Your 3 items on your item are really good priorities for maximizing win-rate. I do disagree with c-bet bluffing smaller on good flop textures. You can definitely experiment with adjust cbet strategies to different situations, but I think the players who mindlessly c-bet bluff 50% pot on dry flops (while c-betting for value bigger) are Not Maximizing EV.

^

agree.

I think first step is determining when its profitable to cbet, which factors in flop textures, number of opponents, image, and your opponents.

But before you can even cbet profitably, you have to know when and how to double barrel, otherwise cbetting on good textured flops, even when the factors make it profitable, could still be burning money if you don't understand barreling.

Then you can go from there with experimenting with different sizings that adjust for each specific situation. But this comes after all that

some hands...

HAND 1

Stakes: 1/3

Pre-flop: A9 OTB. 3 limps. Hero raises to $40. 1 Fish limp/calls from EP.

Flop: ($90) QT2 Fish checks. Hero bets $55. Fish calls.

Clear C-betting mistake here IMO. I don't think this is a good flop to bet against a standard 1/3 fish. Its not bad for his limp/calling range, he's never folding any piece of it, and there aren't many turn cards that improve my hand or allow me to barrel him off of his.

Also, the pre-flop raise is so big because there were huge pre-flop stations in the hand. A9o isn't a hand I want to play 4-ways and it also isn't a hand I want to limp behind with or fold. I hated all my options but went with the least annoying one which was to raise huge and try to get it heads up.

HAND 1

Stakes: 1/3

Pre-flop: TT OTB. 3 limps. MP raises to $14. Hero calls. Big Blind calls. 1 Limper calls.

Flop: ($60) Q52 Checks to Hero. Hero bets $40. 1 call.

Turn: ($140) A Hero bets $80. Villain snap-calls.

River: 3 Villain shoves. Hero folds.

This hand was kind of annoying. Should I just check back the flop and fold to a bet on the turn? And if no one bets into me on a safe turn, I should just value bet? I bet the flop to protect my equity in the hand and get value from flush draws. When the ace hit on turn which also brought in the flush, I felt it was a great card to barrel someone off a queen. If I bet the flop, I have to bet this turn, right? But I'm thinking I probably shouldn't even bet the flop.

HAND 3

Stakes: 1/3

Reads: Villain is aggressive. He probably calls too much pre-flop and raises a lot of hands as well. Post-flop, he is pretty straightforward. He will c-bet a lot, though.

Pre-flop: QQ in EP. Hero raises to $15. Villain 3-bets to $50. Hero calls.

Flop: ($100) 852 Hero checks, Villain bets $75, Hero calls.

Turn: ($250) Q $225 effective. Hero checks. Villain checks.

River: 8 Hero jams. Villain folds.

I think I should bet the turn here. By checking, I allow him to draw freely with AKx. I also probably don't lose much value from AA/KK since they will call my PSB jam pretty much always - especially if they have a spade. I checked the turn to slow-play/tarp or whatever and expected him to jam with his AA/KK. Unfortunately, it looks like he had AK.

HAND 4

Stakes: 1/3

Reads: Villain is an older tight Asian who has some spewy/actiony capabilities at times.

Pre-flop: AK in the CO. 4 limps. Hero raises to $35. Villain calls OTB. Limpers fold.

Flop: KQ4 Hero checks. Villain checks.

Usually, I would just go ahead and value bet this flop. But I really wonder how many hands I get value from. I think this villain would fold stuff like KT and K9 pre-flop. Maybe he'd call if they're suited. KJ is a hand I get value from. But his pocket pairs are going to fold, Qx likely folds, and there are no flush draws. I'm not super worried about missing flop value from weaker Kx just because those hands are unlikely to beat me on the turn and they'll pay me off anyway for two streets. By checking, I felt like I could make his Qx feel like they're good and maybe get value from TT-88 for 1 street. The only hand I'm worried about catching up to me is JTs. Also, I think he could even bluff with some hands that I fold out with a c-bet. Its probably close, but I felt like this was a spot where I could play a little tricky with my TPTK.

If the flop is more like K62r, I think its a clear bet.

A9o is a LOL bad waste of $95. Next time you see me, give me a $100 bill. I will give you back $5. Then I will light your bill on fire, because that's what you're doing in this hand.

Just an awful, awful, awful hand Duke.

In the TT hand, betting the turn is spew. Sometimes, we lose a hand with a big pair. We get outflopped. Release your hand.

Hand 1: I see what your saying, but raising larger with a hand like A9 bc there are stations isn't correct. overlimping is fine there.

Hand 2: since everyone in the hand is just checking to the original raiser, you really have no info on the strength of anyones hands except the initial raiser, so use your position and check back and reevaluate ott.

Hand 3: Depends on how aggressive he is. If you think he is ALWAYS barrelling an over card, (unlikely since you said he plays more straightforward post flop, and not many opponents barrel that often at these stakes), I think leading is much better.

Hate the ship otr, think about his range and what exactly could call. He's going to have AK/AQ a lot, I think the best option really is to bet really small and try and induce a raise, or possibly a light call from A high

Hand 4: ehh, i'm b/f all three streets here

Hand 3, I agree checking river is better since nothing calls. Except maybe if he horribly checked AA/KK on the turn. I just never have the balls to check the effective nuts on the river, though.

Took the last two days off and came back pretty strong tonight. I felt pretty ****ty for most of the session but ended up toughing it out and actually played pretty well. It didn't hurt that I kept flopping sets too.

Some hands from tonight...

Hand 1

Reads: Villain is loose/aggressive and very old. He likes to open a lot of hands but plays pretty straightforward post-flop. He usually gives me a lot of respect and perceives me as a very tight and very solid player. He has told me before, "Your discipline is going to make you very successful."

The UTG limper is a huge calling station. The players in the blind and straddle are also big calling stations that like to play almost any two cards.

Preflop: AQ in the SB. Straddled pot. UTG limps. Villain raises to $37. Hero 3-bet to $110. Loose/Aggro calls.

Flop: ($230) K32 Hero lead for $120, Villain snap shoves for $400 total. Hero folds.

Pretty annoying spot for me. I 3-bet because I hate the way AQo plays out of position in a multi-way pot. If I just flat, I'm expecting the UTG limper to call and one, if not both, of the blinds to call. Also, the main Villain likes to flat 3-bets a lot with hands he shouldn't. If I missed, I felt he'd fold to me on the flop a lot because of the way he perceives me.

HAND 2

Reads: Villain is an old man. He is very loose and aggressive. I have heard from others that he is a maniac but haven't seen this myself. Tonight, he has just been very aggressive with his value hands. We are both about $600 deep.

The SB in this hand is a huge calling station. He'll play any two cards preflop but has been playing pretty standard postflop. He tends to over-value hands postflop.

Preflop: QQ in LP. Villain limps from MP. Hero raises to $25. SB calls. Villain calls.

Flop: AAA Checks around.

I thought it'd be better to let a free card come off on the turn so someone could catch up. The only thing I'm getting value from right now are low pocket pairs and those hands will give me value on the turn and river anyway.

Turn: 7 Check. Check. Hero bets $50. SB folds. Villain tank-calls and checks in the dark.

River: T Hero bets $75. Villain folds.

[i]I thought my turn bet should have been bigger since his calling range is either going to call or fold regardless of the bet-size. I probably could have made this a pot-sized bet. That also would look more bluffy and maybe even induce a raise from this villain who likes to bluff.

I made the river bet under half pot because he didn't seem to like calling on the turn. Also, the Ten is likely an over-card to his pair and he checked in the dark, which tells me he doesn't love his hand.

HAND 3

Reads: Villain is an old man. He is very tight preflop and aggressive with his value hands postflop. He does tend to overvalue hands and calls raises that he shouldn't.

Preflop: KJ in the SB with the 7 exposed in the muck. Straddle. 1 Limp. Hero completes the SB. Villain completes the BB. Straddler raises to $30. Limper calls. Hero calls. Villain calls.

I thought about folding but I'm likely to be investing $30 to win $120 + everyone is $300 effective. I felt confident I could stack any of the players if I hit a big hand.

Flop: ($120) KJ2 Hero checks. Villain leads $60. Folds to Hero. Hero calls.

Turn: ($240) 6 Hero checks. Villain bets $130 leaving $80 effective behind. Hero jams. Villain calls.

When villain limp/called then donked out on this flop, I thought he probably had a top pair that he wanted to protect like K9/KT/KQ or even AK. Even though I thought there was a chance he'd call my C/R shove on the flop, I felt that the money was going in 100% of the time on the turn because there were hardly any scare cards to come. He ended up having QTo and I held.

HAND 4

Reads: 2/5 game. Villain is very good. He is tight and very aggressive. He is capable of bluffing but he seems like he mostly value bets. He value bets hard.

Preflop: 77 in the SB. EP raises to $15. Villain calls. 2 Others call. Hero calls.

Flop: ($75) QJ7 Hero leads $60. EP calls. Villain calls.

Turn: ($255) T Hero checks. EP checks. Villain bets $150. Hero calls leaving $250 behind. EP folds.

River: ($555) 2 Hero checks. Villain bets $250. Hero folds.

Gross hand. I didn't feel I was beating anything on the river. When I lead flop, he can put me on top pair, a draw, two pair, or 77. He has no idea who I am so I felt it'd be pretty bad for him to try to bluff me off of what was obviously a big hand. Despite the fact that I never have a flush when I check the river, it would be hard for him to bet the river without anything except a flush.

I thought the turn call was good, though. I felt I was good some portion of the time. And even when I wasn't, I had odds to draw assuming I could get the last $250 when I boated up

------------------------

Overall, I felt I played pretty well today. I ran really well, though.

I finished the session +$1460 which included +$260 in 4.5 hours at 1/3 and +$1200 in 3 hours at 2/5.

December Stats

1/3: +$3968, 130.83 hours (+$30.33/hr)
1/2: -$515, 13 hours (-$39.62/hr)
2/5: +$1399, 5.5 hours (+$254.36/hr)

Total: +$4852, 148.33 hours (+$32.49/hr)

1. I like the 3 bet, it's for value. I'm checking flop and expecting villan to check most of the time.

2. I might fire like $40 on the flop and milk them for three streets

4. 3.7 :1 and 3.6 :1 turn call is break even, as long as we're getting the rest in if we hit its a great spot. Not to mention river could be checked and our hand is already good.

Played my first exclusively 2/5 session today. Finished a solid +$400 in about 7.5 hours.

Understanding my edge

Today, one of the regulars at the Harrah's Philly 2/5 game saw me for the second time sitting at his table and called me a "young internet guy who probably used to play 6,000 hands a week online when he was 14." I'm pretty sure 6,000 hands per week isn't **** online LOL but nevertheless, I understand what he was getting at.

The fact, though, is that its absolutely not true. I was a losing player online when I played pre-Black Friday. Post-Black Friday, I still couldn't beat cash games, MTTs, PLO, standard SNGs... anything. But I did happen to find my niche - Double or Nothing SNGs. I played a ton of them and I won decently until those games dried up. That was my only success at online poker. I'm not a poker genius, I'm not a 4-bet bluffing wizard, I'm not shoving 9-high on the river like Durrr or hero calling with king-high and being right like Ivey. Despite what that particular reg probably thought about me, I'd get absolutely demolished if I played online. That's not where my edge is.

Understanding where my edge comes from has helped my game tremendously. I'm no longer (for the most part) trying to viciously outplay people. I know where my edge comes from.

1. Mental game
2. Table selection
3. Seat selection
4. Patience
5. Discipline

While I still have ways to go with all five of those areas, I'm still a HUGE HUGE favorite against any recreational player in any of those categories. And honestly, I'm a huge favorite over most of the good regs in my room.

So, all the grinder guys who can go ahead take their small edge over me in postflop play, 3-bet bluffs, hero calls, or whatever other awesome plays they want to make. I'll probably fold the best hand to them every so often... but I'll make up for it and then some in the five areas I listed above. That's where my edge is and those are the parts of my game I'm going to put the most work in to.

-------------------------------------

Some hands

Reads: Villain plays literally any two cards pre-flop. He continues post-flop with any piece. He loves to snap-call. He doesn't get super wild post-flop except for the fact that he calls way way too much. He's been aggressive with his strong hands and has shown aggression in quite a few hands that haven't reached showdown. I suspect he MAY be able to bluff but I have no evidence of this.

Preflop: AA in MP. Hero raises to $30. SB calls. Villain (BB) calls.

Flop: ($90) Q93 Checks to Hero. Hero bets $60. SB folds. Villain check/raises to $160. Hero calls.

The board is super dry. He could think I'm just c-betting and try to bluff me off it with JT or something. This could also be a "see where I'm at" raise with Qx. If he had 99, 33, or Q9, wouldn't he flat and just let me keep betting it? Despite that, its still possible he has a big hand because he's not that good and likely just clicks buttons for the most part.

Turn: ($410) 9 Villain quickly checks. Hero tank-checks.

River: ($410) 5 Villain quickly bets $300. Hero ?

Ugh. What can he have? 9x? 33? JT? Q3? I have no idea. I think his river bet has to be polarized, right? If he has any showdown value, I think he would check/call.

HAND 2

Warning: Absolute spew?

Reads: $900+ effective. Villain is aggressive and loose. He plays a TON of hands but doesn't get sticky with them post-flop. He can be maniacal. He knows I'm a tight and solid player.

Preflop: AK Hero raises to $40. SB calls. Villain (BB) calls.

Flop: ($120) T82 Check check. Hero bets $75. SB folds. Villain raises to $275. Hero goes all in for $865 total.

LOL right after I make a post about patience and discipline. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking except that I thought he might have a one-pair hand sometimes here that I can get him off of. If he has some value hand without a diamond, I can probably get him off of that as well. If he has a set or a flopped flush, I'm not in terrible shape. In reality - I actually am only like 25-30% against any hand that he calls with. Oops. Good thing I sucked out.

HAND 3

Reads: Same Villain as Hand 1. [Villain plays literally any two cards pre-flop. He continues post-flop with any piece. He loves to snap-call. He doesn't get super wild post-flop except for the fact that he calls way way too much. He's been aggressive with his strong hands and has shown aggression in quite a few hands that haven't reached showdown. I suspect he MAY be able to bluff but I have no evidence of this.]

Preflop: AQ 1 Limp. Hero raises to $30 from EP. SB calls. Villain (BB) calls.

Flop: ($90) AK6 Check check. Hero bets $60. SB folds. Villain calls.

Turn: ($210) 8 Villain leads $120. Hero calls.

What can he have here? If he had AK/A6/A8/66/86, why wouldn't he just check to let me keep betting? Check/call flop, lead turn is such a weird line for a monster hand. It is definitely not something I ever see at 1/3. I figured maybe he had a flush draw here that he called with and then tried to bluff the turn. Maybe pair + flush draw?

River: ($450) 3 Villain leads $150

Getting 4:1, I almost called. But this guy hadn't shown down many bluffs. Every time he bet and got called he always had it. Also, he's bad enough to take weird lines. I put him on the flush draw on the turn while acknowledging monsters were also possible. The flush draw got there, he could still have two pair or a set, I just don't see what I'm beating? I folded.

----------------------------------------

That wraps up tonight's session. This gives me five winning sessions in a row. I'm running really well right now and playing well too. 20+ winners in a row like Gobbledygook sure would be nice for me right now.

I'm not sure if I'm playing tomorrow. I do feel a bit burnt out so might take off to watch football all day.

---------------------------------------

Update on the hot Asian girl at the front desk: I was planning on 100% asking her out tonight. We were talking at around 1:30 AM at the front desk as I was getting ready to leave. We are talking about Atlantic City and she mentions, "I go there with my boyfriend!" GG.

---------------------------------------

Bankroll: $8650

December Stats: +$5252, 156.83 hours (+$33.49/hr)

130.83 hours at 1/3, 13 hours at 1/2, and 13 hours at 2/5

Hand 1: I think this a call, villain could be spazzing
Hand 2: I would fold to the flop raise, 3b shipping might be ok with the nfd.
Hand 3: Looks like a tough fold otr since flush completes even with the inticing odds.

Yea the line made no sense to me. I just hadn't seen him made any aggressive actions and not had the nuts. Despite being a huge fish, I guess I just felt it was more likely he took a weird line with a monster rather than he was bluffing or turning a showdown hand into a bluff

Always the worst when they drop the boy friend bomb on you.

Eff stacks in hand 1? Q9 makes a lot of sense. If you were deep enough, I'd consider b/f turn.

cc/lead line in hand 3 is typically pretty strong. He's not repping all that much though, and sizing is pretty small.

His follow up bet otr looks very blockerish, you could be good some of the time, but holding the As in your hand, and if you were deep enough against the right opponent, not a terrible time to turn your hand into a bluff and jamming if he's never leading turn with a draw (which I would expect he wouldn't)

Hand 1: Read dependent but I think I can find a river fold. I like betting ~ 140 on the turn. It lets us take the lead in position again and helps show us where we're at. He's unlikely to view it as a feeler and it looks strong like you want a call to most villains so I highly doubt he plays back with worse so we can cheaply find out where we are. If he's tricky and capable of that then checking back is fine. Tough spot.

Hand 2: Very little FE makes this a pretty easy fold. What part of his range is he c/r on this board and then folding? We're behind everything he calls with. Just let this one go on the flop.

Hand 3: Fold the river, I think he's more weighted to 2 pair hands with the turn bet, but could be FD too. NH

Long live the Duke!

ugh, there shouldn't be anyone on 2p2 who still uses that phrase to justify a reason for betting.

Why? Do you never bet for information?

You said you'd b/f the turn, how is that different than what I suggested?

Just trying to help a friend that asked for my advice, not trying to argue with strangers on the internet.

And I don't really consider myself to be 'on 2+2,' pretty much for this exact reason, so yeah, whatever, go duke.

I just got back from my biggest losing session ever. While the recent heater I've been on came to a screeching halt, and my five session winning streak came to an end... I still feel relatively good for someone who just lost 10-15% of their bankroll/liferoll.

This is a much different feeling than the one I had a couple of months ago when I was running like ****. I think its because I'm finally feeling confidence in my game. I feel really comfortable now at just about any table I'm at. I always know where I'm at in each hand, I know how to exploit my opposition, and most importantly, I know where my edge is. I've realized I'm a winning player, which I didn't really know the last time I had a rough session; which means there's no point in feeling any tilt/anger/whatever.

I ran bad. But I played well. So I'll just continue to value bet, not pay off, and game select better than anyone in my game. And everything will be okay.

---------------------------------------------

HAND 1

Reads: Villain is very old but I've heard that he's an action player. I've never played with him before. So, the only read I have is a pretty reliable source using the words "Crazy, action player" to describe him.

Preflop: 77 Villain UTG raises to $10. Hero calls. 3 callers behind.

Flop: ($50) J86 Checks around.

Turn: ($50) 7 Villain bets $35. Hero raises to $100. 3 Folds. Villain raises all-in to $290. Hero calls.

Getting about 2.2:1, I can't fold this, right? I'm about 20-22% vs. a straight and probably 65-70+% against a draw. But I just wonder how often he actually shoves a draw rather than calling. I know he's an action player, but he's also old as a mother****er. And he gave me this weird smile after he jammed.

----------------------------------------

This session should wrap up the year 2013 and the month of December for me. Unless I check Bravo tomorrow and there are a lot of tables going, I'm not going to play. I spent much of the year adjusting to live poker, getting back into the game overall after a long long hiatus, and just finding my way in general. Everything came together for me this month, though. Despite the ****ty session tonight, it was a great month.

I got home today and counted the money in my drawer. I was holding $6,000 in my hand and couldn't help but once again reflect on how far I've come since December 31st, 2012 when I was holding $0 and had absolutely no prospects to make anything.

2013 Stats

1/3: +$2940, 188.5 hours (+$15.60/hr)
1/2: -$1179, 69.84 hours (-$16.88/hr)
2/5: +$2356, 18.25 hours (+$129.10/hr)

Total: +$4117, 276.59 hours (+$14.88/hr) (+3.12 BB/hr)

December Stats

1/3: +$2888, 135.16 hours, (+$21.37/hr)
2/5: +$1894, 16.75 hours (+$113.07/hr)
1/2: -$515, 13 hours (-$39.62/hr)

Total: +$4267, 164.91 hours (+$25.87/hr) (+6.57 BB/hr)

Why the **** do I ever play 1/2?

January Goals

I don't really worry too much about long-term goals. I try to focus more on what I can do in the short-term and then let the long-term take care of itself. So here are my goals for January - both poker and non-poker.

1. Play 180 hours of poker in high quality games with high quality mental focus.

It won't be enough to just play. I want to be playing at the best tables, sitting in the best seat at my table, and maintain a strong mental focus at the table. In addition, my mental game in regards to tilt needs to be on point and I have to remain patient and disciplined at the table.

While I will spend as much time as I can improving my poker game, at the table I need to exploit my biggest edges: table selection, seat selection, mental game, patience, and discipline. Its not really a talent or a skill. Its a mindset. Of the 180 hours I play, I want that running through my head for all 10,800 minutes.

1A. If I manage to have a solid winning month, I'll more than likely move out of my parents house and into the city. If not, I'll keep grinding in February and check back into that at that point.

That's as close to I'll get to setting a profit goal.

2. Get my health in order.

-Work out every other day.
-Maintain a healthy diet.
-Eat three meals a day.
-Stop drinking soda.
-Stop sleeping 10-12 hours a night.

Healthy body = Healthy mind. This entire month, I felt super sluggish before every session. I think my game can improve so much if my health improves.

I'm going to go back to my Hindu roots and try to maintain a vegetarian diet this year. I grew up a vegetarian and while I love to eat meat, it really ****s with my stomach and I have trouble digesting it. Plus, I think it'd be healthier overall if I just cut that out of my diet. Also, I need to stop drinking soda. I drink entirely way too much of it and I'm sure its one of the big culprits in why I feel so ****ty all the time.

Finally, I'm going to start setting my alarm so I wake up and don't sleep from like 3am - 2pm. That's another big reason I feel sluggish every day.

3. Absolutely no sports bets... not even NFL playoffs

In December, I did really well cutting sports betting out of my life. I caved the last couple of days with NCAA bowl games and ended up losing like $300. This is definitely a leak of mine even though I get vig-free bets in the MSNL Sports Discussion thread. The variance right now is too much for my bankroll to stand.

I'll just go ahead and root for my $500 bet I made a few months ago on either the Seahawks or Broncos to win the Superbowl. $1300 addition to my bankroll this February will definitely be nice.

--------------------------

I'll be back grinding tomorrow. Win or lose, I need to get 2014 off to the right start by playing my best.

The only 2014 Revolution I'll make is that I want to conquer 2/5 by the end of the year and have a healthy bankroll to grind it in any game/anywhere I want and to shot-take 5/10.

Current bankroll: $7550

Ugh. I hate when smart people make this mistake. It's reSolution. I guess we'll blame it on autocorrect.

I definitely think that you are smart to wait for yourself to have another winning month in January before moving out on your own because your bankroll will need the added boost of another winning month before you will be properly rolled for 1/3 NL.

Then to what shall we ascribe Duke's attainment of 100 minutes in every hour (goal 1)?

AT, are you suggesting that 25buyins isn't sufficient for 1/3? Are you including life expenses in your calculation?

How's it going! Just found your thread in PGC, considering I have very similar goals and a very similar BR, i'm subbing in to watch.

Here's to 50/hr at 2-5 and shot taking 5-10 by the end of the year. Best of luck!

Revolution was on purpose you idiot

100 hours in a minute was a mistake though

Edit: 180*60=10,800

Wtf zolty????

Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums

Thanks buddy. GL to you as well.









Yeah, he means with life expenses accounted for. So if 5k is enough for my 1/3 game as purely a poker bankroll, I'd only have 2.5k for life expenses which isnt enough.

Although, this is the exact liferoll my buddy JoeyBlaze started with. He put about 2-2.5k in the bank for life and 5k for poker. Its a bit thin, but IMO the 1/3 game we play is so low variance and soft that its reasonable.

For some reason the second zero didn't register. :what:

Also, only my wife is allowed to call me zolty.

Hands from Jan 1 and Jan 2

Hand 1:

Preflop: 65 OTB. 1 Limp. EP raises to $10. 1 caller. Hero calls. Blind calls. Limper calls.

Flop: ($50): 522 Checks to Hero. Hero bets $35.

It checked to me pretty quickly and a few of the players didn't seem too interested in the pot. I have top pair which makes it unlikely anyone else does, there aren't going to be too many 2s in anyone's range in a raised pot, and if someone has a hand like 66-77, I can potentially barrel a lot of turn cards - any diamond, any T+.

Hand 2:

Reads: Villain A is semi-tight and usually limps pre-flop. Villain B is a huge calling station.

Preflop: TT in the BB. 4 limps. Villain A from the SB raises to $21. Hero tanks and calls. Villain B limp/calls from LP.

Flop: ($65) 852 Villain A quickly checks. Hero checks? Villain B checks.

I thought about it for a while but wasn't sure what I got value from. Then later I realized I could get value from A - Q or smaller pocket pairs with a . I should have realized Villain A was pretty much giving up by not c-betting and that Villain B is a prime target to take to value town.

Turn: ($65) A Checks around.

River: ($65) Q Checks around.

Hand 3:

Reads: Villain A is a complete unknown. He has been playing straightforward to this point except maybe a bit looser than standard. $500 effective with him. Villain B is a huge calling station. $200 effective with him.

Preflop: KQ in the BB. Straddled pot. $2/$5. 3 limpers. SB completes. Hero raises to $60. Villain Aquickly calls from the Straddle. Villain B limp/calls.

I could complete here but my hand doesn't play well multi-way. Raising lets me get the pot heads up or 3-way where I'll have two loose/passives (the SB and Villain B) who I can take to value town.

Flop: ($220) A76 Hero leads $125.

I think they'll both give me credit with a lot of their pocket pairs. The Straddler is competent enough to know that I can have Ax here A LOT after I raise to $60. The limp/caller is wide enough to have a lot of junk in his range that he has to fold the majority of the time. Even if he has 7x and 6x or a pocket pair like 88, he will likely fold since this is pretty much an all-in bet. He has been hesitant to go all-in in the past.

Hand 4 ($2/$5):

Reads: New to the table and the Villain is completely unknown. He is middle aged, black, and not a whale. $500 effective.

Preflop: JJ in the CO. Hero opens to $25. Villain snap calls.

[i]When he snapped me, I thought he never has AK, AA-QQ here. He probably has a lot of pocket pairs and suited connectors.

Flop: ($50) T63. Hero bets $35. Villain raises to $90.

Hero? I know nothing about this guy so it could be a situation where he literally only has TT, 66, and 33. However, a looser player at 2/5 could have a flush draw here. Am I doing well enough against a range of TT, 66, 33, overs + FD, naked FD and maybe the rare AT "see where I'm at" raise to call this raise OOP? What if he fires again on a blank turn? Can I stand anymore heat?

Hand 5:

Reads: New to the table. Villain is mid 30s black guy who is talking quite a bit. He's definitely a recreational player.

Preflop: KK in the CO. 1 Limper. Hero raises to $15. Villain calls. Limper folds.

Flop: ($30) K64 Hero bets $20. Villain raises to $60. Villain goes on an entire speech about "If you have the ace of spades, that's the only way you can win." Hero raises to $175. Villain goes all in. Hero calls.

Not sure about how to react to his raise at all. On one hand, I want to get max value from his top pair, sets, and AsXx flush draws. By just flatting, I allow a potential fourth spade to kill my action. On the other hand, his speech makes me think he definitely flopped a flush and that I should call to draw to my full house/quads. Wtf?

Hand 6 ($1/$3):

Reads: Two hands ago, Villain 3-bet an EP raise from MP with 66. He bet $55 into $135 on a KJXss flop. He got snapped by a cold caller. He then bet the caller's remaining $50-75 on a Tx turn. He got snapped again and said "I hope you're on a draw, sir." Villain seems wreckless, loose, and aggressive. He came over from a 1/2 table not 5 minutes ago. $340 effective.

Preflop: AT in the SB. Villain raises to $25 UTG. 1 Caller. Hero 3-bets to $110. Villain shoves. Hero calls.

[i]After watching the 66 hand, I deemed the villain to be positionally unaware, too loose, too aggressive, and too wreckless. I thought he could be wide even from UTG. I also thought his 4-bet jamming range didn't only have to be AA-KK/AK like a usual scenario. I thought he could have a ton of pocket pairs, maybe a weaker suited ace, and maybe KQ/KJs. I was getting 2:1 on a call and had blockers to AA, and AK-AJ. I don't think his range had to be SUPER wide to make my call profitable. It just had to be decently wide. I haven't ran it through Pokerstove or anything, though.

Also, he made it over 8x from UTG. If he had AA/KK, why would he make it so big?

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Poker Update

Other than that, ****ty start to the new year poker-wise.

I got so used to winning that I forgot what it felt like to lose a lot in a short period of time. I don't even remember what it was like to play well and get unlucky. I probably had a small case of thinking that I'd never lose again even though after every winning session I reminded myself, "one day soon, I'm going to run like dog ****, be prepared for that."

After losing the $1000 a few sessions ago, I actually felt pretty good.

I lost $475 tonight and am down $1400 in my last three sessions. I've now lost like 5 consecutive big pots with flopped sets. I feel pretty ****ty honestly but still feel motivated to get back out there and grind tomorrow night.

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New Year's Health Progress

Health-wise, I've been sleeping marginally less. Instead of 10-12 hours a night, I'm at like 9-10 hours. I'm going to try to keep sleeping less until I can feel comfortable with a firm 8 hours.

While I still haven't been to the gym and am still probably not eating enough, I HAVE managed to refrain from drinking a drop of soda so far in two days. I used to drink 2-3 cans a day in high school and college. Lately, I'll have like 2 orders of soda at the casino and then come home and have a Sprite. Its obviously super unhealthy so my New Year's REVOLUTION is to kick the habit. I've successfully gotten through day 2 but I have a pretty bad head ache and am really craving a Sprite.

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January Stats

1/3: -$282, 10.75 hours
2/5: -$32, 1.83 hours

Bankroll: $7000