Background:
I'm a Software Engineer that has enjoyed Poker for almost a decade now (time flies). I was introduced to Poker around 2015 toward the end of college when a group of friends invited me to play in their home game and watch the WSOP. I was always averse to gambling, but after discovering the strategy in Poker I became deeply interested in the game. My Poker story isn't all that interesting for the time I've been involved, but after that first home game I made it my goal to have some sort of success at the game. I began studying Poker and deposited $40 online with the goal to build a bankroll starting at 2NL. 6 months later and probably a little over 100k hands I had grinded up to a little over $3000 and was beginning to play 200NL (I shared some of that story here back in the day). As I was entering my last year of college I decided to quit and focus on school since my grades had suffered quite a bit from focusing on Poker. Then after graduating it only made sense to focus on my career.

I've always been interested in PLO -- when I was originally grinding Poker in college, I always enjoyed listening to Joe Ingram's PLO podcast, it was very motivating -- and decided to give it a real shot last year. I have a previous thread which I gave up on a few months ago where you can see my progress. Basically my first 11k hands I was down about 60 buy ins at 25PLO and running pretty far below ev. By the end of that thread I had a decent win rate. My main focus was on 100PLO with some unsuccessful shots at 200PLO, 500PLO, and 1000PLO. Here are my 100PLO results, which is by far my largest sample of hands:



So from my last thread, I was feeling very burnt out from mixing my full-time job with Poker and decided to give up. My main motivation is to make more money, which Poker isn't necessarily the best avenue for (I could try to start a side business, or I could grind leetcode and interview for better paying jobs for example). But it's also not a bad option and it is something I enjoy and have had some success at. It has also been nagging me that I haven't even reached 100k hands at PLO.

So recently I played a few sessions for fun and caught the bug again. But this time I plan to take a slower approach - I'm ok not playing for an extended amount of time and I'm limiting the length of my sessions. No more 6-8 hour sessions after work. It will take long to achieve my desired volume, but I have to be ok with that.

I'm also using my "dead" time for poker. In other words, if I can't think of a better use of my time, that's when I can play Poker. I'm still thinking about and prioritizing better opportunities.

Goals:
- Reach 100k hand sample
- Make 20k from PLO
- Be able to play 200PLO consistently

Well due for an update on this thread. I meant to be updating this weekly, but some things came up in life. Shortly after making this thread I was laid off from my job (running bad even outside of poker, eh?). Job market for SWE apparently sucks right now so I'm not feeling great about that. I haven't begun studying and applying for jobs as I wanted to get back some time for myself this summer. I've been playing and studying Poker on and off. I've hit 40k hands of 100PLO and continue to show good results so I'm happy about that. My 200PLO shots have continued to fail - I'm down around 25 buy ins. Although I don't think I'm making huge mistakes (but definitely making mistakes), and I do think I've been having a bad streak through a small sample of 10k hands. Just so many times where I'm raise x/folding because I'm flopping straight air so often. And of course not making strong hands by the river. The 200PLO pool I play in I still consider very soft, but a bit more aggressive. There's some important adjustments I've been making in both pools that I believe are paying off.

I'm kind of lost with life at the moment to be honest. I need to figure out where I'm going next. I'll be focusing on applying for jobs soon. I still want to play Poker and I either need to stay where I can play in good games online or relocate to somewhere where I can be close to a good casino to grind live games. I'm not crazy about the idea of grinding live for many reasons, but I think the experience would be cool even for just a short while and most importantly live games are probably the most +ev.

Speaking of live, I played my 2nd live PLO cash game (2-2PLO) this past weekend. At first I hated it. The game is super soft which is good, but the people are generally annoying. They play fast and I play too slow because I'm not used to playing live. People seem not to care much about pot odds and play many many hands. I get pressured by players when asking for the size of the pot to figure out if I'm getting the correct odds to call and apparently, they don't understand why it matters. Also some lady yelled at me for "attempting to angle shoot her" because I looked at my cards twice before raising UTG. She thought I was trying to get a read off of her before raising (she plays every hand so that wouldn't even matter lol). Her attacking me put me in a bad mood. I went back to the tables later at night and won a few buy ins. Also, when you're folding a lot of trash people keep saying "waiting for aces huh?" lol. ****ing annoying.

Here are my 100PLO results thus far:

GL to the PLO journey, hell of a drug isn't it

Sucks to hear about losing the job, I hope you find a new one soon.

This generally happens when you are not contributing much to the table talk. People are playing poker casually to have fun, if one player just sits silently and seems to just wait big hands it will bring the atmosphere down. You can be the biggest nit in the room, but if you make people laugh and relax, they don't mind it at all. I am not saying you are like this , just general observations I have seen in casinos.

Calculating pot size will get easier in time, a couple of more sessions will do the trick.

Thanks! It was a sizeable layoff and sucked because I was working hard on changes that saved the company money. I just got called into a meeting and let go without warning. Especially annoying when you see those who were contributing less not in that meeting . But yeah, hopefully it won't be difficult to pick up a decent gig when I start searching again.

As for live Poker, what you're saying makes sense. I think my weak point is that I'm not a very social person which I'll probably have to work on if I want to play more live. But being accused of angle shooting (especially when I was having trouble with basic stuff like calculating pots) really put me in a sour mood. At least when I went back later to play, I enjoyed the table more. I'm just a quiet person, but I was being friendly and sharing information/cards after hands when people asked as I didn't mind in that situation (i.e. a guy folded in a big pot and showed his hand so I showed him mine not worrying about giving away info).

Appreciate your kind words and reassurance.

Decent week of Poker - up 1.1k. Won some buy ins at 200PLO and closing in on 10k Sklansky bucks at 100PLO. Unfortunately I'm still down like 20 buy ins at 200PLO so a lot of work to do to climb out of the hole.



Problem with taking random shots at 200PLO "under rolled" is dealing with the swings - 100PLO swings never feel bad, but 200PLO swings do for me. Last night playing against a maniac definitely made me feel it. Fortunately, we ended up the session on top. Maniac was playing 78/61/35! Not a fun person to play rivers against. Also made some mistakes by bloating pots I shouldn't have and failed attempts to deviate by playing more trappy lines hoping maniac will blast off.

Annoying spot multiway especially when me and the maniac are playing deeper. Given SPR for button, I don't see issues with just trying to GII here against them, but felt these trips aren't great and I don't want to play an even bigger pot on the river vs maniac. Usually these donks for large size, especially multiway, are some two pair or sets so I'm afraid maniac is getting tricky with a FH on the turn given some of the blockers I have. Maniac pots river which sucks because button could have a hand to call with here too that beats us even if we think maniac is bluffing. But the maniac here is saying they have a full house so I decide to call here with some blockers hoping that button won't overcall. Weird spot overall.

$2 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 5 players

UTG: 186.1 BB (VPIP: 38.91, PFR: 21.50, 3Bet Preflop: 11.63, Hands: 297)
Hero (CO): 112.3 BB
BTN: 61.34 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 40.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 5)
SB: 729.53 BB (VPIP: 76.47, PFR: 61.76, 3Bet Preflop: 31.43, Hands: 138)
BB: 140.9 BB (VPIP: 49.08, PFR: 10.18, 3Bet Preflop: 5.82, Hands: 608)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J 9 K T

fold, Hero raises to 3.5 BB, BTN calls 3.5 BB, SB calls 3 BB, BB calls 2.5 BB

Flop: (14 BB, 4 players) 6 K 7
SB bets 13.23 BB, fold, Hero calls 13.23 BB, BTN calls 13.23 BB

Turn: (53.68 BB, 3 players) K
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (53.68 BB, 3 players) 4
SB bets 52.18 BB, Hero calls 52.18 BB, fold

SB shows Q 7 2 9 (Two Pair, Kings and Sevens)
(Pre 36%, Flop 23%, Turn 0%)
Hero shows J 9 K T (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 64%, Flop 77%, Turn 100%)
Hero wins 156.53 BB


------

In this hand my hand is a 100% lead - so I missed that. Betting turn for protection after flop is checked through. Maniac raises putting us in another awkward multiway spot as button is now also deep with us. I would probably just repot if I had the NFD but with a weaker flush and two pair I think I just need to call when this deep. Luckily, we get an easy showdown on the river. Very surprised to see the hands that showdown here - especially button. If it weren't for button, I probably would have just put the maniac all in and likely gotten called.

$2 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 5 players

BTN: 161.21 BB (VPIP: 39.54, PFR: 21.24, 3Bet Preflop: 11.45, Hands: 310)
Hero (SB): 257.5 BB
BB: 587.88 BB (VPIP: 88.89, PFR: 44.44, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 18)
UTG: 116.15 BB (VPIP: 77.85, PFR: 61.74, 3Bet Preflop: 36.36, Hands: 151)
CO: 203 BB (VPIP: 49.61, PFR: 24.17, 3Bet Preflop: 9.35, Hands: 2,077)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9 Q 5 J

UTG raises to 3.5 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 3 BB, BB calls 2.5 BB

Flop: (10.5 BB, 3 players) 5 8 J
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks

Turn: (10.5 BB, 3 players) 3
Hero bets 7.44 BB, BB calls 7.44 BB, UTG raises to 39.68 BB, Hero calls 32.24 BB, BB calls 32.24 BB

River: (129.54 BB, 3 players) K
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks

Hero shows 9 Q 5 J (Two Pair, Jacks and Fives)
(Pre 36%, Flop 58%, Turn 68%)
BB shows 9 A Q 7 (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 31%, Flop 26%, Turn 10%)
UTG shows 5 4 6 3 (Two Pair, Fives and Threes)
(Pre 33%, Flop 15%, Turn 22%)
Hero wins 128.04 BB

------

Not much to say, but last hand of the session

$2 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 4 players

SB: 349.42 BB (VPIP: 39.81, PFR: 21.36, 3Bet Preflop: 11.94, Hands: 313)
Hero (BB): 321.36 BB
CO: 51.97 BB (VPIP: 78.29, PFR: 61.18, 3Bet Preflop: 34.78, Hands: 154)
BTN: 100 BB (VPIP: 49.64, PFR: 24.18, 3Bet Preflop: 9.33, Hands: 2,080)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A K A 4

CO raises to 3.5 BB, BTN raises to 12 BB, fold, Hero raises to 40 BB, CO raises to 51.97 BB and is all-in, BTN calls 39.97 BB, Hero calls 11.97 BB

Flop: (156.4 BB, 3 players) K 9 A
Hero bets 155.4 BB, BTN calls 48.04 BB and is all-in

Turn: (252.47 BB, 3 players) K

River: (252.47 BB, 3 players) 6

Hero shows A K A 4 (Full House, Aces full of Kings)

Main Pot [156.4 BB]: (Pre 43%, Flop 70%, Turn 100%)
Side Pot#1 [96.07 BB]: (Pre 58%, Flop 80%, Turn 100%)

CO shows Q J A 3 (Two Pair, Aces and Kings)

Main Pot [156.4 BB]: (Pre 23%, Flop 13%, Turn 0%)

BTN shows J 8 9 T (Two Pair, Kings and Nines)

Main Pot [156.4 BB]: (Pre 34%, Flop 17%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [96.07 BB]: (Pre 43%, Flop 20%, Turn 0%)

Hero wins 96.07 BB
Hero wins 155.4 BB

No interesting hand histories to post. September is here and I'm excited about Poker. Continuing to study and finding things I'm doing wrong or could be doing better. Still trying to get a run to stick at 200PLO, but no luck so far: -23 buy ins (-19 buy ins ev-adjusted) over 12k hands. I just need to figure out the right adjustments as most of these players are super LAGs. Crazy stats like 50/30/10-20. I've made some unfortunate bluff catches that have set me back a lot and just running into big hands (ran into quads like 5 times in the last 4k hands). I believe I just need to continue playing solid and hopefully card distribution will fall in my favor soon as there's not much you can do when you're not making great hands, and you run into the top of the range of the maniacs.

However, 100PLO is continuing to go well for me. We're up to $7500 ($9454 ev adjusted) over 43.3k hands. Kind of sad that my attempts at breaking through at 200PLO have wiped out most of those profits, but we just need to press on!



I've started going to the gym again recently and I'm excited about that. Two years ago I was 138lbs after finishing a half-marathon and decided to start lifting while recovering from the race. I got hooked on lifting and 8 months later I was a little over 170lbs. The past year being busy with other things in life that all got away from me. Currently like 154lbs and my goal is to get back to where I was previously. Other than that, still trying to figure out where I want to be in the future.

Hey, recognized your username from the PLO Mastermind discord! Subbed and gl with your joirney.

Seems like you're playing more online anyway, but wanted to touch on your foray into the live streets.

I study for live PLO with a guy here in Houston. I am quite extroverted and he sounds more like you: a bit quieter but of course friendly. Despite that we're playing exteremely similar (folding A LOT), he receives much more negative feedback from the player pool than I do. Unfortunately, I think it is directly correlated to interaction with others at the table. It also sours me when another player says something to me about playing tight (more than I care to admit!), so I've found the best way to combat that, although not forcibly with terrible small talk, is to strike up/engage in conversation at the table.

Thank you, thank you! Good to see a fellow MM member.

Ah yeah, I guess that's just how it goes - personality disadvantage maybe . It feels a bit unnatural to force it as in my experience so far, I haven't really been able to relate to the players at the table, but it's something I'll definitely try to work on. Especially if I plan to play more live. We'll see how it goes in the future . Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience here.

---

I've been trying to study more than play this past week so not a lot of volume, but I played some short sessions that have gone well and put me on a nice upswing. Tables haven't been busy too and break pretty quickly, but it's nice to put in a solid hour of playing and walk away feeling good.

A bit of a milestone is that I hit 10k or 100 buy ins in ev at 100PLO. And I'm 8.2k in realized profit - so hopefully will hit 10k realized soon!



I'll probably continue to take shots at 200PLO when it runs, but it might worth just focusing on 100PLO for a while more and padding my bankroll.

Here was a big hand from today's session:

$1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 5 players

SB: 42.01 BB (VPIP: 57.48, PFR: 6.60, 3Bet Preflop: 1.60, Hands: 2,071)
BB: 148.6 BB (VPIP: 38.93, PFR: 11.73, 3Bet Preflop: 2.11, Hands: 2,002)
Hero (UTG): 134.38 BB
CO: 63.23 BB (VPIP: 50.92, PFR: 3.97, 3Bet Preflop: 1.38, Hands: 1,041)
BTN: 447.9 BB (VPIP: 69.44, PFR: 45.83, 3Bet Preflop: 12.90, Hands: 73)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 5 5 3 3

Hero raises to 3.5 BB, fold, BTN raises to 12 BB, fold, BB calls 11 BB, Hero calls 8.5 BB

This raise feels a bit loose to rfi here in this game, but I think it's still ok - just would prefer double suited because I feel BTN will 3bet a lot. Of course, BTN does 3bet. Definitely not going anywhere.

Flop: (36.5 BB, 3 players) 8 3 K
BB bets 17.24 BB, Hero calls 17.24 BB, BTN calls 17.24 BB

BB leading here is sort of interesting to me - not sure that he should have many leads here and this is a pretty static flop. A lot of the time this is either sets or two pair. KK is a real possibility here from BB. I think I have an easy call - definitely not folding and I don't see a reason to raise with bottom set here. Some players will just get 2P in vs a raise here, but I figure it's best to keep ranges wider with a call especially multiway. BTN is going to call with their AA and pairs + bd draws - not really concerned about him at all and it's good to keep him in the pot.

Turn: (88.22 BB, 3 players) 7
BB bets 85.22 BB, Hero raises to 105.14 BB and is all-in, BTN raises to 232.04 BB, BB calls 34.14 BB and is all-in

BB blasting it here on the turn is concerning. At this point I'm pretty worried about KK. I think if I were deeper, I would just have to fold. But in this particular situation, after thinking for a while, I decide that BB could definitely just be blasting here with some decent made hand + draw...I can't be super worried about running into a higher set: KT98, K876, AK89, AK78, etc. I'm not concerned about BTN here as I think he'll either just fold or come along with any draw - maybe AA + fd. So I put the rest in.

River: (432.08 BB, 3 players) 9

BTN shows A A T 9 (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [403.64 BB]: (Pre 38%, Flop 10%, Turn 33%)
Side Pot#1 [28.44 BB]: (Pre 62%, Flop 45%, Turn 64%)

BB shows A 2 K A (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [403.64 BB]: (Pre 19%, Flop 2%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [28.44 BB]: (Pre 38%, Flop 55%, Turn 36%)

Hero shows 5 5 3 3 (Three of a Kind, Threes)

Main Pot [403.64 BB]: (Pre 43%, Flop 88%, Turn 67%)

BB wins 14.22 BB
BTN wins 14.22 BB
Hero wins 400.64 BB

Pretty sweet to see we have so much equity on the turn. Was correct about BB not having to have KK here. However, I was surprised to see they both have AA. I'm even more surprised to see BB drawing dead on the turn lol. Pretty happy with how I played it. Would have been sick if I was deeper and BB got me to fold.

I had a pretty sick session last night. Started off pretty bad, running under ev and just not making hands + running into weird spots and big hands. I was down about 4 buy ins and considering calling it a night, but I felt like I was still making good decisions and doing well to minimize losses, so I continued to play. Then I went on a big upswing and finished the session +9.5 buy ins. It's been a while since I had a single session where I just went on a big upswing. I was just running super well and making big hands and getting called by worse. I almost feel guilty about it since I'm so used to grinding wins out .



It's also pretty sick that my overall ev is beginning to converge at 100PLO. I am now at 9.1k and 10.3k adjusted for ev. Hopefully good things continue. I think I'll still try to pad my roll more until I jump back into the 200PLO streets, but I'll probably just give it a shot if I'm feeling good.

Welp, I said I wanted to pad my roll a bit more before taking a 200PLO shot again unless I was feeling good. Tonight, the table was good, and I was feeling good, so I jumped in. Things are going well and I'm up a buy in. I'm deep with a weaker player who is a bit of a maniac. This is what ensues:

$2 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 5 players

SB: 599.32 BB (VPIP: 40.92, PFR: 23.33, 3Bet Preflop: 10.77, Hands: 529)
BB: 35.53 BB (VPIP: 71.11, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 47)
Hero (UTG): 208.6 BB
CO: 332.17 BB (VPIP: 65.67, PFR: 7.46, 3Bet Preflop: 4.37, Hands: 340)
BTN: 99 BB (VPIP: 31.85, PFR: 17.52, 3Bet Preflop: 6.11, Hands: 319)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7 T T K

Hero raises to 3.5 BB, CO calls 3.5 BB, fold, SB raises to 6 BB, fold, Hero calls 2.5 BB, CO calls 2.5 BB

Ok, annoying min raise that we're pretty much treating as a call.

Flop: (19 BB, 3 players) 5 T K
SB bets 17.95 BB, Hero calls 17.95 BB, fold

This is great, we have middle set and the top set blocker. I'd be a bit more concerned without our blocker given the min 3bet preflop, but this is otherwise looking good. We unblock all of the flush draws and straight draws that this particular player will pile money in with. They could be piling money in with bottom set or AA too as we've seen before. I think a raise here is fine, but I decide to see if we get a safe turn to pile the money in as villain is unlikely to slow down after potting flop.

Turn: (54.89 BB, 2 players) 3
SB bets 53.39 BB, Hero raises to 184.65 BB and is all-in, SB calls 131.26 BB

This is as about as safe as we can get without improving our hand. Villain is once again potting, and we have a pretty comfortable all-in.

River: (424.19 BB, 2 players) 8

Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: (424.19 BB, 2 players) 6

SB shows K K 2 7 (Three of a Kind, Kings)
Board #1 (Pre 65%, Flop 95%, Turn 98%)
(Three of a Kind, Kings)
Board #2 (Pre 65%, Flop 95%, Turn 97%)

Hero shows 7 T T K (Three of a Kind, Tens)
Board #1 (Pre 35%, Flop 5%, Turn 3%)
(Three of a Kind, Tens)
Board #2 (Pre 35%, Flop 5%, Turn 3%)

SB wins 211.35 BB
SB wins 211.35 BB

Welp, I thought I was about to rake in a nice win, but it turns out I'm nearly drawing dead. K blocker is no good as we run into top set. ****! I *cannot* get a successful run going when shot taking higher stakes. This one hurt. Reminds me when I took a shot at 1kPLO and lost AAxx vs QQxx all-in pre ^_^'.

Eventually the game breaks, but someone sits me HU. Things are going well, I'm grinding away, and eventually I'm up a buy in and slightly winning for the session. I can breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe I should take this as a win and go do something else. Nah, we can't do that. We just took a buy in off of this guy and should stay to battle it out. This is a good spot for us too.

Another player joins the table interrupting our match. Then we play this hand with our original opponent:


$2 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 3 players

BTN: 99.5 BB (VPIP: 64.86, PFR: 43.71, 3Bet Preflop: 16.45, Hands: 1,087)
Hero (SB): 238.02 BB
BB: 73.36 BB (VPIP: 68.18, PFR: 18.18, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 22)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 5 6 8 8

BTN raises to 3.5 BB, Hero calls 3 BB, fold

Flop: (8 BB, 2 players) K 5 8
Hero checks, BTN bets 2.52 BB, Hero raises to 11.97 BB, BTN raises to 32.97 BB, Hero raises to 106.47 BB, BTN calls 63.03 BB and is all-in

Turn: (200 BB, 2 players) 6

River: (200 BB, 2 players) T

Hero shows 5 6 8 8 (Three of a Kind, Eights)
(Pre 58%, Flop 51%, Turn 38%)
BTN shows 6 9 6 7 (Straight, Ten High)
(Pre 42%, Flop 49%, Turn 63%)
BTN wins 199 BB

Our opponent here only runs it once and we lose flip handing back over their buy in that we won. Standard stuff. PLO, losing flips. But god damn is this frustrating given the context of this game. Nothing is going our way...again.

Third guy leave eventually and we're back to playing HU. I appreciate this guy continuing to battle because as much as I try to play HU, most people either insta sit out or don't play for long before leaving. Unfortunately, things continue to go south. We don't make any hands. When we bluff with our good blockers, we get raised. When we bluff, we get hero called by our man who doesn't really care if he has blockers or not. When we finally make some decent hands, he folds. Omni-opponent!

Eventually he leaves and we finish the session -2 buy ins. Just -2 buy ins. Pretty standard stuff. Pretty dramatic post for losing just 2 buy ins. But the continued failed shots piles onto my frustration. 13k hands of 200 PLO. Down 25 buy ins. I'm running under ev, but only 7 buy ins under ev. I know I've made some pretty big ev mistakes in certain spots, but this is a pretty brutal run given I'm trying to break through a higher stake level - I think I'm definitely running into some unfortunate situations. I don't think I would perform as well as I have at 100PLO and then just die at one stake level higher where the players aren't much different. All I can do is study more, grind, and hope I get a positive run eventually that sticks.

Some old hand histories I was looking back on to hammer home my fun times shot taking at higher stakes. Figure I can share some big pots I've played given I'm a 100PLO reg.

$10 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 4 players

Hero (CO): $1,428.58
BTN: $727.69 (VPIP: 81.37, PFR: 67.43, 3Bet Preflop: 43.37, Hands: 793)
SB: $373.56 (VPIP: 43.22, PFR: 29.88, 3Bet Preflop: 16.28, Hands: 2,824)
BB: $2,539.47 (VPIP: 40.00, PFR: 26.67, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 30)

SB posts SB $5.00, BB posts BB $10.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $15.00) Hero has T A 2 A

Hero raises to $35.00, BTN raises to $120.00, fold, fold, Hero raises to $375.00, BTN calls $255.00

Flop: ($765.00, 2 players) 5 8 Q
Hero bets $572.25, BTN calls $352.69 and is all-in

Turn: ($1,470.38, 2 players) K

River: ($1,470.38, 2 players) 7

Hero shows T A 2 A (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 71%, Flop 14%, Turn 15%)
BTN shows Q Q 2 6 (Three of a Kind, Queens)
(Pre 29%, Flop 86%, Turn 85%)
BTN wins $1,468.38



$5 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 6 players

UTG: $320.72 (VPIP: 60.93, PFR: 38.74, 3Bet Preflop: 11.46, Hands: 304)
MP: $763.76 (VPIP: 48.23, PFR: 16.37, 3Bet Preflop: 0.99, Hands: 228)
CO: $778.23 (VPIP: 21.66, PFR: 16.97, 3Bet Preflop: 7.46, Hands: 569)
Hero (BTN): $729.80
SB: $2,477.20 (VPIP: 64.24, PFR: 13.25, 3Bet Preflop: 4.88, Hands: 153)
BB: $625.50 (VPIP: 29.81, PFR: 22.74, 3Bet Preflop: 10.38, Hands: 1,340)

SB posts SB $2.50, BB posts BB $5.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $7.50) Hero has A A 3 3

fold, MP raises to $17.50, CO raises to $60.00, Hero raises to $205.00, fold, fold, MP raises to $682.50, CO raises to $778.23 and is all-in, Hero calls $524.80 and is all-in, MP calls $81.26 and is all-in

Flop: ($2,264.82, 3 players) 5 9 T

Turn: ($2,264.82, 3 players) 4

River: ($2,264.82, 3 players) 4

MP shows A Q 3 A (Flush, Ace High)

Main Pot [$2,196.90]: (Pre 29%, Flop 48%, Turn 42%)
Side Pot#1 [$67.92]: (Pre 50%, Flop 61%, Turn 64%)

CO shows 6 J Q 5 (Two Pair, Fives and Fours)

Main Pot [$2,196.90]: (Pre 41%, Flop 38%, Turn 36%)
Side Pot#1 [$67.92]: (Pre 51%, Flop 39%, Turn 36%)

Hero shows A A 3 3 (Two Pair, Aces and Fours)

Main Pot [$2,196.90]: (Pre 31%, Flop 14%, Turn 22%)

MP wins $67.92
MP wins $2,193.90

Tried to get in a lot more volume the past couple of days. Extremely bad results at 100PLO. I was up 19 buy ins for the month after this amazing upswing. Of course it was followed by a horrible subsequent downswing. I pretty much erased the whole upswing as I am now down 17 buy-ins over the past few thousand hands. I should be down 10 buy-ins in ev, but I'm also running bad with my all-ins. I don't even think I'm making huge mistakes, I just cannot showdown a winning hand to save my ****ing life.

I probably lost the most to this mega drooler that played *every* pot he could with me. This guy never folded a ****ing hand and managed to bet in every situation. Playing someone like this *should* be a good spot. Unfortunately, when they're running well, you get ****ing crushed. "They can't have it every time" you keep telling yourself as you click call and get shown the better hand. "They've been calling every flop bet; they have to be weak on these turns" you say to yourself as you bet and get jammed on. "We can go for thin value here against this droolers infinitely wide range and blocking the nuts" you say to yourself as you bet large with the second nuts and get called by *the* nuts again. Then you cry as you see the guy jamming the nut low into other players. It's the most god damn miserable ****ing tilting experience.

This is the most tilted I've felt in a very long time. I mean, I very much wanted to throw my mouse at a wall. While I *do* chalk a lot of this up to card distribution, it does make me feel like I suck. I spent hours and hours studying. I tried to incorporate new ideas into my game. And I just go on a huge downswing and lose 20% of my role.

Continuing to grind. Still facing quite a bit of variance. I feel slightly guilty about my previous post. I complain about variance so much. In one sense, it's cathartic to have a place to rant about it. In another sense, I understand it's part of the game, so I feel like a fish when I rant. Of course, if I'm doing an update and the result is that I'm running bad, I'm going to talk about it. But I'd rather not let tilt follow me outside of the game and go on a mega rant. I need to continue to play and study. One reason why I experience such negative emotions when running bad is due to uncertainty. I'm not sure if I'm making bad plays in certain spots and that makes the negative emotions more severe. With study comes confidence. With confidence comes less uncertainty. Altogether you are more equipped to handle the swings. It will always feel bad to run under ev, but removing the uncertainty of bad play makes these things more manageable.

The ev downswing from this past week wasn't too bad and I've pretty much recovered in that area. Unfortunately, my realized results didn't manage the same. But I continue to study and feel more confident. I'm definitely making a fair share of blunders. PLO is tough.



Overall, my results continue to be good and I'm doing well since I started this thread. Seeing my results in sum reminds me that I act somewhat entitled when the cards aren't falling in my favor.

More swingy results in the past few sessions with some wildish hands. Up about 6 buy ins overall. Happy that I got in more volume than usual.

$1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 5 players[/b]

Hero (CO): $487.46
BTN: $114.25 (VPIP: 25.82, PFR: 19.10, 3Bet Preflop: 7.34, Hands: 590)
SB: $375.39 (VPIP: 95.30, PFR: 64.43, 3Bet Preflop: 26.85, Hands: 302)
BB: $238.80 (VPIP: 45.04, PFR: 18.32, 3Bet Preflop: 1.90, Hands: 267)
UTG: $85.00 (VPIP: 70.53, PFR: 18.95, 3Bet Preflop: 5.50, Hands: 195)

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has J 7 J T


UTG calls $1.00, Hero raises to $4.50, fold, SB calls $4.00, BB calls $3.50, UTG calls $3.50

Meh hand, but shorthanded I think raising is ok

Flop: ($18.00, 4 players) T J 6
SB bets $11.33, BB raises to $50.99, UTG raises to $80.50 and is all-in, Hero raises to $320.82, fold, BB calls $183.31 and is all-in

Ok, some wild flop action for a singled raised pot. Flopping top set is pretty good, but the board is very dynamic, and we lack redraws and block a FH out. I'd like to play a smaller pot here especially deep stacked with the blinds, but everyone in front of me decided to start piling money in. This spot becomes very weird now. I think what I *should* be doing is just flatting EPs repot and hoping for a safe turn to GII *especially* when SB is involved here at nearly 400bbs. And BB is still quite deep as well. However, seeing how these players will shove money on the flop with all sorts of ****, I decided to donk jam with a marginal top set. BB shows up with a hand I would not expect and actually has great equity here.

I definitely don't feel happy with all of the action in front of me. Even if I think people are jamming worse here, I don't like my play. As I said previously, being so deep, I think calling is much better as it reduces variance *and* we may keep SB in the pot and we may be able to stack him on safe turns. I think I just felt pressured to GII because of so many bad turns, but it's not correct.

Turn: ($578.43, 3 players) T

*breathes a sigh of relief*

River: ($578.43, 3 players) 8

Hero shows J 7 J T (Full House, Jacks full of Tens)

Main Pot [$270.83]: (Pre 27%, Flop 39%, Turn 92%)
Side Pot#1 [$307.60]: (Pre 32%, Flop 52%, Turn 94%)

BB shows A 9 A 7 (Straight, Jack High)

Main Pot [$270.83]: (Pre 49%, Flop 46%, Turn 6%)
Side Pot#1 [$307.60]: (Pre 67%, Flop 48%, Turn 6%)

UTG shows 6 6 9 K (Full House, Sixes full of Tens)

Main Pot [$270.83]: (Pre 25%, Flop 15%, Turn 3%)

Hero wins $307.60
Hero wins $267.83

---

$1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 4 players

Hero (BB): $372.13
CO: $120.92 (VPIP: 73.59, PFR: 12.27, 3Bet Preflop: 4.44, Hands: 2,726)
BTN: $148.51 (VPIP: 41.25, PFR: 12.43, 3Bet Preflop: 2.95, Hands: 3,349)
SB: $124.43 (VPIP: 69.44, PFR: 27.42, 3Bet Preflop: 4.49, Hands: 378)

SB posts SB $0.50, Hero posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has T 9 7 6

CO calls $1.00, BTN calls $1.00, SB raises to $5.00, Hero calls $4.00, CO calls $4.00, BTN calls $4.00

Flop: ($20.00, 4 players) 4 6 8
SB bets $18.89, Hero raises to $61.39, CO raises to $115.92 and is all-in, BTN raises to $143.51 and is all-in, fold, Hero calls $82.12

Here we have a good wrap and a weak FD. Not really sure what SB is cbetting so big with on this board - I guess a straight or set w/ some blockers. These guys always play wild and merged so who knows. I don't really like my raise here. I think I just wanted to get it in vs a weak straight and try to fold out better flush draws, but I think calling here is better without the NFD multiway. Sometimes I'm getting lost in this spots tbh and this player pool is just bloating pots with all sorts of hands that it makes turns difficult to play. Once CO and BTN jam, I expect to be up against the NFD and a made straight which is what they show up with. Pushing a very small edge here.

Turn: ($441.83, 3 players) 7

Bink.

River: ($441.83, 3 players) T

Feels good to hold, man.

Hero shows T 9 7 6 (Straight, Ten High)

Main Pot [$386.65]: (Pre 40%, Flop 35%, Turn 75%)
Side Pot#1 [$55.18]: (Pre 52%, Flop 64%, Turn 92%)

CO shows 2 2 A 6 (One Pair, Sixes)

Main Pot [$386.65]: (Pre 25%, Flop 32%, Turn 17%)

BTN shows 8 7 5 A (Straight, Eight High)

Main Pot [$386.65]: (Pre 35%, Flop 34%, Turn 8%)
Side Pot#1 [$55.18]: (Pre 48%, Flop 36%, Turn 8%)

Hero wins $55.18
Hero wins $384.65

Similar to the previous hand, I think I just need to call in these spots more often. But it's tough when a lot of these players will shove stacks and stacks with even marginal hands - "Pair and a flush draw? Let's shove in a stack or two!". Very high variance spots.

---

$1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 6 players

Hero (SB): $145.76
BB: $124.43 (VPIP: 74.14, PFR: 25.86, 3Bet Preflop: 10.00, Hands: 60)
UTG: $382.58 (VPIP: 69.07, PFR: 27.97, 3Bet Preflop: 3.60, Hands: 237)
MP: $237.61 (VPIP: 76.07, PFR: 12.39, 3Bet Preflop: 1.49, Hands: 235)
CO: $324.50 (VPIP: 34.02, PFR: 20.17, 3Bet Preflop: 7.98, Hands: 4,640)
BTN: $74.00 (VPIP: 55.45, PFR: 33.64, 3Bet Preflop: 13.64, Hands: 110)

Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has K J J Q

fold, MP calls $1.00, fold, fold, Hero raises to $4.00, BB raises to $13.00, MP calls $12.00, Hero calls $9.00

Flop: ($39.00, 3 players) T J 3
Hero checks, BB bets $36.84, MP calls $36.84, Hero raises to $132.76 and is all-in, BB calls $74.59 and is all-in, MP calls $95.92

Pretty straight forward spot. Could go for a slow play, but I think fast play is better multiway.

Turn: ($415.95, 3 players) 7

River: ($415.95, 3 players) J

Noice.

BB shows K A K A (Two Pair, Aces and Jacks)

Main Pot [$373.29]: (Pre 56%, Flop 13%, Turn 6%)

MP shows 9 4 9 Q (Two Pair, Jacks and Nines)

Main Pot [$373.29]: (Pre 15%, Flop 13%, Turn 14%)
Side Pot#1 [$42.66]: (Pre 21%, Flop 15%, Turn 14%)

Hero shows K J J Q (Four of a Kind, Jacks)

Main Pot [$373.29]: (Pre 30%, Flop 74%, Turn 81%)
Side Pot#1 [$42.66]: (Pre 79%, Flop 85%, Turn 86%)

Hero wins $42.66
Hero wins $370.29

Like I mentioned in the previous hands, people are happy to get many types of hands in on the flop making the more marginal spots difficult to navigate. Here we had a straightforward decision of course and it feels good to hold.

---

$1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 6 players

BTN: $106.78 (VPIP: 48.57, PFR: 21.43, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 71)
SB: $399.32 (VPIP: 60.26, PFR: 37.09, 3Bet Preflop: 12.12, Hands: 152)
BB: $103.16 (VPIP: 84.34, PFR: 18.61, 3Bet Preflop: 0.76, Hands: 2,469)
Hero (UTG): $150.41
MP: $41.78 (VPIP: 70.18, PFR: 42.98, 3Bet Preflop: 9.68, Hands: 115)
CO: $76.58 (VPIP: 47.22, PFR: 25.38, 3Bet Preflop: 0.57, Hands: 1,409)

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: (pot: $1.50) Hero has J T 9 7

Hero raises to $3.50, fold, CO calls $3.50, fold, SB raises to $15.00, fold, Hero raises to $49.50, fold, SB calls $34.50

Not the highest EV RFI for this game, but it will do. SB squeezes and I go for a "wtf 4bet". Definitely not a standard play and not something I would do often. However, SB is super 3bet happy and positionally unaware. So, I thought a 4bet from EP would get some credit and we have position + ability to maneuver post having position.

Flop: ($103.50, 2 players) J T J
SB checks, Hero bets $33.16, SB raises to $144.37, Hero calls $67.75 and is all-in

Lucky flop, bet small and hopes he stacks off with any piece. We get jammed on and fist pump call.

Turn: ($305.32, 2 players) 9

River: ($305.32, 2 players) K

****.

SB shows K A J Q (Full House, Jacks full of Kings)
(Pre 56%, Flop 40%, Turn 23%)
Hero shows J T 9 7 (Full House, Jacks full of Tens)
(Pre 44%, Flop 60%, Turn 78%)
SB wins $302.32

That was a fun play, I'll probably never do it again.

It's been nearly a month since I've updated this thread! I haven't been playing a ton of Poker lately, but have had decent results. Pretty much fully out of my downswing at 100PLO. 200PLO still isn't going my way - ev line going up, but green line not so much. I took a couple of weeks off from Poker to do other things and sadly I didn't feel a huge urge to get back. Since then, I've been putting in short sessions which feels better than playing a lot and not playing at all.

I think I just don't really have the desire to grind right now as it feels like a waste of time - a similar dilemma to last year. There's no way I can replace SWE with what I'm doing now; good money, less stress. I'm not sure why I need to frame these things as binary decisions, but I think I will just overall play less because I *do* still have some Poker goals. My current bankroll is 5.4k (we started with ~1k this year) and I'd still like to hit 20k. I think regardless if I hit 20k, I will still continue to study on and off as I want to play in some WSOP events during the summer.

But overall, I'm not confident if Poker is the best side hustle! With a winrate of 15.66/bb (17.80bb/100 ev-adjusted) at 100PLO over just under 60k hands, I don't think I have much room to complain. I think these are results anyone would be very happy with. But it's definitely a lot of effort (and I'm not even working as hard as I can be) for what doesn't feel like much reward! Of course, the goal is to get to higher stakes where the money can have an impact. But I think what I *really* want is to build something that can generate passive income. But the game is always there when I want to play and I know I can make money from it.

Currently I'm working on some software for PLO study and I'm finding that more fun to focus on. It's a tool to more easily study solver outputs. So my focus will probably be on this and finding a new job - only playing Poker occasionally. We'll what happens though, and I'll just keep updating this thread with results.

Here is my 100PLO graph as of today:


These games have been good and quite soft. One thing that surprises me is that I know there are at least a couple of pros in the pool I play with, and they are quite bad. I think they mainly play NLHE and supplement their volume with PLO, but it still surprises me to see all of the mistakes they make. I know some people pride themselves on being feel players or just plainly not studying or being skeptical of GTO - but even just a little studying pushed my own game a long way.

Was bored today and decided to play a session. Got lucky with my all-ins in some big spots and ended up the session +7 buy ins. This puts me at 10k (11k ev-adjusted) for 100PLO. Bankroll is currently 6.1k.



Winning is always fun, but overall didn't enjoy the session much. Swings don't make me feel good especially when I'm not grinding a lot and lose familiarity with the process. It may be worth jumping into the 200PLO streets again, but not sure if it's a great idea if I'm not even feeling good from 100PLO swings. I'm just continuing to play when I feel like it though which is a bit liberating.

Still working on my PLO study software which I'm enjoying - hopefully I can share some of it here soon.