Just happened to come across this "Ask Me Anything" thread with Phil Galfond from awhile back. Great content. He answers a lot of questions about how to improve, become a pro, strategy, etc. Tons of detailed responses that are perfect for a PG&C thread enthusiasts.

http://www.reddit.com/r/poker/commen...l_galfond_ama/

Gonna read it all when I get the time, but from what I've read so far it looks great! This is why, above all else, I prefer to keep poker to a hobby and having someone like Galfond put things in perspective really helps. It isn't like back in 03-06 where you didn't have to think too much because tptk was often the nuts. The game will always be beatable, but the way to beat the game will always be changing.

Anyone know of any players on here with good graphs for 200NL+? It'd be nice to compare winrates of 200NL+ games now and a few years ago.

I hope your job search goes well urban! Don't get too discouraged, sometimes things just never seem to work no matter how hard it is that we try but we often fail to realize there may be a reason! Perhaps your job search was met with failure because you have an even greater opportunity elsewhere! You say you feel unchallenged in your position yet you love your coworkers/bosses. Are there any advancement opportunities at your current job at the moment? Sending prayers your way my man!

I will hopefully have a good NL200 graph for you soon could possibly compare it to previous Bodog graphs years back via PTR. Not sure if it goes back that far but I will check.

Natstar1 used to have the sickest winrate of any NL100 player on Bodog and had a healthy NL200 win rate but for some reason stuck mainly to NL100. Not sure if he is on 2+2 though.

Hdoggy used to have a really good win rate too. Can't remember his exact screen name or if he posts on 2+2.

Will check PTR and follow up...

Hdoggy




Natstar1 (check out that impressive graph)

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I used to occasionally battle both of these guys in NL100. I had a much harder time with Natstar1. He always seemed to be one level above me. Hdoggy was a little more spewy but he went on to do well at NL200.

I actually have spoken w Natstar1 while playing on NL100 on Bovada after the anonymous player update. I was just chatting and noticed how well this one player was playing who was obviously a reg. struck up a convo with him and asked if he used to play on Bodog and if so what his handle was. I told him who I was and he remembered and then quickly but politely left the table haha.

I'll find some others of old Bodog regs that played higher stakes. FarmSlicer, drexa, etc.

These guys are Bodog legends and 2+2'ers. The data on PTR below is only from a 3 year period 2008-2011.


solow [$400k+]



Crusher3000 [$800k+]



Farmslicer7 [$400k+]



X______X [$500k+]

Just realized I didn't respond to this. There aren't really many positions available within my company right now as a whole. Haven't been for the last several months. And in my group specifically the only advancement opportunity is my boss's job and she isn't leaving any time soon. Plus there is a much more senior manager who would take her place if she ever left.

Here's something great for PG&C enthusiasts like myself. It's a video of a seminar conducted by Jordan Belfont (Wolf of Wall Street) about how to achieve success. Pretty motivating.

http://youtu.be/5Au-_ZjjlTw

Thought I would share some hands from my session last night now that i found out an easy way via Holdem Indicator. Check out how this TAG decided to play a flush draw, lol.


P1(BTN) $192 - VP:31 PFR:20 AF:3.0 W:0| STL:75|56 3B:13|50 CB:100|67 N:-49 Hands:45
P2(SB) $206 - VP:21 PFR:19 AF:0.3 W:20|0 STL:100|89 3B:10| CB:33|0 N:-183.75 Hands:43
Me(BB) $340.90 - VP:32 PFR:23 AF:2.7 W:27|53 STL:59|67 3B:6|53 CB:68|48 N:14456.24
P4(UTG) $122.45 - VP:20 PFR:18 AF:Inf. W:0| STL:75|88 3B:0|100 CB:100| N:-91.65 Hands:45
P5(CO) $238.50 - VP:31 PFR:22 AF:2.0 W:0| STL:67|63 3B:4|33 CB:0|67 N:-0.60 Hands:45



Pre Flop: Me(BB) with [3h,Th]
P4(UTG) folds, P5(CO) folds, P1(BTN) folds, P2(SB) raises 5, Me(BB) calls 4


Flop: (Td,2c,Tc) (2 players)
P2(SB) checks, Me(BB) bets 8, P2(SB) calls 8


Turn: 4s (2 players)
P2(SB) checks, Me(BB) bets 28, P2(SB) calls 28


River: 3s (2 players)
P2(SB) checks, Me(BB) bets 84, P2(SB) calls 84


Final:
Me(BB) wins 250

This was an interesting spot where I ran a bluff (successfully).

P1(MP) $214.90 - VP:33 PFR:17 AF:Inf. W:0| STL:100|50 3B:0| CB: N:24 Hands:6
P2(MP) $205.25 - VP:25 PFR:25 AF:Inf. W:0| STL:|100 3B:0| CB:100| N:5.25 Hands:4
Me(BTN) $199 - VP:32 PFR:23 AF:2.7 W:27|53 STL:59|67 3B:6|53 CB:68|48 N:14234.34
P4(SB) $221.45 - VP:33 PFR:33 AF:Inf. W:0| STL:100|100 3B:0| CB:100| N:6.35 Hands:6
P5(BB) $215.10 - VP:33 PFR:17 AF:1.0 W:0| STL:100|50 3B:0| CB:0| N:-69 Hands:6


Pre Flop: Me(BTN) with [Jd,5c]
P1(MP) folds, P2(MP) folds, Me(BTN) raises 4, P4(SB) folds, P5(BB) calls 2


Flop: (6h,2d,3h) (2 players)
P5(BB) bets 8, Me(BTN) calls 8


Turn: 2h (2 players)
P5(BB) bets 11, Me(BTN) raises 33, P5(BB) calls 22


River: 7d (2 players)
P5(BB) checks, Me(BTN) bets 67, P5(BB) folds


Final:
Returns 67 to Me(BTN)
Me(BTN) wins 89

Another funny hand. I had been raising a lot in a row and having to fold on the flop after getting check raised. So i guess this guy just thought I was steaming.

P1(BTN) $241.50 - VP:60 PFR:30 AF:6.0 W:60|0 STL:100|50 3B:22|50 CB:50|50 N:-204 Hands:10
P2(SB) $96 - VP:54 PFR:31 AF:1.8 W:67|50 STL:100|50 3B:14|0 CB:100|50 N:13.80 Hands:13
P3(BB) $245.30 - VP:20 PFR:0 AF:0.3 W:67|100 STL:|80 3B:0| CB:|33 N:88.30 Hands:15
P4(MP) $176 - VP:27 PFR:20 AF:1.0 W:50|0 STL:0|100 3B:0|100 CB:100|0 N:-53.20 Hands:15
P5(CO) $199 - VP:7 PFR:7 AF: W: STL:50|100 3B:0| CB: N:-4 Hands:15
Me(UTG) $169 - VP:32 PFR:23 AF:2.7 W:27|53 STL:59|67 3B:6|53 CB:68|48 N:14356.37


Pre Flop: Me(UTG) with [As,Ac]
P4(MP) folds, P5(CO) folds, Me(UTG) raises 6, P1(BTN) raises 21, P2(SB) folds, P3(BB) folds, Me(UTG) raises 44, P1(BTN) raises 132, Me(UTG) raises 119, P1(BTN) calls 16


Flop: (7c,4h,Qh)



Turn: (9s)



River: (Kd)



Final:
P1(BTN) shows [Ts,2s]
Me(UTG) wins 338

Here's a really bad play imo by the villain. Calling a 3bet (putting about 1/6th of an effective stack in) to set mine with a low pocket pair. He will only hit a set 11% of the time and is putting in about 16% of an effective stack. I'm getting it in 100% of the time on that board in a heads up 3bet pot with AA.

Me(SB) $204.70 - VP:32 PFR:23 AF:2.7 W:27|53 STL:59|67 3B:6|53 CB:68|48 N:14002.42
P2(BB) $653.05 - VP:25 PFR:13 AF:Inf. W:33|0 STL:100|50 3B:0| CB:100| N:-28.25 Hands:8
P3(UTG) $254.45 - VP:13 PFR:0 AF:0 W:100|100 STL:0|100 3B:0| CB:|0 N:15.15 Hands:8
P4(CO) $192.25 - VP:50 PFR:25 AF:Inf. W:25|100 STL:50|100 3B:0|0 CB:100|50 N:197.50 Hands:8
P5(BTN) $317.90 - VP:50 PFR:25 AF:1.5 W:33|100 STL:50|100 3B:0|100 CB:100| N:27.15 Hands:8



Pre Flop: Me(SB) with [As,Ad]
P3(UTG) folds, P4(CO) raises 7, P5(BTN) calls 7, Me(SB) raises 29, P2(BB) folds, P4(CO) calls 23, P5(BTN) folds


Flop: (3s,5h,6c) (2 players)
Me(SB) bets 48, P4(LP) raises 162.25, Me(SB) calls 114.25


Turn: (5c)



River: (Ts)



Final:
P4(CO) shows [6h,6d]
P4(CO) wins 391.50

Example of villain misplaying trips vs flush draw:

Me(UTG) $326.40 - VP:32 PFR:23 AF:2.7 W:27|53 STL:59|67 3B:6|53 CB:68|48 N:14128.82
P2(BTN) $706.10 - VP:21 PFR:10 AF:2.5 W:33|50 STL:50|40 3B:13| CB:100|0 N:26.80 Hands:29
P3(SB) $198 - VP:17 PFR:17 AF:Inf. W:100|0 STL:67|100 3B:0|0 CB:50| N:-51.50 Hands:12

P6(BB) $487 - VP:40 PFR:35 AF:1.0 W:38|67 STL:0|80 3B:17|50 CB:20|0 N:201.20 Hands:20


Pre Flop: Me(UTG) with [Kc,4h]
Me(UTG) folds, P2(BTN) folds, P3(SB) raises 5, P6(BB) raises 16, P3(SB) calls 12


Flop: (Td,As,Jc) (2 players)
P3(SB) checks, P6(BB) checks


Turn: 4d (2 players)
P3(SB) checks, P6(BB) checks


River: 6h (2 players)
P3(SB) checks, P6(BB) checks


Final:
P3(SB) shows [3s,3d]
P6(BB) shows [Jd,8h]
P6(BB) wins 34.20

Feel really good about how I played last night overall. Would've been up about 2-3 BI's had it not been for a couple of coolers.

Session Profit/Loss: $153
Current Bankroll: $5,484

Another poker goal of mine is to create my own website to serve as an exhaustive index of poker sites. Sites would be organized into a variety of different categories. The idea is if you're looking for say a poker training site, then it would have a list of every single poker training site available. Or every single poker magazine. Every single poker site. Etc.

I've never created a website before and don't know any programming so am looking for a turn-key option. So far i'm looking at wix.com. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

looking good, keep working hard

Nice bro! Got a nice session yesterday too

Thanks man. Have actually been unintentionally taking a break this week. Things keep coming up that have kept me from playing. Like last night my wife and I decided to stay over at my parents' house after hanging out at the pool all day. So didn't have my laptop to be able to play.

Gonna try to put in a good volume of hands today though. I should have a strong renewed focus after playing so little.

Good to hear. Any notable hands you wanna share/discuss?

Played a short session during my son's nap today. Ran really good. Finished up a couple BI's.

Profit/loss: +$390
Current Bankroll: $5,874

Hello Sir , I came across this thread while keyword searching Bovada . I'm a Catholic who plays poker for a living.

I read a lot of your posts and responses in this thread and would like to be your friend =)

I will follow you here through your journey and hope that everything works out for you and your family.

God Bless

Wix is pretty good once you pay for it and get familiarized. My cousin and his GF actually quit high paying jobs to do wix sites fulltime. If you want to feel less cheap you can just get Adobe Muse. It's really easy to use but much less extensive.

Received some great questions via PM and the submitter agreed for me to post my responses in here in case others might benefit as well:

I think it is great to try to plan out how you might respond in certain spots but keep in mind that poker is situational above all. There's not necessarily always a "best play" in every single situation. Just make sure you know why you are making the action you choose so you will also act appropriately on later streets. Some carry higher variance than others.

So in your example, I don't play it the same way every time. It really depends on the session history I have on the player. If there's none then I normally opt to play a little more cautiously (I.e. Just try to get two streets of value). Then once I do get some idea of how the player plays I will adjust my play accordingly.

It also depends on the board texture and what comes on the turn and river.

At my stake on Bovada it's actually somewhat rare for someone to get it in with just a draw on an ace high board so I would discount draws in ranging them. You just have to pay attention to what the general tendencies are for your stake. If you do notice a lot more people playing draws fast on the flop, then I think getting it in on the flop or turn w AK could be fine.

I wouldn't worry about if a villain will five bet their entire range against u in the AK tptk scenario. That range of theirs shouldn't be too wide and if it is then that justifies you getting it in there even more.

Another line of thinking is there are so many great spots on BV so I don't try to push for thin value, especially for an entire stack. So in my stake my standard is not to get it all in on flop or turn with just tptk unless it's an aggro fish/reg or something I've seen them do earlier in the session.

From my experience it is super obvious when most fish on BV are bluffing. I also create bluffing opportunities for them by feigning giving up by checking back the turn or checking the river with the intention of calling pretty much no matter what hits on the turn. Players on BV seem to almost always bet whenever you slow down.


I am able to take mental notes pretty well on how players play--at least ones that I am targeting. I will occasionally actually input a note on a player if it is something very specific I noticed. I do think if I started actually taking notes more frequently that might help improve my game and reads even though they are gone after the session. And u can't place 100% trust in your notes just like u can't also completely follow HUD stats. Even the biggest fish know that poker is about disguising your play. It's just that fish don't do it very often or well.


This hand is basically a cooler so don't beat yourself up over it. But the one thing I would've done different is to raise the SB's on the flop. $.45 isn't even a half pot bet. To me that screams "I want to draw cheaply" or "I want to see where my bottom or mid pair is" and in which case a strong raise should get them to fold. It is unlikely that flop hit anyone else in there as well. If you did happen to get cold called or reraised by any of them then u could easily fold.

Since like u said BV is anonymous then I don't study specific players obviously. I just collect mental notes of how regs in general play certain spots and also how fish in general play them. And I think of what I can do to exploit that knowledge to make the most and lose the least.

Since it looks like you play on other sites like stars, then yeah I recommend studying specific players. Here's some things to look for: players you win the most against, players you lose the most against, and players you play the most against. I would look at a ton of hand histories of each of those types of players, try to identify some of their tendencies and then put that in their notes. I would try to target players that I win the most against and always try to look for them when I wanted to play.

It's been awhile since I used HEM since BV went anonymous so can't remember the filters. But that might be a good idea to look through those.

With bet sizing you either need to a) always keep your bet size the same no matter if you have top set, a draw, or complete air or b) vary it from hand to hand making sure to balance it w each of those aforementioned scenarios. Option B requires you to realize that this may cause your opponents to act differently bc they think they are reading your bet size. So it can induce more random bluffs or get them to overplay or underplay their hand. So it takes a little more experience to apply. I recommend starting w option A until you have a solid grasp on the players' tendencies for your stake. That will be one less element for you to have to consider.

Definitely the latter. I never advocating limping in except for an extreme scenario such as you have a high implied odds hand like A3s or 56s on the button and a short stack has limped in UTG and you've noticed they like to limp-3betshove with value hands.

On Bovada the biggest flaw at my stake at least is players misvaluing their hand post flop. So I can play a wider range pf and exploit their weakness post flop. It's ridiculous how many times I get paid off with huge hands by top pair or sometimes even mid pair.


Exactly!

Awesome, thanks man. What stakes do you play on Bovada? How long have you been playing professionally?

Interesting. Yeah one of the things that drew me to wix was I saw it said it was free to use and host. Guess there is a catch. I haven't look too thoroughly into it yet. Good to know about muse. Will check into that too. Appreciate the feedback.

I replied with your quote on the next post