Hi, I decided to start a thread here documenting this new adventure I’m about to get into with the purpose of keeping track of this experience, staying motivated and maybe just maybe motivate some of you guys.

To tell a little bit about me, I’m 27 years old, married and based in London. I’m a professional poker player for some time now, and my main game has always been online 6max NLH cashgames. I’ve been playing on midstakes (NL400-1k) for the last two years and this year I’ve taken a shot at some nice NL2K and NL5k games without success. Overall the year hasn’t been really great except for some live games and some volume I put in this Chinese poker apps which kind of saved my year.

After playing some time at those Chinese apps I came to the conclusion that the games aren’t worth that much for me as on the long run they will make me a worse player rather than a better one. I’ve always loved studying poker way more than grinding and therefor I wasn’t enjoying the experience that much.

I’ve been (and still am) coached by a very good HS regular (for now I won’t post any names or screennames in this thread, neither mine or of others) the past 2 years and also got the chance to play (staked) some nice live HS games up to NL20k. During this time, I noticed two things about live games: there is more EV (at least for me) and I actually enjoy playing live almost more than online (but mixing it is when I enjoy poker the most).

Even though I’d love to be a sick grinder I just can’t, I get exhausted/bored at some point so I rarely grind more than 5 hours a day but I compensate by studying almost every day at least 1 hour. If I admire one player online for his work ethic it’s King10Clubs, and I’d love to be able to be like him but as said, it just doesn’t work for me, I’ve tried many times and failed miserably always and ended up breakeven or losing money when I tried to push myself harder than I should. But this changes when I play live poker, I can put 16h sessions and feel fresh, so that’s another reason why live poker is more profitable for me in the long run.

On the other side I’ve always wanted to make it to the top and battle the online NL5K games, but when I look at the games now, even on NL600 you can already see a bunch of guys who put some nice off table work, so I think it’s extremely hard nowadays to make it to the top unless you are some genius like Llinusllove, stambolov, otb and co.

Given all this I decided to try to play as much live poker as possible when there are NL2K+ games (will post a possible schedule I prepared for the following months in another post) under a staking deal with my coach and when there aren’t any trips planned I’ll play online with the main purpose of getting a better player rather than making money as I already will focus on making money when playing live. Obviously, any additional money is welcome, and I’m really competitive so If I don’t see a nice EV$ in my online games I’d be pretty pissed. But as said, the plan is when I got some time to play online I’ll spend about 2-4 hours a day grinding and studying mainly with PIOsolver at least another 2 hours a day.

So that’s at least the plan, and all this will be a new experience for me, so who knows, maybe in 2 months I decided that live games suck and I go back to trying to reach the online HS games.

I’ll explain in my next post the plans until the end of the year!

....

So my plans for the next month are the following:

-I'm going to have my religious wedding in Mexico the 25th of November, and will spend the second half of November in Mexico. Until then my plan is to play both live cashgames here in London, and grinding some online as well as putting a lot of hours in the lab.
-After the wedding I'm coming back to London for a week where I will grind mainly online.
-After that I'll go to the Pokerstars Championship in Prague for about 10-11 days and plan on grinding the cashgames mainly NL2K-NL5K but will not miss the chance if there is a very juicy game that runs higher, and then I'll also play the main event and bink that one.
-After that I honestly have no clue, but I might go spend christmas with my family and wife and planning my next trips (probably Morrocco and L.A).

So that's all for now, gonna go play some live cashgames now, and will try to post something interesting after.

I'm not sure yet if I will post many HH's or any at all, I don't like sharing much strategy (migh be bad strategy anyway lol), but if I can post some HH's which I feel don't tell to much about my game and can keep the thread interesting I will definetely do.

Also regarding graphs I'll try the same, but won't guarantee anything for now, because I had a thread before and it was added pressure for me at that time.

But as said, without HH's and giraffes this thread will die for sure, as at least I follow most PGCs because of graphs and HH's.

See you!

No, for now I enjoyed playing live more than online, but it might very likely be related with the fact that when I play online I use live poker as an escape, and never played live for more than a month, so i'll have to see how I feel about it in a couple months.

Yeah guess that makes sense. For me was always cool for 1-2 days, but then started to become really boring.

And sorry, I posted between ur openings. Didn't read all when I posted, so didn't know more was coming
Will see If I can delete it.

So first session done.

Played some 5/10/20 for 4 hours, and booked a small win. No interesting hands at all and pretty boring overall.

At the end of the night I was told I would probably need to show sine kind of proof showing where I get my funds from in order to keep playing... I hope I can get this fixed, otherwhise I won't have any Live HS action which would make me change my plan again, so let's pray there won't be any problem.

Tomorrow will be study+online pokers. Let's hope I find some interesting HH's there!

Ok, so had a lot of stuff to do today, and decided to sort out all that **** with the proof of income to avoid any unpleasant surprises when I play live poker next time.

Played a little 2.5h session at night and broke even, but felt like I played really well overall, much better than expected considering I haven't played online since before Vegas, what means about 4 months...

No interesting hands at all but will post at least one...

Poker, Hold'em No Limit - $2/$4 - 6 players
Hand delivered by Pokeit

UTG: $446.05 (112 bb)
MP (Hero): $427.73 (107 bb)
CO: $399.56 (100 bb)
BU: $459.49 (115 bb)
SB: $110.22 (28 bb)
BB: $402.35 (101 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($6) Hero is MP with A A
UTG raises to $8, Hero 3-bets to $26.40, CO 4-bets to $63, 4 players fold, Hero calls $36.60

Flop: ($140) J 9 6 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks

Turn: ($140) 8 (2 players)
Hero bets $102.75, CO raises to $336.56 (all-in), Hero calls $233.81

River: ($813.12) 7 (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $813.12 (Rake: $3)

Showdown:
CO mucks 8 8 (three of a kind, Eights)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 19%, Flop: 13%, Turn: 95%, River: 100%)

MP (Hero) mucks A A (a pair of Aces)
(Equity - Pre-Flop: 81%, Flop: 87%, Turn: 5%, River: 0%)

CO wins $810.12

Tomorrow it's time for some coach, and I also got a couple topics I want to study myself which I will organize now before I go to bed, and then will probably play a little online. I expect about 3-4 hours of studying and another 3-4 hours of grinding online.

As said yesterday, I had some coaching but wasn’t able to put any extra study because I forgot the cleaning ladies where coming.
Used that time to book my flights to Prague for December for the Pokerstars Championship, looking forward to put some nice volume on anything what is 10/20 or above and then binking the main event. I already was there a few years ago and the city is amazing, wifey is coming so I expect to also take some time off, but not to much. Still have to book my Airbnb, but will do that tomorrow.
On the other side I put a little 3hour session, and was really happy with my game. Also, I feel there’s a big gap between NL400 and NL600, NL400 overall seems pretty soft, meanwhile on NL600 you can find a lot of guys who play pretty good like boerni21, bolecc, sicoXXI, king10clubs and some others which you don’t see on NL400. I’ll start adding some lobbies as I feel the action is pretty dry.

A couple hands…

1. I guess a bigger size would also be valid on the flop, but it might be a bit akward given the stacks. Overall I’m ok with the hand.

Hold'em No Limit - $3/$6 - 6 players
Hand delivered by Pokeit

UTG: $807.57 (135 bb)
MP: $600.00 (100 bb)
CO: $609.00 (102 bb)
BU: $1,008.27 (168 bb)
SB: $672.01 (112 bb)
BB (Hero): $619.21 (103 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($9) Hero is BB with A Q
UTG calls $6, 2 players fold, BTN raises to $22.78, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to $93.40, 1 fold, BTN calls $70.62

Flop: ($195.80) J 4 K (2 players)
Hero bets $50, BTN calls $50

Turn: ($295.80) K (2 players)
Hero bets $159, BTN calls $159

River: ($613.80) T (2 players)
Hero bets $316.81 (all-in), BTN calls $316.81

Total pot: $1,247.42 (Rake: $3.50)



2. This one is actually really standard, and probably one of the better hands to bluffs (once you 3b that) I guess. Had him as a nit actually.

Hold'em No Limit - $2/$4 - 6 players
Hand delivered by Pokeit

UTG: $200.03 (50 bb)
MP: $449.19 (112 bb)
CO: $167.10 (42 bb)
BU (Hero): $602.93 (151 bb)
SB: $400.00 (100 bb)
BB: $319.12 (80 bb)

Pre-Flop: ($6) Hero is BTN with 8 T
3 players fold, Hero raises to $8.92, SB 3-bets to $30, 1 fold, Hero calls $21.08

Flop: ($64) 6 2 T (2 players)
SB bets $22, Hero calls $22

Turn: ($108) 9 (2 players)
SB bets $80, Hero calls $80

River: ($268) K (2 players)
SB bets $268 (all-in), Hero calls $268

Total pot: $804 (Rake: $3)





Tomorrow I’ll use the morning and afternoon to study )review some HH’s and look into some spots with PIO) and book everything for Prague and will then go for some live pokerz and submit my proof of income and hopefully forget about that ****.

By the way, if anyone can tell me how to upload pics here, I would appreciate the help!

Subbed and GL OP sir

I'm in the same boat as you i like studying more then playing, esp now a days when you can study efficiently. I like to think of poker like chess tbh except actually worth doing coz of the $$$, i like the studying aspect in which you spend a lot of time off-table going over spots/theory etc.

Also the bonus for me is that you can't lose any money while studying so no stress haha + studying can be fun as well as you will have ah-ha moments or whatnot and thats the best feeling.

Yeah, since finding out an efficient way of studying, it's way more enjoyable as you can really see the progress.

I have to actually buy a laptop to run some PIO trees while I travel now that I think about it.

Anyway thanks for the sub and let's hope I can post some little chipporn in tonights update!

I recently bought a new laptop to run piosolver (just coz of the fact that i hate using desktops/lugging around a monitor as well, but it's prolly +EV to buy a desktop eventually lol).

AFAIK *i think* the best laptop in terms of cheapness/budget is like in the $500 range is a i7 duel core which is faster then the AMD's except for ryzen/threadripper and 8gb of ram is def mandatory spec as well + if you want 1920 x 1080 screen res then thats also a consideration.

So yesterday I just took it easy until the live grind. I sorted some stuff out, as I got my religious wedding on November but that was about all.

At night I went to the casino, tried to give the papers of my proof of income but it wasn't enough for them. Anyway, played for about 5 hours and a little win.

This is my chip stack from last night, nothing spectacular...



Here is was one Vegas this summer, my second biggest winning session ever.



Last but not least, a couple hands!

HAND 1.

HERO (SB) 2.5k‎£
JAKE CODY (CO) 8K‎£

I get dealt Q K on the SB and Jake raises on the CO to 50 in the 5/10/20 game. I'm on the BB (but there is a straddle) and 3b to 225, he calls.


Flop: (475‎£) 9 9 8 (2 players)
Hero bets ‎£175, UTG calls ‎

Turn: (825‎£) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets 650‎£, Jake calls

River: (2125‎£) 3 (2 players)
Hero checks, Jake goes all-in, Hero folds

Not to sure about that hand, I felt it's okay and the hand depends mainly on what villain does with his TT/JJ on the river to decide firing or not. At the moment I thought he wouldn't always fold those hands so I checked and gave up.

Hand 2.

HERO: BB w/ 7 7 (2.3k‎£)
MP: Fish limps with short stack
SB: Reg overlimps
HERO: Complete the straddle (can obv be a raise, but I feel like most of the time I'll just play a MWP OOP which isn't ideal, but it's the boarderline hand, i'd raise 88's for sure.
STRADDLE checks.

Flop: (80£) 6 7 J (4 players)
SB

SB leads for 75£, I decide to raise to 250£ as I see the fish grabbing his chips to call before I act, so I never expect a raise but expect him to have a hand. On the other side I lost like 2k in a couple hands and I raised like 6 of the last 9 hands so they might think I'm tilted. Straddle calls my 250£, fish in MP folds, SB calls.


Turn: (830£) 6 (3 players)

SB checks, and here I was undecided, I think I clearly check is SB wouldn't have calles, as straddle range looks quite strong and I would give up many times, but as both call I end up betting 550£ and straddle folds but SB calls.


River: (€90) K (2 players)

SB check, I shove my around 1.3k and SB calls and I scoop the pot.

So that's about all.

I'm gonna study now, then have coaching, and then will probably skip my online grind and go to the casino, give my paper stuff, cashout my deposit and go to the other casino as they close the poker room during the weekend and I'll play at the other poker room meanwhile. But not 100% sure yet.

Images don't work :L

Had a random question about live, as that is primarily my income as well.

How many hours do you put in each session live like around 5-10 hours? I typically play more hours throughout the week like start of the week 5 hours on mon-wed then 8 hour+ sessions fri-sun etc.

Obviously if table is good then more hours is mandatory and table select definitely live, but i've been playing live for i guess a year and i'm burnt out for the most part...

Poker is too hard... lol

You have any idea how I can upload images here? I have no clue

Regarding live poker, I'm still kind of a noob, but I usually put a minimum hours for the session (here in London it's 4 hours) and after that I extend depending on how I feel and how the game is. Yesterday as an example after 4 hours I felt good and played 1 more hour even though the game was absolut ****.
When I travel abroad or on weekends I extend that minimum amount of hours usually. Here in London on weekends I'd play at least 6 hours, and when traveling at least 7 hours.
On the other side I always take one day off a week.

I feel mixing it up between live and online will help me not to burn out to soon.

Use IMGUR solid for posting free images.

Ok so let's thy again with the pics! This one is from last night!



This little chipporn was my second biggest winning session ever!



I hope it works this time!

bellagio pic was from the 50/100 running this summer?

Yes it was!


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

So, did a little change of scenery tonight as tomorrow my usual place to play will close it's doors during this weekend. So I basically cashed out some money there, gave my paperwork **** and left to the other casino. Started playing some lol 1/3 NLH until I got moved to the 5/T game.

Had a hand against a recreational player which later on I found out was a terrible call by my side on the river as he was using bet sizings like an open book, small sizes where always bluffs and big ones always value and he basically overbet me on the river on a board 88Q47 and called it off with KQo. Any way was down 1.3k at one point but made a nice comeback to +315 after 7.5h session.

Met a good friend of mine there and also met some new people, pretty nice guys overall and was fun, even though the game was absolute crap again.

Aside from that I did 3.5h of studying today and was able to draw some really nice conclusions which will hopefully help my game.

After tonights session I think i'll just study a little bit and play some online tomorrow and then take off either saturday or sunday and then on Monday i'll probably play a little monthly tournament they run which is 550 pounds and 8max. Should be fun!

Found a new possible way to organize my study with PIO which could be extremely helpful! Will see how it works out! Have to grind still and it's almost midnight so it will be a short session i guess.

On the other side, if anyone could tell me how this computer would be to run PIOsolver?

Subbed!

If you must get a laptop and not a desktop pc then the one you posted looks very good spec wise.

GL!

Link to laptop?

Oh nice, def subbed in this. Glgl! Where is your online volume played?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-G752VY...n%3A1481783031

Hmm weird, I'm sure I posted the link but can't see it either now. Anyway posted it again.

I'm curious as to who you are - we must've played a ton!

Subbed and good luck!