I'm sure that I speak for a lot of people in that I check your thread ever day. I just don't have very much to contribute. I'm sure there are dozens, if not hundreds that follow you each week. Thanks for documenting your poker journey throughout the year!

Introducing some of your local players and a few stories/hands about them was always a very fun read.

Besides, the mixture of trip/session reports, family/house stuff going on and the whole #FullTransparency story is what makes your thread what it is.

Unique and honest opinions on everything. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Keep it up !

Thanks. I'm just trying to give every some insight on the life of a poker player. It's not rosie all the time, but it beats working for the man.
It's a hard way to make an easy living.
Just keeping it real.
I appreciate you following and posting @BigSoonerFan

Thanks @shoving. Let me give u a little of today's happenings.

Good news #1).
Hooray!! Hit the $40k mark today!
+$40,015 to date.

Good news #2).
2 for 2 on the Splash Pot Promo today.
The first one I won came from an older guy who plays super tight, and extremely nice man for a UK fan. Stop the hate train, jj.
Effective stack $300, I cover.
I straddled $5 otb, and get a couple of limps before the UK fan raises to $50 in mp. This means 1 of 4 things...QQ, KK, AA, AK.
I call w 9c10c.
HU $210 pot. Flop 4QJ. He bets $50, I call.
HU $310 pot. Turn is J. He asked me what I want him to do, I say "check". He does.
4QJJ.
River is an 8. He checks again. I shove, he tank calls.
Str8 > KK
+$738 today playing 1/2nl

Chip porn from today.


A guy also asked me nicely to analyze his play today. I did a bit out of kindness. but didn't want to too much. I'm not trying to make players I play w better. Not gd for me.

Good news 3). Undefeated in December, 3 for 3!
Yep it's only Dec 3rd, but up +$1,232 so far. Hopefully this is my sprint through the finish line.

Good news 4). Indoor tennis league tonight. No one loves it more. #promise

Bad news). Had to leave a gd game early to take my daughter to gymnastics. #priorities.
Between u and me that gymnastics makes me nervous.

Awesomeness!! Was hoping for my daily butterfly crack and bam! Run it up December keep it rollin!

"WHERE IS MY WAVE MAN?!" Had me cracking up! Long time lurker, love what you do. Keep it up man!

Why you calling 9Ts for a 6th of effective stacks? I think you got lucky this time dude, not a profitable play in the long term. You gotta play fit or fold when you villains range is so premium, so you really gotta hit with that hand. I think at 1,000 deep it's a call but otherwise, no.

Just my feedback dude. Wishing you a good month bro!

This was a horrendous call, really not sure how you can get away with this. Maybe im missing something and there was a splash promotion or something?

Not too horrendous.

$100 splash in the middle + 2 or 3 $5 limp/folds + $50 opener.
$45 for me to call in position w the nut crackers against a tight player's hand that is pretty much face up to win $160.

I gotcha it's a bit of a gamble, but I thought I cd also find a way to win post flop w certain boards. For instance, if I put him on QQ, KK type hands and he checks an Ace otf, then I cd possibly bluff in those spots. Or if I miss entirely otf, and he leads out, I can just fold and lose $50.
I knew the player, I knew what I was up against, and I knew I cd double if I hit 2 pair+.

I agree with ya tho, bit of a gamble. Disagree on horrendous

#fulltransparency I appreciate the critique. It only makes me better. Thanks for the feedback as always.

Right that changes alot, with the splash that becomes more okkay. However you have to be careful with people limp/shoving when there is this kind of promotion and just lose the 50$ without seeing a flop

No, it's horrendous. You're nowhere near deep enough to call there.

9c10c vs QQ+ is around 20% right? So we need 5-1 to break even on a call? That doesn't take into account implied odds, so if villain is susceptible to stacking off on a lot of boards, I think the call is reasonable.

$45 to win $160, so 22% to break even. Seems pretty close to me, I wouldn't call it horrendous, but I think folding preflop is fine.

You can't just use all-in full runout equity to justify a pre-flop call. If we wiff the board or just hit bottom pair we have to fold and never see the last 2 cards.

That works in tournament play to justify calling an all-in bet but rarely in cash.

Sent from my SM-G920P using 2+2 Forums

Right, those percentages only hold true assuming there is a full run-out. I agree, if we wiff, or hit a small part, we must fold and lose the $50 investment. I think this just gives us a baseline for the initial decision, obviously we must consider that there will most likely be continued aggression on later streets. But, I think we must also factor in villain's tendencies. We must consider implied odds, which are all player dependent, but if we can hit this flop (which we will need to smash it pretty good), can we stack villain?

Like I said, personally I think it's a fold pre-flop, but I don't think calling is horrendous, and only Ray really knows the true dynamic of the game (and past history with villain). Like others have said, it would really help if stacks were deeper.

[ ] poker is dead

Yea well, that's just like your opinion man

I am one of them. Only thread I follow on 2+2. Look it up pretty much each day.


As for the 9Tcc, I think it's a fold preflop, but I understand it can be tempting to call. You're going to lose the 50$ on flop or when somebody limp/reraise too often though.

Hey Butterfly,

I've read almost all 200 pages from start to finish over the past 2 weeks, mostly reading in between hands of live 2/3NL. The craziest thing is how close of a story you have to my own but in San Diego, CA.

Anyway your awesome tread has inspired me to try a similar tread but with my own twist. 1/2-2/5NL +50k a year challenge.

It would be awesome if you subbed my tread once I get it started and gave advice along my own journey on 2+2.

Thanks for the great read and I'll continue to lurk yours

Ok i get it, the 910 hand was gamblish in most eyes.

Here's it is, I did have a gd read on the table. The 2 limpers I wasn't too worried about limp shoving for bigger. One person was short, and surprisingly folded pre. Why? Because it's 1/2nl and he doesn't have a clue. The other had a big stack, but I was certain he wasn't limp/shoving. Never seen him make the limp/shove in the past, and wasn't a limp/shove kind of guy.
Now moving to the nice elderly UK man who raises once every lunar eclipse. I know he most likely has KK or AA, OR QQ AK tier 2. Not only is he tight, but also one of those types that continues on with big overpairs. You know the kind of people that finally raise with a big hand, and then can't let it go on any street. This is UK guy. So i don't mind he has AA or KK because it will be this type of hand that will double up if I can hit. He will either pay no attention to pot size and bets $50 the whole way, or check/call all streets. Yep he is the "same bet" guy, that's right, the ones who preflops $50, bets $50 otf, $50 ott, $50 otr. It's not too terribly bad w $300 effective stacks, but still u get my drift..."same bet" guy.
*sidenote: btw, when someone says, "same bet" that is not a BET! Make them put in the money! Someone can angle u by saying, "same bet" trying to induce a fold, annd put in a smaller bet.

I will close with this, just like most hands i am always aware and thinking ahead. I'm like the pitcher on the mound noticing which batter is on deck, and who is in the hole. I was either losing $50 (possible more), or felt I could win $250+. Taking a deeper look, I also felt I could win $250+ on this particular situation; including player involved, stack sizes, table dynamics, etc. at least once every 5 times.

Hand 1). lose $50
Hand 2). lose $50
Hand 3). lose $50
Hand 4). win $250
Hand 5). lose $50

From the 5 hand scenrio:
losers = $200
winner =$250+

I would certainly be folding otf to bets if not oesd, fd, pairs w sd, or any combos where I don't have 8+outs. So on some flop, I'm calling "same bet" guys $50 ott in these spots. Lets say these spots come up once out 5, and I brick turn, and then call "same bet" guy $50 ott, and brick again otr. This means, I can replace Hand 5). lose $50 to lose $150.

I can see my play more break even or neutral ev.

Just giving my insight and further breakdown as it pertains to this particular hand.

Very grateful to hear from everyone.
@belowme619 best of luck to you with your goal. I hope u do better than me, and accomplish your goal set. I'm am looking to be 0 for 2 on my big goals ($40K busto 2013, $60k prob another busto 2015). Mayb one day I'll set a annual earnings goal I can accomplish.

@jolette glad to hear that. I hope i inspire others to greatness. Just don't bring your game to HSI. We already have too many great players. BOL

You can fabricate all the "math" you want, it's nowhere near a correct play. Replace T9s with a small pocket pair. You would never call and try to set mine there. T9s hits less often than sets so why would you try to call and bink here?

I respect what ur saying, but gonna have to disagree again.
I rather have 910 vs. AA/KK than any pocket pair.

BS, "maybe one day I'll set an annual earnings goal I can accomplish"....

You COULD have done it this year, but may not quite get there.. However, it's possible that if your goal was 30k you might not have reached it... Setting the bar high means you'll go that much further, aim that much higher, and work even harder.

Next year - Same goal, $60k! Never lower your goals!

Who knows, if the flips in the big games or in Vegas had gone your way then you may have already smashed your target.

No point in setting small, easily achievable goals, you know that.

The hubris involved in convincing yourself that's a break even play because you're like a pitcher is absurd. I like you Ray. This is a fold, and your logic train is painful to read. I hope you rid yourself of this leak, it's evidenced in other hands throughout the thread. Good luck as always. I have leaks I refuse to fix too, no hate.

Thanks for shedding light on these types of situations.
I'm always thankful when knowledgeable players gv great feedback and gets me thinking about poker.

We have to see all 5 cards to turn a profit. Sometimes we fold the flop and the turn and river would have given us a flush or a straight or two pair. Sometimes we're also in that awkward spot where we have a pair, he bets again, and we have to decide to call or fold. 40% of our equity comes on the turn and river. And a lot of times we have to take coinflip gambles with $250 to win. So I think we're realistically ~10% equity taking into account the flips and 35/65's we have to take going to the flop.

Another Splash Pot Promo, and I'm in there gamboooooooling again. Of course I didn't think I was gambling at the time, but got caught up and outplayed pre. Then i had no choice but to shove it in, click my heels, close my eyes, and cross my fingers.

Start up the horrendous train.

Here we go...

The deets:
1/2nl $
The suit drops $100 Splash Pot Promo in the middle of the pot, the button has second option to straddle (utg 1st, then button backwards) and obliges by placing $5 otb. The dealer w that hideous Horseshoe glitter vest deals em out.

Players involved:

Button/seat 7: rec player regular, retired teacher who now plays poker for fun in his retirement life, break even to losing player, started w $200 played an hour and now down to $100 on the Splash hand.

Mp/ Seat 4: mayb a slight winning player, looks the part but doesn't play the part well. Ya know shades, ear buds, but has many leaks. A trying grinder. $270 stack.

Seat2/Me: down $100 after a couple hours, and topped off back to $300. Have about $320 on this Splash hand.

I limp $5 from utg+2 w A5, and it's a family of 8 limpers when it's back on the straddler. The straddler shoves $100 ($98 to b exact), and it gets folded back to me. At this point, I hear the straddler say, "this is why I didn't add $200 onto my stack". I took those comments as he was planning on shoving a wide range. I looked to the players on my left and their stack sizes to "feel out" and asess the situation. It didn't seem like anyone behind me was going to call, or try anything, so I decided to call w A high.
I'm just going w my read that I was ahead, and hoping no one else tags along.

Folded over to "Shades" in seat 4 who limo/shoved $265. UH OH! Now it's folded back to me. I sit there and wonder what I got myself into. I told my tablemates that I never would hv called the $100 if I thought someone was shoving behind me. Now I'm in a pickle.
I just got caught up in this one, but now it's $165 to call to win a pot of $600. I hesistantly have to call.

Board 79A78

A5> KK (button) > no show

Button actually had a hand. Misread payoff

+$805 today, and still undefeated in December.