Feel like I am constantly starting sessions while down. Will just dust off a quick buy-in seeing flops and c-betting and then have to work my way up. I have stayed true to my previous post of c-betting less flops. which definitely was clutch last night, but I feel I may have used that as more of an absolute rule than a relative one, as today @ Parx, I got there around 10am to play with the nitty old timers, where I think a 1/4 c-bet after bricking it would have done me some good. Learning though. Every day, I'm feeling like I learn something new about myself and my poker game, which may sound kind of cliche, but each session, I start to at least see a part of the mistakes I'm making. Today, I think I played some damn good poker, and today, I ended down $-60. I was definitely considered the maniac of the table today, since I was the only one who raised. I dusted off about 160 or so just raising pre and absolutely bricking flops 5-6 way after limp calls. Ex. Raise UTG with AJo, flop comes K63dd and would check, to a minimum of 2 players continuing the action. I bricked a lot, but feel like, on any other day where I even hit a flop 10% as much, I would have gotten paid due to my image.

Still, a big fault I have, is not changing tables after recognizing the type of table it was. Today was reminiscent of the early Tuesday games that run in Hampton, just nitty old-timers. My starting and only table today was absolutely ****ing insane. The guy sitting to my right, had no idea what the **** was going on. Limped any goddamn hand, you name it. This man had confused me more than any other player I've played against. He showed down JJ in a $6 pot that checked around to the river and then bet $3 with nut boat. Would continuously limp AK, AQ, AJ, I honestly was thrown for a loop.

Also, today has one of the funniest encounters I've seen at a poker table. This wicked old dude, 75+ ordered the specialty pasta, and perhaps the most annoying guy I've ever played with (Chatterbox) ordered a BLT sandwich. The waitress brought out the BLT sandwich first and accidentally gave it to the senile old-timer, and he took a bite. Then after confronted by Chatterbox, said, "I thought it was what I ordered, it gets confusing." Just straight up mixed up two completely different foods. Chatterbox was so ****ing annoying, and I'm glad he walked away empty-stomached and stacked. The only major pot I lost was after he opened to $11 pre and I 3-bet him to $42 on the button with AK and he came over the top for $45 more with Aces and I called and bricked.

By the way, if anyone goes to Parx and knows the older Eastern-ish European guy who has no voice, and coughs into his hands every 3 minutes then touches his chips, I'm actually plotting how to murder him, so let's get this started. D-money, who I met in AC (in the Phillies hat and tourney reg at Parx), was hoping to see you. Just wanted to say, good chatting at Borgata and hope to see you again.

It was really unfortunate that I had to leave at about 3:30 today, as I made plans to see my Aunt and my Uncle outside of Lancaster PA, as within the last 30 mins before I left, the table really was getting good. Some internet kid sat down who had read a book on 3-betting once, and opened 100% of his buttons. He seemed like a nice kid, but you could tell was pretty new to playing live as he liked to engage in all the fake bull-**** hand-shake and smile chatter that you used to make at the table when you first sit down. Him and I played a $200+ pot, which I think is a really interesting hand.

Hero in BB sitting with $210, picks up QQ after raising pre the last couple hands. Internet kid just sat down and saw this, thinking I'm trying to just run over the old nits. 2 hands before I 3-bet KK and didn't showdown, followed by AJ, c-bet flop take-down. I was liking this image because this internet kid sat down right as I picked up hands after folding for the last 3 hours, so I think he thought I was pretty loose.

Hero in BB with QQ, EP old dude who c-bets every flop limps, some other random guy limps, internet kid limps on button, folds to Hero who pops it to $16. Old dude calls, Internet kid calls, Pot about $50.

Flop: QK4

Hero bets $33, Old dude folds, Internet kid calls.

Pot: $106ish

Turn: J

Hero bets $66, Internet kid calls.

Pot: $248 (more or less)

River: T

Hero checks, Internet kid checks, and mucks after I show set of Queens.

So, the reason I think this is an interesting hand is because if he shoves/bets on the river, I have to call, right? What do I lose to? AT, K9, and that has to be it? He floats the flop with AT double suited and then just flats turn? I think we can rule out AT suited when he flats turn. I have blockers to AQ, so very unlikely he is calling two barrels there with AQ. A9 is most likely folding flop. K9 is the only hand I can see here calling or making this move with, and even that is pretty remote. I was ready to call a river shove, as there just isn't much that floats flop and flat calls turn that beats us. Really think it is an interesting hand though and interested to hear your thoughts.

I'm sitting in Lancaster PA about 20 beers deep after just getting at it with my uncle, so it was a pretty damn good night. Seeing El Guapo tomorrow and getting at it real hard. I know I sometimes bitch and moan about the New Hampshire card rooms, but I'm really looking forward to getting back and playing there, as I still think it is the softest I've played. I will say, Parx really has impressed me and I think overall (action, skill, atmosphere), I have to give it to Parx over Borgata. Granted, I would never live in either place.

Really considering moving to Taiwan while I wait for the Bar results. Biggest thing is no live poker, but figure the women and other intangibles might balance it out.

-Boris

Currently sitting in my room in Scranton PA, on my way back from Pittsburgh. The weekend with El Guapo was awesome, and everything I needed. I played at Rivers on the Friday while he was at work, and it was probably one of the softest rooms I have ever played. I was classic me and went up about $400 and just dusted it off after I got myself into trouble seeing flops I shouldn't have. Ended up a cool and casual +$7 for that day.

Pitt was awesome though. El Guapo lives right off of Carson, so we ate at Fatheads, Dolce, Tooties, Hofbrauhaus, and some others. We saw a Pirates game which was great, beautiful view from third base overlooking the city and the water. Burned through the 5 episodes out of The Night Of on HBO, awesome show. Nothing too exciting happened, but it was just the great relaxing weekend I needed.

After arriving in Scranton tonight, on my way back to New Hampshire, I realized there wasn't a whole lot to do, so wandered over to Mohegun Sun in Wilkes Barre area. I went over just with the intent of playing their $50 turbo tournament and drinking a few beers. Just needed to relax a bit. 62 people entered, and I took 3rd for $350ish. I don't usually like these tournaments, but I late regged and it only took about 3 hours total. Obviously for a $50 tournament, it was very weak, and I got by pretty much off of playing a 10-20bb stack the whole time and just picking up blinds from late position shoves. I ended up busting J8ss v KQ, with 6 bbs or so. J in the window, and K on the turn, gg me. I had a good time, even though everyone was pretty unpleasant. People also take $50 tournaments way too seriously.

I think I'm now up about $300 for the trip, will calculate when I get home tomorrow. Some realizations, it is hard to travel constantly and turn a profit with poker at 1-2. There were a lot of intangibles that popped up that end up costing you money that adds up over the long run. I'm looking forward to going back home for a month or so to just grind out NH cardrooms and I'm going to be aiming to play a heavy-ish tournament schedule online. I talked to my Dad earlier, and think I'm giving myself 1 month to look for some interesting job either here or abroad, and if I don't land anything, going to Taiwan or Thailand to play some poker and maybe teach English on the side while I wait for Bar results.

Need to also get healthy, as I've been way too unhealthy and put on too many lbs. I need to get back to running 5 miles a day or so, and am going to make an effort to just live a lot healthier. Hopefully this thread will serve as a tracker for that too. Have a nice 5 hour ride tomorrow, but considering stopping at Foxwoods in CT, still not sure.

-Boris

PS. Shoutout to the Asian family at the rest stop today having a family milk drinking session out of their van.

Just a little trip recap: Currently sitting in a Scranton Starbucks listening to a woman talk to presumably her father about her heroin addiction and going to rehab, and possibly losing her kids. You always need to keep in mind that no matter how bad life seems, there are always people in more unfortunate situations than you, and most of the times, your problems aren't real problems.

A little recap:

Bar/Saratoga Springs: I haven't yet written my thoughts on how the Bar went, as immediately after taking it, I headed to the hotel Bar and got pretty tuned up. It always comes down to Day 2 for me, the multiple choice, last February, my multiple choice was a tad lower, and my essays and practicum were fine. I think the essays went fine this time. There was one essay on Secured Transactions which threw me for a loop, but other than that, I think it was alright. The multiple choice are just such a wildcard, and I could have either done way better this time, or by some chance, just tanked it. 3 mos to go until I know. Would heavily consider living in Saratoga Springs should I pass the Bar and choose to find a legal job; horse racing hunnies, good food, good bars, good life.

Atlantic City/Borgata: I thought I was going to like AC more than I did. I played a **** ton of poker while there over the 2.5 days, upwards of 35 hours, so I didn't really experience much else. The 50k wasn't that fun and it kind of solidified that I never want to just play anything more than a sporadic good value tournament (unless online). I also realized just playing very tight at the beginning of tournaments is not working for me, and I think I need to play quite looser in the beginning when the blinds are cheap. I didn't think Borgata dealers were great, action was consistent, but I would say the overall competency of players is stronger than elsewhere. I spent too many hours with actual regs just grinding out small pots and getting raked to death, when I should have transferred tables. Still a weakness in my overall poker approach, not leaving a game where I'm low on the totem pole at the table. Like I mentioned above, I sat 5 or 6 handed with 3 regs for about 4 hours and dusted off a little. I mentioned how I felt pretty outclassed, and these were players who were picking up noticeable reads on me, 3-betting me very light, and getting away cheaply. I only went down a buyin or so, and that was after jamming middle set v flopped nut straight who slow played it, but I was still by far the weakest of the bunch.

Parx Casino: I really enjoyed Parx, and think it might be my favorite of the rooms I've played at. I thought the dealers were overall the best I've encountered, action was very consistent, and action was very weak (at least at 1-2). Like I mentioned in a previous post, Parx draws upon a local crowd who swing by because they live there, locals. AC is a destination for gambling and poker, where people go there with more of a purpose. Opposed to AC, where I could sit at a table with 3-4, maybe even more competent players, I would say almost every single table I played at Parx had maximum 2 competent players, and that would be generous. I can also get down with Earl of Sandwich. Highly recommend Parx though. I imagine some probably think I'm crazy for liking Parx over Borgata.

Rivers Casino/Pittsburgh: I was a little bit worried about playing 1-3, but the action was very soft. It is absolutely crazy how much looser and how much action and gamble people have in them just when the blinds are increased by a single doll-hair. I enjoyed Rivers, even though it was probably the unfriendliest bunch of people I've ever sat with. My weakness of seeing unnecessary flops and floating with marginal holdings came out, and I can't help but admit after I folded TPGK on a dry-ish board river bet and the guy showed a stone cold bluff, I started to play more pots than I should have. Pittsburgh was an awesome time though and I think it is one of my favorite cities I've visited.

Goals for this upcoming month:

I think my roll is around $9500 right now and had dipped a little, so I'm looking to have a big month.

1. Over next month (until I hopefully leave) get roll to $11,000.
2. 40 hours/week live poker in Manch or Hampton.
3. Play the High Roller on FF 3-4x per week and other good value tournaments.
4. Run 25 miles/week.
5. Apply to jobs in Hong Kong, and possibly other large cities.
6. Start figuring out the backup plan of Taiwan or Thailand with Esquire for mid-September.
7. Deposit $500-$1000 on another online site that is compatible with PT4 and grind cash volume.

-Boris

Boris really enjoyable thread to read. Through your logs I feel as though I'm experiencing these adventures with you. Truly well written, keep up the good work looking forward to your next post.

You're obviously optimistic about seeing your Full Flush funds. How much do you have on there?

Great thread- let me know if you are back in Northeast anytime soon. Hampton Falls and the other NH poker games are where I have been playing ~15% of time. Your descriptions of NH poker rooms are so spot on-- I love it. I'm 24 and it would be fun to crush a session together. Always love trading stories.

You could teach me a thing or two about chess-- 114-115-5 on 10 min randoms on Chess.com. I think Im too nitty

Good luck man

About 5.6k right now, but have been getting max checks at about every 1.5 mos after request. I haven't had too many problems in the past cashing out on FF, but I know it has been ****ty for a lot of people. Also, posting on the Withdrawal thread seems to be futile when most people just attack you for relaying information. I'd say the players that by some luck of the draw are getting paid are equally in the dark about why/how/etc...I don't really want to turn this thread into a FF withdrawal AMA, since I post in the Withdrawal thread, but am happy to answer any questions you have privately.

Jax: Thanks for the kind words brotha. Feeling a bit stuck right now progress-wise with poker and struggling to overcome that next hurdle. A lot of break-even sessions as of late. Seen you battling out those HU streets lately. Hope to see you out there soon man.


Dave: Really appreciate it man. I just got back the other day and played a session at Hampton yesterday from about 2pm-6pm. Going to play Manch tonight, sad I missed this Reaper 6-max tournament that was running today though. Message me on here and would love to meet and grab a bite and go play any of the rooms!

-Boris

An update is due: Played the last 3 days between Manch and Hampton. $-60 in Hampton first day, -$380 in Manch the second, then +$500 in Hampton on Sunday.

Day 1 was a pretty big battle and I think I actually played pretty well. I was actually stuck about $-400 at one point, and ended up chipping back after getting 77 in on a 3-bet multi-way pot on a T73hh flop, and getting paid after flopping quads for almost my entire stack. Like I have mentioned before, I just continually start sessions down, but I'm tightening up and that's exactly what I did Sunday.

Day 2 in Manch went pretty bad. I broke one of my key rules at 1-2 which is not running any real huge bluffs. Then, with about $130 behind I saw a 5 way raised pot in the BB with 63.

UTG who has been punting a bit from busting the $250 6-max tourney and getting coolered twice raises to $15, and 5 people come along including me.

Pot: $60ish

Flop: T62

I check, UTG bets $30, Button calls, I call.

Pot: $150

Turn: 5

I lead rip in my remaining $85, UTG tanks and calls, Button folds.

When I ran it in the Equity Calculator, I have about 39% on that turn. I do think possibly seeing the flop and turn was a bit spewy, and also violated another rule I have about walking away when I am short-stacking.

River is a blank and UTG takes it.

Day 3 in Hampton went great actually. There was one key hand that I thought about for a bit and ended up shrug calling. It took me a while to think through, but after running it, it seems to be profitable.

Hero on button with AT -Starts hand with about $210-215

UTG opens to $7, UTG +1 flats, folds to me and I call on Button.

Pot: $29

Flop: K78

UTG checks, UTG + 1 moves all in for $40 - Note about UTG +1: Was this Hawaiian guy with a lot of gamble in him and very little knowledge of the game. Had recently called off with Q high against some Chinese milf who had nut boat, and had been jamming random flops with very remote backdoors, like runner runner straight, etc...

I call, UTG essentially min-raises me to $85, I call.

Pot: $239

Turn: 9

UTG moves all in, having me covered by about $100, and I shrug call off my last $120.

Pot: $479

Calling $120 to win $480 about, if I'm correct, I only need to have 25% or better, and according to the equity calculator I have just about 30%.

River: 2 and we scoop it.

I spent most of Sunday limping marginal hands in late position and only raising premiums. It wasn't flashy and was exactly what you need to do at 1-2. My confidence was pretty low going into Sunday, as I have definitely been on the wave of a nice break-even stretch over my last 10 or so sessions. Sometimes you just need to get back to fundamentals. I will say, even though my confidence was low, I still wanted to just get back out there, and had a great time.

Shout-out to the kid in aviators at Manchester who limp re-raised QQ UTG and then x/called the $30 river bet with nut boat because "quads obviously got there."

I just totaled up the roll at the minute, a tad disappointing because of the break-even stretch, but here it is.

Online Roll: $5625

Live Roll: $4092

Time to continue putting in volume. I need a more structured day for playing online, and have been slacking a bit. Goal tomorrow is to put in some volume online and possibly live, depending on the mood. I enjoyed today as a good break and finished off watching Stranger Things (highly recommend) and applied for some j-o-b-s. Also, starting to look more into Taiwan and been chatting with Esquire (the long-time Taiwan iconoclast). I think mid-September is my cut-off date for when I want to be out of here.

-Boris

Made an account just to say this thread is awesome.

I'm originally from Lancaster, and play 1-2 at SugarHouse in Philly. Also made an AC trip this weekend. I agree, the action at the Borgata is very nitty and wasn't fun at all. Ended up losing around 300 (made 500 in craps tho). Doubled my 200 to 400 at the Tropicana after flopped a boat with a pair of ducks. One of the softest rooms I've ever been in. Overall, Parx/SugarHouse action is much better than AC in my opinion.

Looking forward to your future updates, I hope you pass the bar.

Connor: Really appreciate it man - it keeps me going and wanting to post more. Loved Lancaster while I was there. So fascinated by the Amish. My Uncle says they go to the bar and order the weirdest drinks, like gin and milk. He also says, "You can smell them before you see them." I wanted to make my way over to Sugarhouse because I heard it is pretty good, but once I found Parx, and my terrifying little motel off 132, I didn't leave. It seems like you were smarter than me and recognized there's better action at places like Tropicana. Like I mentioned above, I don't know why I try and grind it out with regulars when I know I'm low on the totem pole. Really hoping to get back down there at some point, will hit you up if I go back down and we can eat some Earl of Sandwich.

Today was a pretty good day overall. I went to Starbucks and sent out some applications and started to formulate a housing plan for Taiwan as a backup. I also played some 100NL and went up $140 or so, came home, ate some dinner and regged a few lowkey tournaments. Ended up taking 2nd in the $750 GTD for $165. Honestly, more effort than it's worth. I think on FF the best tournaments to play are the $1k GTD $20 buy-in, and the $5k Highroller - $55 buyin. Busted the $1k 3 or 4 out of the money. In the $750, I would say overall it wasn't too tough, except went into HU down 3-1 or so. Ended up calling off a sizable pot after calling 95 out of BB and flopping A35, calling flop bet, turning flush on a J - check, check, and board pairing an A on river. Led about 1/2 pot and was reraised pretty small, called it off and he had A3o. Then after that just a 6-8bb shove and pray.

Ended up +$295 online for the day.

Online: $5920
Live: $4092




Tomorrow I have to be up pretty early because some repair guy is coming to fix my current Vietnamese style toilet that I accidentally broke. So I'll be up early playing, then meeting Poopy Hands for a run at UNH, and then a BBQ around 3 with some buddies in Maine.

-Boris

How about a story:

I'd like to state this story is a little X-rated, and if you are squeamish, don't read. Also a tad bit of sexual content.

Zara:

I met Zara through my father's co-worker. While living in Hong Kong, I was looking to brush up on my Mandarin a bit, so my father kept an eye out for me. I got a text one day from an unrecognized number telling me her name was Zara and asking if I could meet that night to practice my Chinese and help her with her English. Confused at first, I contacted my father, who told me his coworker knew a woman from the local beauty shop he went to and asked for my number to give her. I had nothing better to do, and agreed to meet Zara in Lan Kwai Fong area (the main going out area in HK) for some Vietnamese food. I stood outside the restaurant, a bit early, and to my surprise, this petite, busty, innocent looking Chinese woman came up and grabbed my arm. Immediately, I sensed this wasn't going to just be a language exchange. Also, it became incredibly apparent that my Chinese had deteriorated a bit, so communication was not at its finest during dinner. Zara also lived within a 5 minute walk from my place, and she invited me back to help her with some English at her apartment. My skepticism was confirmed when after arriving in her luxury apartment in Mid-Levels that she lived in by herself, she went into her bedroom and came out in a low-cut blue v-neck and short shorts. We sat on the couch and I stumbled through some ****ty English book she had, realizing that at 33, her English was not going to get any better. We finished up and it was about 10pm. She asked if I wanted to shower and stay the night instead of walking home, but I tried to remain a tad professional and not jump into bed immediately, telling her I had a big day the next day and needed to go home.

We parted ways and next thing you know, I was over her place the next night helping her with her English. She came back out in another low-cut v-neck and short shorts, leaning over me revealing some big ass titties. She asked if I wanted to shower and stay the night, and this time I jumped at it, actually opting for a bath in her jacuzzi tub because why the hell not - sometimes a man needs a damn bath with Epsom salts. I got out of the bath and crawled into bed with her, where we watched some television and chatted about life. I found out she was divorced, had 2 kids (13 and 9, both living in China), and owned her own beauty shop in Central (which explained the luxury apartment). It didn't really hit me how well-off she was until a few days later. I should have realized she was quite well off being from Hangzhou, right outside Shanghai, and notoriously one of the wealthier cities of China. I leaned over and kissed her, to which she looked at me and said, "But you're my teacher," with a coy smirk, and it commenced. To this day, probably the sexiest thing I've ever heard in bed was when I first got it in and she looked at me, smiling, and in the sexiest Chinese said, "still tight?" I'll skip the rest of the details because I think this has turned into me writing a porno of sorts.

The next two months were pretty great and I realized pretty quickly, she was my actual sugar-mama and I was a sugar-baby. She always seemed to have an expensive gift for me every time we hung out, she paid for absolutely everything and refused to let me; Michelin star restaurants regularly, new speakers, a nice ass watch, she even tried to buy me furniture at IKEA, and was planning a weekend to Macau for us. But alas, it wouldn't be me if it didn't all turn to **** and go incredibly south, and fast.

To contrast the sexiest thing a woman has ever done in bed with me, it would only be fitting that the same woman did the most horrifying thing I've ever experienced in bed. One night we were at it, when out of nowhere, she started squirting all over me and my dong. I imagine my reaction was like in Jurassic Park when the T-Rex eats the lawyer ****ting on the port-o-potty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMzfrod7hcE

Absolutely horrifying, yet she just ****ing loved it, and I had no idea what to do but let it happen. All the while, in my head, repeating over and over, "this can't be good." A few days later, I had the drip and it burned. Oh it burned. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Embarrassed and broke, I went to the Wanchai Social Hygiene Clinic, where I waited hours and hours in the waiting room, watching all the Brit businessmen come in after a toxic weekend filled with Filipina whores and infidelity. It was kind of like Fight Club in a way, because we all just gave each other the silent nod. First rule of the Wanchai Social Hygiene Clinic, don't talk about the Wanchai Social Hygiene Clinic. Also, one of the most perplexing things was when an old-disabled 80ish year old Chinese man came in for an STD test. My number was finally called, and the indignity was heightened 100 fold, after having some male nurse stick a needle up my dick. To top it off, I wouldn't receive my blood results for another month. I was told it was most likely chlamydia and was given a hefty dose of Doxycycline, walking out worrying my penis would never work again, mainly due to imagining this masked Chinese man in a swivel chair violating my most sacred of holes.

As I mentioned above, I'm a hypochondriac, and after contacting Zara, she told me she had left her ex-husband because he had been sleeping with African prostitutes from Wanchai. The best description I can give you is imagine walking down a bar alley at 3am and seeing countless women with a very Serena Williams'-esque stature. I knew I had to get tested for HIV, and waited 3 weeks, opting to not return to the Hygiene clinic due to their inefficiency. I sucked it up and paid about $100 USD for a comprehensive test at a health clinic - little did I know I'd become pretty well acquainted with Doctor Fong due to further indiscretions.

Then I got it: the most terrifying phone call I have ever received. I was in the shower when I heard the phone ring, jumped out immediately, still naked and answered it. It was the health clinic with my results. I braced myself, naked leaning against the wall in my kitchen, while the Chinese secretary who barely spoke any English read me my future. I would like to just say that if you are ever to receive potentially life altering news, make sure you get it from someone who is fluent in the language, because...well, you'll hear why. "Mr. Boris, HIV....you no have." What an atrocious pause after "HIV." I literally collapsed to the floor swearing off unprotected sex for the rest of my life and announcing to nobody that I was reborn like a Phoenix. I don't think I've ever felt so much relief in my life.

I contacted Zara, as I'm about 95% sure what she had given me was actually chlamydia, by this time it had cleared up and the Health clinic test came back in my favor. As you've probably gathered from my previous posts, when I make up my mind, I can be a bit stubborn, and completely wrote Zara off, sending her a few choice word texts. That was the last I heard from Zara until...

It was the week before I was about to go back to the US, and almost two years since my prolonged tryst with Zara had occurred. My father and I went to a popular Western breakfast place one weekend and in the hungover state I was, failed to look at anyone else in the restaurant as I was being seated - eyes glued to the floor. The seating in The Flying Pan near LKF is pretty close together and when I looked up, diagonally from me was Zara, this time with a mid 30ish white guy, closer to her age. Our eyes caught each other's for a brief moment then both quickly glanced away, and I'm sure I had some puzzled look on my face because my father looked at me and said, "you ok?" I just told him, "I'll tell you later."


And that my friends is the second time I thought I may have contracted the HIV.

-Boris

Daaammmmnnn... Epic stories! Totally just binge read all your entries. Keep up the good work. And you're considering Taiwan right? Have you ever thought about Colombia? Medellin specifically? Hands down the hottest women in the world. Perfect weather and an absolutely beautiful city. Keep on keeping on bro.

Booboom: Really appreciate the feedback and especially glad you posted because you mentioned South America, and I haven't actually thought of going there - but have looked in a bit, and it seems like it could be awesome. I ran it by my buddy Esquire yesterday, and him and I are going chat about it. I looked at the Medellin thread, and I think it might be a needed change for me from Asia. You're also down there yeah? If so, would love a chat about it to ask a few questions.

-Boris

Tonight had a lot of potential, but nothing really panned out that well. Got 3rd in the $750 for $105 and played some sit n goes and some PLO, which covered some of my other tourney bricks. Essentially up $105 on the day because of it. We back over $10k now.

Online: $6025

Live: $4092

Going to Manch tomorrow to play some cash. They are having the $1k High Hand promotion, so this brings a lot of action. Looking forward to it. Going to just play pretty tight tomorrow, c-betting less, and floating a lot less.

-Boris

Tonight was just slow. Not much to say other than I sat and folded for about 7 hours. I played probably 5-7 pots over a 7 hour span, and ended the night up $+34. I can't even think of a hand that was mildly interesting. I was quite tired at the end and miscalculated pot when I flopped nut straight, and turned a flush draw. I overbet the pot by $30 or so on turn and got a quick fold. I was just so off, so that was a little frustrating. Still enjoyed it, and glad I was in the positive. One thing was that I didn't start down and really tightened up OOP.

I have to write down the stereotype that over my entire live sample, hasn't really been off - the Indian guy who limps literally every hand and has an absurd VPIP, and overplays any piece of the board he gets. He either gets away after flopping nothing, or holds onto K5 on a 5678sss board till the ship sinks.

The kid who x/called his nut boat the other day sat at my table after a 2-4 game broke and looked at me and said, "this is just 1-2 huh? Too small for me." When I see you short-stacking 2-4 and buying in for $150, get the hell outta here.

Side note: Met up with another 2+2'er and chatted for a bit. Was great to meet you and put a face to the name. Shoutout to D-train.

Not sure if I want to play a full tournament schedule tomorrow online, or go back to play live - will sleep on it. I had some others thoughts on the ride home that I might pop in tomorrow with.

-Boris

Tonight was alright. I didn't end up playing live, or really playing many tournaments (just 2). I went out to dinner with my father and had a few beers then came back and played the $750 and the $1k. The $750 seems to be my tournament, except I just can't close it out. I was 2-1 chip lead HU and called off a 16bb shove with A9o and he had AQ, then lost a few solid pots. The guy essentially didn't play a hand the entire final table and just shoved or folded. I wouldn't even rate his HU game. We ended the day up +$210. Online is going much better than live at the moment so I really need to just suck it up and put some money on ACR, Intertops, or BetOnline, thoughts on which?

Online: $6235
Live: $4126



-Boris

Yeah man I'm down here in paradise ummm... I mean Medellin. Shoot me a pm if you'd like to discuss coming down here or if you have any questions.

Tonight can definitely kiss my ass. I suspect that player Bizingo sat down with a different name, and was just open shoving hands. Some guy at the table right now is sitting with $5.8k at 300NL. And guess what happened to me. Let's just say I have some rebuilding to do. Online roll now at $4835, so I am down about $-1400 today or so. I can't really bitch and moan about it because I knew the risk I was taking, it just is definitely frustrating when everyone at the table walks away with a huge profit, and each time, I lose a good chunk. On the grand scheme of things it isn't much, and at the end of the day, I took the risk. As my incredibly alcoholic, cocaine addicted, former legion baseball coach would say, "you gotta nut up or shut up." I think that applies? I don't know, he was always drunk and shirtless riding around on a John Deere while cursing at us and making us run laps in the 95 degree weather.



Here's two fun hands with solid runouts - Boris the Whipping boy is my new name.

I'd actually say just typing this post has helped me put it in perspective a bit. Cheers and here's to a better tomorrow. No gamble, no future.

-Boris

Feeling like a broken record posting about this break-even stretch, down $-180 tonight. Played the Tuesday tournament which I'm actually a really big fan of. You can buy in anywhere from $10 (for 1500 chips) to $250, then there's an add on. I flat bought in for $70 with 10 mins left before late reg ended, so for about 25 big blinds. Definitely comfortable playing that stack, especially against the people playing the tournament. Pretty damn good value tournament as it ended up being about an $8k prizepool, with $2700 up top. 77 players, and I ended up at the final two tables. My only complaint is the blind structure is incredibly aggressive, just huge jumps in blinds. It is essentially the same as the $55 5k GTD on Full Flush. I ended up shoving from MP with AT suited over an early position limp for 9 biebers (bbs), and he ended up calling off with AJ, crippling me. It took me a bit to realize who the guy was, it was one of the first people I mentioned in the thread, the skittish dude who won a big pot against me with quads and took a picture, and just an overall incompetent.

Now, 11T has a great thread in PG+C titled, "Not all those who wander are lost." He has a recent post about predators/con people in the poker room, referencing a female kind of disguising herself as someone interested in the average Joe Schmo at the table, and ultimately revealing her true character after her target goes broke. Tonight, just proved that wolves come not only disguised as sheep, but as a 400 pound woman in an electric chair. I sensed something immediately off seconds after she rammed her electronic chair into the table accidentally, and started asking what "no limit" meant. "So you're telling me I can just put my entire stack in all at once?" "What's the minimum bet I can put out?" No one was really paying attention, except one other kid at the table who seemed somewhat competent and was on the wrong end of a hand with her. She called off a river over-bet on a very draw heavy board where everything missed, with Ace high, and that was my "AHA! moment" She also had this smug look that she would give while in a hand that you could just tell there was something sinister and intelligent behind it. By the time I racked up, she was sitting close to $1k after buying in for $200, and had just finished slow-rolling 3 others with the stone cold nuts. She also just casually one chip snapped someone off with the toss that says, "yeah I've been doing this a while."

I think everyone at the table should be approached with a heavy dose of skepticism at first. Good players don't need to do such things, but I've noticed more and more that people really will do anything to get an edge to take someone's extra $20 at the table. This woman would have done fine at the table had she just acted normally, but instead it was just such a feigned and contrived ignorance, that it was almost insulting. Great lesson to not judge a book by it's cover.

-Boris

Great read Boris. Unfortunately you find these type of folks in every poker room all across the globe i would imagine. The tourney sounds like a great value. $70 gave you a 10.5k starting stack, correct? How many chips do you receive during the add-on period?

Hey Jax: Yeah the tournament was great value - prob should have elaborated a bit more. Your initial $10 gets your 1500 chips, then every $20 after that gets your 5000 chips. I bought in for $70, so started with 16,500 chips. It was right as late reg was ending, and I made a decision not to add on, as I wasn't planning on pumping more than $100 into the tournament my first time in. Blind structure when got back from break was 400/800 w/ 100 ante and 15 minute levels. Also, love the stream, keep it going, looking forward to more broadcasts brotha.

Poker-wise - we've recouped about $200 from the other night, from a little 100NL.

I also want to share a text (shortened down a bit) I got from a fellow 2+2'er who I met up with who has been doing really well at 1-2, and basically summed up what I think is the best breakdown and advice for playing profitably at 1-2. I think it absolutely hits the nail on the head, and am going to try and incorporate this more into my approach.

"Recently, I've been avoiding trying to outplay people at 1-2. I am probably betting for value 95% of the time and want a call. I also am trying to think of poker as my own little side business, so whenever there is someone playing who thinks they are the next Dwan, and 21 with headphones - I don't act on what a little **** I think this kid is and how I can't wait to put him in his place; instead I think "Is playing a lot of pots with this kid good for me in the long-term financially compared to the average 1-2 player?" I also play super nitty the first hour. I think there's so much value...that I never pick speculative spots at the beginning of sessions.."

Online roll: $5030
Live roll: $3946

-Boris

Everytime I bring up your thread I never get past this without a solid laugh.

Dave: I would never wish anyone seeing that homeless woman taking a poo with her ass pressed right up against the glass of Port Authority behind a trashcan.

I said we had to rebuild, and rebuild we did (almost) (and by almost I mean we still have $800 to go). Shipped the $1k GTD tonight for $528. Shoutout to Jax who got 3rd, great game bud. HU was absolutely anti-climatic because my opponent went away from keyboard/lost connection about 10 mins in, and just blinded down. I don't know proper protocol there because it folds his cards even when in BB if I were to limp. Overall, was a pretty good tournament, and I went into FT with a pretty massive chip lead, and held a good chip lead most of the FT, which I was able to leverage against shorter stacks.



One really irritating thing today was trying to deposit on ACR. I've played a bit on ACR before, but got a new debit card, so tried to deposit some with that. I went through about an hour with support on the phone, before they finally told me security decided to cancel my ability to deposit with a credit card.

Thinking about posting another random story later. Any particular type of story anyone eager to hear? I think Taiwan is the decided upon destination, and am currently in the process of apartment hunting. Also, I'm able to always fall back and teach English on the side if I need some extra cash. Also, Taiwanese girls extremely +EV.

Here's to everyone out there rebuilding their roll after some rough shot-taking; be patient, use proper BRM, and keep your head up.

-Boris

Online Roll: $5460

Live Roll: $3946

Very accurate assessment of your overall control at the final table. Well played Boris. I also completely agree with your 1-2nl live strat. Give the young guns the needed time to punt if off. I feel if your ever at a 1-2nl live table and your having to outplay your opponents often then its time to leave that table. Another very enjoyable post Boris and again congrats on the much deserved victory this evening.

Thanks Jax, much appreciated brotha, always lookin' forward to the stream - hope you having a good weekend.

Today wasn't terrible, as we went up $165. Had some close runs with tournaments, two 5th place finishes, 1 for like $130 and the other for like $90. Also, played a little cash which helped cover some buy-ins. Slowly rebuilding, getting at it tomorrow again with hopefully a lot of tournaments.

Hope everyone having a rootin' tootin' weekend.

Online Roll: $5625

Live: $3946

-Boris