Like many others here on 2+2 I've decided to convert to live poker.

It was a move which I always had in the back of my mind whilst I was grinding online for the past year. All in all my results were relatively mediocre, yes I made just enough to survive but I never really felt I reached my full potential, this was mainly due to a fair amount of procrastination and general laziness. With my motivation at the middle of September low and the state of the games online looking worse and worse I decided to play some live cash games to see how they were.

What followed was me going on a big heater and winning just about £4k in 1/1 and 1/2 games at Aspers in the space of two weeks. Whilst there is definitely cognitive bias towards game quality due to results I do feel that the games are definitely beatable for a reasonable win rate. I feel that with some solid studying on both the theoretical and mental side I could do very well in this environment.

Continuing on with the proposed plan of solid studying I feel a good thing to do would be to write a thread, I would be able to get feedback on some hands as well as being able to openly journal my thoughts. Whilst in some ways I'm a pretty introverted and private person I've had no issue sharing my thoughts towards life (in and out of poker) in past threads.

I can image the majority of this thread will be weighted towards my open thoughts on how I'm finding things but I will post a hand or two every so often with a round up of results at the end of each month. I really want to keep this thread away from super short term swings, I may reference them when referring to my mental state etc but I want to stay away from the...

+£304 5 Hours

I follow a lot of threads with this format and it's not that I want to be different or think it's a bad form of documentation I just think for myself there's more important things I should be reflecting on, yes it dampens the rail aspect of the thread a bit but my motivation for this isn't to get the most readers or hits or w/e.

So now for a bit more about myself, I've just started my second year of an engineering degree in London. The main priority for this year above anything else is to ensure I do well in my degree, whilst I have no immediate plans career wise getting a 2:1 or up has to be the gto line in regards to back up plans etc etc.

The other plans are to develop a solid general life routine and have life balance. This will generally involve me running twice a week and continuing to learn the piano alongside poker and university and friends etc. I've also been reading a fair amount of Stoic Philosophy which I feel has helped my general mentality over the past month and a bit.

In line with that I thought I would list some things I am grateful for:

1) That I'm able to play poker as a job

"Yeah but you're at uni so it doesn't really count"

Whilst yes I'm at uni, aside from a tuition loan and small maintenance loan I'm supporting myself entirely (both loans I'm paying for in LR but yeah), if I don't make any money in poker this year, I'm broke and everything is gg. For me it is certainly a job and something that I'm taking very seriously.

2) I'm grateful that I started out on a big heater.

Whilst I'm backed currently the profits I've made so far have ensured that I don't need to worry about rent and living costs for a while, this has definitely helped me mentally as I'm sure trying to grind poker whilst being effectively broke is extremely difficult.

3) That I have a solid support network of friends/family around me.

If there's one thing I've realized more and more of over the past year it's that life is just difficult for pretty much everyone. I'm grateful that I can have people to rely on emotionally to help me both in good and bad times.

I'll list some more in the future but I thought I'd end this initial post with some things that I need to focus on over the coming weeks.

I need to take accountability for my actions, in live poker you see weird **** all the time, it's easy to pass the blame and have entitlement issues even though it solves nothing. The only thing I can control is my own actions and more of my proactive thought has to be directed towards my own actions instead of the "lol this guy" thoughts, yes it's important to take the actions of others into account but waste ev by thinking about others in an overly negative way.

I need to work on my overall attitude when playing, I think this is underestimated by many regs, no one wants to play with the people wearing headphones and in a hoodie asking you to always show your cards, people aren't going to show you their hands and tell you to (legit) fold. As a result I rarely want to be on my phone and never listen to music unless some absolute bull**** is unfolding.

In line with the above I need to give less of a **** about what other people are saying, I still let stuff get to me and I need to just chill out and let it blow over me, I got berated for like 5-10 minutes for calling a 3 bet with AT and it got to me and I said "how about you question your own play before berating others" -< after he spew dumped £300 to me. I know deep down I should be the bigger person but I let some moron get to me and that doesn't help the state of the games either.

I also need to be careful about how much I talk about at the table, another thing which I think is underrated is listening to what is said around you at the table (which is why listening to music is generally a punt imo). This is kind of a weird one, some of the regs know me and make passing comments, some of the whales say I'm good, quite a few people ask me if I play online and for now I've been relatively honest and open but maybe I'm just giving too much away. I've never been a fan of outright bull****ting people but yeah I just don't know what the gto line is here at all. My underlying thoughts are that even if people know you're good if you're nice and respectful they'll still want to play with you.

Anyway I'll cut this all short to not make this stupidly long but expect some HHs, mental game posts and a September monthly round up (even though I've only been playing for 2 weeks) in the coming days.

So we're 30 days in since I decided to put my time into playing and studying live and things have gone well so far.

What I've been most suprised by is the quality of the games, from the get go I put a lot of effort into table selecting. Even though I've only played a handful of hours I see many regs making a lot of mistakes even outside of poker theory.

I was playing in the downstairs bit of Hippo one night on a table with two loaded whales, there were seats available to transfer for well over an hour but the regs on the table directly next to us were too busy talking about Flopzilla and 5/10 BRM to realise what was going on.

I'm also taking an active effort to not just put headphones and a hoodie on, I think just being open to the odd conversation and sharing the odd smile is super plus ev not only from a catering to fish/whales standpoint and picking up on useful information but also from a personal enjoyment standpoint.

One of the things I love about live is the variety of people that you're able to talk to. I've heard some super interesting stories and insights towards things which has been super plus ev for me.

One of the things I'm currently working a lot on is being financially indifferent based on short term results, I think many people (including myself) fall into the trap of overspending on food/luxury goods based on heaters. I want to get to a stage where my expenses are still the same whether I'm on a heater or downswing.

I've definitely improved at dealing with live swin-

"But you're on a heater what do you know about live variance"

Well there's been many sessions where I've been in for a decent amount as well as down a lot. I think I've been decent at knowing when to leave regardless of whether I'm up or down as well as getting over short term variance. I was at the Hippo the other day and lost some £600 pot vs a whale straight vs fd all in on turn and I feel I dealt with it well, she apologised and I said it was no big deal and lent her my power bank, I wasn't even internally tilted either which I think is decent compared to how a lot of regs react when they lose (I've seen some seriously lol ****, granted they may be running super bad but some of it snap (OOL).

Here's one of my biggest pots since we began this journey...


EP Asian reg opens 10

Euro reg calls

I make it 62 in SB with KcKd since all 700+ deep

Ep folds, euro reg calls

AQ4hhs

I x he bets 80 I call

Turn 9s

xx

River 5x

I x

He jams 550

---

Super uncommon spot to be in for a London 1/2 game, imo a lot of it comes down to if some regs are even capable of bluffing here, in theory it's a decent spot since I'm extremely capped when I x river and I feel most of the population except crackhead whales would just be sigh folding. I also felt this is actually a spot where even though I'm capped the population don't jam this sizing with enough value, in theory we could see A5 (even AQ) here but I don't actually think we ever do in reality. Not to mention I don't think the population protects their x'ing range enough on turns on double FD boards. Based on this reg in particular and me making the assumptions above I decided to call, we are met with a "you win" and a muck.

I'm off to play the 1k at Aspers tonight, I've sold most of myself but I feel the tournament is pretty decent value based on the fact sat winners have to play and the general population in them seemed bad, whilst they represent a relatively small part of the playing population I still think it's reasonable to fire and at the very least an experience.

Hey Lab, I know you've contributed in my thread on occasions so wanted to pop in and say gl and feel free to pm me any live poker related questions.

Interesting points in regards to table interaction etc and funnily enough I just wrote a post highlighting exactly the same thing.

I've played live poker for a long time and it still amazes me that a lot of players just shut themselves off and put headphones on etc and it's very cancerous to the games. People like people, live poker in some ways is a little bit like sales and the buyer (fish) will return to your business if they like you.

I do this little strategy. I put my phone on a table (like the ones they serve food on) behind me, rather than on the side of the poker table or in my pocket. I would say this system has cut my phone usage by about 75%. It's amazing the profits you'll see when paying attention to every little nuance at the table.

For sure, remember being a full time player is that you're a business and the recs are your customers. Don't have to think everything in terms of GTO, sometimes making idle chat with the players around you and generally giving off a friendly disposition is very EV+ for everyone involves. You'll absolutely be meeting a lot of folk, some interesting, some annoying and some may even inspire you in some ways. We're there to play the game, there to win, but we're also should be there to enjoy ourselves. GL boss

So just over a month has passed since the last update so I think it's time for an update on how things are going.

I had a very good October and a very good start to November. However, I still feel I have so much to work on. My current attitude towards poker is very different to how am currently treating other things (and how I treated poker in the past). I think part and parcel of saying "**** it I want to pursue poker" has generally made me take way more accountability for my actions towards poker and to not take anything for granted. As a result I feel I'm putting a lot more work into my game than most live newcomers and 1/2 regs would be doing with my recent results.

Whilst I can't really have many complaints, there have been some lows, often occasions where weeks float by and I question what the **** am I even doing playing this game. This isn't even brought on by small bouts of negative results I think it's just the nature of doing something like poker when you're surrounded in an environment where most people your age aren't.

That aside, for the most part I find myself feeling really passionate about poker and wanting to improve. For most of my life I feel I've wasted many an opportunity by just not caring enough, but the fear of failing in poker and having to go to my parents with my tail between my legs and saying I need help is keeping me (somewhat) on course for now.

On the flip side I'm finding it incredibly difficult to balance poker with other parts of my life, I've found myself not taking university seriously enough as well as occasionally letting others down and bailing on certain events. Of course alarm bells can (and might) be going off saying I need help and I need to balance things more but for me that's far easier said then done. I was the teenager who spent the whole summer in his room playing MMOs and COD, this isn't a "this is who I am I can't change" plea it's just what I've become comfortable with. I'm surrounded by many who say I need to "take days off", "make the most of uni", "see friends" etc. I'm not snubbing this information but I would argue that the amount of this "social time" is different for every individual, I've always been fairly introverted and I don't think the cons of spending one's time in a casino/playing online/in a room is as bad as it is for others.

Continuing with this idea of balance/structure I'm constantly in this limbo of how much should I even strucure my life, does everything need to be nailed down to a tee, should it even be etc. One of the supposed positives about poker is that you're your own boss, you pick your own hours etc. Of course this can lead to complacency and decline in performance if you don't turn up at all. Another thing about poker is that it's hard to have a set schedule, sometimes you're in a good game and you're going to be there longer than you initially planned, sleeping schedules get shifted, meal schedules too.

Should I even be spending my time trying to working out the game tree of a gto life, for a start we're all different so what's gto for one person might not be for another. Maybe I should just live in the moment and do what makes me happy, maybe I shouldn't delve deep into my thoughts, I know not trying to iternally critique every immediate flaw I see in someone has generally been good for my wellbeing so maybe I shouldn't beat myself as much over mistakes and just try and learn from my mistakes and move on quickly instead of trying to over analyse.

In regards to more poker-orientated thoughts I've had some pretty cool experiences playing live so far, I've met some interesting people, seen and heard some interesting stuff and made some good friends. The environment in a poker room between the regular players (not just referring to "regs" in the ability sense) is one I can imagine in other workplace environments, the occasional joking, the gossip, the general level of "how's it going" conversation, getting to know the dealers/floor better. I actually really enjoy it. However my hours have dropped somewhat since started in mid-september. I'm playing a fair bit more online (zoom) just to work on my game a lot. By the summer I'd like my game vs regs to be in a much better place then it is now and I feel grinding out some hands online is going to do a lot more for my game vs the general population than just sitting at a live table would. I made a prop bet with a friend for zoom online finishing on the 1st December and the loser is forfeiting some money and has to wear a "hashtag outfit" (look it up) to the Aspers Cash Race. I'll post the results once it's all done (I'm fine posting online results, just not live).

I guess I'll finish up quickly with talking about posting live hands etc. I might still post some lol one's but generally the live poker community in London (especially at Aspers) where I play is close nit and I just want to refrain from identifying people or posting hands in a certain way or posting my thoughts about hands. Also, (quick shoutout to my backers who are awesome) but I feel I don't need to post hands publically when their insight is all I feel I need for now. I'll probably also dodge the online hands because whilst this thread is relatively dormant for now, I don't want to allow the PGC micro zoom brigade to come out of the woodwork and makes this thread toxic.

Any questions feel free to fire away, that's it for now.

So with the next few days being preoccupied with family time I thought this would be a decent time to do a year-end review of how things have been going since I started playing live in Mid-September. Here are the results with 99% of the volume being at 1/2 with around 550 hours of grinding.



Of course I've ran relatively well over the sample however I would argue that even during the initial upswing (0-8k) I did considerably more work on my game than a lot of other regulars would have during an upswing. After hearing so many stories of people going broke and regulars stagnating I really don't take any positive results for granted.

I think a big leak of bad live regulars is how they deal with negative/break even stretches. The amount of bitching I heard both on and off the table throughout my sessions by regs about how their month is going was crazy. What was also evident was how much a lot of regs game changed when they were running bad/card dead etc. I think something I dealt well with was dealing with break even stretches, for a 3-4 week period I pretty much made nothing but I wasn't letting it effect my game or complaining to others, I just kept on trying to play the best I could and reminded myself that there's a lot of variance in live.

"Try running bad for 3 months then come back and post this".

Granted I haven't run that bad but my remarks above were just observations of regulars running bad for even a matter of days and their game (and attitude) changing substantially.

All that to the side I still have a lot to work on myself, I still feel I have a lot of leaks both theory wise and on the table. Before I continue just a quick shoutout to Jason and Smit who helped me so much with my game, without them I'd just be a bad reg complaining about how bad I run etc. Their clarity and honesty in regards to explaining poker theory and how to deal with mental set backs has been second to none. I wish you both the best in LA (and on your other travels!).

In regards to my on the table game I need to be doing a lot more to bring conversation and action when a whale is playing. I think a lot of regs are so rediculously bad at this and it's killing the games so quickly they have no idea. I myself have fallen into this category at times so I don't want to make this entire post seem like I'm talking down to everyone. Generally I think regulars talk about the wrong kind of things whilst at the table, too much theory, too much "online", too much "so I played this hand yesterday I open in" zzzz. You don't even need to suck the whale off you just need to be friendly, encourage some action and act like you're having a good time. The Bushell's are a good example of this from what I've seen.

Anyway onto goals for 2018:

Focus more on uni. Long story short I need a 2:1 at the very minimum so time to get my **** together and put in the hours.

Play more online. Semi on the fence about it but I think it's good for one's game. I probably wont be ramping up the volume too much but by summer maybe I have a decent sample at 25z/50z and we can see how things go.

Be financially nitty, I actually think I've been quite good at this, my expenses are generally very low and I didn't/haven't made any outlandish purchases when on heaters. I have a goal of being even more financially imbalanced than I am now. That being said I still want to have experiences but I want these in the form of travelling and maybe occasionally eating good instead of buying an expensive jumper or pair or trainers for the lols.

Be more active, whilst I do (since recently) play some weekly donk-a-side thing with some players and dealers from Aspers I want to exercise more and cook more meals. I do have the time so no excuses.

Play more in Central. Large majority of volume has been at Aspers because I leave in East London and I'm too lazy to go to Central but games are on average better so time to make the jump.

Post more on this thread(?). I think journalling is super underrated and whilst I've made some one off posts on this thread I'm thinking of potentially doing it more regularly, ofc no bs (+306 4 hours) but more about my thoughts. I know I'm always interested to hear how regs are thinking and feeling and I think sharing my own experiences is good for me and for others.

Take a day off a week from poker. I've been quite committed since starting but I think taking a day off from live is super useful, especially for me since I have uni commitments but also just to get ones head out of a casino for 24 hours is underrated.

Also I plan to play no tournaments outside of cash races for 2018. I think my edge isn't big enough in them, they're super high variance and mentally difficult to deal with (yes even if you win one).

I think that's it for now, any questions let me know!

My biggest advice for live poker coming from online can be broken down into two things.
1. Get experience and learn by playing
2. Value oriented strategy until high stakes

Yeah agree with the above.

Attempting to put in more hours than usual before uni starts back up in a couple of weeks. I'll probably start posting some more of the lol hands I play and even some strat, browsing through Meale's thread it seems like some reasonable conversation is occuring which I originally thought was non-existent on 2+2.

Yeah still on the fence about tournaments in 2018, should I really play the Hippo 1k, is it actually that good value etc etc

Ok so couple of lol hands which I think are thread worthy. Will likely post a lot more hands in 2018 so that's a thing.

When he showed on river I couldn't believe it...

1/3

UTG reg opens 12 UTG 1 fish calls UTG 2 who I think is fish(main villain) 3 bets to 45, came to the table 30 mins ago and I've seen nothing crazy, around 1000 deep with all 3 I elect to cold call KQdd on the BTN, not sure if 4betting is significantly better here but utg reg wasn't super aggro so still able to realize a lot of equity deep in this spot.

Reg and fish both call and we go four way to.

(184) AdQs8d

Checks to UTG 2 who bets 135, I call and rest fold.

(453) 6d he snap x and I bet 135, he calls after a while.

(713) 6c he donk jams 350 all in and I make a very big explo fold, don't think population is ever bluffing here, blockers init but when they don't bluff it doesn't matter and I get shownnnn



"You're the only one in the room I do it too".......... Even though I didn't know who he was turns out he's a Hippo dealer who's seen me play... Had to deal with the whales asking how I could fold for a while after which is always fun.

---

The game got upped to 2/5 and I had an interesting spot with a tight reg.

Reg comes back from cig and posts UTG1, tight reg opens 20 in HJ and I 3b CO with JJ to 65, we're 2k deep and yes 3b should be bigger ikik... he tank calls and we see

(138) AT3rnbw he checks and I check back, can opt for small sizing here too in 3b pots which I like but check back is also fine.

(138) 5x completing the rainbow he checks and I check back again with plans to v bet rivers if he checks.

(138) Kx he bets 135, I raise to 450 with thoughts that it is nearly impossible for him to think I am bluffing in this spot and he will fold entire range (maybe he plays QJ on flop and turn like this but the sets and Ax are folding and we block QJ). Even though I rep super thing v range I think he will never put us on bluffs.

After 3 minutes of my insides dying

"You have AK Tom?"
"Clock"

And he tank folds

lol, 'have you got AK Tom?'. yeah m9 always taking this line with AK

definitely agree that you rep very thin, but he is forced into folding most hands, nh!

Only just seen this thread, so i'm subbing

nice thread and results so far! Looking forward to following your progress in 2018.

Thanks guys!

Already had some very big hands so thought I might share some with you, mixture of me thin v betting whales and getting rekt, bluffing and everything else in between.

1/2

Straddle to 5 and I open KQs UTG to 20, reg calls UTG 2 and reg calls SB. 500+ with sb and 1k+ with utg2

(67) JT7rnbw sb checks, I check and UTG 2 bets 50 we both call.

(217) Qfd it checks through

(217) 5x river and SB reg bets 110, due to me being the only one who has AK in this spot I turn my hand into a bluff and raise 450,

^also due to turn checking through I feel utg 2 reg wont have many sigh call 98s (even though I think heroing with hands that block AK here is much better, but it's also live and people can't fold straights).

UTG 2 folds quickly and SB quickly folds a set of tens. Says he's folding everything to me here.

----

1/2 Straddle 4

Reg opens 12 in EP and all I call KJcc on BTN, straddle calls.

(39) J66rnbw Reg bets 20 I call

(79) 6x Reg bets 40 I call

(159) 9x Reg bets 114 and I tank call.

I actually think I can definitely explo fold here vs nits, some people are so rarely bluffing as a triple here I don't think it's the worst. Vs this reg who I know likes battling with me and the fact we have KJ and block KK etc we're pretty high up and have to flick it in.

He shows KQo and we're good.

----

1/2 Straddle 5

Aggro player (same person in 95o hand in a previous post) makes it 15 UTG, I call the HJ with 98cc which I don't like, especially with aggro reg to my direct left, why I flat instead of 3b is UTG is defending 100% and we get in spots where we can easily be dominated, that being said if we three bet often we have initiative and position so I do prefer a 3-bet.

As predicted reg 3bets to 75 in the CO (1k eff with him). Straddle and UTG fold and we have an easy defend.

(173) Jc8s2d

I check he bets 70 and I call

(313) Qs I check and he tank checks back

(313) River is a brick five and I just don't think I have enough sdv here especially when a lot of his gutshots are going to be betting turn (AK AT etc). I think it's very hard for me to have bluffs here in general so I bet 300 and he folds TT (again says he thinks I'm never bluffing here).

"Oi how about you show us a hand where you lose"

5 Handed at the Vic, 1/3/6.

2k deep with both main villains

I open the CO to 25 with JThh the SB calls and big whale means to raise to 105 but only put one chip in so stands as a call.

(81) K97ddc Checks to me and I check back

(81) Qc Turn *BINK* Whale bets 55 I make it 255 and he calls quickly.

(591) Td he checks and based on me seeing him having a donking range in v similar spots with flushes I think we have to value bet here and let him sigh call with all his sets and two pair.

I bet 300 he snaps I table and he stares at my cards and rolls over AJcc

---

In the same game which is slowly breaking we're 4 handed.

1/3/6

First to act I open the BTN with a6o to 20, the bb and straddle both call, bb is a fish and straddle is fish reg.

(61) A66fd checks to me and I bet 25, seen both villains pick on size downs and have high xr frequencies and on top of that I don't mind keeping ranges a bit wider when we lock down the board so much. The bb makes it 65 straddle folds I with this particular hand I think call is still reasonable. If we have a hand like AA or even K6s I think these are slightly better 3bets due to unblocking more.

(191) 8 which makes it 3 flush and he checks, expect villain to be pretty capped now, yes he might x some 6x but generally I think fish are still always betting. I make it 100 and he calls quite quickly.

(391) 9x river he checks and I bet 525. He's been quite stationy and has to leave soon so I don't hate the size up here. I do something I never normally do, normally I look straight at the felt, eyes closed etc but I see him look at me out of the corner of his eye, I make a big gulp and a one pound chip gets thrown in immediately. I table and he says he has AK, so yes, the game was good.

I think I'll leave at that for hands wise for now, plan is to generally put more hours in at the Vic and just battle more. I think I will definitely start playing more online too, the more I play in reg heavy games the more I realise how some are very very solid and I will not be one of the best at the table in a 2/5 reg heavy line up at Vic/Hippo. The goal is to just keep working super hard on my game and feel more and more comfortable playing higher.

what does your betting range look like here? How much of your decision to bet/check is a function of playing deep?

Nice hhs, looks like some fun 1/2 games with the straddles and stack depth.

good luck

So with the idea of playing more zoom in 2018 I was doing just that and this happened. 1/33k chance. 5k USD

Thanks for the gl's earlier btw, will do a longer update explaining my thoughts (or lack of) in the KQ hand later.

Boom! Would say GL for 2018 but looks like you've already had it

Lmfao did you seriously bink the $5k

sub'd and gl! hh's are def the most enjoyable part of pg&c's if you are able to continue posting them

& grats on 5k lolol

Read the OP and skipped to the end. I really liked your spins pgc, were in similar positions and you seem to have a really good outlook on things imo.

Sick bink haha, might have to start my own thread and hope for some pgc run good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So I've actually been thinking about this for a while and realised I pretty much had no idea what is best in this spot or what my betting range looks like exactly. Generally on this board I feel we'll have a decent range advantage vs both due to us having the sets and 98s at higher freq's. Maybe as a result we should end up betting flop a fair bit with these hands and balance with hands like AK bdfd and KQo/s. In regards to being deep I'm not fully sure if we should have any significant changes especially since the pot is straddled so we are far less deep compared to if I opened 10.

Feedback about the hand is actually really appreciated because hands in the air I don't know what to do.

Thanks

Very hard to complain about much now

That would be a yes. I now consider myself nearly as lucky as you

I'll post some more

and ty

Thanks for continuing to follow my threads I appreciate the kind words.

PGC run good is definitely underrated!

---

So it's been nearly a day since I won 5k out of the blue and I've had some thoughts about what's best for me. Due to me having even more months of living costs covered I think this is a good time to start playing a lot more online and really work on my game for the next 2-3-4 months. When I started playing live the somewhat sad reality was that I didn't really have this luxury. I didn't have much net worth and I spent Sept->Dec grinding my absolute balls off on and off the live table and managed to be a life nit and save a decent amount of money.

Whilst I think I am one of the top regulars at Aspers (what an achievement ikik), I feel that when I battle in the Vic at 1/3 and some Hippo 1/2 Deep vs good solid regulars I'm out of my depth (and for good reason, a lot of them are solid winners at 200z and I'm here clicking buttons). Whilst I could just sit at Aspers 1/2 every day and play low variance poker, you know never bluff 95% of the population, exploit the bad regs overfolding etc. I ask myself....

"Tom, do you have any heart?"

The answer is yes, I think it's important to have goals always set and the one I've decided to set is 100z by Summer (August at the latest). Don't worry I will still be playing a lot of Live on Friday/Weekends but I will take advantage of me playing more online and have a normal sleep schedule, this will help me focus on university a lot better (not having to do everything post lecture) and I think being nocturnal for months on end does take its toll.

"What does this mean for the thread?"

Nothing really will change, just a mix of online and live HHs with some more regular online updates (perhaps monthly) due to me not having to protect certains things that would be favourable to protect in a close nit community live setting.

Also I'm looking for any help I can get from good players with my online game, really looking to work hard over the next few months and make it to 100z.

Anyway some hhs to end the post. Might as well start with an online one where I do my plums.

Seems like one of the best combo's to do this with from me, he tank called tho :/

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 107.4 BB (VPIP: 20.83, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 25)
SB: 145.4 BB (VPIP: -, PFR: -, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
BB: 464.24 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 16.67, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 7)
UTG: 41 BB
Hero (MP): 100 BB
CO: 155.52 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 13.33, 3Bet Preflop: 11.11, Hands: 15)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has K Q

fold, Hero raises to 2.48 BB, CO raises to 7.72 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 20 BB, CO calls 12.28 BB

Flop: (41.4 BB, 2 players) 4 3 5
Hero bets 15 BB, CO calls 15 BB

Turn: (71.4 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero bets 65 BB and is all-in, CO calls 65 BB

River: (201.4 BB, 2 players) 9
Players agreed to run it twice.

River #2: (201.4 BB, 2 players) 9

Hero shows K Q (High Card, King)
Board #1 (Pre 32%, Flop 14%, Turn 7%)
(High Card, King)
Board #2 (Pre 32%, Flop 15%, Turn 7%)

CO shows Q Q (One Pair, Queens)
Board #1 (Pre 68%, Flop 86%, Turn 93%)
(One Pair, Queens)
Board #2 (Pre 68%, Flop 85%, Turn 93%)

CO wins 96.72 BB
CO wins 96.68 BB

---

I sit at an Aspers 2/5 for about 10 minutes until I realise it's one of the worst games I've ever seen in my life. Good regs talking about how they've just been playing zoom for the past few months was enough to deter me from staying any longer.

Steve-something chews gum, hoodie, earphones, sigh why is this guy at Aspers opens 15 on CO into the only soft seats in the room. BTN and SB are actually fish.

I defend bb 87 (think this is a fold especially vs good reg, hand looked too nice tho )

(32) 852

I check/call 20

(72) 2

I check he bets 45 I call

(162) 6

I check and pretty much know I'm snapping river here, unblock the missed fds, block some 97 which he can def open CO with into soft players.

He bets 140 and I take like 15 secs but know I'm calling. I call he shows 99 nhnh.

---

1/2 Deep Hippo

Straddle 5

We open LJ with 67 folds to tight passive whale on BTN who 3 bets to 65. 950eff here we have any easy defend imo and seee.....

(138) Q96

I check he bets 75, raising probs fine but I call vs whale.

(288) 5

I check he bets 191, I think a x/j here kinda suicide. With this kind of whale when he picks this sizing it is just super strong range and as a result we don't have much fold equity since whale isn't going to fold AA/KK AQ etc. We call

(670) 8

Now I donk jam here for around 600 due to something I observed when I sat down. I saw this villain check back 2p on a 3 flush river in position after turn went check check. Extrapolating this I think this whale is almost always going to xb AA KK AQ but call a donk at some frequency so we just stick it in his eye, clock is called and he tank foldddddddddddddddds......

---

I have some interesting stories from a while back which I am yet to share.

Aspers 1/2

Whale sitting with around 120 who has been jamming a fair bit, overjam leading NFD on flops and just dicking around is UTG1. He says "**** it I have to go anyway" and jams his stack of 120.

Folds to me in the BB and I look down at KK, call.

Board runs out low, he is taking a while to show so I do the nice thing and show my KK, he rolls over AA.

That's pretty funny, well at least he'll stay now and I have a c- oh no he's just snap left...

---

Early in the morning in a good Empire 1/2

Whale straddles 5

Reg opens 15 fish calls I make it 60 on BTN with AKs, SB absolute red line burner, cold calls (the people who blast through bags in cold calls are the real heros of live)

Whale getting a massage in the straddle jams 400 folds to me and I re-iso. SB starts giving it the old urghhh this is so tough, squirming etc but even the waitress clearing the side table next to him knows he's folding.

SB folds and I lose vs Whales QQ. Not a problem, he's been at the table for over a day now and completely zonked, I'll get a chance to win my money back.

"This is for you darling" he says to the massage girl.

That's nice (I think to myself), he's tipping the massage girl after the p- hang on he just gave her nearly a full stack of blacks (350-400ish). Over the next few minutes I see 80% of his stack go to the massage girl who's obviously hit the absolute jackpot, she can barely hold back the excitement, what a day for her.

Now apparently (according to others I spoke to) the floor aren't meant to allow this, I wasn't sure on the ruling at the time and tbh I didn't want to be that guy at the time even though I think it's totally in my right to enquire.. "english gonna english smh".

So off to play some live tonight since it's Friday, probs will get there in afternoon and leave 10pm-11pmish, should be super tired and should allow me to wake up at 8amish which puts me in a good place in regards to university for the week ahead.

Had a pretty sick hand vs reg at 1/2 where the poker gods punished me for my loose open. Only one reg at table and rest are stars so I don't think it's that ohh **** it w/e here's the hh

1/2 Straddle 5 (900 eff with reg)

I open 22 UTG to 20, reg calls bb, fish defends straddle.

(61) A52ddx

Checks to me I bet 45 and reg calls

(151) K he checks I bet 175 he calls

(401) A he checks I am tanking thinking how thin this actually is, then realise it's hard for him to have much better here apart from 55, A5s often 3 bets, A5o isn't peel A2s triple blocked. I still think he calls with enough trip hands and maybe even more stations because of my image.

We tank and jam for around 650, we get the snap as we push our chips forward and are shown AKo.

"I didn't think you'd open 22 UTG wow"

Didn't think you'd have AK in this spot either m9

Yeah and now some online hands... Criticism welcome ofc.

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 269.48 BB (VPIP: 32.26, PFR: 25.81, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 31)
SB: 62.92 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 8.33, 3Bet Preflop: 25.00, Hands: 12)
Hero (BB): 431 BB
UTG: 696 BB (VPIP: 20.69, PFR: 16.55, 3Bet Preflop: 6.12, Hands: 151)
MP: 94.36 BB (VPIP: 14.29, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 21)
CO: 212.48 BB (VPIP: 24.05, PFR: 16.46, 3Bet Preflop: 4.92, Hands: 162)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has J J

fold, fold, CO raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 13 BB, CO calls 10 BB

Flop: (26.4 BB, 2 players) 4 7 Q
Hero bets 7.56 BB, CO calls 7.56 BB

Turn: (41.52 BB, 2 players) Q
Hero checks, CO bets 24 BB, Hero calls 24 BB

River: (89.52 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero checks, CO checks

Hero shows J J (Two Pair, Queens and Jacks)
(Pre 57%, Flop 72%, Turn 86%)
CO mucks A K (Two Pair, Queens and Sevens)
(Pre 43%, Flop 28%, Turn 14%)
Hero wins 85.48 BB


---

yeye a3bdfd is better but so hard for villain to rep much on flop and 3 blocker init.. river I have eff nuts so much as well cross my fingers and try and get a call

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 292.56 BB (VPIP: 21.21, PFR: 21.21, 3Bet Preflop: 8.33, Hands: 33)
SB: 152.04 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 1)
BB: 72.6 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 1)
UTG: 112 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 10.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 11)
MP: 250.72 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 25.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 12)
Hero (CO): 125.72 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 3 A

fold, MP raises to 3 BB, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, fold, fold, MP calls 6 BB

Flop: (19.4 BB, 2 players) 3 K 2
MP checks, Hero bets 5.56 BB, MP raises to 17.4 BB, Hero calls 11.84 BB

Turn: (54.2 BB, 2 players) A
MP bets 20.72 BB, Hero calls 20.72 BB

River: (95.64 BB, 2 players) 2
MP checks, Hero bets 78.6 BB and is all-in, MP calls 78.6 BB

Hero shows 3 A (Two Pair, Aces and Threes)
(Pre 32%, Flop 85%, Turn 86%)
MP shows A Q (Two Pair, Aces and Twos)
(Pre 68%, Flop 15%, Turn 14%)
Hero wins 244.84 BB


---

Too high up to fold?

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 189.88 BB (VPIP: 0.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 4)
Hero (BB): 113.92 BB
UTG: 38.08 BB (VPIP: 20.00, PFR: 12.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 25)
MP: 251.4 BB (VPIP: 27.27, PFR: 20.78, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 80)
CO: 107.28 BB (VPIP: 29.23, PFR: 23.08, 3Bet Preflop: 11.54, Hands: 66)

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has T Q

fold, fold, CO raises to 3 BB, fold, fold, Hero calls 2 BB

Flop: (6.4 BB, 2 players) T 2 6
Hero checks, CO bets 3.84 BB, Hero calls 3.84 BB

Turn: (14.08 BB, 2 players) 3
Hero checks, CO bets 8.48 BB, Hero calls 8.48 BB

River: (31.04 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero checks, CO bets 21 BB, Hero calls 21 BB

CO shows J J (One Pair, Jacks)
(Pre 67%, Flop 80%, Turn 89%)
Hero mucks T Q (One Pair, Tens)
(Pre 33%, Flop 20%, Turn 11%)
CO wins 69.76 BB

---

Probs should size up flop since fairly wet texture

PokerStars - $0.25 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 263.08 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 33.33, Hands: 6)
SB: 126.56 BB (VPIP: 19.39, PFR: 14.29, 3Bet Preflop: 5.00, Hands: 101)
BB: 84.12 BB (VPIP: 28.57, PFR: 21.43, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 14)
UTG: 52.4 BB
MP: 100 BB (VPIP: 28.57, PFR: 28.57, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 23)
Hero (CO): 281.52 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has A J

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.48 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 1.48 BB

Flop: (5.36 BB, 2 players) K 7 9
BB checks, Hero bets 1.52 BB, BB raises to 5.6 BB, Hero calls 4.08 BB

Turn: (16.56 BB, 2 players) Q
BB checks, Hero bets 18 BB, BB calls 18 BB

River: (52.56 BB, 2 players) 4
BB checks, Hero bets 255.44 BB and is all-in, BB calls 58.04 BB and is all-in

Hero shows A J (High Card, Ace)
(Pre 71%, Flop 62%, Turn 25%)
BB shows T J (Straight, King High)
(Pre 29%, Flop 38%, Turn 75%)
BB wins 161.04 BB

Hi, love the thread. Seems like you're crushing!

i'm currently playing MTTs online living in London, but gonna start grinding some live cash volume soon, any advice for studying and getting started?

Glad you like the thread.

In regards to studying I would make a proactive effort to share as many hands as possible at the start to try and plug the live-specific leaks you'll most definitely have at the start. One of the reasons I think my results in live were solid from the start was because I was proactively assessing everything I was doing and constantly line checking with friends, this enabled me to cut out a lot of stuff which was just bad.

Getting started wise I would generally try and play at one place for a while and start to pick up info on the regs/reg-fish. Just play solid, (extremely) value heavy poker at the start and see how it goes.