TYTY.





Yeah, biggest pot I've played online. sucks to lose as a big favorite. Thx for encouragement and yah-- def knew run bad was inevitable.

Played a session this morning, played poorly, won money.

Few hands that I butchered;

Hand 1:

Villain is reg, fairly aggro postflop..

OnGame - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

CO: $136.36
BTN: $38.50
SB: $52.69
Hero (BB): $49.85
UTG: $69.01

SB posts SB $0.50, Hero posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($1.00) Hero has T T 3 J

UTG calls $0.50, fold, BTN raises to $1.00, SB calls $0.50, Hero calls $0.50, UTG calls $0.50

Flop: ($4.00, 4 players) A 9 T
SB checks, Hero bets $3.00, fold, BTN calls $3.00, SB calls $3.00

Turn: ($13.00, 3 players) 7
SB checks, Hero checks, BTN bets $8.00, fold, Hero raises to $37.00, BTN calls $26.50 and is all-in

River: ($82.00, 2 players) A



Pretty sure check/raising is the worst line here. Probably a decent spot to b/c or c/c.

Hand2:
OnGame - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $48.50
MP: $65.01
CO: $27.36
BTN: $114.72
SB: $107.33
Hero (BB): $50.00

SB posts SB $0.50, Hero posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($1.00) Hero has 9 K 6 Q

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to $2.00, fold, Hero calls $1.50

Flop: ($4.50, 2 players) J 5 8
Hero checks, BTN bets $4.00, Hero raises to $14.00, BTN raises to $24.00, Hero raises to $48.00 and is all-in, BTN calls $24.00

Turn: ($100.50, 2 players) 9

River: ($100.50, 2 players) K



Ugh... so spewwy.. Should be a c/c.

Hand 1, I think CR is the line I would take. 3 way, if we ever see a raise its literally always J8 I feel, cause us betting again here light is lighting money on fire I feel. So given that we never check raise bluff, I feel like having a CR range is hugely important here, cause enables us to get some free cards from our lie gutters etc.? C/c seems bad to me as we will be flying with minimal visibility on the river and guessing so much?

I think it boils down to how often he's semi-bluffing with his calling range on the flop. If he's betting and has a FD/JQK 50% and J8 50%, I think mathematically c/r is the best.

c/c gets us in lots of ****ty spots on the river.. \:

All I want for christmas..

So, no christmas whales. Actually, it appears that I am the christmas whale!!



I've been playing pretty poorly in general. I fight for too many pots, esp 3b pots. Players seem to adjust to me naturally by slow playing any big hand in a 3bet pot regardless of texture. Need to give up more..

Obviously running bad, but not playing that well either. I need to stop leveling myself into thinking I'm being exploited and start playing solid 100% of the time.

First xmas away from home, which was strange. Got a pretty sweet xmas card from my mom. Saved her life earlier this year, she gave some kind words.

It's pretty crazy around the village this time of year. The hills pretty crowded, village buzzing with people. Going out tonight.

Ended up not going out the other night. Researched trading opportunities instead. Going to South America after WSOP, gonna try and make monies by trading goods. Looks like selling hard currency in Argentina/electronics in Brazil are two good opportunities (~80-120% gross) for some $1000-$3000 trading shots. (If anyone reading this has other ideas, please do share).

Played a short session earlier today. Games on pokerstars looked ****ty, so I fired up a FT session. Played about an hour before the tables started breaking (sigh..). I've managed to reach my volume goals for the month, going to start thinking about goals for January.

Last couple days;



Still getting owned this month. Need to win ~40 BIs before I take another PLO100 shot. Yikes..

Watched the PLO warriors PLO video series, wouldn't say I got lots of great info from it, but it was entertaining. Going to watch another vid series soon..

Thinking of goals for next month, both poker/non-poker related.

Ugh, playing so bad. Defo on subtle tilt, getting it in terrible on flops;

Hand 1;

OnGame - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: $70.63
UTG: $29.45
MP: $59.21
Hero (CO): $56.13
BTN: $93.43
SB: $51.29

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($1.00) Hero has A 8 7 9

UTG calls $0.50, fold, Hero raises to $2.00, fold, fold, BB raises to $7.00, fold, Hero calls $5.00

Flop: ($15.00, 2 players) 5 5 2
BB bets $9.00, Hero raises to $25.00, BB raises to $63.63 and is all-in, Hero calls $24.13 and is all-in

Turn: ($113.26, 2 players) K

River: ($113.26, 2 players) 8



This hand could not have been played worse. This is a clear call, fold most turns. Villain has 75% cbet flop, 35% cbet turn. Played it like a moron.

Hand 2;

OnGame - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (BB): $50.00
UTG: $58.68
MP: $71.99
CO: $145.06
BTN: $104.12
SB: $43.13

SB posts SB $0.50, Hero posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($1.00) Hero has T K 4 K

UTG calls $0.50, fold, fold, BTN raises to $1.50, fold, Hero calls $1.00, UTG calls $1.00

Flop: ($5.00, 3 players) 9 3 T
Hero bets $4.00, UTG raises to $17.00, fold, Hero raises to $48.50 and is all-in, UTG calls $31.50

Turn: ($102.00, 2 players) 5

River: ($102.00, 2 players) 3



Villain is 37/12, fairly passive post flop. This is an eassssy fold.

Omaha Hi Simulation ?
3,646,540 trials (Exhaustive)
board: 9cTd3c
Hand Equity Wins Ties
KcThKs4c 34.15% 1,241,174 8,054
TT, 99, TJQK, AcTc 65.85% 2,397,312 8,054

Hand 3;

This is ******ed. Villain has 10% 3bet in blinds, probably even wider in this spot. (say 15%)

OnGame - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $186.09
MP: $73.00
CO: $52.11
Hero (BTN): $115.82
SB: $50.00
BB: $69.17

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($1.00) Hero has K A J T

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.50, SB calls $1.00, BB raises to $6.00, Hero raises to $19.50, fold, BB raises to $60.00, fold



Right, so calling a 3bet and playing this hand 3 ways IP is +EV.

4betting is not;

Assume villain only 5bets AA(15%), folds ~50%, calls 35% and plays ~perfectly.

= -.15*18 + .5*9
= +$1.80 + equity edge vs his flatting range


Omaha Hi Simulation ?
600,000 trials (Randomized)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
AdKdJdTs 44.23% 245,032 40,709
8765+$ds, 8764+$ds, $B$B$B$B, RyRxOxOy 55.77% 314,259 40,709

So, were actually behind a flatting range here, so lets say we lose ~5.8% on the last $40..

= $1.80 - .058*40
= -$.52

So basically 4betting is around neutral EV, while calling the 3bet is certainly +EV.

Anyways, I completely butchered these hands today. (Ranked in degree of butchered-ness). I need to start holding myself accountable for these spews, will post any more spew that happens in the near future. Guhh. Gonna take a break before my next session, on mistake tilt.

Nice thread and keep up the good work!

I do disagree with your bankroll management guidelines, however. Even if you have a decent life roll, 35 buyins to start taking shots at a level seems a little crazy for PLO...might hinder your progress a bit. I guess for 50plo and lower its not so bad...but playing $100 plo with $3,500 seems a bit ambitious and $200 plo with $7,000 is nuts. If you value your sanity you should def be quite a bit more conservative with your br management past 50plo IMO. $10k for 100plo and $20kish for 200plo seems about right and will allow for you to not stress about the inevitable swings that plo is bound to bring. Just my 2 cents... Goodluck and subbed!

Oh and btw, how many tables do you play at a time?

Thx and yeah, I have a BR ~$20k for poker/life, and I have $15k in savings. I'm not too worried from a financial perspective. Also, I think that the opportunity cost of grinding below PLO200 is too great for me to not have an aggressive BRM strategy.

I play 4-6 tables, depends on the games.

December was one of the worst months of poker for me. I failed most of my goals, played poor, and lost money.

December goals;

[ x ]25k hands at 6-max PLO

32k

[ x ] 5k hands HU PLO

Yeah.

[ ] 7% 3bet (6max)

Nope, 6.13%. Gettin' der.

[ ] 35% fold to 3 bet (6max)

Huge fail. 63%.

[ ] 25 hours live

23 hours. game kept breaking.

Looking at my excel spreadsheet for live play for 2012, December was the only month I lost. Ended up profiting $1200 live, losing $2100 playing PLO, winning ~$200 playing HU hypers/27TR, and won about $500 in RB. Down $200 total.


In the spirit of January, I'll have several goals this month.

[ ] 35k hands 6max
[ ] 30 hours live
[ ] 7%+ 3bet
[ ] 40% fold to 3bet
[ ] max 2 drinks (or half pitcher) when I go out
[ ] sex

Yeah w/ your life roll, savings, and only playing 4-6 tables (which is awesome btw!) I lagree w/ your BR management up to 200PLO...Sounds like you're all set, just put in the work and make it happen...Goodluck mate!

Thanks, yeah. Work ethic is my specialty, so I'm at an advantage here.

4-6 tables is the best for learning imo. 6 is actually getting to be a bit too much for me. I find myself occasionally making auto folds or calls without much thought.



My first day of 2013 went well. Played well, had good focus, good volume. Tables were good, too.

I'm going to get back into the habit of reviewing key hands from the session. Here we go...

Hand 1:

Villain is 25/23/10, seems like a good aggro reg.

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $52.79
MP: $50.00
CO: $75.21
BTN: $47.86
Hero (SB): $58.74
BB: $93.23

Hero posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has 4 9 Q A

fold, fold, CO raises to $1.50, fold, Hero calls $1.25, BB raises to $6.00, CO calls $4.50, Hero calls $4.50

Flop: ($18.00, 3 players) A 2 8
Hero checks, BB bets $14.50, fold, Hero raises to $52.74 and is all-in, BB calls $38.24

Turn: ($123.48, 2 players) A

River: ($123.48, 2 players) 6



the opener is 28/11, 70% fold to 3bet over ~300 hands. I felt like he was squeezing fairly wide given the dynamic. His normal 3b% in blinds is 10%, it I think he could be as wide as 15% here. Tons of 3broad way double suited hands, any solid rundown to 8 to A, 2 pair hands, decent AA, decent KK, good queens.

OTF I think its pretty close. Against a thinking TAG with a 74% cbet, I think we have to jam given SPR. Anyone see justification for calling?

Hand 2:

Villain is 45/12/6, fishy in general. cbet % is 47, turn cbet 35%.

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $9.16
MP: $87.17
Hero (CO): $50.00
BTN: $61.54
SB: $197.31
BB: $20.00

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has Q A T 8

fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.50, BTN raises to $2.50, fold, fold, Hero calls $1.00

Flop: ($5.75, 2 players) 6 A K
Hero checks, BTN bets $3.00, Hero calls $3.00

Turn: ($11.75, 2 players) 5
Hero checks, BTN bets $9.50, Hero calls $9.50

River: ($30.75, 2 players) 7
Hero bets $20.00, BTN calls $20.00



Given villains general aggression, I felt like he had 2pair or a set here fairly often. I think my river donk bluff will work enough to make it +EV.

Hand 3:

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $59.74
CO: $50.00
BTN: $85.74
Hero (SB): $59.93
BB: $38.81

Hero posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has Q 3 A J

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to $1.50, BB raises to $4.50, Hero raises to $13.50, BB calls $9.00

Flop: ($27.00, 2 players) 2 5 A
Hero bets $25.78, fold



Villain is 43/22/11.5. Has 3bet 2/3 of my sb steals so far.

Who likes 4betting here? I think its close. Not sure whats best or how to solve. The worst case scenario is he 5bets, and I have to get it in. If he 5bets 4%, I get it in with

Omaha Hi Simulation ?
600,000 trials (Randomized)
Hand Equity Wins Ties
AdQdTh8h 40.16% 236,331 9,231
4% 59.84% 354,438 9,231

The other alternative could possibly keep in hands that cbet/fold flops. With an SPR of 3 I won't be folding much equity away on flops relative to if the SPR was 1.

The cool thing about 4betting is that if he sees I'm 4betting "light", he may stop 3betting my opens.

Anyways. Somehow ended down 6 BIs playing well yesterday. Going to get my grind on today. Need ~1.5k hands/day, with a couple days of live pokers

Finally, a winning day!!

I think I've won the last 2/18 days. Hurrayy!!



PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $100.56
MP: $54.13
Hero (CO): $50.00
BTN: $110.59
SB: $54.12
BB: $188.56

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has 4 A J A

UTG raises to $1.75, MP calls $1.75, Hero raises to $7.75, fold, SB calls $7.50, fold, UTG calls $6.00, MP calls $6.00

Flop: ($31.50, 4 players) 2 4 2
SB checks, UTG checks, MP checks, Hero bets $13.50, fold, UTG raises to $30.00, fold, Hero raises to $42.25 and is all-in, UTG calls $12.25

Turn: ($116.00, 2 players) 3

River: ($116.00, 2 players) J


PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BTN: $84.92
Hero (SB): $161.81
BB: $27.29
UTG: $51.62
MP: $45.86
CO: $58.42

Hero posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has T Q K 9

fold, MP calls $0.50, fold, BTN raises to $1.50, Hero raises to $5.50, fold, fold, BTN calls $4.00

Flop: ($12.00, 2 players) 3 8 T
Hero bets $8.00, BTN raises to $35.46, Hero raises to $98.25, BTN calls $43.96 and is all-in

Turn: ($170.84, 2 players) 6

River: ($170.84, 2 players) 5


PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $50.75
CO: $62.67
BTN: $128.75
SB: $134.57
Hero (BB): $51.51

SB posts SB $0.25, Hero posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has 8 K T 9

fold, CO calls $0.50, BTN raises to $2.25, fold, Hero calls $1.75, CO calls $1.75

Flop: ($7.00, 3 players) 3 8 9
Hero bets $5.00, fold, BTN calls $5.00

Turn: ($17.00, 2 players) 5
Hero bets $10.00, BTN calls $10.00

River: ($37.00, 2 players) Q
Hero checks, BTN bets $16.50, Hero raises to $34.26 and is all-in, BTN calls $17.76

Played 2 sessions today, one marathon session when tables were good. Ran pretty bad, played well, won monies.

2 sessions today. Played great the first sess, played alright the second. Lost focus near the end of the second session and quickly closed tables.



I ended up using preferred seating today.. for the first time in my life. My roommates (who all play poker professionally) were giving me hell for it every couple days. I think it was a good decision to switch to preferred seating. I think it will improve my ability to multi-table while playing my A game. A few weeks ago I experimented playing 8 tables and I'm pretty sure my ability to play my A-game was inhibited because I was sitting in different seats on each table.

I feel like I'm writing very differently tonight.. I think it may be because I'm thinking differently.

Anyways, I've also decided I'm going to try and play 1.5k+ hands of poker every day I decide to play every day, unless I am tilting. It's going to save me a bunch of time. Lately I've just been playing short sessions 7 days a week, which has managed to eat up too much time due to re-loading tables, and pre-session warm-up. Playing longer sessions is going to help me crush my volume goals this month.

Some interesting spots from today;

Hand 1:

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $14.35
MP: $77.74
CO: $40.04
Hero (BTN): $50.00
SB: $71.55
BB: $39.00

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has 9 7 8 9

fold, MP calls $0.50, fold, Hero raises to $2.00, SB calls $1.75, BB calls $1.50, MP calls $1.50

Flop: ($8.00, 4 players) 2 8 5
SB bets $6.00, fold, fold, Hero calls $6.00

Turn: ($20.00, 2 players) 2
SB bets $11.75, Hero calls $11.75

River: ($43.50, 2 players) J
SB bets $41.54, fold



I have villain marked as a bad reg.

He's got a super high aggro freq, but I think I still have to give him credit on this flop. I think folding flop is probably best when he donks 4 ways.

River turn call is terrible.

Hand 2:

Villain appears to be maniac over about 10 hands..

PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: $18.18
UTG: $49.40
CO: $50.00
Hero (BTN): $51.79
SB: $85.50

SB posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has 8 5 8 Q

UTG calls $0.50, fold, Hero calls $0.50, fold, BB raises to $1.50, UTG calls $1.00, Hero calls $1.00

Flop: ($4.75, 3 players) 8 9 6
BB bets $2.50, fold, Hero calls $2.50

Turn: ($9.75, 2 players) 4
BB bets $4.50, Hero calls $4.50

River: ($18.75, 2 players) K
BB bets $9.68 and is all-in, Hero calls $9.68



I think I played this hand like a fish. Defo jamming flop was the right play. I thought that he had lots of hearts and some air in his range, and I wanted to continue letting him barrel.. but he may only barrel off 20-50% of the time. Overall, I think it's more +EV to just jam here and get it in vs him.

This hand seems to illustrate a leak I've discovered. When I make mistakes, I tend to make them in succession. I make a mistake early in a hand and end up playing very strangely on future streets. I think flop is a clear shove. I made a mistake. OTT, I make an even bigger mistake. It's a clearer shove... AP river call is okay. I'm going to try and stop myself from making so many mistakes by injecting logic when I make an error earlier in the hand.

Hand 3:
PokerStars - $0.50 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (SB): $52.48
BB: $51.01
UTG: $98.31
MP: $81.15
CO: $134.12
BTN: $62.78

Hero posts SB $0.25, BB posts BB $0.50

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero has K T A 4

UTG calls $0.50, fold, CO raises to $2.25, fold, Hero raises to $7.75, fold, UTG calls $7.25, CO calls $5.50

Flop: ($23.75, 3 players) 7 9 6
Hero checks, UTG checks, CO checks

Turn: ($23.75, 3 players) 8
Hero checks, UTG bets $7.50, CO calls $7.50, Hero raises to $44.73 and is all-in, fold, fold



I think our hand was pretty face-up here.. But one player is a fish who doesn't have the nuts... He may not realize that we rep spades here.

During that hand I had a friend that was sweating and I remember telling him "If we had the nuts here, this would be a sick spot to ch/jam because these fish are always stabbing on turns.." I suppose it ended up working as a bluff instead.

Skiing was wicked today. Some powder, no lines, awesome cliffs. 8/10 conditions.

I've got a trip booked in vancouver for next weekend. Going to crush some live PLO, and party in vancouver. I'm going to shoot for 30 hours in 4 nights, which may or may not be possible. I'm hoping the game starts up around 2-4pm each day, and doesn't break before 11. The trip is costing me upwards of $150 pre-partying-- which sucks balls. Next trip I'm going to try and cut that **** down. I'll either find a place to stay for free through friends or couchsurfing.

Following the previous paragraph I decided to update my couchsurfing profile. I'm gonna try and host a couple people in whistler before the end of the year. Will either have to be super awesome guy or hot girl.

More grindaments today. 1.5k hands is the target.

Did a marathon session today. Defo lost focus near the end, resulting in some B-game..



Games sucked before 7pmPST and somehow got much better later..

May or may not get analysis in tomorrow. Massive snow dump expected tonight/tmrw!!

Played pretty poorly today. Stacked off super light on a couple flops. Also, had internet problems at the end of the session and lost >$20 in EV due to random disconnects. Pretty tilting stuff.

Break-even day.

30cm of powder tmrw... mountain is going to be awesome. Vancouver tmrw night for some live pokers.

5.5 hour live session today. Game was $1/2/10 for half the time. I ended up down $40 and didn't get in any interesting spots. Got it in vs a short stack with JQQK on a JT6r flop with an effective SPR of 2.5-3. He had JT72r, which held. Re-bought for $500, set-mined and missed ~10 times.

Finally made a straight vs a set and won ~$400.

I witnessed a bum who stuck his hands in the food from the player next to me, took a couple shrimps and walked away. He was spotted scouting food elsewhere in the casino and got got kicked out. So many hobos in this city, its unreal. After the incident the waitress offered him a new plate of food and he said no. I couldn't stand to see a freeroll pass by, so I convinced him to get 2 orders of the dish and share with the table.

Also had a very strange encounter today. May post more details depending on how my investigation goes tmrw.

Sitting in starbucks reading the mental game of poker. Tendler's book is awesome and its worth very penny my cheap ass spent on it. If its doing anything, It's certainly opening my eyes to leaks in my game!

As far as the online pokers goes, I need to profit $950 to take another shot at PLO100. That's 19 BIs. If I can squeeze out ~10bb/100 I could get there by the end of the month. Gonna have to bust out the A-game on the regular.

Tmckendry, really enjoyed your $30,000 and 1,000hr thread! I seen you had a hourly of about $39hr overall for challenge. I was curious what your hourly was for just 2/5, 3/5, 5/5? You stated, it made up about 40-50% of your hours. Also, do you think 50hr is possible at these same limits in capped games? What about uncapped games? Thanks and good luck with latest challenge!

Hey matchbox, can't help too much. Too lazy to organize database. I'd say it was around 8-10bb/hr at 100bb cap from 2/5-5/5.

$50/hr is possible, but is around the max winrate I'd expect from a solid $2/5 100bb cap grinder.

For uncapped games it really is game specific. It depends on how deep the game plays, rake, player pool... In a low rake juicy deep $2/5 home game I'm sure $75-100/hr is attainable.

Keep in mind, these are max win rates. Most poker players delude themselves into thinking they are better than they are (true for myself even). Most winners are going to win in the $0-35/hr range at $2/5.

If you crush the live games why are you building a roll for midstakes from scratch?

Are the live PLO games THAT soft?

edit: matchbox is talking exclusively about NLH cash games.

I like the challenge. Live NLH got boring for me-- wasn't getting stimulated. Started to feel like work.

Live PLO games have been hit and miss for me. I think similar win rates are attainable, maybe a bit less due to table selection.

A final thought.. The juiciest PLO games I've played have been better than the juiciest NLH games..

Last 2 days of half-assed random disconnecting online grindaments;