Our Austin trip began on Thursday with a $1/$3... no-limit holdem session while we waiting for the $1/$2/$5 PLO game that runs at The Lodge. The meet-up game I came into town for didn't start until 6 PM, and I had never played at The Lodge - just TCH Austin and 512 Shuffle. Wayne and Josh, a couple of the vloggers I was here to play with, happen to be at the $1/$2/$5 game. We play about 20 hands of hold'em before Wayne comes over and says they're heading out for lunch. Their seats become available and we play for a bit. There is a prop going on - if your hand contains three of a kind, or if all four cards are the same suit, everyone at the table owes you $50. If you have a four-card straight flush in your hand or quads in your hand, the table owes you $200.

Although there is a live prop, the action is not indicative of a crazy game. People seemed to be playing very tight and solid. I assumed that is was due to the time of the week - Thursday, noon - but I have been hearing that these games are getting tougher.

"If you're looking for PLO, you came to the wrong Texas city, buddy," the loudest of the regulars told me. "You need to get down to Houston!" I explain that I'm from there. You know, it's always hilarious how word travels among the community. Live poker is notorious for the grass always being greener - that is, a player is always happy to mention that they know where the REAL action is. Although in this case, he was correct, the reality is that the game can't always be better. I just find that funny.

A guy walks by and he looks exactly like Anthony Jr. from The Sopranos. A reg says to another, "Hey, you know that's the kid from The Sopranos?" Holy ****, it's Anthony Jr., grinding $1/$3! I make a promise to myself that if he happens to come over to the table, I'll tell him the story of my buddy who was mid-Sopranos watch and had gas pains one night, and he swore it was MSG, similar to Tony's sickness in the show. He checked himself into the emergency room where they said he just needed to fart. My girlfriend texted and said I should try to become friends with him. He'd absolutely hate me, though, because I would just keep calling him "Anthony Junior" instead of his real name, which I refuse to look up. He's Anthony Jr. to me.

I won a prop for $350 picking up K101010. The very next hand, two players show trips, and one player shows a flushed hand. $150 right back. The hand after that, one player has trips. I decide to rack up shortly after. I make a fold, and as I'm racking up, a reg points at me and says "You gotta stay." and points to his hand. Good ol' props.

We cash out for $440 in the green. In for $2K, out for $2440. I accidentally didn't pay for time upon leaving - whoops. I'm assuming this is standard though, and folks just pay when they come back.

I checked into my airbnb and chilled for a bit until it was time to head to Georgetown Poker Club for the meet-up game. Although small, GPC is very comfortable and the action was great. We're in for $1K at $1/$2 ROE with a $5 bring-in. Shortly after we sit down, a South African man comes in and shouts, "Well, looks like all the pros are here! Serious game, eh mates?" What's interesting is he could not have been more wrong about the vibe; people were talking and drinking, and briefly paying attention to the action, you'd know that this was a good, loose game. He then proceeds to get chips, come to my table, and put on sunglasses. Seems like you're the serious pro, buddy!

There's a $10 straddle UTG. I'm UTG +1 and look down at AdAs7dQs. I make it $30 and get four callers: HJ, BU, BB, and UTG (South African guy, still sporting his shades). The flop comes 5hKh5c. It checks to me, and we check, not wanting to fire into four people in this spot with just aces. It checks around. We're fortunate enough to not only find the Ah turn to boat up and bring the flush in, but also, the South African man now leads for pot, $125. I just call. I fear nothing on the river and he seems so confident in his holdings, and this could also bring in other callers. the BB finds a call after the BU folds, and we see a 8c on the river.

UTG now leads for $75 into a $500 pot. BB is overtly showing folding body language, so I'm wondering what I can bump it up to for UTG's flushes to call. I go for $300 and he quickly calls. He didn't show, but he mucked, proclaiming he knew that he was walking into something better. Gotta size up there, I suppose. If regulars are confident with their nut flush and won't go away to river raises, we can look to make it more with such holdings. We're also targeting weaker boats, which we could definitely get more out of.

We play a double-board PLO bomb pot and get our effective stack in on the flop. We're holding AcKcJh10h. Flops are

Q107 rainbow
6s9c10c

With a wrap on top and nfd on bottom, I rip it all-in against Wayne (DonkFishPoker) and Jeff, a fan of his who came from Waco to play. We brick both boards, unfortunately. I'm not sure how good it is to re-pot drawing to the nuts on both boards? I'm not sure, because a call and a fold seem worse.

We cash out for $2710, capping off a $2150 day for us on Thursday.

Not much to report from yesterday, Friday. Won about $100 playing at The Lodge, but after food and Ubers, we'll call it breakeven.

Going to be firing in the $200 PLO tourney at Georgetown Poker Club later today!

tl;dr: Got into ATX on Thurs, met two of the YouTubers, have had three sessions, up a little over 2 grand. Sopranos forever.

Forgot to mention that the GPC session on Thursday was catered by a Chinese restaurant that one of the regulars owned. I didn't grab any dinner, but I did nab a fortune cookie... o_O

Pretty much guarantees that I'm downswing-proof for the next few months, at least.

Yeah when you come back in the future they'll see you owe so you'll have to pay then to be seated.

Also, always cracks me up the people with the sunglasses, but I still prefer that to everyone who sits with their hand across their body and on their chest like EVERY frigging pro does on tv these days, don't know why but it tilts me to high heaven!

You should have said Hi to him. I used to listen to his and Jamie's (Meadow) podcast, Pajama Pants, and he seems like a really cool, down to earth guy.

I actually just listened to a recent clip from the podcast on YouTube and I completely agree that he would have been cool with me saying hello. I knew he had a poker background; I hadn't heard he was down here playing, though.

It's a recent thing. I think he moved to Austin in December. He and Jamie are supposed to be working on a new podcast with just the 2 of them at a studio there in Austin.

You should've offered him a "soda of choice"

I played in Georgetown Poker Club's $200 PLO tournament today. There were 17 runners. 12 rebuys and 9 add-ons. Three places paid, and we ended up taking third for $1285 with a rebuy and an add-on. I went into the final table short-stacking, but with bad ICM play from the other players as well as (and more importantly) important double-ups and triple-ups, we manage to find ourselves in the chip lead at one point in the money with three remaining.



What I'm most excited about is that this actually puts me in the green for tournaments on my PLO grind!



I'm enjoying a victory burger from Hopdoddy and a beer. I'm feeling really grateful for transitioning to PLO in late July and how well I've been running so far. Up $2835 this trip! Back in the green for this month as well.

I've decided to stay in town until Wednesday - and that was before the tournament win Taking another day off from poker tomorrow, and working from the airbnb Mon-Wed 7 - 3, and grinding the rest of the time.

Maybe its the beer and this weed pen... but I'm feeling highly grateful.

congrats on the final table finish man, well done! I'm at the tail end of this cold so hoping to get back on the felt soon. It could be worse, I could be Brad Owen right now. He dumped 115K on the 100/200 stream and another 78K on the 200/400 game and just generally looked absolutely miserable the entire time he was at the tables.

Would definitely rather have a cold than be Brad Owen right now. He was the talk of the table yesterday. It's funny how his play is kind of overshadowing the upcoming tournament series. Stoked to play the $300 PLO on Tues.

Damn I hadn't been paying attention to the events for this series. Generally I find their PLO series events to be a bit shallower stacked than I like (compared with max late regging the PLO freeroll on Wednesday nights and starting with 130,000 in chips) but hopefully I can play and win some this week, should be feeling better by then!

I ended up firing at The Lodge last night in the $1/$2/$5 PLO game. The game was exceptionally though and tight. I 3b too loose in late position preflop a few times and it cost me. I did not adjust my game whatsoever and just continued to play as if I was exploiting the loose, passive regulars back in Houston. Huge mistake, and perhaps a bigger one to continue to buy in even though I realized the game wasn't good and I was probably not a favorite. I lost $3000, my biggest single-session loss by $1000 since I started grinding in late July. Gave my tournament score and cash winnings right back, and am leaving Austin down $650. Went ahead and skipped the $300 PLO today because I thought there was some potential for me to be more likely on my C game rather than my A game with my biggest loss just happening and me being a bit homesick.

I miss TCH Spring. Small sample size but the $1/$2/$5 at The Lodge has really dried the hell up, in my experience. Houston and Dallas are definitely still the PLO spots in Texas.

Notable hand from yesterday's awful session:

$1/$2 PLO with a $5 bring-in at The Lodge in Austin, TX. Straddle suddenly goes from someone occasionally putting on $10 to $1/$2/$10/$20/$40/$80. Hero is in CO with $1845, probably viewed as overly aggressive. We look down at As10sKhJh. We make it $240. Perhaps I should just be potting here :P In any case, BU calls, BB calls, UTG+2 and HJ call.

Flop is Ad7s3c

BB checks, UTG+2 (who started the hand with $2K) bets pot for $1230. HJ folds. I end up going with it and put in the rest of my stack. UTG+2 calls. Runout is 8c5s. UTG+2 turns over Ah7h6x4x We're beat by two pair in the flop, and he rivers his gutshot. Thoughts on this hand? posted action to the flop decision in the Omaha thread as well

Ah, sorry to hear about the bad session (both results and play decision). Your analysis of what happened is impressive -- it's rare to see someone with results as strong as yours being humble enough to admit such a mistake to themselves, much less to the rest of the world. And now that you've been through that once, I expect you'll have a better chance at catching it before it all unfolds in the future.

Yes, that's the idea. I have mentioned this before but I think an advantage I have as I continue to improve is my ability to keep my ego low and having a strong sense of self. If you do not consistently humble yourself and capitalize on learning from your mistakes (that are up to you and only you to identify and correct), I feel you have little chance of being successful longterm in poker.

I don't remember the last time I even thought "Ugh, that bad play this player made just cost me!" or "Card dead for two hours; just my luck!" I think people assume you can be great at poker and still have thoughts like these every now and then. I disagree... I think pros can acknowledge they are card dead or think in results-oriented terms briefly without tilting, or better yet, not do either to begin with.

A regular at my PLO game in Spring was making fun of another regular for berating bad play, remarking, "We all do it to an extent, but he does it a lot."

I corrected him and wagged my finger. "You will never hear me berate bad play in any manner, even indirectly." And it's true. I simply don't. Regs love to step away from the table (or not! ) and make snide comments about how great another player is running, or how bad they are running, or why a bad play cost them. Why participate in this shitty, useless behavior?

It's funny - when I first started live poker eight years ago, things like "don't tap the glass" or "why would you get mad at bad play? it's your bread and butter." made perfect sense to me and I came up thinking mostly everyone kind of understood this baseline of how to approach the game mentally and take beats/bad nights. It's so clear to me now that many players kind of miss this key mindset for poker and I find myself fortunate enough for this not to be an issue for me.

I have no problem conceding that I suck at PLO, or at very least am nowhere near the player I desire to be. Hopefully, with honest self-criticism and study, I can continue to improve.

Yeah the games have sucked and been super tight for weeks now, it really blows. Although you'll find that even in Austin people experience FOMO (fear of missing out) when they see a big pot brewing, and will call large bets or all-ins exceptionally light trying to hit the lottery with all sorts of junk. But then you're playing preflop BINGO which sucks.

Only locked into our rental home for another 5 months so may wind up relocating to Dallas or Houston in the near future if things continue to stay tight around these parts

Down $2K this month, my first month losing money playing live PLO. I am pretty indifferent about the money, both the fact that it's negative, as well as the small amount. Just saving hands for evaluation with other winning players in the pool.

One resource I have found that is helping me a great deal are the live $1/$3 Omaha threads here on 2+2, and looking at the plays and exploits that are cosigned by live PLO players, as well as reading the thought process behind their reasoning.

I am having a bit of a personal crisis in relation to my time management. As a refresher, I have a full-time remote position. I typically have about 3-5 hours of actual screentime per day while still going above and beyond my job description, and this allows for a good bit of free time that I feel privileged to have at this point in my life. I have had concerns recently that I'm not spending my free time wisely during the day, so I'm going to attempt to apply some standards to my day-to-day in order to get the best out of myself and this life we live. Further, I was wanting to get 100 hours of poker in each month so I'd have a decent sample size by the end of 2023.

I'm not sure what exactly the March goals will be yet, but I'll be sure to confirm here before March 1 and hold myself accountable here as well... Almost certainly exercise-related and something in relation to cutting down on weed along with an hourly goal.

Five more months will mark one year grinding PLO. I still feel quite content with my transition to live PLO cash games from online MTTs.

keep your head up! what app are you using to track sessions, bankroll etc..

Thank you. Poker Bankroll Tracker

Made sure to book a nice -$500 loss in the YouTube game yesterday on PPP before the month ended. Lost half of it in a 60/40 with the river left to come. The rest I lost in heads-up PLO which I am unfamiliar with.

Ok - March goals! My girlfriend approached me yesterday wanting to incorporate some fitness routine in her day which aligns perfectly with the timing here. Will certainly make things easier.

MARCH GOALS

At least 1.5 mile walk daily

1 minute plank daily

Log 115 hours of live poker

Post at least 1 hand from each session for feedback

3 45-minute study sessions per week. 4 1/2 weeks in March; let's say I need to have 13 study sessions.

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Hopefully, these small heuristics and goals will result in a bit healthier existing and thinking, and improvement on and off the tables.

Booked a Vegas trip for 3/15 - 3/19. Plan is to work remote and grind cash after. The PokerGo Tour has a PLO Series during that time out in Vegas. Not to say I think it will bring action - just that it makes me excited to go and exist in the rooms during that time. March Madness, too!

Went ahead and booked for WSOP as well. I'll be there around Main Event time, probably firing in the $1500 PLO Bounty on July 7, and grinding cash the rest of the time, waiting for tired, tilted tournament players to come sit

Side note - I think I am somewhat addicted (or at very least really enjoy) to the buzz in poker rooms when there are heavy hitters and big names there and the livestream is running. I've logged hours at Hustler, The Bike, and The Lodge within the past few months, and during the time the streams were popping, the cash games going on in the rooms were electric. Maybe it sounds naive or silly, or perhaps I am wording it poorly, but there is a certain feeling in the poker room when it is known that poker fans are tuning into the some of the biggest public games right there in the same vicinity.

Last week, for example, when Brad Owen lost several thousands of dollars at The Lodge and was the most talked-about player that week. A certain energy existed in the room as the livestream played and ended. Again, I may be having trouble wording the feeling I am trying to describe. I guess it just makes me feel attune to the community in moments like these when I'm out of town and I know I'm in the same place where fans across the world are watching and loving the same game that I do.

This could also be just something that I feel, but I'm not sure.

First session of March was cut short by a brutal beat in a $5K pot.

I sat down at TCH Spring for the first time in a few weeks. The $1/$3 PLO tables looked excellent for the most part. I managed to make a few hundred before a $1/$3/$6 game is forming. I don't join at first, but eventually decide to move to this game and add $500 to my stack when I see a few action players join. I sit, and it turns out the game is a $1/$3/$6/$15 PLO game. I know I am shot-taking but I think I am still a favorite in this game, so I continue to play.

I pick up AsAc10h4h UTG with $1830 in my stack. There are 4 $15 limpers, folds to me, and I make it $100 to go. Five callers. We're seeing a flop for a $605 pot with five others. Flop is Ah3h5c. BB checks, and I pot for $605. I get a call from a guy who has $350 left. He has been rebuying for $500 and donating, so I'm not really worried about him. The action moves to a regular in the $25/$25/$50 PLO game that runs here. (Side note: when I started playing at TCH Spring, the private game was $1/$3/$6. It has since escalated to $25/$25/$50. Crazy!) He looks a bit defeated but eventually shoves for like $1550. Brian, an older regular I've mentioned before, also calls. It folds to me and I call.

The big game regular starts asking if I have a set. I raise my eyebrows and nod. He laughs. "Well," he remarks, "I'm due for quads. That or a backdoor straight!"

Turn and river bring the 10c and the 3d. He goes, "OH MY GOD! I HIT QUADS!" I turn top boat over, and it takes him a few seconds, but he turns over exactly that. He also had runner runner straight and club outs, the latter of which he hit on the turn.




Not the way I wanted to start off March. Called it early. I think I was playing okay, but I was worried the beat would affect my mentality. Home now. Studied for 45 minutes earlier today, got a 1 min 30 sec plank in, and plan on going for a walk after dinner. Doin' them goals.

really weird play from a PLO reg imo! you better think about why he decided to reship bottom set there..

I think we are using the term 'reg' differently. He is a regular in the big PLO game, and while he is not one of the bigger whales, he's certainly not a crusher. You may have been using it in the sense that he is not going to get out of line very often.

: (

Currently within a string of poor sessions and tough beats. I've lost about $7000 in the past 15 sessions. This is incredibly easy to do, and I realize it's a small sample size, but the human in me cannot shake the poor play. The variance I can deal with. It's just spots like these where I am unsure of what to do and feel like I'm absolutely donating:


A9ssKhKd in HJ

limps to me and I make it $45

three callers

flop AhKsQd

SB donks for $190. He is playing a good bit of hands, maybe seeing 30-40% of flops if not a bit more.

folds to me. I have $760 behind which is effective. I call with plans to only call a shove on the turn on a spade. 3s turn. He leads into me. I call. The river is a blank, and he has J1087.

Part of me thinks that the could still have hands like AKQx, AQJx etc and donk flop, which is how I'm justifying my line, but the other part thinks this is just donating to this guy, and we need to be folding on the flop when donked into in this situation. I block an out to a boat as well. It just doesn't feel great.

I was having this feeling late last week like I finally had full committment to solely chasing equity and ignoring my results, but right now I don't think I'm doing a good job of either. I've got this Vegas trip next week and my confidence is completely shaken in my game right now. Just going to study, and maybe inquire about some live PLO coaching here. I've had a coach in the past, but he was more geared towared hold'em MTTs.

Been continuing to read the threads in the stickied 'Best Of' thread in the Omaha section of the forum. Honestly, these feel more helpful and applicable to the games I'm playing in than the courses I purchased like Mastery and Mastermind. The reading is both interesting and thought-proviking.