I was at the HSI playing $1-2 and I was discussing this challenge. Someone told me you got it easy. He said he knew someone who bet he could win 8k in a month and that game. The guy told me that the dude won his 8k. Does this sound true or possible?

My read is that the guy is not telling the truth. How did he prove that he won $8k to this guy? Was the bet that he cd win $8k in any random month over a period of time, or a particular month? Someone cd run hot for a month, and possible beat it for $8k, but it wd b tough. The game plays deep, but not that deep where u are going to easily score $8k/mo. Based on 40hrs/week, I wd lay 4 to 1 that someone can't beat the $1/$2 game for $8k next month, or any month the rest of the year for that matter. I think if someone plays 40/hrs a week for 5 consecutive years, I wd say it is a gd chance smone cd have 1 $8k month profit out of 60 months. Trust me, this challengr is not goin to be easy. After 2 months, I know I'm a underdog in this challenge. And all this is being said after I scored my biggest profit of the year today, +$1043.
Good luck to u in your grind!
Off tangent- Can someone tell if me if I should still quote a post even If I next to reply?What's the "forum etiquette"?

I've just read through this and want to wish you the best in your challenge, my friend. Don't listen to any of the doubters, work hard, and own this challenge!

I just sent you a tweet as well on twitter. Looking forward to the updates, brother.

EDIT: Regarding forum etiquette, I would say that in a thread (topic) that is extremely active (posts every 20-30 mins or less), it would be wise to quote a post, even if it directly above yours because someone else could post before you while you are typing up your response, and could create some confusion. In a topic that only gets a few responses a day, it should be fine to reply to the latest post without a quote. Hope this helps.

Looks like you had a pretty good Thursday. I was trying to get moved to that table. It looked like there was over $5000 on that table. Thats alot for a $1-$2 game. You must of had $2000 in front of you. Well done Sir! See you next week.

Great post!! Gl and I look forward to seeing you at the shoe. I live in Nashville and I don't make it up there often but when I do I will come say hi, (if we are at different tables) lol

Thanks guys for the words of encouragement. As I'm typing this I am waiting for a 1/2 to open up, but already getting bad vibes! Have u guys ever drove to the poker room and get a bad vibe and just drove home? I'm really thinking about it. The reason being is as soon as I get to the casino, I sit down in the nicest bathroom i can find to take my morning crap. Shortly after I sit is where the bad beat of the day starts for me w/o even playing a hand! I notice 4 empty stalls to the left of me, and 3 to the right of me, and just after I sit some disrespectful degenerate thinks the best place for him to loud crap is right next to me! Wow, out of all the empty choices he chooses the stall right beside me! #oddsstackedagainstme #cantwintoday. So now I'm thinking is this how today is going to go for me? The bad vibe is messing w my head. Well they just called my name for the 1/2, I guess I'm going to take my chances!

I think 8k in a month is possible. But not on 40 hrs.

Gl on your quest.

@sneakyAris @ben Lopez @callygal @ruthefordthebrave appreciate the love.

Ok just finished a 6hr sesh. The bad vibes early turned out to be just a fluke. I apologize for tmi earlier, I did mention on my very 1st entry that I will be posting honestly w full transparency, but I may of crossed the line w that one. My bad.

Ended up booking a nice win of +$564 today. $350 of that was a gift. It's amazing how just a little mistake from someone can create a monster pot. The mistake was made from the UTG player -Instead of putting 2 white chips (call) he accidently threw out a red and white (raise to $6). He def wasn't angle shooting, it was obvious when he tried to take it back, but the dealer wdnt let him. So then a two more call the $6, and then Player X made it $30. It felt like a squeeze to me, and I just call w QQ from the sb. The player who made the mistake obv folds, and 3 players see the flop...
$320 Hero:QQ
$550 Villian:QJ
$430 Player X(squeezer):?
The flop is QJ4
I am first to act and check, and then villian goes crazy and just open shoves $550! Player X folds, and I call with my set. #easygame
Turn: 4 River: 6
I think villian shoved his $550 stack because he was already racked up, and didnt want to mess around. He thought he was golden, and was happy to take what was out there and leave. The moral to this story is dont play out of a rack!
who knows I may of still doubled up with him having top2

Great job today. Thanks for letting us in on your journey to $40,000. It is nice to read about the daily grind you go through. As a poker player, I know that grind can be tough, so thank you for sharing.

Just saw this thread. Good luck on your challenge.

Any possibilities on moving your game to Cincinnati when the Horseshoe opens up in March? Being someone that plays at Hollywood (games are terrible tbh), this is a breath of fresh air (literally, no smoke!)

Saw your playing the deepstack at CPC. Good luck in that. Would be up there, though have to be home for the fiance that week

Just to let you know, Hollywood has a deepstack tournament near the end of March that is a 550 buy-in. Also are you considering playing any events in mid-March at Belterra for the HPT?

I enjoy reading this thread. Following along! BOL to you OP.

good luck with this. 40k is a lot for 1/2 i hope you do it but don't think it's possible for 1/2 game

I was at the table a few years ago when he did it. This guy came in from another table and was real antsy. He announced as soon as he went up $130, he would rack up and leave. An old reg asked him why, and he told us about his bet and that he was currently at $7870.

I'm not doubting its not possible, but based on 40hrs/wk highly unlikely. This is why I am willing to give 4 to 1(min$1k bet) that someone can not beat it for $8k. I am also willin to give them 3 months (March-May) to try it. It is more likely this guy was putting in 80hrs/wk to accomplish this task. Which is still pretty awesome.
Gd luck to all, I am in the parking garage getting ready to walk down to the poker room for the grind. I will have updates ready for Vday. #febcrush
As always thanks to everyone who is pushing me along.

I like this thread. Subbed.

I find it very interesting that you are sort of adamant on remaining at 1-2nl. The discussion that occur among poker pros is "at what point is it enough?" and "at what point does the 'poker lows' outweigh the 'poker high'. Personally I have a PGAC thread similar to this where my goal is to play bigger and bigger, but maybe I'm approaching it all wrong. Thanks for the different outlook OP, and good luck on achieving your goals!

@moayourlawn @reddboiler @plochrisc @omahaulin @harborlaw387 thanks for checking out the thread, and best of luck in your journey as well.

Today was an extremely tight table where ABC poker was being played for the most part until one player (named Aneal) changed the whole dynamic. This Middle Eastern player loves to splash around, drink his whiskey, hug cocktail waitresses, and berate other players. Even though he can be a real toolbag, I will aways table change any chance I get to play with him. His action can create huge pots, and his style will make the other players play worse. I have played with him a few times before and my mental notes today reminded me that he has a VERY wide range, will try to run people over, will 3bet with air, and call big bets light. He is your prototype "aggressive donkey calling station". With this knowledge embedded in my brain, I tried to isolate as much as possible to get heads up with Mr. Maniac. A few hours into the day I was stuck $80 . Soon after he sat down, I was up $300 . We got heads up a lot, and I usually hit every flop pretty hard with him. He can put a lot of pressure on ya, so I tried to manage the pot as best I could until I knew I had him. The pattern I took with him a couple of times was check/call flop, check/raise turn. He never seemed to have a hand against me and would quickly release after the raise. Sometimes I would lead out flop just to mix it up a bit, but I felt I could maximize my value by letting him try to bluff me. If I lead out with a good hand he wd usually call once then fold to a turn bet. I would get an extra street value by ch/calling flop, then either call turn or raise turn. This guy will not check behind, so no use of leading out with a gd hand. One good thing about playing the 10-5pm shift is I am gaining a lot of valuable information on how all the daily regs play. I know who is tight, who bluffs, who never bluffs, who bets their draws, who check calls draws, who check raises flop draws, 3 bet %s, hand ranges on players, who cbets, etc, etc, etc. I feel this can help me a great deal in achieving this $40k goal.
Besides putting in the hours at the table; I feel discussing poker w others is the only true way of getting better. To gain insight from other great poker minds can only help your game. You dont even have to agree with their insight as long as you use that information to better your game. This is why I owe great deal of gratitude to my fellow poker friends. We have been talking a lot strategy lately, and the latest topic has been the button straddle. Most of them seem to think that it is +EV overall. Which for them and their style Im sure it is, but for me and my style I wasn't so sure. For my game I think it is neutral to +ev to straddle on tight tables to exploit the nits, but -EV on aggro tables where players aren't limping.
I always look forward talking poker with my friends. These guys I highly respect, and they are playing some huge stakes. To gain their wisdom is a bonus. Futhermore, I also believe the metagame is more important nowadays than ever before. Not so much at 1-2 but in bigger games and big buy in tournaments. People say that NHLE is a solved game. I disagree! Sometimes I feel I must be playing a different game than everyone else. Some of the poker strategy I here at the 1/2 tables is so horribly inaccurate its mind boggling. But I'm still learning too, and always try to get better.
Just another late night rant n ramble...

I love me some Aneal

Why not check/call turns against him instead of C/R and possibly gain another street of value?

Gd. point. I actually thought about taking that line once, but didn't feel it was the right play at the time. The boards were very wet when we got to the turn, and I didn't want him getting lucky on the river. I couldnt risk him catching 2 pair w his 5/9 off randomesq hands, or hitting gutter balls, etc. If I had a nut hand on dry board, then I could of ch/call turn to see if he would bluff his stack on river. But Im not sure thats the play. I prob still ch/raise the turn, but with a lot smaller raise and then lead out river. There are so many lines one can take with this player. #drawfromhat
I would like to check out Cincy when it opens, but I will not b a reg there. Hollywood and Cincy is about 1hr 40min drive for me, so I really dont like driving to play small cash games like 1/2 and 1/3. Every now and then I will head to Hollywood to play some 1/3, but not too often. I just dont like the fact that I'm already down $40 (round trip gas $) before I play a hand. I liked the poker room better when it was downstairs. It had a better feel, less smokey, and less noisey. I will be there to play the $550 deepstack, and looking forward to it. If things continue to go well in cash I will try to satty the HPT. Gd luck to u in the tourneys.

Mid Month Update: Total won in 1st half of the month of Feb. = $1,889
Hrs: 87:18 (making up for loss hours in Jan) Avg/Hr: $21.64 Avg Buy in: $467.
Running Total = $4,136 194.18hrs @ $21.3/hr
$0 (of the $5k) has been bought into tournaments

The next update on #s will be at the end of the month. Thanks for keeping me motivated. Big Ups!!

Hey man I just wanted to say that was pretty cool what you did for that little boy Aiden! I saw your twitter pic that you played the wsop at HSI and gave a percentage of your winnings to help his fight with Leukemia. Thanks for giving poker players a better image. Also thanks for the advice you gave me. Gl op

Thanks, I wish I could do more for awesome Aiden. He is my next door neighbor and my daughter's gd friend. He is the ultimate grinder! Aiden and his family have impacted my life immeasurably. To witness such a profound faith from this family has only deepened and rejuvenated mine. Just a few weeks ago he came up w a brilliant idea, "Legos for Leukemia". Legos has helped him get through his daily grind, and he wants others to enjoy them just as much. To get more connected to his journey can be seen here-
http://www.facebook.com/aidenjohnsonsurvivor
http://www.facebook.com/LegosForLeukemiabyaiden
Thanks

So far you have made $21.84/hr. I know these things are static but if you were to keep that same average for an entire year playing the required 40 hours a week of your challenge, it comes out to 40/week*4weeks in a month*12 months in a year = 1920 hours.
1920 hours*$21.84 = $41,932.80. Pretty good wage for playing 1/2 poker for a living. Haha grind on my friend I enjoy following this thread.

thanks for the updates. GL bro

Nice work so far, keep it up.

Watching from Cincy... GL