/\
I know, I know. I should get my own thread!

Sorry about that rambling folks.

Haha no worries homie ^^^


So got in a session yesterday, bigly fail again.

It started off poorly and never got back on track, even though the table was soft and we even got 5-6 handed for awhile - a situation that I usually thrive in. Frustrating day to say the least.

I'll just throw out a couple of hands - both of these are against the same villain. He's an older semi-reg who plays like 80% of hands.

The third hand I'll post is with the old guy, a hand I wasn't even in but was just amazing on so many levels.


HAND 1: The old guy ****s me up

PREFLOP:
The VILLAIN (bought in for the $300 minimum and is now at $220) limps for $5 UTG
A loose player ($500) limps in MP for $5
HERO is in the CUTOFF with A2 and raises to $30
VILLAIN and MP both limp-call $30

FLOP ($90): K43
Both players check
HERO bets $75
VILLAIN limp-calls $75
MP folds

I size up a bit on my c-bet to get rid of middle pairs, and let these guys know I'm fixin' to play a pot. Because with this flop, I definitely am.

The Villain calls, leaving himself just $115 behind.

TURN ($240): 4
VILLAIN checks
HERO puts Villain all-in for $115 effective
VILLAIN calls all-in for $115

Maybe I don't need to be betting here, since I don't think he folds very often. Then I can see the river for free and if he lead-jams river, I can fold.

But in the end, I continue my aggression. Maybe he's getting stubborn with a middle pair that he'll now fold, or maybe he has a worse flush draw or a straight draw I can actually get value from.

I think there's a case for both but I choose the aggressive route, for better or for worse.

RIVER ($470): J



----------------------------

HAND 2: Pwnd, yet again

***Villain has now moved directly to my right. There's a $10 straddle on, so he's first to act. He's still moving his chips over, they're spilled all over the place, so he just says, "I call blind" and puts in the $10.

PREFLOP: $10 STRADDLE IS ON
VILLAIN ($375) has blind-limped UTG for $10
HERO next to act raises to $45 with A7
MP calls $45
SB calls $45
VILLAIN limp-calls $45

FLOP ($180): 742
SB and VILLAIN check
HERO c-bets $90
MP and SB fold
VILLAIN limp-calls $90

A really good flop for me - top-top with a backdoor flush draw. I'm also happy when MP and the SB fold, and the Villain check-calls. He's loose and his range is wide. I can be against any pair plus any number of straight draws.

TURN ($360): 9
VILLAIN checks
HERO puts Villain all-in for $240 effective
VILLAIN calls all-in for $240

I pick up a flush draw, which is great. My shove is purely for value tho, I think I'm almost always good here. I think he has a lot of worse 7x, 4x, 5-5, and straight draws like 5-6 or even 8-6.

And even in the unlikely event I'm behind, I have 14 outs against anything but a set.

RIVER ($840): 10



-----------------------------------

HAND 3: Just amazing stuff

***This hand is between a LAG reg and the same VILLAIN. Just thought I'd post it because it's incredible. They're about $1000 effective.

PREFLOP:
LAG REG opens for $25 in MP and VILLAIN calls in LP

FLOP ($50): QJ7
LAG c-bets $50
VILLAIN raises to $150
LAG calls $150

TURN ($350): A
LAG leads for $300
VILLAIN calls $300

RIVER ($950): 4
LAG bets $300
VILLAIN calls $300



LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

--------------------------------

Anyway, I lost about $600 on those first two hands, and over the next couple hours I went up and down.

At one point I had KQ, made the broadway straight, and went all-in on the river for my opponent's last $280. He tanked for days and finally folded.

The very next hand, I got KK and got it all-in preflop against him.

The board ran out 97359

... and he flipped over AA

Super tilting. And that was kind of a microcosm of the day - I could never really get momentum and anytime it looks like I might, a wrench was thrown into my spokes.

Such is #pokerlyfe.

-------------------------------

Session results:
3 hours, 35 minutes
-$730

Year-to-date results:
444 hours, 30 minutes
+$28,863

Well friends, this sure ain't it.

After a busy few days filled with work and fantasy drafts, I had some time to get back on the felt today. And after two tough session in a row, I felt good and was looking to turn things around.

But turn things around, I didn't.

You'd think a session where you get AA twice and flop 4 sets would be lucrative, but in this case you'd be wrong ...

SET 1: Open with KK, get 2 callers. Flop A-K-9. I c-bet, both players fold.

SET 2: I open with 77, get 2 callers. Flop K97 I bet flop, 1 caller. Turn A. I check, he checks. River 3. I check, he bets small, I call. He shows Q6 for a flopped flush.

SET 3: I open to $25 with 6-6 after a caller. Tight player behind me 3-bets to $70. It's small so I call to setmine. Flop A-10-6. I check, he checks. Turn 5. I bet half pot, he calls. River Q. I bet three-quarters pot, planning to fold if he raises - this player would never bluff-raise the river, and it's weird he checked back the flop.

If he had AK surely he would have bet the flop. So his most likely hand is a big pair - AA that flopped top set and is trapping, KK that is just bluff-catching, or QQ that rivered a set. I honestly almost just check-called the river, knowing this player. But I decided to bet to try to get value from KK. Anyway, he just called, and showed AA for top set.

I'm lucky he didn't lead the flop, because surely we'd have gotten it all-in then. Instead, I *only* lost a medium-sized pot set over set.

SET 4: I open with JJ, and get 2 callers. Flop QQJ. I c-bet large and get one caller. Turn K. I bet again and he quickly folds.

So 4 sets, lost 2 medium pots and won two small ones, overall lost money on them.

I also got AA twice, once everyone folded pre, the other time I got 2 streets of value.

Got KK twice - once was the 1st set I flopped, the other time 2 people limped in, I raised to $25 on the button, and they both folded.

Another tough hand was when I raised to $20 with JJ and got 2 callers. Flop came 863. I c-bet $25 into $60, and a guy check-raised me to $100. I called, and the turn came the 9. He bet $300 and I folded, he showed 6-6 for a flopped set.

I also made two losing river calls, worth about $250.

And the rest was me calling or raising pre and missing flops.

I probably missed some bluffing spots, but overall I played ok, not great.

But yet again, a session where I played just ok and ran poorly. Now down $3k over my last 3 sessions and very badly want to get back on the winning track. Hopefully soon.

Session results:
5 hours, 30 minutes
-$1182

Year-to-date results:
450 hours
+$27,681

First I wanna say great thread, it's probably the only thing I read regularly on 2+2. Love your analysis.

Second, yeah the last three sessions have been tough, but I'm sure things will turn around.

Third, I see you play regularly at The Grand, quick question. Do they ever get two tables of 3-5 going there on Friday night? If not, how long does the wait list get?

Thanks man, really appreciate that.

Yeah - during the weekday there's usually just one game, but there's almost always 2 going on Fridays and Saturdays.

Even then the lists can get long, but with 2 games going obv they'll move quicker than usual.

For the 2/3/5 you can also call in up to an hour in advance of your arrival (they don't do that for the smaller games), which I highly recommend.

Got back at it today, and had a good chunk of time that I could play.

I've been running bad lately, so I came in today determined to get back to my aggressive style and try to take advantage of my opponents and put them in tough spots, rather than just trying to make good hands.


HAND 1: Firing barrels

PREFLOP:
An unknown rec ($700) limps in the LOJACK for $5
HERO ($800) raises to $25 in the HIJACK with Q10
An unknown ($800) on the BUTTON calls $25
LOJACK limp-calls $25

FLOP ($75): A73
LOJACK checks
HERO c-bets $35
BUTTON folds
LOJACK check-calls $35

I consider this a good situation for a c-bet. It's a really dry board, and the button should have a pretty wide calling range here. And the limp-caller rarely has an Ace, and when he does, it's a weak one.

So when he limp-calls, I think that's his most likely holding - some sort of weakish Ace.

TURN ($145): 6
LOJACK checks
HERO bets $110
LOJACK tank-folds

Even though I have zero equity here, I decide that I have a range advantage here and I'm going to just barrel the **** out of this guy and his weakass hand.

He actually went deep into the tank on the turn, for at least 30 seconds. In that time, I decided if he called the turn I was going to fire a big-ass bet on the river too. If homie has the courage to put in 100 big blinds with top pair/weak kicker, let's find out.

---------------------------

HAND 2: Just a **** hand through and through

PREFLOP:
A good solid pro ($1800) opens UTG+3 to $15
The CUTOFF, BUTTON, and SB all call $15 (The SB is a Fishy Maniac who's already doubled up to $2000 on some BS)
HERO ($850) is in the BB with 63 and calls $15

FLOP ($75): 654
The Fishy Maniac in the SB leads for $65
HERO calls $65
Solid pro calls $65
CUTOFF folds
BUTTON calls $65

Ugh, what a terrible spot. I hate calling here, with 3 people left to act. I don't like raising much either, it feels like overplaying my hand. But how can I fold? I have top pair, a straight draw, and a backdoor flush draw against a fish. WOOF.

In the end, I decide to call, although I think in retrospect raising to isolate (and hoping no one behind has goods) is the best play. Folding is probably the 2nd-best play. And I chose the worst play, calling.

Predictably, 2 more players call behind me and I have no idea where I am.

TURN ($335): 10
Action checks around

When the solid pro overcalls the flop bet, I think he most likely holding is an overpair of some sort. He could also have a big flush draw, and if he doesn't, someone else could. So I don't think betting here is a great idea since I rarely get the field to fold and inflate the pot out of position against 2 other players, and I don't really have a feel for who has what.

So I do think checking here is the play.

RIVER ($335): 7
Maniac fish leads for $200
HERO ...

Well bollocks. I hit the idiot end of the straight, and homie puts out a big bet. No reasonable person would lead here without an 8-high straight (or better), but this guy is NOT reasonable.

Not only do I have to think about him, but also the 2 guys behind me.

The orginal raiser is a good solid player, so he shouldn't have many 8s in his raising range from EP. Maybe 8-8, 8-9s, and A-8s. The button could have an 8 though, but I'm getting 2.7 to 1 and it would be a disaster to fold the winner.



----------------------------

HAND 3: A little redemption

PREFLOP:
Maniac Fish limps in LOJACK for $5
HERO ($850) raises to $30 in the HIJACK with AA
BUTTON, SB, BB all call, and the MANIAC FISH limp-calls

FLOP ($150): J44
Checks to HERO
HERO bets $65
Only the SB calls, a meh rec who covers hero

TURN ($280): 3
SB leads for $160
HERO calls $160

I don't love this lead. The SB is pretty loose preflop, he would definitely call with hands like 4-5s, 4-3s, A-4s, and even K-4s or Q-4s. He's also not an aggressive 3-bettor, so he could flat call pre with JJ.

He could also have several hands that I beat like KJ, QQ, and 10-10. He usually doesn't have AJ since I have two Aces.

I call instead of raising because even though he's pretty loose and not that sophisticated, he's not the type of player who stacks off with nonsense hands. And if I raise, I probably just fold out the hands I beat and keep in the hands I lose to.

RIVER ($600): 2
SB leads for $200
HERO calls $200

I consider jamming for my last $595, but it's kind of a similar situation where I think he just folds out Jx and worse and calls with his 4x and better.



I doubt he calls a jam on the river, but still a part of me feels like I should have tried it. Maybe I was too afraid of ghosts since I've been running bad lately.

------------------------------

HAND 4: Picking off a bluff

PREFLOP: $10 STRADDLE IS ON
A tilted semi-reg ($700) opens to $25 in the HIJACK
The CUTOFF and SB call $25
HERO calls $25 in the BB with 66
ABC reg in the STRADDLE calls $25

FLOP ($125): 732
Action checks around

I feel like I should consider a lead here more. Sure it's a 5-way pot, but this is a really good flop for my hand and even though I certainly could not be best here, often times I am and checking just allows an overcard to fall a large portion of the time and then I usually have to check and give up.

In a tough game players would know that a leadout here is usually a marginal hand and would attack it, but tonight's game wasn't that tough, and I think I can make that play profitably.

TURN ($125): 9
SB checks
HERO bets $45
The original raiser, the tilted guy, calls $45
Everyone else folds

And overcard does come, but I decide to lead out small. Otherwise I just have to check-fold to a bet. When the OG raiser calls, he could have a 9, but more often he has a flush draw or something like J-10 for 2 overs and a gutter.

RIVER ($215): 10
HERO checks
HIJACK bets $75
HERO calls $75

I don't love this card, since it interacts well with the board and hands like 10-8, J-10 and 10x of diamonds all made top pair. And if they did, a smaller, call-able bet like this for value makes sense.

However, I'm getting really great odds, nearly 4:1. And for that price, I think I have to call, hoping that he had something like two big diamonds and is now just making a little ***** ass bluff.



----------------------------

HAND 5: It gets lit

PREFLOP:
UTG+2, UTG+3, and the MANIAC FISH in the LOJACK all limp for $5
HERO ($1715) picks up 1010 in the HIJACK and raises to $40
The SB and all 3 limpers call $40

FLOP ($200): J43
Action checks to HERO, who c-bets $90
Everyone folds except the MANIAC FISH ($2500), who check-calls $90

TURN ($380): 10
MF leads for $300
HERO raises to $600
MF calls $600

Ohhhhhhh buddy. There's no better feeling than absolutely smashing the effective nuts and having a crazy fish make a giant bet at you.

My only debate is how to handle this. At this point, we have about $1600 effective, so I decide to click-raise. It's an easily callable raise, and nicely sets up a ~$1k all-in on the river.

RIVER ($1580): 9
MF checks
HERO jams for $985
MF quickly calls $985



That IS it, Chief! That is just the kind of run-good I needed after the recent downswing.

---------------------------

HAND 6: Second verse, same as the first

PREFLOP:
MANIAC FISH has re-loaded for $1k, and he limps for $5 UTG+3
HERO next to act raises to $25 with A8
MF limp-calls $25

FLOP ($50): 973
MF leads for $200
HERO calls $200

Uh, ok. The fish leads for 4x pot. I don't really know what to put him on, he could have the King-high flush draw, or something like K9x. He could have a naked pair of 9s. He could be bluffing. Who knows.

I decide to just call since I think he's super likely to just spazz out on the turn, whereas a jam might fold out his marginal holdings.

TURN ($450): Q
MF jams all-in for $775
HERO snap calls and prays for no river board pair, just in case

RIVER ($2000): 4



Woah. He went for the trap preflop and from his perspective, got a money flop and turn. I cold-decked the **** outta him and am grateful to the Poker Gods he didn't go runner-runner boat after I flopped the nuts.

---------------------------------

HAND 7: I am bad and should feel bad

PREFLOP:
EP and MANIAC FISH limp for $5
HERO picks up AA and raises to $35
A tight, ABC player ($700) behind me considers raising, but then flats $35
The BB calls $35
EP and MANIAC fish limp-call $35

FLOP ($175): Q75
BB, EP, and MANIAC FISH all checks
HERO checks
TIGHT GUY in LP checks

Why did I check? **** man, I don't know. I'd just gotten a ton of chips and honestly I didn't want to lose a big hand. So I thought I'd play the hand smaller and as a trap than as a big pot.

I thought the Tight Guy behind me def hand a good hand, so if he bet I could check-raise him and potentially squeeze out players who had called him.

The truth is this thinking is just so so bad. And frankly it was done out of fear, not strategy. Checking AA in a 5-way pot on a draw-heavy board ... just take away my poker player's card now.

TURN ($175): K
BB, EP, and MF all check
HERO bets $110
TIGHT GUY raises to $300
BB, EP, and MF all fold
HERO tank-folds

This guy 100% is not bluffing here. So I start thinking about the value hands he could have.

He could have QQ for a flopped set, or KK for a turned set. I know he thought about re-raising pre, so he could have those. But it would be strange for him to check the flop with either one -- *especially* KK.

QQ maybe he traps with but he's pretty ABC, and with a draw-heavy board he'd probably bet out more often.

He could have KQ and made top 2. But if he was considering raising pre, it would have to be suited, and there's only 2 combos of KQs available. Also I don't know that this guy 3-bets KQs.

And then there's one value hand I can beat: AK. This makes sense - he could easily have considered 3-betting pre but flatting, then checked a missed flop, then raised the turn when he hit top-top.

So it makes sense, but there are challenges with that too. Namely
A) I have 2 aces and there's a King on board, so there's only 6 combos of that available.

Also why would he raise the turn? Sure he has top-top, but what would I have that raised pre, checked flop, and bet turn that he can get value from? Maybe KJs I guess? I don't know. It's weird.

In the end, I know this isn't a bluff, and I block AK while I don't block KK/QQ/KQ, or middle set 77. So I decide to fold.



--------------------------

HAND 8: HERO exacts a little revenge (very little)

PREFLOP:
MP limps for $5
MANIAC FISH in the CUTOFF limps for $5
HERO limps on the button for $5 with 64
TIGHT GUY in SB raises to $35
MP calls $35
MANIAC FISH folds
HERO calls $35

I'd always raise this hand normally, but with the MANIAC FISH in the pot I don't want to build a big pot with this kind of hand - I want to shift my raising range heavily toward value, or at least better speculative hands.

With hands like this I want to start taking cheap flops and get as many opportunities as I can to make the nuts.

When the Tight Guy in the SB raises (he's the one who value-bluffed me in the last hand), he always has a good hand here. Pretty much 10-10+ and AK/AQ.

Also I'm fairly shocked that the Maniac Fish limp-folds pre here, he's been seeing flops with like 80% of hands.

FLOP ($110): 982
SB checks
MP checks
HERO bets $75
SB check-calls $75
MP folds

When the SB check-calls here, I think he can't have much that's good. Surely he would have led with an overpair or a big FD like AK. I'm not going to make the same mistake as I did last time and be afraid of him making some elaborate, convoluted trap.

And when MP also checks, he surely doesn't have a pair he's proud of. So I decided I'm gonna bluff this bad boy.

TURN ($260): 2
SB checks
HERO bets $160
SB folds



I probably wouldn't have run this bluff if not for the earlier AA hand, so upgrade the EV I lost on that from "catastrophe" to merely "I'm so bad I should waterboard myself".

------------------------------

Crazy enough, this all happened within the first 3-4 hours at the table. The Maniac Fish stayed, so I stayed.

He accumulated a big stack by sucking out on people, over $2500. So for hours I stayed and tried to make the nuts on him so that I could win a small fortune.

Unfortunately it never happened for me after that, so I bled away a few hundred trying to wreck him again.

Around 11pm, I was super tired, not playing great, and even though the fish was there the table got tougher as well. So I decided to rack up and call it a day.

Even though I didn't play my best (and really awfully on that one hand), I ran really good and pretty much wiped out my recent downswing in one session, which feels amazing.

Hopefully can get back at it soon.

-----------------------------

Session results:
8 hours, 5 minutes
+$2,851

Year-to-date results:
458 hours, 5 minutes
+$30,532

Love hand 1.

I'd call hand 2 on flop because I have top pair and bdfd with a lot of implied odds but only barely. Not going to put on lot of money with idiot end of 4 card straight on board.

Hand 3, what on earth is he thinking donking the turn?

Yeah Villain def played Hand 3 badly.

Best I can tell he was trying to "set his own price" in that hand, which is obviously a really flawed way for him to think about this hand.

That does make me think that a raise wasn't going to get value; when you set your price for a hand, if someone raises that price beyond what you want, ppl generally fold out.

Damn I need to up my PG&C game. I wonder if I've played with you at 2/2/3?

sub'd!

I put in almost 400 hours at 2/2/3 between May and Dec last year so if you were playing then, probably so!

Got in a little session today, didn't pick up many playable hands but I'll post a couple that I did.


HAND 1: Black Aces

PREFLOP:
HERO picks up AA UTG+1 and raises to $20
Only the BB, a meh reg, calls $20

FLOP ($40): 843
BB checks
HERO checks

This is a pretty good flop to check back (would be better if I held the A). Most of his hands miss this flop and it helps keep my checking range strong. Betting here is also fine but I expect folds most of the time.

And when I get calls, it's almost impossible to get 3 streets of value since even top pair like 9-8 will shrink up on most runouts.

TURN ($40): K
BB checks
HERO bets $30
BB check-calls $30

RIVER ($100): 6
BB checks
HERO bets $85
BB calls $85



He called the river pretty quick, so he almost assuredly he caught the King and called down

----------------------------

HAND 2: Black Aces again

PREFLOP: $10 STRADDLE IS ON
6 Players limp for $10
HERO ($475) picks up AA in the SB and raises to $80
Only an action player in MP (covers) calls

FLOP ($210): K82
HERO bets $75
MP calls $75

TURN ($360): 9
HERO checks
MP goes all-in for $320 effective
HERO calls $320

It's probably better to just jam myself, but one thing I've noticed is that I usually do weird **** with Aces that I don't need to be doing. I gotta cut that **** out.

RIVER ($1000): 3



---------------------------

HAND 3: Decidedly NOT GTO

PREFLOP:
Solid pro ($1000) opens UTG+1 to $20
HIJACK ($800) calls $20
HERO ($900) calls in the CUTOFF with JJ
BB calls $20

Certainly this can be played as a 3-bet, and with the Hijack calling too it probably should be.

I just flatted pre since the pro's opening range is strong and I can under-rep my hand.

I don't know that those are good enough reasons not to raise, but that's what I did.

FLOP ($80): 952
BB checks
UTG+1 c-bets $50
HIJACK folds
HERO calls $50
BB check-calls $50

TURN ($230): 7
BB checks
UTG+1 continues for $125
HERO calls $125
BB folds

With 2 players calling him on the flop, it feels unlikely he'd fire again without a hand. He could certainly also have something like AK or AQ, and picked up equity on the turn. Though of course the combos of his big flush draws are lessened quite a bit since I hold the J.

RIVER ($480): 4
UTG+1 bets $225
HERO folds

Seems crazy, right? I just made a super-exploitable fold.

But I just didn't think he was bluffing. He's a solid player, and he raised from EP, then went bet-bet-bet against 2 players (until the river), on a board that there's no real draws on.

And on the end, he made a bet that I just felt he wanted to get called; it didn't feel like a bet that was trying to push me out.

And if he's betting for value, there's not much I can beat. Really just 10-10 and A-9s, so 9 combos total. And then he could have QQ-AA, 18 combos total.

So thinking about it now that's 2:1 combo-wise, and the pot was laying me 3:1. Plus no matter what my instinct said, there's always a chance he was bluffing. So I should have called.

Well, I played that hand like an idiot.

------------------------------

Session results:
4 hours
-$113

Year-to-date results:
462 hours, 5 minutes
+$30,419

That last hand is interesting. I don't know how the game was playing but it seems like an ok fold if you regularly saw people betting on the smaller side on the river with good hands. Going nearly pot, then ~60% pot, then ~half pot on flop/turn/river smells like a good hand in the games I played (a while back).

Quick question champ

How can you remember all hands so detailed? How do you take notes when playing live to review?

Again, best thread on 2p2!

Hand three, if you truly had 33% equity there that fold cost you $80 of EV. Ouch!

Yeah it definitely felt like a good hand. But like I said, I do think it's still a call since he could be value-owning himself with some worse hands since my hand does not look as strong as it is.


Thanks man! I tend to remember hands really well in general, but there's a free app called Share My Pair where you can log interesting hands and it keeps them in a database for you. It really helps me out with the bet sizing and positions of the players, which I tend to not remember as well.

Ugh. I hate $80.

I should ammend this; there's 3 combos each of 99, 77, and 55 that make sets that likely play the hand like this as well - that's 9 more combos to the value side.

Even 22 could possibly do this, which shifts the proposition far more toward value than I originally stated.

Whirl, you got any tips for books to read or other sources to study?

I'm picking up NL cash right now. I used to beat tough LHE online games pre black Friday, but I'm now moving to live NL for the game availability + recreation of studying more (yeah I'm a weirdo).

I've read Harrington on cash V1 and V2 (HOC), in the middle of The Course, near the end of professional no limit hold'em. Thinking about rereading HOC and getting Janda's books, debating using a coaching site for a few months.

Got in a nice long session tonight. Lots of hands to post including several bluffs so I'll just get on into it.

HAND 1: Hero is compelled to bluff

PREFLOP:
HERO ($800) opens from UTG+1 with AQ
Loose/actiony player on the BUTTON ($1400) calls $20
Loose player in the BB ($500) calls $20

FLOP ($60): 864
Action checks around

I check since both of these players have wide ranges and this board favors their ranges more than mine.

TURN ($60): 2
BB checks
HERO checks
BUTTON bets $40
BB folds
HERO check-calls $40

I can't in good conscience fold here. AQ-high is often good; if the button had flopped a pair, you'd have to think he'd often bet on the flop when both players checked to him.

RIVER ($140): K
HERO bets $75
BUTTON folds

I was planning on checking and evaluating the river, but the King is a perfect card for me; My hand just looks so much like AK here. In fact when he folded, he said, "damn, AK got there".

I bet because while AQ is the best hand sometimes, he also sometimes has a small pair like 33 or 2x. While my bet will fold out some missed draws that I beat anyway, this bet prevents the river from going check-check and me losing the $140 pot to some BS pair. That, I just can't abide.

And indeed, villain said he had a 2 after the hand.

---------------------------

HAND 2: Another bluff in a small pot

PREFLOP:
UTG+1, HIJACK, BUTTON, and SB all limp for $5
HERO checks in the BB with A9

FLOP ($25): 1075
Action checks around

TURN ($25): 8
SB checks
HERO bets $20
UTG+1 calls $20
Everyone else folds

I bet here since anyone with a 10 likely would have bet the flop. I expect to get called a decent amount here, but it's usually by marginal hands that I can barrel off against on the river.

RIVER ($65): 2
HERO bets $45
UTG+1 folds

Perfect card. The caller almost almost has a weak pair and/or a draw - he almost certainly doesn't have a 10 and I block straights with my 9 - and this card doesn't improve any of that. I put in a solid bet and earn the pot.

--------------------------

HAND 3: Big-boy bluff

PREFLOP:
HERO ($750) opens to $20 UTG with 66
LOOSE REC ($395) in the CUTOFF calls $20
LOOSE REG ($1400) on the BUTTON calls $20

FLOP ($60): KQ5
HERO c-bets $35
CUTOFF calls $35
BUTTON folds

I c-bet here since this flop hits my preflop range really hard. And because this guy just flatted in late position, he rarely has QQ/KK/AK, while I do.

Also he can have hands like 77/88/99 that a bet can get to fold.

And even if he does have a King or a Queen, often times I can get him off it by the end of the hand since Queens are marginal and his Kings rarely have a great kicker.

TURN ($130): 2
HERO bets $110
CUTOFF calls $110

I put in a big strong bet on the turn, and homie thinks about it awhile before calling. Was definitely hoping for a fold, but this bet should be folding out pretty much everything except for Kx, good flush draws (including pair+FDs like A2dd and A5dd), and mayyyyybe stubborn Queens like AQ.

RIVER ($350): 9
HERO goes all-in for $230 effective
CUTOFF folds

On the river, he's only got $230 left so I'm not sure quite what to do here; it's tough to put a lot of pressure on him.

As I'm thinking, he stacks his chips and moves them toward the line like he's ready to go all-in. This is almost always a tell that the guy has a marginal hand and is trying to get you to not go all-in.

That's the tiebreaker for me, so I disappoint him by going all-in. And he folds.


-------------------------

HAND 4: Sometimes gunfighters get shot

PREFLOP:
HERO ($1000) opens with 109 from UTG to $25
A loose reg in the CUTOFF ($1200) calls $25
Another loose reg in the SB ($800) calls $25

FLOP ($75): KJ8
SB checks
HERO c-bets $45
CUTOFF folds
SB check-calls $45

Similar to the last hand, I have the range advantage on this board as the UTG raiser vs a SB caller. Only this time, I have an open-ended straight draw as a backup option.

TURN ($165): 3
SB checks
HERO bets $110
SB calls $110

Would have liked to get a fold here, but I think Villain still has mostly weak hands in his range. He can have flush draws, the Q-10 straight draw (maybe), and marginal Kx. He could also have QJ or J10 that flopped middle-pair with backdoor draws and picked up a flush draw on the river.

KQ is a hand I probably can't get him off but that's the strongest I expect him to have here - surely if he had a big hand like a set of 8s or KJ for top 2-pair, he'd be putting in a raise here since the board is draw-heavy and he'd want to get more money in against hands like AA and AK, which I can definitely have here.

RIVER ($385): 8
SB checks
HERO bets $225
SB calls $225

Every draw misses, and Villain never has an 8 here since any 8x has no draw to go with it.

I think this is a good spot to bluff; I still have a range advantage and this is the weakest hand I will ever have here, while Villain almost never has better than a marginal hand.

And even though all I've posted here so far is a bunch of bluffs, my image was actually quite tight. This happened over the course of a couple hours and I'd been playing very few hands. Plus I hadn't been showing the bluffs so I probably appeared solid and tight to the rest of the table.

Of course, he calls, but that's just gonna happen sometimes.



Woah. Was NOT expecting that hand. Most players with Top 2 would put in a raise at some point on a board like this, so he trapped me up and fooled me into thinking he didn't have a hand like this.

But that's alright - I like the spot to 3-barrel and would do it again. As I like to say when I get caught bluffing ... sometimes gunfighters get shot.

------------------------

At this point, I moved to the main game, which on Friday night was loose and gambly. People were drinking and there were live straddles, often dead $20s, and bomb pots. You know, the usual.

Early on I won a nice pot when I flopped the nut flush with AJ, and I caught the other player with Kx on a
K107K5 board. So I was up about $700 or $800 when the next 3 consecutive hands happened that knocked me down a good bit.

---------------------------

HAND 5: A bluffer saves me stacks

PREFLOP: $10 STRADDLE and DEAD $20 is on
UTG+2, HIJACK, and CUTOFF all call the $20
HERO ($1800) picks up AK on the button and raises to $155
UTG+2 (an unknown with $750) calls $155
HIJACK (an action player with $1500) calls $155
CUTOFF folds

FLOP ($515): KJ10
UTG+2 checks
HIJACK bets $400
HERO tank-folds
UTG+2 check-raises all-in for ~$600
HIJACK calls all-in for $600

Woof. When the HJ leads out for $400, he's basically saying, let's play for stacks.

And even though I flopped top/top, I don't figure to be doing well against his range. He has a lot of value hands that beat me like KJs, K-10s, and J-10s. I figure he's raising his AQs and JJs and 10-10s pre most of the time.

But even against a range of just suited 2-pairs, Nut Flush Draws, and say Q9s for the straight; Idk that he'd play this but he is actiony and loose preflop ... I'm (Pokerstoving it now) 43%.

Considering the money already in the pot, getting all-in would be risking $1500 to win $2000, so I'd need 42.9% equity - pretty much an even-money scenario.

However, I also need to worry about the UTG+2 guy, who called the dead $20 and then called my $155 raise oop. I don't know much about him - he's an older studious-looking Asian guy (not a degen gambler Azn guy) - but I'd been playing with him for about an hour and he hadn't done anything out of line or overly stupid.

He called 20% of his stack out of position, so he could easily have a hand like JJ, 10-10, or AQ.

So all in all, I just didn't think my hand was strong enough to get it all-in with for 3x the pot, so I made a conservative fold.



-------------------------

HAND 6: The next hand

PREFLOP: $10 STRADDLE IS ON
UTG+1 (the same older Azn guy from last hand who hit the set) limps for $10
HERO picks up 69 in the CUTOFF and raises to $55
STRADDLE calls $55
UTG+1 limp-calls $55

FLOP ($165): A97
STRADDLE checks
UTG+1 donk-leads for $140
HERO calls $140
STRADDLE folds

Now this guy leads the flop, instead of check-raising like he did last hand. It leads me to believe he probably has a decent Ace - he just limped in with 10s last hand, so clearly just bc he limps doesn't mean he has a weak hand. Plus, he bet nearly the size of the pot, so it's likely not a weak probe with a hand like A-5.

That said, I have middle pair and backdoor flush and straight draws, and we're about $1.6K effective, so I'm not going anywhere.

TURN ($445): 2
UTG+1 bets $280
HERO folds

Aaaaand it's time to bounce. Dude continues putting out big bets and my hand didn't improve a lick on the turn.



--------------------------

HAND 7: Can this guy possibly have it AGAIN???

PREFLOP: $10 STRADDLE IS ON
The same ****ing guy ($2k) limps UTG for $10
MP limps for $10
HERO ($1450) is in the HIJACK with QQ and raises to $55
The loose and tilted BB ($845) cold-calls $55
The UTG guy (my nemesis now) limp-reraises to $255
HERO calls $255
BB tank-calls $255

Now this guy limp-reraises huge from UTG. Is he just running like God here or what? He's shown down strong hands so there's not much reason to think this is a bluff, other than how can he keep getting huge hands when I have huge hands?

Regardless, I am NOT folding QQ here. Although I would feel a whole lot better if I flopped a set.

The BB cold-called my raise and then tank-called the back-raise. He's now got about $600 left. I'm not worried about him having a great hand; he's stuck and tilted and he's probably just trying to get a flop and win a big pot.

FLOP ($775): 1053
BB jams all-in for $595
UTG calls $595
HERO folds

Well I definitely HATE this flop. If I'm just set-mining with QQ, it may as well have been 2-2.

Of course on this flop the only pair I can beat is JJ. But the guy could also have AK, so how could I fold to one bet on the flop??

Luckily for me, the BB leads off with a jam, and that makes my life a whooooole lot easier. If UTG calls, I'm folding since it means he has a pair. And if he folds, I have an easy call.

He does call, I do fold, and ...



--------------------------

All those hands happened in a row. I was solidly up and rolling, and burned through most of my profit on those three straight hands.

But really I had two monster hands (AK and QQ), and flopped top-top and an overpair and was beat on both, but didn't lose that much. So that part was good.

I'll just post one more pretty frustrating hand before wrapping this thing up.

---------------------------

HAND 8: Bomb flop in a Bomb Pot

PREFLOP: 9 players put in $25 blind

FLOP ($225): 622
The blinds check and UTG (an action player with $1000) leads out for $130
The Azn guy (my nemesis with like $3k) next to act calls $130
HERO ($1200) looks down at K2 and calls $130
SB ($2500) check-calls $130

I could absolutely raise here. In fact maybe I should. The reason I didn't is that I've seen the UTG leader try to steal bomb pots before and I wanted to give him the chance to try to do it again.

Besides, if I raise everyone will just know I have a 2 anyway. So maybe I can get stacks in against the case 2, but I should be able to do that anyway. So I call.

Weird that the SB check-called after 3 people put in $130 ... my radar goes up a bit here.

TURN ($745): Q
SB, UTG, and UTG+1 all check
HERO ... decides to check

I dunno, man. I should be betting here. I was afraid I was getting trapped by 6-6 or 6-2 or Q-2.

But I think that's just being afraid of the boogeyman. It's way more likely that someone has the case 2 and I need to start working to get stacks in against that.

But I check, trying to see what happens on the river before making a big decision. Because I suck.

RIVER ($745): 6
SB checks
UTG leads for $345
UTG+1 folds
HERO folds
SB folds the 2 face-up

OMFG. I was not really scared of any river card ... until the 6 paired on the river. And it's just so obvious that UTG has a 6 - he led out on the flop, checked the turn when an overcard fell, and bet the river once he had a lock.

GAHHHHHH. Why didn't I bet the turn. Or raise the flop. Or do anything besides play this hand like a cuck, which is what I did.

And sure enough, the SB was trapping with a 2; we would have chopped at the end when the board paired if either of us at any point would have knocked out the other two guys.

WELP WELP WELP.



WELLLLLP.

----------------------------

Session results:
9 hours
+$226

Year-to-date results:
471 hours, 5 minutes
+$30,645

lol wild session. I didnt know of the bomb pot rule. Also, I didnt know you were able to do bomb pots at CA Grand. I asked to do them 2 years ago and they (dealers) said no.

Yeah I only moved up to 2/3/5 this year but the room has been bomb pot-friendly that whole time, and the rules have continued to evolve this year as it's become more of a norm.

Yeah man, I went through a similar transition playing single-table SNGs pre-BF to recently learning deep-stacked live no-limit cash.

Learning the game has been super fun for me and it's so different from what I played before that it's been like learning poker again for the first time. I've really found a ton of enjoyment in that process.

I've never subbed to a coaching site but a couple of resources that have helped me:

Ed Miller's books: Small Stakes No Limit Hold Em, The Course, and Poker's 1% were all great and all helped me advance my game. I've always enjoyed Harrington's books but they might be a little dated in terms of the modern game. Haven't read Janda's book yet but I've heard it's very good.

YouTube Vids: Bart Hansen does short 10-minute hand review videos under "Crush Live Poker" which I think are great - he's very sharp and thinks about the game at a very high level. Also would recommend "The Poker Bank" by James Split Suit Sweeney - his videos bring a lot of value to the table. I also sub to Johnny Vibes' vlog, of all the poker vloggers I think he's by far and away the best actual player and I find his vlogs both entertaining and valuable in terms of poker analysis.

Podcasts: Jonathan Little does a fun one called "Weekly Poker Hands" (generally 10 mins long) and then there's another more in-depth one called "Just Hands Poker" (generally 45mins-1 hr) that is pretty sharp. I drive a lot for work so I'm always listening to pods throughout the day.

Resources: A couple months ago I downloaded Poker Cruncher for my iPhone and it's very much worth the $13 price tag. It lets you calculate hand vs range and range vs range and that's helped me analyze hands I've played, off the table. I also use a free app called Share My Pair to log hands so I can share them with friends and also go over them after sessions and analyze my own play.

GL with the transition - hope that helps!

This is really helpful thanks man!

August is in the books, final numbers for the month:

13 sessions played
60.7 hours
+$7163

Year-to-date giraffe:

Do you think you're crushing your stakes or running super hot?

Tough to know, honestly.

Since I started playing last May, I've won 13.8 BB/hr over 836 hours (14.8 bb/hr in 365.2 hrs at 2/3 last year and 13.0 bb/hr in 471 hrs at 3/5 this year).

Assuming around 30 hands per hour, that's just over 25,000 hands total. And frankly, that's just not enough to know one's true win-rate.

And the reality is I'm a far different (better for sure) player than I was a year ago, or even 6 months ago. So using data from then to try to figure out how good of a player I am now isn't all that telling.

Do I think I'm one of the best players at my stake? At the risk of sounding arrogant, I do.

But to know how much of the results so far are skill and how much are luck is pretty impossible to know. And in a way for me, it doesn't really matter. I'm not playing professionally and depending on a certain $/hr to sustain myself.

In my situation, I'm just trying to play good and put as much volume as I can, and continue to progress and evolve as a player. And whatever results come from that, do.