The story isn't completely dead yet. My $2k had to go towards rent and other expenses, so I couldn't use it for poker immediately after returning from vegas. I signed up for lyft and started picking up a little side money. I made a trip to Biloxi, MS while visiting home and ended up having a -$700 session at a 1/3 game. Brutal to my funds... I played bad and tried to force action when I was completely card dead and didn't even try to change tables to a more profitable game. Need to seriously work on that leak. So while basically broke I still had about $600 to work with.
So naturally I jumped in a home game and just nitted it up-played very solid poker, strictly going for value and no high variance lines. I bought in the game for 300, looking to top off if I started in the wrong direction-which is exactly what happened. So I'm in the game for 600 and have ~450 in front when this hand develops. $5 otb game- BTN has $10 on it this hand. Limps around to me in the CO and I raise to 65 w/KK- folds all the way to the guy on my right who takes a look at my stack and calls. Flop is 9104hh he checks and I check behind. Turn is the beautiful offsuit 4. Villain now bets 50, I call. River is a 2- Villain bets 75... I raise to 180- he now thinks for a moment and puts me all in. Puke. It's 150 more to me and I start to think about conserving my money because his line is so strong, he has to have me beat here. I could be throwing away my chances at rebuilding in a better spot. But this is a pretty damn good spot- I have good odds to call and he is the only player at the table capable of doing something fancy. I call and he rolls over 75ss for the total airball. I end up booking +$400 for the night and feel great.

brave hero call

awesome!! you now have as many commas in your bankroll as someone with $999,999

So with a 1k roll I get notification of a good game that only runs on Wednesdays, but it was an hour drive and I had never been. Coming off the confidence of my last session, I make the trip. I'm planning to again play solid hands and try to extract value... And that's what I do and end up +350 pretty quick after making top boat against trips. However, my session goes the other direction as I find this game is a little dangerous. Players' stacks are getting deeper and they are willing to gamble, limp calling pre and forcing me to contend with several players postflop w/ wide ranges.
I'm in the game for $800 with $400 in front. Scary place to be, but I'm in a game that I can run it up in quickly. I open to $20 UTG w/KQo, which is not too nitty but I'm willing to play against such loose ranges. 3 callers to a flop of 932r, I continue for 50 and get a call from laggy MP and BTN. Turn is the 8c, bringing possible bdfd. I check and MP (who looks like Bill Burr) takes a $90 lead. BTN looks at him suspiciously and calls. Bill Burr has been quite aggressive-taking the lead when checked to ott 100%, where I've been surrendering to him. BTN doesn't seem strong to me here- I jam for $330, going with my read that I can pick up this dead money against these weak ranges. But if I'm wrong, I'm driving an hour home with $200 big macs to my name and a job hunt waiting for me. Burr snap folds and BTN tanks for a while... He asks the dealer to spread the pot, does some head bobbing as he "runs the numbers", and then says something aloud but I didn't understand it.
The dealer puts out a 6h and my heart sinks... BTN says "I MADE THE NUTS!" and rolls over 75cc as I immediately say "nice hand" and muck my cards. But then the pot gets pushed my way.... What is happening here? My god, he didn't call. HE DIDN'T CALL! He had said fold and someone else had requested to rabbit hunt the river. Jesus, way to make me sweat. I then proceed to end the night a +$500 winner with thoughts of redemption The grind continues

Cherokee, NC

My favorite poker venue. Beautiful scenery, terrible players (including me sometimes) and great friends. I came to grind both cash games and a few big field tournaments. This place draws impressive numbers for the wsopc. I won my first ring here in 2016, which happened to be my first wsopc cash as well. That was momentous- life changing. I won 81k for my efforts- but had to part with a lot of it to take care of 17k in student loans, 7k in taxes, 12k for a vehicle. The rest was slowly eaten up by tournament buy ins, travel costs, rent/life costs. Next time I get a good score, I'll know to manage it better-and not have student loans to get off my back.
I ran deep in the 6-max event, for crumbs compared to the 37k up top. I got that far by leveraging my stack in key spots- and getting lucky in one. I made a move semi deep when I flatted a raise from the CO in the SB w/22. Then c/r a flop of KQJcc, only to get called. Turn brought an A, and I check, planning to give up depending on the runout. River is the 9c, perfect for my range. I jam for a little more than the pot and got the fold from QQ. Deeper in the tournament, I was forced to jam 15bbs w/JJ after a raise and a flat. Got called in both spots by AK and AA, respectively. Flopped em dead to one out on the J99 flop... I decided to jam A4dd on a KQJdd flop after a lead and a ton of money in the middle. Bricked out against KQ but if I win there I have a great FT stack to work with.
On to the next...

Tunica RunGood

There is a tournament series happening in Tunica, MS this week- with lower price points, and generally lower quality players. It’s an arduous 4 hr drive with nothing to see but interstate and billboards- so it would be extra painful if the trip doesn’t end fruitful for me. I have 2.5k and there is a 20k gtd tournament for $185. Not too shabby. Alas, I fired 4 bullets into it without ever finding a bag. Gotta blame myself for this; I did not properly adjust to the style of play and did not take advantage of the fields’ passiveness adequately. Good thing the cash games are there for me when I need them. Managed to put in a +900 session to cover my buy ins.
The next day offered a 10k gtd 1 day tournament but I was more interested in playing 2/5. I bought in for 1k and had good ole Chris Moneymaker sit down amongst us. I thought there might be some hype around him being in the game but I suppose his presence is not uncommon- especially since he’s from TN. I went on quite the heater in this session, flopping a set vs AK on a K high flop, flopping top two against TPTK, turning a set and getting two streets of solid value, and ran bluffs in spots where I had range advantage and got the folds I needed. Cashed out for 3500 and boosted the roll pretty nicely. I slept in my car for the first night- had an air mattress and blankets/pillows thinking it would be a perfect way to dodge hotel costs. But sleeping in hot ass mississippi with ruthless mosquitos thirsty for my blood is, in hindsight, not favorable. I did idle my car for a couple of hours to get some A\C so that was nice. The next night I stayed in a memphis airbnb with a swinging bed, so that was pretty sweet. One more day of cash and if I have another good session I’ll fire the main event, a 100k gtd for $575

I guess this is turning into a blog for me to reflect on later... when these times aren’t recorded- it later seems to just be a blur. The trips and experiences just run together so I think it’ll be good for me to type up these posts along the way while things are fresh. I played a session last night in a nashville home game- coming off of a +460 session at the same game the previous night, I was looking to continue to increase the now 4k roll. This session did not go too well for me, as I lost flips against short stacks, lost a large pot with AA vs a flopped gutshot that hit a backdoor flush, and got my bluffs snapped off. I kept my composure for the most part through the runbad and card-deadness. I was in for $1200 with ~700 in front when this hand developed.
We were 6 handed, with an aggro asian to my left and a laggy player otb with $10 on it. I decided to get creative and limped the K2cc, asian guy raised to 30, and the btn calls (begrudgingly). Asian has been opening a TON, so I elect to 3 bet to 105- asian calls and btn folds. Flop is 1052r- asian has ~300 behind. I think for a bit and down bet $65 as I would with overpairs on a dry board. Asian guy picks up on my projected weakness and small bet size and jams- I call quickly and he rolls over KJ high and my deuce is all I need to take it down. Middle aged golfer at the table was like “are you some kind of wizard?” Lol. Ended up taking a -180 loss for the night despite that hand getting me close to even. But it was a fun session and I was reminded why I love this game even when things aren’t going well. I met some new people and had a good time- I didn’t play like a robot and not speak to anyone- the game was interactive like it’s supposed to be. It brings the fish back to contribute their money into the economy and allows for me to hopefully profit from long term.
There is a 200k gtd tournament in Florida this weekend and the structure is really good for the price @$570. I think I’m going to make the trip! Going to try to focus on meditating and getting my mind right for the tournament grind

So the guy that was trying to split a room with me in Jacksonville last weekend was being sketchy and not communicative, so I decided to travel up to Cincinnati, Ohio instead. It's a 4.5 hour drive-much better than the 9 hours to Jax. There is also a $1k 500k GTD tournament going on in Cincy, which should bring plenty of cash game action for me. I booked an airbnb for 2 nights and made the trip. The weekend went pretty amazing for me. My first session was about 5 hrs long for +$1364, and I made a new friend that offered his place for me to stay if I ever came back to Cincy. Saturday I played a round of disc golf with a couple of guys I met on the course- couple of computer programmer nerds but they were really cool. Then I played a 7 hour session for a -$90 loss. Was card dead most of the time and the table wasn't all that great. Sunday morning I hopped in a game with faces I recognized from the night before.... They had not gone to sleep yet. I had slept for 8 hours, got breakfast, and these guys have been trading chips around the whole time. I played for 4.5 hours with these sleep deprived degens and luckily got to tangle with the local whale that is notorious for donating stacks. After the whale left for PLO and the dust settled, I cashed out for +$2185. Massive bankroll increase for me this weekend and gives me more opportunities for the tournaments coming up at the end of September at the Horseshoe in S. Indiana

Massive home game

Once a week, a big home game is held out in rural TN. The average player plays pretty straightforward, but 2 or 3 have deep pockets and just gamble-calling with just about anything. They do not care if you haven't played a hand in an hour- they are seeing another card, by god. Regardless of the price at times. So in a game like this, you pretty much have to show up with strong hands to win- bluffing is not often a good option.
I bought in the game for $400, and built it up fairly quickly to $1500. I then went against my policy and started loosening my range and playing K4cc, turning a straight/flush draw and semi bluffing against a straight- then barreling the river... Still up $600 at this point. I win a couple of decent pots to give me about a $1300 stack when this hand develops. 10 otb, I limp JJ utg and utg +2 makes it 30, MP makes it 130. Two players (loose calling stations w/deep stacks) behind him call. I call and original raiser calls as well. Flop is J57hh we check to the 3 bettor who jams for 500, and BOTH players behind him flat. I jam for about 600 more and again get called in both spots... turn is a heart, but it's the 7h and I end up scooping the behemoth pot. I played a little longer, stacking another opponent for $500 with an overpair vs his flush draw. In the game for $400, cashed out for $5560 for my best cash session to date. Bankroll is at about 9k and I'm in disbelief as I think back to a month ago when I had less than $1k to my name. Onward and upward

Sick sesh dude, congrats on the PR

I think you're vastly overestimating your profitability in tournaments because of that one big score. Those buy ins and travel expenses add up quickly. You can't just say "oh I'll manage the money better next time". If you're traveling to play tournaments, it's a neccecary expense.

It sounds like you're just floating by hoping for another big score. pro tip: you likely won't get another

Stop spending your money on a pipe-dream. Just keep your expenses low, start building a roll and grind 1/2 for a while until you're in a good place in life.

Believe me, I’ve learned the hard way that I have overestimated my tourney profitability. But that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t play them anymore. I play cash primarily, and take shots periodically in good value tournaments- giving myself a chance to significantly increase the roll. I fired tournaments with reckless abandon when I had 50k in the bank. Big mistake, and I won’t make that mistake again

Southern Indiana Circuit

Spent a week across the river from Louisville, KY to play some tournaments and grind some cash games at the Horseshoe Casino boat. After firing the turbo event upon my arrival and missing pretty hard, my trip gradually looked bleaker and bleaker. I fired the re-entry and managed to put some chips in a bag. I played a couple of profitless sessions of 1/2 and 2/5. I went for a good squeeze spot from the sb on day two of the re entry with K6s and got tank called by 22 and that guy went on to win the whole thing for $50k while I mincashed. Then I fired a regular $400 event and got second place for a little over $9k! Things really turned around for me, I played quite well and disciplined to get that far. Then I went on to cash the monster stack event, giving myself a shot at a deep run but only profited a couple hundred bucks-still happy with how I played and ended up boosting the roll to about $15k. Still am in disbelief that I had less than $1k just a couple of months ago. Looking at driving up to Hammond for the $1M GTD ME next weekend and selling 30-40% of my action. Should be great value

Wow! Great run, man! Best of luck moving forward.

I am also a disc golfer, but I haven't played many courses outside the Midwest. I'm from Iowa, and I would say Wildcat Bluff is the only must-play here even though we have many fantastic options. Any particular must-play courses you have encountered during your travels?

Mt. Airy is a beautiful sprawling/challenging course near Cincinnati. Other than that... I don't often play disc golf on my travels although I should carve out time for it, especially since it helps to break up the poker when things get monotonous.

you were literally one bluff away from being busto and having to return to a job lmao

grats, stay disciplined.

Just looked it up on dgcoursereview. It looks fun if a bit right and open for my taste. Did you ever hit up Idlewild near there? I would love to play that!

I laughed when you mentioned the software engineers you met on the course. It is amazing how many of my good friends from college both loved disc golf and were in software engineering. The sport seems to draw a lot of spectrum kids. I love meeting all the great people out on disc golf courses! From party animals to SE geeks, you met loads of fine folks.

these posts are great, hope u keep updating

well done bro, this is how legends begin their stories. you know youre doing the internet good when some loser ass hater starts hating. next stop 100k score!

Hammond

I drove 7 hours to play one tournament... But with two bullets. At least it was the main event, with $1 million GTD in the prizepool. I sold 32% of my action for it, and unfortunately did not extract a positive outcome from my two attempts. However, it was a learning experience for me. You play poker for 10 years and you think you'll have everything down by then- that is not reality. Always be open to learning and trying to do better. In tournaments, I try to achieve a flow state- where I am confident and my betting, my timing, my reads are all in sync. I did not achieve this until after dinner break on my second bullet. I realized I was in this state and one of my opponents openly confirmed it, saying that it seems like I have it every time I bet. I c/r a guy on the turn on a paired board with 5 high and got him to fold a flush. But that is still ambitious and silly to be risking chips against strong ranges like that. Anyway, I played cash games after the tournament grind and managed to win +$1500 over 3 sessions, giving me an overall -$1k loss for the trip. I'm hungry to continue and get better. I want to practice meditation more often and wean myself off of caffeine- I have been dependent on it lately. Next stop will be Vegas for the PH circuit- I will be there for a week and I will be ready to take something down! Then Cherokee after that

I'm currently on an 11 session winstreak (+5.1k) and I am one week away from heading to vegas. When I am on heaters such as this, I feel like the downswing looms closer and closer with each session- but that isn't the attitude I should have. I should keep myself in check and just play my best- the swings will happen and that's okay. Doing my best to not have my head in the clouds because of recent success in the cash games- but I am confident and that carries a lot of value in this game. I am going to FT one of these circuit events in vegas, and carry that momentum to cherokee afterwards

Glad to see this comeback. Good Job! See you in Vegas.

It’s Saturday night before 10pm and I’m laying in bed at the hotel. I grinded 2/5 and 5/10 at Bellagio today for about 9 hrs. Made the dumbest absolute punt of all time at 5/10 and was -$900 for the day, but persevered and ended up +$700 not long afterwards and called it a night. As it stands now, I’m in pretty good shape. I bagged up around 35bbs in the 200k gtd event at PH and I’m up +$1600 overall for the trip. Day 2 is tomorrow and I’m excited for the opportunity

Things are getting interesting out here in the desert. 9 left in this re-entry event- I think I have the chip lead... 46k for 1st. This could be epic- resting up tonight and taking it down tomorrow. LFG

GL! Close it out


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