Played twice since coming back to CT (both at Mohegan). Action has been good at the casino with the tournament series and people getting their tax returns. I've also been running really well (won 2 k pot 77 > 89 on 67T flop).

Haven't been to the woods like like 2 months b/c they stopped giving me free rooms and I don't like the room as much.

A KingFish inspired hand


Villain: plays lose pre, calling-station post-flop

eff stacks 525

Pre: V raises 15, MP calls, I 3-bet to 65 with 86 OTB, V calls, MP folds

Flop(145): J64
V leads 75, I call

Turn (295): 8
V leads 150, I call

River (595): 3
V chks, I go all in (235 eff), V calls after what seems to be 5 minutes

MHIG

Woke up in flushing NY, on Saturday morning and had some dim sum



took the #7 train to grand central and then the train to Milford. Took me a good 4 hours to get home. Had to take 2 hour nap because I was exhausted. Got to the casino at 8:30pm and played till 1:30 am. Won 300BB from hitting 4 sets and 3 straights.

Woke up at 12:00 the next day and went hiking at sleeping giant in Hamden



all in all a pretty good weekend

Significant Sample Size

Recently recorded 1,000 hours on my excel file. I have played ~440 hours at 1/2, 550 hours of 2/5 (and 5/5), and 10 hours of 5/T. It has taken me 1 year and 9 months to accumulate the hours. I am a very different player than I was from the first hour to now.

When I first started, I was playing 1/2 with no concept of position. I would raise and call too many hands out of position just because they were good looking hands. I would also spew way more often, making calls in spots where I was obv beat with no odds to call or big bluffs in spots where I didn't have enough fold equity. I'd would also check back in spots where a value bluff was better (losing in on value). I played tired, I played tilted, and I played hungry (although that wasn't too bad, still do it on occasion). I probably had more leaks that I am not remembering.

Even with all these leaks, I was still able to grind out a small profit and build a roll for 2/5. Playing 2/5 for the first time taught me the value of playing in position. It is always harder to extract value or execute a bluff if you are OOP. I thought I needed to have a lag style to crush 2/5. I've encountered several players and 2+2 posts who don't play lag that crush the game (even a few nits). Having a good overall game is much more important than playing a particular style.

Self preservation should be the number goal of this game. Always playing in the best possible game and refusing to play in a bad one is paramount in making it in poker. Your absolute still in poker is secondary to the difference in skill between you and the other players at your table. There are better players out there and that is fine by me. Maybe my skill level isn't enough to beat 5/T that is also fine by me. For now I am just glad I am beating the game at a decent clip.

Listening to other people reminisce about college. I guess I didn't do enough crazy things

Gj hitting 1k hours! Keep it up

Miss click 3 bet a 20 open to 40, get 4 bet to 120, I call with AQ /o. Flop J66, I fold to a 150 cbet and is shown a 3

Limp call a 50 raise with KQ suited from same player as before. Brick flop, fold to a cbet and is shown AA

Arg now I get moved to another table!

good luck man

thanks bubonicplay



welcome to the thread




decided to play for a couple hours after work before meeting my friend from school at the Asian vip lodge. In for 800, not to shabby.

At foxwoods for the second straight day, worked out for 45 mins before each session. At a pure action table, straddles, 3bets, and multi way pots.

Hopefully I can make some hands!

Kinda tilted from bricking a pair and nut flush draw in a pretty big pot. Then I get 3 bet by 23o when I had KQ. Leaving fw going to mohegan instead

Felt like I really battled yesterday. I started off +1.2 K, then went on -700 downswing after losing a bunch of pots. Then decided to go to Mohegan and played till 4 AM. Went on another downswing of -700 in standard spots.

I think a switch went on after that and I played harder and more focused than I normally do. Made a few hands and a few good calls to end the day +800 in 10 hours.

Watched a couple of gman's (aka "best live player in california") youtube videos. The maniac style def has more merit when it is supported by a player like him. Tried to run in 85 degree weather and it was not fun.

Maybe putting in a session or two at foxwoods this weekend.

Link to gmans youtube vids please?

I think the vids were taken down, I can't find it anymore

Just booked my flight to LV for the end of may, now I'm chillen at a donut shop in NY (they are the best I've ever had).

A couple spots:

1.

5/T

no reads other than V is a pro

eff stacks 1,150 (V covers)

Pre: H opens 40 EP with QQ, call, call, V raises 3-bets to 175 in MP, H 4-bets to 440, V calls (everyone else folds)

Flop (960): A78
H chks, V goes all in (710)

2.

2/5

V is lag, pro, wides ranges, capable of barreling scare cards

eff stacks 1,200 (V covers)

Pre: H opens 25 EP with AKo, MP calls, V raises to 90 OTB, tight Asian player calls from BB, H?

4-bet/f, call, fold?

Played two sessions at 5/T this weekend and lost both of them. Luckily my 2/5 sessions have been gong well. On a more positive note losing has become a little more tolerable and I am more comfortable at 5/T than before.

Hopefully I can take a shot at T/20+ at least once when I am at LV. I feel like a couple factors are working against me when I play higher stakes.

1. I cannot reload
I buy in for 1,200 (and will reload if I am <1,000 but won't invest more than 1,500 total). This makes me far more cautious than optimal.

2. I am not use to the dynamics
Nothing like getting 3-bet 4 times in half an hour and not being able to call due to stack sizes. I have a lot more difficult spots by not knowing my opponents ranges as well

3. The players are better
The game plays looser but is much more difficult at the same time.

No way he puts you on ace in first hand, he prolly had JJ

Wish JJ was in his range (but he prolly would've shipped it pre with that)

Can't put him on AK (or KK+) either, would've shipped pre

really confusing as to what he could have there

The first thing that came to my mind was the question of whether he would have 3bet pre with a polarized range or a merged range. As you said readless, the best thing we could do is approximate.

The fact that this looks like a pretty good squeezing opportunity adds quite a few hands from a polarized range into his actual range. However, this is a EP vs MP dynamic, which naturally weighs his range into value-heavy territory, so more of a merged range. Back to the flip side of the argument, depending on how good of a reg he is, he may see you as a newer player, which might incentivize him to 3bet you wider, so that would tilt his range back towards being more polarized.

With regard to the question of merged vs polarized, I think it helps if we can eliminate all pairs from his range:
KK: based on his postflop shove+preflop flat, I think he has zero percent chance of having this hand.
JJ: I actually think he might fold this preflop. Again, we just have to go back to this being EP vs MP, if he does have JJ, he needs to worry about this. There is hardly any postflop play left with the way this hand has progressed, what would be his plan postflop if he flatted JJ here?
TT or worse pairs: Due to stack depth, 3betting these type of hands is akin to 3betting without a plan. Why would the villain do that with these type of hands getting laid really impressive odds of having 2 flatters before him already?

AK/AQs: Now regarding these hands, i disagree with your assertion that you can't put him on AK and to a lesser extent, he could also have the 4 combos of AQs. AK is an automatic 3bet in his spot preflop, facing a 4bet, I think he would be getting it in really bad vs your range if he 5bet ships, so naturally, flatting the 4bet is way more profitable here compared to the alternatives, if he knows that, he should almost always flat AK here. To a lesser extent, this is also true for AQs. Unfortunately, this implies he will have AK an unproportionally large % of the time when he stuffed it in.

He could still have any of the polarized range hands such as any OESD, any club draws, and any hand that flopped 2nd pair or 3rd pair. With this postflop range, he would almost always shove the flop because this is the only opportunity for him to get you off a type of hand like QQ. You are way ahead of this fairly large range but way behind AK/AQs. He could also have 87, which you are not super far behind to (25% eq, depends on if you have Q)

I am leaning towards a begrudging fold or a pretty easy call. Not taking the decision lightly by any means and any intangible tells that could sway you one direction or another would help.

For the 2nd hand, I think I would 4bet for some fat value. You are just ahead of everyone's range here so so often, even when someone has a pair, you have solid equity versus them. The stack is going to be shallow enough, I'd 3bet to around $250-$280, calling it off considerably frequently. If shipped on, I'd think that an MP ship is the strongest, followed by a button 5bet ship, followed by the BB ship, which should be the weakest range of the 3.

I would never flat the 3bet ever since I'd like to retain the postflop initiative.

Hand 1

I agree no KK+ in this range and no 22-99 because there is too much value in just calling and see the flop MW

TT/JJ would call pre (player dependent) but not shove should flop

AK/AQ maybe if they were suited (player dependent)

I was optimistically hoping that he could have straight draw, flush draw, or any pair on this board. He would for would sure shove this flop after checked to with any of these hands.

The real question is would he 3-bet 175, then call a 4-bet with suited connectors? I would need to see more hands before I can determine this.

Hand 2

Yes he would be 3-betting wide (the sizing is scary small)

Our decision should probably be determined by stack depth. If we were 100BB eff I have no problem 4-bet/call it off.

Since we are 240BB eff I actually like call better.
1. keeps his range wide (weaker part of his range is still in)
2. when this flop goes 3-5 ways he would be less likely to bluff
3. players typically play more face up in big pots

I do not like 4 bet/call because I don't think this particular player could 5-bet all in without KK+ even with his LAG style. HOWEVER if he was a worse player, on tilt, etc I would like this play more