Very well stated. Thanks for sharing your experiences, and your thoughts. Lots of food for thought for aspiring "pro's" to consider.

Thanks! To be clear, I'm not advising anyone to not partake poker as a career. I just want them to plan everything before they take the leap, and to be able to go full steam ahead in a large locale. If they decide to not partake...well, it probably wasn't for them anyways.

I don't regret going pro at all. I realized it wasn't a good fit for me, facts of my life changed, and so I got out. But I learned a few valuable life lessons, and on my death bed it'll be one less thing that I wonder "what if?"

I never intended this last post to be so long, or so late. And now, this may not be the last post.



My son was born on April 27th. Initially, I was just going to post a picture of him, and wrap this thread up.

12 hours after we were released from our delivery hospital, we had to go to the ER. He hadn't had a poo or pee in 24 hours. How the delivery hospital released us after going 12 hours without, I'll never know.

When we got to the local ER, he was dehydrated. Had low blood sugar. Had hypothermia. We weren't taking bad care of him from the things our delivery hospital told us. They had kept insisting that we were doing fine breastfeeding. My wife didn't feel that was the case, but every nurse and lactation consultant kept pushing breastfeeding and the narrative of not eating a ton the first few days. The day we left, even though he was fussy and hadn't needed a diaper change for 12 hours, we were told that everything was going great.

I'm in the ER exam room with my son. Not even 3 days old, at 3:30am. These doctors who, bless their heart, aren't trained to work on a kid that small, are using ultrasounds to try and find any vein that they could. Sticking needles seemingly anywhere they could.

And the scary thing is, my son was barely responding to any of this. He was barely moving. His skin was yellowing a bit. You could see the dehydration.

None of this fully registered with me though until they sent us in an ambulance to a children's hospital. When you're in the front seat, your 2 day old son is strapped in the back, and they turn those sirens on....I lost it. I had to stay strong for him in the ER. I couldn't here. Maybe even scarier is seeing a team of 5-6 people waiting for him at the ambulance entrance to whisk him away.

This was, without a doubt, worse than any beat poker could have put on me. Worse than a 100,000 hand downswing. Worse than dropping stakes. Worse than the few times I blew fairly large chip leads in MTTs. Words cannot describe the feeling. There is none. You pray to whoever you can, and try to make any bargain with any deity you can, just for him to survive.

After 3 long days in the hospital, he wound up ok. He wasn't receiving enough nutrients from breastfeeding. With how out of it he got so quickly, he probably came within a couple of hours of death. Despite my wife and I's complaints to the delivery hospital whilst breastfeeding, they shrugged us off and told us to keep it up. When we told them what had happened, they tried to explain it off and put everything in business terms.

I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Ever. We are home, happy and healthy, but we came within hours of never getting to experience it.

Sorry man that's absolutely terrible. I'm glad he's okay and everything worked out. You guys did a great job not just accepting their word that everything was okay.

My heart was sinking reading your baby's trials. That is such a blessing that your baby is doing better. Great looking kid, congratulations your you and your wife, and here is wishing you all continued good health and happiness.

Really sorry man, been following this a long time, and this is just the worst. Hope everything is ok, it just breaks your heart.

Glad he's ok now. That was super scary. I can't imagine anything scarier than having my daughter's life on the line. Hope you guys are recovering smoothly and healthy now. I think it often takes some time for a newborn to get on a good sleep schedule, which makes it hard on you guys. Hope you all are doing well enough now.

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone! He is doing great now. Honestly couldn't have asked for a better kid. He eats well (now that we aren't breastfeeding him) and only wakes up once a night for feedings, which I heard was fairly uncommon.

I had actually stumbled across an article online by accident that described what happened with us to a T, from the constant pressure of breastfeeding to nurses/consultants ignoring the worries from the parent, to the constant fussiness. The scary difference between our case and theirs, is that around the 3-day old mark, their kid went into cardiac arrest and passed away. We didn't wait until the 3-day mark to bring him in. It was so scary reading that article, knowing that he was perhaps hours away from the same fate. If not for the initial ER giving him a simple 10-mL syringe of sugar water before leaving, who knows what could have happened. After reading that article, I got a feeling that they took legal action for malpractice against the hospital.

With the WSOP coming up, my itch to play poker has hit a fever point. My "I made it" point was never playing 5/10 or 10/20 in Los Angeles or LV. It was being able to play in the WSOP. Any of the events honestly. That's what I grew up wanting to do in poker. I still have a small "roll" on Ignition, but with almost all of my efforts being placed towards finding work or my son, I couldn't imagine having time to play some MTTs.

Speaking on the job front, I've placed 11 applications in so far, spread out amongst the prior month. Of those 11, I've been contacted by 3 of them. I scored a phone interview with one, and the other 2 were email rejections. It's really shocking to me that the tech industry is this way, not having the decency to contact applicants. With how millenial the entire industry is, you'd think they would almost have to contact everyone just to avoid hurt feelings. I've only applied to 11 because there haven't been many openings pop up around my city that I feel "qualified" for. Surprising, really, as Columbus is one of the techier cities in America. As far as freelance contract opportunities, most everything I see wants a site built from tech that pretty much every "expert" in the industry I've heard trash. But this is still the plan.

As for millenials, I must have been sheltered my entire time playing poker. I'm disgusted almost by how spot-on every other generation's stereotype of millenials are. I'm the same age as these people? They really haven't had their feelings hurt in their lives. They really haven't faced rejection their entire lives. They really have lived such a sheltered life, that they're traumatized by the real world. And the rest of the world caters to them. Most days, I would rather be at a 9-handed table with 8 grumpy old man coffees, than communicate online with a handful of the tech millenials.

As for my son, he's doing great. About to be 4 weeks old. 3 weeks ago, he was rushed to the ER at 5 lbs 8 oz, after a birth weight of 6 lb 4 oz. Just a couple of days ago, he was a healthy 7 lb 4 oz.

Just be aware, there may come a time when I update this thread with a final table alert.

To those who say "Poker Pro" looks bad on an application, I'm challenging the notion. On a resume, simply put:

Played poker 40+ hours per week, utilizing quick mathematical skills to determine the most profitable play multiple times per hour. Analyzed multiple scenarios away from the felt to enhance knowledge and quicken decision times.

Poker players are literally analysts in disguise. This might help a few people out there.

An update of sorts, as I'm waiting for a package to install that's been giving me fits.

I've played more poker in the last 2 months than I have all year. I had a small amount left on Ignition and Global, and wanted to see what I could do with it. Moved up using proper BRM from 5nl/10nl to 25nl rather quickly. I noticed I was doing a lot more board/position analysis than I did when playing live poker. It's just the nature of the beast imo. Live is a lot value bet value bet value bet. You can (and should) bluff more online, even at the micros.

Global grind was going ok. Was doing an SNG grind, because as I've said before, I liked tournaments. Small sample size, but super soft fields and an extremely unsustainable ROI (close to 100%). I decided it really wasn't worth it though.

I find online more enjoyable bearable than live poker. Maybe it's the stakes, the comfort of my own home, not having to see faces, everything hidden as if it's a video game. Still not something I would want to do forever.

On the career front, I had my first in-person interview a couple of days ago. Went rather well, was given a project to complete by mid-next week as part of the interview process. Part of this is forcing me to learn a slightly new Front End language in 3 or so days, slightly new because I already have experience with it's parent language. Even if this doesn't work out, it's still a good experience because I know I'm on the right track.

Family is doing well as well. Kiddo just started daycare this week. It's been a mix of emotions for me not having him around all day every day. Ever since the scare a couple of days after birth, he's been absolutely thriving. He's already doubled his birth weight, he's started cooing and babbling, he's learned a few things that we've taught him (like how to tongue click). He also associates us with different things. I'm not allowed to feed him overnight because he will wake up completely and want to play with me. He doesn't want to go to sleep with me. My wife has that duty, because she is the one he wants when he is tired or fussy.

Financially, quitting poker cold turkey and just focusing on web dev was probably not the best choice. I had a feeling back in December to deposit and grind Ignition part time. That was the gut decision I should have made, but didn't. No time to dwell on the past though. It's one of those down the road decisions. Yeah, I'm kicking myself in the butt right now. But 2-3 years from now, all of the financial hardships I'm going through for having played poker, and abruptly quitting, will be worth it. And then 6-7 years from now, I'll get to come into my son's class and say "I build stuff" rather than "I play a game and take your parents' money".

This will probably be one of my, if not the last, update. I spent so much of my 20s posting on this forum and spending time on poker that it feels weird to have this site not be a "must visit every day".

I had gotten back into the habit of playing after my last update. Grinding pretty hardcore too, when I could.

And then one day, I just got smacked with an emotion. Maybe closer to a thought. This object made me feel gross. My thought was "people willingly wager money on this? Dollar amounts, sometimes very large dollar amounts." I stopped. For whatever reason, even though I was playing more recreationally than anything, I couldn't overcome the feeling. I stopped dead in my tracks.

I am starting to want to play sparingly again. But I won't have that massive full-time grind thirst. It's gone and passed.

I'm still feverishly studying coding when I can. I enjoy it. It's my future. In the mean time, I picked up a job working at a local post office. And it feels great. I feel better about my work than at anytime playing poker. There is the communication factor. There is teamwork. I am providing a service that helps humanity and gives something to the community. Even though it's not what I'm going to do with the rest of my life, it's a job I can be proud of, and money that I feel as if I earned. And that's an example I want to set for my kid.

Speaking of him, he's doing absolutely phenomenal. After spending most of his early months struggling just to keep pace with the bottom 5 percentiles, he has shot up to average - above average percentiles in everything. He's got 3 teeth now, and his favorite word (not that he knows what it means) is "dada".

Glad you're happy and most of all glad to hear your son is doing well!!!!

poker is not for everyone. Better to realize it sooner then later. Still win or lose it improves everyones thinking ability. Good to know your sons doing well though. GL with your new career.

Very happy to hear that your child's health has improved. I appropriate all of your input throughout your run here and in my thread. I wish you and your family nothing short of the best.

Thanks!

Thanks Zombie! Hope all is going well for you as well. Last I saw, you were back at a college, how's it going?

Not everything about poker is bad. Like, I miss the not having a boss thing and being able to take a day or two off whenever for whatever purpose. But a benefit like that is outweighed by my wife and I having far superior health insurance than I singularly had as a poker player, for only $80 more per month. Or a guaranteed paycheck after two weeks of work.

I realized that, no matter how small, I have a platform with a few followers, so maybe I can help others a bit.

I didn't think in a million years that when I went on to my current job, that I'd be considered an essential employee and have to work through a pandemic. Alas, here we are. I should be happy - while a lot of others, especially in my past field (poker) and future field (tech) are unable to work, I'm getting more work than I can handle.

If you currently are stuck at home, please listen to this advice. Do not order objects online that are not essential, please. For every object that is unnecessarily bought, an additional 2-3 minutes is added on to my time being out in the public, potentially exposed to the virus. If only 5% of households order unnecessarily, that's an additional 60 - 90 minutes per day that we are potentially exposed, all for makeup, books, keyboards, sporting equipment, etc. This is a way you can potentially help save a life during this pandemic.

(It especially grinds my gears when a house will order something pointless, and then leave it out for a day or two to "quarantine" it. If you're so scared, why the **** did you order it in the first place?)

Stay safe everyone!

Good reminder. I don't think most people are monsters, but they tend to not think about the impact of their actions and the effect it has on others until confronted with it. Although, the people that are confronted with the ill effects of their actions and still persist in them may be the most of evil of all.

Stay safe!

I've been debating whether or not to post back in here. Not going to lie, it's been nice not having to keep up with a challenge thread. But hell, what kind of ending to a thread is my last post?

I left my job at the post office at the end of October. It was both a great experience, and terrible punishment. I worked my ass off, often starting at 630 in the morning and not leaving until 5, 6 days a week. That was the hardest work of my life, but I was able to do it.

Barely.

I sprained my ankle pretty badly in June while on the job. Was back on full duty two weeks later despite still having pain and limping around. Only now that I've been gone for 3 weeks am I starting to not feel pain in my ankle. My wrist was in constant pain, and frequently I dropped a few things because my wrist just gave out. And towards the end I got really sick for the last week and a half on the job, and then a full week and a half after I left. My COVID test came back negative 2 weeks after first symptoms, but I had every single symptom. Not entirely sure I wasn't delivering mail with COVID. I legit couldn't take more than a day off because of how short staffed they were. And that last week was full of a cocktail of OTC cold, flu, and pain meds just to get by.

That wasn't the full reason I left. I had one day off to be with my wife and son. The days I worked, I'd see him for an hour packed with just getting him ready for bed. I was too exhausted to do anything with him, and after that I was too exhausted to code, learn, and advanced towards my career change.

So I left. One of the nice things about working so much was making and saving quite a bit of money. If not for COVID and state regulations, I'd 100% be back in the live poker venue part time. Alas, those restrictions are a thing that exist. To help bring some money in, I'm back to playing online. Small stakes, right now nothing higher than 25nl and probably won't go higher than 100nl.

**This is literally just for a bit of side income. I anticipate having some kind of tech position or clients within the next 4 or so months. I am in no way thinking about playing small stakes online for a living.**

Before I started, I got a RIO essentials membership. I've been reading some books, watching videos, shaking rust off. The games do seem to have gotten a little tougher, and trying to adjust to a more modern optimal approach isn't fully clicking.

As an example, a hand I played a couple of days ago, UTG opened to 2.5bb 6max. I had 88 OTB. Normally, I'd flat and feel fine about it. But a lot of the videos I've been watching advocates for a much higher 3bet frequency than I'm used to, because the pool plays passively. I 3bet to 8bb, and UTG 4bets to 20bb. I call because, well, 88 is too strong to fold...right?? Flop is 744r, and UTG bets 16bb. I'm thinking I have to call because overpair! And bluffing! Turn is Jx and he just casually jams. I'm sitting there thinking "well ****, this is a shitty hand" and fold.

I'm going to post hand histories and random thoughts here until I'm done and get the real job.

Also, I know prior I abruptly stopped because of the way I was making money. I felt bad for the people. I can tell you, my year at the post office has me not giving two shits less about who I'm winning money from, how much money they have, what state they're in, etc. I've seen what people spend their money on. They can afford to lose it. I won't bat an eye.

Pretty basic hand. BTN has been hinging on aggro fish preflop this session. BB has been fairly passive, hence why I'm not just 4betting preflop. Turn sucks to get backraised, but it's the reason I chose the betsizing. I can still get value from Tx, especially Tx of spades and overpairs if BB ever has them, but I can also comfortably bet/fold when raised.

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

Hero (CO): 98.6 BB
BTN: 112.88 BB
SB: 155.44 BB
BB: 94.56 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 98.6 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 5 4

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.4 BB, BTN calls 2.4 BB, fold, BB raises to 3.8 BB, Hero calls 1.4 BB, BTN calls 1.4 BB

Flop: (11.8 BB, 3 players) 3 2 T
BB bets 1 BB, Hero raises to 8 BB, BTN calls 8 BB, BB calls 7 BB

Turn: (35.8 BB, 3 players) 9
BB checks, Hero bets 19 BB, BTN raises to 101.08 BB and is all-in, fold, fold

BTN wins 70.12 BB



This was the hand where I realized that I had more rust to shake off, and more things to learn. I was completely lost in this hand. I had no reads but I had seen enough to know that I shouldn't be at the table (I still know table selection). I don't like that I 3bet with no reason other than "I need to 3bet or fold" (which I've never thought that). The 4bet flat is close, and then postflop I'm just like "herp derp, I hope he has AK!". Combinatorically, this is correct, given I don't believe the pool will 4bet TT/JJ. But it just feels so gross.

(And then the K comes, and I weep inside)

Ignition - $0.25 NL (6 max) - Holdem - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

CO: 103.12 BB
Hero (BTN): 95.2 BB
SB: 109.52 BB
BB: 156.2 BB
UTG: 168.68 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) Hero has 8 8

UTG raises to 2.4 BB, fold, Hero raises to 8 BB, fold, fold, UTG raises to 18.8 BB, Hero calls 10.8 BB

Flop: (39 BB, 2 players) 9 4 4
UTG bets 12.24 BB, Hero calls 12.24 BB

Turn: (63.48 BB, 2 players) 3
UTG bets 19.52 BB, Hero calls 19.52 BB

River: (102.52 BB, 2 players) K
UTG bets 118.12 BB and is all-in, fold

UTG wins 97.4 BB



Frankly, I like how I played this hand. This is a solid bluff candidate that I don't necessarily want to play OOP, then he flats and I make TPTK. He probably has all JJ, all TT, all 99, all 88, and maybe a combo or two of QQ? And a few Tx too. Might be a little too thin, but I'd rather bet slightly too thin than check back and win vs JT or 99.

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

UTG: 99.6 BB
Hero (MP): 109.04 BB
CO: 107.8 BB
BTN: 64.88 BB
SB: 68.4 BB
BB: 38.92 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.4 BB) CO has T T

fold, Hero raises to 2.4 BB, CO raises to 7.8 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 19.8 BB, CO calls 12 BB

Flop: (41 BB, 2 players) 2 T 5
Hero bets 14 BB, CO calls 14 BB

Turn: (69 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero bets 28 BB, CO calls 28 BB

River: (125 BB, 2 players) 3
Hero bets 47.24 BB and is all-in, CO calls 46 BB and is all-in

CO shows T T (Three of a Kind, Tens)
(Pre 65%, Flop 95%, Turn 100%)
CO wins 209 BB

I can't be all negative Nancy, can I?

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

UTG: 0 BB
MP: 68.24 BB
Hero (CO): 98.6 BB
BTN: 98.6 BB
SB: 103.08 BB
BB: 0 BB

SB posts SB 0.4 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

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

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2.4 BB, fold, SB raises to 10.8 BB, fold, Hero calls 8.4 BB

Flop: (22.6 BB, 2 players) Q Q J
SB bets 7 BB, Hero calls 7 BB

Turn: (36.6 BB, 2 players) Q
SB checks, Hero checks

River: (36.6 BB, 2 players) T
SB bets 26.12 BB, Hero raises to 80.8 BB and is all-in, SB calls 54.68 BB

Hero wins 190.2 BB



I've been going through the databases and trying to figure out this increased preflop aggression. Simply put, I'm not used to it like I once was. And for the most part? Players still don't 3bet enough. I'm seeing a lot of merged 3betting, and very little polarized 3betting, and almost no 4bet bluffs (The KT hand from above was an outlier).

I am having a little bit of difficulties WRT WR, but I'm noticing the same trend as I did when I played live. The times I'm able to play, while beatable, aren't as beatable as later times. While during peak hours, there may be 2 or 3 fish at a 6 max table, during the hours I can play, I stay at a table if there is one player that may be fishy because that's close to the best I'll be able to find.

Hey, welcome back man!

Sent you a PM.

Thanks!

--------

Quick vent, because my wife doesn't know about this. I greatly wish that she did not have the mindset that any kind of work should be done Monday-Friday during day time hours. This is not how one grows at anything, it is a very stagnant mindset. There are 168 hours in a week, not 40.

I haven't posted a ton in here because I haven't been able to play a ton since re-upping this thread.

It's fairly annoying, but my wife and kid have to quarantine twice since November 21st. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my wife worked directly besides a coworker all day who tested symptomatic positive for COVID a couple of days after Thanksgiving. She went back to work Wednesday, with my son who goes to the daycare she works at.

A few hours into the day, the director notices my son coughing quite a bit while running around. Mind you, he often has some sort of sniffles - all kids his age do. The director makes my kid and wife come home until he gets seen by a doctor. Said doctor will not see him without a positive COVID test.

I'm sorry. YOU'RE A ****ING DOCTOR! IT'S YOUR GOD DAMNED JOB TO SEE SICK PATIENTS, AND YOU WON'T SEE A SICK PATIENT BECAUSE HE COULD HAVE A DISEASE? What a ****ing joke of a doctor.

So while waiting for test results, it's the obligatory "quarantine until they come back." I should know, this is our 4th or 5th quarantine. He's negative, of course.

I do feel a little for those WFH parents. It's difficult. I have a small timeframe to prioritize important stuff right now before my wife goes insane. A lot of the time, I also feel I can't play poker at night because my wife wants to spend time with me. So I've been de-prioritizing poker, which is probably the right thing to do in my situation. I've gotten a little over 6 hours of play this month. They'll be able to go back next week...just to have another week and a half off for Christmas break. It sucks, because I am getting the poker itch again.

I haven't forgotten about this. There simply hasn't been anything to update.

I've been de-prioritizing poker quite a bit. Since my last post, I've played maybe 5 short sessions. There are quite a few factors behind this. One of them is that it's difficult to find the time to play. Taking time to play right now would mean taking time away from prime learning hours, which are not prime poker hours. I wish I could stay up until 1am to grind, but it simply isn't feasible. My kid is on a great schedule where he wakes at 6am every day.

My future EV, and possibly current EV, is also so much lower in poker. That wouldn't have been the case with live casinos open, but thats simply the world we live in right now. Pio would yell at me for making the wrong EV move in that spot.

I also question if I'm still a winner, even at the low stakes I deposited to play at. While it may be an exaggeration, do I really want to play the long term game to reveal a 7bb/100 ($4.25/hr) winner?

No.

I kind of had this feeling when I initially came back, but I thought it was all folly. Would I be willing to put in the work to become a 10-12bb/100 winner at that stake?

No.

Maybe I'm growing up, but the time is too precious to chase after gains that won't make a difference in my day to day life. I'm not concerned about money, or even the current lack of a job. I'm fairly confident that I already have the skillset to land an entry level job in tech.

So then the only reason to play would be for love of the game. Honestly, I don't love it. I like it. It can be fun. Maybe switching to PLO or a different game would change that, but I doubt it.

Hello everyone!

So I made a web app where you can log poker sessions. It's best suited for live cash games, but can also be used for online cash games.

Visit here

I'd like some user feedback from it, and who else best to ask than poker players!

If you sign up for the app and DM me the username you're using, along with the email used to sign up, I will manually switch your account to allow unlimited session logging on the app for the lifetime of the app. The only catch is to just let me know what you think after usage.

There are a couple of features I'd have liked to ship with, but they're minor. There will be filtering of sessions one day, and also the ability to pay for unlimited session logging. You do have to keep track of how long you play, as well as how much total you've bought in for.