The only depressing part was the WSOP, the rest was amazingly great.

I don't know why you'd be considering changing anything except staying away from the WSOP.

I don't think that would have been fun even if you did well. Vegas is horrible that time of year - when I lived there, I left town during the WSOP.

You're obviously better at cash games, you don't have to travel for them, and you don't have to play by a tournament schedule. Seems like a no-brainer to swear off tournaments.

I do think I’m better at cash but my tournament results are actually pretty stellar. I had a horrible 2023 wsop but I’ve historically done well in live mtts over what tourney pros would call a very small sample size. I posted my ROIs for everything. I’m going back this year but I’m going to sell a huge portion of myself and I’m charging 20% markup so it won’t really cost me anything to play. Should be pretty stress free. Just need to make sure I spend the next six weeks getting in the right mental space.

Nothing about going to Las Vegas in the summer and getting up early to play in specific tournaments that you have promised others to pay in seems stress free to me.

Was not winning much really the only thing that made you miserable at the WSOP last year?

30% MU seems...high, but caveat emptor I guess.

It’s 20%, and actually 10% for some. I thought it was high-ish myself but it’s what my friends all think I should be charging and they are the ones mostly buying so .

My bad on the 30 vs 20. Misread or mistyped, whatever it was it was pre-coffee.

You need to find some way to have money make money for you when you're not working or gambling, otherwise you'll work the rest of your life (to paraphrase Warren Buffett). Can you put away $10k per year into an S&P ETF?

2.1 big bets per hour at 20/40 is an insane heater. nice results!

Can anyone share when LHE 20-40 or higher typically runs at Bellagio Mon-Wed?

You can look at Bravo and get an idea. Start watching Bravo a few weeks before a trip.

From my experience playing in vegas you have better luck towards 5-7pm. You can sign up early and have them text you when a game comes up.

To Chop or Not To Chop

April Results

Big Blind: -$246
Small Blind: +$334
Total: +$88
Hours: 93
Hourly Result: +$0.95/hour

Overall Results

Big Blind: +$336
Small Blind: +$265
Total: +$192*
Hours: 296
Hourly Result: +$0.65/hour

Notes:

*I started separating results for the two blinds after I started tracking overall results, hence why the numbers don’t add up.

-I thought this would be more volatile in the short term but so far the results are the definition of negligible. Maybe it’s just how it’s worked out so far and the spikes and valleys are ahead.

-I am overall not enjoying the change. A few weeks ago, I was sitting next to a very nice player that was from out of town and even after we had played heads up numerous times from the blinds when I finally open folded my small blind and tossed it to him, he was taken aback and felt like he didn’t deserve it since we didn’t see a flop. I did not enjoy this dynamic at all. I think most of the player pool do not enjoy sitting next to people that don’t chop and when I play a BvB limped pot where $8 is being raked, I’m like, “what am I doing?” So far, I cannot say that the results justify being someone less pleasant to play with at all.

-I want to see this through to the end of the year, but I think starting 2025 I will be back to chopping. I think a good rule going forward is as long as there are 7+ stacks on the table, I always chop and as long as there are 6 stacks or fewer, I always play.

Have you noticed anyone trying to sit to your left so they can play their BB and chop their SB?

No one really tries to move to my left unless they are on my immediate right.

You shouldn’t be sad about 2BBs /hr

Oh, I’m not. That was amazing. The rest of the year was the problem. Also, the overall lack of volume.

There are a few players who don’t chop where I play and if I have a choice I will never sit on their right.

It makes sense that they're annoyed, refusing to chop is +EV for the casino and seemingly neutral EV for you, therefore it's -EV for them and it slows the game down as well. Since you're already a winner in the games your presence is -EV for them already even before not chopping, but they seem friendly about it from what you write. But even fish have their limits. Maybe you are pushing the limits of reasonableness in trying to slightly increase your own EV at a much larger EV cost to the rest of the players.

So you are 'adding' $0.65 / hour to your winrate.

But wait, you are playing 35 hands an hour and already a 1 BB winner / hand.

Assuming you play 1 hand / hour that would have been chopped, you are causing yourself not to get an extra hand that gives you a higher winrate, and IF these results are pre-tipping, you are now actually losing money.

Now you see that despite winning not chopping, you are 'losing' money by wasting time, or actually losing money with tipping.

That, along with all the -EV of making people not enjoy playing with you.

For years several of the know-it-all pros in the LHE strategy forums would say you should never seat change because it makes the fish feel targeted, but those were the same guys who didn't chop. I said many times that made no sense and I thought the not chopping would bother them much more than seat changing. Fish change seats all the time anyway and I think exactly once I have heard one complain about someone moving seats to have position on him.

I think we are all mostly on the same page here. I don’t think people dislike playing with me though. They mostly seem to enjoy my presence even if they think it’s annoying that I don’t chop. My results, and any results I’ve ever posted anywhere, include tipping, as money we tip is not money we take home.

I think y'all should give TDK some credit for trying something, attempting to get some data instead of just random speculation, and being willing to update his belief.

chillrob yeah in games where you've got superstitious randoms seat changing, they don't notice as much, that's true. Its still a bad habit, it makes games worse, it will be noticed, and if everyone did it it would ruin the entire game. Imagine 7 pros constantly sliding around while the fish waits to take his seat. In higher stakes you can and should be called out for this shortsighted behavior.

Looking at it hourly is wrong measurement. Also people going to overfold in sb. You can be nice and chop though.

How would you attempt to track it for live play? By # of BvB hands and then express it as BB/100? That would prob be easier to track than I initially thought. Maybe even easier than what I’ve been doing lol.

Its not the occasional seat change that is the bother.

It is when a seat opens up to the left of the fish and 5 people instantly start fighting for it.

Or, this used to happen at CAZ. A new game would start and the fish would lock up the 5 seat. The 6, 7, 8, and 9 would be locked up next and the whole other side of the table is open.