Quote:
Originally Posted by FlapJack54
No live poker has given me the time to decide what I really want out of the game. I am retired and a casual rec player. I play maybe 4 to 8 sessions a month. I usually just fooled around and played 1/2 NLHE with whatever disposable I had at the moment. Maybe win $100-300. Maybe lose the same. More of an entertainment thing than trying to make money to pay bills. Just the kind of player you guys love.
The shutdown has given me an opportunity to get serious about winning without the distraction of just playing for the social aspects of the game or playing with no clear goal. With the shutdown, I decided to get serious about studying and get a few hours in every day. Reading and Youtube videos mostly. I thought I knew something about the game until I started peeling the onion and found just how much I don't know. Now I practice calculating SPR, ranges, blockers, bet sizing and a dozen other concepts I used to just give a nod to. Found out I was playing too loose in some places and too tight in others making for a pretty hit or miss type of session.
I have never had a dedicated bankroll to give 2/5 NLHE a real shot. I played a few times just to see how it felt and was not comfortable due to being under funded. I did okay, but I would not consider myself a winning player. Break even at best. I was playing "scared money". There was no way I could withstand an extended downswing, so I didn't really care for the game with that in the back of my mind.
So, I had a talk with myself and decided to began building a bankroll since I have nowhere to go and nothing to spend money on. I am not tempted to stop at the casino for 4 handed NLHE, so a spur of the moment decision to play is not there. My goal is to build a $20K bankroll and really attempt to get my poker house in order with solid play and tracking my results. I believe most of my shortfalls are due to lack of self-discipline and not looking at poker as anything more than a diversion or entertainment. With all the social distancing rules in effect I have no desire to play short handed or behind a plexiglas shield, so if I don't play for a year, I'm okay with that.
Enjoy your day!
Having not stepped foot in a casino since mid-March, I suited up with mask, gloves and plexiglas and played a 7 handed 1/2 NLHE game. Buy in was $300 max and I noticed only one other player had more than that. Everyone else was somewhere between $100-200. I bought in for the max and intended to sit back and let the cards come to me until I got a feel for the game. Played pretty tight and the first hand I won was with a set of 4's on the button.
I played maybe 15-20% of my hands and most held up using some bet sizing and aggressive play. Using my new found smarts, I was tight aggressive. I rarely limped or called. The results were amazing with preflop raises and C-bets. I had a lot of run-good and everyone paid me off. With their stacks, a few times. After a while, I was able to really see how bad some of these players are and took full advantage of their passive play and only calling when they had the nuts. It was shocking. Everyone wanted to limp, but that wasn't happening when I was in the hand and I stole a bunch of pots with late position bluffs and reraises on the flop. I was also hitting the flop more than my fair share, so a couple guys were always trying to outplay me, but when they did try, I had the goods which really helped my table image.
I'm really stoked about how much more I saw at the table after studying and paying attention in school. It felt at times like I knew what someone was going to do before they did. It's almost like learning a visual and math based language. I can almost hear people like Brad Owens and Alex Torelli whispering in my ear. LOL.
Yesterday after about 4.5 hours, I cashed out +$595. Today, 4.5 hrs +$218 after a couple brutal beats.
I know this run ain't going to keep up at this pace, but I'm enjoying the new found knowledge and the confidence that comes along with it. I'll probably get to dance with that evil *****, Miss Variance soon.
Sorry to drone on, but after 3.5 months of just thinking about stuff, to see it actually in motion makes me smile.