Thanks man. Actually just found a great, underrated place to grind in Vegas. Best of luck to you as well. Sorry, I forget your name but definitely remember the face. Definitely should meet up at Parx whenever I'm back in Philly.

Beginners question and don't want to hijack your PG&C thread but how do you table select at Parx? They tell you where to sit...if you don't like your table, what do you do exactly? Ask for a table change and take what they give you, or scout out a seat you want and specifically ask for it, or just sit down there and they let you have it?

I've always been able to ask for a specific table. Doesn't always happen right away obv, sometimes you have to wait for that table to open and other times for a short table to fill up, but the floor is usually pretty accommodating.

Helps if you get on a first name basis with the floor.

Edit: sorry I couldn't answer *for parx* but hope it helps

Yeah, you can just walk around and look for a good table and say you'd like to move there when a seat opens.

Just walk around the room and find good tables; tell the floor you want to move to table x when a seat opens up. Make sure you also keep an eye on the table in case the floor messes up.

Thanks, makes sense! Took my followup questions to a more appropriate thread here.

Boomswitch Activated

I've played three sessions of $1/$3 at Treasure Island since my last post and the results have been nothing short of orgasmic for me. For the first time since last month, I finally feel like I'm back on my game and God loves me again. Things are finally starting to go my way which is decreasing the pressure I put on myself and in turn, allowing me to play tiltlessly. Here are the results from the three sessions:

Thursday 2/26: 4.36 hours, +$20
Friday 2/27: 14.50 hours, +$704
Saturday 2/28: 9.80 hours, +843

Treasure Island Totals: 28.66 hours, +$1567

BOOMSWITCH, BABY!

Here are some hands I played during the last three nights:

HAND 1

Reads: Villain is a grinder regular. He is very aggressive, very active, and knows I'm a grinder as well. $300 effective.

Preflop: A2 BTN. Hero raises to $12. Villain calls BB.

Flop: ($22) KQQ Villain checks. Hero bets $12. Villain raises to $35. Hero raises to $77.

Villain SNAP check/raised me on the flop and I felt this was a very polarizing action. I don't think he would play Qx this way (he'd probably slowplay it or at least think about whether he wanted to raise or slowplay), I don't think he should be check/raising Kx because a lot of my range is bluffs on this board and could barrel the turn, and I block the NFD... so I thought he was just trying to make a play at me since he knows that a lot of my range missed this board. Also, my small c-bet sizing could have induced something as well. I decided to 3-bet small since I don't think he's sick enough to 4-bet bluff me. Also, the small sizing makes my hand look like Qx.

HAND 2

Reads: Same Villain from Hand 1. He has been min-raising A LOT pre-flop and has limp/re-raised with garbage once or twice. $500 effective.

Preflop: K8 BTN. Villain raises to $6 UTG. Hero 3-bets to $25. Villain 4-bets to $75. Hero 5-bets to $175.

I have a pretty aggressive image and he probably thought I was just full of **** when I 3-bet his min-raise. Based on how quickly he 4-bet me, I decided that he never has a real hand here and made a 5-bet.

HAND 3

Reads: V1 is a recreational player who thinks I'm full of ****. He has bluff raised my c-bet before.

V2 is a huge fish. I have stacked him twice. He calls down VERY lightly. I just stacked him about 15-20 minutes ago where he called off his stack over three streets to me.

Preflop: TT OTB. V1 limps UTG. UTG+1 limps. V2 limps CO. Hero raises to $21. V1 calls. UTG+1 calls. V2 calls.

Flop: ($82) 542 V1 checks. UTG+1 checks. V2 checks. Hero bets $55. V1 moves all-in for $83. UTG+1 folds. V2 moves all-in for $175.

Getting 3.3:1 can I fold? After V2 shoved, V1 immediately shook his head and did not look happy. It was likely a genuine, instinctual response rather than him trying to get me to call. I also felt V2 didn't have to be nutted either. Flush draws, combo draws, and 66-99 were all possible. However, the fact that A3, 55, 44, 22, and 63s could all potentially be played this way made me think there MIGHT be too many combos of hands that crush me for me to make this call. However, I only needed about 23% equity to break-even, so I called it off.

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That's all I've got for now. I got into quite a few interesting spots last night as I was finding myself in lots of spots to bluff raise, barrel, and 3-bet. A lot of it was pretty standard IMO, although a bit fancy and advanced... but tonight was very straightforward. It was almost ALL value. I did make some mistakes tonight and also did face a regular who has been calling all of my c-bets very lightly. I'll have to work on fixing those mistakes and also work on adjusting to this regular.

Next session will be Saturday. I'm hoping to put in 11 hour sessions both tomorrow and Sunday so that I can reach 50 hours at Treasure Island for the week - which would qualify me for their $500 reward. If I don't get there, I'll certainly be happy with the $400 they hand out for anyone who plays 40 or more hours in a week.

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Hopefully, the run-good continues throughout the weekend. Its funny how "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" by Kelly Clarkson was the song that was playing as I walked into Treasure Island tonight. Listening to that, I reflected on my recent downswing and realized how much I've grown as a poker player over the last month. Even though I had a losing February, I'm starting to see that maybe it was worth it. Maybe in the long-run, having this incredibly difficult and stressful month will be the reason I have many, many winning days, weeks, months, and years to come.

Bankroll: $10,550

Awesome, happy for you!

Keep up the good work! Congrats on turning your downswing back into an upswing.

Can't believe they still have this promo going ... Easy $ for someone like you.

What's the overall 1-3 climate like out there? Can nitty McNits grind out 10/bb per hour?

There's not a lot of action games. You have to be able to change gears as the dynamic of Vegas games shifts a lot because tourists only sit for like an hour or two. I think 10bb/hr is attainable at 1/2 and 1/3 with good game selection

Just got home from a short 6 hour session where I dropped $577. So unfortunate, I was only down $29 5 hours in before I went to eat because the game was sucking pretty hard. When I finished eating, I decided to just give the game a look. The other pro/reg in the game said there were a couple donkeys in the game so I took a seat and proceeded to lose a 5-ball in just over an hour. lol.

The more unfortunate part, though, was that there was a damn hot girl eating by herself at the table right next to mine and I couldn't think of one mother****ing thing to say to her. Busche2417 is going to be mad at me. And he's going to say, "it doesn't matter what you say". And he's right.

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Some hands from tonight:

HAND 1

Reads: Villain is unknown. He is a young Asian guy wearing a hoodie.

Preflop: 88 EP. Hero limps. MP ($70) calls. Villain calls OTB. SB completes. BB checks.

Flop: ($15) 553 SB bets $15. BB folds. Hero calls. MP calls. Villain calls.

Turn: ($69) 2 SB checks. Hero bets $35. MP folds. Villain calls. SB folds.

River: ($139) J Hero checks. Villain bets $60. Hero folds.

I think flop call is standard. Is the turn value bet going to be profitable? 64/A4 got there, 5x is still in Villain's range, there aren't many flush draws or straight draws in his range, and 77/66 might have a hard time calling a second bullet. Is the turn a check/fold now?

In game, my thinking was that 77-66 were hands that I could get value from and so I should value bet. I don't think I realized that just about everything else got there if it wasn't there already - and I'm betting into 3 players. The more I think about it, the more it seems like a pretty easy check/fold. I should assign each player a range next time and consider how many worse hands can call compared to better hands.

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HAND 2

Reads: Villain is an OMC nit.

Preflop: A5 BB. Villain limps EP. Fish limps BTN. SB completes. Hero checks.

Flop: ($12) AJT SB checks. Hero bets $10. Villain calls. BTN calls.

Turn: ($36) 4 Hero bets $20. Villain calls. BTN folds.

River: ($76) T Hero checks. Villain bets $30. Hero calls.

I'm fine with the flop and turn bets, I think I get value from hands like KQ, T9, FDs, and some strong Jx. I think the river is a clear check because there is nothing I get value from now. However, in-game I thought it was a check/call because all the draws missed and there are no Ax left that he should value bet. I assumed AJ/AT would already have raised, AK/AQ would raise preflop, and A9-A6 would check back. I also hold the A so there are 0 combos of Ax + FD. I also knew this Villain would never call two streets with naked ten... But oh wait, he's an OMC, and he actually WOULD limp AJ preflop and then flat the wettest possible flop with top two, and then flat again on the turn when it got even wetter with the second flush draw. Should have known...

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HAND 3

Reads: Villain has been floating my c-bets A LOT the past few nights. He knows I'm a reg and capable of betting flops light. He is a competent regular.

Preflop: JT BTN. Hero raises to $12. Villain calls BB.

Flop:: ($22) 443 Villain checks. Hero checks.

Turn: ($22) 8 Villain checks. Hero checks.

River: ($22) 9 Villain bets $20. Hero folds.

My plan against him was to value-town him since he is calling me lightly on the flop. I missed this flop pretty hard and there aren't many turn cards that give me equity. I know he'll probably call with ace-high and maybe king-high - and maybe lighter?... so I decided to check back. On the turn, this card doesn't really hit my perceived range, so I check again. On the river, I suspect he's bluffing, but I fold anyway since raising is not going to get him off of 9x or 8x. Is there a better way I could have played this? Maybe c-bet the flop and then barrel any face card? What is a good strategy against a player who's floating me wide? I can't ALWAYS make value hands... Am I just going to have to man up and 3-barrel him?

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HAND 4

Reads: Villain is unknown, early 30s, white guy. $300 effective.

Preflop: 55 MP. Hero limps. CO OMC limps. SB huge fish completes. Villain checks BB.

Flop: ($12) J65 SB checks. Villain bets $11. Hero calls. MP calls. SB folds.

Turn: ($39) 3 Villain bets $27. Hero raises to $70. MP folds. Villain calls.

River: ($179) 4 Villain checks. Hero bets $75. Villain moves all-in for $141. Hero folds.

I should have raised the flop since strong Jx will probably call and there are a number of straight draw combinations. On the turn, 74 is the only draw that got there - which BB could obviously have - but hands like J5, J6, 65, J3, 87, and 43 are all also in his range. Most of those hands, if not all, are going to be calling a raise. On the river, most of his range has two pair, and only 87 (and I guess 97/J7) picked up straights. Is it a leak that I go for super thin value on a board as scary as this? Am I overestimating how often I'll get called by two pair in this spot?

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HAND 5

Reads: Villain is a recreational player. He got stacked and re-bought for $500. He called my CO open from his BTN straddle with J6o so I suspect he's playing way too many hands preflop and probably is a big calling station. $300 effective with all villains in hand.

Preflop: Q9 BTN. Big fish (opens very wide) raises to $11 EP. CO calls. Hero calls. Villain calls SB.

Flop: ($41) T53 Villain checks. EP checks. CO checks. Hero bets $25. Villain snap calls. EP folds. CO folds.

Turn: ($91) 3 Villain checks. Hero bets $60. Villain tank-calls.

River: ($211) 8 Villain checks. Hero bets $125. Villain moves all-in for $204. Hero folds.

Yuck. Pre-flop, I make a loose call to play a pot on the button against the fish who can open a very loose range. On the flop, it checks to me and there are a lot of turn cards that can give me equity - so I think its a good spot to stab. On the turn, I pick up equity and decide to barrel to maybe get him off 5x, 66-99, or something like T7s. He tank-calls, though. My first instinct was to just check back the river. But the fact that he tank-called made me think he still had 66-99 or a weak Tx, and was close to folding it. I didn't think he could stand a huge bet. I thought his tank-call was a decision on "call" or "fold" - which for me is a reason to barrel the next street (should it be? Lately it seems like I always get sigh-called). He shows me J3o. "NH sir" as my buddy Pure Aggression would say.

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Going to put in about 6 hours tomorrow before calling it a week. I should be taking Monday off to just chill somewhere for the day and then do some poker study later that night. On Wednesday, I think I'm taking a trip to San Diego with Pure Aggression; I'm really looking forward to that as I've never been to California.

Tomorrow I want to...:

[ ] Focus on decisions, not results. Make the best decisions I can make with the knowledge that I have and not worry about the results. Play each hand as profitably as possible. Let the results work themselves out over the long run. Don't get down if a few hands don't go my way.

[ ] The Tortoise survives. Don't try to be the Hare. Play solidly, have a good reason for each action, and take five seconds before I act to just breathe, think, and logically put the information together to make the best decision.

[ ] Range my opponents on every street and act accordingly. Determine which hands are most likely, which hands are possible, what combinations are possible, and act accordingly. When value betting, think of what worse hands will call and what worse hands will call. When bluffing, think of what hands my opponent has in his range and which of those hands will actually fold.

The mental game stuff is a constant work in progress for me at this point. The last four sessions at Treasure Island have gone really well in regards to that. In terms of my technical game, I want to focus on one thing at a time. Tomorrow, it will be ranging my opponents. I often forget to put people on a range and make very rough, and very inaccurate guesstimations. I want this to be a huge focus for me over the next month while I'm in Vegas. Hopefully when I'm playing 5/5, I'll instinctively be putting people on a range and be accurate with it as well.

Thanks for reading, I'll check back tomorrow!

Bankroll: $9950

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What are you trying to accomplish out there win rate wise? It seems like you're playing a style higher in variance. Also I read that you were drinking at the table. What WR are,you shooting for?

Lol, not mad at you. You're putting too much pressure on yourself to succeed right now.

In poker focus on playing your A game, and focus on dealing with the tilt when it comes, you're not going to crush every session in terms of money but you can crush every one mentally if you focus.

With the girl smile and open with something light hearted and content free like, "Thanks for saving this seat for me but how come you didn't get me anything to eat?"

Focus on improving, not on succeeding with this specific girl.

Also, no girl is "hot" they're all cute.

And remember my golf example? If I tried "not to hit it in the water" I'd hit it in the water. If I focused on "landing it on the green" BOOM, middle of the green.

Don't focus on not messing things up with the girl, focus on what to do next, and this case it's open with something content free and making her smile.

No.

Im not really sure. 10bb/hr is always the benchmark but i have no idea if im capable of attaining that winrate. I didnt track my WR in January and February but will be tracking it in March. Theres really no goal that i can set because theres too much variance. Im also getting better at poker every day so its useless.



I crushed today mentally. Didn't finish the bottle of water but I walked away after losing a big hand multiple times. After I lost the Q9hh where I tried to 3barrel, I decided to just go home. I'm starting to accept that when I'm on tilt, it doesn't matter how good the game is, I don't have an edge if I'm playing my F-game.

Also lol where did you read I drank at the table? In this thread? Its true. I do have a couple Miller Lites every session. It doesn't affect my play. I'm not like Busche pounding down Fireballs.

Are you out here in Vegas now? Would be cool if you wanted to meet up one night. Did you ever find a roommate?

Not yet, But as it would turn out one of my old friends from back home lives out there. I'm gonna roommate it up with him. I'll PM you when I get there, buy you a miller away from the table, haha.

Thanks for your constructive feedback and opinion on what he should use to open instead of just shooting down my suggestion and moving on. I hope you continue to contribute to the thread so we all can learn from your expertise!

Sorry...in the middle of chess. Stand by.

Honestly in regards to the girl....it's -ev to talk to her while she's eating,

How can it be -ev to try to meet someone new in a city that I'm new to? Especially when I lose nothing by talking to someone.

If she's eating...it's just a bad spot to pick. Was Shea. Tourist, or did she work there?

I'm saying its a higher probability of rejection.