Yeah, I am using Poker Stove... Just ran it again a couple hours again, and got roughly 34%... Oh well, yeah it is a close/marginal spot either way, but my default strategy when facing such a decision in game, is to rely on my blockers. In this case I would fold 1010, JJ and AA, call with QQ and KK. I really like this default strategy ; outside of swaying significant odds in our favor or not, it avoids either leak of hero calling too muc hor nit folding and keeps us somewhat balanced, GTO wise...

Anyhow, glad to see that poker is going well Hope to see you move up to 2-5 soon and equally hope that the writing project is moving along smoothly.

GL friend

ty ty, it'll probably be a while until 2/5 but I'm not in any hurry. Looking forward to your next poker/travel update as always.

put in good volume yesterday. Ran into a weird spot vs. an active/decent player. with 200 behind, I raise AK to 10 from EP and he makes it 30 from the sb (villain covers).

I flat and we see an AT4 flop. He bets 20, I call.

Turn Q ($100), he bets 20, I call.

River 6 ($140), he checks, I bet $75, he instafolds AA faceup.

I guess the main decision is whether or not to raise the turn and represent the nuts/a bluff. Very tough to get value, obviously, and I decided to just call to let him barrel or hero a river.

One more session tonight and then a weekly review. Should be able to hit volume goal.

Wrapping up at Hammond, On to Prairie Wind

I managed to hit my volume goal of 40 hours last week at the Shoe. There were times when it felt like a grind, but overall I felt good and played ok. I'm consciously in tag/nit ABC mode, which I think is the right place to start as I get acclimated to the live pokers. Rarely bluffing, looking to get value, trying to put people on ranges. Still lost in a lot of spots and have a long way to go. But it's safe to say that the first leg of this trip has been a success.

After leaving Hammond I drove about five hours to Des Moines, Iowa and stopped at Prairie Wind Casino. My usual plan is that, if I'm not visiting a friend or a hiking spot, I stop near a poker room. A few resources for those of you looking for obscure poker destination spots.

The pokeratlas.com (get the app too). Be careful, though, because the site lists games that might not run every day or that might not even be poker (Ultimate Texas Holdem, a blackjack variant, rather than the real thing, for ex).
bravolive app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brav...470322257?mt=8
less comprehensive than the pokeratlas, but much more detailed/valuable because it lists which games are actually running.
The brick and mortar thread on 2+2 is worth searching too.

The game at Prairie Wind was very different than at the Shoe, as you might guess. At the 1/2 limit, the Shoe had a lot of bad grinders/wannabe pros, whereas PW was filled with recreational players and clueless donks. The room was small, clean, had friendly dealers, and allowed for a 100-300 buyin at 1/2. Highly recommended if you're passing through.

I beat the game pretty good for my biggest win on the trip so far.

Reflecting on Rob Farha's Reflections, Putting the "Thinking" into Thinking Poker

The PG&C forums have quickly become my favorite 2+2 forum. This is probably because I like stories, and the best goals threads are less about poker hands and more about personalities, about people growing into and out of their identities as poker players. An especially insightful one is written by Rob Farha, a successful Vegas grinder and a good writer to boot: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...as-now-998922/. One of his recent posts, about Dan Colman and the poker lifestyle, struck a chord with me. "Poker as a whole is a negative to just about everyone, myself included," Rob says. He goes on to say that "An overwhelming majority of people I have came across in poker are awful, at both life and poker. Poker and life have an inverse relationship in my experience. The better you are at poker, the worse you are at life. The worse you are at poker, the better you are at life." I encourage you all to read the full post and ensuing discussion here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...postcount=2339.

It seems that Dan Colman's comments struck a chord with some of the poker community. He's a polarizing figure, just as the questions he raises--is playing poker a good thing? Do poker players improve or harm society? Are poker players scummier than the average bear?--have received polarizing responses. For evidence, just take a look at Rob's thread.

Rather than weighing in myself, I want to post two more quotes that keep ringing in my head about why Colman, Rob, and many others return to these questions. The first is from Mike Caro, whom the anthropologist David Hayano quotes in his ethnography of poker: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...4&postcount=76. “The most difficult aspects of playing poker professionally,' says Caro, "are coping emotionally with the losses and coping with the recurring idea that you’re not doing anything worthwhile.” The question remains, though, why poker players tend to dwell on this question. Nate Meyvis, a philosophy grad student and cohost of The Thinking Poker podcast, offers an answer in their podcast's last episode:

"Poker is a bit of an unusual lifestyle, and you see a lot of unusual things, and you'll be spending so much time engaged in what can seem a very trivial game. But, paradoxically, it makes one much more prone to focus on big questions. I think what keeps people from thinking about [big questions]...is because they're distracted by things that seem important but are not. And I think that reflective people who play poker have come to terms, one way or another, with the fact that they're playing a game for a long time, and I think that playing a game for a living causes people to really confront, frequently and deeply, the question of what a good human life is. Because it may seem outrageous that poker can be a central part of a good human life--even though i think it can be--but I think because of its apparent ridiculousness, or at least its being unusual, it makes it easier to focus on the really big questions as a poker player."

You can check out the full episode here: http://www.thinkingpoker.net/2014/10...andrew-brokos/

Your observations, here, seem accurate to me, Bob. I've read Rob Farha's PGC material too; it's very much a caveat for aspiring poker players, sincere and convincing, although his theory about poker/life is designed to be provocative IMO. There seems to be a rising trend in the forums about "scams" in poker at the moment, which, while not directly related to Daniel Coleman's comments, is nonetheless part of the same discursive territory. While much "bad" money will always be floating around the poker world (as, I'm sure, is the case with other commercial worlds too), it would seem that the word "poker" itself is polluted these days: very much a "bad" thing, in the moral sense. If we took an anthropological perspective, then it would be safe enough to assume that poker very much functions as an "other" to many "good" things in life (i.e. family, 9 to 5 existence, community, productivity, honesty, etc.,). To me, when I see a discussion of "scamming" or "cheating" or "Daniel Coleman's comments", I see someone wishing to express their social anxiety about the game they love to play. It would be much better if these people identified poker for what it is: a genuine social contradiction.

I wonder if "poker" is more or less polluted a word than in the past.

Agreed. I respect the struggle, though, because in grappling with the problem, maybe some poker players will be able to work out a resolution for themselves. As Dan Colman's example shows, money and success do not guarantee peace of mind. Maybe just the opposite? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUhRKVIjJtw

Montana and the Poker Parlor

After Little House on the Prairie Wind, I headed northwest to the see the Badlands and Devil's Tower.





I continued on to the rustic wilderness of Montana, one of the most remote and beautiful states. It would be too far to make it all the way to my brother in Missoula, so I stopped in Billings, MT, after thepokeratlas listed a small room, the Poker Parlor, that ran 1/2 NL with an uncapped buyin. That sounded promising.

Poker players debate all the time where the juiciest games can be found. Vegas? LA? Florida? There's no question in my mind is that the really good games are in the most remote, inaccessible places. The places that few people know about. Enter the Poker Parlor.

For those who aren't familiar with Montana's stance regarding casinos and poker, the state allows bars or restaurants to pay a paltry yearly fee of something like 50 bucks. In exchange, owners can run poker rooms right out of their establishment. When I walked into the PP, the room reminded me more of the shady Houston underground games that I had once played in: four or five tables, no music, one guy behind a desk doling out chips and cash to the players. Except, here, everything was legal. There was one NL game running with a lot of cash on the table and one fixed limit game.

After about a thirty-minute wait, I got a seat and bought in for my usual 300 stack. With the exception of a younger Latino guy, everyone at the table was over sixty and grizzled. Three men wore ten-gallon cowboy hats, and one of them wore a long black handlebar mustache.

After folding for about an orbit and witnessing very loose, splashy action, I looked down at AA: UTG+1 and bumped it to 15 and got five callers. I cbet $50 on a K43 flop and was promptly minraised by a white-haired man wearing a Broncos hat. Suddenly I faced wa decision for my stack. Given the possibility that he might be spazzing/"seeing where he's at" with Kx, I ruled out folding. This guy was no nit. The question, then, was whether to ship or flat. I decided to flat call and underrep my hand, with the added benefit that calling would keep bluffs in his range. I checked an A turn--both a good and a bad card for me, it seemed--only to see him slide $100 into the middle. With only $55 behind, my decision was trivial. I moved in and the guy instafolded.

"Bluffing me on the first hand, eh, sir?" I said.

"I had two pair there," he said. "Caint beat AK."

Sure you did.

Over the next few hours, I played in one of the best games I've ever seen. Guys were spewing chips and reloading every other hand. One other wrinkle to Montana poker is that pots are capped at $800 bucks. This led one guy to claim that he was "priced in" for $200 bucks in a four-way pot pre. His J6ss > AA > KK > XX.

Despite a gnawing desire to get involved as much as possible, I reminded myself to stay disciplined and bet for value. I watched as the young guy built a 2K stack with loose-aggressive play. When he raised a limp to $21, I coldcalled from the sb with TT and $600 effective, and the limper called too. I check/called a $25 cbet on 984 and binked a T on the turn. I led $80 and he folded KK faceup. "Too bad you're not playing against anyone else at the table," he told me.

Later, in a restraddled pot, I made it $30 with ATo from the cutoff and got shoved on by an atrocious donk for $66. The BB, a new guy, coldcalled and stared me down. With $600 behind and a marginal hand, 4betting seemed spewy to me so I called. Flop J6J, check, check. We checked down two rags and he showed T6 for a pair. Ah. So that's what you're cold-calling with.

My favorite hand of the night happened when a guy with 2K raised a straddle to 15, I flat with TT, another guy flats behind, and the straddler, the guy from the previous hand, makes it 55. Original raiser calls, I call--in hindsight this is probably spew, since my potential win is capped at "only" $800--the guy behind shoves for 300. The straddler tanks, shoves, and gets heads up with 99 vs. AJ and holds. Gambooooool

I should have stayed, but I was exhausted from a lack of sleep and 10 hours of driving, so I booked a decent win and called it a night.

Bob's Bankroll: 2.5K



Now, it's time for some hiking, relaxing, and catching up on work. GL all!

Hey I read this today randomly and I play in this room and was actually there the day you ran into him. I was sitting at a table across from the guy you are speaking about and remember thinking it was odd that the guy was up talking to you so excitedly because he usually just sits and says nothing and creeps everyone out. I didn't know about the news article you referenced and won't be telling anyone but sure does validate me always thinking he gave off some strange ranger vibes. So random that I just happen to read your thread today and see this... Small world.

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wow. that is random. He definitely seemed different to me, too, even after talking for just a few minutes. Part of me thinks that poker is his way of coping: he can sit there, surrounded by people, without having to engage with them.

How are the games in that room? Seemed like a lot of regs, but I appreciated that the games played pretty deep.

moar Montana pics

subbed

The games there usually run super deep as you mentioned and are super reg infested. Straight grinders playing for rent money types... It can be fun on the weekends when the non-reg types filter in but most nights you are going to have to fight for each pot. I have played here for a little over 2 years and I will say that the constant battle with the regs has helped me tremendously when I go to other rooms where the competition is usually much softer. In my opinion Tunica, Lake Charles, Cinci, and a few others I go to sometimes are much easier to make consistent $...

I wanted to say as well I have enjoyed your book reviews and other musings... In my experience it is somewhat rare to find such a cerebral poker player.

glad to hear you're making the most of your situation. I enjoyed playing there, although I don't know when I'll be back.

And thanks for the kind words! I always appreciate it when people like the blog.

From Montana to Montego Bay to Zion

Here's a pic of Mystic Lake, an artificial dam in the Bitterroot Mountains. I saw zero people on the six-mile hike.



After an enjoyable week catching up with my brother, I headed south on route 93. Truly a remote and beautiful drive. I've been getting incredibly lucky with the weather. After a long day of travel I pulled in to my next poker stop: Montego Bay in West Wendover, NV.

As I walked into the glitzy casino, I wondered how the players would compare to the gambly Montana ranchers. This, after all, was Nevada, poker capital of the country and perhaps the world. I walked toward my 1/2 seat and saw a young, earbudded grinder-type slide one seat to his left, forcing me to sit out of position to him. This made me suspect that he was good. I like to keep the open seat on my right, too, to block a good player from gaining position on me. Other signs pointed to him being solid: he comfortably shuffled a few chips from his monstrous stack, his swagger suggesting that he was used to beating these games. I wasn't liking my seat.

I paid special attention in the first pot that he got involved in, when a bald guy in his thirties opened to 12 from the cutoff and Earbuds flatted from the sb. He check/called a $20 cbet on K43 and led a 6 turn, which the original raiser called. Could Earbuds have a strong King? a set? Was he semibluffing with a draw? All seemed possible.

The river, the T, completed the flush. Earbuds indolently placed a large stack of reds in the middle and sat motionless. I tried to put him on a hand.Maybe he had read his opponent's hand as a weak King and was going for thin value with AK/KQ. Maybe he was double (or even triple) range merging, turning his 56 into a bluff to fold out a higher flush.

I grew uncomfortable as I sat out of position to this rounder. Was I ready for such a sharkfest? This was Nevada poker, not some dingy Montana poker parlor. The truth began to sink in: I'm in over my head. I started scanning the room for a new seat. I could silently slip away. No one would ever know I was here.

"Call." Baldy waited as Earbuds smirked, shook his head, and flipped...47. No good vs. Baldy's QQ.

Oh.

***

Within twenty minutes, my first impression of Earbuds--slightly embellished here --was erased when he dusted off his stack with terrible bluff after bluff. As usual, the other players proved themselves to be terrible too. And again, as usual, I won not by proving to be a good player, but by being less bad than everyone else. A few hands from the session.

All hands were at the same table, which was loose, splashy, and overall very good.

Hand One

Reads

Villain ($300) is a middle-age ABC tight/passive. Bets when he has it.

V2 ($40): clueless.

Hero (covers) TAG, my image is clean.

limp, limp, hero limps A5, limp, Villain raises to 12, we all call.

Flop goes five ways and we see a 238 flop ($60). V2 leads 6, main Villain makes it $25, Hero sees V2 ready to muck and raises to $60, Villain INSTASHIPS, hero instafolds.

I thought that Villain was the kind of guy who could fold an overpair to my "obvious set." I was wrong, or I picked a bad spot. We were chatting later and Villain told me that he had 333, which I believe.

Hand Two

Reads

Villain ($300) Loose and generally passive older guy who sometimes got aggressive with draws. When he raised pre he tended to continue repping strength

Hero (covers): I've opened up a bit, but I'm still playing far fewer hands than the rest of the table.

V button-straddles 6, folds to hero who raises to $16 with 77, V calls.

Flop Q32 ($35), hero bets 15, Villain calls.

Turn 2 ($65), hero bets $30, villain calls.

River 8 ($125), hero checks, villain bets $60, hero calls and
Hand 3

same villain as above. He busted and reloaded for $300, seems slightly tilted.

Hero (covers) flats villain's EP raise to $12 with 56 in the cutoff, the button and sb call.

Flop 428 ($48), villain cbets $30, hero calls others fold.

Turn 8($108), villain bets 60, hero folds. Villain proudly flips QQ. Really wanted to ship the turn, but I don't think he's folding an overpair. Is anyone flatting the turn/bluffing rivers?

Hand 4

hero has a river decision with 77 on a KK4K7 board when the button bet $35 into $110 and the villain from the previous two hands tank called. The original raiser, an Eastern European guy sitting on my direct left, had checked the flop, so the question is whether he could check 99-QQ and vbet the river. I look for a live read. The guy leans back in his seat, looks at his friend, and says in a calm clear voice, "I just have an Ace." I mentally thank him, call, and win the pot (other villain had 55).

Bob's Bankroll: 2.8K

***

Drove to Zion National Park today. I made the mistake of coming on a Saturday. Despite it being the off-season, the park was packed. Nevertheless, I took the shuttle to the Angel's Landing trail, a 5 mile hike with some serious exposure and beautiful views. The final trail reminded me of a less scary version of Mt. Katahdin's Knife Edge.



I enjoyed the hike, but there were so many people on the trail.Tourists and teenie-boppers scurried around like ants, swarming up and down the rocky switchbacks. I'll take the solitude of Mystic Lake any day. After reaching the summit, I separated myself from the chatter, the posing, and the selfies, and looked down at the gorgeous view below. For a moment I was reminded of the ending of The Great Gatsby, when the narrator, Nick, laments being born too late to appreciate the untouched American wilderness. "And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors’ eyes — a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder."




Of course, we have something that Nick didn't: Vegas baybee!

Gambler's Book Club



Stopped by the Gambler's Book Club, which recently moved a few block south of the old strip on Fremont: gamblersbookclub.com

The collection was by far the most comprehensive I had seen on poker/gambling/Vegas material. The books in this pic comprised like 1/5 of the poker books in the store!



I worked slowly through the collection. Amazing how much strategy--or "strategy"--has been published. I was familiar with a good chunk of the material but here are a few titles that look appealing.

Literature/Poker Stories

A friendly game of Poker, edited by Ira Glass (host of the podcast This American Life)

David Spaniel, The Hand I played.

The Prop and Full House (a collection of poker stories) by Pete Hautman

Strategy/Improvement

Positive Poker: A Modern Psychological Approach To Mastering Your Mental Game by Patricial Cardner and Jonathan Little.

Jonathan Little on Live No-Limit Cash Games.

obv got the chance to skim only, but Little's book looks pretty good. Would like to take a closer look.

Ed Miller, Poker's 1%: The One Big Secret That Keeps Elite Players On Top. The secret: know your frequencies.

On the subject of addiction, I wasn't aware of Neil Isaacs book You Bet Your Life (academic)

As someone doesn't want/need a lot of stuff, I own way too many books. I gave away hundreds when I moved out of my place and I still have too many. So I resisted buying any of these titles except one, a good edited collection of classic gambling tales: http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Gambl.../dp/1592283187.

Love your thread. So many great books I want to read, you also reminded me I want to check out that bookstore. I've checked out their booth at WSOP, but it's not the same thing. Good luck in Vegas.

thanks a bunch. If you (or anyone else) have books that you think I should know about, feel free to post about them itt.

Yeah, the bookstore's excellent--very comprehensive. Definitely check it out when you have a moment.

I'd appreciate advice on this hand, I cross-posted in LLSNL forum: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...river-1488154/

1/2 NL at the Venetian. Comments on all streets appreciated, but the river decision gave me the most trouble.

Reads

UTG ($200): older woman who limps 100% of her range, she limped KK on the button etc.

HJ ($180): older man who just sat down, so far he's been limpy and has opened a few pots to $7.

CO ($100): middle-aged Indian man who also limps 100% of his range. He's also proven to be a station. In an earlier hand I bet flop, bombed turn, bombed river with A3 on AA347 and got paid.

Hero (covers): TAG, have only showed down the A3 hand, bet/folded one other time to a check/raise

The Hand

UTG limps, HJ limps, CO limps, Hero limps the SB with AJ, BB checks.

I raise or limp depending on table conditions. I elect to limp here because (1) UTG and CO are limping roughly top 30% including all premiums, and they definitely limp/call hands that dominate us; and (2) bloating a pot with AJoff out of position vs. stations is a recipe for trouble. If this is a mistake, let me know.

Flop J78 ($10) hero leads ten, HJ calls, CO calls.

Turn 6 ($40) Hero leads $25, both villains call.

River 8 ($115). HJ has roughly $120, CO has $60ish. Hero...?

What worse hands would call a bet here? Seems like checking it down is fine with your show down value. They either miss their draws and fold to a bet or one of them now likely has a better hand then you

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A lot of combos imo--A river bet targets KJ, QJ, JT and both villains can have these hands.

My default pre is to raise, but completing is fine given your reads on UTG and CO, especially oop like you said. OTR I'd say its a small b/f vs the HJ, something like $40. We obv have to call if the CO shoves $20 more. There is definitely value to be had. Betting $40 will even get us called by worse in two spots sometimes.

Raise pf for value especially given reads. As played flop and turn look good, I would bet 60 otr.

Nice meeting you, great pics from Montana!

I've read two of Hautman's poker novels, The Prop and Ring Game. The latter is, despite its pretensions, not much about poker and more a Donald Westlake-style caper novel than a mystery. On the other hand, I would rate The Prop among the best of the poker mysteries I've read. In it, Hautman creates an interesting protagonist, handles the poker angle well, and writes so cleanly that, while he’s not Elmore Leonard, you're never disappointed by it.

Thanks guys. One guy in the other thread said pre was terrible, but most didn't seem to have a problem with it. As played I bet 60 otr, the HJ minraised allin, CO folds, I fold.

Nice meeting you too! Since I saw you I've been flopping sets and stacking donks. I'll call this phase my "Pure(Aggression) Rungood."

Thanks, Russell. I'll add The Prop to my short list.

One more session today in Phoenix before Green Valley, AZ, the last leg of the trip.

Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson

My time in Vegas coincided with the November 9 final table. I stopped by the Rio to watch some of the action; here's a pic from the nosebleed seats.



I want to watch the broadcast more closely, but I had an eye on the action as I grinded the Bellagio 1/2 game. Seems that everyone who made the FT--and especially the top three, Jacobson, Van Hoot, and Stephensen--were excellent players. Poker has come so far in the last ten years that it's scary to think where we'll be in another ten. Still trying to get my head around Van Hoof's overbet shove here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/87...ing-q-1488476/

The best part of Vegas was meeting up with fellow 2+2ers squidpoker, pureaggression, and Varx. Was great to hear their insights about poker and the Vegas lifestyle. Squid (to borrow one of my Dad's expressions) has probably forgotten more about poker than I'll ever know!

Who's continuing here?

Hero ($300) just sat down at Aria 1/2 and raises AA, maybe his third or fourth hand at the table. The SB, a midtwenties guy who covers me, calls.

Flop J94 ($32)

c, hero bets $16, SB raises to $50

Talking Stick

Drove down to Phoenix and met another 2+2er, Duke, whose pizza-flipping skills are second only to his poker prowess: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...urney-1376971/

Talking Stick has one of the nicest poker rooms I've seen and, from what I could tell from two sessions, good action too. Late in my session yesterday, when I was tired and up about $300, I reached deep into my bag of tricks and employed a highly advanced strategy for the next two hours.

I folded.

I folded nearly every hand for two hours straight. Then, when I was almost ready to pick up, a passive station ($400) limped from EP and I ($600) raise QTfrom the cutoff. The BB and station both call and we see a

K9J flop ($40)

c, station leads $20, hero misclick-raises to $60 (meant to make it $70), BB flats, station flats.

Turn 7 ($220). c, c, I ship. The dealer tells me I can only bet $300, which I do. BB folds, station sigh-calls off his stack, and the river bricks out. "How can I fold?" he says, flipping K7.

So my "Pure(Aggression) Rungood" continued, putting a nice finishing touch on a fun, challenging, and profitable grind.



Volume has been meh, but I'm not too worried about it. Traveling is tiring, and playing after traveling is even harder. I'm satisfied with my progress so far and look forward to the next leg of the trip. For the time being, I'll be in Green Valley (just south of Tucson) and will be focusing on writing. I'm sure I'll check out Casino Del Sol at some point, though, and I may return to Vegas in a week or so.

I'll leave you with Mt. Wrightson, a peak that offers a nice view from my parents' backyard.

If you are coming to Casino del Sol shoot me a PM and I'll meet you there. I'll be up at TSR this weekend but back in Tucson next week.

Nothing but 1-2 or 1-3 games at CSD most of the time, but occasionally a 2-5 game goes. I've pretty much given up on it for decent sized games.