I played 8 hrs today and lost $832. Definitely my most brutal session since July. I played excellent and put my chips in good just ran terrible in the 2/4. Going to have to drop back to 1/2 once again.

I'll give you a little taste-

I pick up KK utg, I didn't notice it was a straddled pot so I put out 12 but was corrected and had to make it a minraise of 16, 4 callers and then the straddler makes it 180 , I jam for 380 and he calls.

Flop- K63 looks pretty good

Turn- J

River- Villain calls for a 10 and the 10 rolls off and he takes it down with AQ, nh sir.

Close to the same story in all the other hands of the session flopping top set, over pairs or tpgk playing it aggressively and getting flushed away on the turn or river. But overall I stayed focused and the beats didn't phase me or throw me off, I got my money in as favorite everytime except once when I ran QQ into a shorty who had KK. I did get a little sympathy from the table on the KK hand but I really just shrugged it off.

I changed my mind about hitting Vegas for NYE, I'll probably just hang out and party in SF this year.

December 2011

Total hours played- 91.5
Average hourly winrate- $12
Winnings- $1078

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 975.5
Average hourly winrate- $11
Winnings- $10865

PA,

Wow the KK hand was gross. Wonder if it would have been any different if you knew about the straddle and say make it $30-35ish pre. Wonder if he would re-raise you anyway?

Straddles makes it $180 over a 16, wow, address of this casino plz

I played 1.5 hrs today and lost $4. I actually ran into an old buddy at the Oaks and he reminded me about a cool show I forgot I wanted to go to so he gave a me lift over there. A couple of local bands are going on tour for 3 weeks and this was the kick off show.

I kinda wanted to play a long day and grind back some of that 800 but there is always tomorrow.

I was a up a little but then semi bluffed off a few bets with 2 overs and an oesd but got away from it when I got c/r on the turn... villain made a low straight and showed me.

If I had paid attention I would have opened for 30, but I probably would still get 4 calls and I'm sure the straddler would have made the same move. I actually had a another guy with 150 stack off with 88 in that hand, so close to a 1k pot, super gross spot 97% equity on the flop (though pf precentages are what really matter)

I know! The table had an "all star" line up and I could have had a great session if more of my monsters would hold up.

Oh, and you have to prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt that you are a fish before I disclose the location of the pond no sharks!

December 2011

Total hours played- 93
Average hourly winrate- $12
Winnings- $1074

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 977
Average hourly winrate- $11
Winnings- $10861

I played 8 hrs today and won $330. I ran into the same guy at the Oaks where I played for the first 3 hrs, he told me about a home game near by. It was a fun .25/.50 nlhe, but if a black ace flops the game would be .25/.25 plo8 on the next hand. The game played really deep and I ran well and won 4 buyins. All the hands I got involved were clear cut ship or fold so no trouble spots.

I did run into another villain from the Oaks that I used to play with a lot, he kind of has a reputation for his style, he is a pretty solid LAG not afraid to fire at all. I had position on him and 3bet quite few times. He is always fun to play with though.

I really don't mind shuffling and dealing, as opposed to seeing 100 being raked off the table every hr.

December 2011

Total hours played- 101
Average hourly winrate- $14
Winnings- $1404

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 985
Average hourly winrate- $11
Winnings- $11191

I played 3.5 hrs today and won $280. I only played one big pot with a loose villain who I always love to see at the tables.

I pick up AK utg+1, utg makes it 10, I call, mp shorty ships for 45, lp raises to 145 ( I had seen him do this with 77 a couple hands earlier), utg folds. I wasn't really thinking about folding too much, I asked if he aces again which he had in the previous hand. He responded by saying he only looked at one and it was an ace, which made my decesion easy I ship for 230. The best way to get info is simply ask people what you want to know, most will tell the truth.

The board runs out and I win vs AJ, shorty didn't show.

I'm going to play my last session of the year today, then start typing up my 2011 retrospective post and my goals for 2012.

December 2011

Total hours played- 105
Average hourly winrate- $16
Winnings- $1690

2011 YTD

Total hours played- 989
Average hourly winrate- $12
Winnings- $11471

You almost got 1000 hours, very good job sir.

We're getting blackout in Spain in two days... so I need to emigrate...

GL in 2012 and happy new year.

2011 Retrospective

I finished up the year playing 11 hrs and winning $139. I won $1829 this month which was my 3rd best of the year. I played more poker this year than in the rest on my life combined. I have gained a ton of experience and my game has improved dramatically. It is my first year as a consistent winner having 12 straight winning months. I haven’t worked a traditional job since mid February and I have enjoyed the freedom. I took 3 trips to Vegas and had a really good time.

Since moving out to Oakland at the start of November, my sleeping and eating has kind of been erratic, catching the last BART train back to Newark had kept my schedule regular. I am going to try get back to a more normal rhythm, working out and eating healthy and I think that will be beneficial to my poker.

Here are some stats for 2011-

365 hrs played online
Stakes- 2nl - 25nl
188,000 hands
$600 won including rakeback



1000 hrs played live
Stakes- .25/.50 - 2/4
25,000 hands
$11,610 won



Sessions recorded- 268, 68% of them winning
Longest session- 18.5 hrs
Longest breakeven stretch- 200 hrs
Biggest downswing- $1600
Biggest winning day- $683
Biggest losing day- $826

Goals for 2012

There are a lot thing I want to get out of poker this year.

- Play the majority of my hrs at 2/4 or higher
- Study and improve my game
- Win enough to buy a car and pay for gas and insurance
- Move to Vegas for the summer
- Take a trip to Atlantic City
- Maintain a schedule to eat healthy, sleep, workout, socialize, while getting in as many hrs on the felt as I can
- Crush online when it comes back to the USA


I want to thank everyone who commented on the hands I posted your advice is greatly appreciated.
GL in 2012 to all my fellow 2+2ers and everyone with a PG&C thread!

Today's Results- -$17 in 10.5 hrs

This year I am going to be working really hard to put in hrs and play my best whenever I'm at the table. Last year I only hit my 160 per month target once and it also turned out to be my month with the worst results. If I had not been lazy and knocked out 160 hrs every month I would be in much better shape by now. Since this is my main focus in life I know I can do better.

I started off my year at a .25/.50 nlhe home game put on by a 2+2er in Berkeley, there where 4 or 5 Oaks regs there and the rest were college kids so the game was super aggressive with no limped pots and plenty of 3betting. We played some crazy dealer's choice games if the ace of spades appeared on the board in the previous hand and if a player won a pot holding the suicide king in their hand everyone at the table would give them a dollar.

I felt I played really well 3betting wide ip and generally reading hands well. I got into a little trouble in this hand-

I'm utg with KK and open for 3, mp a somewhat tight player makes it 9 with 126 behind, folds back to me and I make it 35 which I guess is a pretty huge 4bet, villain counts down my stack and then ships for 100 more. I snap called but I guess I should have atleast considered folding. I don't think I've ever folded KK pf live and with 100bb you can play kings just like aces and be fine. But in this situation, 270bb deep I could possibly fold to the massive 5bet from a tight player. He showed up with AA here and the board bricked out, nh sir.

I'm planning to play a lot of hrs the next few days, 2012 is a perfect place to mentally reset and develope good habits and I am excited for what this year is going to bring.

January 2012

Total hours played- 10.5
Average hourly winrate- -$2
Winnings- -$17

I think you could use a change of casinos, the 2-4 game just seems odd. Also if you are playing the same regs everyday then change it up. I don't know if what I'm saying has any merit but that is my read and im sticking with it... Keep up the good work I love this thread

Congrats on 2011 PA. You were very consistent in a game and lifestyle that generally tends to be very erratic. Not to mention you are an Ironman with continually keeping up on thread updates. From experience I know that can be quite a challenge.

I'm looking forward to watching your win rate going up in 2012 as your skill and size of game played increases. So keep grinding, keep working to get better, and stay motivated. GL in 2012!

Today's Results- $32 in 8 hrs

So it has been kind of a slow start. Today I played mostly in the 2/4 game but was never up or down more than 100. I just picked up a couple small pots and lost a couple.

You are absolutely right. I've been meaning to check out Bay 101 in SJ, and Lucky Chances close to SF so I'll probably do that this month. It is always refreshing to shuffle different chips on different colored felt against new faces.

Thanks for the kind words. Best wishes to you and Angie in your endeavors, who knows we might face each other when online poker comes back.

It is not challenging for me to find time to update because I'm single and unemployed without any real responsibilities besides making it to band practice once a week.

January 2012

Total hours played- 18.5
Average hourly winrate- $1
Winnings- $15

Today's Results- $165 in 7 hrs

The table was really good today but I was card dead for most of the session. Here are a couple hands I did get to play-

2/4, 200 effectives stacks

I pick up JJ in MP, the pot was opened for 20 by a maniac utg I 3bet to 60, folds back to villain who calls.

Flop- K87
check, check

Turn- 6
He bets 5, it was actually the first time I'd seen him bet so small, I'm pretty sure he couldn't have a king and it was an odd feeler bet. A take a few seconds and consider raising but I decide to just call.

River- 3
He fires 100 into 130 which he had been doing quite frequently on the river with or without a hand. I studied him for a few seconds and didn't pick up any tells of a super strength so I made the call, he flips 85

Hand 2-

I'm in bb with KQ, 3 limps and sb completes, I check.

Flop- Q32
checked to me and I check, utg bets 5 into 15, folds to maniac on the button who makes it 25, I make it 75. utg thinks for a second then ships for 128 more maniac folds.

Now this seems like a super strong move. I think it possible he limped utg with aces or kings trying to trap the maniac or he could have flopped a set. I ask him if he limped aces and he gave a slight smile. I've got a backdoor flush draw and I'm getting a decent price with 190 in the pot. Also villain could be slightly tilted after losing a big pot to the maniac after just sitting down. I tank for a little while longer and then I see villain running his tongue along the inside of his mouth which is a sign of discomfort so I made the call. He flips KQ, so I'm freerolling with the diamond draw and pick up one on the turn but the river bricks out so we chop it up, nh sir.

January 2012

Total hours played- 25.5
Average hourly winrate- $7
Winnings- $180

Today's Results- -$195 in 8 hrs

I couldn't really get anything going today, the 2/4 table wasn't great and it eventually broke. I wasn't flopping anything to work with, I took a few stabs but most were unsuccessful.

I got into a disagreement with a dealer who is actually a really fast and proficient dealer. She took issue with me topping up my stack inbetween hands to the max buyin of 200 at the 1/2 table. She said something about it voiding the bbj . I tell her I've been doing it for the last 900 hrs played at the Oaks and it has never been a problem, no dealer or player has taken issue with it. She tries to cite a rule about short buys which says you have to do 1 full buy (between 40 and 200) for each short buy (20) but that rule only applies when you get felted. She was trying to say I had to lose at least 40 before I could add chips on the my stack which just seems ridiculous to me.

So a floor gets called over and I talk to 3 different floormen and get conflicting answers but the last one said it was fine so I go back to the table and say it is fine, then dealer calls over one of the owners and vaguely explains the situation and he confirms the rule about short buys exists but doesn't really explain if it applies to add ons. I just let it go and I ending up winning a small pot shortly thereafter and didn't need to top up for the rest of the session.

On my way out I ask the owner for clarification about the buy in rules and he says he talked with the dealer on break and it was just a misunderstanding and that I could in fact top up to the max buy in between hands, I was aslo offered an apology.

January 2012

Total hours played- 33.5
Average hourly winrate- $0
Winnings- -$15

Hey Man,

Thinking about your game, I'm wondering if you're not more profitable at 100 max than 200. Your strategy seems to be play super tight, and get people to donate with worse hands. I think most of the 100 max players are clueless enough not to notice how tight you play and therefore may be willing to shove with 10 10 pf against your 3bet. But there are enough people paying attention at 200 to know you're on a extremely limited range, which makes it hard to get paid off.

Today's Results- -$135 in 10 hrs

I played at the home game in Berkeley which was fun. A few different people I've played with at the Oaks came as well as some college kids. I was running kinda of bad today 10s into Js, Js into Qs. I played pretty aggressive and pulled some sick bluffs but also got snapped off in a couple spots.

Here is an interesting hand I played-

I pick up A4 in LP and 3bet a mp open of 1.75 to 5, blinds fold mp calls.

Flop- Q43
Checked to me and I bet 8 into 10.75, he calls and I feel like I'm probably ahead

Turn- K
He checks again, now that I've picked up the fd it is a standard spot to barrel so I fire 25 into 26.75 and he c/r ships for about 50 more so guess he hit that K but I'm getting the right price to improve so I call and brick the river, he takes it down with K3 nh sir.

Because of the aggression level pf and on the early streets, I tried a line that I almost never take where I floated the flop and turn ip then barreled the river and got it to work a few times. Sometimes a call is much scarier than a raise.

I think some of my struggles at the 2/4 game have been from continuing to play at the table after I get a bad losing image. And when I go a few rounds without picking up anything playable it is hard to get paid off huge. There is never more than a single 2/4 table going so If I table change I have to drop down to a 1/2 table. And trust me, the 2/4 game can be really good sometimes where all I have to do is make some kind of a hand but that can be challenging sometimes.

I know I have some leaks that I want to find and plug, I am planning to knock out a little study time this week and maybe focus on improving a weakness.

January 2012

Total hours played- 43.5
Average hourly winrate- -$4
Winnings- -$165

Today's Results- $88 in 4.5 hrs

I put in a short session, focused pretty hard and squeezed out a win which is good. I'm going to play a full day tomorrow.

I thought I would give props to nanonoko for getting the guiness book record for playing almost 24k hands in 8 hrs or about 3k hands an hr 35-40 tabling. I'm a fast player too, the fastest I ever played was a little over 1k hands in a hr 8 tabling rush poker.

January 2012

Total hours played- 48
Average hourly winrate- -$2
Winnings- -$77

Today's Results- $53 in 4.5 hrs

I woke up a little late so I didn't play for as long as I wanted to. I ran into friends from the Berkeley home game at the Oaks and they were about to drive down to Bay 101 so I tagged along.



I guess they have some anti-degen laws down here in SJ.



The room is bigger than the Oaks with a high ceiling and space between the tables. The chairs are pretty comfortable aswell.



The game I played in was 1/2/2 blinds, 4 to go with a $5 drop. They had 4 1/2/2 tables going and 5 2/3/5 tables going.

I ended up bluffing off about 100 in the first round but made it back to a little bit above even before we left. I kept one chip for my collection.

The action seemed decent so I wouldn't mind playing here again.

January 2012

Total hours played- 52.5
Average hourly winrate- $0
Winnings- -$24

Just found this thread. Haven't read it all yet, but so far very interesting. Keep playing, and keep posting.

PA,

That's one funny sign. lol Glad I don't have that problem.

Today's Results- $251 in 3.5 hrs

I played at a good 2/4 table tonight and managed my best session so far this year. I made a couple thin calls but ended up being right a both times.

I'm glad you like it thank you. I will and I will.

January 2012

Total hours played- 56
Average hourly winrate- $4
Winnings- $227

Today's Results- -$163 in 8 hrs

I was pretty active and got involved in a few spots. I flopped p+fd a couple times but bricked out. I double barreled in a couple hands with ace high then checked behind on the river and turned out to be good . I made a huge laydown with AJ on J82Q after villain donk bet way bigger than the pot. I made a bad 3bet shove with 1010 on 7745 and ran into 86, the way the hand played out I really didn't think he could a have a 7 or an overpair, but he smacked his gutshot and I paid off nh sir.

So the month is half over, I have been spinning my wheels trying to get something going. I am just going to focus on playing solid and putting in hrs.

January 2012

Total hours played- 64
Average hourly winrate- $1
Winnings- $64

It's all gravy buddy only 16 days into the year. I'm having a slow slightly better than break even start myself but we know that it can all turn around in just one session.

Small sample size... nothing to sweat.

Today's Results- -$149 in 5 hrs

I played at a really good 2/4 table the whole time, I had expected it to be a good day because of the MLK federal holiday. I was running pretty cold though and didn't make any hands. It is kind of a sick feeling when I am at a table where I am garanteed to get paid off if I make any sort of hand but just have to keep folding while I see huge 3 and 4 way all ins where very light holdings are shown down. No big deal though. It keeps me in a good mood when I'm just sitting at a good table rather than a dead one.

I was at the bookstore the other day flipping through NLHT&P and came across a concept I haven't really thought about too much before. There is a page that talks about absolute position vs relative position. Basically absolute position is always determined by the BTN and doesn't change. Relative position is your position relative to likely aggressor. So if you get to act after seeing how the rest of the players in a hand react to the aggressor it is a very benificial situation.

I am going to aim for 160 hrs played by the end of the month which means I am going to have to get in about 45 hrs in each of the next couple of weeks. I failed at this quite a few times in 2011 but it is a new year which is the perfect time to form good habits.

January 2012

Total hours played- 69
Average hourly winrate- -$1
Winnings- -$85