Been a while since my last update, have played 71 hours. Went to Vegas for a about a week early in June with a goal of playing 40 hours and was able to get that. Overall had a good time on the trip. The LLSNL 1/1 game/beer pong after was a lot of fun. Was nice meeting people and putting faces to screen names.

I played one session at the Bellagio and the rest at the Rio. My experience with the rio games was much better. One morning I woke up at 6am and experienced one of the craziest hands I've ever seen from a game wrapping around the previous night. This one german kid who alleges to be fedor holz's former coach vs this crazy asian guy from la.

This hand was triple straddled due to the encouragement of angry, stuck, crazy 'no gamble, no future' asian guy...5/10/20/40/80. I don't remember specifics, but it went raise and 3 ways to the flop. Asian guy bets, call, call on an 7 high coordinated board. I don't remember the turn or river card (was mentally out of it on no sleep due to my roommate snoring like a chainsaw) but it went bet, german kid calls turn, shove ~2k on river, German kid tanks 5 minutes, calls with KTo high and is good vs T8o no pair.

One week in Vegas was good but I'm glad to be back playing at my home casino in my comfort zone on the weekends. I've been slacking updating this thread but will try to include at least a hand or two each session going forward. Here are two from my last one:

1) I open KQ 35 utg+2, btn-clicking fish calls LJ, laggy reg calls btn 3k eff., BB calls. 4 way

Flop K74 ($140)

I check, LJ bets 75, btn calls, I call.

Turn K

Checks through.

River 8 ($365)

I check, LJ checks, btn bets 285, I c/r 900


2) Loose Passive old guy limps hj, I raise 50 KJ CO, lag reg calls sb, straight forward BB calls, hj calls.

4 way flop- 667($200)

Checks through

Turn- Q($200)

Checks to me, I bet $125, sb calls, hj calls.

River 2($440)

Check, check, I bet $380

Hours- 225/400

Lol sick story...

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H1: AP bet the river, what worse hands do you expect to call really/it'll suck if u get 3-bet shoved i think Kx can find a hero-fold in this spot what bluffs do you even have + you have better value hands to x-jam for value... Unless this villain is a whale and will hero-call you light i think we have FE here. OTF it's close between betting and checking here.

H2: I would fold pre this isn't a table where it looks like ur steals are going to get thru and guys are limp-folding a lot. AP check turn... and obv give up OTR someone has Qx and they aren't going to say imma hero-fold Qx here because this guy has a 6 lol.

He's representing the flush.

H1 just bet flop. You're 4 ways man. I get what you're doing and KQ is a a neat balance check/call but you are 4 ways and getting value / charging the combined equity of the field is more important than what you'd do with QQ here.

I would check turn (whether I cbet or check called flop). River is weird bc I don't ever expect to get called by worse if we check/raise. I mean possibly I've been playing too much plo but in villains shoes I would yawn/fold KQ. As hero I would still check, but I might just check call bc I think he either has air or a straight+ with his line.

H2 I wouldn't bet $50 pre...I've been experimenting with 3x pre no matter how many limpers (online micro PLO) and really like the results, will probably try it live more. Either way even without my experiment Id go $35 or $40. You're trying to iso, not build a pot for value. The smaller the pot is pre, the more you can do post.

I would likely play flop/turn as you did but River give up. If the flush didn't complete I might bet something just to fold out 7x diamonds and A high diamonds. I don't think anyone is ever folding Qx.

Damn, I'm bad at this. Flop 4 is wrong in hand 1. I remember the river was for sure an 8, did not complete any draws, so the 4 was probably a 3 or the 7 was different.

Heh, running a thread is hard man, why do you think I never started one?



If draws don't complete x/r is fine as you have the nuts always.

yey update!

nice meeting you (briefly) as well, I remember you being in disbelief about your friend punting off money in blackjack and trying to flee Vegas.

Interesting river spot, I like the c/r esp if you guys have history, would be nice to get two bets from 99-JJ.

Lol yeah, the night was a blur but I do remember this. He was so on tilt at the MGM he payed something like a 160 atm fee to withdraw a few k in order to get back to the tables. In fairness he was blackout from the plane ride bc he hates flying.

The story had a happy ending though. He ended up going back to the hotel room safe to get the other half of his "trip roll", (mind you we've been in Vegas less than a few hours and he was ready to book it back home). Heads down to the blackjack table and wins back the 5k he lost and then some.

Disaster averted


You're saying we should bet a higher freq with more people in the pot?

I think cbetting is ok, but checking more value hands in this spot is also an adjustment to the in position fish and lag. I think both players are too wide pre and tend to over stab/bluff/btn click in general so I'm probably checking more value hands than my default in this spot.

Felt like river could go either way. Checking I had a similar thought process to the flop in that the fish never ceases to amaze me with when he randomly bets middle pair otr in a multi-way pot. Was also thinking I'm getting max value from lags Kx he checks turn, bet/calls river with because he's probably not raising anything worse than KQ if I lead river.


These were my thoughts except for some 88.

Result:



Imo the difference between a bb in your iso sizing pre isn't going to make a huge difference. With stacks generally being 200bb+, I think going a little bigger pre in opening/3 bet sizing is fine.

My thinking in this hand was the Q is better for me in that I have all AQ and both ranges of villains are discounted some from pre-flop. They are also discounted in that a Q will lead the turn card some%. I block their main tpgk combos (KQ/QJ), so I decided to go for a bet/bet where under pairs/tpwk will have a tough time calling down. Wasn't sure if the bdfd coming in made my bluff better of worse.

Result:

A few hands from the weekend:

Feel like the biggest mistake of the session was this first hand:

1- A few limps, btn limps (bad reg), i ck bb A6o. Flop A73r. I ck/call btns 35 bet. Turn 9o, I ck/call 75. River 8o, I ck/call 200. I think flop/turn are prob ok, river is bad and is a fold.


2- UTG opens 35 (20s male, unknown), Fish calls LJ, I call btn 99.

3 way Flop($120): KK5

Check, Check, I bet $65, UTG calls.

Turn 7

Check, Check

River Q

utg bets 200, I fold


3- 1 mp limp, I raise CO 50 QJ, Rec player calls btn, Rec player calls bb MAAG, limper folds.

3 way Flop: ($155) K23

BB Check, I cbet $70, btn folds, bb calls.

Turn($295): 5

BB Check, I bet $225, BB calls.

River($745) 8

Check, I bet $550


4- Young reg opens 40 UTG, I call UTG+1 QQ, young reg calls btn.

3 way flop($135): Q77

UTG cbets $85, I call, btn calls

Turn($305) 5

UTG checks, I check, Btn bets $225, UTG folds, I call.

River 3

I check.


Hours- 234/400

Results:

1- I lose to A8o

3- This hand I had similar logic to the KJ hand I played in the previous post. This board is pretty dry, I don’t have many semi bluffs so I’ll take a hand like QJo that blocks the best/most common tpgk combos in btn and bb’s range. I have AA/AK/KK, they usually don’t. They do have more 22/33, but I think in general rec players will fast play their range too much on earlier streets and tend to get to the rivers pretty weak. Not sure if I'm bluffing too much multiway in this spot if I'm picking every combo of QJ

BB folds.

4- Thought checking turn was kinda standard. He’ll typically bet his trips/bluffs/river flushs two streets and I’ll be able to re-open the action if he bets river. I’m also protecting my under pairs I call flop with (UTG tends to cbet like a monkey in multiway pots).

Btn checks, I win.

2 hands from past weekend

1- I open red AA 35 utg+2, goes 5 way.

Flop ($175) KK9
Chks, I check, MP reg bets 125, btn calls, I call.

Turn ($550) 6
Checks through

River($550) 6
I check


2- HJ opens 35, 2k (40s reg, asian male), BTN calls, 2k (MAWG rec player), I 3bet 150 bb 74cc, both call.

Flop ($455) KQ3
Checks through

Turn ($455) Qo
Checks through.

River ($455) 5
I bet 675


Hours- 241/400

Hand 1 - perhaps betting river to get looked up by TT-QQ? I'm guessing some combos are 3-betting pre?

Hand 2 - prefer more dead $ in there to squeeze so light. Are we assuming villains are level-0 thinking? If so, river bomb is fine. Otherwise, you're gonna get looked up a lot IMO.

H1 - AP, i'm betting the river (to bet/fold). This isn't really a good river card that villain will bluff on with high frequency and i don't think this is a spot where villain is going to bluff that often in where we want to have a check-calling range here OTR (depends on villain and how he plays his range/tendencies). And if villain bets OTR it's a pretty comfortable just x-call

H2 - Fold pre, if we are going to be 3-bet a decent TAG reg in this spot from the blinds i prefer hands with blockers (Kx suited or Ax suited) or at least suited connected hands like 89s or 78s. Given my population reads/default strat idk how people play preflop at 5/10 like how often he is folding to a 3-bet etc...

Results:

1) I thought the river was too thin to value bet, especially oop with the flop bet/call/overcall. Checks through, AA is good.

2) Preflop: I'd 3 bet the low suited connectors/gappers in the bb from lp opens, but not all combos and not all of the time. I'll adjust that based on what I think of their opening range/fold to 3b.

Getting to the river I felt like i'm close to one of the worst hands I can have. The in position players are somewhat capped, I will have slow played KK and Qx (probably mostly AQ). My reasoning didn't have anything to do with them being level 0 thinkers.

Both fold

Rough session this week. Took an L and had some tough spots....

1) LJ- have played a little bit with him last week for the 1st time. Very loose/aggro but reads aren’t too specific at this point:

- I’ve seen him barrel multi way with basically no equity, hit top otr, bet less than he bet ott
- Very out of line preflop, probably vpiping at least 50%.
- Style reminds me of Durrrr

LJ opens 40, I call HJ 99, 4 ways.

Flop ($120) 678
LJ cbets 105, I call.

HU
Turn J
Check, I check

River 3 ($330)
LJ Bets $600


2) LJ opens 35(same villain), I 3b HJ 115 AQ, Btn cold calls (young lagish reg), LJ folds.

HU
Final Board: K77 T 3
Checks through every street.

Too high up in my range to bluff/start bluffing at any point? Especially given how much wider I'm going to be than normal given LJs opening range?


3) Same villain again. I've seen him do this the previous session preflop: Gii w/ AKo for 250 bbs and TT for 150 bbs. This session: within the past orbit or two he ~min 5 bet pre (>300 bbs eff.), got called, took down pot with a c-bet and showed the 4.

Straddled pot 5/10/20
I have 1900, he covers.

Villain opens HJ 80, I 3bet CO 250 AQ, he shoves. 1650 to call.


4) I open CO 30 K9, blinds call.

3way
Flop($90) T93
Checks through

Turn 4
Check, BB (40s asian male reg) bets 65, I call.

River T($220)
BB bets 225

5) Straddled pot. I open UTG+1 65 T9, 4 calls. I have 2k, both villains cover.

5way
Flop ($335) 673
Checks, I check, CO (same villain as in 4) bets 165, sb calls (unknown 20s white male), I c/r 600, CO folds, sb calls.

Turn($1,700) A
Sb checks, I ship 1,335


Hours- 248/400

Results:



A hand from last session:

utg+2 limps, LJ raises 40, HJ calls, Btn Calls, I call BB Q9, utg+2 calls.

5-way
Flop($205) 89Qr
Checks through

Turn 2o
I lead 125, UTG+2 (older, btn clicky rec player) raises to 275, Btn cold calls (tagish reg), I call.

River($1,025) 3
I check, utg+2 bets 450, btn calls...


Hours- 263/400

Button's only repping 22 it feels like, price's pretty good, but utg2 has all JTs and 88/99, but also q8 and 89. Pretty ****ty spot, prob find a fold because you can't beat both of their ranges enough. Also leading flop is prob better

Subbed!

Results:




Another hand:

I open LJ 35 99, btn calls (young reg) 3.5k eff, bb calls.

Flop ($115) 853

BB checks, I check, Btn bets 75, BB folds, I call.

Turn($265) A

I check, btn bets $125, I call.

River($515) 3

I check, btn bets $245


Hours- 271/400

Hey just found the thread, I really enjoy the analysis and the crazy games you're playing in...

Off the top of my head, you sure seem to be doing a ton of calling in the hh's you've posted over the last few pages. I realize it's decent strat against the supposed maniacs you're playing with but it also seems to be leading to some very difficult decisions.

Thanks and yeah I try to include the hands I find most difficult or interesting.

First decision point is the flop check/call. This deep I was thinking I'm going to need a stronger checking range. 99 is a hand that could arguably be a cbet, but close. I think it would work nice as a check because we'd be able count on a 3 street call down on low, blank-ish runouts

If we check/call the following (debatable) flop/turn range, we get to the river w/ 32 combos: AdJx-AdKx(9), A9ss-AKss(5), A8s(2), K8s(3), 98s(3), A5s(2), A3s(2), 99(6). Our Ax overcard hands are in a tough spot on this flop. I decided to include all combos w/ a bdnfd. Tbh i'm not sure if this is too loose or tight, or if we should cbet some bdnfds . A hand like AK no bdfd feels kinda weak just folding but I left it out. I will also have 88 as a slowplay some% of the time (or other overpairs) but for simplicity I also left it out.

On the river he's betting about 1/2 pot, so our minimum defense freq. is ~67%. At this point I think our 6 combos of 99 would rank as the bottom 19% of our range to call down because 98s and K8s have set removal.




Hours- 280/400

Vegas again for a bachelor party on labor day weekend. There's a chance I put in a session but probably not. I'm still slightly ahead of pace to complete the hours by year end.

Yeah judging by the sizing change from flop -> turn&river it looks a lot like he had the nfd and hit the ace

Done with poker for Q3 with 77% of the total goal complete. I have 9 free weekends left with 93 hours to play. The plan is to make two of these weekends overnight trips, so realistically it’s ~12 sessions at an avg of 7.75 hrs/session. Easily doable

Here are some interesting/potential mistake hands from the past few weeks:

5/10

1- EP ($100, tilted fish) limps, I raise CO $50 AK, Btn (2070 eff., young reg) calls, EP l/shoves $100, I 4bet to $200, Btn back raises to $550, I call.

Flop($900 side pot, $300 main) QT8
I check, btn bets $720, I shove for $1,520 total


2- I open utg+2 $35 89, 3 calls
(3k effective w/ CO, middle aged reg)

4-way
Flop($145) 4TJ
BB checks, I cbet 100, CO calls

Turn($345) 3
I bet $250, CO calls

River($845) 8
I bet $575


3- 1 limp, btn (2.1k, late 20s male) raises $40, I 3bet sb $150 AA, btn calls.

HU
Flop($320) Q84
I cbet $170, btn calls

Turn($660) 7
I check, btn bets $225, I call

River($1,110) A
I check, btn bets $365…

Hours- 307/400

Hand 1) not sure what the question is other than shoving pre (which is an option given the action).

Hand 2) I'd prolly give up the hand here, in my $5 blind games nobody's folding TP to a 2/3 pot bet even though we block straights and he's most likely got a marginal TP type hand. Then again, this is $5/T so you may get more folds of TP than I will.

Hand 3) We block the NFD so we're worried about 56 and stuff like KJ/KT/JThh. Assuming he only opens suited 56, there are only 7 combos we are behind. Would he take a passive line on the flop with all his sets (assuming he's a decent hand reader)?

Never folding, I'm guessing we're only deciding between calling and jamming. Could clicking it back be the most +EV to get looked up by Qx?

1- Yea, was more posting this hand for the brag/lulz. Preflop was weird but my thoughts were if I just flat my entire continuing range vs the 5bet it can't be that bad of a strategy.



2- In hindsight I think i'm ok with taking this line with all of my 89s and some KQ



3- I agree, we're behind about 7 combos. It's reasonable he's wider than the flushes you mentioned, like K9/J9/T9hh, but also possible he limps (or folds to 3b) some of those including 56s.

There are 12 combos we *potentially* get value from: AQ (3), 88 (3), 44 (3), 78s (3)... in addition to maybe 77 if he peels flop, a rare QQ if he flats pre but these seem negligible. Sets are discounted as they may be raising otf some%. It's also a question of which of these hands bet/call river.

I think c/r may be fine against certain players but doing it w/o a specific read is too thin imo. Maybe it's close? Does his 1/3 sizing play a role in our decision?