Fuck micro stakes

Ran into a bunch of red tape trying to get back into sales and ended up having someone pull a favor for me and got me selling motorcycles for a minute but there was literally no money in that at all. I finally got back into car sales after the GM gave everyone a 30% paycut and lost 4 guys as a result. He reached out to me personally to invite me back which I took to mean something. I start tomorrow. 2 of my friends who stuck it out made 13.4k and 9200 last month with the paycut. Thats fine by me, heck I'd be happy making even half of that. I feel pretty confident this time with some new strategies and a little Ai wizardry for some protips & basic scripts.

No particular plans to get back into poker. I chased a couple of micro deposit bonuses but nothing panned out. If I can normalize making 5k+ at sales then I think it's time to truly hang it up in poker and accept the grind of car sales. I chose not to pursue higher education and just fuck around all my life so for guys like me it's basically always going to be service industry minimum wage work. I should be happy I stumbled into this car sales thing and can crush it for a decent income. Sales really is the last bastion for high earners with no education.

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Long story short; took a shot at 5/5 PLO. Local whale sat to my left and wanted to make it a 5/5/10/25 double straddle game, I refused because I'm shortrolled so he made it his mission to try and break me. He did. Was in for 500 and ran it up to 4k, get it allin preflop with him for 9k pot with AAK3ss, he wins with T857r and ended my poker career. Havent played in 3 weeks. Got a job starting next week making minimum wage so back to the motel life for me. Put 200 on ClubWPT just to go back to my NLHE blueprint from years ago and was doing pretty well at 10/20/40cent, until I got stacked on all 4 tables at the same time holding KK/KK/QQ/55. 3 opponents had AA and I got set over set on 2 of them. Cant even get mad, best hands won. Even though these are just $40 buyin tables I snapped like all those years ago and trashed my monitor, nightstand and glass drinking bottle. Complete loss of control just watching myself go into sitout mode all over the screen. It didnt even break me, I still have 300 online. I'm such a fucking loser I know. Anyway I should be moving out of this apartment by the end of the week unless I get a job waiting tables. Someone told me thats surprisingly well paying work, never done it before though.

And the truly sick thing is this is precisely one of the reasons I started heavily gravitating towards PLO. I just dont tilt at the game, like at all. I dont know if it's because im just new to the game and dont understand variance & equities so I brush off the outcomes, or if I just respect the variance and recognize I cant get mad because it's just the nature of the game. Big hands are rare in NLHE so it just feels so crushing when you finally get one and lose anyway, whereas in PLO it feels like every orbit you pick up something nutworthy. I also notice I get sweaty and super stressed playing NLHE to the point I can only play 3 hours or so whereas PLO I can easily play 6-8. I cant even play NLHE more than 400BB deep without getting panicky but in PLO I have no winstop at all which I'm sure is how you should be approaching both games. Psychologically PLO seems to be healthier for me, if I only I knew the strat.

I ended my NLHE career at 2/5 with a $40/hr winrate over a 146 hour sample this season.

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Whoops, I completely forgot how to play for a month. I ran through most of my study content in August so come September I just stopped studying entirely and lost my way. My normal routine consisted of breakfast/study and then hitting the card room with poker on the brain. But last month I was just watching Broodwar matches while eating and chatting with my homies on the ride to the cardroom. Once seated I would be so checked out that I was operating on a very poor autopilot, never considering ranges and just playing by my gut. I'm rather astonished I let this happen. The result was an immediate $8500 self-induced downswing. I finally snapped out of it in the last week and brought my net to only -5000. I almost had to go back to my old job again. Luckily October has had a nice 3k upswing already and I'm totally dialed in studying again and keeping poker at the forefront of my brain on the commute & upon arrival to the card room.

I also completely disregarded any semblance of a poker schedule last month. I'd just wake up whenever and hit the card room whenever. But in August I was very disciplined about arriving early afternoon so I could catch the midday whales and the evening degens. I'm back on that schedule which I think is also already reflecting in my results.

Lastly I've decided to stop tracking results. I heard a fellow pro DGAF about results and just kinda keeps a mental tab on if he's winning month to month. At first I thought this sounded rather fishy but now I kinda like the idea, especially since I was beginning to obsess over every tiny detail about when/where/how long I play. Now I just bring chips, hope I have more than when I leave and watch my box grow with racks of chips. I think this will be much better for my mental health and will keep me focused on just playing well instead of maintaining some hourly figure or monthly goal that I cant control.

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Alright I done did it. Again. For the 3rd time I think. Quit the sales gig and went full-time at 2/5 once more. I definitely feel I have improved my game and look at poker through a new lens now. I find that if I just ask myself "what is his range?" at literally every single decision point in the hand things become a lot more clear. Thin value bets, bluffs, when to fold, and in particular what sizings to use. It's cute because I still struggle to ask this sometimes and just start rushing through the hand falling back on 'standard' lines like I have some sort of cheatsheet to poker.

I feel like up until now I have been brainwashed by "traditional" poker concepts, most notably any attempt to be "balanced". The biggest leak I currently have is repeated hero calling, but I notice after I make such blunders it was always because I forgot to ask those 4 magical words. It's always on the drive home that it becomes clear "of course he wasnt donking a missed flush draw on a bluff. He was donking the river because he wanted to make sure it didnt get checked through". Anyway, in the words of the great Mario Mario, "let's a goooo!!"

August results

10,000 (deleted screenshot since it was skewing page rendering)

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Your cert expired guys, please fix.

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I caught them bottom dealing cars from the bottom of the deck. We’re speaking in dealership terms of course. But we truly have run into a bit of a conundrum. I’ve learned you cant really make it entirely on your own, you need help. The top performers at the dealership have managers feeding them high-value prospects while the rest of us are more or less ‘relief pressure’ by gambling with the random customers who show up who may or may not buy anything. Current events have slaughtered our sales volume except for the top 3 salesmen who are ensured to hit their quoats to make 10k/month. The rest of us can get fucked.

Tried shottaking 2/5 again in my spare time but havent fared too well as of late. Also considering spending more time at 1/3 for convenience and comfort. Either way looking to make a move REAL SOON and get out of the rat race once again. Took off 5 days from work but couldnt make anything happen.

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So I finally solved sales. I have it all figured out. There is nothing left to learn. Women want me, men want to be me. In all seriousness, all I’m trying to say is that I’ve finally begun making some money at it. I’m up $ 27k this year, with my best month being $9200. No shadiness, all pure ethical sales. I found my niche: building value in the product. Just eloquently explaining what makes XYZ car a good car to the point my customers get excited. It’s their #1 compliment about me, saying things like “I’ve never had a salesman like you before, that was really different”.

I’ve also dipped my toes back into the poker scene again. We’re playing 1/3 this time, but I’m up $2800 or so with about a $50/hourly over a meaningless sample. I have a 17k liferoll, so needless to say, it definitely feels better to play overrolled than under. The hours at the dealership are long, and I keep fantasizing about the freedom poker would give me, but I’m also self-aware enough to realize I stand a good chance of being irresponsible with that freedom just like last time.

The last bit of good news is I’ve finally left the motel and have a legitimate apartment. Since I lost everything, furnishings are sparse, and I’m going to make a good faith effort not to blow it all on anything extravagant. For instance, I picked up a mattress from Walmart today to give you an example of my frugality. Everything else will be piecemealed together from Facebook Marketplace. The neighborhood I landed in is like something out of a storybook. The street is encapsulated under a giant canopy of trees, creating stunning vistas and sounds of nature. The whole area just smells so green. Walking around at night, you are surrounded by the hiss of dimly lit gas lanterns burning away, casting an orange glow from afar. It’s enchanting. I live in one of the most primier areas of town that is literally walking distance to everything. It’s insane being able to just casually stroll about the neighborhood and stumble upon hidden coffee shops and bistros.

And the women, my god. There is so much eye candy I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s almost depressing in an odd way because I am surrounded by that which I cannot have, or at least probably won’t have. Nonetheless, I’ll find someone eventually, but for now I’m strictly focused on getting my apartment furnished and life back on track.

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I cant remember where I left off but I quit my stockboy job at the clothing store in favor of a car sales job to improve my earnings potential. I had visions of wearing plaid pants while smoking a cigar telling people "aint she a beaut!" wondering if I would be able to look myself in the mirror every night after ripping customers off and selling them that TrueCoat protectant. Turns out it really hasnt been that at all. It has pretty much just been product knowledge, building rapport and hoping they like me enough to just buy the car since ya know they came here for a reason.

However my results so far have been dismal. First month I sold 3 cars. Then 4, then 6, and last month I sold 10. So I'm proud of the upward trend but being 100% commission based this isnt exactly sustainable. In fact most people have said they'll fire your ass if you arent selling 16 cars within 3 months, so why have I been spared? Turns out I'm a pretty likable guy I guess. For some reason they see potential in me and keep giving me 2nd shots.

Personally I think my biggest hurdle hasnt so much been selling cars but rather being exploited.... by my own goddamn coworkers. You see part of being a likable person is being agreeable, you know a "nice guy". Not the incel kind who hates women, but just extremely customer service oriented. My IT background has baked this into me. I am always willing to help and automatically say yes to anything anyone asks. My coworkers have picked up on this and it has become a running joke that they can just sweep their deplorables my way to free up their own schedules for legitimate buying customers. So I get all the morons, the broke degens, the tire kickers and other jackasses who strangely visit car dealerships just to pretend to buy a car with no intention of moving forward.

In fact every sale I do make is a direct result of me sourcing my own leads. And EVEN THEN I still get screwed because some coworkers will find ways to steal my deals. They'll deliberately engage with the customer behind my back so that they establish an audit trail that acts as 'proof' they deserve half the deal. They'll pretend they didnt know it was my customer but "it's too late now" because they've done so much work with them not to be credited. Or they'll try to gain retroactive credit by using an orphaned client that they failed to sell a month ago but that I managed to pull through when the customer actually came back and act like it belongs to them as some sort of deep origin story. These are all just examples of the cutthroat side of the industry that I didnt know existed internally.

Anyway since my earnings have been so poor my living situation isnt much improved. I currently stay in a roach motel in the ghetto. Lots of weirdos around, obvious drug addicts, cops have showed up a few times, fights and yelling in the parking lot, etc. Surprisingly it’s very quiet late at night though so I’m having no problem sleeping. I definitely got supremely lucky on the unit # I’m staying in away from the crowded areas. Climate control works well and I have plenty of hot water to take a shower so all of my needs are met. Sure it smells musty like cigarettes and safety will always be a concern but so far so good. The dilapidated appearance of everything makes living here somewhat depressing but I just try to keep chanting to myself “it’s only temporary, it’s only temporary”.

Thing is my earnings has some serious potential here. Several coworkers have shown me their paystubs as people are rather open about it here. 7k months are considered standard. Couple of guys routinely pull in 10. I have been shown end of year W2’s from 98k to 157k, all just selling cars. They have bluntly told me “your desk is worth $100,000”. If I can reliably make that kind of money I think I’d give up poker for good since it’s certainly better than I ever made as a helpdesk tech. The sales managers (my direct supervisors) make about 20k/month along with the finance guys. The GM of the store has a base salary of 500k/year + 2% of all sales, so probably over 1MM. The people that work here are certainly an interesting bunch; at minimum they seem unhirable in any other industry. I cant imagine any of them wearing suits, working in coporate america, generally getting along with anyone about anything without being a complete dick and facing termination by the end of the week. They all gravitated towards this industry because it was a natural fit and a culture that tolerates them if not downright encourages their behavior. I’ve had so many deals locked up that I had to punt because my managers wanted me to squeeze the customer with extreme lowballs on their trade or refusing to budge over trivial amounts of money to the point they got offended and just left. But I guess they are going for max EV so the risk is worth it if the customer caves and takes the offer. To be fair sales would obviously be easy if I just gave everyone what they wanted.

So with that being said my earning so far isnt really giving me any room to get back into poker. I mean I might be able to bring like 1 or 2 fucking bullets tops if I want to play deep, or just chop it up into 8 or 9 minbuys and try to build with that. But if things dont change soon the only logical move will be to get back into IT with consistent and meaninful pay, something I should have obviously done long ago.

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bit of an overshare

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