This blog is my journal from 200nl to 500nl NL Holdem live cash game. I play about once a week at the casinos in the Philadelphia area. I will post my results every session with hand analysis. I will post some pictures and graphs documenting my journey.

Info about me:

I started playing poker back in 2008 at home games (Sit N Go’s) with high school buddies. I would consistently win so I decided I wanted to get more exposure to the game. I played online (6max) - grinded from 2nl to 25nl and online Sit N Go’s. Once I turned 21 I started playing 200nl NL Holdem live cash game at the local casino. I entered two MTT tournaments and cashed.

Around this time my father passed away (heart attack). I realized I wasn’t emotionally stable enough to handle the swings. I decided to stop playing poker for a couple years so I could finish college and pursue my career. Fast forward a couple years – I graduated from ESU with a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2014. I currently work for SIG - a trading firm in the Philadelphia area. At the moment I am studying for my financial licenses (series 7 & 24). I am engaged and plan to be married in the next two years. I have an active fitness lifestyle. This blog is my journal documenting my journey from 200nl to 500nl.

Hey man, GL with your goals. I play in the same area.

Any more details on your plan for moving up? Do you have a set bankroll and bankroll management plan? Do you plan to take shots at a certain point? Some more info would be useful.

That being said, seems like you have a good head on your shoulders from your first post. I went through the same thing with my dad when I was about 18. Definitely had trouble dealing with the emotions that accompany high variance when I was playing online during the next few years. Wise of you to give up the game and focus on school, for sure. You should definitely have no trouble moving up now as long as you put the time and effort in.

Good luck. That win rate isn't sustainable so be prepared for the slow down. Cashing 17/19 is pretty stellar. That's a good run.

Thanks for reaching out. Sorry for your loss. It's those type of events that either make you or break you. I'm glad you were able to through it alright.

I'm strict with my bankroll management. I've never have taken shots at 1/3 or 2/5 yet. I still feel a little uncomfortable playing 200bb+ deep at 1/2. I still need more hours under the belt to start taking shots.

Wow is there many casinos with poker in philly. I'm from Vancouver Canada and have a cousin that lives in philly and would love to play for usd haha

What property do you primarily play at?

look forward to following this as i play a lot of 1/2 1/3 and a little 2/5 in this area. There are 2 properties in general that i have a much higher win rate at.

There are two primary casinos in the Philadelphia area Sugarhouse and Parx.

I prefer Sugarhouse. It's located IN center city. There is a trolley that runs around the town picking up and dropping off degenerates for free. The poker room is much newer and also temporary (tent located right outside main entrance). There are fewer tables and less lucrative promos, but the players are much worse. They offer free alcohol and its much easier for ghetto people and tourist to wander into the poker area

Parx on the other hand is located 20-30 minute north of center city. It's been open for years and has established a very loyal group of regs that come from a upper class suburban neighborhood. They do NOT offer free booze. The poker room is a separate building located away from the main casino, so a random pit gambler would never just walk over to the poker room due to the separation.

I'd suggest you try Harrahs Philly in Chester. Games are very soft and I've achieved an unsustainable win rate there for over a year.

Also if you have a car check out the Sands in Bethlehem.

From playing in all 4 rooms over 50 hours in each over the last year I'd rank them for they best(best place to play profitably)

1. Sands
2.Harrahs
3. SugarHouse
4.Parx

GL. I also play in the area.

Hand #1

MP bets $7 – 3 callers. I 3bet to $30 w QQ from SB. Get 1 caller.

Flop is 2x3s6s I bet 40 get shoved for another 79. I call

Villain shows 66 for a flopped set. My hand is no good.

Analysis: Is this ever a fold? The villain was a short stack with only 50bbish. I felt there are a lot of pairs in the villains range (44,55,77,88,99,TT, and JJ) that would call the raise/3bet preflop and shove on that flop. One pair + straight draw combos are also possible. I think this is a call all day.

Hand #2

Hero raises to $10 with KTo in LP. 2 callers.

Flop is 8x7h6h – Checked to me. I cbet $10 and get called by villain.

Turn is a 9x – Checked to me. I bet 25 with my straight. Villain check raises to $65. I call.

River is a brick villain bets $75ish I call.

Villain shows 2 pair 85o. My straight is good.

Analysis: The hand right before I lost 50bb and topped up. I was a bit tilted so I don’t think I played this hand as well as I should of. I decided not to get all my money in because I didn’t have the nut… at least that’s what my thought process was. I should of thought about the possible combos my opponents had. The only combo that beats me is JT. A lot of villains overplay their hands on these wet texture boards. I should have shoved the river instead of calling. When I get put in these spots I should have a mental checklist that includes questions I should ask myself during the hand.

Hand #3

Limped pot (6 people). I have 33 in limp position and limp behind.

Flop is AQd3d – Villain leads $11 - one guy calls - I raise to $50. Villain calls.

Turn is X diamond bringing the flush. I bet $50 and get called.

River Tx – I bet $75 and get called.

Villain shows 2 pair AQ. My set is good.

Analysis: We were about 175bb deep. My plan was to thinly value bet on the turn and river, but if I got raised I would give up the hand. Villain was an unknown and could of easily shown up with a straight or flush. I realized that I don’t play well deep stacked. If I shoved by the river I know I would have been called. I did lose out on another 100bb, but the board was so wet and it was difficult to put more money in without the nuts.

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It is interesting playing poker at a casino – you get to see and hear a lot of unusual things. Last night I heard an argument between an older guy (50s) and a young kid a couple tables across. The young kid beat the older gentleman in a pot. The older guy was upset and starting yelling at him. “I’ll play you $500 high hand right now mother f***er” – It’s sad to see people lose their temper over this game, but these are the opponents that you want to be playing against when their tilted.

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+$638 @ 5 hours

Awesome man thx

hand#1 wp way to small amount of $ to be folding to.
hand#2 don't c bet this flop it hits their range way more often then ours what are you doing if you get x raised here? wp rest of the way raising on the river does 1 thing and 1 thing only gets the exact range of 10x and j10 to call playing any other way is burning money.
hand#3 is fine going for thin value vs some opponents, have to be careful some people will muck this river without having diamonds and your just value owning yourself vs them.

My company, SIG (trading firm in Philadelphia), is really into poker. They are hosting a free roll employee MTT tonight (1.5k players). First place is 15k. I’m looking for some advice to adjust to the player pool. A majority of players have very little experience playing NL Holdem. Do you guys have any advice how to adjust?

Tournament info:

Starting chips is 1,000 (50bb). Blind increase every 30 minutes.
Round 1 – 10/20
Round 2 – 20/40
Round 3 – 30/60
Etc..

In hand #2 there are only 12 combos that beat you.

As for the tournament play in position,3bet often and open between 2.3x and 3x blind. You can also defend your blind pretty wide.

I assume this is an online turbo?