quite the opposite. I stuck to my schedule of maintaining similar volume in addition to my casino escapades but felt like ran into cooler after cooler both pre and postflop. I actually felt that I played some of my best online poker to date during this week so the results are frustrating but I’m not too worried about it.
Weekly online graph:
In summary, I’m really happy with how I played this week. To keep the discipline both online and live and maintain a positive yet indifferent mindset has been a real achievement. There were probably three pots that I can think of online where I was disappointed in my play, but given the ridiculous set of set, AK into Aces etc coolers I’m more than satisfied with how much I kept on point.
Mixing in the hard work online with some enjoyable live poker provides a routine that me a feeling of balance and actually allows me more time to play and improve my game so no plans to change things up at this stage.
Live results: + $1,350
Online results: - $543.83
Anyway, back off to the casino now for session one of this weeks live grind so will report a full update next week.
Gl at the tables
After failing to hold my top two vs his nut flush draw, I’m quickly down $300 in my first live session of the week. Not the start I was hoping for. The next 6 hours consisted of a lot of folding, flop bricking and small pot winning but I was pleased that I could keep my discipline despite such a dry run and the early stacking. This patience paid off when my J8hh two pair faded a boat load of outs vs his T9cc combo draw after I called his turn 3bet on a J62cc8d2h board. I racked up for the day $160 and it felt just as sweet, if not more, than some of my substantially bigger winning days.
Day one chip stack:
The following day was Friday and I’d arranged to meet some old work friends for lunch in the city before heading to the casino. It was an unspoken rule that all the lads would keep Friday lunch time free each week and head to the nearest pub / restaurant for a bite to eat and beers. What started as an 60-90 minute lunch break progressed to 2-3 hours with a few intermittent weeks of ‘**** it, get another round in, we’re not going back!’. With myself and my mate Nick both moved on from the company it was a meeting of the old school elite reuniting for lunch so I was quite excited to have a proper catch up with everyone. The classy establishment chosen this Friday was the ‘Mens gallery’ strip club in the city where its free entry and $10 steaks (and I mean high quality big steaks with home cut chips and double sized plates). The food deal was to get the punters in of course but situated in the banking territory of the city there was no shortage of sleazy customers arriving in their drones to blow off some steam. The busy atmosphere meant not being hassled for a ‘private show’ by the girls and getting to enjoy the cheap delicious food and stage shows for minimal cost.
Focusing all of my time and efforts on poker has been an amazing life experience and the drive to succeed and go after something I’m grateful for every day. One thing I’ve found though, is not to fall off the grid too much. It’s a difficult line to judge between sacrifice, focus and maintaining balance and if I can schedule in a regular lunch and catch up with some good mates along with continuing at least one social event on the weekend, I think it’s both important and beneficial.
I’d only been sat down at the table for 20 minutes of my second live session and had already established a LAG image and could over hear two of the older guys referring to me as a ‘bully’ and shaking their heads in annoyance. In reality though, these check raises and double barrel then fold lines were with legitimate hands as lady luck decided to give me a positive start to the day.
After getting involved in 4 of my first 7 hands, I wake up with A
Q in SB and bump it to $20 after 3 limpers. BB and the first limper folds but the Josef Fritzl doppelganger sat in the CO makes the call along with the young Asian ‘reg’ on the button. The flop rolls out a beautiful Q42 and I fire $40 into the middle. Fritzl quickly folds and the young kid ponders for a while before making the call. Given my image I’m not putting our villain on a strong range here at all and believe he’s less weighted towards hands with showdown value so I check when the 5
hits the turn. My check pays off when he makes it $80 to go and I fake deliberate a little before making the call. The river bricks a harmless 8 and again I check to the button. He takes some time playing with his chips before deciding on 1 black $100 chip and 4 $5 reds. I snap him off and he shows AJss for a busted turned flush draw. I make a mental note that he limped behind two players with such a strong hand on the button and count my stack. The very next hand, the same three players limp and I make it $20 again with the sexy 8
7. Fritzl and our previous villain are the only callers again and fortuna once again rewarded me with a sexy 9TJ flop. I decide to keep it consistent and bet $40, although I think potting it on this texture vs weaker players is probably optimal. Fritzl matches the bet and the ‘reg’ makes it $130 with another $150ish behind. I waste no time in putting it in and hold against his J9 to ship the pot. Although I started like a house on fire I barely got involved for the next few hours before racking up for a dinner break with Kate at an awesome food spot on the gaming floor called the ‘Fat Noodle’.
My post dinner session continued along the same slow pace getting involved in one pot where a young solid regular raised my turn bet after I’d opened 8s UTG. The T
97 flop was checked round and I decided to semi bluff repping AK when the Kc hits the turn. He quickly met my turn lead with a raise and I essentially couldn’t put him on any hands of value so I called. The 7 river went check check and it turns out he had the hand I was trying to rep!A couple of hours later a new action player joins the table and annoyingly he’s wearing the exact same shirt as me, a grey ralph polo. We look odd sat next to each other wearing identical clothes but I wasn’t too bothered after he churned through a quick couple of buy ins playing every pot and bluffing in every situation imaginable. After another solid 45 minutes of folding I get my opportunity and 3bet his $15 MP open to $45 with two red 9s on the button. He quickly calls and we see a Q
J7 flop, he checks, I check back. The turn comes a J and again he checks and makes a weird face when I check back behind him. The river bricks a deuce and he bets $110 into $90ish. The funny thing is, he had an identical pot the hand before where he calls a 3bet OOP and he bets the exact same sizing with a busted draw on the river. He oddly makes reference to that fact after his bet with me. I deliberate for a little but decide there's no way I can fold and he mucks. 1-0. The very next hand, same shirt makes it $15 and I can’t believe my luck as I squeeze out K
K and make it $45 again. He snap 4bets me to $150 with another 220ish behind and postures his chips as if to say ‘if you’re shoving I’m calling’. Normally this sign of weakness may encourage me to flat but he’s done this before and stuck his chips in anyway and given that he’d 4bet to such a big sizing and seemed in the mood to gamble I shove it in and he insta calls as promised. I turn over my kings and he keeps his hand concealed as the dealer delivers a J...T...7...4… he still hasn’t turned his cards over so I’m assuming I’m ahead. All I can hear in my head is ‘no Ace, no Ace!’ - ‘3 of clubs’ the dealer says. Phew. As I get ready to stack my biggest pot of the day same shirt flips up his hand. 73! FFS. He sheepishly looks forward with a wry smile on his face. 1-1. Despite having such a cash machine at the table I decided to call it a day and settle our score another day. Despite the Kings fiasco I finish up a healthy + $475 for day and the satisfaction of knowing I brought my A game. As I head for the train home I check up on some boxing news and find out one of my favourite boxers ‘St. George Groves’ has been added to the Anthony Joshua word title bill on the 9th April against an undefeated Scottish prospect. Literally buzzing for what will likely be a huge event for British boxing and a good excuse to celebrate my birthday with some mates watching something we love! All in all, pretty much one of the most enjoyable days that I can remember. I'm enjoying this new life of mine.
Stack from session 2:
I had one more interesting hand that I was going to share from my third and final live session of the week but I feel this has probably gone on a little long now so will start to wrap it up. In a short but dazzling Sunday casino session I went to valuetown on a fish with AK in 3bet pot and stacked him on an A high board and played an interesting pot with a reg where I flop trips and river a straight. In 4 hours of play I grew my stack to over $1,100 and finished up +$715 for the day.
Stack three day:
Despite my live success, my online results were quite the opposite. I stuck to my schedule of maintaining similar volume in addition to my casino escapades but felt like ran into cooler after cooler both pre and postflop. I actually felt that I played some of my best online poker to date during this week so the results are frustrating but I’m not too worried about it.
Weekly online graph:
In summary, I’m really happy with how I played this week. To keep the discipline both online and live and maintain a positive yet indifferent mindset has been a real achievement. There were probably three pots that I can think of online where I was disappointed in my play, but given the ridiculous set of set, AK into Aces etc coolers I’m more than satisfied with how much I kept on point.
Mixing in the hard work online with some enjoyable live poker provides a routine that me a feeling of balance and actually allows me more time to play and improve my game so no plans to change things up at this stage.
Live results: + $1,350
Online results: - $543.83
Anyway, back off to the casino now for session one of this weeks live grind so will report a full update next week.
Gl at the tables
03-25-2016
, 07:59 PM