5 hours * 1/3 Homegame * +$308

16 hours so far this weekend, I'm mentally exhausted. I'll update everything tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll play another day, study or just relax a bit. Good stuff so far.

1.5 hours
1/3
- $200

Flopped top 2, v1 had top pair, v2 rivered his nut flush.

I'm little burnt, I think I'm going to cut back on playing to Tue, Fri,Sat and Sun. I've been really happy with the improvements I've made on my hand reading ability.

-=* *=-
1/2 - 2/5

Hours: 91 hrs 00 min

Total: $4,845 (secondary poker bankroll is around $35k that's reserved as I move to higher limits)

1/3
8 hours
5 sets cracked
- $511

My highlight was 99 967... guy slow rolls 58o. lol. poker is alive.

Unfortunately, not the end of the month I was hoping for in Jan. I've improved in quite a few areas and made about $43 playing mostly 1/3 which was a nice bonus. I'm traveling for work, my next live session will be Feb 16th.

-=* *=-
1/2 - 2/5

Hours: 99 hrs 00 min

Total: $4,334 (secondary poker bankroll is around $35k that's reserved as I move to higher limits)
potluckneeded2 is offline

Random Thought

Make it part of your daily routine to keep a live mental hud at the table for each player. For me personally, tracking exploitable tendacies makes up for other areas of my game I'm plugging. I see so many people screwing around with phones when they aren't in hands. I would argue I learn much more watching hands I'm not in overall.

It was a slow process for me. I didn't start tracking 8 hours of actions on day 1. I focused on a few key exploits for an hour or two at a time and expanded as the months rolled on.

It's just so much easier to drift into headphones, it' s why I think there's major edges in live play. Mentally, the down swings bother me MUCH less than when I get lazy in a session.

First sessions for Feb

1/3 Feb 8th 9 hours -$385
2/5 Feb 9th 3 hours +$408
1/3 Feb 10th 4 hours +$177
1/3 Deep Feb 11th 3 hours +$544

Hours: 19
Balance: $744
Hourly: $39

2/13 - $300.AA vs QJo
2/15 - $200 AA villian has oesd with terrible odds

These guys just want to hand me money. lol

1/3/6

2/16 +336

2/17 - $98
2/18 + $149
2/19 + $432

2/20 - $191
2/21 +$205

Hours: 43
Balance:+$1077
Hourly: $25.04

The flu hit my household hard the last 2 weeks. My normal hours will pickup again in March.

Hello March!

After 2 weeks of on/off illness, it feels good to finally be healthy again. I've been fortunate enough to find some really great private/semi-private games lately, I doubt I'll make the multi hour weekend drives again to MGM NH any time soon (except possible roadtrips with friends this Spring). 2 of my best games are uncapped 1/2 and 1/3 games. Last night, it was a 1/2 game where half the stacks were over 600bb each. Cute dealers, 15 min from my house, nice secure homes with catered food and full bar.. you couldn't force me back in the casino any time soon.

One interesting hand from last night:

Hero ($1420)
V ($1600 ish)
1/2

UTG limp, UTG+2 calls, Hero MP1 calls 66, BB checks with 44
Flop: 644 rainbow (pot) $8
Hero checks, BB bets $4, fold, fold, Hero raises to $20, BB raises to $70, Hero raises to $200, BB calls

This is your typical passive player. I don't think he's ever doing this with hands strong as AA and A4. It's either exactly 64 (which is blocked) or 44.

Turn is a J

Hero bets $300, BB raises to $750, Hero... ?

I'm sick to my stomach, this deep, are you ever getting away from it with this player profile? 200-250 bb is a no brainer, but this is closer to 700bb deep. I went broke on the hand and managed to grind it back up.



Games: 1/2 - 2/5
Hours: 5.5
Balance: +$664
Hourly: $120.72
Primary Roll: $11,132
Backup Roll: $35k

===

Jan 19 ## $4,334 99 hours $44.21/hr
Feb 19 ## $1,077 43 hours $25.04/hr

Enjoyed catching up on this thread. We're in a pretty similar live cash game boat. Keep up the good work and moar hands imo

On the hand you just posted - obv you just never want to go broke in a limped pot, esp for 700bb when you don't have the nuts.

Much easier said on a forum when you know the results than at the table when you flop the overfull tho

Vs this player type an alternative line is to just flat the flop 3bet and keep his range wide. But that could be a little results-oriented; it def looks like he's got something like A4 all the way up until the time he raises you on the turn. Even then he could have J4 or 64 and just be overplaying his hand. You know the player better, but tbh I'm probably not good enough to fold here if it's me in the same spot either

I appreciate your thoughts on the hand. It's a rare spot, I'm just disappointed that everything in my being said this particular opponent couldn't make that move with anything other than 64 or 44. He's not the type of player that would play J4s even it cost him $1 and 50 people were in the pot. haha

I'm hitting up 3 games tonight, I will hopefully have some interesting hands to share. Thanks for checking out the blog.

+$162

I'm not happy how I played tonight and will make corrections.

Issues:

- Lost a buy-in within 45 minutes because I thought I had the nut straight, I read the board wrong.

- I was card dead most of the night. Rather than letting the game come to me, I started to play way too many hands.

Positives:

- I found great overbet opportunities

- Hand reading and river bluffing was one of my better nights

- Added some new contacts to my phone for other games outside of my immediate area

Summary

I have a few hands I'll post later tonight. Sure it's nice grinding back a deficit to ending up +$162 but that doesn't make me feel any better. I need to review the session and clean up some of my sloppiness.


Games: 1/2 - 2/5
Hours: 14
March Balance: +$826
Hourly: $59.00
Primary Roll: $11,294
Backup Roll: $35k

===

Jan 19 ## $4,334 99 hours $44.21/hr
Feb 19 ## $1,077 43 hours $25.04/hr

7 hours, -$400

It was a 1/3/whatever private game. Stacks ranged from $400 - $2200 when I left, raises were between $17 to $30. 2 good players, 1 nit and the rest were there to have a fun time gambling.

I busted on the following hand:

Hero has $320 and both Vs have him covered.

1/3 blinds -- UTG call, UTG +1 call, HJ call, CO call, Hero raises to $30 on the button with AK of spades. I expect to get a few callers. SB and CO call.

Pot is about $95, Flop is 3d Qs Ts

SB checks, CO bets $25, Hero raises to $85. I'm setting up a turn shove, I know I'll get called with weaker spades, straight draws etc.. SB raises to $500.

I'm obviously calling with the nut flush draw and a gutty. What could the SB have that cold calls $30 out of the Sb? The ole T3 of hearts.

Oh yes, I'm playing every freaking day in these games.

Games: 1/2 - 2/5
Hours: 21
March Balance: +$426
Hourly: $20.28
Primary Roll: $10,894
Backup Roll: $35k

===

Jan 19 ## $4,334 99 hours $44.21/hr
Feb 19 ## $1,077 43 hours $25.04/hr

-$455 2 hours

Overpair vs top pair and flopped flush over flush. Standard, might enjoy the rest of the night away from poker and do a little ps4 gaming.

1/3 - - - - Raises $17-$30.. blinds just don't matter

+257 3 hours

I decided to take a break and head to a different game. This hand broke out at another home game.

1/3

Hero: $440
V1 UTG:$600
V2 Button: $740

UTG limps, MP1 calls, Hero MP2 with K♠ K♣ raises to $17, CO calls, UTG calls and MP1 folds

Pot is $50

Flop comes T♣ T♠ 6♣

UTG is a ok player at 1/3, we're at a few of the same private games. He doesn't get out of line often and is a winner at these sessions. CO is one of the better players in the pool. Upswing guy, we talk poker outside of the games. Both players view me as one of the most aggressive players at the table.

I put UTG on a pocket pair. Since the table has been limp happy the last few hours, I can see him limping a lot of pocket pairs, I don't think he has a lot of 10s in his range. I think he's raising AK, AQs-AJs and no Ks UTG. I have quite a few suited connectors in my range so I think I can get 2 streets of value.

UTG checks, Hero bets $30, CO folds, UTG calls.

Turn is the 7♦ Pot is $105 (after rake)

UTG checks, Hero bets ?

gl to you as well bro

I appreciate it!

5 hours -- 1/2 and 2/5 -- +$481

I'm tired, I'll tally the last 3 days later this afternoon. I'm playing Fri, Sat, Sun, Tue and taking a week off after! Time for guitar and playstation break.

I decided a week off wasn't enough. I'm taking off Mar 13 - April 6th for guitar, travel, ps4 and a little light poker study. Sometimes I forget I'm not forced to play, I can break anytime.

Games: 1/2 - 2/5
Hours: 31
March Balance: +$709
Hourly: $22.87
Primary Roll: $11,177
Backup Roll: $35k


===

Jan 19 ## $4,334 99 hours $44.21/hr
Feb 19 ## $1,077 43 hours $25.04/hr

I'm playing live shortdeck tomorrow which is very exciting.. $1 ante / $2 button. Played 7.5 hours the last 2 days and won $233.

Games: 1/2 - 2/5
Hours: 38.5
March Balance: +$942
Hourly: $24.46
Primary Roll: $11,410
Backup Roll: $35k


===

Jan 19 ## $4,334 99 hours $44.21/hr
Feb 19 ## $1,077 43 hours $25.04/hr

(not adding to my total). I played live shortdeck, made $43 and it was a blast. Great action game, I'm hooked! I really hope this takes off like PLO.

I've noticed playing every night has allowed me to try new ideas, however, it's limiting my ability to hit that next level. The lack of sleep each night is without a doubt slowing down the process of moving ideas from short term to long term memory. This might not be true with everyone, but I need time to relax and process. So aside from a few weekends playing over the next few months, I'm taking a break from the daily grind to focus on the following:

- In bed by 11am on the week days, midnight on the weekends
- Sleep in until at least 8am on the weekends
- Spend 2 hours a night of guided NLH study and 1 hour PLO (Upswing, Fast Track)
- More time with friends
- Workouts at 5:30am during the week
- 1-1.5 hours of PS4 each night to breakup the study
- 10-15 min each day reviewing Jared Tindler's Mental Game
- 60 minutes of guitar/drums (sometimes can squeeze that on slow work days)
- Preparing meals ahead of time

In the 2 days I've started to make the switch, I've already felt so much better.

It's been incredible taking a break from the grind. I've spent time digesting handreading and combo concepts from CrushLivePoker and Upswing tha was much needed. I've been playing a few hours of guitar each night which really helps me clear my mind.

I've decided to head up to MGM this weekend. I'm ready for a change of pace. Life is good.

Played 5 hours of 2/5 at MGM, +$117. I made the committment to myself today that I'm going to stick with 2/5+ and lower stakes only of it's super deep. It's time to step up consistently.