The start of the new year has been interesting! Firstly, I've committed myself to a small PLO online bankroll challenge. $500 to $5000 starting at 10NL. I've voiced this in one way or another several times, but these soft games do not require winning players to really hone in on their fundamentals like other games might require. Because of that, I thought a good way to work on my PLO game and improve faster would be to grind some 6max online while continuing to study and play live. I put out a (very amateur) YouTube video talking about my 2022 and discussing the bankroll challenge a bit as well.
https://youtu.be/ofj0D-_Eiq8
My first live session of 2022 was abysmal. We lost a flip for our first $1K bullet, and I played another hand poorly, losing another $1100.
$1300 in my stack. Ah9hAc8s UTG. $6 Straddle otb. Every pot has been raised to $30 pre, so when it goes call call to me, I also limp. Sure enough, HJ makes it $30. BU, SB, BB call. There are enough $6 limps to make it $200, so that's what I do. Folds to HJ. He calls. SB calls. BB calls.
Pot is $820ish before the flop. 10h4h10d. SB pots. BB folds. I think here is a crystal clear fold, because I'm not doing well against his range, which is 10xxx as far as I'm concerned. i go ahead and call and get the rest in on the turn, where he had boated up. I'm a clown.
I had two sessions this weekend, however, and am up $5K. Played a sick $10 double board bomb bot the first session against an absolute whale. I had a little over $2K at this point in the session and get KKJJdd; flops come 345ddd and J84r (LOL). I check, but I reckon I should lead for 1/2 or 2/3 here more often? In any case, it checks around. turns do not change anything. NOW I lead for 2/3 for $60. there are three callers, but the whale - with $6K in front of him - makes it $300, I repot it to $1025. Folds to the whale, and he calls. the river on the top doesnt change anything, but the bottom river brings straight possibilities. Only one thing to do here - I pot my last $1089. As soon as he doesn't snap, I know I'm scooping these. He calls after a couple of minutes and shows a Qhigh flush and two pair on the bottom; practically drawing dead the whole time.
Today, our biggest hand was a 3bet pot four ways. I had AK106 single suited on the button. A player makes it $25 pre. I call. BB raises to $110. Action player in eary postion calls. I call. Flop A99 rainbow. It checks around. Turn 2. Action player leads for $300. He could bave A9 but I thought in the moment that this player would have led on the flop with a 9, and I have an A of my own blocking A9, so I think I'm good here often enough to call. BB folds. Turn is a 6 and bb checks it to me. I think I'm golden here, and I think he's bad enough to call a lot of money with worse, so I make it $600. He folds quickly. I think $600 is a bad sizing in hindsight, and even in a crazy game against an action guy, we need to be sizing down in that spot. Something more like 1/3 pot instead of 2/3 pot.
Looks like this year is going to be more of the same. I'd welcome it if so.