I want to try and become a pro this year.

Stats:

2015 - Poker/Study Result:



Bio:

Age: 31
Nationality: American

Been playing poker for 2 years. I work part-time for $10 hour and I'm keeping my job as a safety net until I go pro. I'm 60% towards my BR + safety net goal. 75% of my play has been at $1/2 and for the last 4 months I've been transitioning to primarily 2/5. I play online micro stakes for both study and practice. I have been getting better at flopzilla and doing pen & paper and mathematica EV calcs, and other poker math.

I'm really interested in becoming good at math, not just technically, but the conceptual understanding, because after poker I want some type job where thinking is required.

About PG&C:

The contents of this PG&C will be everything related to the journey of becoming a pro. HHs, EV calcs, poker math, mental game, finances related to running your own business, which being a pro is, crazy **** that I see and hear about on the live table... Non poker posts will be about taking care of your health, which is my #1 priority, and math concepts that I'm learning about.

I hope I'm successful at becoming a pro by November 1st, 2016, and if I'm not a pro, then I hope I can look at the end of 2016 like I'm looking at the end of 2015, where I'm a lot healthier and a much better poker player.

I'm looking to friend other pros and aspiring pros or the rec players who are serious about improving their game. So please PM me for my skype handle so we can become online skype friends.

Micro stakes reg looking to improve my game and maybe one day go pro will pm you Skype details.

Sent from my D6603 using 2+2 Forums

Aus cash/mtt pro here looking to move up stakes, will pm u my skype details I have a PGC myself (two now)

The month of January is over for me.

It's a been an outstanding month for my study to play ratio ( study : play ). I put in 37.9 hours of study, and 37.4 hours of play. This is a first for me! A first in my 2 and 1/2 year journey to become a pro, that I spent more time studying than playing.

I spent a lot of time studying theory and some poker related math, and finished up the month with specialized session review study. The specialized session review was about one thing, and one thing only, hand reading practice. I would have hero's hole cards hidden, and go over every hand in a session, regardless of hero playing in the hand or not, and try and figure out each player's ranges based on how the hand played out + board texture. Since I play on Bovada, this is especially effective because everyone's hole cards are shown at the end of a hand. It's also extremely painful as I had to go over some terrible play by Hero, but who says growth is pain free?

On the theory side I'm working on two papers right now, one focusing on SPR and the other paper is on EV. I've decided to not waste any of time transcribing my papers to the forum, so I'll just post them in PDF format.

To give you an idea of what I'm working on and how dedicated I am to doing a good job at it, I'll show you a sample of my SPR paper. This is the rough, rough draft, and the final version will look completely different and be written in such a way that doesn't show any source code and I'll assume the reader know's very little about math and has never been introduced to the concept of SPR before:

SPR.pdf

------------------

I do wish I could edit my PG&C title and change it to: The side of effect of being a great poker player is being a pro, my journey to greatness.

I'm perception has shifted to becoming becoming an excellent poker player with excellent health, and I know if I achieve those two goals, being a professional poker player will emerge from that.

----


Last night I was at pretty big room in Florida, and there was this young kid scoping out tables, and he had this Aura of death around him... He wasn't sick or anything, but he looked like he was going straight kill the game tonight, he look like a contender, he just looked so lucid. He was eyeing all the players stacks at my 2/5 table, which was a pretty good table, the average stack size for our nearly full table was easily over 100bb which is what you want of course, he was joking around with our dealer, looking to try and sit at our table, his card was for the 2/5 next to us, and so he cooly slinked on. I had this feeling of relief.. I'm glad an awesome grinder wasn't going sit down and decrease my equity.

A player to my right, a losing reg, who from what I gathered played here nearly every day and who I've seen every time in my few sojourns into this poker room also breathed a sigh of relief. He told me that guy was easily the best NL player in the room and that he was glad he didn't sit down at our table. The dealer and few other players also began chatting about the shark and how good he was and that he played for a living.

At first I feared this other player, but then was able to make myself feel both inspired and happy for him. A young person, who has made it as a professional. If I could take his picture and put next to my mirror like those old boxing movies, and remind myself of what I'm aiming for everyday, I would....

----

This month I had probably my biggest winning session and losing session, that didn't involve whales but reg play... the grind of 2/5... How it's so much better in terms of $ cash $ than 1/2.

I need to try and not care about BR point score, all that matters is BRM and if I'm playing good and growing as player. If I could, in addition to changing this thread title, I would remove my the monetary numbers from graph(that I was able to do).

---

So that's all there's to it. For February I'm going to focus on trying to achieve 25% or more of time studying. I'd like to try and do 2 hours a day, 6 days a week of specialized hand reading sessions, with less theory practice. Also going to try really, really hard to eat healthier, but holy ****, it's like the hardest thing ever..

I need to remember, I'm a weapon, and I need to take excellent care of myself. In my own way I'm a gunslinger. (Yes, I just got done listening to Stephen King's Drawing of the Three, Vol. III in the Dark Tower Series )

HH:

2/5 FR

V1 - Very loose & passive, but does like to open with hands such as A9o oop. He's a losing 2/5 reg, plays nearly everyday but doesn't stack them profits, likes the gamble.
Despite off all this, I do believe he knows when to fold against huge bets and he's middle aged 2/5 reg and crazy enough to bluff sometimes, especially when getting beat down, which has all session long.

H - I don't know how players see me, I always enter the pot with a raise, and towards the button I open like 35% of all hands in holdem if people limp to me. I just folded TPWK face up to V1 a few orbits ago and he asked me how I could do that, but like half a dozen orbits before that I doubled barreled v1 with air and showed him, but I think ****ty players usually remember only the last encounter unless they got stacked for like 200bb.

7 handed at the moment.
effective stacks = 500 to 450.

Hero looks at KTo and opens UTG to 30. V calls, folds around and BB calls.

Flop(85)
J J 3

x x x

Turn
A J J 3 r

bb x, H b 45(repping A), V raises to 150, bb fold

....

Ok ladies & gents, we have a hand here. First off, if this guy has a jack, why is he raising here? He's going to blast everyone off the hand, why not do this on the river? We all know the scared frightened player types who shove all in with the nuts on the flop, but I would bet my stack this guy isn't one of those scared frightened player types, the type of player whose afraid his trip jacks is going to get sucked out on by a 2 or 4 outter; I believe this player would probably smooth call with trip jacks here.

No my friends, this looks like the perfect spot for a bluff and or a weak player with a weak ace raising to win the pot now and or see where he's at, esp if thinks I was bluffing.

So I tank for a minute going over all of this, occasionally trying to get some physical reads off him, and I look at him, and I say, "You know this the perfect spot. It's just a perfect spot". I think I almost see him smile, a lightning flash ripple of a grin pans his face. His energy screams yes in agreement!

I think he's bluffing, and if he has an Ace, I can rep AK-AT and get him off weaker aces. If he has AK/AQ, then I hit the top of his range and it's on to the next hand.

So I announce all in and quickly put a stack of mixed greenies and blacks out there. He then goes into the tank for several minutes, telling me, "I don't think I can lay this down my friend", blah blah. Why this is going on, I'm thinking, well if he calls me, I'll just accept I made a bad move and flip my cards up and tell him K high, I'm ok with this loss and experience.

And before I know it, I see two cards face down between the board and the player, but much closer to the player, the dealer, (that ass lol) is just staring at the cards, like no one is sure if the guy just folded.

And after what seems like eternity the dealer mucks them.

I ask him if he wants to see the cards, he says sure, and I show him the bluff, the table goes crazy, he claims to have folded a Jack weak kicker, I think that's total BS, probably a weak Ace and him not wanting to commit for 300 more with it. But he could have had total air and just didn't want anyone to think he would bluff there/be an easy lay down and be bluffed. But he does mumble weak kicker a few more times throughout the next hand, so I'm thinking probably an ace weak kicker who could not call an all in.

Anyway, that hand is an example to me of how I'm willing to be flexible and dynamically take advantage of weakness in the moment. I could not have planned to 3! bluff the turn, it's just a puzzle move that made sense in that moment.

------

This has been my most profitable month ever in holdem, and I'll be writing a monthly report later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for following/reading.
Thanks for following.

GL OP! Not sure if your study/play ratio should be 1:1 might be a bit too much studying. When I first started (when I was bad) I used a 2:1 ratio and now I'm in between 3/4:1 play to study ratio playing full time.

As for that hand above, I don't like how you played it, seems very FPS and spewy, especially when so many 2/5 players are not going to fold a jack there or even decent aces. That's a good board to just cbet small (exploitively) and take it down He probably did fold a jack which only beats a bluff the way you played it.

Anyway, wish you the best of luck!

Crazy hand! Good play

OP, are you me but on the opposite coast? We have a similar thing going on except I've already put time in online 6 max.

Thanks for the comments mreps, atandrews & bbissick.

Well February was an interesting month, because of some interesting non-related poker experiences which I'll never talk about here Anyway, for the 3rd week of Feb, I had back pain all week, and basically did not play or study poker. Whenever I'm in pain, I go inward and just don't do anything. I can't imagine anyone in chronic pain accomplishing much, what a ****ty life hand.

I ended up attacking the problem and getting a chiropractor appointment which obliterated the low back pain. As soon as my adjustment was done, it felt like the compression in my lower back was removed. I followed up with a deep tissue massage and I'm good to go folks.

The fourth week was crazy, because it felt like a huge ball and chain was removed my ankle, so I ended up getting kind of manic and totally ****ing up sleep schedule. I'm in sleep schedule repair mode as of the begining of this month.

As to the poker, every time I did play I was in the zone, and my hand reading training is paying off huge dividends. It's much easier to put people on a range of hands.

I do need to get better at labeling my ****ty opponents so I can better exploit them; but progress not perfection.

One thing I found invaluable was playing online for 30 minutes before a live session, and if I don't do that, play $1/2 for a little while before jumping into $2/5. Unless I'm playing ever day, I do need warm up, and theory practice isn't enough for a warm up. So for everyone grinding up a roll out there and you're not playing everyday, I suggest starting with some low stake action for half an hour to an hour before jumping into your main stake.

I still got 68 hours of poker this month(BEAST MODE!!), even with being out for a week, and last year I was only clocking in 55 hours a month average. So that makes me happy. My goal by July is to be hitting 96 hours a month if I'm still working part-time, or 200 hours a month if I'm playing full time.

My study : play ratio this month came out to ~1 : 2, so 30% of my poker time was spent studying, i.e. for every two hours I played poker, I studied for one hour. I love that S : P ratio. I have some serious stuff to learn, and I would kill to become unconsciously competent at hand reading, so I need to get in those hours off the felt.

There's not really much more to say, I'm deep in the grind to being a pro... I guess I would like to mention how I keep going back and forth between wanting to quit my 9-5 and wanting to stick with it. My retail job is soooooooooooooo boring. It ****ing blows.. But the truth is I haven't paid my dues yet. I haven't put in the hours yet. The grind to being a pro is kind of like going to college... Even if you're studying a degree that interests you, there's a lot of stupid **** in that four year journey.

I can deal with it... Just one day at at time.

GL EVERYBODY!

in, gl

At my highest BR ever, with only 13.33% to my reach my goal for going pro, aaaaand Real Life beat. Turns out apartment is uninhabitable due to mold, chaos ensues and where I'm going to live is now a question mark. I feel like this is a recent life pattern. Back in December when I hit a huge poker milestone, the same thing happened. I then lost the most amount of money I've ever lost before, about twice my previous largest loss.

I was playing so bad because I was trying to grind while stressed to the max, in the middle of a move and super tired and only operating because of IV nicotine & caffeine.

Lesson learned. DO NOT PLAY POKER DURING HUGE TRANSITIONS. So I'm going to avoid playing poker for a while, hopefully I'll be back at it within a month.
It's unfortunate that this is happening so close to being a pro, but I recovered from what happened last time and the experience only made me a far better player, this time I'll avoid the BR damage and still become stronger because of it.

The only thing is, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself, but that's for me to figure out. GL everybody.

This transition is a lot easier than the last one, so I been at the poker room. I'm at an extended stay right now, which is like a motel but designed for long term use, like weeks to months instead of a few days; when I make the move to go pro, definitely going to take advantage of one of these digs until I figure out a decent place to rent.

Live hands:

(1) triple barrel bluff targeting top pair:

2/5 1k max BI
H 1k OTB - TAG image
V 1k SB - loose passive loosing reg whose logical but paranoid, therefore a bit mubsy at times. Lots of history, but he still puts me on too tight of range and too many value hands..
V2 800 MP - loose passive unk, seems like typical ****ty player. He's loose passive, ldo he's ****ty.

Hero looks at 55, after a few limpers, I raise to 30, V1 & V2 come along.

Flop (90):
Tc 3c 2s

Checks around to me. Ok, both Villains check? [x]. Hero has PPBT? [x]. Hero is IP? [x].

hero bets 45, v1 snaps v2 folds.

V's value range consists of :
sets= TT/33/22
OP= JJ
Tx= JT+ through T7.

V has some bluff catchers like
PPBT ( 99-44),
2 overs AK-AJ
A3 | A2

V has some draws.
Flush draws, combo draws and a SD with 54

This V would almost certainly xr two pair(32) here, and even XRing a set here is possible by this V, but I will give him credit for check calling vs me if he has a set.

Turn(180):

4d

YAYAYAYA, we earned a straight draw, thank you Turn. The 4 allows me to hit max aggression. BTW:
Aggression = Fold Equity + Hand Equity

As I already mentioned V1 folds way too much, and now we have a SD to back up our bluffs. So it's time to rep an over pair, set, or TP like AT/KT and get him off all draws and weak Tens.

V x, H bet 110.

V calmly pauses for a slow 3 seconds, and then says, "I call".

Ok, probably doesn't have a set as I'm pretty sure he would XR at it this point, where V is targeting my draws, TP & OP. He's even good enough to let go of naked draws at this point, so his continuation range consists of combo draws, Tx and JJ.

River(400):
7h

V x. Ok at this point, V is basically polarized to missed combo draws and Tx. I'm not certain about the showdown value of my pair of fives, and I believe I can get him off 90% of tens.

Hero bets 250 with the sole intention of getting most tens to fold. V tanks for like a minute and half, looking at me like I'm full of ****, several times angling between throwing chips in and folding. He then folds and says he thinks I got one on him... Probably did.

(2) Lol live.

BTN straddle ($10),
Sb calls 10, Hero looks at QQ, and opens to 65, one dude cold calls, BTN(unk) 3! to $250?? WTF?? Hero started the hand with $600... Folds around to me. In my eyes, all I see is an early position raise by hero and a late position 3! by Villain. I projected my own personality on this guy and put a relatively light range of JJ+ & AK on Mr. Unknown Late Position, as I will often 3! these hands late position vs EP open raiser.

I 4! all in and he tanks and shows KK face up and then folds... WTF?? BTW, how could I think $250 meant anything other than KK+? The sizing gives away a monster, most players are flatting with JJ and possibly AK for 65 in 2/5, his range at best is QQ+ & AK and worst KK+. It was like my first hand of the day, and is a classic case of not being warmed up, but I had some much needed luck there.


General tactics.

One thing I notice is that if we're going to bluff, it looks a lot stronger to double barrel then, bet check bet. Holy **** does the latter look weak and invite all manner of PPBT, middle & bottom pairs to call, and sometimes A high!!. WOW.

I had this insight a long time ago, that it just looks weak to bet, then check, then bet again, and this has thought has come up again as I've revved up my aggression in the recent months. So when I plan on attacking weakness, I'm 90% of the time going for the double barrel, and if I give up on the turn, I'm now RARELY going to fire on the river if I checked the turn.

Conversely, if we're looking to squeeze extra value out of weakness, a turn check can get us a lot of extra monies!! YAY.

---

Question for successful lags. This is for the LAGs who been using LAG against passives for some months: Do you feel people ever adjust and start calling you down more lightly?

So far in the few months I've been playing LAG, I would say no. From the one 5/T player I talk to, he says higher stakes players do adjust and call you down A LOT more lightly, but he says he hasn't noticed this in stakes below 5/T.

The only time I've been called down lightly in the last few months was actually when a 5/T player was playing the 2/5 game. Mother ****er called me with 55 after a minute tank on a QTxxx board after I 3 barrelled hard. I had KJ :|. He'd seen me bluff all session and figured I was doing it again.

It's like I'm in a race, I'm really far ahead, near the finish line, but i blow a tire, and then it's starts storming. If don't win this race, it's does suck, but there will be a race in the future where I have a chance to make it into the pro bracket, but I want to win THIS race so badly...

This is what today is like. It's Saturday, I'm stuck in an extended stay because my rental is unlivable, I'm surrounded by ****ty people, all I want to do is win and go pro, and if I have a legendary 2/5 session today, 4-5k in profit, then I will accomplish my goal.

It's so ****ing frustrating lol... to be so close... yet so far away, and in these chaotic conditions!!

Last night I was ****ing exhausted... I could barely keep my eyes open, but it's Friday night, I have to play right? I loaded up on every stimulate I could, short of adderall, and then I did my usual 50 minute warm up before hitting the felt. During the second half the warm up I basically passed out in front of my computer, and then decided last minute, fully dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, to not go and play. A Friday night of grinding when you're tired is a NOGO , like the alley after dark unless you want to wear a bullet like a LOGO. -K'naan

This exemplifies one of the unsung advantages of practice before play, you get to see how "with it" you are. I hope today I can give em hell. May the run good and play good be with us all.
-Abomb

Whats the bankroll at? Can you provide any winrate, hours, or graphs?

Nope, no numbers any more or ever. It's stupid to focus on them, and I see people who do get so anxious about them. Once you're good enough, you will know you're a winner and how much table equity you have given the game's dynamics and structure; then once in a while check your networth/br to decide what stakes/games to play.

some hands from yesterday's thursday session:

Calling 01

2/5 8 handed, Average stack is 1k
v1 $1k+ MAWG - Armenian guy, friendly, going to get his citizenship next week. Loose passive with occasional aggression. I picked up a read that he likes to donk his TP/MP type hands on the flop "to see where he's at".
h $1k+ YWG - TAG

v2 limps EP, folds around, H raises his button to $25 w Js8s, v1 calls from BB, v2 calls.

Flop $75
Qc 8d 4c

v1 x, v2 x, H b $30, v1 c, v2 f.

Turn $135
Qc 8c 4d Qd
v1 donks $45, v2 folds, H..

I'm like, this mother ****er is on a flush draw, and I know Qx isn't in v1's range because of his tell,
h 3! $150, v2 tank calls.

River $450
Qc 8c 4d Qd 7d

v1 donks $250, H??



Calling 02

2/5 8 handed, Average stack is 1k
v3 $1k+ MAWG - TP
v4 $600 MAWG - big guy likes to talk a lot, he's been reading everyone hands out loud before showdown, cocky but def level 2. sounds like a 5/5 PLO reg.

v3, v4 limps, Hero OTB w Ad 3h raises $35, 2 callers.

Flop $100
6c 4c 2d

x, x, H x??

I don't want the level 2 guy to xr me off of my equity, and my range is too wide OTB to bluff this board, at least without a deep plan.

Turn $100
6c 4c 2d 7c

x, x, x.

River $100
6c 4c 2d 7c 6d

x, v3 b $25, H calls, v4 xr $125!?, v3 f, H??

Dude is pretty much repping monsters here,

What does a losing MAWG 3! turn range look like? 01

v1 1k+ older MAWG - LP
v2 1k+ younger MAWG - LP

v1 EP opens to $25, several callers

4 players to the Flop $100
Kh 6h 6c

v1 bets out $45, v2 calls, v3 calls, v4 folds.

Turn $175
Kh 6h 6c Td

v1 bets out $125, v2 raises to $350, v3 folds, v1 3! AI 1K+, v2 tank calls.

What is v1's range here? What might v2 have?

[QUOTE=letzplayHU;49750240]
River $450
Qc 8c 4d Qd 7d

v1 donks $250, H??



Your pot odds are wrong. It should be bet/(bet+pot). $250/($250+700) = .2631

Good catch mreps, 4:00 am journaling for the win.

"So I gave my 2 weeks 2 week ago, and today i'm a pro. I feel I crush the games so hard + my BR is big enough is that it's ok to go pro. "
...

So, we project images to people all the time... Our brand. I need to think to myself, what image do I want to project? A 2/5 pro in one swift motion named and pointed out all the other grinders in the room. These grinders didn't look extraordinary or blinged up, and this person seem especially ordinary; clean cut and quiet. I realize I've been dressing like I want to attract women, multiple accessories and extravagant clothes. Which, isn't bad... but I think I would rather be more indistinct, much less bling, more plain clothes. The brand I will be crafting for myself in the poker room is that of a student, which is now a true story.

Yes I will say I make money playing poker if asked, but that my main focus is that of a student.

What brand do you project in the poker room?

Don't really have too many interesting hands off the top of my head. A recent hand where I got a weak passive to get off of top pair was xr a suited flop with gutter+ plan of repping the the completed flush if called, he tank called, flush came, and I donk pot, and he tank folded. It's fun to get opponents of top pairs with that line.

I did make a ******ed math error, and shoved about 2x pot on turn and got called in live.
So I limp $5 MP with 86dd, some dude makes it $20dd late, I knew it would be a large multi-way pot, comes back, I call, we end having six go to the flop, and I'm MP with about $1500.

$120
flop is JT7dd

sb donks 35, 2 call, I raise to $200 something, this one kid to my left like demands in a friendly but very firm way I give him an exact number on the raise. I wasn't 100% sure. I just grabbed an intimidating number and decided to rep JT or better. So I kept silent. Then after a while he says he calls.. folds around. So now the pot is like 700ish. I have about $1300 behind. The the turn comes a 4d.

I don't remember exactly what happened in my mind, other then I believe I tried to keep my calm and I knew I was going to bet. So at least I had the trying to figure what action to do computed. I know my opponent had a ****ing monster, he had the JT+. So I went to grab like the same bet, about $200 something, maybe $250, why I was trying to compute the actual number, I just want to appear weak physically, I then did some weird sloppy math, and ended up at:= it's all going in no matter what, so I said ok and I said all in and shoved almost 2x pot.

Then it got crazy because he didn't snap fold.

He made a few comments about how the hand got here, he then wanted an exact chip count for the "damage" he said. We came out to about $1300. He made some more comments about how the hand had got here, and then said, I call, and threw a chip in the pot, I turned up the flush and he showed top set.

Interesting hand. Work on your concentration if you have trouble focusing. When your playing live, nothing is worse when your emotions(fear, excitement) cause you to lose awareness of the hand being played(pot size, action, subtle tells, ect.

I will be taking the leap soon. Good luck at the tables.

I actually liked this thread and all the posts. Try adding some pictures or something. Maybe will get more comments and replies on hands if that's what you are looking for.




Fwiw I read all hands b4 u considered urself pro and imagine most pros would not of played that optimally. P solid everywhere. Like it.



Also liking how u send ppl to the showers w that Kto bluff. Was really good if images are right.

For me concentration issues are mainly physical, Under the smiles and laughs at live poker, I'm an emotionless killing machine, with a designation of T-800, Cyberdyne Systems Model 101.

What do you mean you're going to take the leap soon?

Thanks for checking the thread out Yenomez and the compliment. I def want people to read, and find other members of my tribe out there. My social skills suck, so I'll probably blunder a bunch, but a skill is a skill, therefore you can get better at it.

---
As of now, it's been been 5 days of being a pro... loL!!! HAHAHAH. what a silly statement, but I'm proud; and I haven't played a single live game. Go pro, aaaaannnnnnnnd.... stop playing poker.

I actually started a juice fast, called the master cleanser, it's just water, fresh squeezed lemons, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. I've done it correctly twice before, and the last time I did the fast which was 3 years ago, I went for 45 days. I lost and kept off about 35lbs, and I never felt better; it was one of the best and highest EV decisions I've ever made in my life.

Before the naysayers say it's unhealthy, there has never been a double blind placebo showing that fasts between several days and several months at sub 1200 calorie levels is harmful OR beneficial; so right away, there's no hard science on it, we're stuck with anecdotal evidence.

But ancient to modern history is filled to the brim with research, stories, and anecdotes on fasting, and the consensus is fasting is the nuts.

So I know for me, with my experience, this fast will help get my head on straight and get my body ready for the pro journey.

I'm also hoping it will abolish my long term tolerance to caffeine. I had about 1 and a 1/2 years of amazing effects from coffee. I would have a 16 oz cup and for whatever reason, it was almost like taking adderall; lots of focus and motivation. Then after a particularly bad month at retail, i.e. black friday(late Nov thru Dec), I think I broke my brain, because caffeine stopped working.

I went on a 15 day break from coffee, but after a few days my tolerance was back to it's highest point again... **** ME. I love taking something, like coffee, knowing it's very safe, and then being jacked and motivated. It's one of my favorite feelings on this earth.

So I'm going to go 40 days without caffeine, concurrently with the fast, and HOPEFULLY that will abolish the long term tolerance. If that doesn't work, then I'll look to taking 3 months, etc.. I want coffee's effects back.

So it's all about health right now. I'm not sure when I'll get back to the felt, maybe next week my energy levels will be stable enough to play..

***

also being your own boss is the best thing in the world for me. I already 10^6% love the freedom, I'm spending all day walking and researching health stuff, like the ketogenic diet; I'm going to go keto after this diet and see how it helps me play.

Poker is now my primary source of income.

Sup folks. Been a slow few weeks as I'm finishing up a juice fast. I was playing 1/2 table stakes last night and it was crazy. I saw a whale clean up for about 8 grand in profit. He curbed stomp four different players, felting 2 of them for 2 grand each and continued crushing.

He called a $500 bet with a GS on the river, with like 4 : 1 odds and another $500 effective IO behind. He was calling out for a 4 and and it came! A bunch of hands likes that. I've never seen anyone dominate so much at relatively low stake game. 8+ grand in profit for him. If I could have had a run on him it would have been beautiful.

Just crazy ****, and it should remind all pros why they need BRM. Even though this guy is ultra whaleman, if I bought in for 8k, and he coolered me with these crazy calls, I could only handle a few reloads before I'm at the welfare line and applying for a job at mc donalds. Argh, the opportunity cost friends. The opportunity cost.. If I had the bank roll, my income would be like 100x.

Can you imagine the pros who are rolled for 25/50, 50/100 no limit, and they get these whales who don't give a **** about money? They probably have 100k days sometimes...

Same thing with amazon. Like half a year ago I was like, I should invest 50% my roll, it's obviously going to blow up. Boom it did, I would have made bank, but I couldn't, because it was too risky to for my bank roll.

It sucks not being rich.

Once I start eating again I should be able to post regularly, gl everybody.

Yesterday was interesting. In daytona FL, they had phil helmuth, bill perkins, byron kaverman and few other top pros all playing 200/400 NL, with 100k min BI. They had a private 5 star chef come in and set up a buffet and the staff roped them off from the rest of the room. Even the waitresses got out of their normal teasing black "i'm a professional waitress" clothes, and upped the class factor quite a bit. It was kind of distracting seeing these leggy waitresses go the extra mile.

There was also two tens there, I'm not sure which pros they were with, but one of the girls had a louis vuitton back pack and had assets to match.

That wasn't what was really interesting though, to me it's looking at these supposed pro/grinder 2/5 players and just realizing how small 99% of their games are. They leak worse than the levees in New Orleans. Granted, they are making money hand over first against the 2/5 population, but this shouldn't give anyone the idea that poker is an easy living, but only that the skill set that turns someone into a 2/5 crusher isn't impossible to attain unless you're the 1% for intelligence/game acumen.

One of the regs commented how he used to play with Byron in 2/5 just a few years ago... WTF?? That Byron binked a few big tournies and now he's playing in 100k cash games?? That this is all attainable as an American can get the skill set needed to be the best in the world? I thought you had to leave the country to achieve such high levels of success in poker. Am I wrong? You don't have to leave america to reach the highest heights?