Ran well, got big pairs a few times. Up $1,250 in 6 hours at 2/5.

OK now that I've gotten plenty of sleep, a little detail filling in about last night (which was, by the way, Dumbo's biggest single-session win). Great timing coming off a $1k downswing.

I almost went on tilt the entire session early on when I had 44 in SB off a $290 stack and the BTN (unknown rec) iso'd to $30. I folded. Flop: 9-9-4. Runout: 3-K. CO had 96, BTN had OP. I would have TRIPLED UP! I kept telling myself it was a good fold because I wasn't deep enough. It still sucked big time to miss such a huge opportunity.

Got KK three times, AA once, QQ once, all held in various ways. Twice I got KK AI pre. QQ I called EP open in MP, BTN squeezed to $120, only I called. I called his cbet on 9-high flop. Blank turn and river were checks and MHIG.

Here's some sideways chip porn and IHOP with friend Christi afterwards. The country omelette there is divine. Can't go wrong with omelette filled with hash browns, ham, and topped with cheddar. Yum yum! Almost as tasty as a big stack of black chips.





Watching high stakes poker reruns. I think my playing style is most like Phil Laak's.

2/5 and 1/3 were night and day. Got AA twice early on in 2/5 session, 3! pre both times, got full double up from TT first time, second time took it down pre. AK $40 in straddled pot from EP, one caller, LAG BTN 3! $150, I 4! $350 and take it down pre.

Raise 88 and 99, a few callers, flop sets both times. Get value over two streets with 99 (88, all folded flop). Wanted to book win and getting a bit tired so headed down a stake. Figured I couldn't lose too badly at 1/3 in a couple hours or so. Boy was I wrong.

Raise J9cc (first hand I've raised), two callers. Flop: 8c-7d-Ac. I plan on CRAI. BB checks, I check, third player last to act bets $25. He's an unknown older gentleman of Southeast Asian descent with bad teeth. BB calls, I CRAI $300, older guy tanks for a while and calls AI for less ($200), BB folds AJo face up. I miss and old dude has Q8o and holds. Wtf? I'll take 62% equity any day. Annoying result though.

Raise JJ, two callers including fun Asian and a different older Asian guy. Flop K-3-3. We all check. Turn: 8. Fun dude bets $15, other dude calls, I fold. River: Q brining backdoor flush. Fun guy bets $25, other calls, they chop with 87 and 98.... Seriously?

Get AKo on BTN, tight dude raises $15, I flat, same fun old Asian dude flats BB. I miss, tighty had KK. Get QQ, 3!, all fold. Get QQ again, just call $21 raise from older lady (sizing tell), fun Asian 3! $50, older lady jams, I fold, Asian calls with AKhh, loses to lady's AA.

Get 77, call EP open to $15, Asian jams $40 in BB, three of us call. I miss on KJT. Asian's 33 loses to QJ. Get 99, fun Asian raises $7, three callers including me. I call him down on A-3-4-T-x. He checks river and I lose to JJ. He actually had it this time. He usually didn't.

Lost $400 in 1/3, up $550 in 2/5. My hourly in 1/3 is pitiful 2-3 bb/hr. (1,000 hours). 2/5 hourly is still BALLER at 14 bb/hr. (150 hours). Will these numbers converge? Only time will tell. I think the answer is "likely." Maybe I've just gotten better and my 2/5 results reflect that. Or "fish on heater." Who knows?

Meh session. 2/5 down $415, 1/3 up $30. Won lucky table promo for $200 at least. No big hands at 2/5 - AA got turned when both Vs made their flushes (incidentally I would have rivered top boat), I folded to hefty bet OTT. If I had l/rr I would have won against AQhh since SPR would have been low enough I would have probably jammed flop, assuming he iso'd BTN and then called pre.

Raised QQ, one caller, BB 3! $110, we both call. Flop KTT. Checks around. Turn J. Second caller bets, BB calls, I am out. River, AI and a call. KTo wins it. BB says he had AQ. (I honestly thought he had AA given that I had QQ.)

Bluffed 56ss when I opened CO, BB defended, flop 3-3-4. I cbet, he called. Turn A. I bet, he called. River K, I bet $65 he called with A2. Meh.

Almost nothing happened at 1/3. I was largely card dead. Got AK, whiffed, AQss, iso'd fun straddler, I bet/jam turn on Ks-3s-5c-Jd and he calls, I river nut flush and am good. Got rivered a couple times in limped pots where I flopped two pair but obvious draws got there otr and I check/folded.

That's pretty much it.

How do you think the overall play compares at your 1/3 NL game versus your 2/5 NL game?

1/3 NL is probably a bit more of a rake trap than 2/5 NL, but overall I'd put much more faith in my 1000 hour sample size at a lower stake than a 150 hour sample size at a higher stake (especially if your answer to the question above is anything other than "they play about the same"). So just something to be prepared for mentally in the upcoming hours.

But, you're still winning in each, which can't be said of most of your opponents, so just gogogo, imo.

Ggoodluck!G

1/3 has gotten more nitty and nutpeddling over the last several months than it used to be. There are still a few crazy gamoolers but you have to put effort into finding them. People limp AQ, almost no one is getting AK/AQ/JJ in for much more than $100 pre, few people 3! well - it's usually just AA and KK.

You also make way more money from the bad players at 2/5 in the big pots than you would in similar pots at 1/3 (and people stack off lighter at 2/5 pre). When you factor in rake as % of pot, there's really no comparison: 2/5 is where the real money is at long term.

Lost $450 at 2/5 but ran up my last $150 up to $850 at 1/3 so made $250. The 1/3 game was amaze-balls so I am just getting home, much later/earlier than normal. That does not bode well for my sleep schedule! I may just have to get a few hours less than I normally do today and get an early night's rest later tonight.

2/5 I was pretty much card dead the whole time (with one exception: I 3! AKdd over an MP open and took it down pre) until I opened 7c7d in CO to $20 with $280 behind, capable/solid BTN calls, SB (tilted/donkey) 3! $50 with $120 behind, we both call. Flop 9-6-3c. We all check. Turn: 9c brining bdfd. SB checks, I bet $60, they both call. River: Ts. Flush draw bricked and I am heavily blocking one straight draw. We check, BTN jams $200 effective. SB folds leaving me to the dirty work. I tank call. BTN shows Q9dd. :/ I head to 1/3.

1/3 was just value village/running well. With the mediocre AQ I actually flopped two top twice. AK, flopped top/top, stacked shorty with worse Ax twice. Got AA, held. KQdd AI on Jd-5d-6c flop against KJo and river the Q for the win. (This was my first double-up.) Limped A3ss, SB min c/r me with two callers on 332. We all call. Turn: 4s, giving me trips with a straight flush draw. SB checks, I bet $40, all fold, SB CRAI $400 ($200 effective), I call, he has J3o, I hold.

That's pretty much it. Live to fight another day.

Got some feedback the 77 hand in the strat thread and many said jam pre (seems like injecting unnecessary variance into my game?), but the vast majority said call river. So I'm fine with it.

Woke up super late. Embarrassingly so. Will try to stay on a relatively normal schedule. At least it is still daylight outside. If the sun had set I think I'd be rather depressed right now.

At least I'm still doing some sort of exercise - nothing close to my initial goals, but better than nothing.

Back home by 4:00 a.m., so a marked improvement from yesterday. Ended up $680 at 2/5. Got QQ multiway, GII on 8-high flop and held. Got 99 mutiway, checked around on K-4-5. I bet a brick turn and got one chaser to call. He folded to my river bet (river was a 9). Got AK, flopped top pair turned top two, took it down ott.

Caught up with poker bud at 2/5/10 table and we had a drink together. Got offered molly by the this prop bet wagering/older white dude I played with a couple month ago. I politely declined (but quickly ordered a Corona and lime to fit in).

That's pretty much it. Up around $2,500 this month so far. Let's see if I can beat my March numbers.

Here's some funny chip pron (I stacked my chips in hundreds to look like a total fish) and the newest addition to my plant collection: Mr. Frog!

I've read a lot of your stuff at SSNL and am glad to see you're doing so well.

With this in mind and your most recent HH post re: A3 on 332 flop, I'm curious as to how that turned out? Everyone else snap called but I'm leaning towards a nit fold. You're playing in an *awesome* game if anyone is intentionally going broke here with a worse 3x on a 4way raised flop, imo.

GbutIwasclearlyoutvoted,sowhatdoIknowG

Thanks, dude! You might not expect these results given a lot of what I post in the strat forum - often my worst-played hands.

I am getting better but also running well in important spots.

You know what they say: Even an acorn finds a squirrel every once in a while. Or something....

I tank called, but only after I announced my hand and expressed to the table that this must be 22 - mainly so I didn't look foolish if he did show up with 22. I ended up calling because why check deuces full ott?

He had J3o. I held. Yes, this particular game was, as I said, "amaze-balls." Which is why I didn't leave until 7:00 a.m.

Broke even at first table due to annoying V to my immediate left who 3! me a lot. Changed tables.

New table I basically ran like the wind. Opened A9ss CO, two callers, flop QdJs4c. Turn Ts. SB leads $35, I raise $120 - great blockers, plus tons of equity if called. They both fold.

Then raise 66 UTG, two callers, flop 642cc. I cbet, BTN raised $200, other V folds, I jam $450, he snaps and I ask if he has a combo draw or a set; he says has a set. "I have one too, sorry," I say as I table it. This V stacked me with AA against AK AI pre for $600 a week or so ago. Not quite even yet. Lol.

Then iso one older white dude with KcKh on BTN, he l/rr $65, I flat. Flop T64ccc. He cbets $125, rather large. Pretty consistent with AA so far. I call. Turn: Kd. He bets $150, I raise, he ships, I snap for $900, he has AcAs and I hold.

Not long after, MP1 opens, two callers, I flat QsQh on BTN, SB 3! $130, two callers including me of course. Flop: QUEEN-6-4dd. Life is good. SB bets $150, caller in between flats, I raise $450, SB tanks and sticks it all in for $750, caller folds, I snap and table the goods. I cracked his KK. The table is aghast at my run good.

At this point I am sitting on $2,600 and my table change (from over an hour ago, before I even sat at this table) comes in. Terrible timing, of course. Everyone wants a chance to win back their money. "Sorry, I've been waiting for this table change for a while," I tell the guy with KK sitting to my immediate left. He's understanding.

I change tables and play tighter than ever. It's pretty deep here. A couple stacks over $3k. I think I folded AQhh UTG. Lose a bomb pot with black TT on 9JQccc. Yes, I flopped oesfd, but with a field bettor and two callers I was maybe drawing to one out. I let it go.

That's pretty much it. Up $2,250 in 5 hours. Another record!

Nice session!

Gotta stop playing in Australia, man. Sure, upside-down land is fun, but the rake is brutal there.

Garick: It might not make a big difference (it is only chip porn after all!), but if you click the gray bar at the top of the pic it resizes right side up. Sorry, I've been having trouble lately with TinyPic Url for some reason I can't explain.

Thanks, Kato! I'd flopped multiple sets in a session, but I'd never stacked OPs twice in a row like this.

It's not a problem. I just like giving you crap and letting you know that folks other than GG actually read this.

So what did button have when you called with 77?

Offered molly? LOL this guy takes molly and grinds live poker?

He literally handed some to another player in front me of. It was crazy.

Guy had Q9dd.

Hehe thanks. For some reason it appears fine when I open the thread on my
Phone. Technology....

Lost $600 tonight (everything I brought with me). After starting at internet-micro-stakes-tight table, switched to a good 2/5 table, guy raising every other hand to $30. Finally get a premium, limp AKo UTG in straddled pot, dude raises on cue, two callers, I jam $350, and THEY ALL CALL! Now just gotta win this f*ckin' pot. I end up with AK-high on 79T62 runout. T8o scoops (also in the mix were KJhh and another 8x that folded to KJhh's $500 bluff into a dry side pot lol). Doh! Moved down to 1/3 with my last $275.

Am about even for the first few hours until I flop nut flush draw twice in a row and lose about $85 missing both (once with top pair to go with it, sadly V had 2p). Then get KhKs and raise $15 two callers. Flop QdJd7h. I overbet 2x pot $100, but no takers. (I also overbet jammed AA earlier and got called by Qx on Q-high flop and held.) I tended to bet on the bigger side on wet boards tonight to protect my OPs/sets, not sure if I was playing a little overprotective being on my last bullet.

Then call UTG open from older white gentleman with red JJ UTG+1. Flop T-J-Acc. He bets pot ($45), I call, BB folds. Turn: 3c. He barrels $75, I jam $125, he calls with 87cc and I don't fill up. Never saw that one coming....

Left a little disappointed that my high from the big win last night didn't continue, but always keeping in mind the long run, so not too bummed out. Can't win 'em all. At least I woke up early and stayed up all day, in bed writing this around midnight, so back on a decent schedule. Victory!

Another day. Just reflecting a little more on the loss last night. While it never feels great to lose, it hurts much less now than it used to. (Oh, by the way, Thursday is still my ONLY day in the red overall. I was so close to getting it in the black!)

During the Garrett Adelstein interview with Joe Ingrahm, Gman speculates that successful pros are able to celebrate their wins and are OK with their losses. I think that's so true to long-term happiness in this field. Many people who consider themselves "pros" or winning players feel overly terrible when they lose, as if they are no longer winning or let themselves down in some way. I know I used to take losses personally, particularly early on when each loss was a much bigger proportion of my bankroll.

It's important to have perspective. Did I really punt or play poorly in a couple spots, and were those spots the overall reasons for a losing session? If so, lesson learned. Plug the leaks. We don't always play perfectly. But if it was primarily variance, I can't possibly feel the same way. That's just poker. I know my losing sessions used to be much more attributable to poor play than variance. It's probably the opposite today. That speaks volumes about my growth as a player over the last few months.

The nice thing about being winning players is that while we get unlucky sometimes, we win way more when we "get lucky," which is why it's so important to think long term and keep looking at my graph, which is pretty much around a 45-degree angle. :P Note March is when I started playing 2/5 as my main game. I think I started playing much better when I moved up. Others have noted this trend in their own games as well after moving up in stakes.



Last night I know I made a questionable call with K9cc OTB, overlimping/calling SB raise to $16 after UTG called. I called on JT3c with gutshot to non-nuts and bdfd, then called again when backfoor flush came on board-pairing 3. I missed river and V fired a third barrel. Could have saved myself $80 there.

Also, I overbet jammed my OPs otf twice and got action only once. Also overbet jammed top set QQ ott on Q-T-4hh-2 ($60 in pot, jammed 2x pot). Figured awkward stack size left otr if I bet pot and wanted to change his draws the max. If I was deeper I'm sure I would have bet $50 or so. So definitely not playing perfectly.

Home game tonight at friend Dennis'.

Home game last night was fun. Went to Dennis' early to escape traffic and got some work done before the game started. Good to see friends and take a night off. Busted out of the tournament, so -$20 there. I don't have the patience to be a tournament player. So many losses separated by few wins, mostly min cashes. At least with cash sessions I have a relatively steady flow of income and am not flipping for my entire session every time.

I was running a little cold early on in the cash game but eventually picked up steam (AA 2x, KK 1x, QQ 1x), flush over flushed Dennis (sorry), and ended up $170, so a tidy $150 profit.

Beautiful day today following a couple dreary/stormy ones. Might have to mow the lawn, it's getting to that point. Back at MGM later tonight.

I played well but lost $500 tonight. Dwindled down slowly until I get involved with a fun player who limped BTN. I check my option in BB with 64o. Flop: 6-4-Qcc. I check, he bets $10 into $15. I call, SB folds. Turn: 4c. I check, he bets $20, I c/r $50. This guy is a complete station by the way. He has called many river jams for heaps with A-high. River: 9c. I bet $150 with $25 behind. He tanks, asks why I left $25 behind, and eventually jams for my last $25, I snap and table the goods. He turns over TcTd for the T-high flush. No good, sir!

As a result of this hand, I had basically broken even until I finally get my first super premium hand. CO pro opens $15, I 3! red KK $60 with $390 behind, BB colds calls, original raiser calls. BB is fun Indian guy. You may remember him from when he said "ever heard of runner runner?" when he called my $30 cbet with QJo on a K-7-2r flop.

Anyway, flop is Q-T-2ccs. Indian donks $110 into $180, CO folds, I call. Turn: J. Indian checks, I jam $280 (targeting all his draws, AQ), he tanks and complains that I must have hit my gutshot with AK and eventually calls. I don't improve against his flopped top two with QTdd. A visiting pro from Greece calls him a fish in Greek. Lol. I leave.

Another loss, but really can't complain about how I played. Got unlucky with my KK that one hand against QT. That's all it takes. Back at it tomorrow. Happy Easter!