Poker History:
I have been a member for over a year, but I am just now starting to use the forum.
I started playing in 2003 and moved to online in 2005. I began at 9 man SNGs, moved to MT SNGs (which is when I signed up for TPE), and now I am playing MTTs on Merge. I have played a little live cash and even less online cash.
Overall I have been profitable, but I was an 8th grade math teacher in Atlanta, Ga for the last 5 years and have come back around to trying to do mtts to eek out a small living (2-3K monthly) to supplement my other streams of income. I am single with no kids and I live very cheaply so I am very comfortable with this.
Safety net:
I have about 3 months of expenses saved in liquid accounts and another 3 months that I can get within 30 days. I also work part time as a math tutor and dj. If that is slow, I can take a few days as a substitute teacher. Worst case scenario, I still have my teaching certificate so I could get a contract very quickly because math teachers are always in high demand.
Goals:
– A yearly profit of at least $30 000.
– Average 5 days a week and between 10-15 tournaments each of those days
– Im rolled for games up to $11. I will mostly play $5 games and lower to start out though. I will play sattys in order to take shots at bigger games.
– I may also play some small stakes and live cash to improve my post flop game.
– Actively improve my game by watching videos, discusssing and posting hands, reviewing my own game
– Spend the summer in Vegas to grind the small sattys and play at least one real $1000-$1500 WSOP event.
– Possibly play some smaller events at casinos in the south.
Progress Reports:
1. Weekly Reviews
2. Monthly Reviews
I've seen things like this done in the past for a few months, but I am serious about keeping up with this for the entire year. I will be back Monday 1/7/13 for the first weekly report.
Fun to see my post inspired you! I will be following your progress with interest and nagging on you if you don't do updates, and I expect you to do the same with me! Good luck!
Check out my "going pro" poker journal, updated weekly with wins, losses and my progress as a player:
Week 1 ending 1/6/13
59 games 12 cashes $245 profit.
I think I want my volume to at least match 10x the date so by the end of the 5th, I want to have played 50 games. So that was a success.
Only played 5 days this week due to the holiday. My profit was over $500 before Sunday. I wasnt expecting the hit it would take when I played the two $109s and busted. I guess losing a $109 coupon that you won in a $11 satellite is the same as losing $109 even if it doesn't feel like it.
Good
I watched KB's SITTM series and I am playing on another level now. I am targeting people that fold too much and raising their blind regardless of my hand. I am fighting back by 3betting people who raise mine too much (im not doing this enough though). Considered some alternate lines on the forum and posted them in my Aha! Moments thread. I really like that. Watched some of Marc's vids on DONs to help me with satelittes. I also watched Mike Leah, Hurricane Jeff, and tons of bigdog. Most of my bust outs were me losing on the good side of a flip for 30-40bbs instead of the ones I used to lose on the bad side for 10-20bbs.
Bad
I feel like a played well like 70% of the time. I was on Teamviewer and watching the games at one point which distracted me. The last tourney I played Sunday ended with me playing weak after running a bluff on the bubble that left me with 15 bbs. After that happened, I passed on some spots just to get one cash on the day. I was down to 10bbs after not shoving 97s when I had 15. There were two guys with 3bbs. Whoever busted next would get nothing. I picked up A8s on the button and decided to shove it. I got called by AQo and lost. I was so close to punching the wall, but I didnt. I ran around my house yelling FUUUCCKKK thinking I should have just folded. I read the bubble section in my copy of Jonathan Little's Vol 2 poker to calm my nerves. It helped a little. Then I looked back at the computer and saw that the two short stacks got it in at the same time I did and they both lost so I got a mincash after all. The Odds God works in mysterious ways.
Live
Went to New Orleans for New Years and played 1/2 cash. Very first hand. I get KQo in vs a short stack with AA and lose. The very next hand. An old man limps. I raise AQs on the button. He calls. Flop is Q73 rainbow. I bet he calls. Turn is a blank. I bet he raises. Should have folded here, but since he was old I still had 88-JJ, 7x, Qx in his range. It was an easy fold though. River was an A. He bet big and I called like an idiot. He shows me 33. Lesson learned, when they raise, get the hell out of there with TPTK. Would have never called that river online. I played bad and knew it right after it happened.
That's all I remember. I will review my HHs now and come back with some interesting hands if I find any.
July 13, 2012
This thread should be entertaining to say the least!
ALWAYS keep working on improving and reviewing your game.Even if you have to sacrifice a little more “you” time away from your,hobbies, t.v.,being lazy etc.
When I just keep worrying about volume and making $$$$ I seem to review my games or watch vids rarely if at all if I dont set aside specific times/days to do it.
Remember each day your game isnt “improving” its “declining”.Most people dont think about it from this perspective but it is so overwhelmingly true
Take it fwiw hope this helps you somewhat at least in your journey to be a “grinder”
1. 100K Gtd
Looked good. I 3bet an active 20bb stack with AQo and he shoved. I called getting 1.8 to 1. Close, but seems standard. He called with QQ. Everything else was super standard.
This one was akward. I didnt know what to do so I just folded.
Merge Network Sunday Big Ticket $100K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t150.00/t300.00 Blinds + t30.00 – 9 players – View hand 2055294
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
BTN: BB = 22.7, t6811
SB: BB = 46.3, t13885
BB: BB = 14.6, t4366
Hero (UTG): BB = 23.0, t6901
UTG+1: BB = 32.2, t9653
UTG+2: BB = 15.2, t4549
MP1: BB = 59.9, t17963
MP2: BB = 23.1, t6919
CO: BB = 65.1, t19542
Pre Flop: (t720) Hero is UTG with T A
Hero raises to t600.00, 7 folds, BB calls t300
Flop: (t1620) 8 Q 9 (2 players)
BB bets t810.00, Hero folds
2. 20K Gtd (This is the game I shove A8s and mincashed in)
Wasnt sure if I should raise here to get value from the draws or just call to let the others come along since I block most straight draws and am only concerned with the flush draw.
Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t300.00/t600.00 Blinds + t60.00 – 9 players – View hand 2055305
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
UTG+1: BB = 34.9, t20928
UTG+2: BB = 109.2, t65539
MP1: BB = 37.7, t22592
MP2: BB = 12.7, t7620
CO: BB = 50.1, t30033
BTN: BB = 101.6, t60958
Hero (SB): BB = 92.0, t55207
BB: BB = 21.8, t13080
UTG: BB = 76.0, t45578
Pre Flop: (t1440) Hero is SB with 5 4
UTG raises to t1200.00, 2 folds, MP1 calls t1200, 2 folds, BTN calls t1200, Hero calls t900, BB calls t600
Flop: (t6540) 3 7 6 (5 players)
Hero checks, BB checks, UTG checks, MP1 checks, BTN bets t2400.00, Hero ?
Decided to defend here because the guy raised my BB a lot.
Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t500.00/t1000.00 Blinds + t100.00 – 9 players – View hand 2055310
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
UTG+2: BB = 50.2, t50189
MP1: BB = 76.4, t76359
MP2: BB = 16.9, t16870
CO: BB = 32.1, t32118
BTN: BB = 59.2, t59186
SB: BB = 48.1, t48125
Hero (BB): BB = 61.0, t60997
UTG: BB = 44.8, t44848
UTG+1: BB = 51.0, t50990
Pre Flop: (t2400) Hero is BB with 5 3
7 folds, SB raises to t2500.00, Hero calls t1500
Flop: (t5900) 3 2 T (2 players)
SB bets t2900.00, Hero calls t2900
Turn: (t11700) T (2 players)
SB bets t5000.00, Hero calls t5000
River: (t21700) 4 (2 players)
SB bets t4000.00, Hero calls t4000
I didnt like 3betting because I figured it would be cheaper to take it away post flop. I think I should have raised the flop and bluff caught the river. Since I chose to just flat the flop, I probably should have folded to the river barrel.
Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t600.00/t1200.00 Blinds + t120.00 – 9 players – View hand 2055330
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
UTG+1: BB = 166.2, t199413
UTG+2: BB = 44.3, t53219
MP1: BB = 21.4, t25639
MP2: BB = 23.0, t27618
CO: BB = 25.7, t30844
BTN: BB = 55.8, t66911
Hero (SB): BB = 43.4, t52097
BB: BB = 60.9, t73113
UTG: BB = 33.3, t39978
Pre Flop: (t2880) Hero is SB with K Q
7 folds, Hero raises to t2400.00, BB calls t1200
Flop: (t5880) 8 5 A (2 players)
Hero bets t3000.00, BB raises to t6000.00, Hero ?
This guy has clicked it back on several occassions. I like raising here to get a better read when he folds. I just folded in game because the spot was akward.
These are from the two biggest games from Sunday. I reviewed 4 total so far. I will do more later. Going forward, I will review the games right after I play them because I dont feel like doing ones from last Tuesday now. I will review all 59 because that's what I planned to do, but never again.
Ok. After reviewing all those hands, I see I need to work on learning when each villain gives up. A couple times, I 3bet active villains and they called pre and my cbet with trash because they knew I would shut down on the turn if I didnt have it. I gotta fire the second barrel at them while at the same time knowing which villains not to fire at twice.
I lost a lot of bbs OOP on the turn by being too aggressive in some spots and not aggressive enough in others.
On a positive note, I feel extra confident in my short stack game right now. I breath a sigh of relief when I get down under 30 bigs because the game is almost effortless at that point.
118 games 22 cashes $3253 profit.
Today is the 14th, so I should have had at least 130 games by the end of yesterday, but I took the rest of the day off Saturday due to tilt. I'm going to be a bit behind for a few days, but I have a week coming up where I will be able to make up ground especially since I have a proper bankroll now.
Good
Top of the morning to ya! What a glorious day. Some serious binkage got me back on track. I took second in the $55 20K Gtd. for like $3.3K which surpassed my previous best on Merge (1st for 2.9K in Sept) and my all time best (5th for 3K back in the day on Stars).I shouldnt have even been playing this game because it was too big for my online bankroll, but I had made the decision to re deposit if necessary. I literally emptied my account yesterday registering for tournaments to the point that I couldnt afford to rebuy in a $5 game I played. Luckily, I had a few points I could use and I ended up final tabling that game too.
Yesterday was seriously in the top 5 best days of my life for a few reasons.
When I won the other two big scores, I luckboxed my way through huge fields. Remember, I was a SNG player. Funny story. I had an old SNG friend buffyslayer review my Stars win for me and he asked me why I didnt 3bet in a spot. I asked him what a 3bet was and he explained it's the same as what I called a re raise. I told him because I didnt have KK or AA (duh!). Lol, I still have no idea how I FT'ed that tourney. The Sept score was right after I started playing SNGs on Merge and just tried it because I was bored since the SNGS never ran. Still had no idea what I was doing, but that score piqued my interest and brought me back to TPE. I had signed up years ago when 9man SNGs died and I wanted to watch the 180 man vids. I left after Black Friday because I thought poker was over for me.
This is why yesterday was so life changing. I actually knew what I was doing. I knew how to bully from SNGs, but they dont teach you how to fight back when others bully you. Due to ICM, you're just supposed to fold until the bubble burst. That mentality was holding me back in MTTs. I lost in a big MTT Saturday because I didnt know how to fight back correctly and more importantly when to fight back because of fear. Losing that game made me a man. I cared so much that come Sunday, I was fresh out of fucks to give. I fought back. I 3bet. I cold 4bet. I 4bet shoved a bluff into the big stack on the FT. I didnt even care if I lost as long as I busted that bitch in the mouth one time before he stomped me out. Who would have ever thought the lessons I learned in the hood as a kid and my MMA training against guys who kicked my ass 3 nights a week would translate to a card game? (BTW, had to explain to Big Dog yesterday that I am not a hot chick because the screen name confuses people. It's Lo XXII as in Carlos 22 for my football number. Not Loxie. I'm not a girl. I am a MAN. I have ridiculously big balls!) Yesterday was significant because I became convinced that I absolutely have what it takes to compete in this game. My life is no longer the same. The dream is now real.
Then I watched big dog tap out the biggest game of the day using the same strategy TPE has taught me. That was so inspiring. He is way more fearless than me, but seeing him makes me believe I can get there one day. And to top it all off, the Atlanta Falcons won in the playoffs and are now two games away from being Superbowl champs. Yesterday confirmed to me that anything is possible when fear is removed.
Bad
I guess this is bad and a good thing. I figured out 2 spots that I dont know how to play correctly and I plan to get these fixed ASAP. One when I am getting my BB opened a lot, I will 3bet light and then cbet any flop. But I have no idea what to do if they call the cbet and I havent improved. I have been barreling the turn and when they call that, I shut down. I will figure out a better line there before Sunday. The other is when UTG raises and I am in LP with something like ATs-AQs. I flat and hope to flop a flush draw. Sure, if I think they are weak and will fold to a shove, I will do that. But if I think they are strong or stubborn, I just chase it down. That has to be bad and I will learn what I should do there before Sunday as well.
Live
No live games this week, but I talked with a guy here that does some games in the area and I go play there some next month. Also after the $55 win and watching Danny take down the Canada Cup, im inspired to get much better before April and then go play some WSOPC events in Cherokee. I actually took the schedule and planned out dates on my calendar and bankroll requirements. It'’s real. This is going to happen for me. KB will be there too. I hope to meet him and thank TPE in person for changing my life.
I will review my HHs later tonight and come back with some interesting hands if I find any.
Congrats on your score and progress loxxii!
Check out my "going pro" poker journal, updated weekly with wins, losses and my progress as a player:
Here are some hands from the 20K. I think I played decently, but I just realized how much I was card racking and running like God too. I guess you need all three of these to take down a big tourney though.
1. Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t3000.00/t6000.00 Blinds + t600.00 – 8 players – View hand 2065439
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
Hero (CO): BB = 35.7, t214052
BTN: BB = 34.7, t208325
SB: BB = 3.5, t21288
BB: BB = 61.5, t369158
UTG: BB = 23.3, t139540
UTG+1: BB = 15.8, t94797
MP1: BB = 82.2, t493143
MP2: BB = 40.5, t242764
Pre Flop: (t13800) Hero is CO with 7 7
3 folds, MP2 raises to t12000.00, Hero calls t12000, 2 folds, BB raises to t38950.00, 1 fold, Hero raises to t213452 all in, 1 fold
Final Pot: t97700
Hero mucks 7 7
Hero wins t97700.00
I have just enough to set mine and I was fully prepared to get it in vs an aggressive squeezer. I would have folded this just last week.
2. Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t3000.00/t6000.00 Blinds + t600.00 – 6 players – View hand 2065441
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
Hero (CO): BB = 64.3, t385630
BTN: BB = 36.0, t215725
SB: BB = 59.5, t356908
BB: BB = 31.5, t189294
UTG: BB = 80.8, t484543
MP: BB = 25.2, t150967
Pre Flop: (t12600) Hero is CO with J A
UTG raises to t18000.00, 1 fold, Hero calls t18000, 3 folds
Flop: (t48600) 5 9 9 (2 players)
UTG bets t22222.00, Hero calls t22222
Turn: (t93044) 4 (2 players)
UTG bets t60000.00, Hero calls t60000
River: (t213044) 3 (2 players)
UTG bets t65000.00, Hero folds
Final Pot: t213044
UTG wins t148044
UTG wins t65000.00
I put him on a strong range UTG. I didnt wanna 3bet fold and we are deep enough for me to try and flop a flush. Here is a leak of mine. I feel like raise calling the flop is profitable, but high variance. Plus if he calls, I think I will have to put in 3 barrels which seems even worse because I think he is calling me down with over pairs. The only thing I knew to do was to chase, but that feels so wrong. I still dont know what's best here. I will find out tomorrow.
3. Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t4000.00/t8000.00 Blinds + t800.00 – 9 players – View hand 2065443
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
CO: BB = 16.1, t129166
Hero (BTN): BB = 34.5, t275608
SB: BB = 28.8, t230725
BB: BB = 63.9, t511214
UTG: BB = 39.6, t316808
UTG+1: BB = 18.3, t146578
UTG+2: BB = 48.1, t384788
MP1: BB = 48.9, t391171
MP2: BB = 18.9, t151167
Pre Flop: (t19200) Hero is BTN with K T
6 folds, Hero raises to t18000.00, 1 fold, BB raises to t41600.00, Hero raises to t274808 all in, 1 fold
Final Pot: t94400
Hero mucks K T
Hero wins t94400.00
This is the most important hand I have ever played. We were on the final table bubble and the BB was the chip leader in the whole tournament. Their were several short stacks left and I could have easily folded here and waited for one of them to bust and cruised to FT glory. I tanked for a second to think about when I bubbled that $109 the day before and decided that the poker universe owed me these chips. I shot a double stone cold bird at the screen and busted that bitch dead in the mouth. I had failed just 24 hours before and to my surprise…I didn't die. In fact, I didn't cry or punch a wall. I simply made a BBV post disguised as a Sweat thread (sorry again), shrugged, and fired up some more tourneys the next day. Failure completely erased my fear. I experienced the worst that could happen instead of folding to the mere possibility of a monster. At that point, I became a man and my life changed forever. So cool that I can pin point the hand when that happened for me. I later busted this guy. The hunted became the hunter.
4. Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t6000.00/t12000.00 Blinds + t1200.00 – 7 players – View hand 2065447
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
BB: BB = 53.3, t639914
UTG: BB = 56.4, t676537
UTG+1: BB = 27.6, t331789
MP: BB = 42.5, t509844
CO: BB = 49.3, t591582
Hero (BTN): BB = 59.0, t708084
SB: BB = 66.9, t802250
Pre Flop: (t26400) Hero is BTN with A K
UTG raises to t24000.00, UTG+1 calls t24000, 2 folds, Hero raises to t60000.00, 2 folds, UTG calls t36000, UTG+1 calls t36000
Flop: (t206400) K Q 3 (3 players)
UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, Hero bets t125000.00, UTG raises to t615337 all in, UTG+1 folds, Hero folds
Final Pot: t456400
UTG wins t456400.00
This is the same guy from the last hand. This was another lesson I learned. Just because you think they might be bluffing doesnt mean you have to call. It's ok to get bluffed once in a while especially since they are not likely to be bluffing you that much. I felt like best case scenario, I was up against AK or a draw. All other likely holdings hand me crushed, so I passed pretty quickly with no regrets. I would have had a very peaceful smile on my face had he shown me AK after I folded. That's how good I was feeling about my decisions yesterday. This was another milestone in my growth as a player. Last week, I would have snapped his as fully expecting to be freerolling to a flush vs his AK. If that's the case, so what? We chop. Big deal. If I was wrong and he had a set or two pair, I would have rushed to make an OMFG post.
5. Merge Network $20K Gtd – [Deep] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t6000.00/t12000.00 Blinds + t1200.00 – 7 players – View hand 2065452
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
UTG: BB = 49.1, t589514
UTG+1: BB = 76.9, t922737
MP: BB = 22.7, t272989
CO: BB = 43.6, t523044
BTN: BB = 51.5, t617982
Hero (SB): BB = 43.2, t518284
BB: BB = 68.0, t815450
Pre Flop: (t26400) Hero is SB with K A
3 folds, CO raises to t24000.00, 1 fold, Hero raises to t60000.00, 1 fold, CO calls t36000
Flop: (t140400) 8 3 Q (2 players)
Hero bets t75000.00, CO calls t75000
Turn: (t290400) 7 (2 players)
Hero bets t100000.00, CO calls t100000
River: (t490400) 4 (2 players)
Hero checks, CO checks
Final Pot: t490400
CO mucks T 9
Hero shows K A (Ace High)
Hero wins t490400.00
Man, this ****ing hand sucked! It was another milestone for me because in the past, I would have just been stoked that I won and beat my chest like a boss. But yesterday I was pissed that I didnt know wtf I was doing and I was playing so exploitable. Honestly, if this guy had bet 44,444 on that river I would have folded. Im still sick over this.
Last thing. 4 handed I was the chip leader with 1.3 million chips (65bbs). Two cooler hands later, I was down to 350K (17bbs) and in last place. Had it not been for the stack management videos here at TPE, I would have thought to myself that I just lost ONE MILLION CHIPS! I would have been crushed and probably would have punted. Instead, I kind of felt like Marc and was relieved that I was back to my SNG trained home of 15-25bb push fold stacks. I proceeded to slang chips around all the way to a 2 million chip stack heads up. I did not play that too well, but in the interest of ending this long ass post, I will not put up those hands. However, I promise to get this HH reviewed so that you guys can see the whole thing.
Thanks Nation.
Week 3 ending 1/20/13 YTD
181 games 32 cashes $4612 profit.
Volume
I am about 20 games behind for the month as I should be at 200 by now. After my big score last Sunday, I kinda got scared and made excuses not to play so I took Mon, Tues, and Weds off last week. I dont know why. I will try not to do that this time. This is easily more than I earned in a month as a teacher so my decision to go pro is working out. I am running great and only expect to make about $10 a game. As long as I am at 300 games and $3000 profit at the end of the month, I will put it in the win column. For now, I’ll take the positive variance at the beginning of my career because that’s how champions are made.
Study
I havent been reviewing hands much. I have to do better. I asked Marc to review my big win from last week. He is considering that. I have been watching a few vids on strategy and listening to podcasts. It’s not study, but I suggest you check out the PokerStars youtube channel to see the Team Online mini documentaries. Inspiring. Oh and attend Big Dog’s card party every Sunday night at the Milly FT. So motivational.
Good
Today is Dr. Martin Luther King Day. It is always a special day for me because I learned so much from this man. Not myth, not school project material, not vacation from work guy…man. We all know about his work in terms of freedom but most of us only think about it as it relates to asking that people who look like me be treated fairly. But two other aspects of his work kinda get over looked. One, yeah I am asking for your respect, but if you dont give it willingly, then I will take it using peaceful aggression. He was nonviolent, but he was no punk and would have made a mean poker player. Two, his last mission before he was martyred was the Poor People’s Campaign where he fought to eliminate poverty. I think it was one of his most important fights and I vowed to carry the torch. I teach about financial responsiblity because of that. Because of him, I have plugged several money leaks in real life and because of poker, I finally have a vehicle for a real chance at financial freedom doing something that I love to do.
In poker news, I have something in common with Big Dog. This Sunday was almost as good as last Sunday for me too. Divide his numbers by 100 and BAMM, there you go. You’ll have my numbers. I took 2nd in the $33 5K Gtd. for $1000. I played well HU this time and just got rivered and grinded back like 3 times. Rinse and repeat. I took 8th in the $109 10K Gtd for $700. I lost with AQ vs AJ. I also min cashed the $215 100K Gtd. for $350. I got into all of these on sattys so that’s cool too. I haven’t been doing well during the week, but Sundays are making up for it. I affectionally call my graph the Stairway to Heaven.
Bad
Well, first off the Falcons lost by 2 points on a chance to go to the Super Bowl. That sucked but taking poker beats helped me see the bright side of it. Making it to the NFC Championship game is like making it to the FT. They just busted out before HU aka the Superbowl. Not too shabby. gl Big Play Ray. Take it down one time for the good guys.
In poker news, I fixed my leaks from last week. 1. I stopped 3betting light from the blinds and started flatting. 2. Chasing the flush instead of getting it in when deep stacked was not a leak. It just felt wrong. I’ve been using a check raise on the turn to get a free river card when I can.
My new leak is HU play. I used to be good at this, but now Im just winging it. I will relearn SAGE and maybe watch some vids on HU to try and get better. I am 0/3 in big FT HU matches in the last two weeks.
Live
I am moving closer to some live poker next month. I am staying in Vegas for the summer. After that, I am strongly considering moving to Jamaica to play on Poker Stars and Full Tilt or to South Florida to play live and make frequent trips to Jamaica for online. Im booking my room for WSOPC in NC today. Hopefully, Merge will send my check by April so I can play some events. If not, I might have to cash out an old 401K. I dont want to, but I need this live experience. I’m NOT looking back.
I will review my HHs later tonight or tomorrow and come back with some interesting hands if I find any.
Thanks Nation. Take something down for the good guys.
Week 4 ending 1/27/13 YTD
246 games 37 cashes $3617 profit.
Volume
I did a decent job of catching up on my volume, but the results were not there. I took a big hit to my roll so I've made the decision to not play again until Poker Maximus which starts Feb. 7th. Or maybe I will play some smaller games just to get 300 in for the month. Either way, my first month was a success profit wise. I may adjust my volume goals for next month.
Study
I havent even thought about reviewing my HHs. This is a big problem for me. It will probably be a while before I get better with this. I watched a few more vids and listened to some podcasts. Basically, I am slacking off here and it shows in my results.
Good
Not much good news to report. I have been able to consistently build a big stack early, but I havent been able to maintain it even though I am keeping up the aggression. Honestly, a lot of my bust outs yesterday were hands where I got it in very good or just standard pots. I did not tilt at all, so that's a positive I can take from this.
Bad
Yesterday was rough. I busted all of the games I played and only made it to the bubble in one of them. That last game was a $109 20K Gtd. with 30 left and 27 paid. There were a couple of 5bb stacks and I had about 13bb. I picked up QJs in the BB and got shoved on by a big stacked reg in the SB. I called and lost to A2o. I guess it was close and I could have folded my way into the money. Im still not sure about that one.
I developed a leak where I will defend with a marginal hand and call down in a spot where I think the guy is bluffing. I have to learn to give up more in those spots because the fact is, most fish will not bluff off 3 streets.
October 6, 2010
dont think you can be disappointed with $900 a week over the first month. great work!
the bad weeks and even months are to be expected, overall you have to be pretty happy
I decided to play a little more and here are the final results for January
Month 1 ending 1/31/13
289 games 47 cashes $4593 profit.
This was so awesome. I missed my volume goal by 11 games, but I expected to make $10 a game or $2890 so I must be running pretty good. The income I made this month surpassed any month I have ever had working as a programmer, real estate agent, teacher, or SNG player. I love MTTs. What a start. I know im probably above the red line right now, but hopefully I can at least make $10 per game in February.
Thanks for following along. Good luck at the tables. Take something down for the good guys.
October 6, 2010
great work!
i am sure you know it already, but you will have at least 1 losing month this year, just be prepared for it
Nice loxxii! Keep it up!
Check out my "going pro" poker journal, updated weekly with wins, losses and my progress as a player:
7 cashes 32 games $352 profit.
Volume
I will not have a volume goal this month. I will take a lot of time off to study and just play the Poker Maximus events from the 7th to the 17th.
Study
I am going to get serious about HHs for the next few days in preparation for Poker Maximus. I am listening to podcasts like all day every day and watching new vids as the come out. Im going to go back and watch the HM2 one and adjust my HUD like Chris Moon has in his latest vid with Turbulence.
Good
Not much good news to report. I have been able to consistently build a big stack early, but I havent been able to maintain it even though I am keeping up the aggression. Honestly, a lot of my bust outs yesterday were hands where I got it in very good or just standard pots. I did not tilt at all, so that’s a positive I can take from this.
This is what I wrote after last Sunday, but it still applies. There has to be a leak in there somewhere. I guess I am running at my $10 per game expected win rate for February so at least that’s good. Gotta focus on the silver lining.
Bad
Yesterday was rough. I busted all of the games I played and never made it to a bubble.
Same as last week basically. Most bust outs were standard spots. In one game, I had the chip lead and was out like 10-20 hands later after a couple of coolers. I cant wait to review these in a second. I will come back with some hands.
Well, I guess I gotta do this shit.
February Week 2 ending 2/10/13 MTD
13 cashes 73 games -$281 profit.
Volume
Played all the NLHE Poker Maximus events except the $530. I've gotten into most of the higher stakes ones with coupons.
Study
No HHs this week. I did post a hand where a guy owned me using a passive style so I watched Mike Leah's vids to try and learn how it works. I tried to incorporate some of this incorrectly with disasterous results. Still pounding the podcasts and I got my HUD updated.
Good
I didnt break my hand when I punched the third hole in my wall; however, I did break my record of fastest time eating an entire large pizza which I did in under 15 minutes.
Bad
I just got owned by everybody. I wasnt cbetting enough. I wasnt stealing enough. I started playing too many hands pre ante. I was shoving 30bbs over opens with AQo because I was scared of getting owned post flop. I feel like everything I did was bad and coupled with the standard beats, this made for a horrible day.
I havent punched that wall in months but I lost it yesterday. I had been eating crap all week and didnt even want that pizza. It was just my way of degening and binging since I dont drink. At one point, I was so tilted that I just sat out for 30 minutes and went for a drive around my old neighborhoods. I grew up poor and some of those people are still there. Friends from high school out selling drugs in the rain. Even if I never win another flip, I am lucky to have found this game.
I feel like I am fit for it. I just have to keep working at my play and tilt control. Yesterday was rough, but I am not giving up. This is my path.
Yeah, it's something I like to do. It's ok because I own the house and live alone. I'm gradually learning to control tilt at the tables in general. The report will be better.
I am glad to play PM, but I will be happy when my regular MTT schedule is back too. I am super excited for Sunday though.
February Week 3 ending 2/17/13 MTD
17 cashes 102 games -$567 profit.
Volume
Played almost all the NLHE Poker Maximus events. Mincashed event 1 and final tabled another one. Busted everything else. Im glad it's over. Im excited to get back to my regularly scheduled program.
Study
Watched all the latest vids and podcasts. I adjusted my sizing on 3bets and cbets.
Good
I won a coupon to get into the high roller main event for $530 and busted in 48th with 27 spots playing. That was real cool. It's pretty much the same field as my regular Sunday games so I know when I build a bankroll, I can play at the highest levels.
Bad
I might be reshoving a little too light. I also dont know how to play AQo from utg with 25 bbs. I've been raising and getting it in on most turns when my cbet gets flatted. I guess cbet/shut down is correct? If so, I'd rather just shove pre. IDK.
Live
I think I may go over to the casino to play some live tourneys and cash today. I have the week off and I could use a nice trip.
February Week 4 ending 2/24/13 MTD
33 cashes 167 games -$1235 profit.
Volume
I have been playing bad, so my bankroll is vanishing which gives me no real desire to play. Im shocked that I even got this many games in this month. I may not play this week due to being sick or I may try and get to 200 games for the month. It could go either way.
Study
Watched all the latest vids and podcasts. BourbonFTW's vid helped me get out of that postflop funk I was in. Im not ready for that yet. I am not reviewing any HHs because I pretty much know what I am doing wrong. My problem is not lack of knowledge or awareness. It is lack of control. I need to work on patience and learn to give up on pots more.
Good
No good results, but since I didnt feel like playing or even studying much, I had a lot of time to watch vids and documentaries about online poker. It is very inspiring to see guys I played SNGs with going on to do great things in the MTT world. I have also been catching up on legislation news.
Bad
Still reshoving too light and now for too many chips as well. Also if I get a flop I shouldnt cbet, I just cbet it less like maybe 33% instead of giving up completely. This bad because if it doesnt work I think the guy knows I am light due to my sizing and is making a move on me so I make a move back. Lol, ends bad almost every time. This also happens when I check to give up on a river and the guy bets. I think he is only betting because I showed weakness and so I try to out play him. Stupid. I know I should give up and move on, but I dont sometimes. Going forward, I will try to give myself more time to tank before making big decisions and also think fold first. I need to be more pessimistic.
Live
OkieNGa invited me to play. It was fun and good to meet some fellow players. I was way more patient than I am online and came back from like 10bbs to get 3rd. That was cool. The problem was it took all day. I am used to 10 min blinds instead of 30. I could never be a live pro day to day. I will play with them every now and then to warm up for the few live events I will play in the future.
March Week 1 ending 3/10/13 MTD
5 cashes 27 games $272 profit.
Volume
None to speak of. It took forever to get my money moved over. I will play at least 50 games this week.
Study
Vids, podcasts, etc.
Good
I finally got a win. I was getting sick of making final tables and coming up short. I lost like 3 games on the bubble trying to be aggressive. I dont know if it was worth it. Who knows? The players on Revolution seem much worse than the players on Merge imo. At least at the 5-20 buy in games. It's hard to find the regs because everyone plays so weird. I know one or two guys from TPE and then maybe 10 others guys that seem good. Let's see if the results will confirm this.
Bad
Trying to get used to the new software is difficult. I missed the addon on more than one occassion because of this. Also, I switched to PT4 from HM2. That takes some getting used to. Today, I will try a hotkey program and see how that goes.
Live
N/A
March Week 2 ending 3/17/13 MTD
123 games $691.
Volume
Got in a marginally decent number games and got out of a small downswing.
Study
I have been watching a ton of videos. I attended a webinar. I read an ebook. I have really ramped up my aggression in the right spots and my patience in the right spots and it is paying off.
Good
I feel like I am cashing in a huge percentage of games. It's like I always get a big stack early and I either ride it to the money or take a “FT or bust” spot somewhere close to the bubble. I feel like I am playing the best poker of my life.
Bad
It is bad that I completely forgot to update this thing Monday. Sorry guys. (Im probably talking to a wall, but that's much better than punching holes in one like I usually do.)
I will say poker is going better than I could have expected. I really need to remove some of the other things in my life that are wasting my time so I can get my volume up. I need to change the title of this thread to Loxxii's First Semi-Professional Poker Year 2013.
Live
I listened to the latest TPE podcast and listened to KB mention somethings about my upcoming trip to the WSOPC in NC. He got me super excited. Im going to try to spend he next couple of weeks on Revolution grinding up a small bankroll for this event.
Thanks guys.
I have another 2 months of math tutoring several days a week. After that, I will be in Vegas for the summer and will be dedicating 100% of my time to poker for at least 3 months. Im also in the process of moving to a cheaper place. Once that is over I will be able to focus more.
For bosttt and any other TPE guys that play with me, I have chat blocked so im not ignoring you guys if you say anything to me, lol. I just dont want to get berated for my maniacal play. I was on a table with KB yesterday. I will be out of town this weekend, but let's just have a few all TPE FTs next week.
March Week 3 ending 3/24/13 MTD
134 games $509 ABI $15.42.
Volume
None really. Busy week at work and I took a weekend trip to Jekyll Island. I hear somewhere you have to make time for life outside of poker. Also, I recently decided that I dont like playing rebuys. I always get a big stack in them, but that gets expensive and I dont have as much fun in them. I'll play fewer of them, so I will probably deposit on more sites to get more freezeout volume in next month.
Study
Podcast. A vid or two.
Good
N/A
Bad
N/A
Live
N/A
March Week 4 ending 3/31/13 MTD
177 games $2,062 ABI $15.94.
Volume
Volume was a little better for the week, but I know it will at least be August before I can get back to putting in 300 games a month. With that in mind, I changed the title to Semi-Professional instead of Professional.
First Quarter Results – 620 games $4830 ABI $20.38. Not bad for the volume and I could actually live off this if I had too. Luckily, I still have plenty of savings and am making some money through my various small businesses. The next quarter will primarily be spent grinding satellites at the WSOP. Maybe I will be a full time pro in the third quarter.
Study
I am loving the Thinking Poker podcast more and more. The book club is awesome. I read the March book with them and I am reading the April one as we speak. Of course, I am continuing with the vids and articles on TPE and other sites as well. Youtube is pretty valuable for watching WSOPC events too.
Good
Continuing to have like 100 game BE stretches separated by four figure scores on Revolution. That's pretty much how it was going on Merge until I hit the February downer. At that time, I was playing too high and too passively. I got those fixed now. Im enjoying the game more now that I am no longer playing rebuys.
Bad
Cant complain at this point. I did fnd myself second guessing some decisions yesterday. They were non standard and possibly bad, but other than that. Everything has been going well.
Live
I am watching footage of the late couple of WSOPC events on Youtube to try and prepare for the one I will be playing in NC this weekend. Im excited to get to meet KB and stoked to play a few events. Im going to play events 2-5 this weekend. Next weekend, I will play some satellites to the main along with events 11-12. I plan to sleep in my truck and pack some food to cut down on “live rake”. Hopefully I can slum it for a few days and not give in to the pressure to get a room. Should be interesting to say the least.
Plus im going to see Big Wax perform tonight. This will be a great week.
Quick update from WSOPC Cherokee.
I played event 2 and was doing well until I got the only other decent players I’d seen moved to my table. I busted 299 of 949.
I played the nightly tourney and it was super soft. I’m ditching the ring events to grind these because the fields are softer and smaller.
I have done well at the satellites. Won one outright, chopped one, and busted one. And the last loungers are so +EV it’s ridiculous.
I’m up like $400 and enjoying myself a lot. Shot out to OkieNGa and all his friends who are here. Cool people.
April Week 1 ending 4/8/13 MTD
0 games $0 ABI $0.
*No online poker for the next 2 weeks because I will be at WSOPC Cherokee playing live.*
Im back home for the weekend. Lesson I learned?
Live. Tourneys. Suck.
I will never play another one with the same “grinding” mindset I have when I play MTTs online. Absolutely brutal and seem so unlikely to FT one of these, much less win it. Even when the players suck you have to repeatedly get lucky for DAYS on end. Eff that!
Next time I play one, it will be for fun and I will have the same mindset as when I buy a raffle ticket. Tons of hope, but no expectations.
On the other hand, the SNGs and cash games around WSOP events are so juicy that I may consider traveling and grinding these for a living as well as online MTTs. (I wonder if anybody does this?) Won like 2K in those in about 3 days. It would take me a month to make that much in my online games. Lost half of it in the tournaments. I will be reinvesting the other half and keeping the profits this time.
Slept in my truck super super comfortably for 3 days no problem. Now that's how you beat the rake.
April Week 2 ending 4/15/13 MTD
0 games $0 ABI $0.
*No online poker for the next 2 weeks because I will be at WSOPC Cherokee playing live.*
Ok. Now that it's over, im glad to be back home for a few days. No poker this week because I will be heading out for a cruise to the Bahamas in 2 days. I will play some more live games on the ship though.
Not much different to report. I decided to play the ring event 11 expecting it to be softer since it started after the main. I did well until I bumped heads with another big stack.
He raised UTG and I called on the BTN with JJ. We both had like 50bb and he was fairly tight.
Flop was T66 rainbow. He cbet. I raised. He called.
Turn Q. He checked. I checked.
River 8. He bets close to pot. I call. He shows 88.
Overall, I had a good time at the WSOPC. I may go to the one in New Orleans one weekend and next I will be gearing up to go to Vegas for the entire summer.
April Week 3 ending 4/22/13 MTD
0 games $0 ABI $0.
Nobody played on the cruise so I didnt get any games in.
Also, I recently moved to a place that has free internet, but it is slow and I cannot get a wired service. I am in the process of researching Clear Internet from Sprint. In the meantime, I will experiment with some games starting tomorrow since my SNG test is going well. Apparently, this internet connection is only so when trying to view poker videos or Youtube, but it is fine for running a couple HUDs and one SNG table on a poker client. Tomorrow, I will see how it goes with 4 MTT tables.
The one good thing about Clear is that I think I can take it with me to Vegas this summer and use it in the hotels.
April Week 4 ending 4/29/13 MTD
38 games -$331 ABI $19.85
Volume
No volume this month for good reason. The next couple of months may be more of the same as I will be in Vegas for the WSOP starting towards the end of May. I will attempt to provide some live stats.
Study
I havent done much studying lately. I did recently watch the vids by Casey and Andrew. I am working on Rivermen's series now. I am also about to catch up on acoimbra's blog. I think im going to take the last couple of days of April off to study and get ready for the first week of May.
Good
I feel like I am playing well. I scaled back some of the aggression from last month. I think maybe this negatively affected my results some, but I feel less spewy.
Bad
I actually fell asleep as the short stack on the bubble last night and ended up getting 28th when 27 pay. Ha. I looked by over my hands and saw that I folded plenty of shove spots including AKs. Wow.
Live
None this week.
November 19, 2012
loxxii said:
Bad
I actually fell asleep as the short stack on the bubble last night and ended up getting 28th when 27 pay. Ha. I looked by over my hands and saw that I folded plenty of shove spots including AKs. Wow.
Haha dont you hate when you start nodding off, waking up to the computer beeping at you as your about to fold your aces
GL with the liveaments
May Week 1 ending 5/5/13 MTD
29 games $171 ABI $18
Volume
Decided to slap a few bucks back on Carbon for Poker Maximus V and played 22 MTTs in one day over 13 hours. Probably not good.
Study
Continuing to go through videos. I listened to the TPE and Thinking Poker podcasts and was mentioned in both in the same week. Cool! I will actually review some HHs today. Haven't done that in a while.
Good
I have been able to get a couple big stacks early. Saturday I won 1st of 292 in the $2.5K Gtd – [6-Max, Deep, Turbo] (Merge) for like $700.
Bad
I burned like $500 of that in Poker Maximus on Sunday. Im calling off the big stack too light I think because I tell myself that the guys are starting to play back because they are tired of my aggression. I called shoves with TPTK in two spots that I probably shouldn't have. Nothing worse than snap calling with 10% equity. Finger tilt as Tommy Angelo would call it. I need to give myself a little more time to think on these decisions.
*Note to self.* It's ok to let them bluff you occassionally as long as you keep picking up small pots. Just wait and call them when you can beat TPTK, not when you have it.
May Week 1 ending 5/12/13 MTD
35 games $556 ABI $26
Volume
I only played 6 of the Poker Maximus V Main Events. I cashed out of Carbon right after Poker Maximus V ended so I plan to use that check for some sweet gifts as it will probably arrive a few days before Christmas.
Study
Marc and Sowers latest vids and an old Casey/Marc 109 vid series. I caught up on all my podcasts as well and I reread a chapter in the latest poker book I bought. I will probably review the $215 at some point.
Good
I got 57th out of 1140 in the $215 Main Event for like $800. I was playing well and hand a top 20 stack until I donked off with trips vs a flush. After that I was stuck around 25-30bbs for hours. I will say I rode that stack comfortably. I just wish I had a few more chips so I could have played some offense. I was surprised at how aggro some of the losing players were later in the money.
Bad
Here was my *Note to self* from last week. [It's ok to let them bluff you occassionally as long as you keep picking up small pots. Just wait and call them when you can beat TPTK, not when you have it.]
No good. Got stubborn and called a river bet with AQ after ever street checked down on KQJx9 with a back door flush. Really? The guy raised pre and I flatted him. What could I POSSIBLY be beating on this board? Everything got there and I doubt anybody bluffs the river here with much. The lie I told myself is “I have to call because my hand is under repped.” I was probably hoping for a chop.
I fell victim to a leak that I learned about recently where bad players (me) call the river with good starting hands just to show that they are playing tight preflop regardless of the board and having no chance to win the hand. I just wanted to show down a Top 5% hand. ****ing idiot man. This leak too shall die eventually.
Here is the big hand I lost in the $215.
Merge Network PM #47 $250K Gtd – [$215 Main Event] No Limit Hold'em Tournament – t750.00/t1500.00 Blinds + t150.00 – 9 players – View hand 2207379
TournamentPokerEdge.com Hand History Converter
Hero (UTG): BB = 74.9, t112334
UTG+1: BB = 39.1, t58587
UTG+2: BB = 61.6, t92475
MP1: BB = 12.4, t18615
MP2: BB = 40.2, t60289
CO: BB = 42.7, t63976
BTN: BB = 30.1, t45184
SB: BB = 13.4, t20131
BB: BB = 58.7, t88008
Pre Flop: (t3600) Hero is UTG with 7 5
Hero raises to t3000.00, 7 folds, BB calls t1500
Flop: (t8100) K 8 7 (2 players)
BB bets t4050.00, Hero calls t4050
Turn: (t16200) 7 (2 players)
BB bets t8100.00, Hero calls t8100
River: (t32400) 2 (2 players)
BB bets t16200.00, Hero raises to t32400.00, BB calls t16200
I played this hand so bad. I like pre and flop. On the turn, usually people donk out with draws. None of them hit, so I probably should have ripped it in when I caught trips. By being passive, I let him set his own price to draw to his hand. He had T9 diamonds so he probably calls and cripples me anyway, but I would have gotten it in good. Then on the river, I raise like an idiot trying to charge Kx because 1. im under repped (ugh, just die) 2. he is bad and bad players love top pair.
Monday Loxxii: Huh? Top pair? I thought you put him on a draw when he donked.
Sunday Loxxii: Ahh yes. That's true, Monday Loxxii. But my game is so robust that I can put the villain on which ever hand I am beating at the time. See im ahead of diamonds on the flop, so he must have diamonds. Im crushing a K on the turn, so obviously he has a K now…obv. On the river, I doubt I even saw the suit of the “BLANK” deuce that “BRICKED” because what does that give him now? K2? Im still ahead and I am going to go for thin value because the good guys say good guys get extra chips where others dont and that's why they are good.
Monday Loxxii: …bitch, kill yourself!
Had I just called the river, I would have had 45ish bigs and could have possibly kept doing work. Instead, I was handcuffed at 30 bigs now. This hand happened with like 300 players left (207 paid). I drifted between 20-30bbs as I folded my way to 57th place somehow. I shoved for a double up when I got down to like 17bbs, but lost a flip.
Live
None. Vegas in 2 weeks.
May Week 2 ending 5/19/13 MTD
35 games $556 ABI $26
Volume
No real money games since Maximus V
Study
Not much. I have been rereading my latest book.
Good
N/A
Bad
N/A
Live
Played some live free games at the local bar to teach my friend the basics. She made her first final table and out lasted me so I count that as a cool little win for the both of us. My report will be live from Vegas next week.
May Week 3 ending 5/26/13 MTD
35 games $556 ABI $26
Volume
No real money games since Maximus V
Study
I re-listened to the latest TPE podcast on the plane to vegas. It made the time fly by. I also checked out a strategy video from Andrew Brokos. It was so informative. I love the way he poses questions and makes you think.
Good
I made it to Vegas in one piece. Also, my tutoring job is over so now I am back to playing professionally so I will put in some live STT volume this summer and possibly some online MTT volume as well. Definitely will play Sundays at least.
Bad
Having a hard time finding a drt cheap room, but where there is a will there is a way.
Live
I will play my first satty on Wednesday.
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