$605 Quarterly Final Day 2

The next day I return for day 2. There's 44 players left, 18 of which have less ten 10bbs. I'm in somewhat better shape with 20bbs at 4k/8k, but plenty of work to do. My table is pretty good, including the the kid from day 1 with 2.5bbs and the lady who had been open shoving big pairs. Additionally we have a casino reg I've been warned about, and the tournament chipleader who might have a big stack but who's playing loose-passive and bound to lose most of them very quickly, hopefully to me. I do not get off to a good start at all:


Blinds 4k/8k, 8-handed

BTN, young kid with a big stack who seems competent, opens to 17k. I'm in BB with QJ and I defend.

Flop K96, pot 38k. I check, so does BTN.

Turn A. I pick up a flush draw and a gutshot on an uncontested board, so I obviously bet. I make it 21k and get called pretty quickly.

River 2, pot 88k. Brick river and he has an ace here very often. I check fold to a 30k bet, he shows AQ.


Blinds 4k/8k, 8-handed

The very next hand I'm in SB with QJ and it gets folded to me. I have 140k with typical weak-tight MAWG in BB. I open to 22k, BB calls

Flop 234, pot 44k. I have 120k behind and instead of just straightforward bet-calling I check. Not sure why. BB checks

Turn K. I bet 25k, BB calls.

River 4, pot 94k. I check and BB quickly checks. He waits tabling his hand, so I show my hand. "That's all?! You should have bet flop, I would have folded!" while he rakes the pot with KJ. I thank him for the advice.



To cash or not to cash

This leaves me with a 10bb stack and the unenviable position of having only shoving or folding remaining as options with the bubble looming. I manage to pick up some chips when a big stack opens for 21k and I find TT. I jam for 80k and somehow the big stack finds a fold with AJo. This villain is put into a similar position with AJo a few hands later, but finds a much easier call when the all in player accidentally tables ATo before action is over. The board runs out T-high however, for the ultimate needle

We're not close enough to the money yet to nit it up too much, so eventually I'm faced with a decision:

Blinds 5k/10k, 8-handed

It folds to SB, a competent player who has been taking advantage of my stack size to pick up my blind a few times already. He's lost some chips recently, and now has 95k vs my 110k. I see the jam a long time coming and I look down at A4. I don't like it, but it's not a difficult decision. I snap call and I'm up against KQ. We all know that KQ wins this match up 95% of the time, so I get up to pack my stuff.

Flop, J24, pot 190k.

Turn 4

River 7


And I almost double up, while busting a player. Nice, I now have 20 bbs! The very next hand:


Blinds 5k/10k, 7-handed

The player I was warned about has been shoving a lot with 8-15bb stacks. He is in CO and jams for 100k. I'm in SB with AQ and rejam 200k. Villain tables AA, and just like that I'm back to 100k stack...

I open jam Q9o in CO, JTs in HJ, and AKo over a BTN open and get it through every time to maintain my stack. I get up to 128k prior to the bubble bursting at 8k/16k. The bubble doesn't exactly burst but with 28 left the TD puts forward the suggestion from a player to pay 28th $500 from first place. I don't have problems with this obviously, but I wouldn't want to be a big stack where there's immense peer pressure but I would like to decline to take advantage of the bubble. No one does however and suddenly we're ITM.


Payday confirmed, time to let chips fly

At this point I've been updating my friends for a couple hours already. These are all people I have offered a %, but no one wanted action, so now I'm int the money I get to needle them a little bit. Especially my casino backer:

At this point there's a livestream going on and my friends are getting really excited. I chip up to 152k when I get big hands back to back:


Blinds 8k/16k, 7-handed

CO, the aggro guy who I doubled when he woke up with aces, just won a massive flip QQ>AK. He jams into us shorties, but I wake up with KK in BB. I call and I'm up against 66. Board runs out:

JT732

And I double to 340k. I am in the process of stacking my chips when the next hand is folded to me and I look at AA. There's a weak-tight MAWG in BB with 140k, so I just complete. He jams for 140k and I snap call. He shows AJ and I'm loving life. The board runs out

K97T3

and just like earlier I double and immediately lose almost all of 'm back. Sigh. I'm left with 212k. I lose some more when I min-open QT to 20k on BTN with a nitty 2.5bb stack in the BB, but he wakes up with AA. I chip up some by open shoving, such as QJ in HJ for 230k at 10k/20k. Meanwhile my table is super soft after losing most of the competent players other than the big stack who doubled me up KK>66.

The old lady mentioned earlier continues to butcher the game. She calls an EP open in BB with 33 and donkjams for 3x pot on T32. She is now to my right and we tangle:


Blinds 10k/20k, 6-handed

Old lady completes SB, I check my option with 190k behind and T6. I could jam here, but as a result of her super passive playing style she definitely has a limp-calling range here as strong as AK. I feel comfortable taking this hand postflop in position.

Flop 789, pot 40k . She pots 40k, and I have 190k behind. As I mentioned before she only bets if she has something, and there are lots of scary turns that will kill action, so I jam for 190k. She folds and I'm up to 270k.


Final two tables

We get moved to a new table when we reach final 18. I'm now guaranteed $1050 and we get a dealer. With blinds at 15k/30k I still only have a shove-fold stack. I maintain stack by shoving some hands, but with 13 left I'm faced with a decision:


Blinds 15k/30k, 6-handed

UTG open shoves for 260k and I'm next to act with 275k and 99. It is probably too strong to fold, but I detest calling off not closing the action with a hand that is likely flipping. Spots like these show my weaknesses, I don't study at all and if you don't know, it's easy to talk yourself into folding when put into an actual high $ev position like that. I fold, so does SB with AQo, with UTG claiming AK. A few hands later:


Blinds 15k/30k, 6-handed

HJ opens to 75k leaving 260k behind. I'm in SB with QQ and I jam for 245k total. BB gets out of the way and HJ calls with JJ. Board runs out clean:

T77K4


I double to 520k, while villain is left with 90k. I do my utmost best to bust him, but he's like a cockroach:

I open BTN with A7o to 60k with him in BB with 35k. I lose to K4.

He jams for 100k UTG+1 and I call in BB with A7o and chop with AJo.

I open with 99 and call of his jam for not much more. I lose to JJ.


I'm down to 400k at 20k/40k at a 6-handed table won the FT bubble. There's lots of walks, both by me because there's a massive stack to my left, and by others, so there is not much movement. On the other table there's much more action and finally someone busts. Players get it in on J85. Shorter stack has AA, while the other player has QJ. Turn card is a blessed J and it is final table time!!

I make final table with 400k at 20k/40k, as 6/9. I'm now guaranteed $2.2k and there's $43k up top, but more on that later this week!

Final Table $605 Quarterly Final $100k gtd

Only two weeks after the disappointment of just missing out on the Australia Day $550 FT at the Star, I make the final table of an even bigger tournament! The ride so far has been crazy, and I've been updating my mates constantly. Everyone is going insane and I'm having a blast. Sure, I'm 6/9 with only 10 big blinds, but at least we don't have to sit in lawn chairs any more!

We get called to the fancy table in the middle in order of stack size. When it's my turn I get announced as the "quietest player in the room", pretty sure a leftover from the day before when I was dead tired. Typically I don't talk much or show emotion, so it's not new to get nicknames like that. Still, it's weird to be announced like that. I get seated to the left of a young asian guy we'll call Q, who has a monstrous chiplead. Payouts are:

9th: $2.2k
8th: $2.7k
7th: $3.9k
6th: $5.4k
5th: $7k
4th: $8.8k
3rd: $13k
2nd: $15k + $7k Vegas package
1st: $36k + $7k Vegas package


As we start FT on of my mates tells me that this game is actually tracked by Hendon Mob! As if I didn't have enough motivation to do well! Still, I only have 10bb...


Timid start

It's clear that this is a big FT to everyone and play is very passive. Not much raising, but unfortunately I don't have the stack size to do much with it. A super shortie has gone all in a couple time with no showdown. He's now UTG and jams again:


Blinds 20k/40k, 9-handed

Short UTG goes all in for 240k. It folds to me on BTN with 400k and I find QQ, I reshove and am up against A8. Board runs out:

J84T2

I bust a shortie and I'm no guaranteed $2.7k, matching my biggest live score to date (from two days earlier).


Biggest live score!

I don't remember the action, but we lose a player and we're no guaranteed $3.9k. This is now my biggest live score ever. I am 4/7 with 18bb and I'm trying to pressure a bit:


Blinds 25k/50k, 7-handed

I'm in MP and open KJ to 120k on a nitty OMC in big blind. It gets through.


Blinds 25k/50k, 7-handed

A couple hands later I'm UTG+1 and open A7 to 110k and big stack on BTN calls.

Flop T34, pot 295k. I don't flop anything, not even a back door flush draw, and I don't have the stack to barrel. I check, so does BTN.

Turn 3. Turn pairs the board, not much I can rep now. Check check.

River 2. Again not much I can do here except how my ace-high is good. Check check and I lose to AJ.


Blinds 25k/50k, 7-handed

After open shoving for 12bb on BTN with QQ a few hands later I find AK with 675k UTG+1. I go all in and it folds to OMC in BB who positively snap calls for his remaining 400k. He tables his hand with gusto and I assume I just ran into a major cooler. To my great surprise he just snap called for his tournament life with 22

Flop KJT

Turn 9

River 7

Which chips me up to 1.1M! We're now with 6 left which means I'm guaranteed $5.4k. Earlier this year someone asked me what I hoped to achieve in terms of poker this year, and eventually I told him I want that big cash that I've been closed to a number of times. A big cash in my mind was at least $5k, and it's so fricking awesome that I got there!! My friends agree (from our group chat):


Finally some >10bb stack poker

Blinds 25k/50k, 6-handed

I'm in HJ and open to 120k with A7. All fold.
Next hand I'm UTG and open to 120k with 99. It folds to the lady on the BTN, who overall seems tight but just doubled with a surprisingly aggressive play. She now 3bets to 350k, leaving herself with 600k behind. I tank fold. Down to 900k.

We then get two all ins in quick succession, both JJ vs AK. In both cases the shorty doubles.
Eventually we ladder when the "tight" lady jam on BTN for 460k at 30k/60k with K5 and gets picked off by the young asian Q. in BB with A7. This means:


Biggest poker score lifetime

So far my biggest score in poker has been US$5k finishing 5th in a 21k player Bigger $11. The $7k I'm guaranteed now trumps that! I'm 4/5 and with 735k I only have 12bb, but we're still in. I just fold and let them fight it out:


Blinds 30k/60k

CO opens to 150k, chipleader Q. calls in BB.

Flop A4T, pot 330k. Q. checks and CO jams for 400k, get snapcalled. CO shows A3 but is drawing thin against Q's A4!

Turn 2

River 7


Just like that we're down to 4 and I'm guaranteed an astronomical $8.8k. My phone is running out of battery and I have to plug it in my external battery to update my mates. However I have a very old an crappy Iphone 4 that needs elastic band wrapped around it to keep it charging. Imagine me sitting there, playing for thousands of dollars, with a phone wrapped in elastic bands in my lap


Blinds 30k/60k, 4-handed.

SB opens to 150k and Q in BB calls.

Flop K78, pot 300k. SB bets 150k, Q calls.

Turn A, pot 600k. SB jams for 500k and Q tank-calls with KJ and holds up vs. 45.


Holy.

****.

What.

Is.

Happening?

$13k guaranteed


Three left, 8bb, time to go monkey mode


Blinds 40k/80k, 3-handed

Hand 1:
Q the Devourer opens on BTN to 180k. I look down in SB at KQ and try to look as comfortable as possible when I snapshove for 500k. Q tanks and folds!

Hand 2:
I'm on BTN and I jam for 760k with JT. Gets through.

Hand 3:
I'm in BB and I get a walk with AA

Hand 5:
After folding my SB with a bottom 5% hand I'm on BTN with QJ. I shove for 840k. Q tanks calls in BB with A6.

Flop 227, pot 1.7M. I guess this is where it ends.

Turn J

River K


MOTHER****ING DOUBLE!!! OHHHHHH YYYISSSSSS!!!!

I can't believe what is happening. There's 5.2M in play and I have 1.7M for 2nd in chips. I try to play postflop but that fails miserably:


Blinds 40k/80k

I'm on BTN with A8 and open to 200k. MAWG in SB calls and so does Q in BB.

Flop J83, pot 600k. SB donkshoves for 750k and it folds to me. I take forever and make a super painful fold.


Deal?

Q in SB opens to 240k at 40k/80k and I jam for 1.4M with AT. Q folds and as I'm stacking chips I propose to look at numbers. The clock is stopped and after a bit we get ICM numbers from TD. I have 1.5M, MAWG has 1.3M and Q has 2.4M. The deal would give me $20k and we would play for the two packages. I think we're good, but then Q asks "What do I get now, if I bust with no deal?". The answer, $13k, is apparently reason enough to say no, so we continue.


Blinds 40k/80k

I'm on BTN and open to 200k with 99. Q in BB calls.

Flop AA3, pot 440k. Q checks and I check behind. I risk giving him a free card, but I hate bet-call-off here, as he'll have a good balance of aces and draws. I've seen him do it, and there's a shorter stack who's just dead money. As the turn is dealt I'm thinking "Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. Nine. "

Turn 9 . Q leads out 300k into 440k. I have 1.4M behind and I obviously just call. My thought process for the river is as intricate as on the flop: "No three. No three. No three. No three. No three."

River 8, pot 1.04M. Q leads 900k. This is what dreams are made of, but I can't help thinking about Rounders. Is he really going Teddy KGB on me and table A3/A9/A8? **** it, I'm all in for 1.1M. Q calls with what is obviously an ace and I'm good.


I have 3.2M of chips, out of 5.2M in play. The commentator goes: "For the first time in 3 hours, Q isn't chipleading the tournament!" Yup, there's a new boss in town. Or maybe not. Next hand:


Blinds 40k/80k, 3-handed

Q opens in SB to 240k, leaving 1M behind. I'm stacking chips and my head is swimming. I look down at A3. Q has been 3xing from SB all FT, and I have an ace. That's all I'm thinking. I do not take a moment to appreciate that he has committed 20% of his chips here. I shove.

Q snap calls. AK

Flop AJ5

Turn 2 Pleeeeeaaassseeee?!!

River 7

And just like that I lose chiplead.


I regroup as realize I still have 2M, or 25bb, and I soldier on:


Blinds 40k/80k, 3-handed

I complete SB with T6. MAWG in BB checks.

Flop KQJ, pot 160k. MAWG has a shovable stack here, so I don't think he connects here all that often after checking his BB preflop. I cbet 80k, MAWG calls.

Turn A, pot 320k. Check check.

River J. No chance he has a boat here, so I'm targeting a J of a King with a poor kicker that'll now chop with other kings. I bet 250k, MAWG tank calls and mucks.


Blinds 50k/100k, 3-handed

MAWG is now down to 600k. Q opens BTN to 220k and MAWG in BB jams. Q calls with QJ and MAWG shows A6.

Flop 55T

Turn 8

River J !!!!!!!!! : heart:


Deal!

I immediately propose a deal and Q snap accepts.

I messed up some hand early on day 1, but made day 2 as 14/44. I remained short stacked to make FT 6/9. And now, I'm chopping the biggest tournament I've played in Sydney, with 100% of my action!

I have 2.1M vs his 3.2M and as there is a massive difference between 2nd and 1st ($21k), the deal gives me $23k + $7k package, while he gets a bit more than I expected, $26k + $7k package. Still the alternative is playing a competent player for $21k HU, so I'm satisfied. The discussion about the official winner is a bit rushed and he's claimed winner because he had more chips. This includes the winners photo, eternal bragging rights with an entry on the winners gallery on the website, and name engraved on the massive trophy. It shows my competitiveness that I still am slightly peeved about it


Final thoughts

So yeah, I chopped the Quarterly Final for $23k plus a Vegas package which I'm selling for $5k most likely. I've been playing poker for 10 years now, and have gotten close to a big score a few times. I'm not gonna say I was due, because so many things had to go right to get here and it's incredible it worked out this way: I won the entry in a $20 raffle, I wouldn't have played otherwise. I have 100% of my action, because for some bizarre reason no-one wanted my action. I won three flips on FT and spiked a miracle 9 on turn for a miraculous cooler. There's no "deserving" in poker. I'm just really happy this has happened to me. I feel I've been building up towards a big result for 10 years, and it not only has happened but it has exceeded any expectations.


Also:

US$25k on Hendon Mob? Check.

Played my regular $45 on Wednesday which was fun because regulars, even those I never speak with, kept congratulating me all night. It's nice to be king of the hill for a brief moment. This is after all the biggest non-casino game in Australia that I just chopped. However, I couldn't manage to care about the money, even after finishing 3rd for $440.


For ****s and giggles, here are my current stats over 2018:

Games played: 18
Average field size: ~100
Average buy-in: $161
ITM: 44%
Top 3 finish: 6

Total ROI: 1210%
Average ROI: 650%

Profit: $34991
Hourly: $395


[] sustainable

My updated graph all live games in Sydney (pub+casino):



Arrow indicates start of 2018 and this thread.

Cool brah.
Glzzz

Great score man congratz! What happened with that telescope in Hawaii btw?

Lurked your last thread but wanted to chip in and say loved the write up and congratulations on the amazing score !

Look forward to reading more live poker tournament reviews!

Thanks, gl with your PGC too

Good question, I expect to hear more next week. My interview went well, but I'll be fresh off a PhD and I'm sure there'll be more seasoned applicants. I suppose it depends on what they're looking for. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure I'd accept if they offer, because it would mean another 3 years abroad and we're getting to that stage in life where it'd be nice to move back to family and friends.

Thanks, great to hear. It's a bit of an effort writing this and although I do the same thing, it's nice to have lurkers come out of the woodwork once in a while


Last night I played my regular $55 and busted early, which is always nice because it means I get home in time to enjoy a whisky with the gf. Today I bit the bullet and went shopping. I really don't care about material stuff other than outdoor gear, which means my phone/laptop/clothes are all worn out and old. I figured I now have zero reason not to buy some new stuff so my gf joined me in a visit to the mall. None of the Kmart/Target clothes I usually grab, but actual Levi's etc. It's so incredibly weird to me to spend that kind of money on clothes, but on the other hand it seems super wasteful to buy cheap jeans that wear out after a year. At the end of the day I only spent $600, and I was fine spending that on a single poker tournament only a week ago.

This weekend I've taken some time off and next weekend we're going to a music festival. In the next couple weeks I might play the $330 at the Star and the $55s at my regular RSL, but the next big events will be the monthly $550 in two weeks and a multiday $120 $25k gtd. I've played a lot of live tournaments so far this year, so it's nice to take a breather and settle into the new $$ normal.

Congrats on the great score!

Any reason why you are selling the vegas package?

I thought after your score you might be keen to head over to the wsop and bink some life changing money.

Congrats again on achieving your goal in just over a month. Will you set a new goal?

Two reasons. First, I've been to the WSOP two years running now. The first time it was fantastic in part due to the novelty. The second time was great, because I was there with some friends. But in the end during both trips I was playing tournaments by myself most of the time, at a (for me) high ABI with large overheads (flights+accommodation). From a $$ standpoint it's not a great investment if you're only there for a week, and I wouldn't want to go longer if it's just me. Second, I can sell this package for $5k. Because I have such a large bankroll now I might just go after all, but I much rather play the $1500 Monster Stack instead of the Milly Maker, and for $5k I can do flights+accommodation+buyin quite easily anyway.

Not sure yet, for now I want to try to have my live earnings overtake my lifetime online earnings. I might come up with a better plan later. Either way I'll be updating this thread.

A question about a couple of hands

1) the first hand for day two. You lead just over a half pot bet with QhJh on K96Ahh. I understand the lead but if villian is weak tight why do you bet 1/2 pot. He is never folding an ace and unlikely he checked back a king on the flop. I think 1/3 or 1/4 pot size is a better sizing. I think T9s 98s 88 77 76s 65s type hands will fold to the sizing as well.

2) the hand with the 99 utg+1 vs UTG shove with 10bb. Nash calling range is 77+, AJo+ however I am totally behind fold because villian has to shove any pair there for 99 to be +ev shove and lots of them won’t be that loose in the games you play. If you look at the Nash shoving range you won’t find many people at all who shove that wide. I actually shove wider then Nash but it’s because people’s calling range are too tight.

By the way loved reading the spew on the first day. Whenever I get a big stack my range is literally any two cards on the button. Makes for some funny HH

Yup, I agree. Villain in this hand was fairly competent though, but it's still not necessary to bet big here.


Running

The second half of my PGC is running the 50 km UTA in May. I haven't mentioned how my training schedule is going, mainly because it's not great. My achilles has been bothering me and I struggle to get km's done. Between running, swimming, climbing and Crossfit I train 4-5 times a week, which isn't too shabby, but according to my training schedule I need to cover ~40 km, and I only got 19 km done last week. Of course there is no point forcing the issue, so I'll keep working on my mobility and strength and slowly increase my running load.

On the upside, my physio told me today he really wants me to buy new running shoes, ideally both trail- and road shoes. Given my financial situation that isn't a problem, so I'm looking forward to go the the running store and get the shoes that fit me best, regardless of price. Soon, new toys!

Crazy, I just realized it's been over a month since my last update. I've played 9 tournaments in the mean time, and I've bricked every single one, which doesn't help. I have saved some interesting/fun hands, as well as some embarrassing ones. Here's how I've done over the last 5 weeks:

Four $47/$57 tournaments at my regular venue: brick city and no interesting spots that I can think of. It's hard to play super complicated hands in these games since a) you need capable villains and b) the second half of these tournaments plays shallow so it's mainly push/fold.


$165 NPL Invitational

Snoozefest. Plays like these:

Blinds 400/800, 9-handed.

4 limps ahead of me and I check with AT in BB. I think raising here vs. these kind of players who just love to call isn't fantastic, with a hand that doesn't flop particularly well multi-way I don't want to build a monster pot. I have too much to jam.

Flop T97, pot 4k. Given it's a limped pot, his seems like a good spot to lead and charge a plethora of draws. I lead 2.5k, Old Lady Coffee (OLC) calls.

Turn 2, pot 9k. I feel comfortable I have the best hand here (although she still could have JJ here!) and she likes to call, so I bet 6k into 9k, she calls.

River 8, pot 21k. So much sigh. I check, but she also checks! I suddenly think I might be good here but nah, she checked back JT...

I know it's good for me, but seeing hands played like this just makes me so angry sometimes. I play because I love poker more than to make money, and it can be super frustrating seeing players completely butcher hands night after night. This is probably some mental leak, but one from a money perspective. I'm not too sure I should feel bad about this, as long as I don't give people crap about it.


Monthly $550 at the Star:

Now this is a tournament I really enjoy, with good structure and semi-capable players, but on average still pretty bad.


Blinds 75/150, 10-handed, avg stack 20k

3 players limp in 150, BTN raises to 575, I'm in BB with 66. We're deep, the limpers are super likely to all call, so I call. We go to flop 5-handed.

Flop 965, pot 2950. Checks to BTN, who bets 1600. I intended to checkraise here on a wettish board with 5 people in, but the sizing is pretty big. I figure raising here looks super strong, and I figure it's unlikely for the limpers to call light with such a big sizing. I was wrong. All call...

Turn 8, pot 11k. Bad reg UTG insta leads 4k, OMC in MP calls, folds to me. No way I'm still good here with these two players interested. I'm getting 4.5-1 with 10 outs to fill up, but at this point it's unlikely all my outs are live/clean. I fold.

River 8, pot 19k. UTG jams for 12k, OMC tank calls with 67, loses to UTG T7. Sigh.

Not sure what to make of this. Obviously I get super unlucky on turn and I like my fold there, river is irrelevant. The main question is flop, whether I still should checkraise there. On a rainbow board the only ****ty turn cards are 7s and 8s, so seeing a turn isn't too scary. On the other hand even 5-handed BTN cbets big, implying a made hand which might not find a fold vs a checkraise on flop. Thoughts?


Blinds 100/200-25, 9-handed

I open AA UTG to 550, get 3 calls.

Flop A35, pot 2525. I lead 1400 and get a call by active reg on BTN.

Turn 7, pot 5.3k. Since I have all the aces it's hard for him to have one, but he's clearly interested so I bet 2800, he calls.

River 9, pot 10.9k. With the most obvious draw coming in I don't see sense in betting here, I check. He bets 3400, which just screams of value, but getting 4-1 and at top of range, so I call. He shows T8.


I chip back up to over starting stack playing really solid, but at 500/1k I run into a cooler (?):


Blinds 500/1000-100, 8-handed

Folds to SB who's been active but looks like your regular MAWG. He raises to 2.5k leaving 14.5k behind. I'm in BB with 24k and A3, so we're 17bb effective. I suppose peeling is an option here getting a good price, but my hand plays so poorly postflop. I'm definitely not folding either, so I shove. I still feel pretty good about my shove, but unfortunately I run into AA. I bust an orbit later jamming 7bb in HJ with QJo.



$120 Multi-day pub game $25k gtd

This is a great game run by the league that I used to play. Super slow structure with multiple day 1s across the week. Due to other commitments I'm only available for one day 1, so I'm a bit nervous about missing out on day 2. But when stuff like this happens, there is absolutely no need:


Blinds 200/400, 6-handed, starting stack 40k

I'm at a venue I've never played before and I've been tearing up the table. One player has made abundantly clear he severely dislikes me, solely on the basis of my aggressive play. I take it as a compliment.


In this hand it folds to SB who completes. I have played with SB before and he is the nut low in terms of play. Never ever raises preflop, and just waits to see boards run out in his favor. Not sure I've ever seen him raise without the total nuts. I check BB with T9

Flop KJ7, pot 800. He bets 1200 into 800, which means he really likes his hand. I have a double gutter, so I call

Turn 8, pot 3200. He now bets 6k, which means he really really likes his hand. So with no need to play this hand slow, I raise to 16k, he tank calls.

River 6, pot 35k. He checks and I put him all in for 18k. He tanks forever and calls. I table my hand and he storms out. The TD later shows me this total poker rant on Facebook after his bustout. Honestly he could have had anywhere from K2 to KK here.


Day 2

I make day 2 with 120k at 700/1400, so plenty of play left. Around 35% of players made day 2, so still lots of levels until we're ITM. Spoiler: I don't make the money...


Blinds 1k/2k, 8-handed

I'm UTG on a fish table with 66 with 160k behind. I open to 4.5k. SB (poor reg) calls, BB raises to 14.5k covering me slightly. BB just moved to the table but seem young/competent. I opt to call in position, so does SB

Flop 962, pot 44k. BB bets 22k. I put him squarely on an overpair here and I don't want to scary turn for him to come off (i.e. spade) overrepping my hand, so I raise to 55k, leaving me 90k to jam turn with. SB folds, BB calls.

Turn Q, pot 154k. I really don't like this turn because it may scare overpairs away, other than QQ which now beats me. Still, gotta jam. He tanks for a very long time and eventually calls off with TT.

River J


I have discussed this hand at length and I like my line, but am just super surprised at his call. AA/KK, especially with a spade, I'd understand. I don't think this is anything else than spew, probably fueled by entitlement tilt. He eventually chops the tournament for $5k, supposedly making some super ****ty calls of FT too. A mate told me later he just really doesn't like to fold, clearly. Great spot for me of course!


Wednesday $330 at the Star

One final hand to balance my previous hands with a ****ty decision. I get to the casino after a day of work and I'm tired, but friends are playing cash and I want to hang out, so the $330 it is. I bust in level 2:

Blinds 75/150, 1-handed

UTG and UTG+1 limp in, I'm next to act and raise to 600 with KQ. Holy hell I get 7 callers!

Flopd K55, pot 4800. UTG (splashy reg) donkleads for 2k. I'm next to act with 5 more player behind me. I don't think UTG ever leads out here with a 5, which pretty much leaves flush draws and worse kings. I have 8k behind. After lengthy discussions with my mates I think call >>>> jam > fold, but at the time I'm tired and limited in processing power. I sense 8 players staring at me, and just jam.

Nitty MAWG on CO reships, UTG calls. UTG has 83... and of course CO has 53.

Board runs out 3, 3 and I just hightail out of the casino not having seen any of my friends. Ugh.

Less hand history, more description of FB post plzzz.



As for the 66 hand:
I think you just have to check raise this flop. Sucks we're first to act after BTN bets but we gotta get more money in on this board - especially since we're OOP and given how coordinated the board is, there's a good chance the turn checks through (depending on number of flop callers) unless we can take the betting lead.

Good point, I agree.

I don't remember the FB post ad verbatim, but something along "why do I bother playing ****ing poker, it's just a lottery every time". This from a guy who has the most passive lines I've ever seen. If you play like that, no **** Sherlock.


I just regged a $550 $30k gtd and it's already 20 min delayed because no one is here... There's a long late reg, curious if they're gonna make the guarantee. Tomorrow I play the monthly $550 at the casino, so big weekend!

Goodluck with the pub grind man, I play a bit lower stakes at the pubs aswell and the level of play can deffiantely take its toll on the mental side. Trying to veer towards online more to better my game. I did however happen to win a satty into the APL million, did you happen to pay in that?

Hahaha, loving the freudian slip. Nope, did not "pay" in the millions unfortunately, was away on a long hike up north that we booked months in advance. How did you do?

Sick thread, loving the detailed updates!

What sort of brm are you using since the big win? Or are you just yolo'ing now?

Ahh, it was my first big tourney, made day 2 which was kinda cool but no cash. Now to go look up what Freudian means

Good question, it has definitely made me evaluate what I want from poker. Initially I figured I could just fire anything up to $550s. However, I am a PhD student on a scholarship so in all other aspects I've been living quite frugally. I have for years and I'm perfectly happy and used to it, but there's now this massive financial dissonance between regular life and poker. In terms of live poker I have also never had a distinct poker bankroll and life-roll, which is fine when you have regular income.

However, a few weeks my scholarship ran out and I realized I need to have a better plan than just "**** it, I have lots of money". My PhD thesis isn't finished yet, and I don't have a job lined up (turned down a profitable job in Chile recently). So I have decided to put aside enough money to live off for the rest of 2018, and consider the remainder my poker bankroll.

I just sold the Vegas package I won for $4.5k (scheduled at the same time as my thesis deadline), so right now my bankroll is ~$20k. I want to have a ABI of around 1/100th of my bankroll, so I've actually sold 50% of my $550s this weekend at a slight markup. Also means I have stopped playing the Wednesday $47 pub game, because I don't care about the money up top and the structure makes the game not much fun, so why bother. The Friday $57 game I'll keep playing because it's better structured and it doesn't affect my work if I get home late.


For sure, making day 2 is always cool, especially in such a massive tournament. Did you just miss out on the money, or was it still a ways to go?

$550 $30k GTD

Yesterday I played a $550 with a $30k guarantee at a new venue for me. It's not the casino, but it is dealer dealt and has a nice structure with antes, so much better than regular pub games. I got there at 13:30 when it was supposed to start, but nothing was happening and there were just a handful players loitering about. I got told it would start in ten minutes, but it took until 14:00 to start, with 7 players on one table. Pretty weird, but I guess that's what you get with 4.5 hours of late reg.


Rough start

Blinds 50/100, 7-handed, 30k start stack

BTN opens to 225, SB calls, I call BB with A4.

Flop A94, pot 675. BTN cbets 225, SB raises to 525, I 3bet to 1250. BTN folds, SB calls.

Turn T, pot 3400. SB checks, I check.

River 7, SB leads 1500 and I sigh-call and lose to 73. OK. So SB raise-called on flop OOP with a 7-high flush draw. Hmm


Blinds 50/100, 7-handed, 30k start stack

UTG+1 limps in, I raise on BTN to 300 with T8. BB and UTG+1 calls.

Flop 983, pot 950. Checks to me and I'm confident I can get value from draws here so I cbet 600. BB check-raises to 1300, UTG+1 folds. I get 4-1 against this weird sizing, in position with backdoor draws, so I call.

Turn J, pot 3550. BB checks, I check for a free river.

River 2. I fold to a 1300 bet.


The picture is becoming clearer, these players definitely like to mash the raise button. The BB from last hand does the same thing frequently, raising small in weird spot. It's certainly starting to look like some kind of weird information raise, and he's not the only one doing it. Quite the change of pace from regular pub games, or even the casino.


OMCs gonna OMC

Blinds 100/200, 9-handed

MP opens to 500, BTN calls, OMC in SB raises to 2000, MP calls.

Flop KT4, pot 4.7k. OMC bets 3k, MP calls.

Turn T, pot 10.7k. OMC bets 6k, MP calls.

River 9, pot 22.7k. OMC goes all in for 14k, and MP tanks forever and calls. OMC flings his cards in the direction of the muck, but the dealer forces him to show because it's all in. He tables QQ and now MP looks at TD, who holds up the decision. He looks disgusted tabling JJ. I'm just stunned, is this a normal ruling?!


Meanwhile my stack keeps growing smaller and smaller. I cbet AK on Q-high board and get minraised again, and have to fold turn. I open QQ and get 5 callers, one of which donkleads A42 and I have to fold again. By now I'm down to 12k from 30k starting and get moved to a new table. The new table is sheer insanity.


**** HITTING THE FAN

This new table is full of chatty local regs and it's becoming increasingly clear a $550 is just a bit of fun for them. The next hand sets everything off:


Blinds 300/600-50, 8-handed

UTG is a young local reg who recently lost a big all in hand, and proceeded to shove trash and getting lucky, now back up to 20k. He opens to 1700, and MP raises to 3500. MP already has a massive stack, is super chatty and playing very wild. Older chap in SB coldcalls, and UTG jams for 20k. Maniac MP rejams, and now SB takes the all in button and flips it announcing he'll call if it comes face up. It does and he calls off for 30k.

UTG shows AK, MP has 84 and SB has 44.

Board runs out 783T3 and the maniac ships it.

The two other players head to the buyin booth to re-entry. We're not done yet.


Blinds 300/600-50, 8-handed

Few hands later the young local reg from last hand opens blind, the maniac raises blind, young reg jams blind the 30k stack he just bought and maniac calls happily. They turn over T5 and T6 and it gets chopped.

Other players now also want in on the fun. The next hand a third player joins the dynamic duo for a 30k effective all in blind shove. Young reg has K8, maniac has 23 and third player miraculously finds AA (legit all in blind though).

The board runs out 28J72 and the maniac adds some more chips to his immense stack. He is chatting incessantly at this point.


Time to shut him up

Blinds 300/600-50, 7-handed

Maniac limps in 600, I jam 10k with 99. He calls with K4.

Flop 478

Turn 6

River 6

I double to 21k.


Blinds 300/600-50, 7-handed

Maniac opens to 2600 UTG. I'm UTG+1 with 21k. I look down at AQ and just jam. Maniac happily calls with A2.

Flop AQ4

Turn 4

River 7

I double to 43k.


Blinds 300/600-50, 7-handed

Next hand I open UTG to 1700 with AK, BTN calls, maniac in BB calls.

Flop T53, pot 5.7k. I cbet 3.5k, maniac calls.

Turn 4 , pot 12.7k. This guy isn't folding, so I just bet 8k. He instajams, and I call even quicker. He is drawing dead with 66.

River J

I double to 90k.

Good level I'd say. As a bonus he's now not talking as much anymore.


End of late-reg, end of insanity

We break for dinner just after I get moved to a quiet table with what now comes across as super boring regular pub players. I have 84k at this point. We come back to 41 entries, and 19 re-entries, meaning we just hit the guarantee. There is at least one player in for 5 entries for a total of $2750. Spoiler, he doesn't make the money. I chip up a bit against him:

Blinds 500/1k-100, 7-handed

UTG opens to 2500, MP calls, I look down at AA and make it 7500. MP calls.

Flop KAK, pot 20k.

MP checks, I have the board locked so I check. He might have a king here but other than that he'll fold anything to a bet.

Turn 4, he bets 5k, I call. My hand now looks very much like QQ/JJ.

River 5, pot 30k. MP bets 13k leaving 30k. I tank-jam and now my hand doesn't look like QQ/JJ at all anymore . He folds what he claims was a king, so I guess against his specific hand I didn't get max value, but I'm not sure I believe him either. Up to 110k.


Closing in on FT

We get to F2T and I find the maniac with a massive stack to my direct left. He makes enthusiastically clear he is holding a grudge against me, while staying very chatty and friendly though. He does make my life difficult by calling or 3betting almost any hand I open, and as the field gets smaller and I don't get premiums my stack gets smaller too. I finally get one past him:


Blinds 800/1600-200, 8-handed, 15 left.

I'm UTG and open QJ to 3800, maniac folds (!!), BTN and the blinds call.

Flop T43, pot 16.8k. Good flop, and I cbet 7.6k. BTN, who has won some big tournaments but is described as one of my mates as "basically a statistical anomaly, what happens when a pure pub douche bag runs good and makes it", now raises to 16.6k. I call the 9k extra.

Turn 6, pot 50k. I check and he bets 22k. I'm pretty sure my flush draw is good as I don't see him taking this line with a better draw other than one combo (AT), but more importantly I assume I have (some) additional outs through my overcards. I call.

River J, I check, he checks. My hand is good against T8. He gives me a douchy "nice catch" and after someone suggest he was lucky a club didn't roll off he claims he "didn't want to see a club anyway". Sure buddy.


We get to 5-handed play on FT bubble and I'm not getting any particular good hands. Obviously I try to open up my range, but the maniac with a grudge on my left does not give me any breathing room. His 3bets seem sincere though, tabling AQs and AKo. It's not helping my stack and I drop from peak at 155k to 100k when we hit FT.


Final Table

I make 9-handed FT with 100k at 1200/2400 as one of the shorter stacks. 7 get paid with a $1400 mincash and $11k up top.

I am completely card dead, but the others are having fun:


Blinds 1200/2400-200

UTG opens to 7k, MP to my left 3bets to 25k. It folds to OMC in SB who 4bets to 75k, MP calls.

Flop AJ2, pot 160k. OMC jams for pot, around 150k. MP shrug calls and shows AK. OMC just completely lost his mind with KK.

Turn 9

River T

And OMC takes it, leaving MP with 12k.


Blinds 1200/2400-200

MP opens to 5500, CO and BTN call. Old timer in SB raises to 23k and I'm in BB with TT with 95k. This is the first proper hand I've seen in ages, but I'm super worried about and old timers range here. It's all in or fold for me, and I choose the latter.

MP 4bets to 75k. SB jams for 230k. MP looks pained but calls off his remaining 110k. SB has AA, MP has KK. There is 400k in the middle.

Flop K87

Turn 4

River 2

And again the player at risk finds a miracle to stay in the game. Come on, bust already, I want to end my dry spell. The next hand the guy with AA finds a double to 130k and we stay 9-handed. The super short stack blinds down to 3800 until he gets it in and busts, which leaves me with the shortest stack on the bubble with 75k at 1500/3000. I find JJ UTG and with a table full of big stacks who love to call and a hand that flops poorly, I just jam it in and get folds. To be honest I'm quite antsy about bubbling, since I'm super tired after 10 hours of play and would hate to drive home for an hour without anything to show for it. Fortunately the T8 guy takes care of that, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

We see a couple more all ins but the trend remains with the shorties winning al the flips, until it's finally my turn:


Blinds 2k/4k-400, 7-handed

It folds to old timer in SB who completes. I have 64k and look down at A7. There is 11k in the middle and I make the easiest jam in the world. However old timer has trapped me! He snaps with AK and the flop comes:

Flop K88, pot 131k

And I bust in 7th for $1400. GG, super boring FT for me with the ultimate combo of short stack, ICM pressure and card dead. Glad I sneaked into the money though, making this the 3rd cash at this price point out of only 4 so far this year! Definitely can't complain about that!

Also the lovely maniac shipped it, props to him. He wasn't particularly good, but mad aggro and just having a good time. Must be nice to be a whale and just flip blind for $550.

Running progress

In terms of trail running I'm not where I'm supposed to be in terms of training, but things are definitely improving. My Achilles is noticeably improving and I'm getting more mileage done. Last week I covered ~30 km including a 14 km trail yesterday in hot conditions. Finally took my new trail-shoes out for a spin and the grip is fantastic! The current plan, legs permitting, is run 4 times a week with a long trail run in the weekend, slowly building it up to as far as I can go before the pre-race taper. I have a 22 km trail-race in two weeks and a 30 km race four weeks from now, both of which I'll consider training sessions so I won't go all out. The UTA 50 comes three weeks after that, so I have 7 weeks to go.

April Schedule

April is looking to be a big month poker-wise, there's a Deepstack series coming up at the venue of the recent $550 I played, plus a bunch of other nice tournaments. The plan is:

March 29: $150 $20k gtd WPT circuit
April 2: $550 $50k gtd at Star Casino
April 4: $330 Deepstack series Opening event
April 6: $107 Monthly at my regular game
April 8: $300 Deepstack series Mix-Max
April 10: $300 Deepstack series Monsterstack
April 12: $400 Deepstack series 6-max
April 13: $550 Deepstack series Deepstack (?)
April 20: $57 regular game
April 22: $330 Quarterly
April 25: $550 $50k gtd at Star Casino
April 28: $165 multi-day pub game

Depending on things I might play the Deepstack series $1100 Main Event, if I feel up for it. If any of you are playing one of the above games, let me know!

We are nearing the end of April, where I had planned to play a big schedule significantly upping my ABI. So far I have played most of the games I mentioned in the previous post, see the quote for games played so far. I'm quite a bit behind on my updates, due to thesis+poker+training taking up most of my time. I'll try to get you up to speed over the course of this week.


$150 $20k gtd WPT circuit

Due to the 7 pm start and traffic being a nightmare around that time here in Sydney I late-regged this game. They got 200+ runners for a weekday game starting late, so the structure was terrible, even worse than a regular $25 pub game because they had to clear out players asap. I think we went from 500/1k to 1k/2k to 2k/4 to 4k/8k in blinds, so in the space of an hour everyone was super short. I remember zero interesting hands, and bust in the first flip.


$550 $50k gtd at Star Casino

I really like this tournament, so I'm super happy to sit down. I'm all focus and concentration... and I continue to spend the next couple hours folding. At the end of level 3 I finally find a hand worth playing:

Blinds 150/300-25

Old asian guy limps HJ, I raise in SB to 1150, he calls. I have AT.

Flop T82 , pot 2850. I continue for 1250, villain calls.

Turn 5, pot 5350. I bet 2800 to get value from worse Ts and Kx/Qx. Unfortunately villain just piles it in for 20k total. Given his style he is way ahead here. I sigh-fold and get shown 88.


There are plenty of chips to be had in this tournament, either from weak-passive players or just bat**** spew-monsters. Especially the latter type is not hard to identify:


Blinds 300/600-50, 10-handed

Active player UTG+1 opens to 1325, super gambol guy calls in MP. I'm on BTN with AA with 9.5k. Standard here would be to just get it in, but I know opener has a wide range and will fold a lot, and sir Gambol just wants to see flops without committing. So I opt for the super unbalanced 1/3 stack 3-bet and I raise to 3.5k. It works like a charm, UTG+1 folds and Gambol can't help but call.

Flop QT6, pot 9.4k. Villain checks and on such a wet board I'll just have to get it in so I jam for 6k. Villain insta-mucks.


I chip up to 45k, but then lose 15k back when I 3bet-squeeze on BTN to 7k over two active players with KQ and SB wakes up with KK with only 15k behind, which I have to call off of course. Unfortunately the card-dead trend continues and although I make it to 7 hours of play, I bust before the money when my 10bb shove with AK runs into KK.


Not the best start to the month, but more to come and it wasn't all bad!!

Lol live poker. Keep it up glgl