which part of thailand? the norther you are the cooler its about to become. **** aircon!

You should be able to make $1000+ per month grinding cheeseburger stakes. But you'll need to play more than 1500 hands a day lol.

Good luck op.

Nothing like leaving your USA worries behind by living in SE Asia.

What's the China story and why was it so bad? What made you go there in the first place? Why was it so expensive to leave? (full story please)

How did you meet your current girlfriend?

I know bargirls with aircon rooms, maybe after you build a bit of a roll you could move up to an aircon room for 5-6000B monthly?

Do you think after all that freedom and culture you can just leave next September and work that job in the USA without being depressed to the point of madness??

Sorry about the questions but I find these ventures extremely entertaining and inspiring.

Bangkok. At least for the last 3 days it's been boiling hot. But life's better now I can sit outside.

The girlfriend's job is in Bangkok so unfortunately I'm stuck here. I'd love to move up North and get myself a nice aircon pad on the cheap, but I'm outta luck.

Yeah I know, 1500 was just the first day. I'm limited to 500 an hour though by 888's 6 table maximum so it's not like I'll ever be playing 8k a day or something. Gonna try and average it at 3k hands, which is 6 hours work + 2 hours review and study per day. Even at 4bb/100 (low for 888) that should be 60k hands a month, which should be 24 buyins (i.e. $240) plus 20 or 30 bucks from 888's crappy 'rakeback' scheme...should see me there or there abouts at my target. Hoping I can get more than 4bb/100 on 888 though, my previous results are more like 8bb/100, but variance etc can be a bitch.

Well I was just on a bit of a traveling spree. Went round Cambodia, settled in Thailand for a bit...keep in mind I wasn't working at all in this time. Anyway, I got the visa for China and flew in...hated it pretty much on sight. Chinese people are very unfriendly in my experience. The pollution is extreme. There's ALWAYS someone trying to screw you over (it's much worse than Thailand in this regard). Anyway after I'd had enough, I booked flights to leave, but unfortunately the ******ed travel company I used didn't confirm the booking to the airline. This meant I had to buy expensive tickets at the airport - and keep in mind none of this expense was preplanned. Like sure I got back the money from the dickhead travel agent but it in no way compensated for the huge costs of buying tickets on the same day at the airport.

I'm from the UK BTW. I met the girlfriend in one of the parks in Bangkok. We got chatting, took her to a movie etc...we met up a couple of days later for a few drinks...rest is history.

If I go on some sick heater and end up crushing 50nl or something, I might consider moving to a new place. Thing is is that right now we're paying 2500 baht for a room (+500 or so in bills) between the two of us - i.e. 1,500 each. If I decided to move out I'd be eating the 6k + bills by myself since the gf (understandably) isn't keen on letting her cheap place in Bangkok go as she knows I'm going back home next year.

Dunno if I'll get depressed back home or not...but there's not really anything you can do in Thailand to make money as a foreigner unless you end up getting posted out there by a western company or something. Most foreigners I've met seem to teach English, but that pays absolutely **** and you've got to do ******ed stuff like wearing a shirt and tie in this heat...would rather grind 40 hours a week back in a western country for more money + career prospects tbh. I don't consider poker to be long term viable so it's more a matter of necessity regarding having to return home.

There's freedom in a sense out here...like in terms of I can pick my own hours, listen to music while on the grind, I don't have to make that much cash in order to 'live'...but you are restricted in quite a few ways. For example, my 'freedom' to choose where I want to eat for lunch is limited by the economic reality that it can't be over 50 baht, the 'freedom' of waking up at any hour I choose has to be weighed against the real need to earn money to pay the bills. True freedom, I believe...comes from having money in the bank really. That gives you the option to tell your boss where to shove his job, gives you the option to not grind some day if you don't feel like it, gives you the option to live where you want, eat the food you want etc.

you could always learn to cook and sell ****ty curries on poker skype group like an ex baller grinder who went busto

There's a bunch of them doing similar **** living on 15k baht a month.

i like how this thread isnt about some crazy unrealistic goal that will fail 99% of the time.
gl

Well we can finally get to some 'proper' grinding now that the table is up.

Todays graph. 4,000 hands is pretty good going for me, so I'm happy about that. Day in the green always welcome too, +$25.



Bankroll: $353
Liferoll: $705 (the drop is mainly due to buying the table + chair, but it was 100% absolutely needed and essential, otherwise I just couldn't grind in the daytime due to the energy sapping heat).

So we're about where we were at the start of the thread in terms of 'total money', but thankfully I won't have to buy a table every day. Should be able to put in good volume now too.

One annoying aspect to all this is I end up never grinding in 'premium' hours. The girlfriend gets home from work around 6pm, and needs to be in bed by 9:30pm as she has to get up at 5:30am to go to work (long commute for her). So I never get to hit that 5pm-11pm European time (11pm-5am Bangkok time) when all the fish are home from work. If I'm lucky, I might catch a few drunk fish if I start grinding early in the morning, but missing out on the premium block of time does me no favours. There's always fish to be found on 888 of course, I'm just having a bit of a whine.

Internet held up well today. Only 1 disconnection (might have been caused by 888 anyway since their software is dodgy at the best of times!) and it reconnected within 20 seconds, so I only lost a couple of hands.

what does a pack of icecubes cost? Just put a bucket filled with ice cubes in front of the airfan and let the magic work. Need to rebuy it of course, but maybe that's in the BR.

Gl op i am living in bangkok too grinding cheeseburger stake also

You should play snap IMO.

I consider all forms of zoom/snap/rush to be rake traps. I don't enjoy playing them at all.

Not so much but the issue is in carting a bag of ice from the store to your room...every few hours (because the first one melted).

I'm pretty good now with the outside table + fans anyway. Hell, today it was kinda cool because of the rain.

Hi,

At least on zoom the rake is the same than normal tables as far as I know, what do you mean by rake traps?

glgl op. man those cheeseburgers are expensive in the kingdom too

Well I had to go do a visa run, so didn't get in quite as much volume as I'd have liked (2*11 hour trains to and from Laos will do that to you, plus the guesthouse wifi was crappy). However, today I crushed the 10nl fish and will be taking a shot at 20nl. I also found $20 in 888 reward points that I'd forgotten about, so they've been added to the bankroll.

Since the challenge started a week ago:



Bankroll: $417
Liferoll: $600. This one has taken a hit primarily because of the visa run. However, I've got my double entry visa now, so the only additional costs from here on out will be 2x $50 visa extensions, and around $30 to make a trip to Cambodia in 3 months. This was factored into the $300 a month lifestyle, so there's no need to be concerned (without the visa, I spend less than $300 a month - often I'm only spending $3 a day for food and nothing else).

Bankroll management will be 3 buyins at 20nl. If I lose it, it's down to 10nl to grind it back, then another 3 buyin shot etc.

I mean that due to the relative absence of fish (compared to normal tables) it becomes tough to beat the rake - especially on sites like 888 which have high rake and low rakeback.

Gl.

subbed!

Well, shot taking today didn't go great, a -$32 day. I've got 1.5 more buyins left for this shot, if I lose that it'll be back down to 10nl to grind up 6 more buyins.

On the plus side, I am 100% sure I am +EV at 20nl. Just didn't get the cards, didn't hit draws etc, but I sunrunned everyone yesterday so have to take the rough with the smooth. -1.5 buyin day is of course, very little, just annoying when shot taking.

Graph today at 20nl:



Bankroll: $381.34
Liferoll: $595

Good luck with this man, hope it works out for you.

I'm probably the only person posting in this thread that has literally been in your shoes before. I've also lived in Bangkok on $300 a month while on the online microstakes grind so I definitely know where you're at.

So I do wish you luck. Hope you succeed.

damn dude thats harsh...gl...hmu if u ever want to play live in bkk...not promoting or anything but games r damn soft so if ur ever interested let me know...

Cheers. Where abouts were you staying? I'm in Thonburi.

I don't currently have the bankroll to play live. Maybe one day I will though!

I was living in Rhamkhamhaeng at the time.

This was 2009 also btw when games were easier and there weren't any bots and of course cost of living in Thailand was a bit lower then too.

I personally wouldn't try it these days, but I hope it works for you as I said.

I don't know if I'm stating the bleedin' obvious, but I'd be very wary of playing in live games there unless they're in a properly regulated environment ie a legal casino.

Great thread anyway and good luck. Will you be posting hands?

Cheers - yeah it's a bit of a last resort option. I never set out with the intention to grind online poker to stay out here! But then I guess life is full of surprises...

Yeah, I don't have the bankroll to do it anyway.

I generally post hands I'm unsure of in the microstakes forum. Can post some here too if people want?

Give it a try - most other blogs here have hands that people comment on.

Whereabouts in the UK are you from (Londoner here)?

Alright well, a couple of 3bet pots:

1) Not sure about my turn line. I don't think bet/bet/jam with AQ against an UTG range is going to be called by a ton worse, so I check to induce. Obviously we're calling the river if he shoves it since I've never got AK after I check.

888 Poker - $0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 98.25 BB (VPIP: 27.27, PFR: 18.18, 3Bet Preflop: 25.00, Hands: 12)
UTG: 105.75 BB (VPIP: 27.27, PFR: 27.27, 3Bet Preflop: 50.00, Hands: 12)
CO: 100 BB (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 31)
BTN: 229.9 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 20.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 15)
Hero (SB): 103.8 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has Q A

UTG raises to 2.6 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 8.8 BB, BB calls 7.8 BB, fold

Flop: (20.2 BB, 2 players) 4 2 K
Hero bets 10.1 BB, BB calls 10.1 BB

Turn: (40.4 BB, 2 players) A
Hero checks, BB bets 20.2 BB, Hero calls 20.2 BB

River: (80.8 BB, 2 players) J
Hero checks, BB checks

Hero shows Q A (One Pair, Aces)
(Pre 46%, Flop 31%, Turn 95%)
BB mucks T T (One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 54%, Flop 69%, Turn 5%)
Hero wins 76.8 BB


2) Put this guy on AK ldo.

888 Poker - $0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 3 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 154.6 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 22.22, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 9)
Hero (BTN): 102 BB
SB: 104.85 BB (VPIP: 24.54, PFR: 18.77, 3Bet Preflop: 6.57, Hands: 551)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A 3

Hero raises to 2.25 BB, SB raises to 9.2 BB, fold, Hero calls 6.95 BB

Flop: (19.4 BB, 2 players) T 3 T
SB checks, Hero checks

Turn: (19.4 BB, 2 players) Q
SB bets 9.5 BB, Hero calls 9.5 BB

River: (38.4 BB, 2 players) 4
SB bets 28.8 BB, Hero calls 28.8 BB

SB shows A K (One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 69%, Flop 27%, Turn 24%)
Hero shows A 3 (Two Pair, Tens and Threes)
(Pre 31%, Flop 73%, Turn 76%)
Hero wins 91.2 BB

3) Wasn't sure about raising here, since I essentially never have a bluff raising range when someone pots the turn 3 ways when a lol obvious draw card hits. Seriously hope he didn't nitfold a lower flush on me.

888 Poker - $0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 106.1 BB (VPIP: 16.67, PFR: 8.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 37)
BB: 107.6 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
UTG: 278.45 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
CO: 178.3 BB (VPIP: 19.33, PFR: 17.65, 3Bet Preflop: 4.88, Hands: 119)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has J K

UTG raises to 2 BB, fold, Hero calls 2 BB, fold, BB calls 1 BB

Flop: (6.5 BB, 3 players) 2 9 8
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets 4.85 BB, BB calls 4.85 BB, UTG calls 4.85 BB

Turn: (21.05 BB, 3 players) A
BB checks, UTG bets 21.05 BB, Hero calls 21.05 BB, fold

River: (63.15 BB, 2 players) 8
UTG checks, Hero bets 47.35 BB, fold

Hero wins 60 BB

4) Think my river bluff here is OK, since we're blocking the flush draw I don't think we ever get to check and win here. Not exactly the greatest river card to bluff on mind you.

888 Poker - $0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 120.25 BB (VPIP: 25.64, PFR: 5.13, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 40)
UTG: 112.55 BB (VPIP: 22.25, PFR: 15.16, 3Bet Preflop: 3.16, Hands: 420)
CO: 117.3 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 7.02, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 60)
Hero (BTN): 100 BB
SB: 100 BB (VPIP: 22.98, PFR: 13.43, 3Bet Preflop: 5.58, Hands: 639)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A T

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.25 BB, fold, BB calls 1.25 BB

Flop: (5 BB, 2 players) Q 3 4
BB checks, Hero bets 3.75 BB, BB calls 3.75 BB

Turn: (12.5 BB, 2 players) K
BB bets 5 BB, Hero calls 5 BB

River: (22.5 BB, 2 players) 4
BB checks, Hero bets 16.85 BB, BB calls 16.85 BB

Hero shows A T (One Pair, Fours)
(Pre 26%, Flop 6%, Turn 9%)
BB shows Q A (Two Pair, Queens and Fours)
(Pre 74%, Flop 94%, Turn 91%)
BB wins 53.4 BB

5) Should have probably raised river for value here, having the nut straight. Got a bit scared by his sizing but honestly I'm good here so much - need to try and get more value in spots like this. Turn bet might be good too but I was up against a 44/0 fish so I decided not to bother.

888 Poker - $0.20 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 76.9 BB (VPIP: 44.44, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 27)
BB: 115.65 BB (VPIP: 34.69, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 5.88, Hands: 50)
UTG: 209.9 BB (VPIP: 14.78, PFR: 10.43, 3Bet Preflop: 2.78, Hands: 117)
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 24.05, PFR: 18.91, 3Bet Preflop: 6.28, Hands: 683)
CO: 100.35 BB (VPIP: 25.29, PFR: 17.82, 3Bet Preflop: 3.03, Hands: 181)
Hero (BTN): 105.3 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 6 4

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.25 BB, SB calls 1.75 BB, fold

Flop: (5.5 BB, 2 players) 3 Q 2
SB checks, Hero bets 4.1 BB, SB calls 4.1 BB

Turn: (13.7 BB, 2 players) A
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (13.7 BB, 2 players) 5
SB bets 13.7 BB, Hero calls 13.7 BB

SB shows A 3 (Two Pair, Aces and Threes)
(Pre 57%, Flop 60%, Turn 91%)
Hero shows 6 4 (Straight, Six High)
(Pre 43%, Flop 40%, Turn 9%)
Hero wins 39.05 BB