Booked a small win, $60 in 3 hours. Ran top pair into a set, didn’t pay V off on the river though. Not a whole lot of big hands, no sets. Now at free poker.

Happy weekend! Nice sunny and mild weather. The seasons are changing and it's a great feeling.

Taking today off for free poker regionals tournament, then date night.

Gotta defend my championship title! Then get laid.

Poker-life balance. Amen.

Made $300 in 2/5 in an hour. Called EP open in straddle to $40 with JJ, two other callers. Flop T-high. Straddler donks $50, only I call. He bets $85 ott, I call. He checks river on T-7-4-6-9 runout and I check behind and MHIG against T2hh. Thought about betting river here. Called by worse though?

After date night (watched The Incredibles 2...great flick), came back to MGM to congratulate friend Elena for winning the regionals tournament and taking over the title. Played a little 1/3 with her and our friend Dennis. Lost $200. Ran JJ into KK on T-high flop when V raised pre and bet/jammed turn. With no reads on V I couldn't let this go, even though in similar spots (with reads) I have just folded flop.

Something I've noticed as I play more 2/5 is that my default (call) spots against 2/5 players are normally default (folds) against 1/3 players, as with the JJ hands above.

So ended up $100 last night. Back at it today.

Set got cracked at 2/5. MP opens to $20, two callers, I call in BB with 99. Flop: K-9-4ss. I donk $80, pfr raises $280, other caller jams for less, I re-jam $400, pfr calls with KTss and rivers the As for the nuts (other caller had spades too!).

Dropped down to 1/3 where active BTN raises $11, I 3! SB with AA $31, he calls. Flop: Q-J-Thh. I check/call $55. Turn: Ah. I check/call AI $60. He had A9o and river is an 8 for his straight.

Ended down $525. Meh. It’s sessions like these that remind me how I’d rather have a full time law job (find out tomorrow if I got one I interviewed for...).

Good session. Was up $200 before I lost a decent pot to a solid player. He iso-raises BTN over one limper to $25, I flat BB with TT, we're HU. He cbets Q-2-6r, I call. Turn: Q. We both check. River: 2. I check/call $100 and he has KQ. :/ He normally has it, should have let it go.

Iso QTss over UTG limper, goes five ways. Flop: T-6-4hh. Checks around. Turn: 8. SB now donks $50, UTG and I call. River: Q, flush missed. SB leads $125, UTG jams $350, I fold top two, SB calls with a set of queens against UTG's bluff. I didn't have to play this hand, a little loose for a UTG+1 iso to be honest. Interesting SB didn't 3! squeeze such a strong hand and decided to play multiway (and he plays 5/10 too).

Last big hand I have 78hh and complete in SB. Flop: J-5h-6h. I bet into the field and get raised to $35 by young fun Indian player. I 3! $150, he calls. Turn: 9c. I jam $180, he calls. River: Th. MHIG. I actually thought I rivered a straight flush at first for the high hand promo, lol.

Ended up $390 in four hours.

Haven't heard back about job, followed up too. Guess I didn't get it....

I somewhat laughed at this.

I think quite a lot of threads in the LLSNL forum start out like this, and kinda just proves that "isolating" is hard.

Ggogogo!G

You should be 3 betting the piss out of him here, GL

Played PLO while I waited forever for a 2/5 seat. Got stacked when I flopped top set on J-9-5ss. Of course the straight got there ott. Why do I bother with this bingo crap.

2/5 went much better. Bluffcaught with JJ against bluffy V on 443A3 runout. Then in BB with Q8 called BTN down on QQ648. Flush got there ott and I c/r river and got paid by nut flush.

Then got AA on BTN and 3! old man’s EP open. I checked IP J-high flop. He bet a T turn for $100, I called. He bet $275 on 6d river (flush got there), I jam for $550 with nut flush blocker and he says he has an OP and eventually folds.

Ended up $800 in 2/5 and down $200 in PLO.

Went fine yesterday afternoon. Nothing happened forever, basically breaking even until I flopped bottom set against an OP, won a decent pot against an OMC. Switched tables to a good one where I got KK on BTN, 3! LP open, bad SB cold called, pfr called. Flop T-high no flush draw. I jam $260, only SB calls. MHIG on Q-Q runout.

Ended up $500.

Last night was a swingy session. Started off well, then raised T8hh from MP1 and got three callers. Flop: Kh-9h-5h. I bet $50 into $65, BTN (older guy) asks "how much?" and calls. He called almost a pot-sized bet and asked "how much?" Alarm bells are going off. Turn: 9s. I go into check/call mode and call $75. River: 2c. I check/call $175 into $310 and he shows Q4hh. :/ Punished for loosening up a little. Can't fold a flopped flush when he could be betting worse for value against what he could think is my overpair.

Later, move to actiony 2-5-10 game (mandatory straddle) that puts me a little out of my comfort zone. I win a couple decent pots bluffcatching against a somewhat bluffy V and am up $350 again. Then lose a big one against same V when I call his min-raise multiway in my straddle with KTss and flop K-J-4hh. I call his $20 cbet. Turn: Tc. I call his (again) $20 turn bet. River: 6d. He now bets $225 into $140. This sizing looks like the nuts or a bluff and I have 2p on a board where he could have missed his flush draw (which would be consistent with betting tiny on each street). I somewhat reluctantly call and he has AQ. :/ Then lose medium-sized pot with JJ on Q-7-8-7-7 board.

Then tried to raise in BB by throwing one green chip on top of my redbird and the dealer announced "call." I told him I wanted to raise but if that was the rule, I was fine with a call. He called the floor over anyway and yes it was ruled a call. I was a little miffed, not so much about the ruling (I have no worries following the rules), but with the dealer's tone of voice the whole time. He was very stern and called me "sir" multiple times in a gruff/raised tone of voice. It was not how I'm used to being addressed by most dealers and was off-putting. Some regular who doesn't seem to like me for whatever reason thanked the dealer. I changed tables again and left after another hour or so for my longest session in recent memory, stuck $325 in 8 hours. Winrate is slowly dipping as expected, now $85/hr.

Back at it today! Happy Friday!

Rough one. Played two 4-hour sessions yesterday, afternoon and evening, separated by free poker. First one, lost $350 at 2/5, made $80 in 1/3. Second one, lost $500 in 2/5, $50 in 1/3. Just a raise and miss sort of day. No AA, KK, QQ, not even AK. AQs once, missed multiway. No sets getting paid off. No big hands to speak of. Not winning pots adds up over even a few hours.

One bad runout where I flopped top two in BB with K9 on K-9-5r and got raised by EP rec/drinking limper with ginormous stack, I called. Turn: Q. I check/call $75. River: T. I check/fold to $175. Pretty bad runout for top two if you ask me. All his gutshots except QT got there and I am behind all his conceivable Kx except AK - and would K5 really go for three streets on this runout? Doubtful. I reluctantly let it go, even though he had been caught bluffing before.

Probably back at it today, will see. 2/5 hourly is $75 over 125 hours. Getting close to where "Johnny Vibes" said good players should be ($40-$70/hr.). I knew $95/hr wasn't sustainable, but I wish it could have lasted a little longer!

Played a very short session last night, just an hour of 2/5. Made $230 then booked the win, albeit a modest one.

Limped 77 UTG+1 in straddled pot, straddler (middle aged rec) raises to $40, I call. Flop: 8-7-4hh. Pfr bets $25 into $85 (??), I have a feeling he has an airball with that sizing and just call. Turn: 2. He bets $25 again, call. River: A. He bets $25, I raise to $100 hoping he had AK or AQ, he folds saying "you got there." Must have had KQ.... If he had hearts I think he would have bet more. He certainly didn't have an OP because later on he went berserk with 88 on a 7-high flop and lost to TT. Strange hand.

Raised QQ over two limps to $40, same rec calls, he donks a 6-2-2, I raise, he folds.

Then l/rr AA over an MP open to $30 and two callers, scooped $100 no rake.

Super long session (for me), and broke even. Down $350 in 2/5 over 3 hours, up $330 in 1/3 over 10 hours. Ended up going home just before rush hour. No big hands at 2/5, lots of big hands at 1/3. 2/5 spot: I raise UTG AKhh, BTN calls, SB (unknown rec) 3! $90, I just fold. It goes to showdown and SB had AQdd. :/

Raise JThh, BTN calls, SB calls. Flop: Kh-8x-6x. I cbet, SB calls. Turn: 3h. I check - could continue here, but with K and a call I decided I don't have much FE. I checked. River: brick. SB checks, I don't think he'll fold any pair and I check behind. But he doesn't have a pair; he has QJo.... I asked if he had a draw otf (of course he did not) and he says, "Ever heard of runner-runner?" Rofl. This player is extremely bad in general so this outcome really shouldn't surprise me.

1/3, nothing happening for a while until I pick up KK in EP, get 4 callers. Flop: 2-2-8. SB open jams $120 into $60, I call with $150 behind. MP re-jams for $100 more. Gross spot. I can't imagine I'm ever ahead multiway here with two overbet jams otf. I cry call and plan on leaving. Runout: 9-J. SB turns over JTo, MP turns over 98o. I scoop. I'm pretty sure at 2/5 I'd be broke. The dude who jammed $200 with 98o said he thought I had AK since he'd seen me play it that way before. *Sigh.*

Nice end to 1/3 session: I have racked up and am UTG planning on leaving before my BB. I am dealt . . . red ACES! I am excited but nervous at the same time since this is my last hand and I have booked a win this 1/3 session. I go for the l/rr. No one raises. Five ways. Flop: A-T-2r. I bet $10, tricky Persian kid raises to $25, SB calls, I 3! $65, kid goes away, SB calls. Turn: 9d. I bet $100, SB folds. Who ever said don't play out of the rack?

Will see if I play tonight, last night was a doozy.

So you lost $20 in 13 hours?

I think I have you beat: I played 12.5 hours of 1/3 NL on Saturday and booked a loss of... $2.

Glol@us,imoG

You might be overestimating your winrate, 125 hours is obv nothing. I don't play in the games you're sitting and maybe you are around a $40 winner longterm in the 2/5 games you're in but from reading the hh's you post in this thread (and im saying this constructively) you play way too nitty and scared as of now to have a chance of having a "top" winrate for 2/5. The hand i recently posted about where you flatted tens in the bb to a reg's iso on the button is a prime example. Folding AK s00ted to a recs 3b probaly not a good thing long term. The last hand you just posted why are you 3 betting top set on a A 10 2 rainbow board???????

You're putting in hours at the tables and thinking about the game some and trying to improve which are all positives and again you might be a winner@2/5 in the room you play but until you become more comfortable and open up your game (unless youre sitting in games all the time which primarily consist of rec's/whales/drunks) i can't see you sniffing 50+ hr a long term. Keep workin on your game and posting hh's here, GL

I have no illusions that $75/hr. is where my winrate will remain. As I said, I expect it to continue to decline as the regs adjust to my play and I run into some more runbad. As you could probably tell, I had been running extremely hot over the past few weeks!

Re: 3! strong but not premium hands. I prefer flatting hands like TT and playing post-flop. Honestly, TT is not a hand I want to play a big pot with OOP against a competent opponent. Plus, this V was no LAG. His iso raise is probably pretty snug tbh.

I was walking the dogs today and I kept having to pull up my sagging jeans. This reminded me that none of my pants fit me anymore. Over the past couple years between less exercise and more poker I have lost around 20 pounds, including lots of muscle mass. I used to be a 32-33 waist. I'm probably down to 30-31 now. I'm 5'10'' and maybe a buck fifty-five at this point. Well within normal weight/BMI. Still, at my prime I was pushing 180 (overweight but not at all due to fat).

I think I can do better. Who knows? Might do wonders for my table image too. I don't want to become the puny shrimp at the table who bigger guys think they can push around with impunity.

OK, I am going to venture outside of poker a little and add a lifestyle goal for myself: gain 10 pounds over the next two months. Will start eating more (bought bagels, cream cheese, and peanut butter today) and routinely do 2 sets push-ups and 2 sets planks every day, plus two sets wall sit, adding a push-up and 10 seconds to the plank and wall sit each day.

Mens sana in corpore sano.

Let's go!

You described villain as competent i believe, he may play pretty snug overall but his isioing range on the button against a limper is a lot wider than the range your assigning this type of villain. Also what type of image do you believe you have his eyes? A large majority of the time a good sized 3 bet in that spot is gonna take it down pre. Me personally I'd be doing it in that spot without any type of hand pretty frequently especially with your image considering you're gonna get more respect than most would, good way to pick up some easy money and boost your hourly. Just some food for thought. Also maybe deposit some money online if you don't have a account already and start playing some lower stakes and working on your game, great way to accelerate your growth as a player for obv reasons

I like your suggestions. I’ll give the 3! a try. Thanks.

Today was like yesterday. Lost at 2/5, made it up (and then some) in 1/3.

2/5: call EP raise with KK, bet flop/jam turn and am good. Then limp BTN AKo, SB (usually see him at 1/3 but is an aggressive player there) $30, three callers, I 4! backraise $175, SB jams $550 effective, I call, lose to AA. This was an unnecessary punt IMO. I had the tightest image at the table and V jammed anyway. Plus if I just iso BTN and he 3! SB I can get away from it. Lost $350 in 2/5 in 2 hours due to this hand. Ran AK into AA again in an AI confrontation pre once again. I guess I'll never learn. :/ I feel like this is a big leak in my game.

Also, side note: dealer touched this female reg's hair as he walked behind her at the start of his down and she got pissed off at him, called him out in front of everyone. To try to ease the tension, I told the dealer he could touch my hair whenever he wanted. (He obliged.) She was not amused. Dealer said he just had a hair fetish. Rofl. It wasn't clear if/how they knew each other, so I think he crossed a line for sure. (This chick didn't like me from the first session I played with her though, so meh.)

1/3: a few sets, but moreso a lesson in good customer service. Fun player and I chatted, I bought her a shot of tequila, she bought me a beer (near the end of my session so I wasn't worried about playing while drinking). It was good times. Up $430 at 1/3 in 5 hours.

One tough 1/3 spot: raise AA, older dude flats, flop K-Q-Tr. I check/call $20, then check/call $45 ott (a brick), then check/fold to $150 on Q river. Gross spot.

AK run into AA? That's a cooler man. Even if you had raised on the button and got 3 bet from the blinds you can't get away cause it looks like button vs blinds.

How do you know the female reg doesn't like you? Definitely out of line for the dealer to touch a lady without her permission, does she have nice hair at least?

Thanks for the perspective in the AK/AA hand.

She said I looked cheap the first time she saw me and told the whole table I only play AA, KK, and sets. (Don't give away my strat!) I got the feeling she didn't appreciate my presence at the table is all. She probably pegged me as ultra nitty like her and someone she wouldn't be making much money off of.

If you're reading this, hair girl, the feeling is mutual. And yes, her hair is quite nice. Long and brown, actually. She's s shorty, so her hair is probably about half the length of her whole body.

Tonight I played 5/10 for less than an hour (min $600 buy in). It was actually a 5/10/25 with a mandatory straddle - and I hated it. I lost $80 in 45 minutes just folding everything. Moving on...!

Went to 1/3 (bought in $300 this time) where I doubled up through an OP with a set of 5s and incidentally stacked a third player who had AJ on JT5. This was my biggest pot of the night.

Did a lot of bet-folding on a few rivers too. Good skill to practice at 1/3.

Ended up $450 in 1/3 in 4 hours.

Workout update: I was sore from yesterday so I only did one set of each today.

I see her there often and she usually has some pretty big stacks in front of her.. She must be a pretty good player.

1/3 tonight, trying to get back to normal schedule so left around 2am. 2/5 tables looked reg-infested and bad.

Lost $150 in 3.5 hours. No big hands (AA/KK/QQ), no big pots. TAG iso'd for fourth hand in a row in CO, I 3! JJ BTN, he min 4!, I called. Flop: J-8-7dd. He checks, I bet 1/4 pot, he folds. Why couldn't he have AA instead of AK? :/

Bleed down for a while....

Then make a light call of OMC who bet $12/$12/$30 on K-T-5-K-J in single-raised multiway pot when I had AT. I couldn't even beat QJ by the river, should have let it go. Plus, OMCs wouldn't bluff with QJ and then value bet it otr targeting Tx. What was I thinking?! He bet so small though...! His river bet was like 1/4 pot. (He had K9o.) Oh, OMCs....

And I did my workout today. 22 push-ups, 50-second wall sits, 1 minute 10 second-planks. Feel good.