Yup. It's interesting learning to live with variance when moving up stakes. $100 swongs are now $800 swongs.

Thanks! This is quite the compliment coming from you. Checked your thread and your capable of putting in some massive hours man. Nice work.



Played a super long session today. Eased up on the volume because I'm trying to change my sleep schedule. Been going to bed around 5am lately, trying to get that to around 2am.

Hosting couchsurfers for 4 nights next week. Two girls (Australian/Canadian)

"In time, my blood started to clot, and I got a little bit better at quitting, and then a little more better, and then one day I realized that every session of cash-game poker I ever play will end on a quit, so I really should continue forever to work on getting better at quitting, and a few years later I realized that if I wanted to quit well every session, then I’d have to be sharp at the very end of every session, since that’s always when the quitting happens, and a few years after that I realized that no action is an island, that everyone else’s sessions always end on a quit too, and that the real reason there is money to be made by quitting well is because sometimes my opponents don’t. Reciprocality."

-"The elements of poker", Tommy Angelo

Everyones gotta quit a session at sometime. You should always quit a session when your still sharp. Might sound counter-intuitive, but its +EV. Its important to play your A-game as often as possible.

Today I made a pretty bad quitting mistake. Played a 3.1 hour session, way above my standards. 1-2hours is standard for me. My focus started to fade after 2 hours, Kept on playing today because I was feeling good as a result of playing well and winning.. But, I should have stopped playing. Ended up making a couple bad marginal plays that cost me a few stacks. A cheap lesson.

Sometimes I have long sessions where I win, but its often a result of being stuck several buy-ins and being determined to win it back (aka high focus). Looking forward, I should be basing my quitting decisions on my focus level, not my feelings.

I've also learnt over the past few days that most regs have a more sophisticated HUD than me. I don't even have a "bet when checked to IP" stat, which would be SOO useful. I can't wait until PT4 for mac!

Today:

Ugh.. Got completely crushed today. Played okay.. Ran into what seemed like a very high number of nightmare scenarios..

Hand 2:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

SB: $135.40
BB: $100.00
UTG: $168.58
Hero (MP): $126.98
CO: $80.00
BTN: $134.52

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00, CO posts DB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($2.50) Hero has A 8 T A

fold, Hero raises to $4.00, fold, BTN calls $4.00, SB calls $3.50, fold

Flop: ($14.00, 3 players) 4 9 K
SB checks, Hero bets $9.00, BTN calls $9.00, fold

Turn: ($32.00, 2 players) 5
Hero bets $20.00, BTN raises to $90.56, Hero raises to $113.98 and is all-in, BTN calls $23.42

River: ($259.96, 2 players) 9



Anyone fold the turn here? Villain appears to be 25/20/0 reg over ~100hands..

Hand 2:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (BTN): $118.54
SB: $100.00
BB: $142.90
UTG: $235.55
CO: $330.14

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has 9 T 7 Q

fold, CO raises to $3.50, Hero raises to $12.00, fold, fold, CO calls $8.50

Flop: ($25.50, 2 players) 2 7 6
CO checks, Hero bets $16.50, CO calls $16.50

Turn: ($58.50, 2 players) 6
CO checks, Hero bets $29.00, CO raises to $142.87, fold



Ugh.. maybe c/f turn...

Hand 3:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (BTN): $100.00
SB: $60.30
BB: $49.60
UTG: $262.24
CO: $147.60

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has A 2 9 A

fold, CO raises to $3.00, Hero raises to $10.50, fold, fold, CO calls $7.50

Flop: ($22.50, 2 players) 2 7 6
CO checks, Hero bets $15.50, CO calls $15.50

Turn: ($53.50, 2 players) 8
CO checks, Hero bets $31.00, CO raises to $121.60 and is all-in, fold



B/f'ing my life away..

Hand 4:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

UTG: $134.90
CO: $100.00
BTN: $117.88
Hero (SB): $179.48
BB: $136.02

Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has 6 8 A A

fold, fold, BTN raises to $3.50, Hero raises to $11.50, fold, BTN calls $8.00

Flop: ($24.00, 2 players) 2 A T
Hero bets $16.00, BTN calls $16.00

Turn: ($56.00, 2 players) K
Hero bets $25.00, BTN raises to $90.38 and is all-in, fold



Want Moaaaar?

Hand 5:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BTN: $50.25
Hero (SB): $118.21
BB: $206.06
UTG: $79.60
MP: $96.12
CO: $127.61

Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has 5 Q A J

fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to $3.50, Hero raises to $11.50, fold, BTN calls $8.00

Flop: ($24.00, 2 players) 6 A 3
Hero bets $15.00, BTN calls $15.00

Turn: ($54.00, 2 players) Q
Hero bets $51.57, BTN calls $23.75 and is all-in

River: ($101.50, 2 players) K



Hand 6:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

Hero (CO): $103.66
BTN: $106.26
SB: $53.34
BB: $265.42
UTG: $114.98
MP: $417.74

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has J K 9 Q

fold, fold, Hero raises to $3.00, fold, fold, BB raises to $9.50, Hero calls $6.50

Flop: ($19.50, 2 players) 6 3 7
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($19.50, 2 players) K
BB bets $13.00, Hero calls $13.00

River: ($45.50, 2 players) K
BB checks, Hero bets $25.00, BB raises to $118.45, fold



Hand 7:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BTN: $69.14
SB: $101.23
Hero (BB): $100.00
UTG: $119.89
MP: $100.00
CO: $112.25

SB posts SB $0.50, Hero posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has 9 K A J

UTG raises to $3.00, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $2.00

Flop: ($6.50, 2 players) 3 9 6
Hero checks, UTG checks

Turn: ($6.50, 2 players) K
Hero bets $5.00, UTG raises to $16.00, Hero calls $11.00

River: ($38.50, 2 players) 3
Hero checks, UTG bets $28.00, Hero calls $28.00



...

Hand 8:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

CO: $86.65
Hero (BTN): $122.73
SB: $90.14
BB: $100.00
UTG: $217.11

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has 7 8 5 4

UTG raises to $3.00, fold, Hero raises to $10.50, fold, fold, UTG calls $7.50

Flop: ($22.50, 2 players) J 2 7
UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($22.50, 2 players) 9
UTG bets $10.00, Hero calls $10.00

River: ($42.50, 2 players) 6
UTG checks, Hero bets $22.50, UTG calls $22.50



PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: $37.30
UTG: $43.00
CO: $103.57
BTN: $284.14
Hero (SB): $105.94

Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has A T J Q

UTG raises to $3.00, fold, BTN calls $3.00, Hero calls $2.50, BB calls $2.00

Flop: ($12.00, 4 players) 6 K 5
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG bets $3.00, fold, Hero raises to $14.50, fold, UTG calls $11.50

Turn: ($41.00, 2 players) 3
Hero bets $39.16, UTG calls $25.50 and is all-in

River: ($92.00, 2 players) J



Alright.. thats enough littering..

I wonder why you prefer playing at 4am (apparently with Asians) instead of sleeping. Braziliands go to bed around your 7pm, I guess.
Imho it's more important to see the borderline between the B- and C-game and stay until it's reached. Probably this issue is personally mine as I'm not so eager to start sessions and like to last as long as it's profitable. If you get too tired of playing in both A- and B-game phases, then congrats, you play the A-game very often

I didn't like some actions in the above hands, could you comment on them more? (They're read-dependent, I assume they're all vs regs.)

1. I'm such a nit, intuitively, I'd b/f ott - we have ~10 outs vs pretty everything in the TAG's range, except for TP+hearts+GS we're almost flipping against...

2. CO isn't going to believe us and the cbet creates aggro dead money he's prone to steal ott, I'd check otf to induce and bet or raise on any turn (except for non-spade J, 4, 3 when I'd float ).

3. Basically the same, but more as a bluff

4-5. Wp.

6. I'd barrel, valuecheck otr as played.

7. I'd donk otf, that would define his range better and I'd feel better b/f'ing ott.

8. I'd raise ott and valuecheck otr - with the same result, though

9. Wp.

As you see, I like to shift aggression to the turn Could you spot leaks in my thoughts?

Keep going

1. Was a reggy-type. I think 25/20/0 over a smallish sample. I expected him to show up with K***hh frequently. I expected fewer KK combos because he flatted preflop and flatted flop flop on a wet board with a player behind.. Also expected fewer 99 combos because his vpip is 25.

Good case:

board: Kc9h4c5h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
TKK, 99T, K9**, Kh*h, 97c8c, K678, 9cQcJ 61.79% 339,795 623
AcAsTc8s 38.21% 209,982 623

Bad case:

board: Kc9h4c5h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
KK, 99T, 30%:K9**, 30%:Kh*h, 30%:K678 65.98% 187,955 623
AcAsTc8s 34.02% 96,782 623

I think our equity is in the 34-38% range, making it a marginal.

2. Hand 2 is against a 58/14/3 player with low/moderate postflop aggression. So much JJ-KK and 1 pair hands in his flop calling range. Obv these hands can't continue vs my perceived range. He's gotta be folding here 25% assuming if we have 0% equity, even less when we have TP+gutter.

3. Hand 3 is against the same opponent. His flop calling range is wide, figured he couldn't continue most of the time. It seems he has figured out how to exploit me.

6. Yeah, my gut was yelling at me to check. It just seems so unlikely he can show up with a FH here. But its also so unlikely he's going to be calling with AA or KJ.. I also don't know if he's capable of bluff-raising, because my range looks quite weak.

7. Yup. River call is pointless. Despite having blockers and his line being strange, he has KK.

8. This is the 48/15/3 villain that (apparently) owns my soul. I also like raising the turn, betting most rivers. I think we have to value bet against this guy OTR. checking back the river if he raised turn seems better, but not great.

Last couple days have been volume-packed. Plan on playing another session tonight.



I'm going to do a session review.. Will post hands that were marginal/interesting.

Hand 1:

Didn't like how this was played.. villain is 53/20/5, fairly aggro postflop.

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BTN: $123.48
Hero (SB): $186.88
BB: $333.29
UTG: $76.48
CO: $100.00

Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has K 5 Q A

UTG raises to $3.00, fold, BTN calls $3.00, Hero raises to $13.00, fold, UTG calls $10.00, BTN calls $10.00

Flop: ($40.00, 3 players) A 3 6
Hero bets $25.50, fold, BTN calls $25.50

Turn: ($91.00, 2 players) 2
Hero checks, BTN bets $84.98 and is all-in, Hero calls $84.98

River: ($260.96, 2 players) A



Probably c/f turn.. He has a bunch of A*** and pair+draws that called the flop. I think I only get called if I'm owned.. If I check I give him a chance to bluff with hands he would fold to a bet. Obviously some 45** and sets in his range, though.

Hand 2:

Villain is unknown, just sat down and is 20/20/0 over 5 hands

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

CO: $111.36
Hero (BTN): $175.81
SB: $100.00
BB: $316.89
UTG: $245.31

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has J 6 9 Q

fold, fold, Hero raises to $3.00, SB raises to $10.00, fold, Hero calls $7.00

Flop: ($21.00, 2 players) K T 6
SB bets $10.00, Hero raises to $50.06, SB raises to $90.00 and is all-in, Hero calls $39.94

Turn: ($201.00, 2 players) 3

River: ($201.00, 2 players) 2



Not sure how I feel about flop play. Thought I may be able to get a fold from AA
.. but I think flatting is better as it allows him to make more mistakes on later streets.. Obviously ran into one of the worst case scenarios, again.

Hand 3:

Turn is a fold. Villain is bad reg.

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

CO: $104.73
BTN: $107.78
SB: $208.86
BB: $112.63
UTG: $104.16
Hero (MP): $100.00

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has Q A A 4

fold, Hero raises to $3.00, fold, fold, fold, BB raises to $6.00, Hero raises to $18.50, BB calls $12.50

Flop: ($37.50, 2 players) Q 5 6
BB checks, Hero bets $28.00, BB calls $28.00

Turn: ($93.50, 2 players) 9
BB bets $45.00, Hero raises to $53.50 and is all-in, BB calls $8.50

River: ($200.50, 2 players) 4



Sigh.

Hand 4:

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 4 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: $54.50
Hero (UTG): $237.25
BTN: $100.00
SB: $100.48

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has K J K 9

Hero raises to $3.00, BTN raises to $10.50, fold, fold, Hero raises to $33.00, BTN calls $22.50

Flop: ($67.50, 2 players) 8 6 T
Hero bets $66.00, BTN raises to $67.00 and is all-in, Hero calls $1.00

Turn: ($201.50, 2 players) K

River: ($201.50, 2 players) J



What a joke. Has 99** in his flatting range and this is the flop I run into

Hand 5:

Villain is reg. He's got a ton of bluffs here, but I can't beat all his bluffs with my hand, so I should raise..

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

CO: $100.00
BTN: $135.84
Hero (SB): $142.51
BB: $197.00
UTG: $153.69

Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has A K Q 9

fold, CO raises to $3.00, fold, Hero raises to $10.00, fold, CO calls $7.00

Flop: ($21.00, 2 players) 8 5 3
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($21.00, 2 players) 9
Hero bets $14.00, CO calls $14.00

River: ($49.00, 2 players) 6
Hero checks, CO bets $26.00, Hero calls $26.00



PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BTN: $78.20
Hero (SB): $142.67
BB: $94.50
UTG: $68.30
MP: $131.04
CO: $246.95

Hero posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has Q 6 A T

UTG raises to $3.00, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls $2.50, BB calls $2.00

Flop: ($9.00, 3 players) 8 K 3
Hero bets $5.50, BB calls $5.50, fold

Turn: ($20.00, 2 players) 9
Hero bets $16.50, BB calls $16.50

River: ($53.00, 2 players) A
Hero bets $45.00, BB calls $45.00

Last 2 days:

Thats a sick two days man, keep it up

Internet has been really unreliable the last couple days. May try grinding a session later today. Lost some $$$ in disconnects lately, though.

Good progress dude!

yesterday i lay up in bed and went through this thread for aaaaages on my phone while gf asleep. really interesting so far. i love how you set very specific goals right from the beginning like +7% 3b..you seem to be really analyzing your play and almost more important keeping track of it and being very honest to yourself. i admire your effort to learn and beat plo. i think thats a very good approach and ill try to implement lots of this stuff in my game too. gl for your plo200 shot and keep it up, looking good so far!

Thx bro! Was wondering where you went. Back at it I see!

Thanks for the positive feedback man! Anything else in particular you'd like reading? I'm pretty much up for sharing most of my life ITT



Last 2 sessions have been pretty scary. Disconnects/lag outs have cost me a bunch.. Fortunately, I've been running hottt.




Some spots..

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

BB: $135.68
UTG: $85.39
MP: $100.00
Hero (CO): $303.23
BTN: $204.02
SB: $99.00

SB posts SB $0.50, BB posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has 7 Q 6 8

fold, fold, Hero raises to $3.00, BTN raises to $9.00, fold, BB calls $8.00, Hero calls $6.00

Flop: ($27.50, 3 players) T Q 5
BB checks, Hero bets $18.50, BTN calls $18.50, BB raises to $100.26, Hero raises to $270.50, fold, BB calls $26.42 and is all-in

Turn: ($299.36, 2 players) K

River: ($299.36, 2 players) 5



Pretty close between jam/fold imo..

Hand 2:

Villain is aggro whale..

PokerStars - $1 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 3

SB: $173.62
Hero (BB): $148.81
UTG: $44.36
CO: $153.91
BTN: $72.50

SB posts SB $0.50, Hero posts BB $1.00

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero has 8 3 A K

fold, fold, fold, SB raises to $3.00, Hero calls $2.00

Flop: ($6.00, 2 players) 2 K T
SB bets $5.73, Hero calls $5.73

Turn: ($17.46, 2 players) 5
SB bets $16.67, Hero calls $16.67

River: ($50.80, 2 players) 4
SB checks, Hero checks

Hand 1: Im usually folding when he 3bets and it gets 3way. If the both blinds did fold, I would consider calling just because Im more comfortable with this hand HU, even OOP. You could have been dominated by both players postflop so the mistake preflop compunds postflop.

Hand 2: Looks good. Turn is call if hes an aggro whale, which is uncommon by my experiences. Most whales are super passive and fit or fold.

are you playing zoom or regular tables?

Your progress looks really nice. I wish you all the best!

For hand1, yeah its a crap hand 3ways. Folding pre is probably most +EV. Although, once we get to the flop, what do you think?

I play regular tables, for no particular reason.

Thx for best wishes!


As far as the big picture goes I need 10 more BIs at PLO100 ($1000) to take my first PLO200 shot. If I can grind 15BIs at PLO200 by May 1st, challenge completed

Donking is fine but when BTN calls and BB raises, I problably fold. Could easily be dominated by a set and wrap+fd.

Played 2 short sessions that were both stopped when I disconnected/lost$$$/tilted.

Extremely frustrating internet situation. New router tomorrow. There is noooo way I'll hit volume goals for this month.. @ ~26k thus far.. 1 week left with questionable internets. Somewhere between 1-2BI's lost due to internets >.<

Hand2 is interesting. I've never called a double barrel with just TPTK in PLO yet Also just curious what's your play if he leads that river.

Do you plan to continue playing PLO online if Challenge completed or will you be focussing more on live play and/or NLHE again?

you seem to be travelling a lot too. id Love to here some nice stories from your travelling experience!

What made you progress most in PLO? Any reads or videos worth mentioning?

Hope you run hot at plo100!

Hey tm, discussed some of your hands in SSPLO, think you play well and have a lot of aggression, I play a similar style. What I've noticed in a lot of your hands though is that you tend to want to stack off really light whenever you've committed any chips post in a 3bet pot. The Q678 is a prime example, I think pre is neither here nor there in general, it's probably a bit loose tbh but not criminally so. The issue is you need to be super confident post if you're going to open thEse sort of hands. I think the donk is good actually but would just fold when the BB bombs it. Gonna be completely crushed by his range most of the time and at best flipping, seems unnecessary. Anyway glgl, hope you continue your success

I would have folded. I thought a good portion of his range is flushes, and it looks like I have a flush draw if he doesn't-- so I wouldn't expect him to just jam it on a diamond.

I want to play online until June. I'll be going to WSOP in June to grind the PLO cash games.

Right now I'm more busto than I've ever been as a result of making no money and living lavishly in Whistler. Pretty sure $14-16k in my poker bankroll. So, risk of ruin is in the double digit territory for the first time in my "career".

I think most of my progress has been made on the felt. I seem to learn best by experimenting/practice. I think studying is important for anyone, but I think for me I'm best off spending 70-80% of my time playing. I'd recommend magicninja's series crossfire. Good information and entertaining.

Okay, I'll include more travel related stuff.

Yeah I've seen you responding a bunch in SSPLO lately. The donk is good imo too. I also think its a fold once BB jams. I got in my head when SB jammed he could be wider here because its such an awesome spot to jam.. but hes just going to be playing his hand and only jamming with ~nuts here. When he jams it in I need 36%+ 3 ways to call.. I don't have it.

board: ThQd5h
Hand Equity Wins Ties
Qh8h7s6c 32.18% 1,699,861 14,345
15%QQ, TT, Ah*h, Kh*h, QT, AKQJ, QJ98, T9h87h) 67.82% 3,590,374 14,345


I dont have enough, and I have to worry about a player behind, so its a clear fold. Basically burnt 4-10% on $120

Travel Stuff:

I'm planning a Banff trip soon. For those who suck at geography, Banff is a small city in the mountains in Alberta(Canada). Aside from being beautiful, there are plenty of new ski resorts for me to discover, which is awesome.

I have accommodation locked up for Banff. I had a couchsurfer from Banff stay at my place for a few days last week. She was fun/awesome/hot and invited me to crash her place for a few days.. An offer I can't refuse

As of now I'm passively searching craigslist/kijiji for car pools. Will book a bus if I can't find a carpool.

Poker Stuff:

Way behind monthly volume goals. I want to try and bang out 15k hands in 6 days and reach my monthly goal. The bar is pretty high. ~2.8k hands/day translates to ~5-6hours. Huge snowstorm coming, will have to ski at least one day. I'd bet 4:1 against me getting 45k hands this month :\

Behind on volume already.. Got in 2.5k hands yesterday (a ski day).



Going for 3k today

I'm going have to be careful not to "Burn out".. so I'll be splitting today's volume over 3 or 4 sessions.

Being close to busto might not be that bad imo. In my experience it forces you to make all the "shoulds" into "musts". Its like 95% of the poker players knows how to get good from reading and listening to the players who made it, but they still dont to the work needed. Having the feeling like "****, Im close to busto, I need to work my ass off to turn this around" might not be that bad. It sure helped me.

Met 3k hand target today, and ran like god..



Made an unforgivable fold 3ways with 50% equity..

Dude.....fold pre?

It was on the flop, had Khi FD and OESD, facing raise/3b on the flop.. thought my FD was toast.. Turns out they both had sets . The fold was horrible though, need to be ~80%+ sure one of them has A-hi FD to fold-- which I wasn't.