I put in 7 hours today and won $158. Off to an acceptable start. Played one interesting hand:

Pot is opened for 8, I 3bet to 24 with AK from mp which is called only by original raiser. I have 300 villian covers.

Flop is 345 villians checks, I bet 30 into 50, villian raises 50.

I had 3bet this same villian recently and he paid a buck for me to show QQ after he folded to my flop bet. He should know my range is pretty tight, I figured he could have a hand like 10s or Js. I tanked for a while and considered reraising 100 but my inner nit made me muck and villian flashed QJ.

July 2011

Total hours played- 7
Pace- 5
Average hourly winrate- $23
Winnings- $158

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 309.5
Average hourly winrate- $20
Winnings- $6329

I put in 4.5 hours today and won $95. Nothing exciting just a lot of folding today, there is a reason it's called grinding.

July 2011

Total hours played- 11.5
Pace- 10
Average hourly winrate- $22
Winnings- $253

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 314
Average hourly winrate- $20
Winnings- $6424

You are doing great so far! I was wondering, at what point do you plan to make the move to vegas? What size BR are you waiting for, and how much are you saving for living expenses? Do you plan to wait till you have had solid hours at 2/5?

I enjoy the thread very much. You seem to be running pretty good as well. There is a variance in live poker as well, it just comes around when you least expect it and seems to bit you in the rear end every big pot for a period of time. Good luck and keep up the posts.

Thanks! I get off of probation in June 2012 so I have about a year to get prepared. I want to have a minimum of 3 months living expenses saved. I approximate I'll be rolled for the 2/4 400 max buy in game at my card room in 4 months, sooner if I run good later if I run like ****. That would give me about 8 months at the new limit to gauge my success. If all goes well I think I'll have a 10k+ roll by the time I take the plunge.

I have to admit to running well since I came back from my trip to Vegas for new years, 2011 has been great for me. 2010 I played a ton of poker in various formats but ran relatively bad. I have come to accept the variance involved with poker and just focus on the things that I can control which are putting in volume and making good decisions. I have given thought to how bad I could run. The worst downswing I have experienced online was about 15 buyins up in smoke. The worst downswing I have experienced live is 7 buyins down the drain. I have messed around with the tools at evplusplus.com that can give you a pretty good idea of how much variance affects winrates. In the worst case scenario I could work some temp jobs to get by but as of now I am pretty comfortable with the bankroll I have to grind 1/2.

keep up the great work!

I played 7.5 hours today and won $116. The tables were good today gunna go back tomorrow. Looks like I am a little behind pace gunna grind a lot the next few days to catch up.

Thanks bro!

July 2011

Total hours played- 19
Pace- 26
Average hourly winrate- $19
Winnings- $369

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 321.5
Average hourly winrate- $20
Winnings- $6540

I played 6.5 hours today and won $233. Pretty solid day played a few big pots:

I'm in lp with KK mp opens for 10 one call and I raise it to 60 total. OG in the small blind goes all in for 90 more the rest fold I call. Board runs out 108J97 He flips QQ for the higher straight nh sir.

Second hand I was in the big blind with 46 5 way limp to the flop.

A46 I check mp leads for 10 into 6 one call from lp. I raise 45 more mp folds lp thinks for a little while then calls.

turn is 6 I bet out 75, I sized it to set up a river shove the lady makes the call again. Pretty possitive she has AJ+ here and is going to look me up.

river is 9 I bet 100 to put her all in, she snaps and tables A9 ship it!

Going to continue the grind tomorrow.

July 2011

Total hours played- 25.5
Pace- 31
Average hourly winrate- $24
Winnings- $602

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 328
Average hourly winrate- $21
Winnings- $6773

I played 8 hours today and lost $48. Tables were a little tight today. Here are a couple hands:

I've got AA in the hj, one limp to me I make it 8. This is the just about the smallest I ever come in for, I usually raise bigger with premiums but I wanted to disguise my hand and there wasn't a huge field of limpers I needed to price out. bb calls limper calls.

flop was JJ8 checks to me I bet 12 into 20 both call

turn comes 3 checks to me I bet 50 into 56. I thought that one of them likely had a J and I might be able to rep the flush and get them out, if they come along I've got boat and nut flush outs. bb folds, limper calls.

river was 5 villian checks, he had less than 1/2 psb left I check behind he flips J9 nh sir

Second hand:

I'm in the sb with A8 one limp from mp and a raise to 7 from lp. I hadn't been very active so I thought it was a good spot to 3bet and hopefully take it down without resistance. I make it 25.

Folds to lp who ships for 45 more, I'm getting close to the right price even though I'm possibly dominated so I make the call.
villian flips KK and it holds up. nh sir

Back on the grind tomorrow.

July 2011

Total hours played- 33.5
Pace- 36
Average hourly winrate- $17
Winnings- $554

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 336
Average hourly winrate- $20
Winnings- $6725

Hey i see you play at the oaks! congrats on doing so well and crushing the game! I play at the oaks every once in a while, but mainly the 6/12 game there. I was curious as to how the spread limit affected your strategy. How different does it play than NL? are there certain things i should look out for before i dive into 100 max?

Thanks! It plays just like NL. Unless you are battling super deep you will be able to get all in by the river no problem. I only recently started buying in 100bb, I had been playing 50bb for brm reasons so I effectively was playing nl. As far as things to look out for, I would just say watch who is calling down to showdown every hand and never ever bluff them.

These two hands both have some needless spew. In the first hand there is definitely no point in trying to bet someone off of a jack. I know you have some outs but there is almost a zero chance of anyone folding a jack there for a pot sized bet. Also you will not always be good if you make the nut flush on the river and then you are in a crappy spot even if you hit it. In the second hand the guy opening has a very small stack so there really is no reason to be 3betting A8s there and honestly there is rarely a good reason to be 3betting A8 oop. gl on the challenge and congrats on the great start.

Yes I played both hands bad. First hand I should have raised more pf. As played I should have just checked the turn because I could have been c/r by a j or made flush and just take a free river hope to improve or maybe have the best hand already.

Second hand I think the 3bet was ok given my read but I should have made it smaller like 18 so that I wouldn't have committed myself to calling his 4bet shove.

nice job!! i am following along as well!!

I played 3.5 hours today and won $192. Looks like I'm close to being on pace to hit my goal this month just have to keep it up.


Right on brother!

July 2011

Total hours played- 37
Pace- 41
Average hourly winrate- $20
Winnings- $746

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 339.5
Average hourly winrate- $20
Winnings- $6917

Amazing thread and amazing results. Keep it yp

I played 6.5 hours today and won $27. I felt that I played well and stayed focused.

Got in 1 gross spot toward the end of my sess:

Dealt AK utg open for 10 folds to bb who is a decent aggressive young lady who calls.

FLOP- AQ4 villian checks I bet 10 into 17, villian calls

TURN- K villians checks I bet 20 into 37. Villian c/r to 60 and has 60 left. I beat any pair or 2p hand but lose to any sets and the straight. I really think she would have 3bet pf with QQ+. 44 is possible. She could have AQ, KQ and perhaps AJ A10 for a pair+ gutshot. This villian is capable of running big bluffs so that is a possibility. I asked her if she had the straight tried to get a read. She didn't get off any tells of super strength so I decide to just put it in and she calls. Sure enough she had J10

RIVER- 7 nh miss

I think if stacks had been deep I could have found a fold but with 77 in the pot and only 100 left I need about 36% equity. I think there are enough hands that I'm ahead of to make it a reasonable stack off.

Going to band practice tomorrow then hit the felt afterward.

Thanks for the first post.

July 2011

Total hours played- 43.5
Pace- 58
Average hourly winrate- $18
Winnings- $774

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 346
Average hourly winrate- $20
Winnings- $6944

Nice progress and really nice results!
congrats and a lot of rungood

But i have to wonder, why would you like to move to vegas? isnt LA a better place to live and play?
another thing the Android app, does it include stats like standard derivation and stuff like that as well? cause im using the poker log by CP1.

the reason im bringing this up, if you have these stats, it makes it easier to calculate (risk of ruin, ev++) when you can safely take a shot, and since you appear to have a low variance style of play and a lot of weak competition, it might pay off to take shots with 10-15 BI.

anyways, love to see some graphs, and like the way you post your updates!
best of luck! cheers

Excellent thread and am impressed. My question is, why not keep doing what you're doing and just live rent free at home? I get that the flashy lights of Vegas are very alluring and all, but when it's your rent money that's on the line it's a different story when you're facing that shove on the river.

What are you expecting to pay in terms of living expenses while out in Vegas? Certainly your win rate will be able to sustain a comfortable life style but quite frankly you haven't shown yet that you're able to stick with your time commitment goals, not by a long shot (95 hours out of 160 allotted for June?). What makes you think that you will be able to in Vegas, the ultimate Mecca of ADDers? You mentioned that you played blackjack before... not a good recipe for someone who wants to move to Vegas unless you're just THAT disciplined to be able to stay away from the BJ tables. Sounds to me like you got a juuuuuust a tad complacent (you had good reason, to be honest LOL) and kind of rested on your laurels a bit. Maybe alter your goal downward a bit if you don't feel you can reach 160?

You're obviously a good player but I would suggest you reconsider moving to Vegas until you have a very substantial bankroll (20k) and a place to live with all living expenses paid for a year or more. Additionally, I wouldn't burn any bridges with mom and dad in the even that you somehow wind up busto and have to move back in.

Don't forget that the job market will continue to suck for a very long while, which means that should you go busto, your job prospects will be just as bad then as it is now. You have it good just the way things are going right now. Stash that money away in a savings account and put some away into a long term savings plan if you can.

But good results and for god's sakes, don't change a thing.

Vegas:

- Softer competition
- More options/Better comps
- Cheaper to live in than CA in general
- Lower rake in general
- Life experience

amirite?

Beg to differ. Certainly more games, but not softer competition.

You sure?

Rent free home life is as cheap as it gets

Not sure about this either.

A very poor rationale for moving to Vegas.

Have been following the thread and wanted to put in my 2 cents here:

You play well, and will be a winning player for sure. Need to get the hours up.

If you rent a room in Vegas there are plenty of rooms for 300-400/mo. If you get your own place expect 1k a month (utilities in that 1k).

The 1/2 games in Vegas are great on the weekend and during heavy tourism (conferences), you should also be playing the 1/3 games they spread around also.....Palms is a GREAT 1/3, not much diff than the 1/2's.

Unless you pack food in a backpack you will be spending $15 per meal unless you eat crap. In CA food is comped at most Casinos (The Bike 2/3 blind 100-300 buy in is comped food) If you are playing 5 days a week 8 hrs a day, this is 2 meals a day.

The rake in Vegas is definitely lower than CA, CA drops $1 for jackpot no matter what and $3-$4 if you see a flop. Vegas is tiered up to $5 drop depending on pot size.

There are a lot more better structured (100bi or higher) games in Vegas, not the case in CA (i'm talking LA area, Bike, Garden, Commerce, Hustler, HP, etc..) unless you play 5/5 blind or higher. Exception is the 2/3 blind 300bi at the Bike and Oceans Eleven.

Also, if you are young and single Vegas has A LOT of distractions.

The biggest advantage you have is that you are young and can't F-up too bad here......go to Vegas, check it out, and if it works, cool, if not, go check out Los Angeles, if that doesn't work, go home

Good luck with the journey.

I love how everyone is trying to help him out and are concern for him but i believe he said he was still a year away from leaving. With that in mind i think its to early to start planning living expenses because no one knows what can happen in the upcoming months.
Also best of luck with the grind. Keep on grinding away and push yourself into putting those hours in.