A few questions if you don't mind.

1) Do you enjoy playing poker when you're short stacking?
2) Do you consider it higher EV than playing deeper (even just 100bb eff)
3) Which are you planning on doing first, short stacking 2/5 or playing deeper at 1/3?

Glgl

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1. Yes I enjoy it, although not as much as I used to. It takes more patience than deepstacked poker. In general, you can't really play SCs ever, small PPs to a raise, and the lesser offsuit broadways (although folded to me OTB I will open hands like KQo).

2. My winrates before and after short stacking haven't changed that much. I'd say it comes down to personal preference, not EV.

3. That's a good question. I've already played a couple ss sessions at 2/5 and 1/2 PLO and they went well enough. If I do 2/5 again it will be for the min BI because I cannot afford to lose more than $300 at a time in a session.

To be clear, I have played deep at 1/3 (normally when I have doubled up a couple times as a shorty but haven't left he table) and do fine.

My hesitation with playing deeper on a consistent basis is getting into cooler situations and getting stacked for heaps. My BR is getting back up to $7k again but still not enough to take a massive swing. Also, psychologically, a big loss would be pretty demoralizing. (Losing just $900 last week was a kick in the pants.) Unfortunately, I am one of those people whose mood is affected by his poker results.

Also, single-raised pots with multiple callers out of position are pretty precarious deepstacked (which is why a l/rr strategy doesn't hurt), while short it doesn't matter because you're GII almost always.

Gl. Thx.

Try three years of law school followed by two months of studying for the bar. That will make ss seem delightfully interesting by comparison.

I like how this thread got more interactive over the past few days. It's always nice to hear people chime in. Thanks!

Today's session was a run-of-the-mill card dead sesh. Five hours, best hand of the night was AKo. 3! a fun player's $12 open to $35, he said "do you want to gamble?" I replied "Yes!" He said "all in." I snapped for $90 and he tabled A2dd. We both paired our kicker (which means I won).

Only other hand of note: I raised a straddle over one limper to $25 with AJdd, four callers. Flop: Kd-Ks-Td. Short stack jams $80, I re-jam $140, his trips (KQo) hold up.

Down $169. Overall I played as well as I could have, so can't be disappointed with the outcome. Just wasn't getting big hands. Nice part about having a bankroll is I get to keep playing! Tomorrow's a new day as always.

PS: There was a Greek guy at our table. I mentioned my recent trip. Too bad he was not the most talkative of characters. Oh well....

Sat for 1/3. Got KK once and 3! an EP open. He 4! AI and we chopped KK v. KK.

Then sat for 2/5 ($300) and nothing happened for almost an hour until a fun player opened for $25 in UTG+3. Four callers and I have ACES! Make it $125, V calls, shorty jams $165, we both call. Flop K-high, I jam, V calls, I river top set and scoop. +$500 in just under an hour.

Didn’t want to play with $800 on the table so I left for karaoke after that. Might go back for 1/3 later.

Don't leave us hanging... what songs did you do?

Gonlykaraoke'swhenoutofthecountryG

A little Radiohead, a little Disney, a little John Legend. It was a good night.

Went back for a 1/3 session afterwards and lost $150 just missing flops and losing to flushes when flopping sets. Meh.

Good 1-hour session. Won a few small pots. One principle of Janda’s second book that I’m increasingly applying heads up is betting small otf to keep V’s range wide, then betting much bigger ott and taking it down most of the time when his weak range can’t handle the pressure.

No huge pots until l/rr AI $180 a BTN open and B.B. 3! with KK. BB had lost several pots in a row and was probably tilting. I four-flushed whatever he had. This dodo bird thought he was so smart to explain to everyone that a l/rr at 1/3 is always a monster. I politely whispered to him to stop talking strat at the table.

Up $267 in 1 hour. Hourly is $21 something. Finally undid the damage from last week, but due to spending on travel to Vegas and food/gas BR is only $6k. Still aiming for $10k by start of November. I’ll be happy if I get to $9k.

Set? Yes, please!

Another successful short ss session. First table was the nut low. No one called raises, even after limping in. Changed quickly. Table two was much better.

No big hands until isolated one limper with KJcc on BTN to $15. Limper and B.B. called. Flop 3-5-Kss. I bet $20, limper called. Turn: 8d. He donks $35. I fold. He shows 35dd. :/

Later raise to $25 in BB over seven limpers and only SB calls. She check folds ($15) on KJ9 flop.

Then raise $20 with TT over a few limpers and get six callers. Flop is favorable. T-4-7r. It checks around. Turn: 8. BB donks $65, I jam $90, I’m good.

Last hand I call a small EP raise with 33. Flop checks around and I turn a set. BB donks $40, I call, river completes flush and puts four to a straight and we both check. He had a pair of 6s. I scoop.

Up $271 in just under three hours. Hourly $22.

Tonight I was told to take a seat at table 10. Table 10 had no less than five winning regulars. I don't even know why they were sitting there all together.

Next!

Moved to table 19, much better. So good, in fact, that I soon bought in for $300. Sadly, I lost my l/rr to a fish/shorty who jammed with A2dd (he flopped the wheel) against my AK. Then lost to same shorty with KK: got cracked in a straddled pot by his QT on a Q-J-9-4-K runout (he jammed the flop). Later I missed a big draw with A5hh against bottom two on a 7-8-9hh flop against a good player who charged me a decent chunk of my stack to see the river - I later reviewed the percentages and it was a break-even call OTT after I raised flop and he called in position.

Lastly, tripled up with AA AI pre and called it a night after 4 hours, down $162.

Sometimes, it's just not meant to be, even at the best tables.

Sigh.

Craptastic session. Kept it to 8 hours this time. Not making the same mistake twice.

L/rr QQ AI for $150, AK wins.

Have A4 in 3-4-5-4-J runout lose to A2. -$100.

Have QQ in CO after being card dead for hours BTN raises $16, shorty l/rr AI $70 and I l/rr AI to isolate. BTN who raised had AA. -$170.

The rest were smaller pots, calling and missing.

Down $600. Home game later today will be nice change of pace.

Played a 14 hour session. Left when I started to feel tired. Began in 1/3 and l/rr squeezed KQo and ran into AA which had flatted the initial raise on the BTN (...).

Later got bluffed off top pair top kicker (AJ) on J-8-3c-Qc-9c runout.

Then ran QQ into KK AI pre. So -$300 on the 1/3 session. Decided it was time for a change of pace and played $1/$2 five-card PLO.

First hand I played I had KK447ss and flopped bottom set on 4-J-9ss. I potted and got called by J-T-8-X-Xss. He went runner-runner quad Js. Re-bought for another $300.

Nothing really happened for a while until I got AAJT double-suited and l/rr, potted nut flush draw and jammed turn when I got there. Took down a good pot. Made back what I lost and about $235 more.

Played 1/3 again because our PLO table broke and made $85. Got it AI with a shorty for $90 with 99 and held against his 88. Then I was called back to the main PLO game. This time things went south....

Flopped set of Ts, nut flush got there on turn and I didn't fill up on river. -$250.

Flopped top two with K-Q-A-8-xss and called flop bet, turned nfd, called turn bet, missed on T river and folded to pot bet otr. -$140.

Flopped set of Ks in raised pot, shorty jammed OESFD with 36hh on K-5h-4h board and flush gets there on river. I win side pot against set of 5s. -$100.

L/rr KK-T-8-2ss AI pre and got called by QJTxxccc by some maniac raising every hand stuck like $5k. I made flush and took it down.

Overall ended down $487 on the session.

Took a day off to rest - and by rest, I mean sleep! Boy did I get a lot of it, too. Good thing Monday was a holiday is all I have to say.

Watched some more of JNandez's PLO stuff today and ordered Hwang's PLO book. Learning a new poker variation is fun and exciting. Brings me back to the beginning of my NLHE days.

I tried my luck at 5-card PLO again tonight, bought in for min $200 per someone's advice. Won a couple decent pots and ended up $250. (Won't be making PLO a habit though - the variance is enormous.)

Then headed to $1/$3 where I lost $85. Last hand my AA chopped with AT on a J-8-9-T-7 runout (and lost to a ss all in with Q9). I had to leave before rush hour hit, so I called it a night. Best thing about the $1/$3 sesh was chatting up a local grinder/pro who I'm sure I can learn lots from if I pay attention.

Up $170 or so on the day in around 9 hours. I'll take a win.

Hey DT, I know this thread isn't really that active, but its nice to see someone on PG&C who plays exclusively live low stakes. As someone who doesn't play online either, its cool following your progress. Keep it up man

Thanks, Andrew! I appreciate it, man. BR has been up and down recently (nothing close to disaster of course), so it's nice to know there are fellow low stakes grinders rooting for me. I'll keep posting in the meantime!

Another difficult longer (13-hour) session. Wanted to reset my sleep schedule so I decided I would play from last night into the afternoon, go to bed later today, and wake up early tomorrow. It's important to be awake when the sun is up. I don't know how people who work graveyard shifts cope without the sunlight. I missed the sun for one day and I was miserable.

Chopped holding aces twice in 3! pots in PLO (both times against this calling station with much lesser holdings), missed a few draws, called a few raises and missed, so lost $250 in five-card. Folded OESD+top pair+NFD OTT to a PSB (putting me AI) by a very aggressive player in position. That one hurt.

As in PLO, in $1/$3 I was card dead most of the session. Got one playable hand per hour (or three). Lost AQ (me) v. 76dd (he flopped two pair, I had about a PSB behind otf and whiffed), lost AQ (me) v. 77 AI pre, lost AK (me) v. 99 AI pre. Theme? Losing flips. Also had to fold in marginal spots several times, e.g., 3! QQ, two callers, flop K-high, I fold to turn bet; flop bottom 2 in BB on 6h-2h-9 board, raise SB's lead, turn 5h, check/check, he leads 7d river $50, I fold; raise 99 UTG in straddled pot, straddler calls, flop J-x-x, I c-bet, he calls, turn A, check/check, river Q, he bets, I fold.

Overall lost $550 in $1/$3.

BR and hourly have taken another hit I'm sad to say. Still nowhere near the danger zone, but definitely hoping to get a few good wins in over the next week or two. $10k challenge is not looking good right now.

Home game tomorrow, hope to refocus and regroup with friends.

One thing I would suggest is to not sweat too much on your day-to-day BR and current winrate (which can swong a lot from session to session especially when sitting on so few overall hours). It's kinda like investing in long term stocks; if you sweated the results every single day it'll drive you nuts and it's unnecessary mental stress that likely isn't helpful.

GgoodluckG

I like your advice to focus on the long-term. Helps put things into perspective. An important reminder for sure. Thanks GG.

Been following this thread for a while now, mostly just trying to get an idea of what kind of BR swings one should expect. Do u have a graph image available?

I've been fluctuating between $6.5k and $5k over the past month or so. About $1k-$1.5k swings in either direction. It's been a bit of a roller coaster the past few weeks to be honest.

Last night's home game was fun. (No takers for a round of PLO though.... :/) On top of it, made $100. Not bad for a 0.25/0.50 game!

Read the important parts of Hwang's PLO book. Definitely recognized some mistakes I made my first few tries (but also some good plays).

Going back to MGMNH tonight. Saturdays are often difficult nights for me. Let's see if I can break the cycle after a stretch of runbad.

Thinking positive.

Won $170 in PLO - wanted to apply some of the concepts I learned in Hwang's book ASAP before I forgot them all. Raised AA559ss in EP, four callers, BB on tilt makes it $50, I pot, he goes all in with Kxxxx random crap and I hold. Also flopped top boat with KKJxx on K-T-T, a fish flopped trips and he jammed over my c/r.

$1/$3 was characterized by a couple major suckouts. I 3! KK in LP over an EP open to $8 (I made it $55 over a few callers), he jammed for my effective $250, I called, his AQ binked an A on the turn. I'm sure he thought he was a genius.

Later, raise JJ to $21 over a couple limpers, one terribad fish limp/calls, flop is low, I jam $52, he calls with K4 spades for backdoor flush, gutshot straight and gets the straight on the river.

-$400 in $1/$3.

Then played PLO again for an hour or so and folded the entire time. Not. One. Playable. Hand.

-$230 in 9 hours. Why are Saturdays are the bane of my existence?!

Broke the cycle tonight.

Started in PLO ($200) where I GII with AAxxss on spade draw flop, rivered nut flush. Then overpaid to draw to nut flush and gutter to broadway on turn against made lower straight, lost $200. In limped pot, rivered underfull, 9s full of Kings, and called a $50 river bet. Thankfully, he had 9s full of Qs. Then GII with spade nutflush draw and gutter to broadway against top set KKK and rivered the straight. Up $296 in PLO in a couple hours.

Moved to friend's table at $1/$3 and continued to run well. Bought in $120. First hand, jammed JJ over older Asian man's open to $30, cracked his AA with J on river. Then GII with shorty on AK8 flop with top two against his AQ and rivered Kings full. Later raised KK, got three callers, checked T-high flop, raised SB donk OTT, he folded. Raised AK, missed on JJ8 flop, folded to donk and call. 3! AQo in SB against EP open and BTN call. Opener calls, BTN folds. Flop: 995cc, I cbet 1/2 pot, V folds. Next, limp/called a raise with 55, flop Q-T-T, checked through, turned boat, checked through, bet river J hoping AK will call, no takers.

Ended up $500 in $1/$3 in three hours or so.

Overall up $796 on the day. Best part was I played $1/$3 with my friend and bantered with her and a couple dealers who like me.

Hope I can turn this win into a winning streak.

Started in 1/3 while waiting for PLO table to open up. Was to left of fish (who was deep somehow) and made lots of money off of him, then called down with TT against a reg's triple barrel, lost to his rivered flush. Up $182 when PLO called me.

PLO went poorly, likely due to my inexperience. Limp/called an active BB's raise with AxssJxJc9c and flop was QJ8cc. Raiser checked, I checked, BTN bet half pot, we both called. Turn 8, giving me middle boat. We check, BTN bets $150 into $200, we both call. River club, BB now leads for $400 (I have only $65 behind), I call, BTN folds, BB has top boat QQQ88. :/ I think with a little more experience I could have avoided that spot, either by folding pre or on the turn. Then got AA AI pre against KK and V flopped a set on me. Mix in a few calls and misses and there goes $450.

Went back to my comfort zone $1/$3 for a few more hours where I ran it up pretty well from $100 to $500, so overall up $240 on the day. Hand of the second 1/3 session: three limpers in straddle to me in SB with AA and I make it $22. Folds to one limper who l/rr AI for my effective $120. I'm kinda bored, so I put on a little show, hemming and hawing, then finally call out of seeming exasperation. After the runout he tabled AA (surprise, surprise). I gave it my best "no way, I'm so unlucky" act before tabling the chop. He was not amused.

Can't complain to have another winning session. But I do think it's time to curtail the PLO sessions and continue to run it up again at 1/3. I will say that PLO, because it plays much bigger than most games, has given me added perspective on poker in general and has allowed me to take 1/3 not quite as seriously as I once did. I found myself having a little fun for once at 1/3 today. Haven't said that in a while....

Doing this against a good buddy or against someone who you know has a good sense of humour is fine, but against most it's meh. Remember, the vast majority of the player pool are lifetime losers, so the only reason to come to the poker table is a good time; you don't have to juggle for them, but don't throw balls in their faces either.

GimoG