i waited a long time for this thread :-)

Biggest leak for HS players?
Biggest leak for SS players?

If you had to kill/marry/sleep Beyonce, Rihanna and Nelly Furtado what would your choice be?

How many roads must a man really walk down?

Two questions:

1. I'm a MSNL HU reg playing 400NL--> 1KNL (2KNL sometimes too). I'm a decent winner at these stakes, (9 PTB/100 playing 2 tables). Despite cashing out some, i have some decent money to pay for coaching. Do you think i should start playing PLO right away or wait until i move up to a level at NLHE where i find it hard to get good action? How much of my time/money do you think i should invest in learning PLO?

2. I'm planning a trip to New York sometime later this year/early next year (never been there, always wanted to go). I read somewhere that you live there. Would you do some live 1-1 coaching for a couple of weeks?

non-poker playing friends/family reactions to your success?.. have they changed at all? has this been overall positive or negative?.

any notable regrets as you grinded your way up the levels?..

mind talking more about how to play suited connectors preflop against a 18/16? what about AXs?

Not my well but I'd say go pro for sure. You're an IT guy, you can do lots of freelance stuff or random fun projects on the side if you really want some backup in case poker fails.

great well so far fwf, and really loving ur vids on DC.

im currently doing okish at 100NL, but iv noticed my biggest weakness is being 3bet by aggressive regs. i just handle them very poorly, mostly fold, and when i 4bet bluff i get shoved on a lot of the time. i have a fold 3bet % of like 77. iv started using your strategy of raising 2.5x on the BTN, but it hasnt really helped me counter 3bets, as im not sure what to do.
do you have any advice? know where i should be looking for advice?

thanks

That's a GOOD compliment.

lol @ DD taping up the hundos, awesome story guys.

i started using(and i believe you started it) the strategy of raising 2.5xBB on the BTN, 3xBBCO, pot MP and 4xBBUTG.
im really loving the way its working out because i think my steals are more profitable now, but i have a couple of issues with it.
when i raise such a small amount and get called from the blinds, the pot is tiny, and i have no hope of stacking someone if i happen to hit big and a reasonable passive player makes 2nd best.
i wondered if the increased profitability of my steals will make up for this?

and also, i dont know if you watched unconventional wisdom eppisode 1, but they showed some 3bet pot hands where they re-raised allin with overcards on a bluff. if someone 3bets pot from the blinds, the pot is going to be too small to do this, will a pot sized re-raise+fold to a shove be sufficient?

thanks

I read the story in his link and kept reading therapist as "the rapist" and was like wtf who is a rapist and why is FWF forgetting to hit the space bar.

i feel so ******ed

i don't think it will be much trouble. i did pretty well at school (3.7 GPA) and i interview well. that said, the resume gap of "doing nothing" (which a lot of admissions boards view power as) will hurt my ability to get into some of the top law schools.

business school seems like it's paying money to do nothing and make some connections. i don't really see the value of it and from what i've read it's not clear that there is any

The decision to go pro has to be determined based on a comparison to the alternatives. If you're at some totally awful community college where a degree doesn't get you much, go pro if you can make 60k a year. If you go to an Ivy League or top public college like UVA then forgoing the opportunities available to you for 60k a year is pretty stupid. I would say in general though if you can make 6 figures a year playing around 30k hands a month it's a no-brainer.
No, the games are still very profitable if you're good. Going pro might be less of a thing you rely on 100% for the rest of your life, but now the money's still too good to pass up.
I imagine most grinders could move up if they cut down on their # of tables when moving up and really focused on improving their game. Multitabling 1-2NL and crushing fish is fine but it's less viable once you get to 2-4 and you're actually going to have to get much better at dealing with aggro regs to do well at 2-4.

Whenever I predict doom and gloom for poker, obviously for some people (the best) poker will stay profitable. It's never going to be breakeven minus the rake for everybody. But the influx of fish will start decreasing and the regs will get better and many of winning players right now will not be able to adjust to the new dynamics. You see this all the time: players who beat 10-20 a year ago are struggling at 5-10 . Poker's a predatory environment in which you're always striving to improve or fall behind and the influx of fish is the only thing that enables some insufficiently adaptive players to continue succeeding. As the conditions get harder on both ends (from the fewer fish and tougher regs) a lot of people are going to struggle.

Obviously. If UIGEA gets repealed poker's profitability will explode again.
You're giving too much credit to the political situation. There's just no nudge or impetus for legalization. Sure they won't go after players that hard core but banks are still going to comply (they're not going to authorize transfers to FTP just because they think there might not be punishment from the Department of Justice). Our political clout is also pathetic compared to that of the gambling powers that have interest in keeping UIGEA. But basically, politics is inertial and bad policy doesn't get corrected just because a few Congressmen like Barney Frank take offense to a bad law that doesn't really bother too many people

I think Krantz has a huge edge. Antonius does a lot of things very very poorly in HU NL.

I'm gonigt o learn PLO by watching DC vids, taking lessons from friends, and shortstacking and twodimesing every all-in i see

the biggest leak i used to have was thinking that i always have to bet at least 2/3 pot.

the biggest leak i still have is i don't think i play aggressively enough on the turn.

biggest non-poker thing that improved my game was dropping 40 pounds and working out 5 times a week. i really do just feel sharper in weeks in which i'm working out consistently

you are on the button.
folds to CO who makes a pot sized raise.
CO is a regular and has normal/average stats.

with which hands do you 3bet?

with which hands do you call?

how often do you triple barrel bluff after you double barrel bluff?

hmm , A+ Post , I respect you alot more Ariel now I have read your blog , it was so awesome , it’s opened my eyes on how pro’s think. I got a full time job and always play poker as hobby and yes I am a member of DC! I think your videos are great. I been on a huge downswing lately but the videos gave me confidence again. I think one of my biggest problem as well as yourself I got too much gamble but once I know how to step down a gear i’ll become a better player , what opened your eyes on how to slow down gambling like blackjack and roulette

you are in BB, and tag/regular in CO raises. what is a good 3betting range?

how is it different if button calls the CO's initial raise, so it is a squeeze?

when are good or bad times to cbet if CO call the 3bet?

you are in position, you raise pre, villain check/calls your cbet, and checks turn. you have no pair and no draw.

do you always double barrel if turn was a scare card? then are you firing river as well?

if turn was a blank do you still fire?

I think that it's very difficult and that the style of play I have is closer to optimal than a loose/trappy style would be

look, most intelligent people who can do well at poker can make money doing something more profitable. but the poker lifestyle is great. do you want to slave away in i-bnaking in your 20's and live a high-stress life so that in your 30's you can ball out? or do you want to make very good but not "buy a yacht"-good money in your 20's, enjoy yourself, and do whatever you want? it's all about your own judgment call.

this post is worthless without pics

if you're getting a sick price but you only beat a bluff and it would be a crazy spot to bluff, stop calling. it's not a col

definitely go pro
seems like you're set to go pro

I just moved up to 200 this past week and I think I am winning so far but not sure. I stopped looking at totals during the month due to tilt. I don't really watch videos or post on the forums anymore (RSI) but I do have a good friend who has helped me since my NL2 days. Other then talking hands with him the only thing I do to study my/others games is to use stove/stoxev. What should I be looking to add to my game and time outside of poker if I intend on playing or at least shottaking at 2/4 by Jan 1st, 2009?