No hands per se (I'm sitting in my car waiting for a meeting to start FWIW). Be aware weak opponents will respond to aggression by calling down wider and playing more hands against you. Hence, you can value bet lighter (although you will value own yourself on occasion). When they do show aggression, you can comfortably fold as weak passive fish are never making moves. Which is why I'm more critical of your hero calls. Easy game

Can't comment on any hand in particular but I'll say this. I agree some of cuse's spots look "bad" in you were looking at just one hand in a vacuum. In the larger context, I believe this is a natural adjustment players go through. I've been noticing my own game evolve in a similar way. First its tight ABC value value value. Then you realize there are plenty of more spots that are +ev that you can exploit. There is an adjustment period where I've found myself at times making great calls I would never have made before and also some pretty poor calls.

Its about looking at these spots and beginning to pick up where you went right and where you went wrong. Its not all about the results but as long as you are critical about each situation and can learn from them I think you find many more spots than just value and this is important in my opinion to developing and getting yourself ready for higher stakes.

That all said you've got to be able to reign it in and realize that at 1/2 and 2/5 for the most part its an ABC game and that is where your profit comes from


also, cuse, I am heading down AC this week most likely Saturday/Sunday. Looking to get in a session or two at the Borgata. If you're around I'll hit you up and say hello.

I'm going to, at some point in the next month, review this entire thread and see if I would play any hands differently as I sit here now. One thing I plan to look at is the style of my opponents in the hands, and how that impacted my decision (or if I ignored it, obviously this would be a mistake).

This is definitely a process I've gone through over the years, and I think poker players always ebb back and forth on a tight-loose scale.

I won't be out there this weekend, as I've got a family golf outing in Delaware and then I'll be hanging out with my dad at the NASCAR race Sunday since he's a big NASCAR fan and I used to be and still keep the tradition with him.

Keep letting me know though, I'm sure we'll end up there the same weekend at some point. I expect to be down 6/6 to 6/11, and a couple weekdays later in June.

Leak Plugging

One of my goals in May was to identify and plug a leak. I think I've found a few, and plugged a couple. Here are some details.

Leak No. 1 - Completing the SB Too Wide

I really got to thinking about this in the 2/5 game, where the competition was a little tougher and it was a different ratio (calling .6BB instead of .5BB). I realized I'm completing way too wide. For now I've eliminated the bottom of my range, which is about 30%. I'm going to round it to 33% for simplicity sake. We play approximately 30 hands per hour live, which means once per hour I'm saving $1. It could be more or less, because those hands do have equity post-flop but I may be losing additional money playing weak hands out of position. For now, we'll say $1. On a winrate of about $20/hr, that's a 5 percent raise I gave myself.

I may dig deeper into this one in old Hold'em Manager databases. I'm curious whether I should really only be completing like 30% as opposed to 65-70%. In my database the games will be much tougher, so anything +EV in them is way +EV in live 1/2. Marginal losers should be +EV. The rest, I'll look at more closely if it's in my current completing range.

Leak No. 2 - Calling Too Wide on Flop

People have been on me for being a station for a while now, and I get the point but I disagree on some of the specifics, so here's the adjustment I'm making. They're telling me some of the spots on the river I call off are bad, but I think those spots are okay. For one thing, pot odds. I truly think most of my river "lol pot odds," calls are +EV. The real problem is the instances where I'm beat on the flop and call the flop, turn and river. Or instances where I'm ahead of their range EV wise on the flop, but I have a hand that is tough to play and a lot of money behind with two streets to come.

There should be a gap between what we're willing to stack off with on the flop with a low SPR and what we're willing to call with and continue to play with money behind, especially out of position. Despite being in position, I think hand number 5 from my last session is a good example. I was the PFR with KQ and was donked into on a Kx9h6h flop for more than a PSB. If I called the pot would be about $185 with $270 behind. If there was no further action, I believe this would be a call, but I folded it because if I flat call my range is very well defined, his is not, and it's a tough spot that is marginal at best.

These are the types of spots I need to start finding folds in, and I have. I hope this boosts my winrate, but there will really be no way to know definitively in the long run - so I just have to trust that it will.

Leak No. 3 - Not Table Changing When Image is Shot

This is one I need to start fixing now, I just realized it from reading through fogo's thread. I'm on page 4/12 now, and there have been some spots where his image is shot and thus he table changes even from a good table. I've been in these spots and didn't recognize that they lower my winrate substantially even if I'm still +EV. Basically bad players and passive players start playing back at you because you're losing or they've seen you bet/fold too much, so all of a sudden you can't cbet anymore and you are reduced to just making hands and getting paid off. This is a great spot when you're running hot, but if you're not, you just bleed money.

Leak No. 4 - Sleep

When I stay in the casino I often have trouble getting a good night's sleep. I think there are a few factors here. One is that the casino is built to keep you awake, alert and gambling. The light and color combinations work in that regard. Two is that my mind is usually racing with hands when I get back to the room. I'm debriefing myself on the session. What did I do well, what did I make a mistake on, what can I improve, how much am I going to crush tomorrow? The problem is if I allow it to, this process can take a couple of hours and then I lose out on extremely valuable sleep. I already use melatonin patches, so I'm considering some alternatives but I'm up for ideas here.

1. Glass of scotch - I could get a glass of scotch when I leave the table and drink it on the way to the cage to try to slow my brain down a bit. The drawback is that your sleep quality is negatively impacted by alcohol.

2. Blue Light Glasses - I could wear glasses that block out the frequency of light that keeps you awake when I walk back to my room. The drawback is I'd look like a total dork.

3. Sleep-inducing music - I have been looking into apps that put you to sleep through music, and this may be the best option. I had heard of one called Pzizz that was supposed to be great, but I can't find it in the Google Play Store.

Any other leaks?

If anyone else thinks they've spotted a leak that I missed, even if you mentioned it before and I missed that too, now's the time I'm really going over that stuff in depth. I think about it a lot, but now in particular - so let me know.

try an indica strain of cannabis and that should help with getting to sleep

Stay away from the alcohol...there's no point getting more sleep if it's not high quality sleep: totally counter-productive.

What you need is a prescription for Trazodone. It is a antianxiety, hypnotic sleep aid. Basically, it was initially intended as an anti-depressant, except it wasn't particularly effective in that regard. Patients quickly noticed it had a side-effect of inducing drowsiness, but unlike other sleep aids, it produces a very high quality sleep (lots of REM, deep sleep cycles). You wake up feeling great...super well-rested, feeling like you've left an imprint in the bed.

This

On the sleep topic I should mention that my broadcasting work requires me to be up at 3:45 am 1-3 days a week, and it's not always in a row, so sometimes I have to be up at that time on Wednesday and Friday or Monday and Thursday, or whatever. This really screws me up because it's hard to fall asleep early the night before and even when I do, I'm still exhausted after my shift. It makes it hard to play the day before, the day of and sometimes the day after one of those shifts.

From my one or two experiences with weed, it would, but this isn't really an option for me here.

True... I don't know if I'd be able to get a prescription for this. Like, "Hey doc, I need a prescription so I can sleep better when I'm gambling at the casino." I'd also much rather go the natural route if possible, just out of personal preference. Appreciate the idea, though.

I have used another medication before that helps with deep sleep, but it leaves me groggy for a period of 18 hours, so it's good for catching up the day after a shift, but it means I'm pretty much out the whole day.

Good news everyone, I'm not dead or busto. I'm working on my June schedule and haven't had a chance to do the big May recap post. I think I did pretty well on the May goals for the most part, but my poker volume was definitely low. Given the difficulties of juggling my sleep schedule with not playing tired, I think it's going to be key to play long hours on days where I'm well-rested.

My June goals will include launching an online business, as I attempt to get some semi-passive income streams going, and I'm going to pare down some of the goals and basically they'll all be poker, business and health related for June. It's going to be a major work month and hopefully a huge turning point. I'll have very little downtime, aside from Father's Day weekend, when I'll probably spend a lot of time watching the US Open with my Dad.

May Recap and June Goals – “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.”

Well, it’s that time again.

Live Cash Results in May (1/2 and 1/3): -$981 (76 hours)
Live Cash Results in May (2/5): -$1,705 (10 hours)
Live Cash Results in May (Total): -$2,686 (86 hours)
Live Tournament Results in May: -$400 (6.5 hours)
May Live Hourly (1/2 and 1/3): -$12.91/hr
May Live Hourly (2/5): -$175.08/hr
May Live (Cash) Hourly Total: -$31.53/hr

Bankroll: $4,750 (approx)

In the interest of saving time while I’m super busy, I’m skipping the charts this month.

Best Pictures From May









Original Big Goals:

[X] Goal #1: Bankroll at $4,000 on 1/23

[X] Goal #2: Bankroll at 8,000 by March 31

[X] Goal #3: Winrate of $30/hr over first 300 hours at ½

I’m now at over 360 hours and under $20 an hour, so I missed this one.

[ ] Goal #4: Bankroll at $50,000 by 12/31

Obviously volume and running good are going to be critical

[??] Goal #5: Play a WSOP Event in 2014.

I’ll be making some attempts to satellite into the Main, and I’m considering playing the Little One for One Drop if my bankroll is around 10K by then, which is a stretch.

[??]Goal #6: Satellite into the WSOP Main Event (I’ll allot a thousand or two to this if things are going well)

I won’t be putting a couple grand to this, as things stand now, but I’ll be putting a few hundred toward it at least.

May Goals

Poker in blue, health in green, life balance in red.

[92.5] Play 140 Hours
[3/4] Finish Reading NLHTAP
[X] Read Professional NLHE (or substitute)
[INC] Plan A Trip to Las Vegas Sometime This Summer
[Y] Identify and Plug a Leak
[11/13] Study Before Every Session

I did a pretty good job of studying before each session, but I didn’t get enough studying volume or playing volume in overall. My sleep issues and balancing my broadcasting schedule and poker schedule are proving a lot tougher than I expected. The Vegas trip is being postponed until possibly the first week of July, depending on bankroll and expense variables. I plugged a couple of leaks, as documented in an earlier post.

The volume area needs to improve, but it's not an issue of being lazy, it's more not wanting to play tired. I need to solve that, and I've got some ideas. Part will be in planning since I know now that I cannot plan sessions the day of or after an early morning broadcasting shift.

[X] No sweets starting 5/5 (exception on my birthday)
[1/3] Do 3 Cycles of Bulletproof RFLP
[Y] Be physically active 3 days each week (no gym membership right now)
[X] Weight at 215 by 5/31

Massive fail on the weight loss and pretty much everything tied to it, except for being physically active. My weight is at 245, so I basically held steady, although I dropped to the 230s and shot back up. I ate poorly but was pretty active so it balanced out overall.

[9/7] Play 7 or more rounds of golf
[X] Break 100 5 times
[Y] Break 90 at least once
[X] Do something fun out of the ordinary
[Y] Go on a date
[X] Reconnect with an old friend
[Y] Watch a movie on my to-watch list or read a non-poker book

I played a lot of golf, but most weren’t rounds I could score to shoot for breaking 100 five times. I played in a couple of best ball outings, a practice round for one and a bunch of league 9-hole rounds, which are played under different rules than USGA rules that I would normally follow. I did tune up my online dating game and got a first date, but I'm highly confident she's not "the one," or anything close to it, since she proudly admitted to being racist on the first date. Who does that??? I watched a couple of movies on my to-watch list, including Fight Club, so that took care of that. I started re-reading 4 Hour Work Week, too. I'm disappointed I didn't reconnect with any old friends, though. I'll try to do that in June to make up for it.

June Goals

Poker in blue, health in green, life balance in red. I'm simplifying this to the most important ones, and going for 100% success on the June goals.

[ ] Play 120 Hours of Poker

The plan is to play longer sessions and schedule fewer days of playing, which should enable me to avoid playing on the days when I'm tired and maximize the other days. I may try to play more at Delaware Park, as well, to cut down on some travel. I will still be studying a lot before sessions, but I don't want to make it an explicit goal. I think I improved my game through a losing month and intend to crush in June and I want to give myself permission to just grind hours this month. As you'll see, there won't be a lot of hours free.

[ ] Weight at 215
[ ] Gym 10 Times
[ ] RFLP – 3 Cycles

I've figured out with the RFLP that I can't do it when I have an AM shift because the timing doesn't work right, so I've scheduled around it this month. I plan to hit the gym hard in between cycles and hopefully the combination leads to a killer month in weight loss.

[ ] Spend 115 Hours Working on Launching an Online Business
[ ] Re-read 4 Hour Work Week

Once I get going on this, the challenge will be not letting it pull me away from poker too much. Basically, the question I have to ask now is are there enough hours in the month?

Overall June Thoughts

From this point forward, my schedule calls for 118 hours of poker, 115 hours of business work, and I have 83 hours of broadcasting work scheduled. There are 648 hours left in the month, and I'll need about 210 hours of sleep. That means I've accounted for 316 of 438 waking hours (72%), without accounting for travel time, meal time, social life, Father's Day activities, golf league, and errands. Consider that the normal schedule calls for 40 work hours a week out of approximately 112 waking hours (36%) and I'm definitely up against it to complete 100% of my monthly goals.

I have to remind myself I'm basically working three jobs right now to get out of the situation I'm in, and I have to prioritize accordingly. There is the chance that I over-estimated how long it will take to start the Internet business, meaning that I could get it up and running quicker and free up some time. It could also run long, and if it does, 115 hours won't be enough and it'll go into July.

Needless to say it's going to be a nose to the grindstone month, but that's exciting too, because it's the kind of month I could look back on for years to come.

Looks like you are going to get a busy month.

About the weight loss, i thnik you should consider what you eat too.
Did you know that it is easy to loose weight if you just eat right? If you eat the right foods, there is no need to exercise, - for weight loss anyways.

From you wake up until noon, only eat fruit.
During the day, only eat combos of fruit, veggies and meat, spiced up with an egg or two.
Do not eat the last 3 hrs before going to bed, and you will loose a lot of weight very quickly.

These are very simple rules, but they are guaranteed to work, because your body will regulate itself, and you will still be getting good energy and vitamin rich foods.

Anyways, good luck with the month, just wanted to give this idea, because i know it works wonders.

glgl

Few ideas for you:

Weight Loss- Hypno hit it on the head. If I had to bet, I'd guess your biggest problem is diet, specifically carbs. I know it will suck, and certainly won't be easy living in casinos, but try to cut out all white breads (aka pizza, sub rolls, etc.) for a month and see what happens. Carbs especially "hurt" if you're inactive after consuming them, so especially avoid them before a poker session or bed.

Sleep- Have you tried Melatonin? It naturally exists in our bodies, and can be found at any vitamin store/drug store.

Good luck!

Thanks man, I definitely keep an eye on what I eat. I'm a big believer in Paleo and try to keep those principles in mind. RFLP is an abbreviation for Bulletproof Rapid Fat Loss Protocol, which is basically a fat fast so that's cutting out carbs. My issue isn't with the knowledge, it's with a combination of willpower and my schedule.

Basically on days where I have to wake up at 3:45 am, I struggle to follow any real plan I lay out since I either don't want to take the time to make a breakfast that early, or I do that but I don't do well after my shift when I'm exhausted and craving sweet foods that will give me instant energy. On those days after a couple of those early wakeups, I have a tendency to just lay around the house and nap and try to catch up on my rest, and if there aren't healthy foods in the house I either order or just microwave something. This is a struggle with living at home, since my family doesn't really keep much healthy food - mostly quick food. I obviously should start taking my own grocery trips to stock up on something.

I was thinking about that today and maybe I'll get some frozen grilled chicken breast and some salsa and cheese and then I can make a quick, reasonably healthy meal out of it by just microwaving it and putting some salsa and cheese on top for a tasty chicken-based meal with minimal carbs and only a slight amount of dairy.

I tend to either do really well or really poorly in the casino with what I eat. I'm either eating next to nothing and following the RFLP with ease because I'm so engrossed in poker I don't even notice any hunger, or I am eating crappy food in the cafeteria.

I use melatonin patches almost every night - they definitely help, and I order them like 90 at a time on Amazon so I only have to order them a few times a year.

Thanks!

June 1 – "Remember the good times, the chips we stacked, the clips we packed, / and all the bricks we cooked from coke to crack. / Let my tombstone read 'I tried,' and from the start, / everything I wrote was from my heart."

I went to the NASCAR race in Delaware with my father, which is an annual tradition. I used to be into racing as a kid, but not so much anymore. He still is, so I’ve kept the tradition with him. After the race, I decided to hit up the poker room at Dover Downs hoping for some spillover from race fans, who should be easy marks.

The game was good, but not great. The poker room is on the third floor, tucked away in a corner – it’s literally the only thing on the third floor. So, not too many people just walked past and noticed after the race, of course.

I played about an hour and a half, with my father waiting, and since the game wasn’t good I didn’t want to keep him waiting. Two hands before leaving, I picked up A6 and limped a straddle. The weakest player at the table made it $16 in MP ($175 effective) and the straddle called ($250 effective), as did I.

Flop ($46): AK6

It checked to the raiser and he bet $50. The straddle folded and I shoved. He snap called and showed KK, which obviously held.

As for the lyric for the post? Well it sucked to get coolered right before leaving, but it didn't really faze me much. Variance will even out and I'll still be standing, so I just have to remember that I'm still favored to crush people and when the cards even out I will. I've gotta remember all those chips I stacked. And if it doesn't work out, it wasn't meant to be, but it won't be because I let my play go downhill or mentally crumble - I'll know I tried my best.

Total Results: -$251, 1.5 hours

I don't think you are quite deep enough to call the nit's pfr. Hang in there man sometimes poker is like getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly, but if you can withstand the pain the good times will come as long as you play well.

I didn't mean weak as in weak tight just the worst player - he was quite loose actually. I do think it was marginal though.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using 2+2 Forums

June 6 – “Label us notorious, thug ass n****s that love to bust. / It’s strange to us. Ya’ll n****s be scrambling, gambling. / Up in restaurants with mandolins and violins. / We just sittin’ here tryin’ to win, tryin’ not to sin.”

On Friday I got down to AC after working the early morning shift and crashed for a nap, then hit the tables. The goal was to put in 7-10 hours to get the trip started.

Hand No. 1

Early on, there were two limpers and I made it $15 in the CO with T9. Only the BB called, which was disappointing because he was on a short stack of about $115 more.

Flop ($32): JT9

He checked, I bet $25 and he raised to $55. I put him all-in and he snapped with 78 and held.

Hand No. 2

UTG+1 raised to $10 and I called in UTG+2 with 22. MP called and the BB called.

Flop ($36): 954

The BB checked and the pre-flop raiser bet $15. Now in general, he’s loose-passive and will call down with any pair. However, I have a live read on him that he missed this flop thanks to a physical tell and his bet sizing. The BB is already ready to fold, so I’m only worried about MP. I raise to $45. MP tanks and folds, the others fold quickly.

Hand No. 3

There are two limps and I raise to $15 with AA. I’ve been raising over limpers a lot. The BB, a bad laggy Asian man calls. The limpers fold, and we’re about $325 effective.

Flop ($31): KQQ

He checks, I check.

Turn ($31): 8

He bets $20, I call.

River ($70): He checks, I bet $40. He tanks and folds.

Obviously I took a creative line here. I felt like I was WA/WB on the flop, and it was going to be tough to get a lot of value from the K, so I should go for some deception and try to make it easier to get 2 streets from Kx and one or two streets from underpairs.

Hand No. 4

The HJ raises to $12 and a lag in the CO calls. I’m the BB with AK and flat-call. The HJ is playing super tight and barely opening, so I don’t think a 3bet is good here. He’s also short stacked, which is probably a reason to 3bet, so you could make a case either way.

Flop ($33): 223

It checks through.

Turn ($33): 4

I check, he moves all-in for $50 and the other player folds. I tank for a bit here, because I’m pretty sure he’d always, always, always bet an overpair on the flop. Thus, I’ve got the nut A high. Also, his jam looks weak to me and I pick up some weakness physically. I call.

River ($132): 7

He says A high and I turn mine over. He shows AQ and my AK is good.

Hand No. 5

The UTG player blind raises to $10, and UTG+1 calls. I’m in the HJ and make it $35 with K6. UTG calls blinds and the other player calls as well.

Flop ($103): AJ8

It checks to me. I’ve obviously got to fire at this, because one player hasn’t looked at his cards and the other showed no strength against a blind player. I bet $60 and the blind player folds but the other calls.

Turn ($223): T

He checks and I think for a bit about what to do here. Again, he’s shown no strength, but he could have Ax and is probably never folding it. He could also have clubs which he’s not going to fold, plus I have four outs and don’t mind peeling. I check.

River ($223): Q

Beautiful. He checks and I bet $125 and he tanks and folds. I realize as soon as he folds that I should have shown the 6 while he was tanking.

Total Results: -$156 in 7.25 hours.

high off weed and lots of gin

June 7 – “Sometimes you just feel tired. You feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just, give up, but you gotta search within you. You’ve gotta find that inner strength and just pull that s*** outta you, and get that motivation to not give up and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.”

I got a new shirt and rocked it in this session, which would actually be key…



So I mentioned at the top of the month that some marathon sessions were going to be necessary to maximize my play on days that I could play and be fresh – or at least start the day fresh. To top it off, it was key to actually leave myself very tired after this session, because I needed to be asleep Sunday night by 9 or 10 to get a halfway decent night’s sleep before getting up at like 3:30 for my broadcasting gig. Thus, I was in for a long one – and it’d be mentally grueling as well.

Hand No. 1

I’m in the BB with QJ and six of us see the flop.

Flop ($11): Q86

The BB bets $10 and I decide to flat call. I don’t love giving 3-to-1 to everyone behind me to draw at whatever, but I’m going to be able to fold if they show aggression on a wide array of turn cards, and I don’t want to value own myself. If I raise to $30 and someone shoves like $100, I’m going to be getting over 2-to-1. So I flat. The button calls as well.

Turn ($37): 4

The SB bets $40. I sense general weakness physically speaking. I’m thinking maybe a mediocre Q that has a lot to be scared of. I think for a bit, and call. The button folds.

River ($117): 4

He bets $20. I debate raising, because this looks like a bet that’s terrified of the club. I decide I have too much showdown value, though, and he could just be getting tricky. I call and he shows Q5 to take it with the flush.

Hand No. 2

A short stack raises to $10 with like $50 behind. I have AK on the button and make it $30. He shoves $60 and I snap call. He shows 99 and flops a set and holds up, which means I’m quickly stuck about $150, and I buy another $100 to get my stack back up to about $250.

Hand No. 3

I have AA in EP and raise to $10. The CO and the button call. An old man in a Jai Alai hat in the BB raises to $32. He’s terrible, but most of his spew comes post-flop. He’s not 3betting without a big hand. He has over $100 behind, and I decide to flat call. The two players in LP fold and we’re heads up.

Flop ($79): J84

He moves all-in for $118 and I snap call, of course.

Turn ($315): K.

River ($315): J.

He starts to flip his cards and says “Three…” and I’m thinking, are you kidding me… But he follows it up with “Queens,” as he shows QQ. Sorry sir, you do not have three queens. I show and scoop. This gets me back to even on the session, and I feel the momentum coming on.

I also feel bad for the guy, though. He’s over 80 and every time I play with him he gives away like $400-$600 one c-note at a time. Every pot he loses, he’s always confused and thinks he has the winning hand. Someone will have a flush and he’ll say “Aces and Jacks,” and point to his two pair. The dealer says flush, and he doesn’t understand. It’s kind of sad, but he keeps coming back.

Hand No. 4

I’m in the BB with K2. Six of us see the flop.

Flop ($11): QT5

I bet $10 and get two calls.

Turn ($37): 8

I bet $20 and the MP player raises to $50. The LP player calls, and I call.

River ($187): J

I bet $125 and they both fold. I’m thinking $95 might have been a better bet – or overbet jamming for like $300 might have been an option. The player who raised the turn is competent, at least, and likely had two pair or better. Obviously the spade bringing a 4 straight wasn’t helping my odds of getting called, so either making it small enough for a crying call or making it look bluffy was probably better.

At any rate, this hand put me up over $100 on the session.

Hand No. 5

I’m UTG and raise to $10 with TT. The button calls. He’s asian, no real reads on him, though I’ll have one in a moment.

Flop ($21): QT8

I bet $12 and he calls.

Turn ($42): 4

I bet $25 and he shoves for about $120. I snap call, obviously.

River ($280ish): Brick

He shows A8, and I’m good. Now I’m rolling, up a couple hundred and change.

Hand No. 6

UTG raises to $7 and I call in late position with 34. An old lady calls on the button. She’s been pretty loose passive.

Flop ($21): 977

UTG checks, I bet $15, the button calls and the raiser folds.

Turn ($49) 8

She has about $100 left, so I bet $35 to set up a roughly ½ PSB on the river. She calls.

River ($119): 7

I check, she checks and shows T9o to take it.

Hand No. 7

I return from a break and post in MP. EP raises to $10 and I call with AJ. We go heads up to the flop. He looks like a young grinder, and so I assume he’s going to be pretty tight-aggressive.

Flop ($20): AA9

EP bets $12 and I flat call.

Turn ($44): K

He checks, and I think for a bit. I doubt he’d slow down with the A, so he probably has like QQ-TT. I suppose a weak suited ace is possible, or AT. Still, I have to bet it for value against his weaker aces and whatever else he finds a call with. I bet $25 and he calls.

River ($92): 6

He checks, I decide to go a little on the smaller side because I think it’s a tough call for a good player to make with any hand I beat. I want to get calls from as many worse hands as possible and not own myself too hard vs. AQ. I bet $45 and he tanks a while before calling, and MHIG.

Hand No. 8

I’m in the SB with 33 and we go to the flop six ways.

Flop ($11): 632

I bet $10 and the BB calls, so does a player in late position, then another late position player jams $53. I call, the rest fold. “You got anything good?” he asks. I nod.

Turn ($133): 2

I flip my cards and he shakes his head in defeat.

River ($133): K

He shakes his head, and shows 44.

Hand No. 9

I’m in MP and there’s one limp, then I raise to $12 with AJ. The aforementioned old lady calls. She’s been calling me EVERY single time I raise and it’s getting annoying because I’m whiffing and she’s floating me constantly, but seems to have hit the flops every time I’ve seen her show. The SB calls and the limper calls. Four to the flop…

Flop ($45): JT8

SB checks, MP bets $16, I raise to $60. The old lady calls and everyone else folds. I’m wondering whether I’m good or not, as her range is wide given how wide she’s calling me. I’m thinking any J, AT, KT, QT, any OESD, and basically everything that beats me – JT, J8, T8, sets, etc.

Turn ($181): A

Well I just moved ahead of a lot of those hands and obviously need to continue betting. We’re like $300 behind, so I decide on 120/180. I bet $120 and she calls pretty quickly.

River ($421): 9

I check, she checks and quickly shows KK before I can even show, and my hand is good. She was such a station against me I probably could have gotten a bet out of her on the end, but I don’t know if it was a missed bet vs. her range. Check-fold is probably the right play.

Regardless, this hand got me up in the +$300 range and I felt like I could be in position for a monster session. I was sitting on like $700, and it was getting to that time of day where more and more fish would be trickling in and I’d be sitting deep ready to stack them one by one.

Hand No. 10

I’m in the BB with TT. There are some limps and the SB raises to $17. I call and two limpers call.

Flop ($63): 983

The SB checks and I bet $50. An Asian guy in a button down shirt with a bright floral pattern calls, leaving $77 behind and the button calls leaving $120 behind. I don’t have a read on the Asian guy, because he’s new, but he’s Asian and he’s wearing a bright, ugly, floral pattern shirt, so I assume he sucks.

Turn ($213): A

I debate over what to do here. They could have A9/A8, or have floated with A high or the A high diamond draw, but can I really check-fold here? That lets them bluff with their draws pretty effectively, and I’d be laid good odds. Since I can’t check-fold in my opinion, I’m always stacking off to the A, so I might as well bet it and charge the draws. I bet $80, which in hindsight I probably should have just shoved. The Asian guy calls for his last $77, saying he can’t fold now, and the button folds.

River ($367): Q

He shows JTo for the rivered straight. Now I’m only up like $150.

Hand No. 11

There are two limps and I raise to $15 with KJ. Both call.

Flop ($43): A66

They both check, I bet $25 and get one fold and a call. The caller looks weak to me, and has been pretty tight so far. I put him on a weak Ace or a club draw.

Turn ($93): 5

He checks and I decide to barrel. I don’t know if he can call two streets with a weak ace, and I doubt he can call three, so I decide to fire away and to consider bombing the river if checked to. He’s got about $200 left. I bet $60, so that I have enough room to make a credible river bluff if I so choose. He tanks and calls, then checks dark. As he checks dark, I’m debating whether he’s on the weak ace or the club draw but feel like it’s definitely one or the other.

River ($213): 6

Well, so much for that. I can’t get him to fold an A now and I beat most club draws unless he had KQ. I check and he shows A2. Who knows if the river cost me $213 or saved me the $140 or so I was prepared to bomb.

Now I’m up about $50… I proceed to miss some flops and bleed some money.

Hand No. 12

I raise to $10 in late position with KQ. The SB and BB call. BB is the Asian guy in the floral shirt.

Flop ($26): QT7

They check to me and I bet $20. It folds to the Asian guy and he shoves $116. I pretty much put him on a draw right away, or like Q8+, and I’m way, way a head, so I call.

Turn ($257): 4

River ($257): 8

He shows J9o and takes it with the straight. Now I’m stuck again, somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-250.

Hand No. 13

A guy who is limping a lot and drawing really wide raises to $6. A relatively tight regular calls, a girl calls and I pick up a monster – K8. I decide this is a great spot to attack some dead money and 3bet light and make it $30. My read is sick, because they all call. Four to the flip.

Flop ($118): Q82

It checks to me and I think for a bit. I still think the original raiser was kind of weak, and I think the tight reg likely has a middle pair or middlin’ A. The other two were probably just making lol pot odds calls at that point. I can still rep AQ+ and QQ+ pretty easily here, and if called I’ve probably got five clean outs, so it’s not a disaster. I bet $75 and everyone quickly folds. Alright, clawing my way back. Now I’m stuck about $140.

Just dragging

It’s getting late in the night and I’m exhausted and my table is getting bad, so I scout the other games and get a table change. In the new game, things are better action wise but I feel like I’m going to vomit or just keel over. But, I have to get my 16 hours in to offset my other days for my daily average, and to hit my volume goals, so I decide I need to grind it out.

These are the types of moments that can be so critical to trying to build a roll from 1/2. I need rooms to be able to put in a lot of volume, and I need to average 10+ hours a day to keep getting good room offers, but I can’t afford to be losing money playing poorly when I’m on the tail end of a long session. So I’ve got to step it up and get through it.

I’m literally like sweating I feel so disgustingly ill, tired, etc, so I take off the track jacket, cool off a bit, and keep at it. Fortunately, my new shirt is both inspirational (RISE ABOVE THE REST) and is made out of that comfy thin material that breathes well, so I’m quickly cooled off again. The Borg needs to crank up that AC! What is this, the AT&T Center? Am I LeBron James? Alright, I see how it is, I’ll just have to play above the rim.

Hand No. 14

I pick up TT in the CO and raise to $15 over a couple of limpers. Obviously I make this play a lot in late position, and it changes the dynamic against good players. The only other good player at the table is in the blinds and makes it $46. I call.

Flop ($88) KT5

We’re like $300 effective. He checks and I bet $50. He tanks and folds QQ face up. I figure he’s probably 3betting like JJ+ and AJ+, so I guess I could check back and try to maximize vs. JJ-QQ and maybe induce bluffs from his A high hands, but I decided to try to get stacks in vs AK or AA.

I think that was a mistake, because he’s really not going to 3bet me and flop TPTK or better and check it to me unless he flopped a set. So that narrows his range, so lets say he’s either got QQ, JJ or AQ/AJ. If I check, he probably bets the turn with his full range and I’ve gotten a bet out of him. If he has QQ, he’s probably going to put me on JJ or a weak K, so I may even get two streets.

I think it’s important to recognize the distinction in flopping big hands where you SHOULD play them fast, and flopping big hands where you CANNOT play them fast – and I failed to do that in this hand. It has a lot to do with your opponent’s range, and your perceived range.

This is also one of the last adjustments from online to live that I’ve never made. I talk sometimes about feeling like a hybrid guy cause I came up playing a good mix of live and online, so I never felt there was a huge adjustment going back and forth. However, online there’s so much 3betting that it’s rarely a mistake to bet a monster because you’re getting way less credit and people are checking to you to trap you with top pair more often. Live, it’s different – even with good, aggressive players.

Regardless, I make about $50 and now I’m stuck less than $100.

A Mini Heater

I picked up AA and KK and both times raised $15 over limpers and got a call, then took it down on the flop or turn. Now I’m stuck like $60-$70. Then I pick up AJ UTG and raise to $10. A player in LP calls.

Flop ($20): T53

It goes check, check.

Turn ($20): J

I bet $12 and he calls.

River ($42): 8

I bet $20 and he folds.

Hand No. 15

I pick up 99 in UTG+1 and raise to $10. I get four calls.

Flop ($48): Q53

It checks to the button, who bets $20. He’s been calling raises wide and betting wide and smaller bets have been weak. Physically, I sense a little weakness. I call.

Turn ($88): 7

I check, and he bets $25. One key read I have on him is that he doesn’t bet mid-strength or even strong (as in relative strong) hands on the river. He’s checked back with TPTK and TP2K in two pots I paid close attention to, so I don’t expect him to bet a Q on the river, even if he has AQ, which is basically the nuts with my line.

Thus, if I call and he bets the river, he’s polarized to sets, 46, and air, which allows me to bluff catch. I call the turn.

River ($138): 8

I check, he checks and shows 66 and MHIG. A little while later I hit 16 hours, racked up and left.

Total Results: 16.25 hours, +$123

I had a lot of pride in this session after I finished, because I hit the 16 hours, I grinded it out, I battled back and I fought through not feeling 100% physically. Sometimes these are the sessions that can really define us as professionals.

Nice write up as always. A lot of your hands are looking very good and I can see improvement in your decision making, WTG man. Some brutal coolers tho or this could've been another monster 1k+ session.

You must have a tight ass image to get someone to x/f QQ on KTx. That hand made me laugh. There's no way for you to know that he's such an exploitable nit so betting is fine overall.

GL with the rest of the month.

Thanks man. I don't think I had a tight image, but I had a winning image since I had won a few pots before that. I should have had a pretty aggro image, but live players read image weird so if they see you winning without showdown sometimes they adjust improperly.

But, realistically, what's my range when I raise pre-flop and call his 3bet? Like 88+, AQ+? Once I bet that flop I'm either turning my hand into a bluff or I flopped a set or TPTK... Now, he should have b/f, but oh well.

Great detailed writeup, Cuse; really enjoyed it!

And congrats on having the tenacity to rock a 16-hour session that wasn't going well at times. As you know, winning is accomplished by being willing to work harder and go places (mentally) that others are not.

June 8 – “So live your life. Hey ay, ay ay, ay ay. / You steady chasin that paper. / Just live your life. Hey ay, ay ay, ay ay. / Aint got no time for no haters. / Just live your life. Hey ay, ay ay, ay ay. / No telling where it’ll take ya.”

So after waking up a little later than planned on Sunday, but still with enough time to get my targeted 7 hours in, I hit the tables. I was surprised to get a pretty good table right away, and maybe I’m underestimating how good the action can be on Sundays.

Hand No. 1

There are two limps and I raise to $15 with AT on the button. The BB calls, and MP calls. The BB is a nit and MP is an old guy.

Flop ($41): KJ8

It checks to me and I bet $25 and both call.

Turn ($116): 4

The nit bets $50, and I know he’s basically got like AK or KQ at this point. I debate raising big, because he might be making a sort of blocker bet to see where he’s at. I contemplate this, and then decide that I’m better off just taking the decent price to draw with reasonably good implied odds, especially on the Q.

River ($216): 6

He checks and at this point there’s no point in me checking, I’m like 100% sure he has AK or KQ and he isn’t folding now. I check and AK takes it down.

That puts me in a familiar spot... Stuck a little over $100 and topping off to put me in the game for $400. Onto the grind we go...

Hand No. 2

UTG limps and I’m UTG+2 with AK and make it $12. MP calls me, and he’s a pretty nitty player although he occasionally spazzes out. He semi knows what he’s doing though. Nobody else calls.

Flop ($26): AT5

I bet $15 and he calls. Obviously his range is a little wider, but AQ/AJ are definitely his most likely hands.

Turn ($56): 8

I bet $30 and he calls.

River ($116): J

I think for a bit, because this card sucks, but I don’t think I can check my hand. I bet $75 and he almost beats me into the pot and my hand is good. We have an “interesting” conversation.

Him: “I knew you had AK there, that was a bad call.”
Me: “AQ?”
Him: “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
Me: “OK, fair enough.”
Him: “But I knew what you had.”
Me: “OK.”
Him: “I mean that. I want you to know, I knew where you was at. I knew you had AK from the flop on, I knew that. I shoulda folded or at least raised and put you to the test.”
Me: “OK.”
Him: “I want you to know that I knew that.”
Me: “OK man, I got it.”

That pot put me up again... I won't update my stack hand by hand on this report, but you'll see it basically fluctuated a lot but in an upward direction.

By the way, later in the session (after the following hands he was involved in) he had AK against AQ in a similar spot and the following back and forth took place.

Him: "You remember that hand? That's where we were at."
Me: "Huh?"
Him: "I had what you had and he had what I had."
Me: "You said you didn't have it, though."
Him: "Yeah, I had to lie to you early in the session so you didn't get too much info, but that's where we was at. I want you to know that, cause it was a bad call, but I had AQ so you only had me by one."
Me: "OK."
Him: "But yeah I couldn't give you that info, I couldn't let you know what I really had."

This guy meant well, and he was overall friendly but in a really annoying way and I'd basically had enough of it so I was just honest at that point...

Me: "You didn't have to tell me, I knew exactly where you were at after the flop."

Always Pay Attention

The villain from Hand 2 is in a big pot on the flop of AT9. A fish bets and he raises real big and the fish calls. The turn is a T. The fish checks and he ships it for like $220, an overbet but not a huge overbet. The fish is tanking and tanking. I am staring at the guy from Hand 2 trying to get a read on him. Given that I have him pegged as a nit, I expect to see the goods, but his body language is weak. I make note of his body language. He says a couple of things that I also note.

The fish calls, and Hand 2 guy shows A9 for a counterfeited two pair and AK takes it down. I assume he knew he was bluffing, so I catalog that info.

Hand No. 3

There are several limps and I overlimp the CO with 68. Our boy from above limps behind on the button. Seven to the flop.

Flop ($13): A23

I can roll with that. It checks to me and I bet $10. He calls, along with an EP player.

Turn ($39): J

Fun game. It checks around.

River ($39): K

This is actually a really interesting card, because it means nobody could be drawing to the nut flush on the flop. It checks to me, I check, and the villain on the button bets $35. The other player folds and I tank.

I stare at him and I get the same read from his A9 hand. I won’t lie, I’m willing to act on that alone, but I wait a bit and decide to replay the hand one more time. I feel like he’d bet the Qh on the turn but maybe not… The real question though is would he do this with like a Th or 9h and I think no, so I think it’s totally polarized. Also, it is blatantly obvious that nobody else in the hand had a big heart.

I call, and he shakes his head in disgust and shows A3 and I table the 8 high flush.

Oohs and ahhs ensue, and to his credit he loves it. “I can respect that call son! I can respect that!” he says. I thank him. “I should’ve made it like $90. You can’t call $90 can you?”

I shrug, but the truth is he could have shipped $300 in there and if I got the same read I probably would have called it.

Hand No. 4

There’s a limped pot five ways and I have A9 in the SB.

Flop ($9): 984

I’ve got top top, so I go into Jamie Gold mode. At this table, top top is the nuts. I bet $10 and a fish in MP calls. He’s never, ever, ever folding a pair on the flop. His range includes like 55-77, 8x, 9x, JT, QT, A high, two overs, spades, backdoor clubs, etc. An old guy in late position who is new to the table calls, as well.

Turn ($36): 2

This isn’t my favorite card, of course, but his range is so wide I have to bet again. I bet $20 and the fish calls and the other player folds.

River ($76): 7

I debate here, as this was another bad card. However, I’ve still got a lot of his range beat and can get thin value from it because he’s probably calling with like J8+ if not even weaker. I also don’t think he’ll recognize a thin value/blocking bet, so if he raises I can fold. I bet $35 and he raises to $100 and I think a bit and fold.

Hand No. 5

There are two limps and I raise to $15 with QQ. An Asian lady who loves to gamble and tilts and rarely wins calls. A limper calls as well.

Flop ($41): KJ5

It checks through.

Turn ($41): She bets $55, leaving about $15 behind. It folds to me and I tank. I’m thinking, “Why so much?” I feel like if she had a K she’d bet less. I look her over. She looks a little uncomfortable and I pick up an Elwood tell. She’s also trying to cover how much she has behind, so I reason that she probably wants me to think I’m facing another bet of some significance, as opposed to the $15 I’m actually facing. But I’m always paying attention, so I’ve known her stack size all along.

I call. She bets her last $15 blind.

River ($151 + $15 blind): 8

Obviously there wasn’t really a card I was folding to her last $15 for anyway, so I call. She shows QT for the busted straight and my hand is good. She’s furious that I called with queens.

Hand No. 6

There are three limps and I make it $15 with AK. Six players call. These are the types of big spots that are created by my style when I pick up a big unpaired hand and everyone spite calls me at once because I’m aggressive. How you run on those flops is so key.

Flop ($101): 742

It checks to me and I check. An older guy moves all-in for his last $70 and as it slowly folds back to me I do the math. 70/240 is a little less than 30%. I’ve got two overs, so that’s about 24% and I’ve got a backdoor flush draw and a backdoor wheel draw, which gets me to about 32-33%. His range will include some draws and some AQ/AJ type hands, too. I decide I’m calling, and when it’s on me I basically snap. I do this so that if I hit, when I turn my cards over everyone will peg me as the maniac who snapped with A high for $70 without realizing it was the right play.

The board bricks out, though, and he shows 88 and takes it down. I ran a calculator on it and I had 29.09% equity and put in 29.045% of the pot. Thin value call FTW!

Hand No. 7

There are a bunch of limpers and I complete the SB with J6. Seven to the flop.

Flop ($14): AK5

This is a pretty good flop for my draw, of course, because it’s now the second-nut flush draw. I bet $7 and get five calls.

Turn ($44): K

Two people check out, as it checks around. I briefly contemplate whether I might be able to win this pot by not checking out on the river and having the others check out, thus shipping it with J high. As I’m pondering this amusing thought, I see…

River ($44): 3

The MP villain calls down way too wide and the button is a megafish. Like, they pulled the guy who just missed the casting call for season 17 of Jersey Shore off the beach and threw him at the poker table and he’s having a beer chilling with the boys playing some cards, bro. And he’s enjoying himself, bro. He’s called big river bets with AT high because “That’s my favorite hand, bro.”

I decide $30 is a good number, because I think he’ll literally call me with like any two and the other guy will call withi any A, K, and maybe some pocket pairs and 5x. The MP player is tanking and I’m wondering what I’ll do if he raises (flat probably), but he just calls. The button tanks and I’m debating what I’ll do if he raises (ship, because I’m always good and probably getting called). He just calls.

I show the flush, MP mucks and the button turns over… Are you ready for this?

Q2

I hide my shock and amusement, and miraculously the whole table does too. “I had to call you man, I had the straight. A flush beats a straight, right?”

“Yes it does,” I say, as I stack chips.

Why tell him he didn’t have the straight and spoil his mood, right bro?

Hand No. 8

There were mountains of skill in this one. There’s a limper, I raise to $12 with AA and a short stack who I’ve played with and I think talked about in here before ships it for $60. He’s the guy who told the elaborate lie about grinding the tourney circuit and playing like 1K/hand blackjack while routinely limp-call check-folding with like 20-30bb.

It folds to me, I snap, he proudly tables 99 and asks if they’re good and I shake my head no and table my AA as the flop comes out clean, and the rest of the board matches.

Why do you have pu**y on your shirt?



Later this same guy says to me, “Why do you have pu**y on your shirt?” and I look at him funny and begin pondering my responses, such as…

“You can smell it from there?”

“It’s a new scent for men from Ralph Lauren.”

Anything involving yo mamma or your girlfriend/wife.

Now bear with me, because there are a couple of lulls in this back and forth but I think it’s pretty funny in the beginning and end. Before I can make one of my witty responses, he continues...

He says “It says Cuse.”

I go, “Yeah, what’s your problem?”

Him: “That means pu**y?”

(He’s wearing red and he’s from New Jersey, so I go with…)

Me: “What, are you some jealous Rutgers fan?” (No hate RG if you’re reading)

Him: “Huh?”

Me: “West Virginia? You look like you could be a West Virginia guy? Do you hate Syracuse or something?”

Him: “No, your shirt says pu**y.”

At this point the whole table is like WTF.

Him; “Coose means pu**y. It’s a term for pu**y.”

We all give him the WTF look again.

Me: “It’s ‘Cuse, as in Syracuse, as in the college I went to.”

Him: “Do they print that on all of their stuff?”

Me: “Sometimes Syracuse, sometimes ‘Cuse, sometimes Orange…”

Him: “Oh, ok. I was wondering why you’d get a shirt that says pu**y on it.”

Me: “Did you ever stop to wonder why a company trying to turn a profit would ever mass-produce a jacket that said pu**y?”

Him: “I thought you custom ordered it.”

Total Results: 7 hours, +$327

I racked up and left shortly thereafter because I had my target of 7 hours and needed to try to get a good night’s sleep to get up at 3:30ish am to do my broadcasting job. Meanwhile, Sequel2TheMatrix was going to be crashing in my room and when he got there we got to talking.

Unfortunately for my sleep, but fortunately for a fun, great conversation about poker and other related and unrelated topics, we basically stayed up til like 1:30 talking and I got about 2 hours of sleep.

We were breaking hands down in depth, bouncing ideas, talking about like really high level thinking of interesting spots and lines and all kinds of stuff. We were talking about future plans, the lifestyle of a poker pro, old WSOPs, funny stories, you name it.

It was a fun conversation, and those are great to have, especially when they’re also improving the way you think about the game and you’re coming up with different ideas and going through spots and analyzing like every line you could take.

Thanks Push, appreciate it. I know at this point in my journey, trying to get out of 1/2 land, this is the most important time to be tenacious and gritty and grind through these sessions.

So much smoke need oxygen, steadily countin them Benjamins!

I used to love that song in college late at night when I was getting my drunk rapping on with my roommates haha...