September 1-6
I logged just over 20 hours in my first week back at the tables. Aside from mini-challenges where I crank out volume, 20 hrs/week is the high end of what I want to play, since that doesn't factor in study time or online practice (I recently put $ on Bovada). So far playing has gone well and I'm enjoying the room and the games, which are good as ever.
It's been fun trying to decipher the different classes of regs in these games.
There's a lot of noise and distraction in live poker, obviously, and it can be tough to separate a reg-fish from a winning grinder, or a winning grinder from a crusher.
For instance, I had pegged one guy as a potential crusher until he 6bet-shipped AK pre for 300BBs vs. a guy who 5bets light 0% of the time (5bettor snapped with AA obv). Now I'm thinking he's more of a button-clicker who watches too many Tom Dwan highlights.
Sometimes these difference appear in more subtle ways. I had the chance to play with roaming PGC hero Duke, who stopped in Nola on his way back west. He outclassed the local winning grinders not b/c of huge bluffs or polarized 3bets, but b/c of solid workmanlike play, esp thin value-betting.
Tricky Turn Spot
I iso a limper to 15 with 6
6
on the button. The SB, a forties guy who seems like a reg-fish, quickly 3-bets to 40. We've played for 4+ hours together, this is his first 3-bet, he has a premium here always, I flat with a little over 300 behind.
flop 6
7
2
(85), he bets 60, I flat.
turn K
(205), he checks, I have 230 behind, WTF do you do here?