Hi. I'm Greg. My goal is to retire from professional poker at 30 with a net worth of >$1mm. I turn 30 in March 2020.

Other goals I'd like to attain by this point:
[ ] cash for >$250k
[ ] cash for >$500k
[ ] cash for >$1mm
[ ] have a share of a cash for >$100k
[ ] have a share of a cash for >$500k
[ ] have a share of a cash for >$1mm

I have a plan to meet these goals. I will become a better poker player every day. I will associate myself with people who are willing and able to help me reach my goals and with people that have similar goals.

Good luck. What games do you play?

Thanks. I play all forms of nlh (tourneys, sngs, and cash, both online and live). I believe my best game is live tournaments.



Had a live satellite spot that I've been thinking about for a few days and I'm still not sure what the correct play is. It was from a $575 paying out $5100 seats. There are 27 people left and 11 seats. Avg. stack is 16k and the blinds are 400/800/100.

First orbit at a 9 handed table and I open 1010 utg1 to 1600 off a 16k stack, utg3 shoves for ~20k (45-60yo European w/ a card protector that says "sngmasters" on it). When I asked him if he would show if I folded he told me he would show if I did.

I've heard different professionals tell me I could have either raise called, raise folded, open shoved, or open folded.

Ez snap fold ... Plug it into Icmizer, these ? don't need to be ask as there programs that have the algorithm that has this answer shoved. You can positively open ship with 10s but with 20bb that not my option.

Thanks for the reply. I ended up folding in game. Happy to see that the math agrees with the play.



Have not been putting many hours at the tables this week. Playing in the Main Event on Monday. It's my biggest equity spot of the year so I have to be ready to play several long days of poker if I happen to be fortunate enough to run deep. I bought coaching from a top tier online tournament player recently and have been spending most of my working hours figuring out how I want to implement what I've learned. This is by far the most exciting part of the poker year. Gl to everyone playing the Main and to everyone that wishes to play it in the future.

Finished in the final four tables of the WSOP 1k last night out of 2.4k runners. Deepest I've ever gone in a bracelet event. Did not play perfect so not feeling sorry for myself at all. I feel like it was a great tune up for the Main Event. Also get to keep a bit more of my action which will really pay off if I run deep. Taking today and tomorrow off to study and will be ready for action on Monday, Day 1c. Poker has its ups and downs, but I truly believe that with continuous hard work and a logical mindset any poker player will be successful in due time.

Busted the Main yesterday late on day 2c. Had a bad table with no fun players and I was probably the 3rd-4th least experienced player. At the four previous tables I was confident that I was the 2nd-3rd most skilled player so it was a tough draw considering it was still early in the tournament.

There are no short cuts in poker. I realize that I am far away from being an elite level poker player. Going to play a bullet in the $1111 WSOP and then head back home to play in local tournaments and work on my game. I learned a lot during my stay in Vegas. The more I learn the more I realize that I have a long way to go.

Setting some goals for the rest of 2016:

[ ] 100k in mtt cashes
[ ] 50k in mtt profit
[ ] 5 hrs/week working on my game off the table

Have been grinding about 50 hours a week recently. Had not been playing enough poker and I may play a bit more in the upcoming months. Currently I have been spending more time playing cash games than tournaments. There has not been a lot of fluctuation in my bankroll. Took some calculated shots, but day-to-day I usually practice conservative bankroll management. I have been spending more time talking about hands and poker ideas with profitable players. I'm happy with where my game is heading.

I “achieved" one of my goals. Had a small share of a friend who won a live tournament for over $150k. After this experience I have become more interested in swapping and buying action of good players. I’m lucky that good players swap with me and sell me action at no markup. Don’t plan on buying at high markups unless I had a good reason to. Looking forward to meeting my other goals and putting in the work that it takes to get them.

Realized I’ll never completely stop playing poker. It’s currently one of my favorite things to do and when I imagine the future it will at the very least be one of my favorite hobbies. It’s really a fascinating game that I will be enjoying for as long as I live.

I think pg&c has some of the best content on this site these days. That’s why I like to find time to post in here, too. I regret posting that hand history, especially the reads. Won’t be doing anything like that again.

Poker is at its peak for content. I have listened and enjoyed a lot of Joe Ingram’s conversations and now tune in to a lot of Doug Polk’s work. Jason Somerville deserves a lot of credit. I think these people and other content creators provide a great service for the game of poker.

I am hopeful for federal legislation in the US and a subsequent poker boom. Federal lawmakers could try to find a way to include Sheldon Adelson. If given the opportunity to profit from federal regulation he may be willing to change his stance. The other option is to wait for him to become incapacitated which could take a number of years. It amazes me that a single person can so strongly influence the legislation that governs hundreds of millions.

Here’s a link to my first pg&c thread from October 2012. During this time I was backed by my first and only backer. I had a really positive experiences while being backed so shout out to him.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...27/?highlight=

Nice read/thread Greg, good luck at the tables!

Realized that since I used a clickbait title for this thread that a lot of people are reading it. Going to make sure that every post of mine is gold from now on since I did that.



Here is an idea for the TDA that can be used for live tournaments all over the world. I think I originally heard it or some form of it from one of Daniel Negreanu’s podcasts (best new poker podcast).

I believe tournaments would run more smoothly if they went to a three-strike policy. In multi-day tournaments, strikes can simply reset at the end of the day. It would be easy to implement:

Strike 1- 1 hand penalty
Strike 2- 1 round penalty
Strike 3- eliminated from the tournament

What would constitute a strike? I believe that behaviors that are definitely not good for the game should be punished with strikes.
- being abusive to a dealer or staff member in any way
- excessively berating or insulting another player
- excessively disrupting the pace of play
- influencing action when you are not in the hand

There should also be a warning system in order to protect recreational players for the mistakes that they make that don’t significantly disrupt the game. It would be better for the game if they received warnings for a lot of the infractions that they make. I believe that they should be allotted more leeway with regards to some of the rules just as long as they do not get an unfair advantage.



It is a dream of mine that legal online poker will come back to the USA. I bought a couple of domains today that will help that movement. I believe that if we (the people that love poker) organize ourselves properly that regulation for online poker is inevitable.

www.onlinepokerforusa.com
www.onlinepokerforca.com

I need help. I have no idea how to build a website or how to organize a movement. I am willing to work with anyone that wants to have a positive effect on this cause. If you would like to help and be a part of this please feel free to send me a message or you can send an e-mail to:

onlinepokerforusa@gmail.com
onlinepokerforca@gmail.com



I am still working on getting my million before 30. I realize that I can no longer post about how I am doing it because my games are tough enough. If you are a serious poker player and do not have huge goals you are definitely missing out on value. Since creating this goal my game has grown every single day. Before creating it my game had stagnated and so did my results.

Nice goals, gl

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am very thankful to be a citizen in a country where I am free to follow my dreams every single day.

Been listening to some feedback and I believe that the regulation for online poker has a lot of similarities to the regulation for medical marijuana. Like marijuana, poker is viewed by many people as a vice. While it is true that poker has caused problems for some people, I believe that it has a net positive effect on society and that it should be regulated by the federal government. It is important at this time to focus our efforts on getting regulation passed for individual states, especially the states where there has already been progress for regulated online poker. This will in turn hopefully create a domino effect for other states and make it easier for federal regulation to take place.

Some more domains for our use:
www.onlinepokerforny.com
www.onlinepokerforfl.com
www.onlinepokerforma.com
www.onlinepokerforpa.com
www.onlinepokerfortx.com
www.onlinepokerformi.com
www.onlinepokerforco.com
www.onlinepokerforil.com
www.onlinepokerforia.com

The next step is figuring out the correct template that will be used for these websites as well as the right content to put on each site to effectively convey our message. Looking for people with knowledge of how to build websites and content as well as people informed about regulation efforts in each state. This movement currently does not have resources to pay you for your help so we are looking for people that are ready to give back to the game that they love.

If you have something positive to contribute here are some ways you can get involved:
- post in this thread
- send me a PM
- email onlinepokerforusa@gmail.com
- holler at me when you see me at the casino

Now that I am writing about things that I believe will help poker I have to admit that I am guilty of most of the things that I am speaking out about. When I was a younger player I did not think of the game the same way that I do now. My views on the game change daily. I’m not here to judge anyone’s actions. My intention is to help poker grow by making it more attractive for recreational and new players.

When I write about poker etiquette I am strictly talking about live poker in public card rooms and casinos. What goes on in private games or when you are playing on the internet is none of my business.

How can poker players can help poker become more main stream?

Poker is one of the greatest games. The best part of the game is that no matter who you are or how much money you have you can find a game to play. There are cash games in card rooms where you can buy-in for as low as $20 and some where you can buy in for any amount. There are tournaments that you can enter for less than $50 and quite a few that cost $100,000 or more.

A big problem holding back the growth of poker is a lack of appreciation shown for poker from winning players. If you are a winning player in the games that you play, you are likely in the top 20% of your player pool. If you are an elite player at your stake you are probably in the top 5% of your player pool. It is an intellectual achievement to be a winning player at any stake of poker. If you are a winning regular at your stake it is important to realize that recreational, losing, and up and coming players might be looking at you with respect and may want to be more like you as a poker player.

How do winning poker players show a lack of appreciation for the game?

- Being abusive to dealers and staff members
This sets a bad example for the other players who then may believe that this type of behavior is acceptable. The dealers and staff members have no control over how well you are running so players should not blame them for their bad luck. It is okay to be abusive to your computer monitor, but when you are playing in public you are dealing with human beings with feelings, not electronics.

- Berating or insulting bad poker play
This is bad for poker for a couple of reasons. First off, you are pointing out the mistakes of a player, making it easier for them to improve and the game harder for everyone else. Secondly, other players may see this behavior and believe it is acceptable and choose to partake in it as well.

- Disrupting the pace of play
This is bad for poker because it hurts all of the other players who happen to be at your table. It hurts the winning players because they see less hands, lowering their edge. It hurts recreational and losing players because it makes the overall experience less fun, which may cause them to stop playing altogether.

I understand the need for balancing timing, especially in tournaments. As long as you are quickly folding the parts of your range that you are never playing the other players will probably understand when you need time to make a decision.

I do believe it is okay to stall near the bubble in tournaments. If this is a problem I have no idea how to stop it because you are simply lighting money on fire if you do not in some scenarios.

Need to clarify one thing from the last post regarding insulting and berating bad play. This does not include pro to pro interactions. I think it's great for poker when pros needle and talk **** to each other as long as they don't make the other people at the table feel too uncomfortable. It shows the true competitive nature of the game. We are all trying to take each other's money so obviously tensions run high sometimes. I can appreciate any player that has enough confidence to talk **** to me. I have no appreciation for players that make fun players feel bad or unwelcome at the poker table.

Breaking down my least productive year of professional gambling (part 1)

This year was my worst year as a professional gambler. The amount of money I made per hour of work in 2016 is comparable to the minimum wage. Considering the amount of knowledge I have accumulated over the years and the connections that I have in this industry my performance was disappointing to say the least. I am going to break down how this happened so that other gamblers can learn from my mistakes.

Lack of focus

The main reason why I had a disappointing year was because I did not focus enough on what I am best at: poker tournaments. Since I started gambling full time in 2013, the majority of my income has come from poker tournaments. How was I able to win? I played a lot of tournaments and when I was not playing I worked tirelessly to improve my game and quality of play.

This year I played a significant amount of tournaments, but when I was not playing I worked on creating edges in other gambling variants. By spending time on these other forms of gambling, I lost some of the edge I had in tournaments and fell behind winning regulars who improved and even further behind the elite players.

Here is a list of the types of gambling I participated in this year with the intent of making money:
-live tournaments/satellites
-live cash (NLH, PLO)
-live sngs
-buying action in live mtts
-online tournaments/satellites
-online cash (NLH, PLO, PLO8, LO8)
-online sngs
-buying action in online mtts
-sports betting
-daily fantasy sports (NBA, NFL)

Spending time on all of these variants of gambling made it impossible for me to maintain the edges that make me the most money. For recreational gamblers this approach is acceptable, but this type of behavior for a professional is negligent and a good way to end up broke.

Poker trips

I took a handful of poker trips this year. They were unsuccessful due to me getting distracted and losing sight of my true purpose which is to continuously improve at poker and to play up to my full potential.

January 1-March 10 (Philippines)

This trip set the tone for the year. I played a significant amount of volume and tried my best when I was actually playing, but I failed miserably in managing myself off of the tables. When I look back now it's obvious to me that I was completely distracted. I maintained relationships with women that I did not have strong feelings for. I partied in clubs a couple of times a week. I did not miss any opportunities to hang out and have fun. I drank and smoked basically every single day.

Since I had all of these distractions I forgot about the work I should have been doing off of the tables. I did not make time to review my hand histories, study my mistakes, and improve my strategy and quality of play. This resulted in a break even trip after expenses. I was spared from financial troubles on this trip, but since I did not lose a lot of money it was easy for me to tell myself that I did not win because of variance and continue on my flawed path.

May 8-May 30 (Vancouver)

I decided to go to Vancouver for the SCOOP. I was not prepared to play in these tournaments. The entire month before going to Vancouver I had been working hard on NBA daily fantasy sports and had made little if any improvements in poker. I purchased coaching in mid-April and expected to receive it in time for this trip, but my coach did not provide the service until the end of June. I made the mistake of assuming that my interests would be accommodated and failed to prepare myself for a great opportunity. I ended up losing money on this trip before expenses and looking back now it could have been a lot worse.

In order to reach my poker goals, I must change how I act. Here are people that have gone above and beyond my poker goals. I am going to act more like them.

Top bosses in poker for 2016

Fedor Holz- >$16mm in live tourney cashes. Five (4 live, 1 online) >$1mm cashes. Arguably the best year in tournament poker of all time.

David Peters- >$7.5mm in live tourney cashes. GPI Player of the Year.

Dan Smith- >$5mm in live tourney cashes. Ran a charity drive that raised >$1mm for various causes.

Doug Polk- Created a youtube channel that has over 40,000 subscribers. Also created the training site upswingpoker.com with Ryan Fee.

Bill Perkins- Continuously adding value to the poker community. Hoping he wants to bring back online poker to the USA. Would be happy to give him the domains.

Fixing the GPL

It has been stated many times that the problem with this league is that there is no money at stake. Here is what a for money poker league would look like. More of the top players would participate in this type of league. It would be more interesting and more people would watch.

12 teams
2 6 team leagues with relegation, 2 teams relegated
5 players per team

GPL Elite ($500k buy-in per team)
Regular season: $1k/point, 1000 points
4 teams playoffs: $100k/team
2 teams finals: $300k/team
1 champion: $1mm payout

GPL First ($250k buy-in per team)
Regular season: $500/point, 1000 points
4 teams playoffs: $50k/team
2 teams finals: $150k/team
1 champion: $500k payout

Not going to be posting in this thread anymore until my goal is completed and it is time to give shout outs. The last thing that I would like to say here is that I will not be talking about politics while I am at the poker table. I do not believe it is appropriate to do so.