Hey Patrick I guess ICM is kinda lame since it says to be so tight in spots. It does say you need 63% equity to induce which is QQ+ vs almost all possible 3b jam ranges but nobody really does this. Is it this the best way to play it?
On the same FT table I see gray31 minraise 99 in a similar situation with Fedor in the BB and he's also a beast.

https://gyazo.com/c81e58fe6d6d7a7f80cb2457aea25744

Pragueeeeeeeee

Prague has been pretty fun so far.

Flew on this private on the way there which was pretty cool. Best thing about it is its around 50% quicker, and can just turn up 5 minutes before flight and when you check back out its 5 minutes, so journey is 1hr 4 instead of like 5+.







I got here and usually I never ever leave the hotel. I always tell people Prague is ****, but I went around the city and really loved it. Really great city in lots of ways, so that was refreshing.

First tournament was $50k stars, I had been kind of tipped off that most of the recreationals wouldn't be playing and would be reg-fest, decided to skip it. Went to cinema and grinded online a little bit.

Today was the Party 25k, had been tipped off this field would be pretty special.


Hand 1

3 hands in, 100k deep, I raise 1k, to my left reg made it 3k, I called with QTdd.

Flop 862ddx went check check

Turn 862Addss, villain bet 3k and I'm getting OK pot odds to call, but feel like this deep I want to have some raises and big river bets vs perceived range (don't expect A8/A6 to make 3bet range pre flop and this particular guy to have a2 at high frequency at all) pondered a little bit and decided to go for 20% raise (if tourney clock is 0-10) and just call the rest of the time. Rolled an unfortunate raise and was committed to big turn raise, he called fairly quickly.

Plan was to give up spades, bet diamonds ofc, c/decide Q/T, bluff 7/9 and give up the rest.

River was 862A9, I would have raise and called all t7s combos pre flop and raised both of them ott swell as 97s as some frequency, so fely compelled to go with this one too. I don't expect him to really check AQdd or ATdd that often otf so I didn't think my blockers were that relevant. Pot was 46k, I had 77k behind, I contemplated shoving, but felt a little strange, so just went for slightly overbet of 50K, villain called relatively quickly with AQhh, which seemed reasonable from him.

I grinded it pretty hard on new table, had very interesting hand vs Andreas Elier (sicko!)

Hand 2

250/500 I have 15k, I limp bvb w/K3dd, he checks
K82fd, I min bet, he calls
K823fd, I pot, he calls
K8232, I check, he bets 2/3, I call.

Kind of interesting spot, I think most would bet and it was my 2nd instinct, but I felt all Kx would value bet, and I get value from the fds with no showdown value that would call me. I could raise river, but he never has KJ+ pre flop and the K7/6 etc probably just bet/fold even for this little more and he will have every 2x pre. I call and beat k9.

Hand 3

I have decent stack back now, blinds go up a little bit, The Wolf raises, Christoph Calls, I have 2 jacks, I jam 22bbs, utg calls, Christoph tank calls...

KK2fd, check, bet 7bbs or something, fold. I have JJ vs Cristophs 99 and he backdoors a flush.

REBUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY


I buy back in as field is incredibly good.

Hand 4

I raise Q5hh on button into fish sb + dpeters bb. DP calls.

KT8hh, check, I check back. Decent board to check, won't bet range here, want some hands to call turns, raise turns etc, I can make ace high fold later etc.

KT89hhxx, check, I bet he calls.

KT899, check, I pot. I think my value bet range now will be Kx+ I don't have many natural bluffs here at all really, Qx/Jxhh that checks back the flop and is less than 7, some A7o/A7s kind of hands, so I feel really nice about bluffing this combo. He calls with K3o, which seems reasonable for sure (no heart ofc)

Hand 5

I have 50k, bb1600

Dietrich opens Hijac with 4 strong players behind him, I have 77 in big blind. I was actually pretty sure he was weak from something he responded to somebody, was contemplating jamming even though it would be huge, but wte, call.

K85xdd (i have 77dx, check check)
K854xddx check check
K856Qxddxd check, overbet, I jam.

I was trying to work out in game which hands I wanted to jam here, I know he will bet thinly for value, like QT+ or something like that, so should have decent amount of f/e, I block one of the more likely AXdd combos he will check back twice with. I didn't think he'd have many "good" bluff catchers' hands like QJxd will likely start betting the flop, hands like 98dx he won't raise pre/bet the flop with, he won't ever overbet a hand like 99, he won't raise K9xd, so he will basically only call river when he has Axdd or AdX. For the latter the only one thats possible is AQ, which he might bet flop with? But sure if he has this he will call, he shouldnt have many good bluff catchers here at all though, so think it is good to raise this one.

I worked out I needed to raise, but with his sizing being around 12k and me having 47k, it would be a little too awkward making it 30-38k or something, and I'm pretty sure I would have instinctively been greedy with my value hands too and went all in. I jammed and he talked himself into call with K9xd, which of course is a call after everything we spoke about here, but I just didn't put this into pre flop range facing 4 good regs and also would expect bets on flop/turn at decent frequency too.


Oh well, rebuyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Bullet 3, I have another new table, it was OK. I build up to around 135-145ish mostly from pre flop pots sb vs btn, mp vs ep and no real showdowns. I then 3bet firaldo who was chip leader and was really happy when Ole 4bet jammed vs me, I had AK, but lost to TT. Was short now and decided wouldn't go for the -100k day if this one didn't go well. Firaldo and Mustafa played awesome pre flop pot where Firaldo 5bet huge and showed AJo <3 he said he can't bluff ever again, he opens and as he's finishing his sentence I see AQo and have around 25ishbbs on the button, very very standard 3bet call vs 3bet jam when he's opening a lot and can still leverage here especially with most recent dynamic. He has AK though and its

R
I
P

Kind of weird afterwards, had a moany KFC. I am just so tied between what I want to do in 2018. I'm not sure what I really enjoy the most, online mtts or live mtts. I really hate tanking, hate how slow a lot of the tournaments are (including this party 25k, don't worry not being biased against stars) the thought of a 5 day main event seems like such torture, especially if I played day 1a tomorrow, I have to wait day1b, then all the days are super slow etc. Its so difficult to eat healthy on these stops I don;'t care what anybody says Sleeping patterns get ****ed, everything just is not GTO.

I know the plans for HR's next year and they are crazy exciting, there will be some amazing tournaments, but I just think I'll stick to the very best ones and not "grind the tour". I really just love being in my office, grinding online tournaments. Since being heavy on PIO in the last few weeks I've even been on the cash games on partypoker, come get me sharks! When you win a live tournament it very rarely feels amazing, you're usually absolutely ****ed, mentally drained and just want to go and sleep. Will reconsider plans/goals/expectations for next year so its really good I came here anyway.

For the rest of the trip, I have no idea really. There is the ept main tomorrow, party 5k a little later in the week and a few side events here and there. I'm just not enthused for them to be honest.

I really really loved HR series week last week tbh. I went into it a little bit bitter and against stars etc, but the fact is high stakes online tournaments are just so ****ing good. Playing live tournament where you just get dealt **** for hours and hours and thats what is supposed to happen vs playing 9 super amazing tournaments, really quick, lots of decisions, lots of mentally stimulating hurdles along the way, way more dynamics, stats, bet sizes etc, all day just is super fun. Powerfest/WCOOP/SCOOP kind of times are just so fun and when poker is gone, they are what I'll miss, not some live stops.

It shows me what I really enjoy and what I love about poker though, so for 2018 I think it makes sense to build my year around them.

def took the highest risk of 2017 eating kfc in prague lol.

as always interesting and very open reporting, I dig it!

Always get so inspired to play and grind by reading your posts.

Long term lurker saying thanks for the great great content, best of luck rest of your trip.

Fair write up Pads.

Ul and get 'em next time.

All the best for 2018.

**** it, I have unfinished business in Prague.

LETS GET IT

We go again, glgl

Had pretty enjoyable day.

Busted the 1k win the button relatively early, one of my horses who graduated from development stable to main stable this week and has had an awesome year was last 30 of a 530 side event with 55k ftw, I had no idea how much he had etc, but was pretty sure he was going to win it!

I went and railed for the duration of the tournament, 4-5 hours, spoke to him in-between hands, discussed strategy, how the table dynamics looked like from the outside etc and he got to the ft and eventually after lots of drama finished 3rd for really nice score.

classic pads, couple hours after making plans

EPT/Party $5ks

So went down to play EPT after all! Didn't do much and then played critical hand.

Hand 1

Cut off Walter opens to 700 (bb300) I call button A5dd, Jake Cody calls BB.

Flop
T72ddx
Checks to me, I bet 1500, Jake c/r 5100, I call.

Turn
T728
Bet 8500, call.

River
T7289 FD bricks.

Jake checks.

So my range is something like:
JT/T8/T7s/77/22/TT/98/AJdd/KJdd/QJdd/76s/86s/A2-A6dd

OTR, pot is like 28k and we have like 18k back. Now usually with SPR like this, normal would be to check or to shove. I think with my range I actually benefit from betting a little bit smaller than normal though. I think sets are relatively clear value bets most of the time here, obviously 6x I want to bet and even t9/t8 will be pretty close if I use a small sizing. Vs his range of mostly t7/t2/72/22/77 betting jx non all in seems OK, additionally when I am value betting "thinly" with decent part of my range going smaller and allowing my tournament life to still be intact is pretty important. I decided to bet 7k, which I was very unsure about but after analysing it think in day1 of 5 day tournament is actually very good. He snapped with 86o and was shallow. Ended up limping and then raising over an iso with AA (ALWAYS LIMP AA!!!) and the deuces my opponent played hit a set OTT and it was over to the grandior for the Party 5k.

My first table was pretty jokes, 3 whales, Greenstone (big hearrrrrrt) and Vovtroy. Vovtroy and I have lot of history, he called me a monkey a few times, he was my avatar for long time etc, we get on well though and always fun playing, usually its him being aggressive, me being passive and trying to outdraw him, he doesn't like this even though he smiles through the pain.

I moved to new table with apotheosis who I'm obviously good friends with and this high stakes cash game Russian guy who played really well.

So many hands through the day, but one was particularly interesting.

Hand 2

Whale opens utg (previously 4b snap called 150bbs with AJo vs young skandi) good russian flats, 1 more flat, I call bb with J9hh.

Flop
886xxh
checks to Russian who bets 4.5 into like 12. I make it 12500, he calls. My hand is pretty good choice for x/r, blocker effects means he only has one combo of 98s alive and I block one of the best pairs he will flat pre (I think qq+ is 3bet close to 100% frequency) and when he does call my x/r with 6x or 77/99/TT my jack has equity, as well as having a back door straight draw too, I guess my best x/r combo. He calls anyway..

Turn
886A
I think I have pretty easy give up, board is badugi, no reason to commit more chips.

River
886AJ
I go for 6.5k into 30k ish. I think he will hero call me pretty often with pairs and I don't think he will bet much Ax otf if any at all, he will have to call his pairs getting such good price. He is tanking and I tell him, come on bro you block my bluffs you can't hero call this, he then makes it 35k.

I folded pretty quickly, but on reflection I think its pretty bad bluff, he is ripping

AA (he just never plays AA this way pre vs whale)
JJ (I block it v hard obviously)
98s (I block it, so 1 combo left)
A8s (he can have it but ofc very tough)

The problem is I just couldn't really find many hands he would choose to ever bluff like this. I folded and he showed 77 saying he thought I might have hit jack and he doesn't block J9/JT, which is actually pretttttty sexy from him too since he's basically at bottom of his range, I should have given him more credit as a player and played it differently, on the river as played I think my hand probably ends up being a b/c, but I don't have to worry that much since I have every 8x combo in my range too that I would mix on the turn. So fold is ok, but think the hand is really sexy in terms of different effects of blockers.

Anyway, bagged 165k for end of the day, back at 12 tomorrow and play to a winner. Would love to win this one!





Anyway, was picking some friends up who had been to a club here in Prague eating a KFC and calling an uber waiting for them to hurry up. We bumped into a guy who had punted a final table against my friend like 2 years ago. He was like ahhh yeah big punter and I was thinking that 2 years is long time and that old saying I used to say "if you don't think you sucked 6 months ago then theres something seriously wrong"

Then this random a-ha moment came up to me. If you study poker 5 hours/week or 30 hours/week like a lot of people do, then 6 months is basically only 1 month. So for example, Billy works 5 hours/week on his game but then Crissy studies 30 hours/week on his game, then the 6 month improvement for Billy that he talks about and blogs about etc, is basically done in 1 month by Crissy.

It doesn't sound much, but if you think about now the game, the amount of people that have either 1) Got really good or 2) Became bad reg, the fact is that it will take Billy 6 years to get as good as Crissy does in 1 year, so there's basically no way Billy can ever catch up to the standards of Crissy.

I really don't like that people have a bad opinion about people who study a lot, use solvers, use trackers etc and its seen as if they are the bad guys and the lazy guys who just want to play feel etc are the good guys. When I was 18 years old, I was winning some money live a little bit, losing through deposits online, I couldn't use a HUD properly, I didn't have more than 200 hands on anybody, but I was upstairs drunk in my apartment shouting to random people walking in the street "excuse me mate whats your fold to turn probe in 3bet pot" or something equally absurd. I loved poker, I wanted to be a great poker player, I was a fish, I had intention, I had desire, but I was a losing player adding to the ecosystem, the fact there was cardrunnners, holdem manager etc ATTRACTED me to poker, I loved the dream of being a supernova elite, I wanted to be a grinder. There was so many other people like me too, I had groups of friends who would deposit every week to play 45 man SNG's on full tilt, or 180 mans on stars or the Sunday Million satellites etc, we all had the dream of getting that big score and being a grinder. Having trackers meant you could look over hands together, analyse hands and stats together and be able to be absolutely connected to poker and move up the stakes.

I think that high rake at micros is a really big concern for the future of poker because people at these stakes don't have the taste of success through variance that allows them to get to the next stage of the cash game tree. I remember one deposit I had gone from nl25 to nl50 or whatever and that was ****ing amazing to me. I had the understanding that I should move through the stakes, it made me want to learn more etc, I was still obviously absolutely ****ing dreadful, but the illusion was there that I could be Tom Dwan or Andrew Robl, the online guys who were crushing were made out to be geniuses and pioneers of their generations.

The way the industry has gone now is basically to tell amateurs huds and solvers etc is dangerous and the people using them are geeky guys, even made out to be the bad guys. The younger generation now wants to be Fedor Holz, Charlie Carrel, Mustafa Kanit et etc orr whoever else has been on the hottest streak in tournaments and thus people take shots at big tournaments, they go to their local casino when the partypoker stop comes to town etc, but it really scares me that it isn't cool to be an online grinder anymore, I would bet that less than 1% of 18-24 year old poker enthusiasts could name 3 full names of high stakes online cash game regulars. How crazy is that? These guys are not made out to be heroes or role models, and even if they were with the way the industry is going, the young guys wouldn't be able to track their progress, use poker tracker for what its designed to do (TRACK POKER HANDS FOR SELF DEVELOPMENT) and have the illusion/delusion/hope/chance of making a career for themselves out of poker.

I completely understand businessmen are fearful of 3rd party software, but that isn't the 3rd party software problem, its the sites problem from their complete lack of education. If I play against a recreational for 1000 hands (so so few recreationals I have 1k hands on) my HUD will tell me such little information. Especially the bigger the leak they have the less I need the HUD. HUD's are most useful for REGonReg action where you can analyse very specific things such as fold to turn float after c-betting flop in 3bet pot, and for this kind of stat you will need 200+ occurrences, which won't happen in 10,000+ hands. Regs will NEVER play this kind of volume against amateurs and if they do, their edge will never come from this it will come from blatantly obvious things such as "GOES ALL IN WITH A5 pre flop for 200bbs" "Calls turn all in with 5 high flush draw" these are things anybody with eyes can see and make a note of and nothing a HUD will help you with.

To me sites have 2 very important things they need to do over the next few year:

1- Make it cool to be an online grinder again, celebrate and champion online grinders from all different game types which will in turn inspire recreational players to want to be an online poker professional.

For example, having twitch streamers trying to get gamers to deposit, and then grind nl10 with unbeatable rake and no rake back with no HUD is just literally the most ridiculous thing ever. They are going to lose and thats not fun, they aren't going to realise how they lose and they aren't going to be able to rectify it. We want to move people from strategy games and get them to be gamblers. That is not going to work guys come on!!

2- Educate all amateurs and have the general consensus that HUDs are not dangerous and even if needs be supply basic information on each player which they will realise means literally **** all!

calling prague s h i t
are you out of your mind??

I think a big problem for amateurs starting out, or for the occasional fun player who might want to move up and play poker as a hobby, is that nowadays online poker is too slow and boring for most. Since starting to play again (as a hobby), I find online cashgames more or less unbearable - and this is at the 10-50 level.

Why? Because you have a bunch of nitreg grinders who are playing 12+ tables and who take a lot of time for every decision (like folding 84o UTG). As a result of this, I think someone who wants to deposit a hundred, splash around a bit, have some fun and - if hitting a spot of good variance - in the future maybe start learning and taking the game more seriously, well, this person will be scared of since he will play 1-2 tables, rarely get any action on his good hands, get bored and instead choose to play Black Jack or something like that. Or go down to the local casino instead.

The other option is MTT:s of course, but the problem with MTT:s is that they take a long time. A recreational player looking for some gamble on a Friday night before going out will not have time to sit for 3-6 hours playing a tournament, and then in the end maybe not even getting any money back.

I think this is the bigger problem, there simply is too little incentive for fun players to play even at low stakes and for a recreational player that logs on and sees how hard and boring it is to play something like NL10, it will quickly take out any wish to move up and play higher.

After all, if it is not fun, why would they play? Any realistically thinking adult will realise that even if he won 3 buy-ins at NL10 this evening, it is a small part of what he would make at a real job. If he thought a bit about it and figured he might in a very distant future average 1 NL100 buy-in per day, does that sound like a good prospect for the future? Not really.

So here I think is the main problem - online cashgames are a boring nitfest and this limits the wish of most rec players to play and educate themselves, which in the future of course limits the number of rec players trying to move up etc.

I have noticed this myself, when playing online I mostly play HU PLO, MTT:s, HU SnG:s or Hyper SnG:s. MTT:s not so often since I can play from 9-10 PM until bedtime, and I have a family and a business to run, so I rarely want to stay up past midnight. I am a rec, I would like to win some money (and if I run good, I more often than not donate the money at a higher-stakes table since I play for fun) but if I lose it is like whatever, if I would luckbox a bigger score I probably would try to take the game more seriously and play something like the 100-400 levels (but still not full time), but if there is no real action and/or the games are boring, what is the reason for me to play?

None whatsoever.

And this is the main problem that sites need to address if they want to grow the cashgame eco-system of online poker - it needs to be fun to play, especially at the lower levels. Otherwise there is no incentive to play, improve and move up, and in the long run it will deplete the total money pool going upwards as well.

Another thing that might scare people starting out is also GTO etc. If you ask for advice on a NL10 hand and get a reply in the line of "your range is capped and he should probably have some bluffs around 35% of the time, you do however block his A8 bluffs, but you are near the top of your range so call" it is scary.

"You have TPTK against an aggressive player, more often than not you should call, but sometimes he will of course show up with a set" is probably the reply that most beginners would be more helped by.

Applying advanced concepts and GTO to ones game before learning the basics is like learning to ride a bike before learning to walk. To discover and exploit obvious leaks etc. is more important than GTO, bluffing ranges on T82r boards in 3-bet pots etc. when starting out.

^^^ So true. There are so many people who come online and look to make their first hand history post of a 2NL hand where they got to the river with a missed flush draw and want to know how much to bet.

Most of the replies are about having a balanced sizing range and what cards you have in your range and your percieved range etc etc - fact is that your average 2NL grinder doesn't have a ****ing clue what balance is...

IMO the biggest growth area for online poker is SnG MTT and Turbo & Hyper MTT. For some absurd reason, Stars (who offer best SnG MTT range imo) list the average time length at the bottom of the tourney information.

Those tourneys are perfect for recs - they can play them in a few hours in the evening, they are relatively fast paced, they don't cost a lot and the ROI is good if they bink one.

Today, Stars are offering rewards for 180 man SnG if you win two or more. That's crazy, I don't even know if anyone will do that in one day. Rewards are a prize of up to $5k and an allin shootout.

These kinda promotions need to happen more often in these kind of tourneys. They are the best way to attract recs who fancy a bit of a gamble. Those players aren't going to sit at a 2NL table for 2 hours to win 13c...

Hey Patrick, love your vlogs!

I don't think it's as simple as that. There are sooooo many factors in it. For example a guy with the biggest winrate in our Spin n go stable (maybe outside of stable also) doesn't work almost at all outside of the tables. But he is super concentrated, prepared for sessions and improve by observing opponents, testing what works etc. Also Cumicon, 7 million profit in plo hu and he said he doesn't work outside of tables either. Other guys grind their asses off outside of tables and never reach the winrate of those guys. It's probably the case mostly in softer field games like midstakes mtts, spins.
But the idea is that player A will not guarantee to have 6 times more knowledge than player B even if he works 6 times more than him outside of tables:
- Player B might be a more focused, observant, better learner at the tables.
- Player B player might get population tendencies/another database based information put on silver plate by stable/friends which would take you tens/hundreds of hours to figure out by yourself.
- Player B learning method might be more efficient.
- Every extra hour you put studying in a day will give less and less knowledge because our brains have limitations so during hour #6 of studying you will not be able to consume as much knowledge as during hour #1.
- Many other factors.

IMO cutting rb and other benefits for top regs has also a negative psychological effect on recs who would like to possibly become a pro one day, I think every decision that's making life of a pro harder like:
-no more vpps for live tourneys (few years ago)
-rake increase at higher stakes (I believe it happened some time ago? At plo at least? Not sure tho)
-no more bracelets/watches etc
-and obv bb sne welcome chests
Discourage a part of recs from playing. It probably won't affect recs who play once a week/month but for those who take poker as a real hobby, follow the news, read 2+2 and live event coverages and hope to become a pro one day every news about poker dying is a discouragement.
Maybe I'm overestimating it tho, ppl at stars aren't stupid and they know that they need to sustain in the long run so I guess they analyzed it, it's the profit what counts after all. Anyway we need a serious competitor for them so gl party.

Wysłane z mojego Redmi Note 3 przy użyciu Tapatalka

Subbed. Enjoying the read. Gl with the goals.

Wow, what an intense day.

I slept like 3 hours last night, I just couldn't sleep, so much stuff going through my mind. Usually I have so much strat going through my mind, its a little bit OTT like maybe something wrong with me that I'm addicted to it, at home I can just get lost in Pio or wherever and work it out, but on live trips, it just goes around my mind circling trying to work it all out, thinking of all the variables.

Got to the 5k day 2, it was really really great field, 110 runners, lots of SHR regs, lots of fun regs who I play a lot against online. I decided that it was just going to be a battle and I was going to play as well and focused as possible. So many ups and downs throughout the day, I played better than I ever have done live. I usually will make a few mistakes in a tournament, sizing slightly too big/small in some spots, maybe should bet some more somewhere, fold some more somewhere but I really just wouldn't change anything today.

That in itself ^ is really lucky. Lets say there is 100,000 spots in poker, obviously I don't know them all well and there will be spots I will be completely lost and not understand but I felt like today I just got it all right. Which is massively down to luck of card distribution I guess.

Eventually got 3rd for $65k. Very frustrating as I really wanted to win. I do a lot of hypnosis and guided meditation and at the start of every session I look at myself at my very best (2015 stars 109r on a sunday when I played complete A game throughout and haven't got to that level since probably) and before each session I use that as my motivation for where I want to get to in the session. Winning this one would have meant a lot I think, way more than Aria 25ks for 400k or whatever, just felt this was really, really fun tournament. It's nice that especially for live poker pre game meditation I'll have a new day to "look back on" and try and shift my energy/gears etc towards.

Made one "results" incorrect play and bluffed top set in a really cool spot. I'll break them down.

Hand 1

I open 77 UTG, Max Silver calls off pretty shallow stack on the button, Holy Hell calls the bb.

Flop
643hhx, I bet 1/3 which vs presumably suited broadway heavy and trap heavy range OTB its good with all ace highs for protection (blocking AA is so fkn huge and unblocking the broadways means a8s or whatever will be doing really well folding his hands out. Anyway, he calls and I'm like jesus wtf , bb calls too.

Turn
6437xhhh
BB leads medium size, I have tough spot, I think Max has to have either AA/KK or flop flush draw, when I call he's likely to jam and then bb will often rejam and I'm going to be super ****ed. WTE though, I have top set, we'll work out pot odds later, bb might fold or just call etc. Max folds, AA no heart I guess?

River
64372xhhhh
Holy Hell checks, I have top set, but my range OTT is Axhh, AhAx, KhKx, AQhx, AKhx, 77, A5s.

So whilst I have top set, its the very bottom of my range and I have to turn it into a bluff theoretically vs a good player and he will have a terrible time with any flush/straight. He folds some straight/flush and that felt good.

Hand 2

6 left, 3 short stacks, 3 bigger stacks, I raise as 3/6 in cut off, 2/6 flats button, 5/6 flats bbs.
I have QJo

Q84r, I cbet, button folds, bb now shoves. I bet like 115 and he shoved 600k.

Now I know he's very good cash game reg, understands ranges etc, there is just no way in hell he should ever ever ever shove QTo here, I had no idea what he had, but I just assumed he must have some 84, 44, 88, AA, AQ, KQ kind of hand. I tanked and everybody said it was ridiculous and they didn't believe me, he showed me Jh which obviously is really tilting, but actually felt really amazing that with 3m chips I could make big fold like this and think of the ranges deeply, sometimes when you make a bad play in terms of results, it can still be the right play long term and theoretically correct. From 6 handed play there I just felt awesome because I knew I'd trust myself. In big final tables I have maybe not trusted myself sometimes, or not found the smallest detail and made a mistake.

One mistake really bugs me. I was on final table like 4 months ago or something, Nick Petrangelo limps sb as 1/6 with 80bbs, I have 10bbs and KK and raise instead of making the easiest check in history. I realised at that time that there was something that allowed me to get to 98% of my top game, but for whatever reason that last 2% which separates the really good players from the actual best in the world and people who make great decisions all the time, was missing in that hand and that still really annoys me!

I have no idea what I want to do in 2018, I don't even know if I should have plans/goals or just wing it month by month seeing how I feel.

What do you guys think? Make huge goals and try and stick to them at start of year or make weekly/monthly etc goals?

pads have you thought about making a video just delving into setting up and reading and utilitzing a HUD? That may help make it seem not so daunting and "cheating" to some people

Here is a good one from a friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycU53FGWTyM

" Since being heavy on PIO in the last few weeks I've even been on the cash games on partypoker, come get me sharks! "

I hope it means you will be a coach at bitB CG too

Had a really nice couple of weeks over Christmas. My family was here from Newcastle and the gfs family were here from Hungary. Tough for them all to communicate with language barriers, but everybody got on very well. Ate so so so so much, jesus.

Anyway, I started doing some Pio work tonight (NYE) at around 10pm, I looked at the clock and it was 0:40, so completely missed new years eve haha, pretty geeky, but its now 4am and just finished the 6 hour study grind, good start to the New Year feeling just fantastic about poker right now, never been this happy and content.

In terms of real life, tomorrow (as it is for so many others!) begins a new start of healthy living. Eating better and made some pretty large prop bets with multiple people to run 1500m on the tredmill over the next 365 days. It's "only" 5/day, but thats about as much as I managed in 2017!! There will be times I'm away for 2 weeks, have to catch up, exercise and activity I do outdoor won't count, I'm looking forward to it though.

My gf completely redesigned my office, in a new room in the house, did it up so well, it feels so motivating to be in the office, I literally couldnt have done it any better myself, people love materialistic things, big cars, watches etc, but something like this is 100000x better for me. I really believe the different between a good player and a very good player is his set up. It is a complete game changer imo.

Just so excited to grind, get fitter, play more football, crush with bitB, really, really motivated to hopefully having an amazing year.

Will definitely not travel for live poker in January, will be at home for sure grinding the different series and the fitness stuff. February I maaaaayyyyyy go to Kings in Rozvadov, I really don't want to travel atm for poker until Barcelona in April, but the schedule at Kings is going to be phenomenal.

The "p-files" has been coming on amazing, have hundreds of hours of content there, so will put some time aside to analysing all of that too.

We (bitB) announced our results for 2017 yesterday, we had the lofty goal of $5m profit, we managed to get close ($4.7m) but not as close as we wanted. Not sure what I'm going to say for 2018. Lets say $10m, but don't hold me to that.

I'm going to write some more goals (on top of the ones I wrote a few months ago when starting this blog again)

$10m bitB profit
$250,000 online profit
$100,000 live profit
125 online sessions
30 live tournaments
1000 hours of study
1500km on tredmill
100 games of football

hehe, well no, I'm not as good as those guys at 100bb no ante unfortunately, but I'm getting there!

We just made an official agreement with an amazing team for bitB cash, I think people are going to love it!

1500m on a treadmill in a year, so 5 meters per day. what a tremendous effort

joke aside, gl for your goals and happy new year

Pics of office or it didn't happen

Happy new year from our family to yours and GL this year!