Sooted,

You’re discovering the tough reality that others like the Trooper have been slapped in the face with: a job is a job is a job. However you’re facing it with good self-awareness and honestly.

When you’re working in the office in Mass your time has a consistent financial positive expected value. You’re assured $X/hr + agreed benefits. At some point you determined that your time and happiness was better valued elsewhere. Your new job allows you the freedom of living where you choose (Vegas) and working when you want... except you discovered that this level (1-3) that you need or desire greater financial returns which you’re attempting to realize by chasing these promos.

From previous post you sound like you’re rolled to NOT have to chase these promos and honestly they are filled with players that are suboptimal to be playing extended hours with. I think your time would be better spent studying and grinding premium hours so you can get to
2-5 as fast as possible. I’m pretty confident that your style is actually suited for the shorter stacked 2-5 games in Vegas and you’ll return the kind of hourly that allows you the time freedom you desire.

I know the freerolls and promos look like easy money but those suboptimal time sucks are being penny wise and pound foolish in my opinion. You’re simply (by your HH) a strong enough player and strong enough thinker to be profiting consistently at 2-5 in LV, so spending time chasing freerolls at 1-2/1-3 seems like a waste of your time and greatly undervaluing your real earning potential

Btw I’m sorry I didn’t reach out last week when you got back into town. You properly assessed that I was fully focused on the Lady the whole time. I’m itching to get some live poker in on an NFL Sunday though so maybe we can schedule to grab lunch and tear up a 1/3 game in October

Definitely, it's an enjoyable read. Good luck at the tables.

Sounds good! I'm looking forward to it. Regarding moving up to $2/$5, I'll probably be taking my first shot at it on a weekend night next month.

Thanks WorldzMine! I appreciate the kind words.

Right now, the freerolls are helping to keep me out of the red, so grinding for them while I learn the game some more is going to be necessary.

Harrahs and Bally's: 8 Hours (Flamingo Freeroll +$330)
+$34

Have you had a chance to compare your hourly during the hours you’re chasing the freeroll vs when you’re not?

I'll probably do a stat breakdown in a few weeks. Did I mention that I have a procrastination problem? I should probably do a post on that as well at some point...later.

Looks like I'll make it out today, at the cost of cutting Saturday a bit short. One of the waitresses at Harrah's wouldn't give me a Johnny Walker Black shot without me having a Diamond level on my rewards card, whereas all the other waitresses there and at Flamingo and Bally's had been bringing them without demure for the last two weeks.

I went into a snit and racked up, proving that I can be petty and self-defeating at times.

Harrahs (Bally's Freeroll +$214) 5.5 hours:
+$113

What is a man without his principles?!?

What a nitty waitress, way to make tips, sweetie

Correct. While she's not going to lose all that much from a reg like me never ordering another drink from her, neither will she gain anything.

Sounds to me like she's racist obvi

Is she new? If so I'd cut her a break as she may just be nervous about breaking any rules and possibly losing her job. It's not like she benefits in anyway from doing this. She may have no idea that it's standard practice and just is following the guidelines given to her by her supervisor. I do feel like you overreacted a little, which you admitted to anyway which is why I like your blog

I looked into that, and found that they will serve me Black Label brand whiskey, so they're cheap, and they have bad taste, but they're not racist.

I prefer the taste of Crown for a X/Coke (or soda) but JW Black will get you nice and toasty easy and probably with fewer drinks/calories.

A nice X/coke drink at the table makes for a nice loose image even if you’re a fold machine like I can be

I’m getting the itch to play in Vegas bad from this blog

I do draw some attention when I order a whiskey or scotch straight up. Current schedule is to wait an hour and a half into the session to order the first, then to follow through every two hours afterwards, so that the actual buzz level is minimized.

Here's a hand from Monday vs an average $1/$2 player.

MP opens for $10 and I call in the cutoff with AQ. He has $215 behind and I cover. Both blinds call.

(Pot $40)

I decide to flat because we are getting a lot of 4 and 5 way pots at this table, with the button and blinds to my left coming along a lot. I think AQs plays pretty well multiway in decent position, and I don't trust MP to 4-bet a better hand, so if I 3-bet instead and he just calls, it won't have narrowed his range beyond folding out a few of his worse hands.

I can still be talked in to a 3-bet here, but you'll have to supersede the reasons above.

Flop Q9J

Checks to me. I bet $25. The blinds fold and MP calls.

(Pot $90)

Turn Q

MP checks, I bet $50

(Pot $190)

River 2

MP checks. I bet $60

Going for thin value, I want to bet a small amount that will be called with worse.

MP shoves for his remaining $130

(Pot $380) One player is all-in.

$70 to call. My trips with top kicker need to be good around 16% of the time.

Questions:

Do I even have 16% equity after the action?

Would he not lead the river if he had the nuts or close to it? $1/$2 normies do love to slowplay, but on the river they're often trying to get paid at least a nominal amount.

Even with the small river bet, am I ever getting called with worse? I see four combos of KQ and one of QTs, but are there any worse combos calling?

Here there are idiots with AJ and A9 coming along and mucking because you could have pocket 3s-8s

You’ll fold out some busted draws. It’s a solid played hand I’m not sure how much more value you get here especially when there is no value in a check/check showdown

I go broke here 101% of the time.

He calls the whole way and shoves the river.

He is average player.

Are you sure he is not Israeli Ron?

https://israelironq2.com/

sizing considered, if you bet, just call. Bet folding value here is aids

More interested in your pf reasoning as we approach this game very differently.

I know it sucks, but what can you do? Gotta lose that money.

Good finds on those hands. I think he's making a crying call for <1/3 pot with AJ a fair amount, and A9 a smaller percentage of the time.

Once again tbh is asking the right questions. Turns out I was being disingenuous with giving my reasoning for flatting pre. I mean, that was my reasoning at the time, but it was plain goddamned wrong.

I have talked about how I have a polarized 3-betting range for good regs, and how I have a linear range for everyone else. MP was everyone else, and AQs falls smack in the middle of the linear 3-bet range.

Facing a 3-bet pre, a normie MP is going to fold only the bottom of his range, and call with more hands that I beat than vice versa, and he is going to 4-bet better sometimes, in which case I'll turbo-muck, sip my whiskey and chuckle Sovietly.

This mistake early in the hand put me in a tough spot for a lot of money later on. The above is, or should be, one of the most common realizations made while learning poker.

So as played, what do? Here's what I think his check/shoving range might be on the river. Basically I put in the few worse KQ and QTs hands, and then I added every hand that beats me, and that he reasonably gets to the river with, and that check/shoves instead of calls.





So yeah, it's close, but I'm still plus EV with a call.



Damn, I prolly should've added Q2o to his range. I mean lol, imagine taking a bad beat from someone, then seeing them build an entire website around it.

Just for fun, here's the modified numbers when assuming that MP might spaz the river with AA, as you do sometimes.



In any case, I call.



After that, I lost a big pot to an aggro Euro, QQ<KK with me 4-betting pre, getting flatted, then getting the rest of it in on a low dry flop.

Harrahs: 6.5 hours:
(-$500)

Yea as played I’m sigh calling every time and tapping the felt and sipping the drink. Like Morph said gotta lose that money

A truly tilting experience. I was hoping he would show something a little bit less stone-sy on the flop

At least you don't have to pay taxes on your losses.