About me: I am 35. I have an okay job that pays about $70k a year in Wisconsin. Masters degree+, veteran. I work for schools so I get my summers off. I have decided to go to WSOP this summer.

My poker story isn’t all that exciting. Played some online, played some live, always been a fan of the game. Little successes here and there but never any huge scores. Took breaks, always came back. I think Im good, but most do, and if Im being completely honest with myself I don’t have any spreadsheets or whatever to back that up…just what I feel. I play $1/$3 NLHE at the Oneida Poker Room in Green Bay. Sometimes $2/$5. Not to suggest that means much it’s just what game I’m most familiar with.

Im going from about June 19th -July 13th and maybe a few weeks in August. Im going to play 12 hours a day each day. Cash games only no tournaments. Staying in a cheap place through Airbnb $800 for 27 nights or whatever it is. Hoping to get in about 400 hours at cash games this summer. Ill also post when I play sessions at my local room or other places. Sometimes I also play in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Not to imply I’m a reg anywhere. Last few years was more interested in fantasy football and the stock market so have played little as in maybe monthly.

Ive created this thread as a journal for myself to help keep track of my losses/winnings and share with others who enjoy the game. I’ll post all sessions even if I lose big, or everything. My bankroll right now is about $30k but it’s not from poker. Sold a property. Never built a poker roll before, hadn’t ever tried too much. When I make money I spend it. Going to try and do it differently and keep things separated.

Bankroll: $30,000
Hours: 0
Hourly: $0/hour

Glgl

My school district has Spring Break this week, so I thought I'd play a session. I think what I'll try to do is post two poker hands per update, and then any other things that come up that are somewhat related. I've been thinking of my summer plans and whether I want to visit Southern Asia for a few months instead of go to Vegas for WSOP, so with that thought in mind I figured I should play a few times before June to figure out what I want to do. Exploring Thailand seems tempting, especially since I haven't been laid in ages or ever been there. I dated a Hmong girl once when I was in my younger twenties in Minneapolis. She was crazy. I think most Asian girls are crazy, but in a good way. I guess we'll see how it goes for the next few months first....and we'll go from there. I didn't intend on playing today, haven't really been all that motivated to sit at a poker table. I'm going to try and work on that. Get my fitness/energy levels up by walking a few miles a day. Maybe some of you can relate to the feeling of envisioning yourself at a poker game after working out, or when you're driving home on a Friday night. I still get that sometimes, and feel like poker has always been deep n my veins. It's what brings me back.

I decided around lunch time to place $1,000 on the Lakers spread at -4.5 vs. Memphis. They won by 12 and the bet came in for a double. Since I had to go back to the casino to cash the ticket I thought I'd play a bit of poker. I won't add any sports betting or stock trading to the bankroll. The $30k will be kept apart from any other life expenses or forms of gambling, and those are financed through discretionary income, but considering this is a blog and I'm a degenerate I figured it might be interesting to post about those things as well. By degenerate I mean more of the functional type where I go through phases, but I like to think I have more life balance than I once had, and I don't want to make it sound like I'm rich enough to make thousand dollar bets all the time, just every once in a while. My last sport's bet was on the Dallas Cowboys spread in the playoffs and I lost when Detroit scored a TD on their last drive. I had ~$4k on that one, but I very rarely will bet that high.

Anyways so I decided to play some poker. The game I played was $2/$5 NLHE from 9:30PM-11:45PM at Oneida Casino in Green Bay, WI. It was 9 handed when I sat down but turned into about 6-8 players quickly. I think there was a $2/$5 PLO game running and then a few other tables of $1/$3. Maybe a limit game too. But a pretty typical small room poker feel and people are usually pretty friendly. My table was filled mostly with what I'm assuming were regs since they all seemed familiar. I only recognized one other player. I think he recognizes me, but not sure since it's been a while since i've played. I don't recall too many hands with him other than he's pretty solid and doesn't bluff much, but no significant hands this session with this particular player Apologies to those who have the hand histories dialed into an art, it's been a really long time since I posted any sort of hand histories, I'll try and get it looking more standardized, but here were two:

One limper in MP to the LJ who makes it $15. I'm in the cutoff and 3bet to $45. Folds around to limper. Effective stacks $700 they have me covered. I didn't realize the limper was in the hand so I was looking at the LJ. I realized limper was still in hand deciding whether to call. I look at him, he looks back, then decides to call. LJ also calls. Limper is in his upper twenties, looks put together....wearing a hat, first impression from only about 45 minutes is he's a decent player. I haven't been playing a ton of hands or talking.

Flop is 10 3 3 . Checks around to me I bet $50. MP check raises to $150. LJ folds. I call.

Turn is Q He checks. I bet $175. He thinks for a while and folds pocket 5's face up and says he thinks he's good. I have .

At this point there was a mandatory $10 straddle with 6 players. I'm in BB with $625ish everyone has me covered. UTG +1 & Button limp. I call straddle. Straddle (mid-age Asian) checks. Flop is:

J 9 J . I lead $30. Straddler calls, everyone folds.

Turn is 3 I check. He bets $50. I check raise to $150 total. He calls.

River is J . I check. He bets $225ish. I call. I have

Bankroll: $30,513
Hours: 2.25 Hours
Hourly: $205.20/hour

Woke up with an itch to play. Gonna slam this, go for an hour walk in the 30 degree Wisconsin weather, take $1,000 to $1/$3 and play until I fall over. Why $1/$3? It will be good for me to get back in the swing of things, and want to feel the pain of a long session without risking thousands. Will update after.

Hey there , good luck

Thanks my friend 🙂

Good luck, this blog is interesting and well written.

On the way home from my walk I put my name on the list for $1/$3 and $2/$5. About an hour later, I’m standing in the poker room checking in. There's a wait list and I choose to kill time at the small casino bar wondering if the cute girl next to me is going to introduce herself. She doesn’t. I don’t. My name is called after 30 minutes for a seat at one of the two tables of $1/$3. All the things that could have been. The table is talkative with a dealer who likes to spark conversation. He works a lot and is usually working whenever I play. He’s cool and friendly and I like him. The topic is sports betting, Elon Musk, and Dogecoin, i contribute but when someone asks me about how dividends work I realize I shouldn’t have contributed and back out of the conversation. I don’t know how dividends work.

I buy in for $300 and get stacked on the turn about 15 minutes in by an Asian on my right who was leading the sports betting conversation. I called his check raise on a flop with mid pair with a player left to act behind me. Not a good call at all and nothing more to say about it other than I should have folded. I reload for $300 and then after 3 betting with AK and giving up on a flop I am asked if I want to move to the $2/$5 game that is just opening. I say yes. So much for a long session of $1/$3. I take my remaining chips over to seat 9 my favorite seat and add $200 and am in for $800 total at this point. Table is really juicy for the first half hour or so due to a lunatic in seat 7 who is playing hyper aggressive and has over shoved river bluffs and showed on two occasions. He had also made a rude comment to an older gentleman next to him after winning a hand. About 30 mins in I get involved in a pot with who I feel is the more competent player in the game in seat 3. My impression is he’s in his upper 30s, has a beard, not overweight but his sunken eyes and rough skin tell me he enjoys a drink after a long day of construction. He's wearing a hat and seems focused.

I make it $15 UTG +1 and he calls on Button as well as an OMC in BB. He has about $400.

Flop is 5 J 8 .

I lead $30. He raises to $150. I think about it for a long time. Lunatic calls clock on me. Not offended I’m taking a while. I feel button isn’t bluffing. But my read from slight but heavy chest breathing is he’s not nutted. I move all in. He doesn’t snap call but calls relatively quickly.

Turn A River is K

He has I have

I get into a pot with the lunatic. Effective stacks $525. He raises $15 UTG. Myself and 2 other players call.

Flop is A A 7

He continues for $45. I call. Players behind fold heads up.

Turn K He bets $105. I call.

River Q He overshoves for my remaining chips. I think about it and he calls the clock on me again after about 30 seconds. I get him talking. I'd like to think one of my strengths is reading body language. He talks a good game but I decide he’s bluffing and throw in a chip. He shows 2 5

I have



He shortly after goes all in for about $140 and gets called by the older generation he was being rude to preflop with Q10 vs J8 and gets stacked. Claims he will return but doesn’t. I peak around $1150 and consider just leaving. But I decide to stay. I still feel off my best game and decide I need to get warmed up and play some longer sessions to get back in the swing of things. Going south after 2 hours is just not going to cut it. I felt I was making good decisions aside from the $1/$3 punt but not as quick to them as I would normally be and could tell I was a little of my game. But as long as I'm making the right choices no sense in leaving quite yet. However, I get in some really tough spots and lose quite a bit of it back. Nothing horrendous but a few thin value bets against competent players and calling off thin in spots I could have avoided. Didn't help running into aces with JJ and then QQ into a guy who flopped two pair on a 7 2 9 board. I walk to cage with $337 just didn’t feel like playing anymore. Played for only 2 hrs 45 mins. Not upset at all but did get humbled and now fully realize I’m rusty. I played the All Aboard slot before I left won a bit. Lost most of those profits back on Huff n Puff. Think about betting Milwaukee spread but just decide to call it a day and go watch Netflix.

Bankroll: $30,050
Hours: 5 Hours
Hourly: $10/hour

It’s the morning of April 3rd, 2024. I wake up at 5:45AM to a text message from my school district “School closed due to weather”. **** yes! I go back to sleep surprisingly quickly and am even more surprised when I wake back up 4 hours later and see I’ve slept until nearly noon. I roll out of bed, brew a cup of coffee, take a ****, turn on Spotify, and hop in the shower. As I’m cleaning my crack, Minerva from the Deftones comes on. There’s something about the Deftones that I find inspiring, but not the type of inspiration that leads to productivity, more of a degenerate type. The feeling lasts until I’m dressed and so decide why not play some poker. I call to get on the wait list for $2/$5 and I’m happy there’s an open seat waiting for me when I arrive.

I buy in for $300. I get dealt QQ from the Button within the first orbit. I move all in on an aggressive looking 3 better on my right in the CO who makes it $80 to a $20 open from MP. I get called by AQs and hold. I more than double my stack before I’ve even had a chance to order a Coke Zero.

The very next hand I’m dealt aces in the SB and I find myself moving all in on a flop before I’ve stacked my chips over the same player who has reloaded for 430 in crumpled up bills. He calls with JJ and when I stack him before he’s even given chips he says “Are you ****ing serious”, and walks directly out of the room, but comes back 2 minutes later to grab his car keys that he forgot. He doesn’t make eye contact despite me commenting “sick man”.

30 minutes pass with some back and forth chip exchanges, no big pots and I’m folding. I’ve shown a few strong hands early from those all ins and decide to play it tight…..until this hand:

I’m in Cutoff. Effective stacks $1200ish. I 3 bet UTG+1 raise of $15 to $60. Button and Blinds fold heads up. Villain is rougher looking older gentlemen age 50 or so who has been attempting conversation with his neighbor about motorcycles. Seems to like seeing flops. No history.

Flop is 5 J K

He leads for $40. I raise to $200. He calls.

Turn is 9 He checks. I bet $450. He tank calls after looking at his cards.

River is K He checks. I wait a full 30 seconds before moving all in. He calls.

I have

He

Some days you just run good. I fold for the next few hours, lose a small pot with 10s, lose a bigger pot with A 10, and decide to call it a day. Not bad for a snow day.

Bankroll: $31,957
Hours: 8.75 Hours
Hourly: $223/hour

Good thread

Thailand/Philippines pretty much paradise on earth for any single guy. Thailand is a lot nicer imo, although only underground poker games.

The real danger is it will be difficult to ever go back to Wisconsin (I'm also from WI) I don't plan on ever living there full time again if I can help it.

Winters can be tough. The cheap cost of living and summer makes it tolerable. When I leave Wisconsin it’s tough coming back sometimes! Asia is tempting, as well as WSOP. I may do both, we will see.

1 buy in at $25/$50 is $5k. A double up is a free month in Pattaya living like a K

This is great writing. GL this summer and in everything before and after.

Thanks! I enjoyed reading your thread "the game is the game". Endboss mentality 24/7!

haha thanks man might need to kick the tires on that thread one of these days

Nice thread! I endorse going Thailand lol


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Done any gambling? Certainly expect more updates when summer rolls around don't leave us hangin

Been gambling, no poker. Bad run of sports bets has me soured for a bit. **** MLB baseball can suck it. $TSLA also went wrong direction….where is the bottom?! Know when to take a time out. Roll still the same. Will make long update after I’m back from Milwaukee May 4th. They have a new poker room reopening on May 3rd that’s been closed since pandemic. Decided on Thailand this summer to slay maybe a detour to Macau. It’s going to be a sick summer can’t wait will update much more then but doing this for me not to impress anyone or a blog but let’s get it $$$

I’ve been a very naughty, disgusting, sick degenerate the last several weeks. “Break” lasted a hot minute. Went on a few long gambling binges with $5k swings. All non poker related. Came out a little below even after giving it back last night at the slots. Ultimate fire link more like Ultimate scam. But TSLA is back up and a call option came through. Don’t even know how to blog about half the **** that I’ve gambled on in the last few weeks but it was everything from slots to roulette to nba playoffs to mlb to sports cards to I don’t even know what. But back to poker only for a while heading to Chicago right now to play something fun $2/$5 maybe higher stakes. Milwaukee next weekend. Coffee and Rage Against the Machine this morning had me wanting out of Wisconsin. Put $4k in a money clip we will see what I can do with that. Got some new shoes yesterday. Ran out of soap last night i already smell and i nearly got into an accident just now while typing this gl to me let’s get $$$$