i know, its definitely not. eternal clock is screwed now. not sure how 2/5 is over night, but the 1/2 games could actually be better. from 6-8 we basically played 1/2/5 where everyone was at least 500 deep.

if i had to guess, i'd say the best possible time slot to play everyday would be from 3am-9am. it really picked up around 5 last to nights

The Graveyard Sessions

So the last three nights i began playing around midnight, and finished up around 830am (first night i left at 6 since i could barely keep my eyes open, but last two i was adjusted and felt like a night owl).

this stretch is like the tunnel you walk through before a big match



Session results were as follows:

6/2
Time: 11:45pm-5:50am (play time: 5hrs 45mins)
Result: +249

6/3
Time: 11:45pm-8:30 (Play time: 8hrs 20 mins)
Result: +614

6/4
Time: 11:30pm-8:20am (Play time: 8hrs)
Result: +413

As you can tell by my last few posts, the games became incredible starting around 4/5am-8am. The table I sat at two nights ago was arguably the best 1/2 game i've ever sat at. I thought it was a one time thing when my table last night was mediocre at best, then, all of a sudden 5am struck, and the addition of a few new players turned a semi weak/passive table into a full blown spewww convention.

There was just a lot of just very standard ABC value betting going on, but I also adjusted a little bit since by this time everyone was very deep, so i really opened up in position and tried to see as many pots possible. I looked for opportunities to value bet thinly, and to apply strong pressure in good spots where even the biggest of calling stations are going to have a difficult time calling off without a premium hand. everyone, even stationy donks, have a specific threshold for how far they will take a particular hand. it can shift many times in a session, but you just have to be aware of how they are playing at the current moment. obviously if someone is steaming and looking to get their stack in, that is not the best time to get creative with them.

So the biggest pot I was involved in throughout the three nights took place the second night around 5am. A table just broke and joined ours, and this was within the first half hour where i was still getting adjusted to the new players.

I limp 96 after a few limpers and the BB makes it 8 and we see the flop 5 ways. a few of us are over 200bb deep.

flop(40): 578

ep, a middle aged black dude that sort of looks like Wale, makes it 10, I raise to 40, and the original raiser shoves for 80. ep calls. I do my absolute best to keep my voice from squeaking as i confirm with the dealer that the betting has been reopened.

I have about 370 behind and Wale has me covered. I make it 240 total and he doesn't take long and calls. Could easily make an argument for shoving, but I really didn't want to blow him off a fd. I don't have a ton of info on him, but in the few orbits we've played, he has not folded ONCE pre or otf regardless of the action, but haven't seen him involved in any large pots.

Turn(540) 5

Not the best card in the deck but i'm obviously committed. he c/c his last 130 pretty quickly.

River(800) the beautiful 2

I flip over my hand immediately and Wale take a long hard look at my hand, his hand, back to my hand and mucks. the original raiser turns over 88s for a turned boat, but i still ship a nice pot.

only about 3 hands later i pick up AQand make it 20 and Wale is the only caller.

flop(40): 9JK

I bet 25 and he thinks and calls. even though he is a complete calling station, if he is calling with ATC pre, there is a lot of hands that are not even going to be able to peel one off on this flop. but, like i said, I have yet to see him fold pre or otf by this point.

Turn(90): 8 checks through

River(90): T for the nuts

he leads 60 and calls off his last 75. flip my hand over immediately and he does the same routine, which i would see many more times while playing with him. look at my hand, his hand, my hand, and muck.

last large pot i played with him. even though i've done nothing but value bet him relentlessly, he seems to try to get involved with me as much as possible. EGO

few limps and i check in the bb with 65.

flop: 66A.

I lead for 15, he makes it 30 i call. don't know why i didn't 3b here, but at the time i just felt it looked like there was a better chance he was weak and making a move since he is pretty passive and i though he was flatting all As, and definitely flatting with a 6.

Turn: 8

I lead for 50 and he calls.

River: A

so worst card in the deck, but against this opponent who is never bluff raising me, i decide i can still go for value since and b/f. i go on the smaller side of 65 and he calls and mhig and he does his usual routine.

Last big hand of this session I check my option in the sb with KJ after a string of limpers. by this point raises of 18-20 are getting 3+ callers, so i don't want to bloat the pot oop.

flop is AT4. 2 Royal flushes in the same week?!

I lead 15 and a new spot that i recently found and bum hunted yesterday calls.

Turn 2. I run good this session. I lead 30 call.

River 2. I shove remaining 85 and he calls and mhig.

chip stack after this. lost a few hundred since this pic getting a little too splashy with the deeper stacks again, definitely a leak.



So this session was all nice and breezy, but last nights session put me in a few more difficult situations. A few of the players were actually difficult to play against due to their aggression and wide pre flop hand selection while playing deep, but they all had the typical leaks of being way too lose pre and willing to put way to much money in the pot in marginal situations.

some of the opponets were actually level 2 thinkers who would peel lightly otf and try and put me on a hand. needless to say i had to adjust by double barreling more often since even though they were capable of peeling light otf, they hardly would ever continue ott with anything less than tp or a strong draw, so when the majority of their range is weighted towards weaker holdings, its criminal to bet flop and just check back turn and river.

EX:

Few limps and I raise OTB with QJo to 17 and get one caller in in EP. we are both 500 deep.

flop is T64 and he c/c 25. this opponent is a stereotypical fish who would call this flop with many more hands than just Kx. he will call with pretty much any pair or gutshot, or even just overs like KQ since he is very passive pre and not opening lots of pots.

Turn is a 3. he checks i bet 45 and he folds.

I've been getting absolutely zero value on my flopped sets as well. I've flopped two sets the past three sessions as the pre flop aggressor with 88s and 77s, and everyones folded otf. would much rather hit when i raise with 33s to 15 ip and someone l/rr me to 40 with a 600 stack who i cover. i love when they cbet and i fold and they flip over KKs like its the nuts. can't wait to hit and stack them. I just say nice hand and i could never put them on that bc they limped.

so one of the more interesting hands from yesterday.

same opponent who l/rr me opens to 12 and i call ip with AT. we are both 600 eff.

flop(25): 974

he leads 11 and i call. this is a really weak lead and i expect him to have a lot of air in his range.

Turn(45): 6

He checks and i bet 30 fully expecting him to fold, but he c/r me to 70. this guy has made some moves in previous hands, but i haven't seen a line like this yet. he does like to get creative, but i am drawing to the nuts and don't want to get blown off my hand this deep, so i flat.

River(185): 5

He makes another incredibly weak lead of 60. I make it 180 and he mucks KQ face up. the only hand he may look me up with at this point is if he flopped a set otf and decided to play it tricky since he saw me as very aggro. i didn't put any straights in his range ott bc he had a pretty tight opening range that also included any pp, but no SC or suited gappers.

i flip my hand over also and say i was actually good, and the table is shocked and works perfectly to get me paid off my an old man who just came in and happened to see this take place.

I'm in the BB with QTs. old man makes it 10 with 250 behind and gets 3 callers and i call.

flop is TT8r. he leads 30 and i call. I am very confident he has an over pair and isn't just barreling something like AK in 4 opponents.

turn is a Q. I lead for 75 and he calls.

river is a brick and I shove and he snap calls and mhig. He was immediately to my left and he was cursing and muttering to himself for a while after this.

chip stack right before this hand, i forgot to take one after.



Total from start of thread: +1940

Hourly WR: $25/hr 77hrs

Current BR: $7,225

I haven't included any graphs or anything from before the start of the thread, but have had a pretty good last 200 hrs, but this is including the 1/2 games in CT that were 300 cap buy-in.

took the day off from poker aside from writing up some of the HHs from the past few sessions. will get back at it tomorrow after training.

went to fogo tonight with the folks. we've been going every wednesday for over the past ten years, and was definitely one of the things i missed most when i was at school. its like eating at my second home since we've known the employees, who are now friends, for years now.

my dad obviously loves it bc he gets to hang out with all the brazilians and speak his native tongue and **** around and obviously get his drink on.



another interesting hand that came up last night. we are playing 6 handed and the game is incredibly loose, but not that entirely aggressive. round of straddle is on.

folds around to me in the SB with QT and i open to 20. both the BB and straddle call. we are 600 eff

flop(60): Q82

I lead 40 and they both call.

Turn(180):K

I lead 100. BB folds and a very loose asian in the straddle calls. my reasoning for betting the turn is that neither opponent is very tricky or going to put a lot of pressure on me with worse. The SB is very straightforward, and may even fold QJ or AQ on this turn. Straddle is an asian player who is extremely loose, and i can continue to get value from draws and weaker Qx hands.

River(380): J

terrible card. I really tank here, and the asian says you check i check. now this doesn't come up very often, but i am one hundred percent sure i am no good once he says this. but i can't really turn my hand into a bluff, so i reluctantly check and he shows K2 for a turned two pair.

i thought this was a pretty interesting hand at the time.

I know there are much better players than me lurking around these forums, so i would always greatly appreciate any feedback. gotta learn from the best to be the best

such a BR nit. counted up the roll to make sure it was consistent with what i have in PJ, and realized i was 8 short. i guess $$$ really can just disappear.

You're totally crushing it. Love the write ups and pics.

After a day off I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get some good volume in the next few days. I said at the start of the thread I would begin taking some calculated 1k shots at 2/5 when BR is at 8k, so I'm ~4 buy-ins away from that happening.

I do feel sort of rushed to begin playing 2/5 b/c of the increased WR thats possible. it is pretty necessary for life reasons that I do well this year, primarily bc i have some goals in the next year few years that involve getting a biz of my own going, but this is all still very premature and i haven't put any real thought or planning to this yet. just talk and aspirations for now. but having a few good years at the pokerz and managing my $$$ well will definitely help make this possible.

I also feel sort of guilty bc i haven't done much studying since being home. I figured the most important thing for now is to get properly rolled for 2/5 by putting in lots of volume, and once i make the transition and am sitting comfortably at 2/5, i can really look to continue improving my game.

hr drive to training, gym, then off the casino. will be jamming to some Bart Hanson on the ride.

also have my first trip to Vegas set up

I'm traveling down to LA in September to visit my uncle with the fam, and my dad wants to go to Vegas for a few days afterwards, and i have it set up to stay another 8-10 days on my own after they leave. couldn't be more excited!

That's awesome bro!!
Can't wait for you to make 4 more bi

The way your crushing atm that's just 2 more sessions!!

Good luck in Vegas gonna have a blast...

Thanks, hope to keep them coming.

Thanks man, I hope it's that easy.

Under way in a 6-8 hr session. Always feel I play my best after a lot of physical activity, so hoping to play near my A game the whole time.

Already up 350 in the first hr when I got 135bb in when I flopped a K high flush as the pre flop aggressor and someone shoved over the top of me ott with 2pr.

See my post in your llsnl thread and laugh.

I credit your play here because this opponent's line was goofy and you acted on it. I have a good friend who blasts these weak bets almost automatically. I otoh am always trying to figure out how I am beat. I guess that is why I have not gone skydiving or downhill skiing.

Your thread/challenge is fantastic. We all know how much work and time it takes to update something like this. Keep it coming when you can.

Go go go go go go!

Just keep focusing on each orbit, each hand, each street.

And remember when you get too tired to quite and come back tomorrow.

That's all I have for you. More pictures please.

Gonna post this hand in LLSNL so won't post results yet.

Straddle. 2 calls and I make it 25 with AA. SB calls, rest fold. We are 400 eff

Flop(60): KJ8r. He c/c 45.
Turn(150): A. He leads out 85. I tank like a motha ****er. Ill go into more detail later.

Was gonna try and post the stack after but my phone doesn't allow me to click any of the buttons on the tool bar.

Weird lead out on turn, turned 2 pair?

You obv won hand after saying you tried taking pic of stack after, don't leave me hanging!

Set of jacks?

haha, i did win the hand, but i think i misplayed it. will post a report of tonights session in the morning. not many real interesting spots, but just solid 8hrs of play.

you would think that the grind would seem to get tougher over time, but 8hrs feels like nothing now. sitting back when the game calls for just straight ABC play for a few hrs barely fazes me at all.

haha, i did

it is a very strange played hand by him, but you gotta give him credit for getting creative. i think i mentioned it before, he actually was a solid player in a weird way. he was just missing every single fundamental skill that it takes to be a solid player, like bet sizing, hand equivalency ect ect.

if he were to have c/r larger ott and lead for 1/2psb or larger otr, i'm done with the hand. if he was thinking a level ahead of me, and was trying to induce, then power to him. i have yet to see this from anyone. I've tried it once in about 300 hrs of play where i lead tiny into a maniac and it didn't even work.

really appreciate the advice, i couldn't reiterate how right you are.

I have not yet let myself play on my C game. no point when you can just come back the next day refreshed. but i haven't hit any real bad variance yet, so we'll see what i have to say when the inevitable downswings penetrate my WR.

...what a cliffhanger

Just listened to 2+2 pokercast, they interview Bart Hanson. He's set up a training website for live play with commentary over play at LATB casino which sounds interesting.

So true. And I have tried it more than once.

I think the site is seatopenpoker.net, and the new videos are called Crush Live Poker. you have to pay for the subscription which i haven't done, but its definitely good stuff based on all his older LATB commentary, and i think he even gets into more strategy based stuff, rather than just BS fluff that would come up a lot.

6/6

Time: 6:40pm-3:30am (play time: 7:47)
Result: +574

Played a solid 8hrs last night, and felt great the entire time, other than probably getting a little too spashy and laggy when i built a large chip stack early into my session. I generally don't have good results when i really open up my game and click on the aggression factor, so I should really refrain from doing this unless table conditions are PERFECT for it.

I will eventually do a challenge when my roll gets bigger where i will play a 1/2 session completely blind and see how it goes. obviously i can't let anyone else at the table know that i'm not looking at my whole cards, but i think it would be interesting to see the results after a few hrs (or less bc there is a good chance i spew my stack away in the first few orbits)

got hit by the deck early on. first big hand came within the first couple hrs when i open KQ in ep to 15 and get 2 calls. lead 30 on a 932 flop and b/c a shove on a K turn when we were 275 eff. he had 32

chip stack afterwards

look at all those short stacks at the table tsk tsk

I have a few hands played against the same opponent. I posted one of them in the LLSNL forums here http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...stion-1340319/

I'll just copy the same description i gave him in that thread.

"Middle aged white guy sitting on a pretty healthy stack. he is pretty loose passive pre. he likes to call with a lot of SCs and PPs regardless of the action or eff stack sizes of his opponents. he has shown very little aggression pre flop, but is pretty good at value betting post flop. keeps track of pot size ect, and will value bet when he thinks he is good. doesn't get too trappy or anything. definitely has a fold button on later streets when the betting gets larger, but can get sticky otf and even ott when the price is cheaper"

Hand 1

I open JT 16 OTB and V calls in the BB. HU

Flop(35): 89J

He c/c 20.

Turn(75): A

He c/c 40

River(155): 4

He checks and I check behind and mhig. first hand, don't know if i can fire another bet for thin value, definitely an option, but i pussied out.

Hand 2: one of the two hands i probably misplayed with him

Straddle. I open in the CO to 16 with AK and he calls in the SB and ep calls.

Flop(50): K32

He c/c 35

Turn(120):T

I bet 80 and he makes it 180. this is the first time i've seen him c/r, and even though i'm getting a decent price, i'm not sure if he c/r his strong draws like QJ, Kx or Tx, so i sigh fold. we're both 500 eff, and since i didn't plan on calling a large bet otr, i decided to just fold now.

I asked if he had a big hand, and he said he had a big draw, but who knows. I think adopting a b/f strategy in most in areas with a lot of grey is a decent default, but probably not optimal, but i figure if i'm going to build a roll, avoiding marginal situations may be best for now.

Hand 3

I open K8 OTB to 12 and he calls in the BB.

Flop(25): K54

He c/c 15

Turn(55): 7

H c/c 30

River(115): A

he checks and i check behind and mhing vs KQ

Hand 4

5 handed. I open K9 OTB to 12 and he calls in the BB

flop(25): T75

he checks i check

Turn(25): 3

He c/c 15

River(55): 9

He c/c 35 and mhig

Hand 5

Straddle. limp. I make it 20 with AQ in MP. he calls in lp we see the flop 4 ways.

flop(85)442

I bet 45 everyone folds

Hand 6 (hand i posted in the forums)

Straddled pot. 7 handed. 400 eff

Two calls. Hero makes it 25 with AA in the CO. V is the only caller in the SB.

Flop(60): KJ8

V c/c 45.

Turn(150): A

V leads out 85.

I really tank here ott. I really don't put QT in his range, i think it is much more likely he c/r, and the way he instantly bet made it seem like he already had a made hand, so sets and 2pr hands are the most likely.

I would have about 245 left after making the call, and the pot would be 320 otr, so i could call and get it in otr. I made a huge and costly mistake however and made it 240 and he folded KJ. WOWWWW. I guess at the time i was so confused on the correct action, that i figured that he might not be able to fold 2pr (wrong) and i can avoid letting a scare card come otr that would kill all the action.

I really thought that calling or clicking it back was the best option, but for some reason i just didn't go through with it. This is definitely being results oriented, but i think it makes a lot of sense that i am WAYYY ahead here, so flatting should be fine, i don't know why i had such a hard time with this decision in real time. and there arent even that many cards otr that will kill my action.

even though i won the hand, i got pretty tilted with myself afterward with how much value i just lost. i just straight up misplayed the hand. immediately took a break like i always do when i feel i may begin to be off my A game.


Hand 7 last hand played with him and last hand of the night.

I open QJ to 12 in lp and get 3 calls. V is in the SB

Flop(50):K54

I bet 30 and V is the only caller.

Turn(110): 9

V leads out for 50. He has a strong hand here, at the minimum i'd say KQ, but possibly better since he c/c KQ in the past. I call getting better than 3 to 1 and easily have the implied odds otr if i hit with a semi disguised hand and a pot size of 210.

River(210):Q

he checks and i'm a bitch and just check behind and his AK is good. I should have taken a second and realized his line was completely consistent with AK, and i could very easily rep KQ with massive bet of 175. he is never calling that. he would curse his luck and and fold, but i missed that opportunity.

This opponent's passivity pre flop can really bite him in the ass post flop. Since he doesn't 3b his premium hands, and i have a semi wide opening range in lp, I always maintain the initiative and am able to take many pots down otf when he misses and just c/f, which happened a fair number of times throughout the 8hrs we played together. He definitely over valued his implied odds vs me by calling with marginal hands, hoping to hit jackpot and stack me.

and since he hasn't adjusted his 3b range against me, and still only 3b something like QQ+ probably (didn't 3b AK once), if i open with 88s and flop is K8x, i'm going to win a massive pot off him.

I'm still running bad with my sets. once again flop a set with TTs as the pre flop aggressor on a ATxhh board, and 2 opponents c/f. DAMNNN. and whenever I set mine against a tight range of QQ+ with the correct implied odds, i miss. it just feels so good to hit when you know you are going to stack your opponent, but hasn't happened in a while.

last big hand of the session came when a new short stacked asian player opened to 10 in ep with 3 calls. I just flat with KQ otb (would possibly 3b if i were in ep or mp) but he's new and on a short stack, and i have a handle on the table and don't mind seeing a cheap multiway flop ip. We see the flop 7 ways.

flop(70):KQ2

someone leads out 15, 1 call, i make it 65. Original raiser shoves for 75 more and mhig.

chip stack afterwards. was in for 200 the whole session. I don't think i've reloaded a single $ the last three sessions



Total From Start of Thread: +2,515

Hourly WR: $30/hr 84hrs

Current BR: $7,780

Few have said they like the pics, and I know I always liked when the op would include some random personal pics as well in the PGC threads. Few of my favorite posters in the PGC threads are Rob, RU, now DGI (which is absolutely unbelievable, we are so lucky to have him post here, he has no idea how many people he has helped), and my all time favorite KyddDynamite who is just a sicko.

Seniors and coaches at soccer banquet with the NEC regular season championship trophy. I'm 3rd from the right.



Even though i think being superstitious as a poker player is ridiculous, I really think i have not had one losing session when wearing this combo of a random shirt i got in Brazil and this adidas zip up.



wish it came out better, but pic from wet t-shirt contest during spring break in cancun. craziest place in the world



all dudes with their phones out, smh. all the girls disappeared during this part i guess.

If you've ever played pokemon camera (which i never have, of course) then you know how accomplished i felt catching these two little guys.

Hey!

This thread is awesome. I am playing a lot more now too (around 25 h/w) at the Horseshoe CLE. A lot of the spots are just like you say, except you seem to run better than I do. :P I'm recording all my hands for June and will be linking them to LLSNL by the end of the month.

My advice from someone who has just put in more hours: Variance is terrible and you will run bad and you will think "I never have run this bad. I can't believe anyone could run this bad" and then you will have an upswing and be awesome for a month and then you will have an even worse downswing. Live is better than online because you have such a big edge, but you will still be shocked. Keep grinding and keep your head up and don't get winners tilt! Loved the thread, keep it up!

And as a recently graduated former college athlete myself (XC and Track) message me if you ever end up in Cleveland. I'd love to meet up and talk poker/get a beer!

what's up man! Appreciate the advice! I definitely know i'm running well right now, I hope you get some of that run good as well

but the reason i'm confident that i will be able to handle the inevitable down swings is that i am much more focused on making the best possible decisions rather than the results. for ex, the AA hand i misplayed, even though i won, i was more tilted than i probably would have been if i had played it correctly and ran into QT.

And same goes for you if your ever in Chicago, would love to meet up. would definitely get a work out in. hate training with you XC guys, i always get embarrassed

will be hitting the casino late night after gym and training around 11pm. I've missed the wild games that have been running from 5-8am, but may not last that long.

2 bi down 2 bi to go "hello 2-5$"

was up ~300 at one point last night, but then sat with a couple buddies/2+2ers where we had our first drunken 1/2 game since last winter. i got crushed, but its a blast every time. they are 2/5 regs now which is awesome, and both are the top players in the room.

we had a mandatory straddle, with a few rounds of 1/2/5/10/20 going, but the 10 and 20 are just blind bets with no option which kinda blows. needless to say i bled chips during this time, but still managed to book a +27 profit for the night.

big hand of the night. one of my buddies caught this, and saw some of the run good i've been experiencing these past few weeks.

I open AK to 13 in ep. 1 call, and a shorty shoves for 33. a spewy older black gentlemen calls, this girl i've been flirting with (with a bf obv) calls, and i make it 160. the spewy guy with about 225 behind tanks and calls.

Flop: 235. I may be off a little, i didn't write this one out.

shove for his last 65 and he calls.

Turn: K. Bink. drag the pot. assuming he had 99s or TTs based on his talk afterwards

won't be playing tonight, will get back at it tomorrow. will probably suck it up and do a few more graveyard sessions this week. the 1/2 games last night were god awful. table hopped for a few hrs before finally calling it quits. Fri nights used to be the best. now they are pussy **** compared to the games at 5am. ppl were getting straight up offended when i'd open to 15.