Month 1 in Review

Well folks, we fell short of our 8k goal, but, of course, this milestone remains insignificant when one has no control over variance... So the question hence becomes : are we satisfied with the trend of the grind so far... Yes and no, I guess, but perhaps answering this question via sub-categories will shine more light upon the bigger picture...

Da Live Pokerz : Listen, it can never be overstated, but playing with these people is a treat When I lurk into other live threads, they all seem to revolve around a somewhat negative thematic narrative... Words like fish, sleezy, exhaustion, hustle populate most of them. So again, I feel privileged to play night in and night out with this crowd. This said, I definitely can improve on areas of my game. Problem is, it is not the technical part of my game that needs plugging, but the mental.

Too often, it feels like a grind. Gruelling. Never-ending. Exhausting. To the extent where my present B game misses certain hero calls, hero folds or impatiently makes an -EV call OOP, for instance, stuff that my A game would never do... Problem is, these marginal spots greatly affect my win rate... I just don't know how to correct this mind frame of mine though and perhaps just need to accept it... B game and 3k in 118h (my hourly will necessarily increase in the upcoming months, downswing not withstanding )

Da Virtual Tables : Pretty happy with my performance online, mainly in areas pertaining to quitting when fatigue kicks in, going down in stakes when in the midst of a short term downswing (like replace 2 tables of 100z by 50z), table selecting etc. Of course, I did experience some tilt - albeit limited -, and indulged in some leaks, but seem to be on the up and up on how to manage my emotions while playing sound fundamentals B+ game and 3.2k in 103h

Conclusion :Decent month, I guess, and much comparable to June 2015 (where I ran pretty bad, played amazing and managed 6.5k ) in monetary terms, despite playing not as great, but running slightly better. Oh well, time to make 10k+ in July folks

Challenge : +6114.67$

good stuff, dubn, keep it up! really enjoy how you navigate the live/online chasm.

hope your Raptors can get something going in the offseason

Lucky Dog

You know the feeling... You have been there before You built enough of a stack to double up through the terrible OMC-nit that is running godder than GOD Effective stacks are 500bbs, you pick up 22 IP and after villain makes it 30$ (split range : always KK and most likely AA here), you happily tag along with 3 other players given the set-mining trap and implied odds... The beautiful 2 rolls up on the flop Sure, that K is unappealing and does make you pot control by simply calling his 55$ bet, but life is good, the sun is shining, the birds... The third flush slows villain and makes him bet a tentative 50$, but life is still sweet as hell Until the mamafracking A rolls up on the river, villains bets 50$ and despite that instinctive inner knowledge that you are beat, you take the odds and hope villain has AK 15% of the time... +800$ live in 26h this weekend (played solid, but ran terrible), -300$ in 3h online








Thx man As far as oscillating in between live and online play, it remains what works best for me. Nowadays, I feel fatigue kicking in after a mere 2h of play online Which is when I usually quit, before that dog-tired brain of mine opens a breach into a B or even C game territory... So getting 2 X 2h online with a live session sandwiched in there, works wonders for my desired volume

Happy where the Raps are, but they do need to add a servable Power Foward... Darn, Biyombo getting 18m/year with Orlando

Thx for chiming in man, didn't think you would just yet with your busy WSOP... GL man


challenge : +6611.46$

The Little Things

Weekends are gruesome as frack Putting on the alarm to catch the tourney (and interrupting that 4h of sleep ), focusing on the tournament - moreso than in a cash game, as trying to pick up that extra tell to steal blinds etc. -, take a 30 min break, meditate, come back, grind the cash game until 2 am ; by the time Sunday kicks around and I've got 30h of grind in, I am simply drained. Exhausted A blank stare Of course, I still put on a smile, socialize, as players are here to let loose, to entertain themselves and the last thing they want to hear, is how the crusher is exhausted from all these pots he is scooping in :roll eyes:

I think that the lack of motivation has been what is keeping my A game at times at bay (despite a still solid B+-A- game). If the 2015 Old Lady challenge actually acted as a source of motivation, this one seems redundant, at least as far as the monetary aspect goes... Come October, if I make 33k or 40k, it will make no difference at all to my lifestyle, bankroll, happiness level, the time off I will take this winter... Nonetheless, I still want to succeed.

We have tournaments points dedicated to the top 3 finishes in each MTT, with the seasonal winner getting his 340$ buy-in allocated by the casino (won it last year ), yet, I had missed 3 tournaments so far (in favour of sleeping in), fell in the standings, until last weekend where "enough was enuf" and gave it my all, came into 3rd on Saturday and 1st on Sunday I now find myself in 3rd place in the standing and have the intention of being first by the end of the month. Not a hard feat at all, but it does give some extra motivation for the grind, especially that the 2nd place fellow is an old fracker that prides himself with his ludicrous tournament play :roll eyes: (can't stand that old frack). It is the little things, you know, the little things




+700$ online in 8h





Challenge : +7257.01$

Cruise Control

Kick back, sit down, stretch, loosen dem muscles and enjoy




Such is the life of limit poker folks : a beautiful, relaxing grind, where your stacks are never threatened, your river bets, never bluffed-shoved on




Perhaps this is why the old timers prefer the limit games... Just pushing a few chips around, not concerning themselves with a cardiac arrest, a seizure or the likes :roll eyes: life is good folks





Or perhaps is wood




+1300$ in 8h live, -300$ online in 6h





Challenge : +8253.67$

Slow Tango

Quiet Friday in these northern parts, as the table barely filled up, pots were tame, sizing not titanic and the groove, very sloooowwwwww. You see, the music is jazzy, the atmosphere, dreamy, as you slide the the old lady's hand into yours and slowly embrace her body...




But a hustle it remains, obviously. Despite the elegance of the tango, the final kill remains the end goal, scooping more than my share of pots, working my white magic like a mama fracking Hellmouth, before going in for that last kiss of death




+700$ live in 6h, +300$ online in 1h


I will sacrifice a little of daily studying, reading and blogging in the name of volume ; posting every second day seems to work better for my schedule, especially on the weekend, where time is sacred monies I think this also works better for my brain


Challenge : +9093.67$

Cold Streak

Ran colder than January up here, colder than a fracking icycle in the dead middle of the Yukon tundra





As if it was not enough to get smacked in the face by an Arctic winter glacial deck, I had to stick out my tongue, lick the post like a mama fracking ignorant boy during those 20 minutes when minor tilt got the best of me, hence widening my opening range (not significantly, but enough to get myself in precarious situations OOP ) and made me fire on the turn with 2 pairs when villain literally jumped up on the turn, almost knocking his head on the ceiling in the process when 3 to a str8 rolled up (ok, figuratively speaking ).





Got up, went to the washroom, splashed some cold water on my face - figuratively -, came back, calmed down, tightened the hell up, proceeded to fold card, after card, after... played TAG until I made all of my 1k back



-200$ live in 8h, +500$ online in 3h


How I got away with PG13 Murder


Not sure of the exact cards of the next hand, but bare with me folks Villain opens UTG to 30$ (loose game, but smells of AK all day long), I look down at AK in UTG1 and opt to call (500bbs effective) and we get 3 other callers


Flop (150$)
T97

Not much interest is shown as it gets checked around.

Turn (150$)
T97 5

One of the blinds donks 50$ (weak sizing tell), UTG makes the call (at this point, I put her on AK) and I elect to make it 200$. The donkey moans and groans before folding (says he had 2 pairs) while the PR contemplates making the call, grabs a few chips, but thinks better of it

Challenge : +9351.44$

Darn, really not liking the autocorrect on my Mac (despite loving my mac), but I meant "the donker moans and groans", not the donkey Wouldn't call anyone as such

Week 6 in Review

Decided to sleep in, miss out on the tournament (creating the illusion of a safe lead for the guy in front of me in the MTT points, before taking him down ), grinded an hour online, made my way to the casino, played shorthanded in a boring as frack game




+100$ live in 4h, 0$ in 1h online


Online Pokerz : Solid week, good composure, table selection, attentiveness, tilt and fatigue alertness : A game and 700$ in 26h. I am still browsing a bit too much (perhaps I should add 1-2 tables to my 6 table grind...) and increase my note taking, but this is me nitpicking here

Live Pokerz : Same as above, except for a couple of moments where emotions got the best of me, cost me about 200$ in equity throughout the week (negligible, really...), but I nevertheless managed to regain composure, breathe in, breathe out, and set the mind on the grind : A- game and 2100$ in 27h

Life Balance : Decent, got 2 matches of tennis in, hung out for a few hours in the sunshine, went on a small hike. I could definitely eat better though (and lose some weight), so will focus on this part. I could also dedicate more time to my social life outside of poker...


The Daily Murder :


3 handed, 250bbs effective. Hero straddles button to 5$, SB calls as does BB. I make it 20$ to go with K4 ; only SB calls.

Flop (45$)
Q27

Very good flop for us and we take no time in making it 30$ after villain checks. Life loses a little bit of its appeal though, when villain makes it 60$ I tank for a little, weighing in the merits of 3betting/committing, but it feels like a waste to cancel my position advantage in the name of fold equity, especially if villain happens to have Ax...

Turn (165$)
Q27 6

Villain snap-checks (which gives merit to the Ax scenario...) and I tank-check for about 20 seconds (betting was never a serious consideration, but I am trying to portray the image of KK-AA or Qx for river scenarios).

River (165$)
Q27 6 6

Villain snap-checks and I go in the tank for 1 minute. I do have a certain hesitation as far as emptying the clip goes (I have a decent amount of showdown value, but am afraid of losing to A...), but again, am working on perceived image here, as I want to rep a Qx/overpair and want to appear as if I am a little concerned for the potential 6x (as if )... After 1 minute, I shove for roughly 260$ effective

Challenge : +9431.45$

Falling Behind

Meh, not happy with the beginning of the week from a strictly results perspective... Crawling out of the gate with an unwarranted 800$ downswing, much of which was unavoidable though (getting my sets cracked repeatedly by recs getting there with their weakish draws ), did spew a little bit live (as if I was dipping myself into recreational territory by letting loose, enjoying myself a bit too much in spewtard related terms ). -500$ online in 5h, -300$ live in 5h

I want to tell you about a certain lively/interesting character that has been a big component of our northern game for the past few years... As you guys probably know, the north is densely populated by Natives, of course, as despite having the white man reach these parts a century ago - sorta speak -, what can be known as "modern day civilization" has yet to knock to loudly on our door (a Native population of 20% in the Yukon, compared to the Canadian national average of 2.8%). Anyhow, our friend fully embraces Native pride (oftentimes wears a feather through his long/warrior style hair), is built like a fridge despite the elderly-advanced age of 70+ (he can knock me out with a simple slap in the face ) and shows clear signs of having it rough throughout this journey of his in this bottom-world...

Our friend plays poker like seemingly the same way he has navigated through his life : fast and furious He shows up at the table, loses a couple of buy-ins within 30 minutes, stumbles back towards the pit (loves the bottle ), sneaks out with a customer (sells the herb ), or occasionally runs up his stack to unchartered territories (500bbs+) within a few hands to either then hit n run or proceed to dump it all This said, none would be surprised if I told you that our friend is the King of 1 liners Or loves to tell "Indian and white man" jokes when a ton of American Holland America elder cruise tourists are outside the casino doors, impatiently waiting (nothing like pushing social taboos to the limits, right ). Anyhow folks, not only does our friend usually has the best lines to quote ever, but got the whole cracking up this weekend when he proclaimed the following...

Out of towner sweet older native lady proceeds to bust out our native friend after which he stands up, looks at her and mutters under his breath (after the dealer asked him if he wanted his seat reserved or not) : "I don't know" he says, looking in her direction and clearly inebriated at this point, "I do want to whip her". The whole table cracks up, as, even coming from our friend, this out of the blue comment takes us for a loop He nevertheless tries to catch himself by continuing "but on the table hey", haha, love this guy

Anyhow folks, time to pick ourselves up from this mini-downswing and get this challenge back on track





Challenge : +8592.18$

Pain

Back in 2004 when I was in Mcleod Ganj (also known as Little Lhassa and acting as a safe Indian haven for the Tibetan refugees that have made the 1 month trek to cross the border), there was a ceremonial night during which the new arrivals (from Tibet) would share their lamentations and personal story. Some had brought the bones of their mother in order to bury them on free land. Others had been tortured by Chinese authority. But always, you had a bunch of Tibetans sitting in the back row, that would crack up in uncontrollable laughter You see, the pain was all too familiar to them. That life companion that never leaves their side. Step by step, they carried with them a heavy past. Much like in poker, mind you.

After a few million hands ventured in this game, the pain of a nasty bad beat is all too familiar... That anger that crisps your face when you see that 2 outer roll up on the river in a 400bbs pot (yesterday )... That helpless feeling when nothing goes your way... The constant, inflicting agony of the cards, at 500 hands an hour clip that incessantly slaps you in the face like a biitch Insofar as last winter, in the midst of a nasty 400k hands of B/E stretch, I laughed like a kid, much like those Tibetans would, at the sight of Matusow crying on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFT44DTo-VQ




In the face of absurdity, all we have is laughter Not sure when was the last time I posted, but +1000$ in 12h live, +400$ online in 5h, I think...


Challenge : +9497.01$

Armabotgeddon

At first they were were innocent, credulous, and perhaps even cute...





Nothing threatening, just a pleasant testimony of evolution doing its course...





But of course, a few nanoseconds in botland is like an eternity and a day for us... So that docile-puppy-eyed-face was wiped out, replaced with determination, an irrevocable endgame of stopping nothing short of conquering the world








What do you do when a thread like the following pops up on 2 + 2? What do you do when a fracking-unethical-soul-sucking-cheater admits, without any remorse, being behind a 100z bot crusher


http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/28...r-wpn-1619689/


Bah folks, I am signing off, a long non-bot day of grinding the live felt awaits me tomorrow : +700$ live in 10h, +300$ online in 1h


Challenge : +10, 419.65$

Week 7 in Review

Really happy the week is over tbh, to finally put an end to it, to shut it, nail it down and stick it into the earth until the end of times




-200$ in 4h live


Live Pokerz : My B game is certainly scooping an acceptable amount of profits, but I missed out on a few spots, had some moments of distraction where I strayed away from my professionalism, loosened my opening range, stop paying attention to hands where I was not involved in etc., all of which is normal behaviour when one ceases to see the grind as a challenge : B game and +1500$ in 33h

Online Pokerz : Good composure, maintained my emotions in check, the lengths of my sessions, yet messed a few spots up that affected significantly my win rate (single barreling my draws when they warranted a double barrel, being gun shy etc.) ; of course, with my absolutely-cringe/puke-worthy run bad, these mistakes are somewhat a commun occurrence, I guess... -800$ in 23h


Challenge : +10, 234.65$

Abysmal Depths

Wasn't going to post today, but had to copy-paste one of the better - if not best -, posts ever on 2 + 2... Or at least pertaining to a downswing (it is taken from the DGAF thread) and is called "the abyss".




+100$ online in 9h, +100$ live in 2h


http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=1027

If you have not read DGAF's thread, this next post is a must as it exuberates unparalleled desperation and beauty.


The Abyss

I was in Vegas this year ****ing off during the WSOP. I was at a poker table one morning when someone I respect probably more than anyone else in the (poker/gambling) world sits down. I respect him because he has been around/in action/surviving forever→ sounds easy I’m sure to anyone who has been crushing over their first few years of live play (there are plenty of people on extended heaters all around the world), but it’s not, at all, for a myriad of reasons (just look at how few 10 year+ vets there are)… I also respect this guy because he is completely loaded with humility and sincerity- he will talk straight/share stories and information with anyone who is not a POS, and if you watch closely you will see him help/take care of all sorts of very down on their luck/haggard looking characters (I can only imagine how many of these dudes were crushers/ballers at one point) who pass by him in the poker room, randomly or not…

ANYWAYS, this dude has pretty much “seen it all.” At least as much as anyone else I ever play with (I’ve played with older players—this guy is mid-fifties-- who have prob played more hours of poker total, but I’m talking about playing in the biggest games, for a living, etc). And in addition to poker, this guy is a very sharp sports bettor/gambler. So he understands edge available, variance, etc, extremely well (especially for an lol live pro )…

ANYWAYS, ANYWAYS, this guy takes a 1-outer beat for stacks to some foreign kid pretty quickly after he sits down. Now he has never been one to complain at the table obv (anyone who has been around at all knows to not do this), and the permanent dark bags under his eyes tell you this is far from the first time he’s gotten super unlucky/faced adversity in his life (to further illustrate how old school this dude is, when I started playing with him he straight up told me I reminded him of Stu Ungar, because I was a fish 9 handed , but the last person he liked playing against short-handed )… But he actually has a legit befuddled/just seen a ghost look on his face after his ~ 3k stack is pulled in by the dealer and pushed to the foreign kid. Which is my que to say quietly from across the table, “Gross.”

Surprisingly (shockingly, actually) he breaks code and opens up to me in front of everyone. “(DGAF),” he says in gentle disgust (he knows I’ve got some miles on me too now lol), “that’s the third 1-outer this week!” And after I make the actual “eek” face, he concludes while shaking his head, “These past 2 months are the worst I’ve EVER run… Seriously… Just incredible…”

---

So what?! Why am I making this super long as it is thread, even longer? Just to talk about some old schooler who ran bad this summer???

No. I’m writing this post for me (and for some of you). This old schooler wasn’t just “running bad.” He knows how to handle “running bad.” He was running sooooo bad that he was actually in the variance abyss, where NO ONE can see straight/act right/play their A game.

After 30-40 years of beats, swings, anomalies, etc, one hand/one stroke of bad luck certainly wasn’t going to phase the Vegas old schooler. And it didn’t. It was the anomalous streak of bad luck strokes (I only witnessed the most recent one) that got him. But still, that this super seasoned vet, who understands math/probabilities/variance/etc very well (and he’s tough as nails btw), was completely owned/destroyed by his recent unlucky streak- I found that to be pretty ****ing amazing/telling. And his face/reaction/befuddlement that morning has been in the back of my mind ever since…


I’ve been to the variance abyss a couple times in my own career (2 insanely horrific against all odds stretches over ~ 7 years of high volume live play/gambling where I myself- pretty ****ing logical, well versed, battle tested, etc- was seeing ghosts and in turn, acting/playing a fool.).

I’m actually just coming out of my second stint in the abyss now (I ran good and won heaps over my last 2 sessions, which doesn’t mean I’m safely out for sure or I can’t go right back in lol, but I def feel different than I have the past few months, and I look forward to returning to form as a poker player/person soon- I hope). And it temporarily changes you, no matter who you are/how long you’ve been around/how much you’ve thought about all this stuff…

The abyss makes you self-destructive. It makes you depressed. It drains your energy. It makes you make bad calls, bad folds, bad bluffs, bad value bets, etc. It makes you readable at the table. It makes everyone else less readable. The fish suddenly play OK against you. The scared grinders suddenly play well against you. And the world class players suddenly own your troubled soul. YOU are the blood in the water- even if you’ve always been the alpha shark.

The variance abyss also makes you do dumb ****/things you never would. For respectable gamblers like the Vegas old schooler, it makes you actually talk about your bad luck at the table, even though you know it’s bad for the game and no one cares/wants to hear about it. For other less respectable gamblers, it often does much worse. There are countless examples obv (just go search NVG or HSNL) of the abyss quickly turning OK people/harmless poker enthusiasts into scammers, deadbeats, crazy people→ no one running good/OK ever owes a bunch of people money or is out scamming/committing crimes or sleeping on the streets or whatever.


So what does the abyss look like? It’s more than just some longshot beats obv. It’s ALWAYS finding the top of a range when the money goes in. It’s finding the very bottom of a range when the money doesn’t go in. It’s constantly turning 2 pair or trips when you are against a set. It’s ALWAYS BEING AGAINST A SET. It’s flopping a set yourself (finally) but knowing you aren’t going to win (and you don’t). It’s the game breaking at your lowpoint every session. It’s the 100 vpip fish taking a phone call as you get your first good hand. It’s being in position with dominating hands against a whale all night and never winning. It’s having a rep/image such that no one folds anything to you and yet you don’t turn over a winning hand for like 3 sessions straight. It’s doing all the things you've always done to cultivate a good game (investing lots of time, money and energy) and then having some other good player randomly show up and start binking all over the place until all the free money is gone. It’s getting all your playable hands in the sb. It’s having someone spill their drink on your lap. It’s getting gum on your pants from under the table- on both legs. It’s knocking your sirachi sauce off your food tray and having it hit the floor in such a magical way that it shoots up into the air and all over the well dressed high stakes limit pro behind you . It’s someone forgetting to straddle when you get aces. It’s firing a second barrel as your opponent picks up a flush draw, firing a third when they get there, checking back worse when they don’t. It’s having a nit bluff you…

In the abyss you don’t lose 5 flips in a row. You lose 5 flips in a row, then 5 more , then 5 more, then 5 more, and so on… You get sick of flipping but the whale demands you do it/he pays you juice. He’s a little bit shady and you don’t know if he already looked at his cards so you agree, but only if you can switch cards. He agrees and you give him your Aces… You don’t fire the 5 sharp nfl plays you get (because you are being responsible) and you watch them go 5-0 easy. The next week you say, “**** it, gamble!” and you fire the 5 new sharp plays given to you. You go 0-5 (partially because Eli Manning is a worthless human being), and you suddenly realize that you’ve had 0 winning sports betting weeks in the last 6 months. Now needing to earn in poker, you lose a bunch, 4 sessions in a row- in insanely soft short-handed big games, that YOU built. You win 200 bucks the next session (hey, you’ll take it), but get completely whacked right when you sit down the following session. And so on…

---

So who has been to the abyss? All but the newest players have seen glimpses of it imo. I got overset twice in an hour and 4 times in a session playing big a few years ago. That’s a glimpse. I played a 3000 bb pot with A9 vs AA on 9954 and did not win a few years before that. That’s a glimpse. I got it all in on the flop the other day (single raised multiway pot, I called on the button pre) with 8h6h vs 9c8d on 9s7h5s and I got felted. If I hadn’t already been in the abyss, that would have merely been a glimpse as well.

The abyss is basically relentless bad luck/no relief. You have to think, “OK, and it can’t get any worse than this” at least 20 times in a row spread out over time before it’s even possible you are in it. You have to FEEL like you CAN’T WIN (even if lots of data/results/logic suggests the opposite). You have to literally want to cry or break something for several hours straight (depending on how you deal with ****) for there to even be a chance you are in it. You have to a least ponder for a second when getting dressed which shirt might be luckiest/break the slump (even if you aren’t a superstitious idiot). You have to at least consider seat changing or asking for a new setup for real (even though you hate that **** and know it’s super ******ed and would never actually do it). You have to at least get mad at/airball the dealers a little for your bad hands. It has to look like there are 15 people at the table when the game is full. You have to start thinking a little, “This guy is playing kinda good” when you know deep down said guy is super terrible. You have to honestly think (and maybe even tell a friend), “No one has EVER run this bad before…“ Otherwise, no shot you have been there imo.

As mentioned, I’ve been to the abyss twice in my (pretty long) career (fingers crossed, 7 hail marys, etc, my last 2 sessions just brought me out). The Vegas old schooler has probably been there more than that (though he plays a WAY lower variance brand of poker/gambling, so maybe not). Guys like Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Mike Matusow, Ted Forrest, etc, I’m sure they’ve all been there plenty (you can see it on their faces). But have guys like Antonio Esfandiari? Idk, he’s prob played a lot of poker, but as a commentator he’s said some things that honestly make me think he hasn’t/he doesn’t even remotely grasp variance as it applies to live poker.


What % of the people playing in the biggest game in your casino have been there? Like really been there? I’d say maybe 20%. What % of the hotshots/LAGs (people still playing LAG that is) have been there? Pretty much zero.

The reason for these low figures? For sane, healthy people, one extended trip to the abyss is enough imo. They aren’t going back. Whether that means playing way tighter/more conservative, much smaller (where the abyss doesn’t really hurt), or quitting poker/gambling all together, that’s what the human survival instinct has most sane people do imo. The pain and the financial loss is just too much…

As mentioned, some warriors do just stick it out and get perma bags under their eyes and occasionally act like rookies at the table. And some stay around but it’s not long until they resort to illegal/dirty activity until they are completely broke, locked up, banned, or worse.

And then others try to document/sort through their super fishy thoughts (which only show up while in the abyss every few years) with super long, rambling essays posted anonymously on the internet, all in an effort to be more objective, stronger, and more sane (and maybe help a few others do the same) in general, and ESPECIALLY the next time they find themselves in the The Abyss.


Spoiler:


K, now run good now/don't trip on this post too much lol, just let it be something you have in your back pocket to better cope/come out faster should you ever find yourself out shopping for lucky shirts, telling your friends you have “the worst luck ever”, or grinding HARD in bankroll rebuilding mode- again, after being super pumped up- again just a few months ago.

GL


Challenge : +10, 379.36$

The Kiss

It is a fine line a LAG walks folks, one where all of a session's winnings can be wiped out in 1 slippage...




One where, after a full evening of chipping up, slowly adding a couple of hundreds of bbs to your win rate, you suddenly take a light 3bet spot, barrel flop as a pure cbet, continue on turn with some added equity and jam the river with the blockers... Sometimes your bluff gets through, sometimes you get looked up to the astonishment of the table ; such is the life of a LAG folks

But I didn't come here to talk about that fine line that we walk upon in this game folks, nope, nope, but mainly because we have now crossed the 11k mark in this challenge (by a few pennies ), so thought I would chime in. You see, I slowly approached the lady, worked my magic, my irresistable hands, and came in for that seductive kiss :





Smooched her with that gentle, romantic kiss, insofar as the old lady blushed, hid any signs of past resentment, and danced away like a rejuvenated young chick




+600$ in 4h online


Challenge : +11, 000.14$

Keep it up!
That DGAF post was a solid read

Sun Run




Sometimes, it all pans out. Getting that big pocket pair pre, squeezing it to 30bbs, getting 4 callers, flopping top set, getting it in with the nuts 4 ways and scooping in that gold dust... Rinse-repeat. This is why we got in the game initially, isn't it... That pure sun-run that knew no limitations, no horizons to put a sudden end to its golden aspirations... +2500$ in 12h live, -600$ online in 2h (finally was hit with the deck for the first time at the casino )


Yeah man, there are some golden posts in that thread if you manage to manoeuvre through it with agility, and I don't remember encountering another thread on 2 + 2 rated 5 stars


Challenge : +12, 784.98$

Selective Entertainment

I will entertain that multi-millionaire that owns a few hundred claims, a ton of equipment, a few houses and more land that he care to admits when he wants to sit down, joke around, shoot the **** and play any 2 cards... I will laugh when he hits his 5 outer on the river in 500bbs+ pot - even if it is at my expense - with 82 Not only because I appreciate the business provided, but I do honestly think that it is funny as hell I mean, where is the fun in poker if you one cannot gambool it up But one thing that I will not do though, is fracking entertain that drunken kid shortstacker that sits down, looks around, and proclaims "why is the table so serious?". You see, ipods were invented precisely to escape these frackers And, come on, lets be honest : who is more interesting, this drunken-obnoxious kid that pumps out his chest by way of arrogance, or the rich whale that has managed to work the system... +100$ live in 4h, +100$ online in 2h


Challenge : +13, 014.13$

Week 8 in Review

The problem with being a tight-nit community, is that you know that your buddy can't afford the games lately... You know that his BR is deep into 6 digits of loaned monies ; that those 200bbs of his are scared as frack ; that when he check-shoves you on the A9x9 turn, that it is out of pure desperation and that when your 95% equity holds up, scooping those chips in doesn't come without some remorse... +400$ live in 6h, + 500$ online in 1h


Live Pokerz : I mean, when you are running godder than god, playing your A game is as easy-peasy as can be... Your bluffs get through, you hero-fold appropriately, you are manoeuvring your way through this game like a mama-fracking magician Yet, too many times I found my mind drifting away during a hand in which I did not partake... Too often, I gazed around, indulged in the act of people watching instead of gathering some info (the main poker table was also rearranged in such a way that I am now facing the crowd as opposed to the wall )... A- game and +3100$ in 25h

Online Pokerz : As much as variance has its say in how simple dissecting the game can become, the opposite is also true : I found myself on the bad side of variance, scratching my head in disbelief more often then I care to admit, and asking myself "WTF can I do to print da monies like 2006 again ". Oftentimes, you find yourself with a close to neutral EV decision in certain spots (like checking and giving up, or barreling for stacks with little equity, but good blocker value), and find yourself clicking buttons to the nut worst results : A- game and +700$ in 24h (am really happy with the small things like quitting at the small signs of fatigue, table selecting, slowly adding some 200z tables and mental composure ).


Challenge : +14, 020.60$

Meh

Clicked a few buttons, tried a few moves, got smothered by better regs that just owned my soul like a mama fracking little biitch





You see, I didn't even have time to say "what just happened!?!", that I got smacked in the face continuously, donating buy-in after buy-in, after...





Truth be told, I was simply left with my dick hanging




-1200$ in 6h online


Challenge : +12, 986.13$

Out of the Blue





We got 2 tables for the tournament - on a Tuesday -, I take it down, jump in the cash game and proceed to add a BI to my BR ; action baby




+800$ in 4h live


Challenge : +13, 786.13$

Nice Hand

What emotions lie beneath the trivial "nice hand" mumbled across the poker rooms of the planet or even online in the chat... Resentment, defeat, Empathy, condescendence?





Perhaps a mixture of all the above and likely deviating from one individual to the other... Most of us go through the motions, mutter those 2 words, suck up the pain of feeling vanquished and move on to the next hand, as we sit there, tucked away behind the facade that we present to the world.





My good buddy refuses to say those 2 damn words... Instead, he mumbles to himself, swears to all the poker Gods out there and momentarily dwells on his patch of bad luck (I love to poke at his scar, turn the knife in by verbally sending some friendly banters his way ). As far as I am concerned, I think there is a ton of honour to be found in the defeat. Of course, sometimes I too find myself inadvertently slurring a few not-so-disguised French biblical words, but more often than not, I try to embrace the humbling lesson at hand




Not sure where we were at the last time I posted, but it should be something like +500$ live in 23h, +500$ online in 6h


Challenge : +14, 655.83$

Which "not-so-disguised French biblical words" are we talking about specifically?^^

The End Game

How to get out of the game, that is the question... I still enjoying the freedom it provides, the luxury of making my own schedule and am saving up to purchase a house up here within 2 years, yet, that existential-long-term-fatigue has settled in... Not looking to completely leave the game mind you, but to gradually make the switch from full time to part time. Sure, I will take it easy in 2017, but focussing on writing a novel is a far cry from replacing poker with another side income...





Had this fellow player - a kid, really - who kept on wanting to pick my brain at the table. Obviously, that is the nut worst conversation a pro can have (both for EV and table nuisance) and one I did not want to partake in, so I told the dude that I would meet up for a coffee later that week to fully answer his questions. When that evening came and I found myself at the tail end of a tilting online session, the last fracking thing I wanted to do, is discuss poker with a kid bitten by the poker bug So I showed up, crustier then Krusty the fracking Clown, and simply laid all the cards on the table :

- Poker is a dying world
- You do not have the skills to beat online poker
- It is a draining, exhausting game

But alas and a thousand times alas, I could see the twinkle in his eye, relate to my old obsessed self, and knew there was no redemption to be had that day : the kid is on a mission. Even if he has the sweetest gf in the world and his time could be better spent taking on a different tangent, I knew that no words of wisdom were going to deviate his chosen existential trajectory So I went to introduce some online software and how to go by his personal studying...

Don't get me wrong folks, this game has been highly beneficial for me, but unless all of these following prerequisites are ticked off, I would never recommend this game to anyone :

- Do you plan on staying single (gf is fine, but mainly having no kids).
- Do you have any of the following leaks : alcohol, pit games, uncontrollable spending habits, women...
- How big of an ego do you have? Or, in other words, do you view the game as self vs self (necessary) or self vs world (big flaw)?
- And perhaps more importantly, why do you want to play this game for a living? For money (hummm, there are much better/safer avenues out there)?

If I had played my last hand today, I would be extremely thankful for the past 6 years ; this said, I am nonetheless looking forward a few years down the road along which different avenues will open up... And at which point I will happily proclaim :




Challenge : +14, 608.82$

Synopsis of a Monday

Get home from the casino Sunday evening at 10, take a nap, wake up, meditate, grind for a couple of hours and drop 400$ in the process... Say "frack it, I'm outa here ", jump in the van at 5 am direction north-east, catch the rising sun,





ride around the Dempster (the road towards North-West Territories) and dirt roads in the vicinity for an hour, find this spot,





pull over, meditate for an hour, read 2 chapters of my book, snooze some, wake up, meditate, sprint back into town for a tennis match (cancelled ), grind for an hour, scoop in 500$ online, go to a BBQ, feed the tummy a beef burger, a chicken burger, a few different salads and a ton of coffee before ending up at the casino ; manage to cash out an extra 100$ (even bluffed successfully 10$ into a 200$ pot (limit yo) 4 way with 5 high on a 27Qss 7 Q runout in a hi/low pineapple game ), come back home, login for 2h, scoop in an extra 200$ End of Monday


Challenge : +15, 001.72$