Some dude is talking a ton of s**t about how I've been bluffing all night, never have a hand, etc and I'm so bad. I'm smirking as I stack an $800 pot. This is what happens when you jam $325 on me and I snap you off with the nuts. But keep talking, bud.

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Bro you're a nut peddling fish

You should be ashamed to even step into Borgata

This made me laugh out loud walking back to my room... I've been called a fish before, but I haven't been called a nut peddler in my life haha.

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March 7 - "Don't you know? / When you're defeated, young punk? / Won't you throw in the towel? Stop running your mouth. / Don't you know that we know you're just running your mouth? / Cause when this s*** pops off, we gonna run in your house. / Don't you know?"


The attire and the tools of the trade... The rest is in the safe.



I fluctuated between $250 and $350 for a little while, and a new player to the table was trying to loosen things up. The table wasn't bad, but it wasn't as loose as he wanted it. He kept saying he was trying to get more action. He straddled a couple times, then straddled again, then blind raised the button. Nobody was taking any aggressive action against it. He put in the blind raise from the cutoff, so I decided if I had a playable hand I'd limp-raise. At the Borgata, a blind raise stands if there is no raise in front of it, but if you raise, it can be removed.

I picked up 89 and limped. A few limpers, the blind raise to $8 stood. One call back to me and I made it $38. The guy trapped in the middle called, as did the blind raiser. The guy in the middle was a halfway decent regular... Not good, but not just leaking like a sieve either. He was on a huge heater, sitting on maybe $1400. Hard to tell the way it was stacked. The blind raiser said, "We need Ace, rag, rag, dealer."

Flop ($120ish): A77r

Usually when a player asks for a flop, it's not the one they need, so I rule the A out for the blind raiser. The other player's range probably has more pocket pairs than Ax, so this is actually a good flop for me. I bet $75. The guy in the middle tanks and folds, the blind raiser quickly folds. I show the bluff and say, "maybe that'll create some action for you."

The guy trapped in the middle is PISSED. "You're lucky he was behind me! You're lucky! That's ballsy betting into two people like that. I knew you didn't have the ace. You're lucky he was behind me."

I shrug, and on we go. At this point I'd like to point out, for the record, that he was wearing a driving cap. Now, I am a big fan of driving caps, for people who can pull them off. Justin Timberlake can pull one off and it looks pretty cool. I think you have to be like 75% as cool as him to pull off that look in general. At a poker table, you have to either be 75+ years old, 85% as cool as Justin Timberlake, or Eastern European/Russian/Greek and 45+ years old. Stereotyping? A bit. But it works for those people. Kind of like the dude in The Wire, season 2 was it? Anyway... This guy is none of those things, and his driving cap looks ridiculous.

Hot chicks can also pull off driving caps... because, you know, they're hot chicks.

A little later I play another hand against the blind raiser. The details aren't overly important. I raised AQ, the flop was QJX, I bet, he called. The turn was a K, he checked, I checked. The river bricked, he checked, I went for thin value betting like $50-$75 into a pot of $150, he jammed for $47 more and it was such a weird spot - basically AT, T9 or air - and does he really check a straight on two streets when my hand looks like either AQ or a complete whiff and a cbet and give up? I make the crying call getting 6-1 and he has T9.

Driving cap guy nods knowingly and complements blind raising guy extensively for outplaying me. He seems to indicate that I obviously was bluffing. Because, yeah, I called off $47 with absolutely nothing after the river.

I raise a few pots and c-bet, but nothing major happens as I run my stack back up to $400ish.

Later there is a straddle and one limp and I raise to $16 with QJ. I get three calls - driving cap guy, blind raising guy, and a relatively new young kid who had called the straddle. The blinds and the straddle fold. I have $370 and driving cap guy covers.

Flop ($65): T9Xr

It checks to me, I bet $45. Driving cap guy calls. Two folds.

Turn ($155): 8hh

I bet $100. Driving cap guy thinks for like 20 seconds and says all-in. I look at the dealer to confirm I heard correctly, he repeats, all-in. I snap call. I flip. He looks at it and can't see it from the other end of the table. "The nuts," I say. He hangs his head dejectedly and adjusts his driving cap.

River ($805): 9x

Not the river card I wanted, but he mucks. "Figures. Bluffing all night and he makes a hand. Hasn't had one hand all night. Not one. Never. But makes one against me, of course." He goes on about how bad I am and how unlucky it was I made a hand.

Meanwhile, he tells people he had the low end of the straight. Somehow I doubt he called a raise and peeled on the flop with 67 or J7. I think he was turning his hand into a bluff, possibly with like AhTh or something along those lines, or just a stone cold bluff, since I hadn't made a hand all night in his eyes.

The funny thing is, I'd shown two hands all night - AA and the 89 bluff. So I showed one bluff, and it cemented my image in his mind.

He's still muttering to his neighbor (blind raising guy) about 10 minutes later. The guy the next seat over blocks driving cap's view of his mouth with his hand and mouths the words to me, "He's still talking about that." We exchange knowing and amused smirks. The guy continues looking at me sideways and ranting to blind raising guy about his poor fortune.

I run my stack up over $900 and a few hours later cash out a $602 profit in 6 hours. Blind raising guy went busto, driving cap guy cashed out around 600-700 I think.

Solid first night of the trip.

Also, a great aside during the session. I'm talking about True Detective, Breaking Bad, The Wire and good tv shows/movies with my neighbors when another guy weighs in.

Him: "You've got to see Nebraska."
Me: "Never heard of it."
Him: "It's a great movie... Came out this year, black and white, great feel to it, awesome story, etc.. It's an incredible movie, you HAVE to see it."
Me: "Hmm, ok... Who's in that?"
Him: "[Pauses]... I have no idea!"

I just start cracking up laughing, I think he was a little upset actually. I was just like, "Dude, that's gotta be the greatest movie recommendation ever... 'Yeah, man, awesome movie, a must-see, a classic... Who's in it? Hell if I know!'"

The rest of the table got a good laugh, and I looked it up and there was nobody in it of note, so I told him he was off the hook.

The view from the room last night, which was probably a lot better in person than it shows up on the camera.



I just finished breakfast, which I can't really put into the "clean," column. There are just so few good options for breakfast here if you aren't up by like 10:30. Metropolitan stops serving breakfast around 11 I think, and that's the only place I know of to get an omelette, which is somewhat healthy. Everything else it's breakfast sandwiches, so I had a sausage egg and cheese sandwich. Yesterday I came woefully short on the steps taken goal, but ate clean. Today maybe I'll reverse those. About to take a walk outside along the waterfront walkway to get some steps in, then hit the tables.

If anyone is at the Borg, shoot me a PM if you want to say whats up.

Hit up the buffet at Borg it's really good, lots of fresh fruit, salad and other healthy options.

Showing a bluff early or 3betting a couple times in your first few orbits absolutely cements image because people overvalue first impressions instinctually.

Like sometimes I'll start off by 3betting like 3 times in my first two orbits and the rest of the night, if people stick around, they'll think I'm a spewtard even if I rock it up

Do they serve breakfast stuff like omelettes at lunch? I haven't been to the buffet in a couple years.

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UTG limps. UTG+1 limps. Hero folds. LP raise to 15, a call. UTG calls. UTG+1 raises to 40. LP calls, UTG calls.

Flop (135) Q85

Check (effective 420), check (effective 150ish), all in (covers both). UTG snap calls. UTG+1 folds. Board runs out A, rag.
LP shows QJo. UTG shows KQo. Everyone's head explodes. UTG stacks a $970 pot. He's two seats to my right but I'm only 300 deep, unfortunately.

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Doh! He racked up and left. Amazing how often the fish on a heater has to go meet his wife right after his heater. Remarkable!

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March 8 - "I know this game got valleys and peaks, expectation
for dips, for precipitation we stack chips."

Yesterday I woke up to this view...



Then got my gear on, rocking a new hat I picked up for $9 because Dicks Sporting Goods accidentally put it in the wrong bin.



Then I took a walk along the waterfront over to Harrahs and back to get a little exercise. They have little piers along there with signs...



I guess a sign about Ospreys is better than, "This is where people used to dump bodies before we built a few casinos back here.... Then they just did drugs, 'til we built this walkway. Use at your own risk."

Seriously, though, if the weather is good and you want some fresh air out there, you could do a lot worse in AC than walking along that waterway.

I got my session going and was struggling to pick up hands - anything playable in LP I was getting in EP, and wasn't able to get very active. Then with a couple of limpers I made it $15 in LP with A4. I got three calls.

Flop ($60): A67r

Two checks and a villain donks into me for $50. It feels weird to me - a big bet for the average 1/2 player. Usually the type who donk into you wouldn't bet that much with two pair or better. I call, everyone else folds.

Turn ($160): 5o

He bets $100. I tank and call. It again feels like a weird bet. I feel like I have a combination of OESD equity and possibly having the best hand.

River ($360): J

He checks, I think a bit and check behind. He tables 45o, MHIG.

That and stealing a couple of pots got me up to about $500. I then ran a full house into quads with 9dTd on a 44694 board against A4. I bet the flop, she flatted. I put her on like a 6 or a mid pair, and value bet the turn and river and tank folded when she jammed the end. I figured at that point her range was slow-played TT+ and quads.

Later, I had A3 and we were five handed. A really bad aggro player who opens too many hands, limps too many pots, etc makes it $7 in the CO. I read that as a weak blind steal and pop it to $20 on the button.

Flop ($40): 882r

He checks, I bet $30, he raises to $75. and leaves like $75-80 behind. As he's cutting out his raise he looks over his shoulder at me (he's on my direct right) as if to gauge my reaction. I read that as weakness, and I've seen him make small little weird raises as bluffs. I move all-in, he snap calls with KK. It helps to not run your bluffs into the hand you're basically repping.

From there I proceeded to pick up a bunch of big aces and miss flops, lost a flop with QQ vs AK and ran top two into a flush that was disguised. A PFR cbet the flop on a T high board with two clubs, got two calls. I had KT. Turn was a club, he checked and it checked through. River was an offsuit K and he bet $60. I had like $127 total and read him for AK/KQ and moved in. and he had KcJc. Oops. A few times I ran thin value into big made hands.

Ended up -$674. Snapped a winning streak after five straight winning sessions. Oh, well. Would've liked a crack at double figures, but I've won 7 of the last 9 sessions.

I took today off, watched some golf and now gearing up for True Detective. I'll miss my volume goal, but I just wasn't feeling it today and was kind of dragging yesterday so hopefully this re-charges me.

I got over 6K steps yesterday, which was still well short of my goal despite hiking to Harrahs and back. In other words, 10K is going to be very hard while staying in a casino. Back to it tomorrow, though.

We're playing well, being aggressive, getting it in bad (with the right price) and sucking out. Good formula for success.

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I switched it up a bit... Playing well, staying aggressive, getting it in good and getting sucked out on... Can't complain, still up like 400.

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I got up to 1100 today and somehow lost like 4 flips and still ended up cashing out over 900 for a +615 session. Played a lot of interesting hands. I'll share some details tomorrow. Ate clean today and probably only like 3K steps.

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And a frustrating session ends by being tanked on after I moved in on the river with Tc9c on an Qc8c7cTx4x board by AcKc by a guy in his 60s who plays all the time. I asked him why he slow rolled me and he shrugged. I told him he knows better better and left.

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trying to get you tilted for next time....

I ****ing hate that tho. How big was that pot?

Did you still end profiting?

It was a $295 pot... And no, I was -430 for the session. Lousy week overall - like $111 profit in over 30 hours.

I'm a couple session reports behind but didn't want you guys to think I was in a ditch somewhere. Worked three straight double shifts Wednesday to Friday and worked this afternoon.. Now I'm checking out the Wild Wild West room at Ballys for the 7pm 25K tourney that should have a good overlay.

I'll still try to catch up on those sessions I I didn't write about yet and my goals but I know I missed my hours goal and hit my weight loss goal.

Time to crush some donkament souls.

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I ran sick early and probably had 3 to 4 times the average at 80K, then got it in with 88 vs 55 on 874 and be spiked the gutter ball in a 40K pot. Grinded it out a while but lost a flip for like 85K with 33 vs KQo which knocked me down to 50K and like 5M. Folded to my button and jammed 9Ts and outran AQo and I'm on 112K with like 22 people left. Slightly below average. Blinds are 2K/4K with a 400 ante. 8 spots pay and first is 9.7K.

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I final table bubbled for no money. I short stack ninjad for a while but ran A8 into AK for 120K six handed at 6K/12K with a 1K ante. 9 hours of strong play and some sick reads made by that's tournament poker.

Some really snotty woman who was tanking 30 seconds BEFORE looking at her cards every hand and twice folded the SB without a full BB behind has doubled up like six times to stay alive. She's been trying to get an even chop since there were 30 people left, and she has 50K now and may cash. I care less that I busted than that she may profit.

It's a shame though, if I could have had my set hold earlier I could have bullied more and built my stack low risk... Or if I won one of a few flips... Or if I outran AK I'd have 240K 11 handed right on the average stack. That's why I don't play many tournaments, but I couldn't ignore an 11K overlay and terrible field in the 25K GTD. Also props to Dan, who runs the room, for putting an end to the woman's delays as soon as he saw it.

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i would have shipped it

March 10

I'm trying to remember this session as best I can, including some interesting hands I jotted down details on.

There's a straddle and one limp and I raise to $16 with QdJd. Three players call, the blinds and the straddle fold.

Flop ($66): T9Xr

One check, I bet $45, a LP call and two folds.

Turn ($156): 8hh

With $300ish behind, I bet $100, the opponent shoves and I call. I'm pretty sure I had a read on his body language or betting pattern that he only had a one pair hand and thus my overcards were good too - which proved to be accurate.

With a couple of limpers, I raise to $15 with Ah4h. Four to the flop.

Flop ($60): A67r

Two checks, I bet $50 and get a call.

Turn ($160) 5. He bets $100. I call. I'm thinking my A may be good, it kind of felt like 78 or something like that... And if not, I'm open ended.

River ($360): J

Check, check and he tables 45 and MHIG. When he checked to me I debated value betting, but it felt too thin. I'm WA/WB, and I don't know what he can really pay me off with.

I pick up Ad8d in EP and raise to $10. Three players call.

Flop ($40): Qd8h6h

A check and I I bet $25 and two players call.

Turn ($115): 2d

Check, I bet $65 and he moves all-in for $69 more. I call.

River ($253): 8x

He has Qh9h, and MHIG.

There are a few limpers and I raise to $12 with AhQh and get six calls.

Flop ($72): Q75

Villain donks $12 and gets a call. I rasie to $75. He moves all-in for $82 more. It folds to me, I call. He tables KK and the turn is an A.

Then I pick up AJ in the BB. One player limps, SB completes. I raise to $12. Limper, who I was hoping to isolate, calls and the SB folds. My read on him is he insta-jams the nuts when he makes them.

Flop ($24): AJ9r

I bet $15 and he calls.

Turn ($54): Tx

I bet $35 and he raises to $70. I tank a bit. He has $80ish behind. Normally with like KQ here he'd just jam, or with 78. So I'm guessing he made a good hand, but not a nut hand, so he likely turned two pair with AT, JT or 9T. I shove, he snap calls, MHIG vs JT.

There are a couple of good anecdotes but I'll save them for another post since I'm running out of time before I get picked up.

Touche. If I could make top sets hold up against gutter balls, I would've too! I think in hindsight I could have been a bit more aggro after that. I kind of locked it down for a bit due to my stack size, but I think it might have been a good time to try to keep the pedal down because the advantage of having a big stack late when it becomes push/fold is really big.

I also love the guy who, I stole his blind like 4 times and then he had like 3BB left and "caught me" when I jammed into his big Ace and he was like I knew I'd get you at some point. I didn't feel inclined to let him know I was still + a BB from him, plus all the antes.

It's amazing how you can be on a stack that you're shoving really wide and you basically pick up 10K+ every time you shove starting with like 70K-80K and nobody realizes that it's effective when you're up to 120K after a few... They're all just amazed how maniacal you are as they blind away. One woman had 15K left, and limped the SB at 4K/8K leaving her 11K. I jammed the BB, she snapped with QJo and bragged to the table how she trapped me with T5o. In hindsight I should have checked and jammed the flop when checked to, because she'd fold if she missed. I thought she'd limp-fold there given how stupid and tight she was, but regardless it's a pretty standard spot that the money is going in so get some fold equity.

I was texting with Duke after the tourney telling him some of the hands I saw. It's mind blowing how bad recreational tournament players are.

So I had a guy at my table tonight who I remember from the Borgata Winter Open, when he claimed to be a traveling circuit grinder trying to make it as a pro. We played cash together for a while and he said he was planning to go to Florid and Tunica or Blioxi or something, then he'd take it from there. I think he said his friend was a pro and was staking him. He also claimed to play high stakes craps. He was a TERRIBLE poker player.

So when I saw him tonight, I was curious whether he had gotten any better while grinding the circuit. The answer was a resounding no. His game plan:

Stack: Buy in at 1/2 for $60.

Mental Game: Sing annoying songs that are being made up on the fly. Today's theme involved the need to use the restroom and the inability to... Well, there's no polite way to put this. He was repeatedly singing, "I need to take a s***." Sometimes he called it poo. Finally I looked at him and said, "You do know there's a bathroom around the corner, right? Feel free to use it." He responded that he was unable, and resumed singing about his frustrating gastrointestinal situation.

Preflop: Limp about 75% of hands. Often before limping, exclaim, "This is dog s***!" Call raises about 65% of the time to as much as $17, leaving yourself $40-50 behind. Usually provide us some commentary, like, "Well I don't want to play this dog s*** hand, but I'm priced in now."

Also, any time there is a straddle, ask to be dealt out, even if you aren't in the blinds.

Flop: Check-call any piece of the flop, and by piece I mean backdoor draws and gutshots.

Turn: Check-fold.

Whine about the table, and get a table change, only to return a few hours later down a few hundred more, I'm sure.

???

TPMM?

You're just gonna put my **** out there like that?

March 11

I played 6 hours and 23 minutes and lost $430 at Borgata... Mentioned the hand I was slow rolled on above. There's only one other hand I have any real notes on...

An OMC donks $15 into $48 on a 752 flop, I float with 9Ts and a backdoor flush draw, basically planning to steel on the turn. The turn is an A, he bets $15 into $78, I raise to $55 and he folds before I even finish cutting out my chips. He says he had TT and the A got him. I lied and told him I had AT, and he had me right where he wanted me. Might as well let him think he didn't get totally owned.

Other than that, I don't remember much, and I don't want to try to remember much about a lousy session.