I was just about to ask you if you wanted to meet for a beer in Vancouver. Have a nice flight instead. Look forward to hear about your future adventures. Still have any plans to hit GOA?

That is too bad man, but we will catch up another time, no doubt, as I pop over in Van twice a year... You still play at the Edgewater? And put an insane amount of volume online?

As far as Goa goes, the chances are slim at the moment... Running around Vancouver to get cash and open an account at HSBC, has reminded me about the hassles of playing live abroad : frequent small hits in currency exchanges, higher variance risks of carrying roll on us or at home and dealing with local banking etc. So, in the meantime, am focused on the short term of Philippines-Vietnam for the next 3-6 months, then we will take it from there...

I think that even a modest 1-2 game (as found in da nang, Vietnam) played once a week, would give me a satisfactory break from the online grind and only require a max live roll of 5k, will work for the short term, then I will reassess.

Am presently in Taiwan for 4h. Take care man!

Hi Dub,

Really love your Thread/Blog and how you write or describe anything in it

Please post more about HH,love to read and learn more about how's live tourney

If you ever Go to Indonesia(Jakarta), please let me know

Cheers

Sent from my Mi 4i using 2+2 Forums

Hey, thx man

I plan on writing about the APT in Vietnam, assuming I do a semi-deep run... But outside of that, the HH for this winter will mainly focused on online, as I want to solidify my 100z winrate and eventually move up to 200z by mid 2016, but will through in some live ones for good measure.

If you haven't yet, check out my old PG & C thread, Beat up the old Lady

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/17...weeks-1535509/

that revolves around a 25k challenge in 15 weeks and in which live poker has a predominant role.

I don't plan on going to Indonesia anytime soon, but will definitely give you a shout if I do Are you originally from there or simply grinding?

Peace

Hi interesting thread I enjoy reading it. I'm wondering which retreat do you go around Vancouver?

Thx man!

The centre is located on Cold Water Highway, just off the Trans-Canada Highway, about 20 before reaching Merritt. Courses are also offered in Alberta, Toronto and Montreal as well as most countries in the world.

https://www.dhamma.org/en-US/index

Will look into the Old PG&C thread

yes,I am from Indonesia..and try learning more about poker..

Good luck there,hope you Run them all down

All Facades Dropped

It is with mixed emotions that I land here, on Filipino soil, after spending a few months on home Canadian turf. The Philippines is certainly not the most polarizing of countries, but when one has invested a couple of years in a place and thus established roots, to plunge oneself again in that reality necessarily comes with a certain dose of reminiscing. Good or bad.




Lots of hidden activity is tucked underneath filipino bridges : markets, motorbikes, illicit activities, homeless folks seeking the shade...


The overwhelming sweat. The nasty odors. Omniscient poverty. A multitude of Filipinos, desperately pushing on through the urban reality as they are trying to make ends meet ; one would have to be completely self-absorbed to not feel this daily suffering...






Perhaps this puzzling site of the magnificent overview spoiled by abandoned trash adequately represents my mixed emotions...




And of course, the gem of seeing a random goat roaming around in the midst of the evening traffic




Filipino haven : within these mall walls, free air con, fluffy dreams of buying whatever desired or even courteous meetings


Yet, a distinct smile paints itself on my face : it feels good to be back on Asian soil It feels good indeed. Despite the humidity, heat and general mayhem of Cebu, it is with a sense of serenity that I calmly walk through the city. As if I belong : a stranger rightfully passing by...




Stayed there for a week, in this top of the hillside hotel in Cebu. 35$/night.




One of the mansions overseeing the city. My first thought : a paranoid drug lord living behind the fort-like-gated-prison, a thought somewhat confirmed by the Filipino name engraved on its wall...




You didn't think I was going to leave out a hoops pic, did you


Nevertheless, this could never be my home. Despite the amazing people living here, us, foreigners, remain strangers in Asia, treated as such and forever reminded of our white distinctness, for good and for bad... I have spent enough time in this country and am certainly glad to fly to Vietnam in a couple of weeks ; after all, the latter figures in the title of this thread


Da Pokerzzz


Unfortunately, being nomadic does come with certain repercussions, at least for yours truly who struggles to reconcile movement with inner stability while playing on the felt... Not a huge downswing, tbh, just a 3 weeks B/E stretch followed by a solid week (we stayed in the quiet hotel - see pic above - which made it easier to keep the mind on the grind Also got smacked with some life run bad lately, as my forever demonstrative clumsiness found new boundaries :

- Exposing my ipod classic (that had been with me for nearly a decade and had accompanied me to quite a few tables across the globe) to the morbid turbines of a laundry machine (I am sorry buddy ).

- Stepping on my glasses ; DUHHH!!!

- Forgetting one item or another in just about every hotel I set foot in... Jesssusss Murphy

Yet, my run bad is a poor justification for making a habit out of bringing my C game to the tables Example :


1-2 Edgewater

Villain has just joined the game 2 orbits ago, has played 3 hands and seems capable, as he previously double barreled, only to fold to a turn raise.

Villain limps from the CO, I look down at 85 in SB and decide to complete, BB checks his option.

Flop (6$)
446

I don't like X-calling, so a lead seems quite obvious here ; I pick up 6$, realizing too late that a 4$ bet would have a similar fold equity at a lower cost... BB folds, CO raises to 20$, I snap make it 55$ (again, 40-45$ would of accomplished the same result ), villains shoves, I sigh-fold. FML I actually like how I played the hand, but I did make 2 compounding sizing errors and perhaps indulged in a little FPS (1-2 yo, no need for fancy play ). Anyhow, you get the drift... Hope to fix this mental lapse before the upcoming APT...

edit : The APT has been cancelled I am bummed out about this, but it has also made me realize that I need to balance online with some live action, even a 1-2 game would do for a couple of nights/week...


edit 2 : Since writing this post, I have put the jet lag behind, settled somewhat onto Asian soil and have reinstalled some healthy habits to the grind. Results : my B game is back with flashes of A game, yet I still uncharacteristically dip into spurs of C and D game But that will change


Run good all

Hey guys, I need your help over here. Unfortunately, despite having spent less than 6 months in Canada during each of the previous 3 years, I officially still have substantial ties with Canada (what no house, no car, expired license to drive ) because I am not paying taxes in a foreign country. Hence, I must declare my income as a pro for the previous 2 years

Do any of yous, Canadians, play for a living and not pay taxes (or have any input on the situation...)? I have contacted an accountant and am looking into the situation, but it seems as if a few pros have legally dodged the taxman... Would be nice, as combined with the delayed interest, this would be a bad beat to yours truly... Thx all

Doom Switch

There is no hiding from the weight of the world ; it sits on us and like an unwanted guest. It crushes the last of our might.

Defeated and not wanting to take on another fight, I stayed in bed until late in the afternoon, slipping in and out of dreamland ; but alas, no peace would be found in between the sweaty-tilt-induced-dreams and the heaviness of the waking life.





In the refuge of my dreams, far behind was that 16 BIs downswing... In my dreams, I was anew finding ways to print da monies, compensating for that inescapable and heavy sentiment of loss... The morning nevertheless came as a rude awakening.





As much as we would like to believe it, there is no comfort zone in poker ; it remains a long journey, with uncountable humbling lessons along the way.





Only a few days left, in this here country, so wanted to try me some peculiar cultural food - to say the least - such as balud :




Notice the little duckling's head? This egg was kept 16 months at 33c. The bird was pretty gooey and unappealing to stuff in one's month


Also got to play some Bball, but was pretty unsuccessful in that area as well : that said, if I was 10 years young and 20 lbs lighter, we would of seen who is da gangsta boss, yo





A final farewell to the Filipino beaches :





And a goodbye to my new pet friend :




Gosh, never thought a rabbit would be this amazing to have as a pet


Da pokerz hand of the week :

Having to deal with 3 years of taxes for poker income, has put me on life tilt. Add some run bad to the equation, and I obviously downswong pretty darn hard A lesson to be learned though, as I did not quit while clearly tilting, played 4-5% too many hands, clicked the 3bet button too often and got myself in precarious spots, to say the least. I honestly thought that such monkey tilt was thing of the past, but alas, we always remain somewhat vulnerable in this game, don't we...

To focus on the positive, here is a reminder to self of what I need to do more often.

100z Fast Forward

I open to 3$ from SB with K8 ; BB defends.

Flop (6$)
597

Easiest cbet in the world with my backdoors ; I bet 3$, villain tags along.

Turn (12$)
597 10

I continue my aggression with the ton of new outs and fire 7$ on this overcard ; villains sticks around.

River (26$)
597 10 7

I check, planning on giving up (given I block many bluffs), but when villain bets 12.35$ on that second 7, I raise to 38$


Run good all

Red Tides

"What is Vietnam?" asks the kid, visibly perplexed ; his father remains silence as he contemplates the veteran cemetery, lost in his melancholic daydreaming.

This commercial would oftentimes appear on my tv screen, on Saturdays, when I would momentarily turned my attention towards the English cartoons shown south of the border. I to had to ask my dad the same question, as I could not understand what the commercial meant for the life of me... "It is a country", simply answered my dad. That left me even more puzzled : why so much sadness then?

Of course, Vietnam largely transcends what an American-historical-centered perspective can make of it, but, for the purpose of the narrative of this post, here are a few war pics :





God I hate museums It took about 12 minutes to make it through the 3 stories




Pretty emotional pic ; 'nuff said




The monstrosity of Agent Orange




It tilts me like no tomorrow when the US of A refers to the atrocities of chemical warfare without referencing their own abuse


God does it ever feel great to be back on Vietnamese soil After spending the majority of the past couple of years in the Philippines, this feels like a delight The food. The great value for hotels. The beaches. The clean streets. Even though my rating would not find consensus in the expat communities, I easily put Vietnam a few notches higher than the neighboring Cambodia, Thailand or Philippines.

Failing to put words on the origin of my sentiments for this country, I turned to my gf and asked her why she held the same emotions... she did not lack words.

A deep rooted anger still lingers inside her from the injustices that can be found in her home country, the Philippines. The disparity in between rich and poor. The overwhelming pollution and junk loitering the streets. The Christian misguided faith. The street children. Did you know that no less than 1.5 million children populate the streets of the Philippines, while that number has shrunk from 21k to 7000 in Vietnam , a figure that is simply striking, to say the least. Perhaps Communism has been effective in these here parts... Perhaps the Christian prohibition of contraception means is directly correlated to the single mothers/abandoned children that ensues...

Even the foreigners travelling here are more inspiring then their Philippines counterparts ; like my buddy likes to put it : "it is that much more difficult to travel here, thus keeping some of the idiots away ". Haha, not exactly the words that I would of chosen, but they do strike a chord...


Da Pokerz

A real solid 10 days and despite having been playing less tables, short buying-in and lowering my volume, my win rate has been up the roof, landing me a solid mid 4 figures Which is a good sign, as we might be on the road for a while, possibly making a detour in Laos to get a new Vietnamese visa for my gf...

How to extract max value

6 handed FF 100z

MP, an unknown, opens for 3.50$ ; I 3bet JJ to 11$ on the button, he calls.

Flop (23.50$)
J94

No use in betting while blocking top pair ; I check as does he.

Turn (23.50$)
J94 10

I bet 14$, he calls.

River (51.50$)
J94 10 7

A brick river and when villain checks, I confidently shove for 51.43$, polarizing my range in the process


Run good all

Freeway

1 am, late September 2002 on Highway 69, north of Toronto. The vehicles are storming by on this Friday evening, giving little to no regard to my exhausted/dirty self, thumbs up, trying to hitch a ride. I have been on the road for 7 days, hitching for 6000 km from Dawson City to TO. Outside of brief splashes of sink water at random truckstops, my body has not seen a shower in a week ; my bed : the luxury of a ditch-side tent.

I was at crossroads, in Sudbury, to either go East to Montreal to my new girlfriend, or south towards my ex in Toronto. Call out lust or nostalgia, but the image of the luscious body of my ex was calling me, legs open... Yet, here I am. Tired. Stinky. Stuck by the side of the road, while all I can think of is bathing and rolling into a cozy bed with her : I definitely don't want to have to pitch my tent by the Metropolitain highway

Fortunately, I run good : a speeding caravan spots me, cranks his breaks, barely managing to pull over. The door pops open to the sight of 4 city-smacked-out-punk-dudes and a voice screaming "GET IN!!!". I oblige.

The bush meets the city ; hippie meets punk street urban kids. I promptly get in, close the door, only to notice the overwhelming smell of alcohol ;

- "you want a beer or to shoot up?" asks the copilot, handing me a beer and pointing towards a syringe in the process.

- "Just a beer man", I respond, "to be honest, all I really want now is a shower and a warm bed".

They tell me how they use to live in the downtown streets of Toronto, scoring a hit where they could, but have since found a place in the burbs, a job, hence living somewhat of a normal life while getting smacked out on the weekends.

The caravan is doing 160+km/h, dashing by anyone in its way. The windows are wide open, letting the screeching wind twirl in. The driver seems sober enough, yet I cannot say the same of the copilot : he dozes off, his head balanced on his shoulder, lost to the weight of the world, only to be suddenly shaken up by a sudden urge to puke ; the vomit goes out the window, to partially twirl back in the vehicle through the rear window to land - you guessed it - on me OH la la, add vomit to the coat of stink masking my body

Despite the smacked out driver, the speeding, the vomit and all, I know I am going to make it alive... This is just another adventure When we arrive in TO, I thank them, get out of the vehicle as they curiously hand me out 20$ (little do they know that I have enough for the next 7 months in Asia ). When I get to my ex, she makes me take 2 showers before we hit the sack, haha.


It seems like we might find ourselves on the road for the next couple of months. Vietnam has brought down the hammer on visa extensions/renewals this year and since my gf only has a 21 day visa, the chances of finding ourselves in Laos for 1 month are highly likely. We had the intention of settling down in da nang for a few months, yet the prospect of travelling for some time seems quite alluring as well. Also, given that I find myself with a strong urge to write/blog more lately, the numerous different destinations and pics will no doubt be put to good use




Standard Vietnam city pic : a ton, and I mean a TON, of motorbikes dashing through the traffic




View from hotel Balcony in Vung Tau, 1h away from Saigon







There are a ton of little cafes/restaurants by the beach offering some fresh juices at 1$ a piece Can't get me enough of dem




Went to check out the Grand Hotel, place where the APT was suppose to be held ; unfortunately, I forgot to bring along my passport, thus not being granted access to the casino


Terrible runout for a triple barrel :

I love to triple barrel as much as the next one, getting the thrill of the sweat in the process (especially when villain tanks on the river), yet some runouts are just unfavorable, like the next river will attest.

Villain, a LAG reg, open to 3$ from SB ; I defend with 108.

Flop (6$)
6QA

Villain cbets 4$, I call.

Turn (14$)
6QA 8

Some new outs. When villain bets 11$, I do not raise, not wanting to cancel my new found equity (especially when villain has a range advantage), so I make the easy call.

River (36$)
6QA 8 Q

When villain continues for 24$, the story simply doesn't add up. I mean, he is not triple barreling with Qx, I block 8x and now there are significantly less possible combos of AQ and QQ, so I decide to make it 82$


Run good all

great update dubn! as usual the perfect combo of reflection, travel, and poker

Currently on your table in the $33 deep stack tourny.

I wish I was in bed instead though, why did I register for this???

Thx bob Since we will be on the road for the next 2 months, I am hoping to update this blog weekly, if not more...

Haha, that is funny man What is your user name (or pm it to me).

I just started playing a few MTTS again this week, after 8 month of hiatus. I figure that this is the best way of forcing me into playing longer sessions, as I have been only averaging about 25h/week for the past 2 months, despite being on a massive upswing. Also, I really enjoy donkaments, WAY more than cash games

The hand you minraised Q4s and got 2 callers, I was the big blind and had 45s. The flop came 566. And I was going to checkraise you all in (I had like 12 big blinds or something). You bet, and a guy with a micro stack called for about 33% of his chips. So I figured he must have something and I folded. Then you hit running queens and defeated his.......K9????

Yeah MTT's are really fun, except for when what happens to me last night happens. I sign up for a few, and then kind of wish I hadn't because I'm tired. Then the cash games are uninspiring, and I bust all but 1 of my MTT's. So then I'm stuck, uninspired, but with $33 invested in an MTT that I just can't walk away from.

I don't know if anybody else grinds the way I do. It's not unusual for me to have NL holdem cash games, PLO cash games, 5 card PLO cash games, 6 max, 9 handed, and 10 handed games, SNG's of all kinds, and MTT's all going at the same time, usually playing on 2 sites at the same time, but I've also crushed the 6 card omaha MTT's in a small sample of Full Tilt, so if that's running I play that too. Can't recommend this style to anyone else but it seems to work for me to have the most options to choose from.

So I end up adjusting by playing super aggro, you know, go big or go home. I actually ended up in a spot where I would've had a huge chip lead if I won a flip, but was relieved when I busted. LOL.

I grinded hard online all October/November and am kind of switching to live poker for a bit of some variety and in preparation of my winter grind down in Sin City.

Jeez, and I thought I was pretty diversified in my game selection How is your winrate with that many games going on? Do you rely mainly on rakeback or is the winrate high enough by itself? How long are you going to Vegas for and what will you grind over there?

Yeah, I don't have that problem of being stuck with 1 single tournament when exhausted, at the end of a session, as I only register to a max of 5 MTTs within the 2 first hours of my grind, thus necessarily making it to the final table if I am still in it 6 hours later. My MTT schedule works for me, as it forces to me play min sessions of 5 hours at my standard 100z 6 handed speed games.

I find that I adjust quite well to the constant adjustments of live, online, MTTs or cash. Of course, I oftentimes find myself opening too many hands in an online 9 handed MTT setting (yet my deepstack postflop play makes up for) or playing too tight in a live 10 handed cash game, but these remain minor factors, as far as winrates goes.

All the best in Vegas Carnivore, and give me a shout in the chat box next time we are battling off at the tables

We are taking a train to da nang in a couple of days, so pics and update to come sometime next week

Rakeback is pretty minimal these days. I'm pretty certain it never accounts to more than 10% of my profits these days.

Minimum sessions of 5 hours is much longer than I'm able to play for. I'll usually sign up to 3 or 4 MTT's when a session starts and then get on a bunch of cash game wait lists, and then while waiting for the cash games to get going I'll play a few SNG's. I'm usually playing 10-15 tables. Back when I used to play only full ring NL holdem I'd rarely play less than 20 and 25-30 wasn't unusual. And back then rakeback was more like 30% of total profits. So anyways I'll usually play until the last MTT busts, so a session can be anywhere from 2-6.5 hours. Once I'm deep in an MTT I'll usually only keep the very best cash games to go with it, so if I'm on a final table it's unlikely I'm playing more than 3 other games.

Today I drove 2 hours to play live, but being up one buy in and with the game playing tight after 5 hours of play I just picked up. I definitely lack the poker-addict mentality of players who are stuck to their seat for hours on end. I get my hours in for sure, but it's lots of short sessions. Usually at least 2 online sessions per day, and at least 2 live sessions per week.

I wrote more about that subject in a thread on that subject

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/27...13/index2.html

Zoom poker is one of the only poker variants I've never had any success at. I seem to be doing well the occaisonal time I play SNAP though.

Last winter I grinded Vegas for 4 months. I go as much for the weather as for the poker. This winter probably 2 months. Playing tennis and going biking/rollerblading everyday in January and February is a big part of why I want to be there. I table and casino select across 1/3 and 2/5 games while there. I'll go out 7 nights a week and probably averages 6 hours of play per night, with a rare wild game keeping me out 12-14 hours. In Vegas I usually play at 3-4 rooms every night. I just can't stand a nitty game when there's so many other games in town. But I'm not one of those guys constantly walking around and asking for table changes, those guys rub me the wrong way. I'll try a change sometimes but more likely I'll just walk or drive to the next casino and be in another game in less than 15 minutes. With practise I've gotten quite good at getting around Vegas and from poker room to poker room and using the call in lists effectively. The fastest back and forth possible I think is Bellagio-Ceasars. Poker room to poker room walking takes like 4 minutes. And I dress my best to go out and play poker, I don't want to look anything like a grinder.

I also enjoy the trip down there and back and always stop somewhere in between to play somewhere new. I love road tripping.

Sweet man, seems like a fun road trip I only did the USA West Coast once by land (on a greyhound bus), but thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Alaskan Highway remains my favorite road trip (the drive from Dawson to Vancouver in late October, a few years back, was great, the snowstorm not withstanding ).

We are presently at the train terminal in HCMC, on our way to da nang. Unfortunately, we will have to leave the country this Friday, most likely ending up in Laos for 1 month (the 15 day extension of my gf was aborted when I lost it on the cop delaying the process ).

You guys probably heard of the Pokerstars changes to the loyalty program, the cancellation of Supernova Elite and the abolition of Rakeback at highstakes (5-10+)... anyhow, I strongly encourage all of you not to play on December 1-3 as to stand in unison versus these radical and ludicrous changes : online poker is already dying a slow death and greedy Amaya is selfishly speeding up the process

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&postcount=420

peace

have you been able to play on 888 in all the countries you have been>?

in particular cambo, vietnam, thailand and indonesia?

thanks

I had zero issues in Cambodia and Thailand playing on 888, and I've seen Vietnam and Indonesia flags on 888 before. It's one of the more liberal sites in terms of countries it allows people to play from.

thanks

You are thinking about leaving the Philippines, Kickdante? Only in Singapore I couldn't log in (don't know if I tried 888, but Party wouldn't let me play real money games) ; all other countries should be fine, as Rockchucker mentioned.

Speaking of online poker, pretty happy to see Gladiator back on Party and will grind 400 points/day in December, while still focusing on 100z SNAP games and MTTs on Stars. I am quite concerned about the Stars changes and the trickle down effect that will ensue... I mean, now that I am a big winner/crusher at the 100z speed games and will move up to 200z in January, the games will probably get noticeably harder... Oh well, we will see.

On other note, I love da nang Probably my favorite place is SE Asia

yes after almost 3 years in phils and 10 months of going with non pros i need a break...... poker tilt + pinay lies + headaches = insanity

singapore is to rich for my blood so i should be ok

OK, GL. Even Singapore would of been fine with a vpn, I take it, but I don't risk using one (not for poker, anyhow...).