I’m an executive at a large company and I split my time between Las Vegas and a few other cities for work. In the past, up to 90% of my income has come from poker and I want to study the game seriously again.

Why start back up?
1 - I miss the game. I was never an online player, only live and I like the interaction with people, especially when playing in Las Vegas.
2 - I ran bad in October and incurred some medical bills. I won’t go into the details here but it was incredibly scary and as a result I’ve completely changed my diet. I could easily cover the costs but I’d rather pay it with OPM.

I haven’t played seriously in over 2 years so I’m easing back into the game. I’m MLife Gold and took advantage of the tier matching offered by CET. So I now have a Diamond card and have until the end of the year to earn 2500 TC, otherwise it will expire. By my count that’s just a little under 80 hours.

So, that strikes me as a reasonable goal for the next few weeks while I spend my winter in Vegas. I fully expect to be profitable at the end but I won’t put a number as an expectation on myself. I’ll just take it as it comes.

bout 73.5 hrs at caesars. Double that at other TR properties.

Good luck!

Yes but 80 hours just fit in the title better

Don't forget to use your card for every purchase and get a room for 5x if they're still offering that.

2500 TC to keep it for 2020? really? is that for everyone?

In

It's for someone who used a tier status match from another casino player's card, and did it in November. They have some sort of prorated formula for keeping your matched status into the next year, based on what month of the year you matched this year.

It all depends on when you get the card. For November signups it’s 2500. I made a mistake and should have waited for Dec 1 and it would have been 1250

It’s a little too early to start talking about result but things are going well in the first week. Keep in mind that I haven’t played very serious poker for a while. I did some “training” sessions at Choctaw to help me prepare for this but that’s it.

I thought I would be rusty but it’s been amazing to me how quickly I’ve gotten back into the game and it feels wonderful to play again.

I did post one hand from a session and all comments are welcome: https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/1...jacks-1757570/

Again, way too early to post this but I’m including my results from the midway point of my first week and 15 hours in.

From prior experience, I know that this game is worth about $34-$36 per/hour to me. So I’m above EV and having a good time.

I will play again both on Saturday and Sunday and then I will return to my usual schedule of Thursday through Sunday play.

In. GL Buddy!

Thanks friend!

Yes, with that approach 2500 would come pretty easy. But I want to try with poker just to see if I can do it and keep an interesting goal. If I do end up falling short at the end of December I'll seek out a purchase or just do a stay-cation and get the points that way.

Here I am, 4 days in. This would typically be the end of the work week for me but it’s slightly different because of the holiday.

So many reasons to be tilted today but I’ve been happy that I’ve had ZERO tilt issues. Part of that is my previous pro experience, another part is my medications. Beta blockers are well known to have calming effects and it’s almost impossible to get your heart rate up on them. I’m pretty sure that some sports ban them from being used in Olympic athletes. Obviously it also helps in poker and I have to attribute some positive things to it.

Here’s what could have tilted me today:
KK cracked on river
Flopped broadway rivered by flush
Flopped flush that ran out to a straight flush and resulted in a chop
Flopped King high flush that ended with 4 to flush and opponent had the Ace

But none of that had any effect on me and I was lucky to make a little money today (I shouldn’t have made any!)

First full week is in the books and I’m pleased with the way things are going. I played in a high variance game today with two maniacs. I wouldn’t normally sit in that but I have to learn how to take these opponents on. So today was a learning experience and was lucky to make a little money.

I have three more weeks of a lighter schedule and I see no reason why I won’t be able to complete it.

What app is this picture from?

Looks pretty cool....much better than me texting myself after a session.

It's Poker Income. A very handy app and it has a very reasonable purchase price. I really can't think of any features that it needs; Ive used it for years, including when I was playing professionally, and it has fit every need I've ever had for tracking my sessions.

Even though today is an off-day for me, I've been reflecting on my play and all that so I thought I'd make a post. Here's some general thoughts as I go into the second week of the challenge:

• My plan is to play Thursday through Sunday, 5 hours each day
• Thursday is going to be a challenge. Even though I am in Las Vegas, I work East Coast hours. So I tend to go to bed early so that I can be up at 5AM for work. My plan is to play from 4pm to 9pm on Thursday and that last hour is going to be a little rough. I will do the same on Friday but can sleep in the next morning
• I did all my bankroll accounting and checked my Diamond & TC status on the CET web site and everything is exactly as it should be. All my numbers have me trending in the right direction
• This week one of my goals is to experiment with my open bet sizing. I have always used big bet sizing because fish can't help themselves and will call no matter what you choose. Last week I really didn't take advantage of that and I need to do that more.
• I was able to get out and do some exercise last night and I felt great. I need to do more of that and work that into my schedule. It's a rainy day in Las Vegas today, otherwise I'd be out there again this afternoon

GL! I'm 7 star right now with 5k to retain diamond and dont think im gonna make it. Going back to platinum is going to suck

Have you considered booking a room? I think they're having some sort of multiplier promo in December. If you book a room for the weekend you should be able to get 5K with that promo, easy.

HOW I PREPARE FOR A SESSION

I may not be the best player out there and I know that I have holes in my game. But one of the things that I do do well is that I apply myself to poker as a real job and I prepare well for it. That has led me to develop a routine for the days that I play. And since today is a work day, I thought I'd share what I do to prepare. Some of these things may be obvious but they are all things that have helped me in my game.

• I make sure that the car is completely gassed up and ready to go. I don't like having to make extra stops between home and the casino for both time & safety purposes so I do that ahead of any work days.
• I do my laundry during the day so that I have freshly laundered clothes ready to go. I never show up for work in clothes that have not been washed that day.
• I try to stay on top of my hydration for the day and make sure that I'm not lacking any water. Las Vegas is so dry, you have to work at keeping enough water in you.
• I take a fresh shower and shave and brush my teeth. This comes from Ian Anderson and his great book. He always felt that a good shower calmed him before a session and I believe it helps me too. Plus, I never know when a work day is going to go long and I have to pull a 10 hour stretch. I want to walk into work knowing that I'm fresh and can play for as long as needed
• I pack some small things like my notebook, some snacks (usually fruit of some kind) and maybe a small granola bar or something like that. I don't go full "backpack pro" but I do make sure I have enough to eat. Your brain burns something like 200 calories each hour of intense thinking, so I want to stay on top of that.
• I know my exact bankroll before walking in and all the numbers correspond with what I see in Poker Income.
• I may do some stretching before I leave the house. In the past I have had back issues and had an amazing physical therapist help me through that. I use some of the exercises she taught me and I'll also use a lax ball and foam roller. Just something to loosen up my legs and my back.
• I may eat before a session or I may not. Sometimes it's motivating for me to not eat before a session and then just look forward to going out afterwards. It motivates me during the last hour of a session and I usually end up at a vegan restaurant.

Just got home from my first work day. Once again I feel lucky to have made any money since I had a massive cooler where I flopped Broadway and V ran out for a boat on the river. So that stunk but still posted a tiny profit on the day.

I did manage to cross the $1k mark for profits, so that’s great!

Also, I’m open to offers to book my action for the weekend. I just want to add a little more excitement to the next few days and would like something on the side. I’m open to multiple people booking me and you can do the whole weekend, just certain days or whatever. Let me know if you’re interested.

Here’s a quick look at my Diamond progress. Everything looks like it’s on track for 2500 TC

I would have just mentioned the woman.

I had to take a loss today and also shorten my session. It just didn’t feel like things were going right and I wasn’t enthused you play as I usually am. No particular reason for it, the game just wasn’t going my way.

I wasn’t feeling right about 2 hours into the session. So I set a timer and gave myself 1 hour to play it out and make a decision. This also helped because I still want to get my hours in. Cutting 2 hours short means I only have to extend Saturday and Sunday’s session by 1 hour, which is completely reasonable.

I was also a little disappointed in myself for not stepping up and taking certain spots. I believe in the saying “you can only bluff good players” and I had the chance to do that against the one guy at the table that was capable of bluffing. But I just couldn’t pull the trigger on it and I’m disappointed in myself. I have to work on this for the higher levels.