Second session of 2017 I ran well again. 5 hours at 1.2 Twin River ++517.

2017--- +787 over 9 hrs

Doubled up with AA early on thru TPGK.

Big hand:

Hero (450) A10

LAG opens up to 12 and 4 callers in front--- Hero completes in MP---

Flop (70) J410

Older guy (300) reg bets 30---- younger guy (200) flats--- I decide to flat and everyone else folds.

Turn (160) is Q

Older guy bets 30---- kid shoves for 168---- I decide to flat--- older guy flats.

River (670) is K Older guy checks and I jam and he folds.

Nice pot for 1.2 on a Monday.

Cheers!

Well played.

Have had two sessions since I posted last. Both of which were losing.

Pretty card dead in each and generally okay with my play besides one small ~50 river bluff that made 0 sense against a super loose station on a 4 flush board.

5 hours -210 Twin River
4 hours -168 Manchester Poker

2017: 18 hours for +409

Have been a lot more social lately and am spending less time on Cape Cod. Studying for personal training certification and overall not wanting to travel 90 mins to Twin River has also contributed to a lack of volume.

Expect more volume in the spring and summer.

In other news........ Never really thought of downloading podcasts and listening to them while I drive. I now get about 15 hours of podcasts in a week just during my usual driving. Its borderline life changing. Its like adding 15 hours to my week with all the learning I can squeeze in.

I have always loved Tony Robbins so naturally I have been going through his podcast show. Also Tim Ferris. Have jumped into the art of charm which is well done as well.

Anyways cheers! Enjoy your life.

-210 Manchester Poker Room 3 hours
+152 last Monday at Twin River 5 hours

2017: 26 hours for +351.

Since beginning of thread: +++++3922 / 276 hours= 14.12 hourly.

I started this thread 11 months ago, aim to get back to updating more frequently.

Big hand I had last weekend was a little fortunate--- I will keep it brief:

A8 limp/call in MP. 7 players to flop for $12.

Flop (86) 679.

Two checks to hero, hero checks with intention of CRAI. Only 1 villain covers and all others are under 175 (Hero has ~230)

CO (140) bets 50, Hero CRAI and everyone folds to CO who calls.

Turn ($346) 3 River 10

Not exactly any poker to be learned from that hand as IMO it played itself at 1.2 level. But it was fun to scoop in a pot, volume has been low to start 2017.

Have gotten away from poker a bit and hopefully will delve into that going forward. Happy to report my time away from poker has been nothing negative but instead I have found ways to spend times that are more fulfilling to my life.

Purchased a ticket to see Tony Robbins in NY for his Unleash the Power Within seminar. I am extremely grateful I had the funds to do so and am beyond words pumped up to partake in that experience

Cheers!

Dave my boy,

Now that I am out of the New England area, I need to live vicariously through you. Love the thread, and looking forward to more updates. Will be back in July for a few weeks, so hopefully we can meet up in Manch. Best of luck studying for the personal training certification, kill it.

-Boris

Its amazing the difference when your focus changes. The amount of focus I put on poker last year just made it seem so much easier to find "flow".

So to update the thread $ wise, I am now +87 for year over 38 hours. Need to get those numbers up and get back in my poker flow.

Other things have taken a priority over poker--- going to be diligent about pre-planning days to go to Twin River. That is by far my favorite venue.

My confidence is definitely not where it is due my lack of volume---- need to get those poker reps in if I want to keep that muscle strong.

Cheers to life!

Yes DUDE let me know when you are back and we can crush a casual session at NH.

Hope life is treating you well on the other side of the world and we will be in touch man! Keep crushing life----

Proud and happy to report back to back winning sessions at Twin River---

+131 on Sunday over 5 hours and +110 on Monday over 5 hours. (Far and away my favorite venue for 1.2)---

Game was outstanding on Monday, average stack was 350ish. I had 400-500 most of the time and was 3rd/4th stack. At one point I kept saying "great game for a monday" and everytime someone went all-in "flip 'em for the fans" and both of those sayings caught on like frikin wildfire. It was hilarious. Definitely both a fun and an amazing table to be playing cards at.

Totals:
+328 over 40 hours 2017
Total progress since started thread 12 months and 2 weeks ago:
++++3899 over 290 hours for $13.44.

Average volume has been about 23 hours a month---- pretty happy with that! Poker is something I enjoy and definitely can have a financial affect on my life, but is not a top priority in my life currently.

Have personal training exam in 80 days, pretty excited about that. Have been making sure I study at least 23 minutes each day. (yes my system has been that every day no matter what I set my IPhone timer on 23 minutes and go at least that long)

About to approach 400 days straight of using the app Headspace. Have meditated for about 120 hours in that time--- man oh man is that an amazing habit!

Nutrition and fitness have been a main priority of late. I must say it saddens me to see all the incorrect information out there about how to get in shape nowadays. If you are unsure I highly recommend "Bigger, Leaner, Stronger" by Mike Matthews.

And I have a ticket to Tony Robbins NY seminar--- Unleash the power within---- very different from the wealth seminar he just did with Tom Brady aka THE GOAT. This seminar is about 50 hours spanning of 4.5 days and I feel extremely grateful I can attend.


Cheers to life!

2+2 what is up fellas and ladies?!!

Wanted to give a life update.

Made it to the second interview and had my references called for a personal training job back home on the north shore.

Not sure if I will get it or not at this point, but either way I felt great about the process and accept where ever the chips may fall.

Headed off to Charlotte, NC this weekend to see two of my really close friends. It will be a great weekend to get away for a bit and enjoy life in a different way.

Have meditated for over a year straight-- my headspace app says 122 hours and 410 days straight to be exact. If anyone listens to Tim Ferriss podcast--- a common question of his is what is the most valuable >$100 purchase you have made--- mine is absolutely headspace right now.

Nutrition and gym have been really good. Simplified my program a bit and have been going for more progressive overload. Basically instead of going through long workouts I just make sure I am doing the "important" lifts for more weight or reps each week (ideally). That has produced great results. I also focus more on stretching and consistently get 6x workouts in a week (3x abs) for about 35-45 minutes. Track 3 or 4 days of the week on fitnesspal and really limit any "cheating".

(( reflection )) I remember back to absolute hopelessness and some of the darkest days in a detox----- after losing (what I then thought) was "everything". Also I was unable to do 8 push-ups--- about 19 months ago. And now we are here. Very blessed.

To anyone is struggling out there---- first find gratitude, create a vision and then put one foot in front of another. And dont stop. You will get going where you need to be going. Believe. And always have a beginner's mindset. I am still on this journey and have fallen more in love with putting one foot in front of another than I have fallen in love with the idea of a "destination."

Heres to life!

Today is 4.20.18. Today is also the day the world found out the Avicii died at 28. Dude 28 effing years old. I cant believe that. He was at his peak when I was in college and the days of partying to his music seem like yesterday.

If you are struggling while reading this post man, you are not alone. And people DO GROW and THRIVE past those demons.

It feels like a dream that I wrote this thread, went through all the rock bottoms BS, and actually lived in a sober house. But those beautiful things that happened to me saved my life.

To update: I have my dream job (in my dream area), I am one of the happiest people I know, and my relationships have been repaired and (in most cases) EXPONENTIALLY strengthened.

I can not recommend Tony Robbins and the app headspace enough, they have literally changed my life.

We all have those demons but I promise you can learn to be bigger than those and the only thing left of them will be the ( now ) beautiful life lessons they teach you on your PATH.

If you are reading this in a bad place, remember the universe has your back and YOU CAN pull through and past this NO MATTER how impossible it seems in the moment. I PROMISE.

Hey 2+2 community, I am back.

Starting a new poker run, havent had a lot of time to play and realized that I was missing that goal and challenge of being a profitable poker player.

Will give more updates about life later on: right now trying to bang out a post before I head to either Chasers in NH or Twin River tonight.

Started off ROUGH, lost 400 last night in NH.

I managed to be 0/10, with 99x4, 1010x4, JJx1 and AAx1. Only pot I won with a PP was a 22 dollar pot with 88.

Going to outline the 3 hands that defined the session: (not in chronological order, but in order of significance)

1. Hero (235) AA. Image is pretty tight, havent made any mistakes really, minimal showdown hands. Last hand of my night here.

UTG+1 makes it 10, UTG+2 calls, Hero makes it 35, MP (255) solid reg thinking player, cold calls. Both UTG players fold.

Flop (93) Q46

Hero leads 50, villain shoves.

I need to have about 29% equity to make this call. I dont have the A which means he hopefully has some AK hands, as well as KK. I do know he has a set of Qs a good amount of the time there, I do end up calling and run into a set of Queens. Board runs out no help for hero. I leave after.

2. Hero (305) sees JJ in the SB in a straddled pot.

I notice the straddle (who is reaching for money to rebuy-in with) down 2 or 3 buy-ins at this point has his stack in his hand and I get the live tell he is jamming his 55. I decide to flat the $5 and see if anyone to act after his jam flats, which allows me to potentially re-jam against ranges I should be way ahead of.

Plan works to an extent, straddle goes all-in for 55.

Everyone folds, I call. He has K10.

Board runs out ($130) KK5109.

So we run into the nuts and not a good start momentum wise.

3. Biggest pot I won was a small one.

Hero (260) K10. I limp MP.

Limps around.

Flop 1032.

Checks to me I bet 10, get one caller out of SB who is probably least experienced player at table.

Turn (30) 10.

He checks I bet 25, he calls.

River (80) 6

Kind of a gross river as 45 and flush draws get there.

He leads for 20, and I call. He shows 99.

And that was biggest pot over a 5.5 hour session.

Anyways glad to be back even if it wasnt an ideal start

Will be posting more again soon, cheers to life!

5.5 hours -400. Hourly -$72.72

Hey Dave, this is my first time coming across this thread and I respect your journey as a person and all of the improvement you've made in your life. It's a true inspiration. I also play in the southern New Hampshire area and was wondering why you don't play at Boston Billiards club? I've heard people say they don't like it for grinding for some reason, I think its extremely soft at 1/2.
Any side info on the NH poker rooms would be great! I'm newer and its tough to find good information on all the rooms in the area. I'm younger than you were when you first started this thread but I'm doing a similar "small BR" start. Maybe I'll run into you grinding and never know it!

Cheers

Hey man message me individually if you want and we can see if our schedules overlap for a session in NH.

As far as Boston Billiards goes; I am surprised I havent found my way to that room yet but have been planning on checking it out soon for sure.

NH games, Chasers is far and away the best room IMO. The problem is sometimes the 1.2 games are great and sometimes they are short stacked and too tight. Table selection is super important at all venues but especially in poker rooms vs casinos IMO. Days that they run promotions tend to have more 1.2 tables going and some better action so check out their site.

As far as some advice, when I started this thread with that 1200 dollars, I cant emphasize enough how important bankroll management is. You need to minimize your losses and maximize your gains.

There are studies about investors and humans are more likely to avoid loss than maximize gains. Loss aversion is the term, its our survival instinct.

I would much rather cut my losses early and take a medium sized losing session than digging myself deeper. When I have a big stack I would rather keep playing and run it up with good image/momentum. Many players do the opposite. I love playing deepstack 1.2 as I believe I am a superior hand reader.

Cheers! and hope to connect

Session 2:

Played 5 hours and really no hands of note, was extremely card dead and due to a bit of a winter storm we only had 3 tables running at Chasers. Played 5.5 hours.

-125. Only good news is we improved our hourly a bit from -72.

11 hours: -525 -$47.72 / hr

We finally had a session that has super worthy hands to chat about. THIS POST IS GOING TO BE VERY LONG.

Great tables last night at twin river. Wanted to leave at 2 A.M. but didnt budge until almost 5:45 A.M. The action and my feel for the table was great. Played 11 hours saw a lot of hands and the chips were moving at both tables.

We did lose -143, started off running bad early and was down 225 early bleeding chips over 5 hours but we ran it back up to +180 and we unfortunately missed our equity on a hand that would have brought our stack close to 1K.

Original plan was to post every VPIP hand in super depth, but settled on 10 and listing the others after w/o as much detail., but after playing 11 hours that is unreasonable, so listed below are our significant hands in order of significance.

1. Hero ( $620) AJ BB

MP opens to 12 (124) (he has limped a lot but opened rarely. Hero flats. And UTG flats as well (168).

Flop $37 ( A75)

I check, UTG checks, MP bets $25, I call and MP calls.

Reason I checked is I think any Ax hand for MP is betting, and if neither one has an Ace I dont want to blow them off this hand with me having TPGK and nut flush.

Turn $111 ( A752)

Not the best turn. I think I am usually behind MP Ace if he has one, losing to AQ, AK. Freerolling AJ. Beating A10. He might open A9ss but I think any other Ax he limps.

I check, my hand is still underrepped and I have 12 clean outs between FD and J. UTG checks. MP shoves for 87.

I need to have about 30% equity to make this call, even against AQ or AK I am 27%, so I just need 3% of the time for me to be ahead. If he somehow has A5 or A2 I am acutally 34% because I have counterfeit outs.

I flat. To my ABSOLUTE shock. UTG reshoves for 44 more. Easy call for me. He seemed checked out of the hand on the flop so I was shocked.

Our turn call totaled 27% of the pot and we end up having 27% equity.

MP turned 2 pair with A2. UTG never showed but I said you had AQ or AK right and he said yes I had you both outkicked before turn and I 100% believe that.

River ($460) 2

We were back to even after this and it was a big momentum swing hand.

2. AA OTB Hero (525)

This was going to be close to my last hand, and I look down at Aces.

CO (700) Very LAG good thinking player. We have been talking entire session and he was a cool guy/good LAG player.

Limps to CO, he opens to 15. I get a live tell he isnt super strong as he opened a lot and I decide to just flat and see if I can play a medium sized pot.

Sb (500) Very tight but solid player, semi knew to table, thinking player. Flats.

And UTG (33) Flats as well.

Not ideal 4 ways, but my hand is hidden and we have the button and can bet/fold very easily.

Flop ($58)

J72.

Checks to me. I bet $35, SB calls, UTG goes all-in for less, and CO calls.

Turn ($174) K

Super interesting card.

Checks to me, I bet/fold $65. SB starts to tank and I immediately get the feeling he is either folding or raising. To my chagrin he grabs 6 green chips and makes it $150. CO folds. And I take about 30 seconds before folding face up.

I get to see his hand due to short stack all-in and he shows 77.

Not ideal run out. Happy with my fold obviously.

CO told me he had J10 off and any 3 bet he is probably folding. So my read on his hand strength was correct and I am okay with my flat pre. I trust my hand reading and I think based on the dynamic it was a better EV play than turning my hand more face up so deep 3 ways.

3. QQ.

Hero ($280) MP I make itit 15. We get way too many callers and see flop 5 ways.

($75) 852.

UTG bets 15, MP calls 15, I make it 65. OTB (300) solid reg who I have played with in home games tank flats. Everyone else folds.

($235) 852K

I have 200 behind. I tank a little here. I am going to bet and if I run into a Kx spade draw that sucks, but other than that it does not seem like the worst card for my hand.

I elect to bet 100, my stack size was a little awkward here as I dont think any hand I beat can call 200 besides maybe A5 or 67. Button knows I am pretty tight.

He tank folds and shows me 1010.

Semi relieved when he folds until he showed I had him drawing to 2 outs.

4. K9 BB Hero (375)

MP opens to 6, 4 callers to me and I call 4 more. UTG limp/re raises to 15 and I grossly get priced into this hand after everyone calls.

Flop (70) AJ5.

Checks thru.

Turn (70) AJ52

Checks thru.

River (70) AJ525

UTG (240) Leads for $35 after 2 checks. It folds to me and I am last to act.

His hand makes no sense right now. He is pretty aggressive and I have played many home games with him. He would have bet a Ax or Jx on the turn, he likes to create his own action. Unless he has a 5 here I think I am good.

I tell him I think K9 is good, he responds it definitely is so you should call.

So I said well I think I am so I call 35 and show my K9 .

And he says your good, and I scoop a nice $140 pot with K high in a goofy spot.

5. Hero ($500) 107. I am in CO and elect to open for 12. Planning to use my tight image to my advantage as the players behind are pretty tight and especially the blinds.

I get 2 callers and we dont have to worry about bluffing because......

Flop ($45) A107.

Check to me I bet 20. 1 Fold and SB (350) seems like tight reg flats.

Turn ($85) A107K

Interesting turn card. Gives me a flush draw and bottom 2. Its funny cause my hand could look like AK or AQ and instead I have bottom 2 and a FD .

He checks and I bet $35, he takes about 30 seconds and calls.

River ($145) A107K3

Very good river. I dont think this player ever has A3.

He checks I bet $55 and he takes about 30 seconds and calls. He mucks and we scoop a nice little $265 pot with our 107ss.

6. Hero (400) Q10

Limps to CO next to me (800) who opens for 15. We elect to flat OTB and 3 limp callers come with.

Flop (75) 1085.

Pretty good flop for us in position. TPGK and backdoor S.

Checks to me. I bet 40. UTG who was the player I called down with K high prior, tank shoves 98 total (58 more ). Folds around to me and its a pretty easy call on such a wet board.

Turn/ River (275) 108565

Pretty good run out as hearts and straight draws dont get there.

Player flips over 86 and the whole table thought he got there on me and I think the dealer did too before I pointed I had 10s and 5s and we scoop a nice one.

Its funny because this hand probably never happens if I fold that K high early as he would have a deeper stack and most likely either folds his middle pair bad kicker, or his shove would be too deep for me to call. Interesting butterfly effect.

7. Q10

Hero ($300) HJ. MP makes it 10, 2 callers, I call and BB comes along as well.

Flop ($50) A96.

BB (250) older guy, super all over the place but fun for game and interacting with everyone.

He bets 10, MP calls, and my image is tight at this point so I make it $40.

BB calls and MP folds.

Turn ($140) A966.

UGh bad card here. BB checks, and I take a card.

River ($140) A966J

BB checks, and at this point I had seen him bet Ace rag prior so him checking turn and river I start to think he missed a FD too or has a 9.

I bet 40 and even though its a small bet based on what I saw the $ amount didnt matter to him much as he seemed to always be playing his hand without considering pot odds or ranges.

Unfortunately we run into the one hand that makes a lot of sense here, and he instant calls with A8.

Glad the didnt come and now his small bet/call on the flop makes a lot of sense.

8. Hero ($400) KQ

Open to $15 MP and get 4 callers.

Flop ($60) J95.

I am last to act and everyone checks, I bet $30 and SB (300) solid REG calls me and we see turn heads up.

Turn ($120) J95K.

He checks and I check planning to bet almost any river, would have bet if the board had a FD and if I wasnt drawing to a gutter myself. I kinda put him on JX so I wanted to look bluffy on river.

River ($120) J95K2

He checks, I bet 55 and he tank calls with K10. So we scoop a nice $230 on a fortunate turn.

9. Hero ($400) Ak

Hero opens to $15 in SB. 4 callers.

Flop ($60) KJ2

For some reason I get a little bit of a live tell that the BB ( player who flopped a set of 7s versus my 22 is going to bet. I see him grab $30.)

I elect to check based on this, and I want to see how action plays out behind me as this is actually a mediocre at best flop for AK when I hit TPTK.

I check. BB ($800) tight/good reg bets $30. MP who limp/called flats pretty quick. And I come along as well after other player folds.

Turn ($150) KJ210

This is a terrible card for me. Ak is now losing to any Kx besides KQ.

I check, and BB bets $60. UTG flats. And I take about 30 seconds before folding.

River ($270) KJ2105

BB puts UTG all-in for 70 and UTG tank folds AK lol

BB shows 22 for ANOTHER flopped set against my pretty big starting hand in 10 hands.

Definitely lost the minimum here at $45.

10. Hero ($335) 99

I open to 12 UTG, and get 2 callers.

Flop ($36) J98.

I lead out for 25 and one fold, and MP (loose reg with $190 behind calls).

Turn ($86) J984

I really think that he gets sticky with Jx and has a lot of draws mixed in his limping range.

I elect to bet potish at $80. He tank folds and I am okay-ish with that result. There are a lot of bad river cards that he could be a lot of pressure on me if I have to check river after a down bet. And I think my bet could look like a FD trying to bully him out.

The rest of my VPIP hands (kept track of everything in a notes APP. These are in chronological order because my notes were.

KJ ($295) call 10 4 ways out of BB. Board runs out A96

33($280) limp UTG and board runs broadway

99($275) call a raise out of BB for 12 5 ways. 725. I check to EVAL as I am new to table and it checks thru. Turn is a 10. I check, MP bets 40 which is reraised to 90 and we fold.

Q10($270) limp CO, see flop of K97. Fold to bet of 15.

88 ($260) HJ call 12 pre. 4 ways q6q SB bets 50.

K8. ($230) CO limp. Flop K53, I call 7, BB c/raises to 14, MP makes it 25. I fold. Turn is an 8. Check/check. River is a 5. BB makes it 35 and shows Q5 gross.

1010 ($320) UTG I make it 15. 4 callers. Flop Q26. SB who is tight leads 20 and I elect to fold with 3 players behind.

109 limp CO. Q72 with 2s. I lead 10 1 caller. Turn is a K. I bet 10, Sb calls. River is A. He checks I bet 15 with 2nd nuts and he calls. We win.

A5 ($275) Call 12 OTB. 4 ways. A93. Original raisor bets 20 and gets a call and that is my que to muck which I (maybe) should have pre.

AQ ($250) UTG+2 opens to 12, I call MP (maybe missed 3 bet here mistake, he was opening light and should have isolated). Flop 3 ways K45 he leads and we both fold.

A8 ($250) OTB, straddle pre, 3 limps. I make it 16 and we take it down pre.

Q8 ($280) I have a tight image and open HJ for 12 planning to use that image. Get 4 callers . Should have made it more if I am going to open. Flop 986 and we check thru (crushed limp/call ranges). Turn is a 4 and it goes bet, call, all-in and we fold.

KJ ($250) HJ I open to 7, get 2 callers. Q86, I fold to a 15 lead.

AQ:heart ($230) MP I open to 15, 2 callers. Flop J 10 7. UTG leads 27 and I fold. He wasnt deep enough to float for us.

KQ ($280) in BB. MP opens to 12, 2 callers and crazy player makes it 47 and we need to flop pre (bummah)

KQ ($250) open to 15 in MP over straddle. 1 callers. Flop K83. They check we bet 20 and take it.

QQ ($295) open to 12 in MP, 2 calls. 10 9 7. with FD. I bet 30 and both fold.

J10 ($305) open to 10 HJ. 2 calls. A 5 7. BB leads and I fold.

KK ($375) (right after I win a big pot with QQ, still stacking, I make a (I think) mistake here). I elect to limp UTG+2 over aggressive straddle who is tilted with 170 back. We see flop 5 ways no raise UGH. q85 (FD on board). I bet 20 1 caller out of BB. Turn is 3 (Q853). I bet 30. He calls. River is A (Q853A). I miss a bet on river and check down and he has Qx and we win.

A6 ($450) Open 10 in HJ. 3 callers. 784 with 2s. UTG bets 30 I fold.

A4. ($420) Limp CO. Flop 964 4 ways. I bet 8 after it checks to me. 2 callers. Turn is a K. Checks thru. River is a 3 checks thru. Both had Q6.

A8 ($500) Call 10 out of BB heads up versus prior villain from KQ vs K10 hand. Q76. We were relying on implied tilt odds LOL and we insta fold.

A6 ($470) HJ I limp. Button makes it 10 and we get 5 callers so I call for 8 more. 5 3 10 I fold to 30 lead.

108 ($400) BB check. 672. Checks thru. Turn is 9 for nuts. I bet 10. 2 calls. River is a 3. Bet 30 with nuts 1 call. Win.

Q10 ($450) UTG+2 limp. Flop Q 4 5. I bet 10 2 calls. Turn is a 5. I bet 20. 1 call. River is a 5. I bet 40. We chop he has Q7.

KK. Open 15 out of BB. 4 callers. A 4 3. SB leads 25 we fold.

98 ($375) This was the hand when I realized I was too tired to be playing profitable poker at almost 6 AM and 11 hours in; left after this hand. I open for 10 OTB. The guy who caught two sets against my AA and AK; makes its 35 out of SB. Folds to me and I flat. I dont love this at all I am not deep enough to make this call and its when I realized I had to leave cause I was too tired. Flop 872. He bets 40 and I minimize the damage and fold... Tell him I had pocket 9s and thats my que to make the 61 minute drive home.

Anyways we are at 23 hours and -668 over 23 hours for $-29.04/hr

Anyways, cheers to reading this far, it felt good to get all these hands out and for ( I think ) the first time I posted pretty much an ENTIRE 11 hour session on my thread


Cheers to life!

I really wish this was a post about poker but it is not.......

Life goes in peaks and valleys, after about 15 months of sobriety I drank for about 18 months. Things went fine for the first 14 and then stuff hit the fan pretty bad in my life 4ish months ago.

At the time things went south, I felt I had 95/100% of the things I wanted in life to be happy. This is problem thinking in itself.

Life was really good for a LONG time, while having alcohol in it. I had a job that paid well in group fitness, was in the best shape I had ever been, mentally was strong ( by my standards) , loved going out with my friends after being able to move back home near Boston, was closer to my family, had my own place, and was seemingly on the verge of making an amazing girl who I had been lightly dating, my girlfriend.

There is a great monologue by Craig Ferguson when he was still the late night show host, in which he says," I dont have a drinking problem, I have a thinking problem. " Could not be more true, addiction is never about the substance its about why someone is using the substance. What void are we trying to fill?

Anyways......

Girls have been my downfall my entire life, or I should word it, my reaction to girls has been my downfall. Between A. My super sensitive genes and B. My environment growing up as a kid..... It makes perfect sense why I need that validation and why I completely hate losing positive connection.

First straw...... the girl thing does not work out as I wished because of her career and it was super valid reasoning but I was really really happy when I was with her and it sucked. Next, work stress came, some new financial stress and before you know it I am going harder to medicate myself.

When you have gone through withdrawals as many times as I have it does not take much to trigger them, and they come on MUCH harder than before. It is called kindling and most alcoholics/addicts experience it after several withdrawals.

Anyways over the course of 4 months I lose that job, another job at the same organization ( which was a better opportunity I felt and it sucked to let them down), I spend all my money while unemployed, lose the good health I had been in, and overall manage to mess up my life pretty bad. WORST of all looking back, scare the **** out of my family/friends and lose some of my spirituality.

I must have gone through withdrawals 4 times over the 4 months and man they were brutal. Hallucinations, shakes, insomnia, disorientation, dizziness and the overwhelming sense of doom any addict knows.

I would get sober and be productive for 2 week spans and then boom right back into 5-7ish days of 25ish drinks. (I drink mostly nips so it is never hard to count). And then back to the withdrawals. Vicious cycle and a terrible way to live.

I did however manage to maintain a "fling" with a different girl throughout this and I guess that actually helped me not go completely off the deep end with drinking. But at the same token I knew I could always get a few drinks with her since I had kept her in the dark about my situation.

The thing with addiction is that is can be extremely complex, but the playbook is rather simple ( at least in my experience),

If you do the work on yourself, get help, do the reading/steps, hit your meetings, and trust your higher power; you stay sober.

I let my guard down, and I forgot to do the things that kept my life moving forward way back in 2015. Drinking was alright for awhile, but it quickly escalated itself into unmanageable levels.

I have since had to either lose, or willingly give up everything I had worked towards. I moved in with my dad because I know I need a safe place to work on me. Came clean to the girl because it was the right thing to do, and it sucked cause I knew that would end things between us. I am past withdrawals now for the most part, but I still get shakes and cant sleep for ****.

However......with all that said; I am super grateful I have amazing friends and family who have always been there for me. I am scared to think about where I would be if I had no support.

Over this period I did have to go to one detox because after the last binge, the withdrawals were unbearable. I needed meds, and after they medically examined me I was getting the full doses they could give to patients. I legitimately was peeing brown at 27 years old, after being a fitness and health coach for 3 years. Alcohol withdrawals can be fatal ( I think only substance that can be ) and although I was not at that point, it was scary and you can have pretty serious seizures/hallucinations. Even with all the librium they could give me I was still shaking/miserable for days.

A big take away from those brutal 5 days in detox is how every time I am in addiction facilities I will always see people in some AMAZINGLY brutal situations. It is heartbreaking to witness.

With anything in life, you never really have a rock bottom, you just hit certain points where you need to put the EFFFING shovel away and stop digging yourself further. The future version of myself is VERY grateful I have tossed that shovel aside, and the short term version knows it was a humbling yet smart decision to do so.

I want to end this post with two things, first of all apologizing for the many grammar mistakes, but what is more important is below....

When I went to that detox the only quote that NEVER got erased over the course of 5 days from the white board read " A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."

The night I left detox I went to a Chinese restaurant with my Mom's side of the family for an Aunt's birthday. At the end of the night they toss us our fortune cookies. I am the one who divides them up to the table. My fortune cookie read " A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."

Needless to say that little piece of paper blew my mind, and it was an amazing reminder from the universe that you always take the next best step.

Cheers to life, whatever part of your journey you are currently in, this too shall pass !!

P.S. If anyone ever needs to message me, sometimes we all need an ear.

Hey everyone 2021 update :

It’s been a great run over the last 18 months.

+$23,901 over 1204 hours ( mostly PLO )

Also binked ~$2200 ish in fantasy football/ DraftKings.

Might start updating again, it’s been a great run, and it’s amazing to reread my old posts and think about some of the dark points in life I was going through as I was writing them.

Anyways, cheers, good to be back.

Dave my man, awesome to see with the results and happy to have you back. Would love a good life update on everything and looking forward to following the journey. Stay well, positive, and healthy - looking forward to our paths crossing again.

Best,

Big Body Boris

BORIS !! So happy to hear from you, thanks for the inspiration to keep the thread going ! Cheers man

Poker Update:

Up $30,430 over 1332 hours, since restarting my part time poker journey in June 2019.

I have switched over to exclusively PLO.

Online we are 4 tabling .3/.6 PLO 6 max

Live games playing 1k cap 2/2 or 5/5 PLO.

Breakdown over the last year

Live: 74 Sessions 281 Hours $38.07 /hr 74% won = $10,693

Online: 434 Sessions 601 Hours $22.08/hr 60% won = $13,629

More updates to come, and recaps on how we got here !

Down in Tampa for next 3.5 days, will be grinding the 2/2 and 5/5 PLO games at Seminole HardRock. Very excited to hop in...

Got the bankroll up to $31,444 / 1358 hours going into trip.

Been working a lot on my PLO GTO.... obviously applies more to online than live but I think a fundamental understanding of the concepts has increased my win rates for both.

Will be updating sessions day by day, taking an Uber soon ( 15 mins from Hardrock )

Got a nice meditation in upon arrival... very excited !

Played HardRock Seminole tonight :

Their PLO games play with a rock straddle: ( I had 60% of myself in game tonight )

Name got called for 5/5 w/ a rock ( 5/5/10) before 2/2 so we hopped in there.

Game was rather disheveled it seemed in between afternoon and night game.... bought in short with $800 to see how game played...

Three orbits in we have AAK4 ( AKdd) in the UTG2 ( table is 8 handed we cover 3/8 )

UTG2 we call UTG1 $20 straddle, another call MP and button who has the $10rock and makes it 135. SB and BB short stacks call $135.... we have a pretty easy pot here... we make it $735 and everyone folds to blinds... we cover both short stacks and they both call AI for like $500ish and $600ish. ( numbers aren’t exact but ballpark and so is action ~~

We run it 1x ( $1900ish main and 200ish side ) 5d 8d 2c Jc 5d

We show nut flush... no full houses and we scoop.

Only other real hand of note.... game is getting more loose, we call 50 out of SB with AQQ4 (AQhh)

5 ways to flop w/ 1900 ish stack.

($250) Jh 10c 2h... checks thru Turn 9s... we lead out 125 and get 4 folds

Other than that.... 4 hours.... in for 800 out for 1915....

Writing posts on quick reply on phone this weekend FYI

Cheers !

Day 2: Update

Played 2 sessions of the 2-2-5 PLO at HardRock Seminole yesterday

Ran well and played well in both

Session 1: In for 1,000 out for 2,388
Session 2: In for 1,000 out for 2,450

I have 60% of my own equity so a +1703 day !

In the Uber to the casino now for day 3

After playing both the 5-5-10 and 2-2-5 some general observations...

Definitely some pros in the 5-5.... but also some soft spots. I felt the 2-2 was probably a little more profitable for me as the casino recently just moved up the caps for each of the PLO games. And since more people will buy-in for max ( and much better players ); at 5-5, I felt my max buyin of 1k at the 2-2-5 against weaker competition and easier to play against player types was the better value yesterday.

Meditated after a late wake up to start day 3! Will probably post more HH’s when have access to laptop as I didn’t bring mine to Tampa !

Cheers !

On to day 4!

Day 3 was a wild ride

Session 1: 2/2/5 PLO in for 1400 out for 1105
Session 2: 2/2/5 PLO in for 1400 out for 2430
This late night session was wild... was stuck 1125 early, down to 375 after a 3 way big pot.. called for chips, but won a few hands before they came and we ran the 375 up to 3100 and left with 2430 at 5 AM )

The 2-2 Rock straddle PLO game just changed a week ago from 100-500 to 200-1k cap, definitely was able to buyin for the max and be more comfortable in spots compared to the regulars ( many of which seemed to be adjusting to the higher game )

On the waitlist for day 4 right now, trips been fabulous so far we are up

Gross Profit : $4,687 over 23 hours
Net Profit ( I have 60% equity ) $2812

Looks like today will be last day here, I guess Monday AM PLO doesn’t run early and flight back to Boston is tmrw afternoon.

Got a good meditation in today after sleeping until 12:40 ( daylight savings )!

I’ve done a decent job of logging hands for me to write up HH’s when I have access to laptop

Cheers !

Day 4 is finished... such an amazing trip to Tampa and grateful to have made some friends here along the way.

Played 5 hours of 2-2-5 today and man was I unable to find a spot with any value. Missed a few big draws and we ended up in for 1500 out for 827.

Finished the trip 28 hours +++ 4,013 ( ALL PLO, mostly 2-2-5 with a few hours first day at 5-5-10)

With my 60% 28 hours + 2408

Very grateful. Have about 50-60 hands logged in my phone, lets see next week how many I can get down in this thread.

Also had my first ever 5 figure run over 30 days. Between online + 60% of our live we booked $10,478 from Feb 11 to March 13.

BR: $33,852 over 1386 hours / $24.42/ hr

2021 we have been 65.62/ hour ( live play ) over 120 hours.

Looking forward to having a few days off from live poker as we fly back to Boston tmrw !

Cheers !