2/10 – 2/16 – I added the $11 – 27man to the line up, and it just killed me this week.  My 80/20 spots were NOT holding at all, and it seemed like the play was 10x worse than the $1.10 or $5.50, so this is my first losing week.  If I take out the $11, I had a 27.87 ROI in 12 games.  I am unsure while I am tracking progress if I should be concerned about that or not, but anyway:

Poker –

On Line 

20 Games (5/20) – 43.58 Hours – (-37.17% ROI) – BR = $146.03

Live 

Played 1 $5/$10 Session – Lost $250 and played FANTASTIC.  I got coolered twice in big pots, so overall I was very happy 

Played several $2/$5 and $1/$3 sessions.  Play was average, really good in spots, really bad in others.  Won $1,750 overall.  

Also had League yesterday.  I am 5/40, and first 7 spots get $ for WSOP this summer.  Played my B game there, finished in 25th.  Probably should have been first one out, I raise MP wAKo, BTN and BB flat….Flop K86ss…I cbet and BB Flats…turn is 2 and I feel like I am still ahead of his flatting range here and bet 75% pot and he flats…riv A…he checks again and i really feel I have the best hand and should be betting for value, and bet 50% pot, and he flats again w66.  YIKES, i still have 10 BB at that point and lasted another 2 hours, lol, but in all it was one of my worst finishes.  

Education – 

I finished Step 1 of TPE U, and the Bank Roll Buidling elective.  I also started Step 2 and am about half way finished.  

Looking forward to this week as HPT starts on Friday!  Any thoughts and comments are welcome and appreciated.  

2/17 – 2/24 – HPT Starts this week, so my on line play will be limited.  

Poker 

On Line – 14 Games (7/14) – 17.92 Hours – (201.33% ROI) – BR $304.37

– Feel like I played my best so far here.  5/8 Cashes were in the $11 27-man which gave me fits last week.  I did stone bubble once, and made a HUGE ICM mistake when I was second in chips.  Otherwise I felt good for sure.  

Live – Played Event #1 and #3 in the HPT at River City.  

Tourney

Event #1 I had KK on a 8757 board and got all money in against 99.  

Event #3 I made a BIG mistake with 30 BB, raised UTG w QQ, and a shorty shoved for 12 BB, and the CO reshoved with 27 BB.  I was new to this table and was really unsure what he might be doing this with, but if I would have thought this through, which I did not (shame on me), he has AK at minimum here, which we are simply flipping with, but I called and he has AA of coarse, shorty had 99.  

Also played the nightly $100 which gives you $10k in chips and 30 minute levels (I feel this might be the best structure ever for a $100 tourney).  UTG opens for $1,200 @ 50/300/600, we 3 bet to $3500 w QQ, BTN flats (new player at table and first hand played), UTG shoves for 14 BB w33, and we reshove, so BTN says well I am priced in and calls for 80% of his stack w AQ.  49TA3 board..

Cash

Played 12 hours of $2/$5.  Won $2,250.  Played about as good as I can remember in all spots, pre/post, calling/folding properly, bluffing, etc.  REALLY REALLY happy with how this went for sure.  

Education

Watched 8 videos of Step 2 in TPE University, about 75% finished with this step. 

Overall, I am extremely pleased with how I am playing right now.  Although it seems in my Live Tourney play, I never run good enough to do anything, but getting my money in really good, the results are just not there.  6 Max tomorrow and Main Friday so hopefully things will end up well there.  

As usual, any thoughts or comments are much appreciated.  

2/24 – 3/2 – 

Poker 

On Line – 9 Games (4/9) – 10.58 Hours – (69.17% ROI) – BR $246.69

– I want to know if I should be concerned about volume or ROI, or both?  My ROI is way over 100% if cut out the $1.10 45 mans, so I am wondering if I should stop playing them.  Any help on this topic would be apprecitated.  

…..ts/#p54028

Live – Played Event #5, a ME Satty, and Flight B and C in the Main Event in the HPT at River City.  

Tourney

Event #5 – I opened UTG w 66, got flatted by BTN (reg) and BB (fish).  Flop Q86ss, BB donks for half pot, I flat w/30BB behind, and button flats.  Turn 9, BB jams (has me covered), I tank call and BTN snaps.  BB has Q9, BTN has JTo.  

ME Satty – Got down to 8BB in level 4, and ran it up to 75BB.  Folded A7s BvB on 3377 board when jammed into after betting flop and turn when he has me covered by SUPER tight player.  LOL, I fold face up and he shows me 33.  

Main Event Flight B – Got down to 30 BB after 8 levels, UTG min opens and has about 50BB, I jam w AKo, he snaps with AQo..QTTQ6 runout

Main Event Flight C – 6 people limp we call on BTN wKJs (which I should have raised), SB raises to 900, eveyone calls, (should have squeezed here), flop KKJ.  SB bets half pot, we flat.  Turn A, he bets pot, and I fold instantly face up, and he shows AK..lol, whatever, at this point I am ready to quit playing poker for real!

open UTG w88, get 4 calls, flop Ktt, I check and am done with the hand, and it gets checked through.  This was the type of table that would have bet a T 100% of the time, Turn was 6, I bet about half pot, CO and BTN both call.  River A, and I barrell half pot thinking this totally hit my range, CO calls, and BTN raises, I fold, CO tank calls both have QJo.

Cash

Played 5 hours of $2/$5.  Won $1,100.  Played about as good as I can remember in all spots, pre/post, calling/folding properly, bluffing, etc.  REALLY REALLY happy with how this went for sure, as I was my last $2/$5 session.

Education

Completed Step 2 in TPE University!

Also purchased the Hand Pack for my insta poker training app on Ipad.  There were 23 packs from Dan O’Brien, Jonathan Little, etc.  Went through 2 packs.  

I am super frustrated at this point, as another series of Live events has passed, with nothing to show for it.  I am playing bad in spots where it has been really costly, and then getting it in good and not holding up.  Never seemed to make any hands, and even if I did, I did not get paid.  Anyway, I feel l am whining, just not sure if I am headed in the right direction.  

Lesson scheduled with Gags tomorrow.  Leaving next Monday for Circuit Event at Bike and work!

As usual, any thoughts or comments are much appreciated.  

3/17 – 4/6 – I was on work/vacation from 3/24 thru 3/30, so my activity was limited then.  This update will cover alot of ground, sooooo.  Came back on 3/30 and went straight to Lumiere to sweat my boys Peter brooks and Nick Weber in the circuit event.  Pete won a ring and got 2nd in a $580, and Nick got 5th in the ME for $34k.  Congrats fellas!

Poker

On Line – 

Bovado SNG's – 48 Games (11/48) – 73.25 Hrs – 32.17% ROI – $124.90 Profit

– Really dissappointed in this as I found myself on auto pilot just making straight forward plays without a ton of thinking about ranges, spots, etc.  
ACR On Demand SNG's – 34 Games (13/34) – 43.55% ROI – $68.37 Profit

Live – 

Tourney's – Had league last night.  I am currently in 4th place with 1 more month left (Top 6 gets $$$ for WSOP).  I finished 11/40 for 29 Points, but 3 of the guys that are close to me were still in when I busted.  Gonna need to have a pretty good result next month to lock up a seat.  (I was approached by a member of the league who offered to pay me for lessons, which I found interesting!)

Cash – 

Played a 2/5 session on 3/21 (+480)  -A few interesting spots came up here.  My reads were pretty good this session, and chipped up without too much involvement.  Fairly tame evening.  

Played a 2/5 @ Wynn on 3/26 (+$165) – Nothing much to report.  Bleeded away about 400 before doubling with 77 > Q9 on 792Q4 board for my small gain.

Played a 2/5 session on 4/5 (+270) – This was a SUPER grind.  I was down over $500 in the worst game I have played in for a long time, and probably should have just cut my losses and left, but grinded for over 8 hours and snipped a small gain after getting involved with a few drunk guys for smaller pots.  I hope I leave under these situations in the future as I was not only not playing my best but the game was terrible.  

Education

Finished Step 3 of TPE

Watched 7 Part Lee Childs Series and 9 Part Mike Leah Series of Step 4

Reviewed some HH's, which I am glad I did, as I found myself just doing things on a robotic basis without putting any thought into the spots.  This needs to improve!!!!

Will be meeting with Gags sometime this week.

On a side note, I was asked to represent Heads Up Poker Gear going forward, as I prepare for the Chicago Poker Classic in Hammond.  This is really cool for me as the local scene sees the work and growth of my game.  I will update the details of this when I know more.  

4/14 – 4/20 – I am absolutey running god awful.  It is of coarse very frustrating, but after watching some HH of this past weeks action, I feel I would do the same things in most of the spots with a few exceptions.  I am trying hard to focus on not being results oriented which is really hard.  Hopefully the hard work will pay off in the end.

Poker

On Line – 

Bovado SNG's –  18 Games (2/18) –  51.67Hrs – (-53.83% ROI) – $82.90 Loss

Bovado MTT's –  6 Games (1/6) – 12.17Hrs (-55.91% ROI) – $26.95 Loss

Bovado Satellite's – 2 Games (1/2) – 2.5Hrs (66.67% ROI) – $2.20 Profit

TRUE/ACR On Demand SNG's – 3 Games (1/3) – 14.42 Hrs (-48.43% ROI) – $5.72 Loss

TRUE/ACR MTT's – 1 Game (0/1) 1.08 Hrs (-100% ROI) – $3.30 Loss

Live – 

Cash –

Played a $5/$10 session for 8 Hours.  Made a super light call on someone to give away about $2k in a 3 bet pot, and somehow managed to finish in the green for $56.  

Played a $2/$5 session for 3 hours and won $598.  Nothing out of the ordinary here.  Game was really below avg and if it were not for wanting to work on my patience, I would have left this game, even though profitable. 

Played a $1/$3 session for 6 hours, and lost $1k.  Somehow managed to lose every pot I was favored to win either pre or post.  Very pleased with how I played as I had people in really bad equity spots and could not hold on.  

Tournaments – None 

Education

Step 4 – Listened to all 4 podcasts and watched the 3 video series of Andrew Brokos WCOOP Deep Run

Did some work on Flopzilla. 

Rescheduled my Lesson with Gags for 4/28.  

Big Picture Summary –

Bovada Summary of All Games – 239 Games (59/239) – 390.67 Hrs – $307.11 Total Profit – $.79/Hr

SNG's – 200 Games (51/200) – 320.58 Hrs – $355.04 Total Profit – $1.11/hr

Sattelite's – 10 Gmaes (2/10) – 9 Hrs – $19.25 Total Loss – (-$2.14/hr)

MTT's – 29 Games (6/29) – 61.08 Hrs – $28.68 Total Loss – (-$.47/hr)

True/ACR Summary of All Games – 49 Games (17/49) – 78 Hrs – $45.76 Total Profit – $.59/Hr

On Demand SNG's – 45 Games (16/45) – 67.25 Hrs – $53.42 Profit – $.79

MTT – 4 Games – (1/4) – 10.75 Hrs – $7.66 Total Loss – (-$.71/hr) 

I feel my overall game is definately going in the right direction, even though I have not been running all that well in the last week.  I still need to focus on my core preflop game with ranges, and I am working with Gags and flopzilla on that. 

4/28 – 5/16 – So, I have had an very interesting 2 weeks.  I have had a lesson with Gags, which of coarse was unbelievably productive, and was mainly preparing for my upcoming week at the Chicago Poker Classic.  Still runing – EV on line, but have worked on cleaning up a TON of mistakes that have been costing me big.  I did have my best week EVER at CPC, finishing 5th in Event #4 and 5th in the Main Event.  

Poker

On Line – 

Bovado SNG's –  14 Games (2/14) –  14.67 Hrs – (-55.58% ROI) – $64.20 Loss

Bovado MTT's –  6 Games (1/6) – 14.75 Hrs (149.60% ROI) – $37.85 Profit

Bovado Satellite's – 6 Games (2/6) – 6.17 Hrs (48.15% ROI) – $7.15 Profit

TRUE/ACR On Demand SNG's – 4 Games (1/4) – 4.17 Hrs (-44.30% ROI) – $7.61 Loss

TRUE/ACR MTT's – None

Live – 

Cash –

Played several different $1/2 PLO, $2/$5 NL and $5/$10 NL while in Chicago where I lost about $1k.  I was mostly focused on tournies this week, and did not like my decision to play cash at all except for the day I took off in the middle of the week.  

Tournaments –

Chicago Poker Classic – …..press.com/

Event #4 – Finished 5/285 for $4,440 + a $1,500 ME Seat.

Event #5 (6 Max) – Finished 70/260

5/9 – $150 Nightly – 11/79

Main Event – Finished 5/745 for $45,324 (My biggest score ever)

The issue with the ME is I really blew it here.  I had a 2/1 CL with 7 left, and played this hand:

Level 29: 10,000/40,000/80,000 (This was misquoted as I was UTG, opened to $160k, and Ochana 3 bet me from BTN to $375K, and I called)

In a heads-up raised pot, the flop comes 9c-6c-3c  and Patrick Ray checks. Action is on Edward Ochana and he bets 430,000. Ray calls.

The turn falls the 2h and Ray checks again. Unswayed by the previous call, Ochana fires out a 760,000-chip bet and Ray asks for a count.

The dealer breaks down Ochana’s stack of blue 25,000 chips and verifies the bet at 760,000. Ray calls.

The river brings the Qd and Ray changes gears announcing he’s all in. Ochana quickly states “call” and tables Ac-Kc for the nut flush. Ray, who began the hand with nearly 4,500,000 chips, tables Qs-Qh for a rivered set that’s second best.

The dealer counts Ochana’s remaining stack down to 1,845,000 and the hand leaves Ray holding roughly 600,000 chips. Ochana, meanwhile, skyrockets the counts to take the lead with nearly 7,000,000 of the 18,625,000 chips in play.

Education

Had some issues finishing a TPE University Section where I clearly have the wrong answers, but have listened to each vid/podcast and am pretty sure I answered them correctly.

I was able to talk with both Jaka and Gags both on the start of Day 2 and Day 3 of Main Event for some feedback and strategy

Big Picture Summary –

Bovada Summary of All Games – 278 Games (65/278) – 456.08 Hrs – $213.11 Total Profit – $.47/Hr

SNG's – 219 Games (53/219) – 339.08 Hrs – $241.34 Total Profit – $.71/hr

Sattelite's – 17 Games (5/17) – 16.42 Hrs – $6.60 Total Profit – $.40/hr

MTT's – 42 Games (7/42) – 100.58 Hrs – $34.83 Total Loss – (-$.35/hr)

True/ACR Summary of All Games – 66 Games (20/66) – 92.08 Hrs – $9.51 Total Profit – $.10/Hr

On Demand SNG's – 61 Games (19/61) – 80.25 Hrs – $17.57 Total Profit – $.22/Hr

MTT – 4 Games – (1/4) – 10.75 Hrs – $7.66 Total Loss – (-$.71/hr) 

Although I feel like I really blew a huge opportunity at the CPC Main, I am very happy with how I played overall, and feel my game is coming along great!

jasonchr said:

Congrats on the recent success! Can you share your thought process with the QQ hand – specifically why you called the turn bet?

 

Also, which Bovada SNGs are you playing? I'm sure we've played quite a few hands against each other 

Yeah, my thought was, I wasn't thinking. lol.  This hand played was against someone that I have seen at this FT showdown A high, J high, K high, and call a check shove with a 4 high flush draw, so I started the hand telling myself I just wasn't going to fold to his aggression here.  Clearly, my problem is that when he 3 bet me pre, and barrelled flop and turn, he had a hand he not only he was interested in, but probably was NEVER folding no matter what.  I talked with Faraz about this, and this is an easy fold on turn looking back, but of coarse I had never been in that spot before at a ME FT, and just let the situation get the best of me.  I obvisouly should have never been in that spot to river the gin card, so lesson learned, the hard and expensive way I guess.  

And I play the $5.50 36 man, and $11 27 man SNG's, so I am sure we have played together before.  Thanks for the response.