So back in August i got an email from Bodog, basically it said " We credited your account $350 to come back and play" Im assuming this has something to do with the fact they revoked everyones RB deals.

To my surprise it was true, so wtf I decided to play again, I had quit playing all together before BF. Mostly just because I was sick of the game. I was busting my ass to be break even or slightly winning.

Im not sure what happened but during that 5 month break, something clicked. I truly believe that I am 3 times the player I was before. Its like Marvins study group has sunk into my head, and everything clicks. I have hesitated to post this because I dont want to loose my Joojoo!! LOL.

But I think the sample size has gotten to the point that I can feel confident that this isnt just run good. I have changed numerous areas of my game. One of the biggest being the ability to fold in some tough spots, yet also being able to correctly call in other spots that are just as tough.

If I had to make a blanket statement that would sum up my success, I would say "Im doing everything for a reason" .

Every PFR, C/R, C/C, B/F, 3B, 4B, Everything I am doing at the table is based on a predetermined thought and logical reason. And because of this I am finding it very very easy to make the correct play. Im sure everyone has been in spots where we bet, villain raises, and we just cant let go of our hand because, "I cant fold AA here" or "This guy just cant have it again". Insert whatever cliche you like. The fact is these spots where eating up my winrate.

With the same logic, I am also finding a a gold mine in thin value betting in spots that I would previously just c/f, or check to get my TPMK to showdown have. Especially when I tie these decisions to a b/f logic. And since I have already made the decision to b/f, the few times I do have to b/f are so much easer since this was my plan.

I still have a long way to go with my game, and I set aside time to study every week. Im analyzing my marked hands from the day before regularly. Hopefully this is my break thru moment with the game, and good things will continue.

I remember a quote that just made a ton of sense to me, I think It was from Tommy Angelo.

"Every new hand offers you an opportunity to play perfectly"

Win or loose, this is how Im feeling about the game right now.

11.3bb/100 over 18.3k hands

All I can say is Im dam glad Nov is over. Its time to kill in December!!

To help change things, I am going to record every session. Then go back and do a voice over review. I have planned on doing this for a while but now is the time.

I think this will help me identify my leaks more consciously, and I should be able to have a better recall at the tables from this.

Should be interesting.

Variance is something we all deal with playing this fucking game every day. But at some point its supposed to even out. The problem is that if you understand variance and large numbers them evening out can take forever.

In the mean time we should play our game the best we can and understand that if we play well we are going to win money over the long run. Well I might just be out of time. Because this shit is fucking ridiculous.

This month has literally kicked me in the balls and spit in my face. It was so bad that at one point I got sweat by Probability, and at least I have a witness to the carnage. No, Not every hand i played was played correctly. And EV graphs wont even come close to telling the story here.

Basically I was grinding out 50nl, and shit got so bad I swore I would not deposit any more money. So i dropped down to 10nl. Shit hasnt changed !!!

I guess Im using this months blog to whine and bitch. But FFS how many times can you loose to Set over set, FH over FH, Flush over Flush, KK vs AA, and AK vs AK AIPF that runs a 4 flush before you just decide to quit.

Im sure some of these hands could have been folded, I suppose there was a small amount of tilt. But I feel most of these hands are just plus EV plays.

This hand pretty much put an end to the 50nl grind. Sadly I was 90% certain Villain had KK on the turn.

Can you fold this?

Full Tilt, $0.25/$0.50 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $89.10
BB: $79.70
UTG: $52.25
CO: $35.95
Hero (BTN): $99.15

Pre-Flop: J 8 dealt to Hero (BTN)
UTG raises to $1.50, CO folds, Hero calls $1.50, SB folds, BB calls $1

Flop: ($4.75) 8 J 8 (3 Players)
BB checks, UTG bets $3, Hero calls $3, BB calls $3

Turn: ($13.75) K (3 Players)
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets $10.50, BB folds, UTG raises to $22, Hero raises to $33.50, UTG raises to $47.75 and is All-In, Hero calls $14.25

River: ($109.25) 4 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $109.25 Pot ($3 Rake)
UTG showed K K and WON $106.25 (+$54 NET)
Hero showed J 8 and LOST (-$52.25 NET)

So after that I decided to drop down and play some mindnumbing 10nl bull shit, it should be fairly simple to build a roll back up, Ive done it before. I have a pretty dam nice sine bankroll for poker, I just didnt want to put any more money online at this time.

Ok here goes.
At this point I will say that 10nl has changed since I played there last. Vs most regs I dont even think getting AK AI pre flop is +EV. In this case vs this guy it was, and vs most of the fish it still is +EV. But how the fuck do we even comprehend this.

Full Tilt, $0.05/$0.10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

UTG: $2.75
MP: $11.82
CO: $5.33
BTN: $11.67
Hero (SB): $15.38
BB: $14.32

Pre-Flop: A K dealt to Hero (SB)
UTG folds, MP calls $0.10, CO calls $0.10, BTN folds, Hero calls $0.05, BB raises to $0.60, MP folds, CO calls $0.50, Hero raises to $15.33 and is All-In, BB calls $13.72 and is All-In, CO folds

Flop: ($29.34) 9 5 T (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Turn: ($29.34) 6 (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

River: ($29.34) J (2 Players - 1 is All-In)

Results: $29.34 Pot ($1.95 Rake)
Hero showed A K and LOST (-$14.27 NET)
BB showed K A and WON $27.39 (+$13.17 NET)

OK whatever, I probably have won this way myself before.

But surely when we hit sets they should have some post flop value right? In this hand I check the flop since it is not draw heavy and i dont expect to get called by much if i cbet. This villain will bet when checked to and is very aggressive when we show weakness. But seriously 2 outs and the guy hits the river.


Full Tilt, $0.05/$0.10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 6 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

CO: $13.07
BTN: $3.55
SB: $10
BB: $11.09
UTG: $10
Hero (MP): $17.22

Pre-Flop: 6 6 dealt to Hero (MP)
UTG folds, Hero raises to $0.30, 3 folds, BB calls $0.20

Flop: ($0.65) T 3 6 (2 Players)
BB checks, Hero checks

Turn: ($0.65) T (2 Players)
BB bets $0.40, Hero calls $0.40

River: ($1.45) 8 (2 Players)
BB bets $1.10, Hero raises to $3.50, BB raises to $10.39 and is All-In, Hero calls $6.89

Results: $22.23 Pot ($1.48 Rake)
BB showed 8 8 and WON $20.75 (+$9.76 NET)
Hero mucked 6 6 and LOST (-$11.09 NET)


I think my line sucks in the hand, but wtf, I just think I can get called by worse here so often, I dont want this hand checking thru on the river.

Full Tilt, $0.05/$0.10 NL Hold'em Cash Game, 5 Players
LeggoPoker.com - Hand History Converter

SB: $11.95
Hero (BB): $10.47
UTG: $9.51
CO: $15.23
BTN: $10.46

Pre-Flop: J Q...

Well the recent past has seen a significant decline in my online play due to a surge live play. Im currently hitting live games 3-4 times a week. The biggest reason for this is that I'm getting very burned out of the dam variance online. In October i decimated 50nl for a very respectable win rate, but when moving up to 100 NL, i just got kicked square in the nuts by variance.



I mean ya its gonna happen, 10 BI swings are supposed to be common, but why do they always happen when we move up? Overall online poker seems to have me mentally exhausted. By no means will I quit playing online, I just think its time for a break from it.

Live play is where I started at many years ago, and without a doubt I am a far better live player then I am online. This is no doubt directly related to the fact the the other 9 players at the table with me typically suck. I am also able to make some pretty big folds live, A skill which evades me online.

As an example I ran KK into AA live the other night. I found it quite easy to fold, loosing only 17BB's in the hand, this hand typically cost me a stack online. The next day I had QQ on a flop of T62 (2 spades) in a 4 way pot. I lost 20BB's after this shit hit the fan on the flop. Quite an easy lay down there. But for some reason online, my fold button disappears on me. I station off when value ranges become to narrow, and im just not sure why this happens to me.

The other big difference is my losses. When I do loose live, its significantly smaller then online. Online 3-4 BI losses are somewhat typical on a bad day. Playing live if you loose more then 2 BI's during a session, you probably shouldnt be there in the first place. My biggest loosing day over the past 20 trips has been 1.5 BIs

Basically the shit is hitting the fan in real life. I at the point where I am bleeding my savings, which is forcing me to make some money. Either by getting a job, or grinding some form of poker which will create an income. Live play is currently vastly outperforming online for me. So for now live play is where its at.

My current win rate live is well over $30 on hour, this would be higher if the 2/ 5 game would run more often. Honestly I'm getting to the point where i want to take the extra time and drive to Hammond and play in the 5/10 game soon.

The only bad part about playing live is the time, I really wish Online was going better for me because I can see myself making 2x's the money in half the time. In the long run I'm not sure how long I can take the live grind. I takes me 90 mins to drive both ways to the close casino. Im usually there from 3 to 7 hours depending on the games. Its like a real job with the hours put in. I'm not home very much and since I'm one of the few people in the world that truly enjoys spending time with my wife, it kinda sucks to be gone this much.

Well thats about it for now, its Friday and Im going to head out to the casino.

Peace

P.S. I had my 2nd biggest winning day live last week, at least for 1/2. Great table with a couple maniacs and I had a session profit of $671 in 5 hours. My biggest day ever at 1/2 was 4 years ago where i scored a profit of $1100 for a 6 hour session.

October was a very busy month for me and poker. I cant remember how many live sessions i played, but there where many, and they where all very profitable. I booked 2 loosing sessions live for the month and at least 10 winning ones. I will say this again, live players suck.

I ended up playing in the WSOP Circuit Event #1 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond IN. I was amazed how big the field was. Over 1700 players for this event. I'm not a big tourny player, but friends in my local home game told me they would roll me 100% for the event for 50% of my action.


To start the tourney I was just steamrolling the table. We started with 10k in chips, blinds where 25/25 and it was a very good, slow blind increase for the first 6 hours which allowed for plenty of play early. I got as high as 35k in chips within the first 4 hours.

Then I remembered why I dont like donkaments. As the blinds and antes increased, my cash game skills became less of a factor since stacks sizes dictate how a hand plays more then post flop skills. There is just very little room to maneuver when the villain has 25bb's, no matter how much I had behind.

I got in a small argument, well more of a debate, with one of the guys at my table. He was the guy the new everything. And for the life of me I dont know why I even discussed this hand with him at the table.

Here is the short of it. Im a huge stack with 30k+ villain is around 14k.

I have T9s on the button. 1 opener, 1 caller I flat.

Flop is KJTr - Cool, Im done with the hand at this point since I hold 3rd pair no kicker with the sucker straight draw. Flop checks to me, i think about firing but there are just no good cards for me except a backdoor spade draw. I check.

Turn is the Th . Checks to me and I bet 4k into a pot of around 8k. UTG folds and MP c/r to 9k. Leaving about 4k behind. Now, to me this is a fold, flat out fold, this guy is never betting a smaller T, but my image is such that I could be bluffing. Plus the c/r size tells me that he wants me to shove.

Anyway, I ended up calling and loosing to a flopped set, turned FH like a dumbass. I berate myself a bit for being a dooshbag, but w/e, I fucked up and I knew it. So here begins the arguement where the guy who knows everything tells me the play on my part is fine. Maybe this is a situation where ICM comes into play, but I dont understand the concept of ICM. The bottom line is I beat nothing the would c/r me there and I should fold, but he doesn't understand that. Whatever.

I am sure I made a few other mistakes since I dont understand things in tourneys like ICM. But I ended up busting 790th out of the 1700+ field. I had fun playing my first large tourney, and I would probably do it again.

As for life, I just dont know wtf I am doing. It seems my life was revolving around poker to the extent that I have given up everything else. I dont do many of the things I used to enjoy. I have not went fishing since Labor Day, and before that I didnt fish much at all. SO WHY THE HELL DO I LIVE ON A LAKE !! I used to fish 3 times a week minimum.


I used to love driving or working on my car. It was a passion. I can remember driving everywhere, for no reason just to drive the car. Never turning on the radio because the rumble was music enough.



Now I might drive the car once a month at best. I have been thinking about doing a serious restoration to the engine compartment this winter. Hopefully I can get motivated.

On top of all of that, Im pretty burned out on poker. There is no spark anymore. Im not sure whats causing this. But in general I have no motivation to do anything. Yet I get bored so fast if im not doing something. LOL thats f'd up.

I'm just not sure what to do, but I have to find a way to get out of this rut because I feel like everyday is turning into a waste of life. I really need relight a passion.

Yup I said it, and for most people this is true. I can't tell you how many people I have tried to help with this game. Or how many people have said that they want to learn how to be better at this game. But then they just don't want to do the hard work away from the table to improve.

I have had at least 8 study partners in the past year. None of them have lasted more then 4-5 weeks before they fall off of the face of the earth. I understand that most of them have had jobs/family that interfere with a solid study schedule. And by all means there is more to life then poker ( I guess).

But the bottom line is most players just want to sit at a table and win. they watch a video and then try to emulate what they see, and never understand why it doesn't work for them. Well here is the cold hard unbiased truth.

YOUR F*CKING LAZY!!!

Of course if your one of the rare players that actually does work hard away from the table then I commend you, and this post is not directed towards you. This post is however directed at all the study partners that i have had over the past year that are still playing 10nl complaining that online poker is rigger and the game cant be beat.

I am pretty much convinced that my search for a competent hard working study partner is on par with Jerry Yang being considered a good poker player. Its just not going to happen.

Or maybe my work ethic is so high that no one can live up to my expectations LOL. So be it.

The reason for this rant is that I have just burned thru another study partner, who came up with 5 reasons why he couldn't manage to get together at the scheduled time. TBH I think he has just been beaten up by the game and gave up. The real truth is that he kept making the same mistakes over and over and was to hard headed to think outside of his cardboard box.

So for now, /rant off.

I will continue to go thru my daily study routine solo once again in hopes that someday I will find someone out there that isn't afraid to work hard and improve.

September was an interesting month. Played a lot of poker and got a year older. Thankfully both where quite enjoyable. I played a good bit live this month, and forgot how extremely profitable live poker is. As for online, that went well to. Despite running well under EV, I still managed to pull out quite a respectable win rate for the month.

A had a couple first also, this was the first month I played 100nl as my regular limit. Thanks to some motivational words from CoachGP. (thanks for that Matt) And it was one of the first time i played in a live 2/5 game. Both experiences where extremely profitable.

Today marks the final few weeks of my attempt to play poker for a living. just over 2 months ago i gave myself the ultimatum that I was going to be playing poker professionally in 3 months time (Oct. 22nd) or it was going to have to be just a hobby and I'd have to get a job, or start investing more into rehabing houses.

Since Ive been self employed since i was 22 years old, I just don't see me fitting into the job market very well. I can just imagine some 25 year old kid reprimanding me. Ya thats not gonna happen LOL. I dont mind rehabing houses. The one i did was profitable and turned out great. Just a bit hard on the back. I might do that even if poker works out.

Poker is my real love. Although I really do love building new homes ( My main company) I have to say poker really is a love of mine. And everyone should be able to do what the love. I've been a profitable player for a long time, last month was my first loosing month this year, and O think it was just a small loosing month at that.

Here are my results for September. I moved from Bodog back to Full Tilt and a friend of mine got my to try rush poker again. I must say I'm really loving it.







My volume was lower then I'd like, But this is mostly do to the amount of time i played live. Which more then compenstated for the missed hands online. I think my win rate live was well over $80/hr.
To be honest, live is so bloody easy that I should be doing that for a living. I know everyone say the rake at 1/2 is a killer, But my edge is so overwhelming its ridiculous. I still be mixing in some live 1/2 2/5 since I enjoy playing live a lot. But the real money is online.

I should be able to pull what i need to live off of from 100nl, and I'd like to move up to 200nl in the next couple of months.

For October I need to grind out at least 45k hands. This should be a breeze at rush.

Good luck on the felt!!

Got to the casino last night and sat at a 1/2 table @ 7:30 waiting for a 2/5 game to start. It was a typical 1/2 table where noone knew wtf they where doing, or why they where doing it. Literally every single player at this table sucked. I won pot after pot after pot for 2 1/2 hours. The only hand of any size that I lost was when my AQ ran into AA and the board was AT262. I paid of a pathetically small river bet of $25.

2 Hands later I flopped the joint against this same guy. I had As5s, HJ opens to $8, I call in CO, button calls as do both blinds LOL. Flop is 9s 6s 2s. checks to me I check, Button bets 25 into 40, i call. Turn is the Th, I check button bets $40. I ship for $125, His hand is clearly an over pair, like AA KK QQ, I just dont think hes ever folding KK QQ with a spade, I felt this looked bluffy. He tanks for a few mins, and makes a crying call. LOL hes got a bluff catcher, KKs, and doesnt even know it. SCOOP!

Anyway, finally at 10pm they open the 2/5 table. My name has been on this list since I called in at 6:30pm. But I dont get called, Im pissed and I get up and walk to the desk and ask why I wasn't called. They said since I phones in they didnt realize I was here. I guess the desk screwed up when i came in. No problem and they got me a seat instantly.

So my game plan for 2/5 was to play a bit tight and solid. Pretty much not get out of line and get a good feel for the players. Solid plan imho. I sit down and 3 hands later i bluff the river for $100 LOL. The spot was great and I just couldn't pass it up. He folds. So much for the plan LMAO.

2 of the players at the 2/5 table had came from my 1/2 table so i had pretty good reads on them. I was slowly chipping up every orbit taking down small pots that noone wanted, but keeping my nose clean. Then this hand comes up.

Im dealt AdKd UTG+1, the table is 7 handed right now. UTG limps, I raise to $20, Button, BB and UTG call. Flop is;

As Td 8h BB donks $50 into $80, UTG, who limp called preflop Calls $50

I consider raising, and calling, folding is not an option.
The BB is somewhat tilted, can't stand me, Ive owned his soul all night. UTG has been very quiet, played a fair share of hands, but has not shown down much. I decide I cant stack off here, both players have a range of 2 prs and sets. Im a bit confused because I cbet a ton, this board hits my range, and there is no fear of this board getting checked thru.

I decide to flat, The turn is 6h

BB shoves for $180, UTG snap reshoves for just a bit more, $200. Im stuck with TPTK and a $650 pot with 2 AI's before me. Honestly I know live players suck, i know they over value hands, and I doubt for 1 min they even put me on a range.

This spot imho is a clear fold right ?

These flipping monkeys put all this money in the pot with AQ and AJ !!!

I puked when i seen this. LOL, I still think the play is to fold. Comments?

Anyway the night went well, basically the 2/5 table was full of 1/2 players with a larger bank roll and no clue what they where doing. This place is an ATM machine.

Cashed out up $515 for the night when the table broke down to 5 players. I played for 4.5 hours made $114/hr!! gotta love live!!

Yes today I got older, 43 and counting. Enjoy your youth guys, age sneaks up and gives you a KITN before you know it.

Lately I have made a few trip to play live and its been like playing chess with the kids on the short bus. I am originally a live player that transitioned to online play. I actually played live 1/2 40 hours a week a couple years back for a like 3 months and make some sick coin.

Anyhow last week i went to the casino and played some live 1/2 as usual they suck, I rock, it was cheese. I came home and told my wife I should try hitting some 2/5 live. My edge is so sick at 1/2 I feel i could crush some 2/5.

But, im kind of a life nit. I keep all of my poker money separate from the household money. But I often take some poker money and spend it on my wife and I. It makes me feel good, like im grinding for a reason. So that being said. I have enough in my roll to go play some 2/5 live but not so much that I'd feel comfortable dropping a couple BI's, mostly because I'm used to a 20bi rule, and especially since I'm a home builder, and noones building homes right now.

So this morning when I got up, ok whos kidding who, today at noon when i got up from grinding last night LOL. My wife handed me a birthday card, I opened it up and found a pile of cash.

She said "Go play that 2/5 game". Its not the money that makes this so nice. Its the fact that my wife is just so dam awesome. We started dating at 16 and have been together ever since. She supports everything I do 100%. And she believes in me. I just can not explain how important having a spouse that supports you and believes in you is.

So come friday its time to hit the 2/5 game. I'll post results.

Thanks Pookie.

I rarely get to the casino anymore, most of my live play is in a home game back in my old home town. I get back to that game like once a month. Its a fun game with friends and I enjoy it very much. Plus i crush it which is always fun.

Last night was Friday and online this week has been a rough so i figure I'd take a break and run up to the casino for some soft 1/2 . Its a small casino with mostly regs. They only spreads 1/2 NL and 3/6 limit most nights. Rarely a 2/5 game sprouts up. Last night there was a 2/5 but I only took 2 BI's for 1/2 so i didnt sit at the 2/5. I should have brought a G thinking 2/5 would run on a Friday but o well.

A few things just amazed me about these players.

1st. Everyone limps. I mean EVERYONE FUCKING LIMPS LOL. And since they limp, they rarely limp fold. And these guys are regs. When they do raise, their range is very tight. Big Ax hands, large PPs and thats it. There was one fella who at first i thought was good. Not to stereo type, but he was a younger mid 20's asian kid. He had about 2.5 BIs in front of him and was about the closest to an aggressive player at the table.

I took me about an hour or so to figure him out. He raised to 6x with his large Ax hands. 4x with his middle PPs and limped all of his speculative hands. Post flop was even better. He would cbet about 1/2 pot every flop, then he would give up or call down with any piece of the flop. I thought this was to good to be tru but it was and amazingly solid read.

2nd. No one understand why they are betting post flop. I seen guys value bet in situation where they never ever get called by a worse hand on the river. I seen another guy who would raise every time his hand improved to a flush draw, on the flop or turn, didnt matter. And he raised small, just over a min raise. Another guy would donk lead, or bet the flop with any draw. Gut shot, FD OESD, it didnt matter he would fire 1 time and give up unimproved. The best part was, if he missed, he would fold his hand FACE UP !!! .

3rd. No one thinks. Not 1 person at this table spent more then 5 seconds making a decision. Most didnt even take that long. Hell it took me longer to fold air then it did for them to put money in the pot with 3rd pair no kicker.

4th. They dont understand relative hand strength vs absolute hand strength. The asian kid, who ended up not being any good, paid off turn and river bets to me after I turned the nut flush on a, AA3 9 2 board w 3 hearts, holding A7s. Does he really think someone is betting A worse A on the board?
He simply has a bluff catcher, and I doubt he understands that.

So i ask myself, how on earth do these guys play every week, or even a couple times a week, and play so dam badly. I had a read on every person at the table on just over an hour. I cbet a dry flop once and the old man at the table told me " I really dont think you have anything" then folded. LOL Im pretty sure my AQ was good anyway.

I may have to make some more trips up there. The play was just LOL, I ended up about a BI on 4 hours of play. But honestly it should have been more. I left because the table changed, and I had a bit of a brain ache from thinking so much every hand.

I think there is easily 3-4k a month to be taken out of that place.