Great job starting the new year off strong. Make a goal for February, maybe 4-5k profit, and just keep improving month to month. The sky is the limit with the talent and experience you've got. Aside from that, just keep trying to find that focus, especially when it's difficult. You're so self-aware, and there are many times where you report being in a 'crappy' mental state before even playing. I think anticipating and dealing with these times is going to be the key to your success. I know you've improved vastly, especially with respect to this in particular. And if you continue with the track you're on, you'll improve even more, and minimize or even negate some of those mental $350 losses. It will allow you to move up and successfully play at those levels, but more importantly, reach your full potential. I believe in you dog. Good luck.

Also you could try to buy in for $200 @ 1/2 then if you grind to $500 move to 2/5 later in the night and get in a good spot. Gl.

After hearing the dealer say Joseph and playing one of your sessions this past week, I now know who you are. Good luck at the 2/5.

Good job so far OP!

As far your game plan going forward, you should focus on optimizing your fundamental game. I am sure that you have a solid fundamental game already, but you can boost your win-rate by a lot by eliminating small/tiny preflop/flop leaks and by looking for juicy bluff and thin value spots that come up all the time.

Now, plugging small leaks that come up all the time and looking for small/medium pots where you can bluff at weakness and go for thin value DOES NOT seem very sexy, but identifying these small leaks and small edges are the 'bread and butter" of any live poker crusher who makes 10bb+/hour at his chosen live NLHE stakes.

Please don't play 2/5 at Chester. It's a bunch of regs who soft play each other non stop. Terribad game.

everyone says this, but i've never had a problem.

I hope they bring back the 10/25 on Wednesday nights

Oh? I have. Maybe not a problem but definitely not the game you wanna be playing in. It is the same regs soft playing each other constantly. I have sat numerous times to watch it with my own two eyes, I also had a dealer I know quite well warn me about it, AFTER I had quickly determined this myself.

Four more sessions down since the last update.

+$395 in 7 hours at Parx $1/$2 Tuesday
+$410 in 6:20 at Harrah's $1/$3 Wednesday
+$780 6.5 hours at Harrah's $1/$3 Friday
-$72 in 5:15 at Harrah's $1/$3 Saturday

Was planning on playing early in the day Thursday since I was going to a concert at Union Transfer around 9 that night. But more post-session insomnia prevented that from happening as I ended up sleeping something like 8 AM - 4 PM. No. Good. These guys were awesome though:



My last session is actually worse than it looks, because I was up nearly $500 at one point. Then down like $75, then back up about $150 again, and then finally left -$72. I played pretty poorly overall. Was really tired the whole session since I've been in an unsatisfactory sleep pattern the past few days. I probably averaged 5-6 hours of sleep the past few nights which isn't enough.

Pretty sure I am taking today off as I could not wait to get out of that casino last night, and just don't feel like I'm in the right mood to play optimally today. Probably going to take tomorrow off as well, and get back on the grind Tuesday night.

Overall though, this was obviously a kickass week. My BR is sitting at about $7340 which means I can start shot-taking 2/5 again. I actually booked a comped room at Borgata this past Friday but decided not to go, since my roll hadn't hit $7k yet. Not going to be able to get a comped room V-day weekend but I might take a train down there Saturday afternoon, put in 8 hours or so, and then come back the same night - depending on how this upcoming week goes.

Oh and sorry for making kind of a lazy post. Here are some savers to make up for it:



Bankroll: $7340

I'm pretty sure I want to marry number 3.

i just wanna bang her.

Good job man!

Also, #2>>>>

Cosign.

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Playing any of the Philly Poker Open at the end of the month?

Three more sessions in the books - seems like that's my average span before each update at this point. Definitely haven't been as diligent with keeping up with this thread as I said I would be. A few reasons for that - 1. I'm lazy, 2. I've just been playing very solid lately so haven't felt as much of a need to post (though that's kind of faulty logic), 3. I've been getting paranoid about people I play with reading my thread.

At this point in time, I've just got my sights on grinding my way up to 2/5. Not to say that I have poker mastered or anything and that there's nothing new for me to learn. But I know what I need to do at 1/2 and 1/3 right now, and I've been doing it. I've made progress with a lot of of little leaks - like calling EP raises with RIO hands (AJo, KQo, etc.) after I've been card dead. I did actually do that once tonight so I still do have hiccups with that kind of stuff now and then. But ever since my Vegas trip, my discipline and patience have steadily been improving. I will definitely be much more active on here with my 2/5 sessions.

Here are the results for this latest stint:

2/10/14:+$425 in 4 hours at Harrah's 1/3
2/11/14: +$644 in 4:15 at Parx 1/2
2/12/14: +$153 in 5 hours at Parx 1/2

All pretty short sessions. Monday night, the games had really started to dry up (they weren't that great in the first place), I had myself in the black for a nice win, and a bar near my place has a really fun Monday night party - so I bounced and went there. Tuesday I woke up feeling a cold coming on and just felt tired/achey/weak and kinda sick all day, plus I obviously ran hot in a short span and didn't mind booking a nice boost to my BR. Tonight the games were ****ty all night - I sat at 5 different tables (only one of my games broke). Plus there was a mass exodus around 9:30 because of the snowstorm, so I decided to book a small win and leave.

Going to be forced to take off tomorrow because of yet another storm. This winter is really chapping my ass. I have a feeling I'm going to fall short of 120 hours since I've been playing short sessions lately as it is, plus it's February, plus days I have to take off because of the weather.

The good news is that I've been on a massive heater and have already surpassed last month's win total - which is pretty sick. I'm already up over $3300 in February. The roll is definitely in shot-taking territory at this point. I could have played 2/5 at Parx tonight I suppose - but I want to be very selective with my shot-taking and only play when the games are likely to be better than average. It looked pretty reggy over there tonight. I might play Harrah's 2/5 Friday night if it looks good, but my plan as of now is to play 1/3 my next session. Pretty sure I'm going to take a day trip to the Borgata on Saturday and play 6-8 hours of 2/5.

I'm going to make a post tomorrow with several hands from my last 5 sessions or so. I'll be stuck inside all day so I really have no excuse.

Probably not. I very rarely play tourneys and if I do I want to be blown away by the value and the structure. Not really the case for me with those tourneys. I am considering playing one of the Parx Big Stax tournaments coming up Feb 20-Mar 10.

Bankroll: $8470

Agreed. It seems every time I schedule some time off from work to get some good weekend sessions at parx the weather turns to *****.

Some Hands

Here are a few hands from my last several sessions. Thought processes in the spoiler tags.

Hand 1

Villain (400) - 35 yo white male, loose passive preflop, ABC-ish postflop
Hero's Image (310) - 25 yo white male, TAG

Hero is in SB with K8

5 limps, Hero completes, BB checks.

Flop ($21): JT9

Hero bets $13, folds to Villain who raises to $35, folds back around. Hero raises to $100, Villain calls.

Turn ($221): 6

Hero shoves for $210, Villain tank/calls with 78o

River: blank



Hand 2

V1 (120) - 65 yo Asian male - loose/passive. Has been limp/calling a lot preflop, calling down with any piece of the flop. Will get away from more marginal holdings on later streets. Will chase draws to the end.

V2 (500) - 27 yo white male, ABC-TAG. Hasn't played a ton of hands so far but I'm fairly new to the table. Hasn't been attacking many flops in the pots he has played. Doesn't come off as terribly aggressive.

Hero's Image (340) - 25 yo white male - Don't have much of an image yet but I've been at the table for about 30 minutes and haven't really played any big pots, so if anything it's tight.

Preflop ($7) - $4 straddle is on

Hero is in MP with KQ

V1 limps EP, Hero raises to $18, V2 calls OTB, V1 calls.

Flop ($55): JT5

V1 checks, Hero bets $40, V2 calls, V1 folds.

Turn ($135): 8

Hero bets $90, V2 calls.

River ($315): 2

Hero bets $190 and is all-in, Villain folds.





Hand 3

Villain (400) - 45 yo Asian male - loose/passive regular in the room, though he is a bit less passive than other regulars. He will limp/call often preflop but also take stabs at pots and try to steal when scare cards come out, occasionally. He also can be a bit of a call station but sometimes will play a bit more snug.

Hero's Image (600) - 25 yo white male - TAG winning regular. Villain probably thinks I'm more aggro than I actually am and that I'm FOS more often than I actually am. He has shown a tendency to get stationy against me in the past.

Preflop ($4): Hero is in the CO with KJ

Villain limps in MP, Hero raises to $18, Villain calls.

Flop ($40): T54

Villain checks, Hero bets $30, Villain calls.

Turn ($100): 4

Villain checks, Hero checks.

River ($100): A

Villain checks, Hero bets $70, Villain folds.



Hand 4

V1 (250) - 50 yo white male, loose/passive preflop and ABC postflop
V2 (300) - 40 yo white male, loose passive - hasn't been at table very long so no real reads
V3 (400) - 30 yo black male - bad LAG, not a total spewtard or anything but plays too many hands and will take stabs at pots, bluff at scare cards, etc.
Hero's Image (650) - TAG winning regular

Preflop ($4) Hero is in BB with 97. 5-way limped pot.

Flop ($15): 865

Hero bets $12, V1-V3 all call.

Turn ($63): 3

Hero checks, V1/V2 check, V3 bets $35, Hero calls.

River ($133): 2

Hero checks, V3 checks.



Hand 5

V1 (70) - 30 yo white male, very loose/passive preflop. I think I've seen him limp every hand so far.

V2 (150) - 60 yo Indian male, loose/passive. Will chase draws to river and call down with top pair, sometimes second pair type hands. Haven't been sitting with him very long though.

Hero's Image (300) - 25 yo white male - pretty clean slate as I haven't been at the table long and have yet to open a pot.

Preflop ($3): Hero is in MP with QQ

Hero opens to $12, V1 calls in CO, V2 calls in BB.

Flop ($36): 976

V2 checks, Hero bets $30, V1 calls, V2 calls.

Turn ($126): 9

V2 checks, Hero bets $50, V1 folds, V2 calls.

River ($226): K

V2 checks, Hero checks.



Hoping this weather doesn't hurt the games too badly tomorrow, as I'm itching to get back out there. Might end up going to Parx if the roads are still in bad shape - if 2/5 looks soft I might give it a shot.

I'm kind of a weekend reg at parx, but I've never ventured in Monday-Thursday. Are there still pretty good games going during the week? I'd imagine there's a lot fewer tables going and the atmosphere would be different.

Wow I disappeared from here for almost ten days. What can I say man? I'm just not enthusiastic about keeping up with this thread at the moment. Prob because I've not been especially enthusiastic about poker in general lately. I've been doing well results-wise, just felt a bit burned out over the past couple of weeks. Considering taking a non-poker vacation sometime soon. I talked to a good friend from high school about going to Coachella in April, so provided I continue to run well/play well, that might happen. Also thinking about taking a trip out to Vegas for a week or so during March Madness, since Duke from PGC is out there indefinitely right now.

I've played 3 sessions of 2/5 at Parx since my last post. All three were winning sessions, and I think I played relatively mistake free in all of them. I did fire an unsuccessful double barrel against a young regular I see there often. I had been playing extremely tight so I don't think it was a terribly spewy play. I've sat in the Harrah's 2/5 game briefly after starting out at 1/3. In all instances, the games looked juicy but had become pretty solid/reggy by the time I actually moved over there.

I'm not putting any HH's in this update because I have a lot I want to post, it's late, and I'm stoned. Here are the results since my last update though:

2/14/14:-$219 in 4.8 hours at Harrah's 1/3
2/15/14: -$64 in 6 hours at Parx 1/2
2/17/14: +$143 in 4.5 hours at Harrah's 1/3, -$100 in 2 hours at Harrah's 2/5
2/18/14: +$86 in 2 hours at Parx 1/2, +$915 in 3.8 hours at Parx 2/5
2/19/14: +$123 in 4.5 hours at Harrah's 1/3, -$304 in 1 hour at Harrah's 2/5
2/21/14: +$1193 in 4 hours at Parx 2/5
2/22/14: -$347 in 2 hours at Harrah's 1/3, -$250 in 2 hours at Harrah's 2/5
2/23/14: +$377 in 4:45 at Parx 2/5

I've really liked the quality of the 2/5 games at Parx so far. Not sure how much of an effect the tournament series has had on the action. I definitely do see a lot of familiar faces but a lot of these guys who give off the grinder vibe at first don't actually play that well. And there are always at least 5-6 games running compared to Harrah's with a paltry 1-3 tables on average.

That being said I do think Borgata is still the ideal venue for me to be taking my shots, simply because of the 100bb buy-in structure. I also need to be careful not to jump into 2/5 all at once, but mix it in gradually. I think the best plan is to continue to play Harrah's 1/3 during the week, and take my 2/5 shots on the weekend. One exception to that may be Tuesday nights at Parx, since it's a big tournament night which creates some juicy action at the cash game tables.

I have a comped room booked at the Borgata this Friday. Not 100% on if I will use that or not yet, but if I'm riding an upswing heading into the weekend I will most likely end up there.

Here's some chip porn:



lol shaky left hand last minute shot. In for $800 here I believe



In for $675 here

Took out about $1k more for the liferoll. The last $1k lasted me about 3 weeks which I don't think is too bad. Fingers crossed for that FTP money getting here by the end of the week.

Bankroll: $9000

Games are definitely filled with regs during the week. Not all regs are good though. I think 1/2 is 1/2 pretty much anywhere you go. The games are still good during the week but no where near as juicy as the weekends.

Come to vegas, bring weed

If Parx is anything like Harrah's, many regs are almost robotic with their tendencies (overbet big pairs, call down draws, give up after c-bet, etc) all of which can be heavily exploited if you know the player well enough.

That being said, I know a few regs who definitely have an edge me, but that just means I usually try to avoid their table or many pots with them. As OP said, regs can be a good thing

My local game has tons of regs, but all are pretty bad. Fish are nice, but bad regs are better. They keep coming back

^ Solid suggestion, ldo.

Great to hear you're continuing to do well and taking shots. We all go through some burnout sometimes. My break lasted 5 years but I didn't quite have the social balance back then that you have in your life (runbad + life tilt = 40 hours sessions and sitting down at 10/20NL with my whole roll).

Keep it up good sir.

You are just SOOOOOO much less likely to sit with more than 1 person at a table at Parx at $1/$2 who you recognize as compared to Harrah's.

Maybe it's just cause I am at Harrah's for 3/4 of my sessions (if not more), but seeing the same faces again is depressing.