As far as HH reviews, are you talking about ones you post or just studying the ones posted by others? I searched and didn't find anything posted by you.

I'm a big fan of meditation myself.

I think there’s value in posting hands that I’ve played to get others opinions, but for the goals I meant other people’s hands that I review. I like reviewing other people’s hands as a practice, because making myself write out my reasoning helps me find any leaks in my thinking, plus it keeps me in the habit of thinking through a hand in an effective way for when I’m doing it at the table.

Meditation has been a game changer for me, just in general for life but also for my focus and be able to quiet the noise and think clearly through a hand at the table.

Late reg just ended, we’re sitting with about 57K at 1250/2500, 689 left, 387 places paid.

LG

Busto.

1250/2500
Folds to CO (45K) who opens 5K, folds to me in the BB, I shove 56K with AKo, he snaps with AQo and binks the Q.

Then got all in for my last ~9K with 22 vs AA. Tough finish considering that pot would’ve almost made me a lock to make the money + be set up to have the opportunity to make a decent run.

Monday Motivation


Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona

Arizona is one of my favorite places and it’s actually a life goal of mine to have a house in the Phoenix area, eventually. Happy Monday everybody, let’s have a week!

Rough! Tournament poker can be a real grind, highest of highs and lowest of lows.

As for Arizona, I've always wanted to go to Flagstaff!

Yeah I really don’t spend much time on my tourney game at all. I just don’t have the stomach for them, so I just fire a handful per year and consider them straight gambles. I have been fortunate enough to ship a few at some opportune times. Paid for my wedding and down payment on my house with 2 tourney scores. Was hoping this one would buy me a bus, but it looks like I’ll have to keep grinding

I passed through Flagstaff once and ate at a bomb ass Indian restaurant on Christmas day. Didn’t spend much time there but it’s pretty close to a lot of cool places to see in AZ, imo.

Got a little 2/5 session in today and finished -$70ish. Definitely didn’t play my best, a little fancy play syndrome with a couple of 3b/4b spots that might not have been terrible in theory but were just unnecessary. Also could’ve been more disciplined with my preflop selection which got me into some sticky spots postflop. Overall just felt a little rusty and unfocused. Gonna post a couple of notable hands I wanted to review to see what people think.

Hand1:
UTG straddle, folds to me in the SB and I make it $35 w/ QcQd, only straddle calls
-Straddle is a middle aged guy who prob calls to much preflop, seems to have some gamble in him but hasn’t done anything too crazy
($75) AT5r
I check, straddle bets $35, I call
($145) 9h second heart
I check, straddle bets $65, I briefly tank call
($275) 9x
I check, straddle bets $105, I fold
- Should I just let this go OTT? I definitely have some Ax in my check range to call with. Maybe I should bet the flop? Not sure people are just betting 3 streets just hoping I don’t have an ace here, but I’d love to hear some other people’s thoughts.

Hand 2:
I’m in the HJ and I open 20 w/ QJo, CO & BTN call
- CO is a young thinking player who plays a lot of hands pre and will take a lot of stabs post if he thinks he can win the pot
- BTN is the straddle from the previous hand
($60) AJ6r
I hesitate and check, CO bets $30, BTN calls, I make it $105, CO calls, BTN folds
- I block top 2, AQ, CO would 3b AK (and AQ some). I prob should bet more but was planning for a bigger bet OTT…
($300) 6x
I lead $150 with about $400 back, CO calls
- Once the turn pairs the 6, I would bet smaller with my value hands but still be able to set up a shove and CO knows this, that’s why I went with that sizing.
($600) 4x
I give up, he bets $100, I fold , he shows A6

Would love to hear thoughts on all streets for this one as well.

Nice thread man.

GL!

Thanks man!

Ya boy is in a little bit of a rut. 2 sessions in a row I feel like I’ve played pretty poorly. It’s not a thing where I’m playing bad the whole sessions but it’s been a few times each session I lose my focus and complete auto pilot and make some sizable mistakes.

I know I’m human and it’s going to happen, but it can’t happen too often or it’s going to cut into my profits in a big way. Not sure how I’m going to address it yet, but I have to get in a headspace where I can stay focused thru the whole session and execute.

Can’t be steppin on my own toes.

H1 after xc turn you can't xf river getting almost 4-1 on a call. I'd start off with a small cbet personally.

H2 is bad otf. Getting fancy for no reason. Yes you have blockers to AJ and AQ but you also have to think about what hands you don't block which is all the other Ax.

Nice to see some live HHs for a change. Keep em coming.

Thanks for the feedback!

I think you’re right on hand 1, small cbet plays a lot better when we’re not against someone that we know won’t bluff at signs of weakness. We have the range advantage and can get value from Tx type hands. Checking the flop just kind of puts us in no mans land guessing where we’re at when we start facing bets.

I see your point on hand 2, but from my perspective both villains are pretty capped at ATish (besides 66), and I can easily rep all the big hands (AA, JJ, 66, AK, AJ). Nothing wrong with just giving up knowing Atleast one of them has an Ace and I’m not really in the business of trying to make people fold top pair, but I thought since the V was a good/thinking player he would be able to let go of TP medium kicker. We’ll never know obv since he flopped 2pr and turned a boat lol. Just out of curiosity do you think the move is just unnecessary high variance move or do you think my reasoning is bad?

I’m definitely going to try to post some more HHs in here, I think there’s big value in hearing other people’s perspectives, plus hopefully people will enjoy seeing them and breaking them down.

I wouldn't say the reasoning is bad. I'd say the timing is off though. Its just hard to realize our range advantage in a MW pot OOP. Easier to do in HU and 3B/4B pots.

I'd rather we do this on a board like 952 with a backdoor flush instead of this one. Are you in PA? I saw you mentioned PITT. I live on the other side of the state bordering NJ.

I am, I’ve lived in the Pittsburgh area for the past ~5 years. Are you near Philly? I drove to Parx one time on a Saturday night while my wife was getting tattooed in Brooklyn and I was like 70th on the waitlist or something stupid like that. Hung out, ate, had some drinks and eventually headed back to NY before I ever got to sit lol.

Wow that must've been annoying! I actually live north of Philly and am closer to Sands and Mt.Airy.

Do you play online? Its legal here. Games are pretty good. The regs are nothing special and the fish are REALLY bad.

I have never really played online much other than a brief stint of PLO on Betonline a few years back when I was working with my buddy who’s a PLO coach.

If I’m being honest with myself, maybe I’m a little intimidated or just don’t want to put in the work. My background is live poker and I’ve sort of built my entire skill set around max exploits, bumhunting, being very perceptive, certain adjustments to protect myself against better players at the table, and just cultivating scenarios where I’m going to be earning a lot of EV without having to be very technically sound or balanced or whatever you wanna call it. I think playing online would require me to start over in terms of how I think about the game and build new skills which feels a little overwhelming to me. Although I do think taking the time to put in that work and improve in those areas would also make me a better player overall, thus improving my live game too.

Thats fair. Online is a big time commitment to keep up with/above the competition. I totally get where you're coming from. GL in the live arena I'll be following.

Thanks!

Been facing a little adversity these past couple sessions. For the third session in a row I’ve been struggling with my focus, and it’s been causing me to play pretty poorly.

I think consistent focus and discipline over the long term might be THE MOST IMPORTANT skill in poker. It’s takes the very best players 10 or more hours to earn 100 big blinds and it takes about a 30 second lapse in focus to punt off that same amount. Humans really aren’t built to thrive in scenarios like this, which is why I think learning to be present and mindful is the most important thing. Virtually no one has the natural ability to focus for that long consistently. Our nature is certainly working against us in poker in many ways.

I’m not going to be on here saying that we should be paying attention to the action 100% of the time because that’s just not sustainable if you’re playing enough hours. But I think you have to find some way to at least stay present at the table. Scrolling your phone, watching the TVs or whatever else is all taking you away from the table and it’s really tough to just jump right back in when you’re dealt a playable hand and snap be fully focused on the hand. I think the best advice I can give myself is to just be social at the table. Interacting with the other players and the conversations should at least keep me present with the overall scene at the table. I’d love to hear others’ thoughts on this.

I'm definitely of the mindset that being social at the poker table is essential to positive-mindset and focus, to an extent of course. You don't want to be drinking and not paying attention to the action and just gambling it up with blind straddles all around, but keeping things friendly, chatting people up and all that is extremely helpful. It's kind of like the Phil Laak / Antonio Esfandiari approach: be friendly, talkative, and involved in the action, all while playing relatively tight, focused poker (not saying they play ideal or even good poker at times, but you get the example)

I’m not going to be on here saying that we should be paying attention to the action 100% of the time because that’s just not sustainable if you’re playing enough hours. But I think you have to find some way to at least stay present at the table. Scrolling your phone, watching the TVs or whatever else is all taking you away from the table and it’s really tough to just jump right back in when you’re dealt a playable hand and snap be fully focused on the hand.

I've been playing for a long time and this issue of being in the moment at the table is a key to winning for me. I don't have a problem doing that live - been doing it so long. But on line I have often had a sports game and maybe a live stream on while playing. So I no longer play for serious dollars on line

This is something I can definitely agree with. The last session I played was the online private game I played in, and I was watching the Hall of Fame game, doing laundry, texting, etc. I really was not present with the game AT ALL. I, of course, know that is a mistake and just have to do better.

WRT live I think it’s way easier to be present, but for me personally, it starts getting harder as I start adding significant amounts of volume. Let’s be honest, live poker is slow AF and for the most part boring (if you’re playing well), and having a smart phone in your pocket doesn’t help. One of my tricks if I start to drift is pop my headphones in and listen to a guided meditation. Even if that doesn’t keep me present with the action it keeps me present in my body so I can think clearly about what’s going on when I enter a pot. The other thing I noticed is that it becomes easier as you play higher, because there’s less headphones, more people chatting it up and being social and whatnot. There’s even a big difference from 1/3 to 2/5 in the room I play in.

I think this is an important topic. When you say being in the moment at the table is key to winning, I couldn’t agree more. It doesn’t really get talked about much but I almost think nothing else matters if you can’t master that.

Monday Motivation



Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, TX

August Update:


As I’ve alluded to, I haven’t been playing very well this month. That being said, it’s still early and I feel good about turning it around and finishing strong. I started my mindfulness course, which imo is already a win, whether I finish it this month or not. I don’t wanna rush it, and I put the goal in place to give me the drive to at least start working on it, so it essentially already did it’s job. I plan on getting a decent amount of volume in this week so I’ll check back in a bit hopefully with some interesting HHs to discuss. August goals posted below for reference 👇🏻

August Goals:
Take a shot at 5/10 [ ]
40 Hours of Poker[ ]
Winning Month [ ]
Average <37 hours/wk at work[ ]
Write a mindfulness course[ ]
+$500 in Investments [ ]
1 Kayaking Trip [ ]

I tried my hand at professional poker for almost 2 years in Columbus from 2017 - 2019. This statement above is 100% correct. I wasn't willing to go to home games and card clubs, a little paranoia perhaps, but your hometowns (in USA) aren't where your greatest earning potential lies. I could count maybe a handful of poker locales around the states where a person could maximize their earning potential, and the midwest doesn't have any of them.

There's a side of humanity you see if you play live long enough. It ain't good, it'll affect you. And there are so many lies about freedom, setting your own schedule, etc. Yeah, you can take off any day you'd like - you just won't get paid for it. Sure, you can play anytime you want, as long as you're willing to take a 50%+ "paycut".

Don't forget about those days when your mind and body are just off. You can show up to your shitty job and make the same amount of money, but you can't with poker. Or losing money for the 7th straight session. You train your mind and body to not let it affect you, but it does. Worst part is, tomorrow can be your 8th straight losing session, and there's not a damned thing you can do about it.

Unless someone can crush and make $200k+ a year from the tables, or make a stable business from poker, it isn't worth it. It is literally 1 step up from entry level customer service positions. If you can somewhat make it in poker, you can make it in other industries as well, except with more money, more benefits, and an easier life.

(Sorry for the derail, been following the thread, GL!)