To the No-Limit Hold Em variant of poker. Omaha is a ton of fun and all but jesus it makes my head spin and the longterm variance is pretty ridiculous. Seeing as I have been down swinging for about a year now I guess I gotta go back to what I know best and start making some cash money again. Also a huge factor was the state of Stars 6max games right now seem better than theyve been in a long time. Looking at my lifetime PLO graph is pretty hilarious and fairly tilting at how much Ive put into learning the game... Might as well post for some laughs
So easy to blame it on the PLO variance but I am clearly miles away from being a proven winner.. although I will most likely always play it to some extent when dealing with the crunch of paying for school and maintaining the cost of a house and gf (sometimes I dont know which costs more ) I feel like it is in my best interests to return to the game I know I can beat longterm.
So starting yesterday I dove back into the nit infested games of 1/2nl on stars and found them definitely to be better than normal.. A lot more fish per table and whatnot. After spewing off in the first hour or so I started playing slightly better but still rusty for sure. It will take a little time to get readjusted but hopefully shouldn't take too long
Not exactly what I had in mind when I started back but Im sure the NL gods of the pokerworld will be kinder in the future. Ive been playing a fair amount of live at Fallsview in Niagara Falls recently as well which has been actually fun somehow...And I am going to be headed to NAPT Mohegan Sun in early April so if anyone is headed there as well lemme know!
Im going to try and update this blog fairly frequently as it will probably hold me more accountable pokerwise. Enjoy!
EDIT
Friend of mine just sent me a variance simulator of my hands with my std deviation if I had a wr of 2bb/100 so ridiculous.
who's reloadin for PS bonus? =)by LikeASet, March 09
Probably me, extra rake back never hurts O=
Progress so far this year, bulk of it is really within around a 1 month time span. 6-12 tabling but I still need to work on a whole lot of shit obv including trying to not vent the tilt on the poker tables.
Time to subscribe to CardRunners to shake off them bad habbits that makes one only have marginal results.
14 sessions, 34 hrs played, 32,600 hands. Up 730$, and had a nice 4 hr session netting little over 400$ just now. Still running pretty bad overall. Under EV like little less than 500$.
Some of the worst sessions were these.
3/8/11 $7.45 EV $256
3/7/11 ($111) EV $71
Really hoping I can string together some more wins. I hope its not my game that sux.
Anyways glhf, gg.
Just got kicked out of Taiwan for teaching english without a college degree, sure as hell don't want to go back to the states yet, Thailand it is. (had $500 br at time *didn't know what poker was*)
Arrive at Thailand, go to Khosan Road, stay at the sawatdee inn, go across the street, meet a sweetass hottie n hook up w/ her that night. Few days I had my fun with her, then one night she goes fuckin berzerk on me. I'm like WTF!!! I run to my room and throw about 500-1200 baht at her. (15-40$ish) Party goes on a week on khosan, was fun, but too touristy. (gangja street was fun as hell tho, and only place to safely get green)
Stroke of luck was found. I found a dvd of Rounders and a DVD of Boiler Room for like $2 each on the street.
2nd Stroke of luck was found, met a fucking insanely hot girl at a club and went to her house w/ some friends n partied all night.
3rd stroke of luck was found - my br was at like $200, the next day i wake up and hook up with her. She loves me, I stay there for the remaining 20 days or so freez and live Thai life.
4th stroke of luck was found - Daut44 won a WPT title and inspired me to play poker with all my heart and desire
5th stroke of luck was found - Got to play in some WSOPs and lost to flips and bad beats 2/3 times
6th stroke of luck was found - Becoming a live cash monster while still MTTing and kickin the shit out of cashgames up to NL100 over the last 5-6 months.
Having a good month so far poker wise, and I'm going to Malta with my wonderful gf tomorrow.
If anyone wants to hang out on Malta shot me a PM or msg me on facebook (facebook prefered due to the fact that I won't check LP after tonight for a while).
If anyone who plays PLO wants to discuss hands and crap shoot me a PM, preferably people who plays 1/2+ or something. I think my fundamentals might suck.
Looked through them, some I felt are lol, and some I didn't quite get. Here's a few bits about the laws that I felt were interesting.
Law 1 NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite - insire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.
Law 2 NEVER PUT TOO MUCH TRUST IN FRIENDS, LEARN TO USE ENEMIES
Be wary of friends - they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoilted and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than enemies.
Law 4 ALWAYS SAY LESS THAN NECESSARY
When we are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
Law 5 SO MUCH DEPENDS ON REPUTATION - GUARD IT WITH YOUR LIFE
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides.
Law 9 WIN THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS, NEVER THROUGH ARGUMENT
Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.
Law 10 INFECTION: AVOID THE UNHAPPY AND UNLUCKY
You can die from someone else's misery - emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.
Law 13 WHEN ASKING FOR HELP, APPEAL TO PEOPLE'S SELF-INTEREST, NEVER TO THEIR MERCY OR GRATITUDE
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.
Law 16 USE ABSENCE TO INCREASE RESPECT AND HONOR
Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawl from it will make you more talked about, evne more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.
Law 20 DO NOT COMMIT TO ANYONE
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others - playing people against one another, making them pursue you.
Law 29 PLAN ALL THE WAY TO THE END
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.
Law 30 MAKE YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS SEEM EFFORTLESS
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work - it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.
Law 35 MASTER THE ART OF TIMING
Never seem to be in a hurry - hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and strike fiercly when it has reached fruition.
Law 46 NEVER APPEAR TOO PERFECT
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
It's about that time again. Been playing more like a hobby every now and then during these past couple months. Deposited $500 and semi-tilted my way up to $1850 =/. I feel like it's a good time for me to start playing more semi regularly with more concentration (no more 12 tabling bumhunting micro fish while watching SC2 streams ). Now that I'm going to take a nl 50 stab, I think it would be helpful to start subscribing to a coaching vid site again just to help prevent less ??? situations.
What's a good coaching site nowadays? It's been almost like 1.5 years since I downloaded a new coaching vid. I have no clue about all these new coaches.
account locked since i had a cakepoker account years ago with a different skin...
But i only created the new account since it said the old account is closed ...
wtf
Edit
At least they replyed instantly within 20 minutes that they will deal with the matter as soon as possible.
So far i am only +93$ for the month which isnt too great either after 1st day + 174$ ...
Edit2
excellent support
took them 5h and a couple mails between Cake and Red Star support which i got informed and now my account is reopend again
GJ
So as some of you know, I used some FPPs to bink Sunday Million satellites, which I turned into cash and gave myself a shiny new $500 bankroll. I've been itching to play some limits where I would be able to have some stress free fun, so NL25 seemed somewhat of a good idea. There are some people in my club that are struggling around these limits as well, so I figured why not journal my progress and sessions? It'll help me think a little clearer when I'm trying to explain stuff to other people anyway.
I'm going with the approach of playing very loose and not really caring too much if some hands may be marginal or arguably -EV. I think this is extremely beneficial for me because I am forced to find more difficult bluff and vbetting spots. Ideally this is educational for others as well.
The stats are mixed with some 2-4 handed, so with 6 people I'm running somewhere around 35/25 8% 3bet. I was also trying to 12 table, but I kept timing out. There was also this one table where two people to my left were 3betting 25%, and I lost like 15bbs before I realized what was going on. So I cut it down to 10 and things got a lot better. If I wanted to play my super A+ game though, I'd probably need to drop it to 6 or so. If I do a video at some point, I'll probably have to do 4 since my thoughts are usually pretty scattered when I try and talk while playing. It does help that I'm running hot too .
I'll just go over 2 hands I thought were interesting, whether or not they were played well.
PokerStars Game #58837352210: Holdem No Limit ($0.10/$0.25 USD) - 2011/03/07 19:33:18 ET
Table Diadem IX 6-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: Graddoff ($24.50 in chips)
Seat 2: memfis77 ($16.84 in chips)
Seat 3: Koenj44 ($27.85 in chips)
Seat 5: edzwoo ($41.86 in chips)
Seat 6: HORDOC ($29.50 in chips)
Graddoff: posts small blind $0.10
memfis77: posts big blind $0.25
FountainWell: sits out
Holecards Dealt to edzwoo
Koenj44: raises $0.25 to $0.50
edzwoo: calls $0.50
HORDOC: folds
Graddoff: calls $0.40
memfis77: calls $0.25
Koenj44: bets $5.58
edzwoo: raises $24.17 to $29.75
Koenj44: folds
Uncalled bet ($24.17) returned to edzwoo
edzwoo collected $21.79 from pot
Summary Total pot $22.90 | Rake $1.11
Board
Seat 1: Graddoff (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 2: memfis77 (big blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: Koenj44 folded on the River
Seat 5: edzwoo collected ($21.79)
Seat 6: HORDOC (button) folded before Flop (didnt bet)
This is a spot that comes a lot, but to be honest I never really tried to do because I would be too scared. It should be rather standard for midstakes people to understand, but probably not something people at this limit would ever think about.
Villain is a relatively loose and bad Supernova player and raises UTG. I am flatting here extremely with things that don't even do well against a UTG range like QTo because both blinds are passive fish with 50+VPIP, and getting into pots with them should more than make up for being up against UTG's range.
Flop and turn is pretty simple. I have top pair. Maybe you can argue folding turn against nits, but I think on a KTx board you have to consider sometimes they might barrel gutshots.
River is funny. Villain bets 70% pot flop, 70% pot on turn, then tanks for a few seconds and bets under half pot on river. I'm just going to jam here because I think he's almost always betting here for value (in which case I don't beat him), but he probably bets like 7-8 if he actually had a flush. The second point is that I can rep a flush/straight pretty hard if I jam here since I'd take this same line with an FD.
One big flaw though, I honestly can't say I have a clear cut read on the guy other than his general weak playstyle, the line he took, and his sizing. Still, it felt good to me.
PokerStars Game #58837812987: Holdem No Limit ($0.10/$0.25 USD) - 2011/03/07 19:43:51 ET
Table Genoveva X 6-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: quicklamaniy ($25 in chips)
Seat 2: edzwoo ($44.65 in chips)
Seat 3: ExcelionB ($31.35 in chips)
Seat 4: Qikim ($20.87 in chips)
Seat 5: Greendizer74 ($26.79 in chips)
Seat 6: trenerok ($44.57 in chips)
edzwoo: posts small blind $0.10
ExcelionB: posts big blind $0.25
Holecards(Odds) Dealt to edzwoo
Qikim: folds
Greendizer74: folds
trenerok: folds
quicklamaniy: folds
edzwoo: raises $0.50 to $0.75
ExcelionB: calls $0.50
Flop and turn sizing was for value and protection on this texture. This was one of the villains that had 25% 3bet, but it dipped a bit to 16% (went to war with him twice, 4bet failed once and worked the second time) and his vpip/pfr evened out to around 19/12 or so. I made the mistake of thinking we were CO vs BTN here which imo affects this spot a lot.
Thought process at the time was he's probably 3betting KQ and better, and I figured my hand was good a lot, but I think he can have 8 combos of QJ and I don't want to lose to that. Also, if he does have something like KJ which peeled two streets, he's gonna be in a tough spot. Oddly enough I completely misread what his calling range was, and a big factor probably had to do with him assuming my range was really wide because it was SB vs BB. In a results oriented sense, I guess I played the hand perfectly since his calling range at this moment had every Ax and Tx, but I can't say I did it on purpose. It is kind of an enlightening thing though to realize your range can sometimes be perceived so differently.
Anyway, looking back I don't like how I played the hand with the reads I had. I'm already making a bit of an assumption that he can never have something like KQ here, and I honestly can't say he was going to fold QJ or KJ there, not to mention a flaw in my thinking is he probably has combos of KT. I didn't have much time to think it through and it was mostly narrow minded, "I'M GOOD A LOT BUT QJ MUST FOLD." I like my flop and turn play though.
There's a lot of other minor things I wasn't considering like possible slowplayed flushes and he might be raising QT on the flop, so it really doesn't make much sense to turn my hand into a bluff here.
Anyway, I'm getting pretty tired. Ideally I score a few more big wins and get to play some NL50 . Then I'll definitely beat Teng out of that prop bet.
I am ready to start grinding again. Whats the best site to start on?
Also, if anyone wants to make $1, stake me $10, once I get to $20, I'll send $11. I'm an RA and have to work the front desk for 6 hours tonight, so i'd like to play tonight, and I can't send money using debit card b/c my bank won't let me.
If you can help let me know!!
Thanks
EDIT!!!
If i do this, how important is the first time bonus? I've only played on cake and ps.
Also, nvm on the $10 stake, i was able to use the instacheck or w/e. Thought it would take a week or something!!! Thanks tho!
Looking for a stake for... SCRATCH-ITS! 83/17 in your favor, whatever amount you want. This is +EV for you, cuz I'm DUE! http://imgur.com/pS4fQ.png
Just so you know, last time I got a scratch-it, I doubled my buy-in.
We can grind micro-scratch-its, or we can move up to where they respect my scratch. Your call.
Contact Users: 1674 Active, 2 Logged in - Time: 02:04
) I feel like it is in my best interests to return to the game I know I can beat longterm.
). Now that I'm going to take a nl 50 stab, I think it would be helpful to start subscribing to a coaching vid site again just to help prevent less ??? situations.
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