SSNL BLOG :O

Staking

WaLkOfLiFe — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 10:39:45 +0000

I am looking to take on 4-6 horses for my HU cash stable. Below are the criteria should you wish to apply. Do not apply if you do not meet criteria.

- Available record of 30k minimum hand sample at HU or 6-max cash games 25NL+. In some cases PTR may substitute if no HEM/PT3 data is available

-At least 1 solid reference who is willing to vouch for you ( if you have done trades in 2p2 transfer thread list a few links)

-Agree to full disclosure of your entire poker history (If you have been staked before include past staker contact info)

-Applicants must be willing to agree to a contract of 50k hands minimum. With option to renew contract.

***How To Apply***
Send resume to hustake@live.ca
Include your skype contact details, graphs,references, all screen names, PTR links and a brief summary as to why you should be picked. Also include a rough estimate of how many hours you can play per week

% deals will be negotiated based on your level of risk, and will be negotiated in private. There will be some coaching involved as well.

Opportunity

WaLkOfLiFe — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:55:55 +0000

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/135/staking/nl-hu-cash-coaching-staking-relocation-poker-house-1068202/

6Max Update #2

WaLkOfLiFe — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 00:25:54 +0000

Have not played as much as I'd like, but the next few days should involve a lot of playing.

Here is a HH from the sessions so far.. I will leave out my own comments for better discussion

Had no real reads on vil. Over about 15 hands he was running 30/16 or so.

Poker Stars $25.00 No Limit Hold'em - 5 players - View hand 1337068
DeucesCracked Poker Videos Hand History Converter

BTN: $21.27
SB: $31.55
Hero (BB): $26.01
UTG: $71.79
CO: $27.33

Pre Flop: ($0.35) Hero is BB with J A
2 folds, BTN calls $0.25, 1 fold, Hero raises to $1, BTN calls $0.75

Flop: ($2.10) 2 K A(2 players)
Hero bets $1.50, BTN raises to $4.50, Hero calls $3

Turn: ($11.10) 7(2 players)
Hero checks, BTN bets $7.00
Hero?

screen shot of stats by pos thus far

6Max Update #1

WaLkOfLiFe — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:01:50 +0000

I have played around 2100 hands in 2-3 sessions across 6-8 tables. Sadly there aren't any hands interesting enough to post for discussion :(.. but I am sure they will come.

More updates soon.. Games seem ridiculously good so far.. I will post a screen shot of stats and at least some HH in my next post

garf so far. Peace

Poker Plans

WaLkOfLiFe — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:51:43 +0000

I just started typing a full blog entry summarizing a chain of events that lead to the suffering of my poker game, and about 80% of the way through I lost the entire document. I will make a post about my current plans in poker, what I am going to work on , and what I plan to play for the immediate future. Maybe sometime soon I will get the ambition to re-type the whole thing :/

With events like Black Friday, and my recent gambling escapade I decided not to keep a lot of money online, so I am very, very short rolled to begin with. I have neglected the mental aspects of poker, and I don't feel like I have spent nearly enough time trying to better myself mentally, so I plan to spend an indefinite amount of time trying to wrangle the tilt beast while being less concerned with my strategical ability/growth. I mentioned I am short rolled, so in light of this I am going to start playing 25NL 6M exclusively on Stars. I will update everyday in this blog with graphs and the top 3-4 interesting hands. I am going to start with 25 buyins, and the goal is not to only spot leaks, but to grow/improve mentally. I will move up in stakes as soon as I reach 25 buyins for the next level.

Lastly there will be some free money on the line for anyone who reads this :O. I will lay out some conditions, and if I do not meet the set conditions someone will receive a free sum of money.

I must update with graph and HH every 48 hours. If I go beyond 48 hours the first person to comment on my latest post calling me on it will receive $50 on stars, or MONEYBOOKERS
If I update saying "took day off nothing to report" more than 2 days in a row with out a legit excuse the first person to comment on my latest post calling me on it will get $150 on Stars or MONEYBOOKERS ( I won't make up legit excuses I am a str8 shooter )

That is all Â GL

Gambling Story Part. 4

WaLkOfLiFe — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:45:45 +0000

On some level I knew that continuing to play was bad, but when in the frenzy the logical straight thinking person doesn't have a say in the matter. I spun long enough to lose $3k putting me at $15k even and forced myself to take a break, so I could think about things for a moment. It was no use to try and think logically about it. I was going to play, and that was it.

It took me about 15 minutes to lose $14k, and for some unknown reason I felt fine about it this time. I did not feel sick or bad, I just felt numb to it at this point. I only had $1k left on Party Poker and in a weird way I was relieved because I knew I was almost done. I decided to make my last two spins by wagering $500 per number, on one number per spin. I clicked the $500 chip and laid my bet on number 17, which I lost. For my last and final bet I clicked the $500 chip and laid my bet on number 7, which also lost. I was not mad, or unhappy, I knew this was inevitable. I decided I would ban myself for 30 days in hope that I would be done with my gambling binge by then. I poked around Party's software trying to find the self-exclusion option. I sifted through about 3 different sections of their software with out finding it, when I noticed I was eligible for a no strings attached instant $50 bonus. I accepted the bonus and figured I may as well spin it. I sat down with my "free" $50 and decided to place $25 bets on two numbers. I chose the numbers quickly, numbers 2 and 25. I hit the spin button and sure enough number 25 was the winner, which paid $900. I did not flinch, by this time I had wagered so many large bets that a $900 win didn't even feel like a win (which is crazy).

I figured I should go for all or nothing with my new found $900. The first bet I placed was $100 on four numbers, with plans of betting the remaining $500 on one number the next spin. Spin one was a loser, and I remember having this strong "good feeling" about number 1. I remember thinking " I wish they would let me bet more because number 1 is gonna hit". With no hesitation I plopped my last $500 down on number 1, and hit the spin button. The wheel came to rest, and as if I were Nostradamus himself the winning number was number 1, and just like that I won the $18k back. I was almost frustrated to win because once again I had a lot to lose. The sick feeling I had grown a custom to was back, and it was worse than ever.

I sat for a few minutes pleading with myself to just book the win and move on. To this day that is one of the strangest experiences I have ever had. Talking to yourself in that way doesn't seem possible?, but it is like I am 2 people. Person 1 is a calculative, logical person who always tries to better himself through solid decision making. Person number 2 is a balls out psycho when it comes to risk, and he just wants more and more, regardless of the inevitable -EV ending. The psycho in me usually wins these battles, and he just won yet again, I was spinning in less than 3 minutes of my self forced break.

Thousands of dollars were changing hands every minute. By the time I had lost $8k back I began to realize how ridiculous everything had become. I started to accept the fact that I may have developed a problem, and the spins came to a halt. I began running through a checklist of things I would have someone else do if they were uncontrollably gambling. The best first step seemed to be killing the enabler, which right now was Party Poker. I closed the table as fast as I could and desperately tried to find the self exclusion option. Eventually I found it, and before I excluded myself I cashed the remaining $10k to moneybookers. I decided to exclude myself for 3 days in case I had to login to send documents, or in case I had to login again for other reasons related to the cash off. I was finally banned from all sites, and all things gambling, and it felt good.

The Aftermath

The ordeal ended with me winning somewhere near $35k playing roulette. I can report that I have not faltered since that final spin on Party Poker, and I hope I never play again. To all who read this I would say DON'T GAMBLE. No sports, roulette, blackjack, dice, or any other game of chance. It is just not worth it. It can lead to serious problems very easily, and without you even realizing it. There is just no god that can come from wagering on games of chance. You will lose. I don't want to get preachy, but I really believe it's an easy trap to fall into, especially if you are a poker player who plays on sites where these many games of chance are offered. That is all I have to say, good luck to everyone.

Peace

Gambling Story Part. 3

WaLkOfLiFe — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:47:14 +0000

My balance now read $72k, and the feeling I had is difficult to describe. It was a good feeling mixed with feelings of angst. I knew the money was still in play, and that made me fearful, so I stopped playing for a few minutes to try and gather my thoughts, and figure out what I should do. I just sat staring blankly at the cashier window. My mind was not working very well because at this point I had not slept in over 27 hours, but the adrenaline rush was so powerful that I did not feel like sleeping. I browsed the internet for a while, and before I knew it I was already thinking about playing more. I plead with myself not to do it, but it was no use, I was going to play again.

I spun the $22k away faster than I won it, and was back to $50k. I continued to hit the spin button over and over again. I didn't have a thought, or a feeling about it, I was numb. I didn't know if I was winning or losing at this point. I just kept mindlessly hitting the spin button. I am not sure how long this lasted, but when I snapped out of it I was down to $25k. When I realized what I did, I said out loud "you pissed away almost $50k" I was shocked for a second, then fury set in. I was so mad that I could let myself do this. I sat and replayed it in my head over and over again thinking how lucky I was, and that I blew it, but it was done, and there was no taking it back. I double checked my moneybookers cash off for $10k, and then went to bed.

I woke up the next day, and the first thing I did was rush to my computer to see if I had dreamed everything that had happened, because surely I was not capable of REALLY doing things like this. It was not a dream, and the balance was indeed $25k. I was no longer mad, or upset about it, and I accepted that it happened. I decided to spend the day planning for the $25k injection my poker bankroll would receive, and in less than 30 minutes I was already contemplating the idea of playing again, but luckily I was fresh, and decided immediately that I would inquire about having my casino games disabled. I got on live chat support and requested that I be blocked from the casino games permanently, and in less than 5 minutes I was forever banned. It felt good, almost like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders, and now I felt like I could seriously plan my poker finances. I ultimately decided I would play some higher stakes games ranging from 5/10 to 10/20 with a strict stop loss.

A few days passed and the poker was going poorly, but I was having a lot of fun playing those stakes. I played mostly 6max and occasionally HU VS. some of the 5/10 and 10/20 regulars. I had lost about $5k over a few days, which is not much at those stakes, but I decided I would drop down and make 2/4 my standard game until I felt like I was playing my best. I splashed around for a few more days in the mid-stakes 6max games with out anything really note worthy happening. I didn't have money on any other sites besides bodog at the time because like most people I panic cashed from FTP/STARS when Black Friday happened, so I had limited options. The action on bodog was great, but at times it was very slow with not many games running. I figured when my moneybookers cash out was done I would try more sites, so I started to research which ones were best in terms of traffic and rakeback. I made screen names on a few different Euro networks, and got all of the proof of address and identification stuff done in advance so i'd have no troubles moving money on and off, and the sites that had casino's I made sure to block myself immediately just in case.

A few more days passed and my moneybookers cash out was still not processed. I was checking my email to see if there was any update on the status of the cash out, and saw I had an email from the casino department. The email was to notify me that my 72 hour casino ban had been lifted, and they wanted to welcome me back to the casino. I was like wtf?, I thought requested it to be disabled permanently?. I logged into the client and tried to open a roulette table, and sure enough it let me buy-in. Immediately I was thinking OMG this is bad I have to quickly tell support I want it disabled FOREVER, but before I got the live chat open I was already playing. All the thoughts of losing, and the sick feeling had worn off from the last escapade, and I was gung-ho. I wagered my usual $100 per number on 3-5 numbers and started to spin. Less than 45 minutes in I won $15k, and was feeling great. About 1 hour in I had lost $5k of the $15k I had just won, and the all too familiar feeling of sickness came over me. I quickly closed the entire client and contacted live chat support. They apologized for the confusion of my last inquiry, and assured me that I was now banned forever. I was proud that I had the presence of mind and self control to stop when I did, but I still felt bad, and I knew the $10k I just won was nothing to celebrate.

I splashed around in the mid-stakes 6max games for a couple more days, and finally my moneybookers cash out was complete. I was excited to test the waters of these new sites, and quickly made deposits on all of them. I felt like my gambling days were behind me, and now I could focus 100% on my poker game. I decided to deposit small amounts of 5-8 buy-ins on each site, and leave the rest of the money in moneybookers. Before I started to play I contacted my rakebak guy to ensure I was being tracked properly. While chatting with him he mentioned that Party Poker had the best software of all the Euro sites he had played on. Party was not on my list of sites to try, but I figured I should check it out. I already had a screen name on Party Poker from long ago, so all I had to do was request my login details via email. I remembered Party had a casino, so before depositing I emailed support requesting that I be banned from playing casino games. They responded within an hour and said that it was not possible to disable just the casino, and if I wished to be blocked it would mean I would have to block both poker and the casino games. I wasn't happy, nor was I sure if I should even try Party, seeing as what happened recently. After about 20 minutes of self debate I figured what the hell, if it's a good site I have to play there, and I can control myself now anyway, so I deposited $1k for a trial period. I can't tell you what the Party Poker tables look like, because I never even opened one. Before I got the chance to try the poker games my ass was parked at the roulette wheel.

I spun a few small wagers, and lost $250. I decided to do a larger spin for $250, or $50 per number on 5 numbers, and lost again. It finally hit me that I may have developed a problem, especially since I had only been at the site for 5 minutes and I was already gambling. I felt bad that I was in this spiral, and it really started pissing me off. I closed the table and decided I would just cash out my $500 I had left and not play there at all until I got my degenerate urges under control. The cash out process was going to require me sending in multiple documents. I was already frustrated, so this news irritated me to the point where I said " fuck it, I will spin my last ever spin, and be done with it". I wasn't in any mood to play so I bought in for the entire $500, clicked the $500 chip and threw it on the first number I glanced at, number 6. I was already writing my email requesting that my account be disabled for 30 days, so I hit the spin button, minimized the table, and continued writing the email. I finished the email, and angrily opened the table. I was confused for a second because there was a large congratulations banner running across the screen, and it took me a few seconds to realize I had won. Number 6 had hit, and it paid $18k. I didn't even know what to think at this point. I was just like WTF, NO GODDAMN WAY?, but it was real. I sat for a moment to process what just happened. It was an emotional roller coaster like I had never ridden before. I was still angry, but now kinda happy, shocked and dismayed. I had no time to think. It was so unexpected, and it happened so fast. I immediately closed the table, and left my office. I decided to make coffee, and reflect on what the fuck just happened.

As the coffee brewed I straight up told myself that was it. I got insanely lucky once again, and this time its over. I sat back down and refreshed my balance a few times to ensure I was not going crazy, and by that time I was already thinking about allowing myself to lose $3k and quit with $15k even. I battled it out with myself, going back and forth, should I? shouldn't I?, but the gambler in me won, and just like that it was happening all over again. I was playing.

I will stop here for now.. I guess this will be a 4 part story.. will wrap it up next entry

peace

Gambling Story Part.2

WaLkOfLiFe — Sun, 15 May 2011 20:32:12 +0000

I will begin where I left off last entry, and try to include my poker content as well, but if I don't get to it I will save the poker stuff for my next post.

I was +$50k after a few hours of constant gambling, and by this time the wager had increased to $100 per number on 3-5- numbers, costing $300-$500 a click. I was in a frenzy, and the whole thing was very surreal, but I managed to stop at a balance that read $50k even. I was in disbelief that I had won this much money. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this was going to happen. I sat at my computer thinking about all the ways this win would impact my poker game, and offer ability to take some serious shots. I was totally stoked. Less than 15 minutes passed since I stopped playing, and the sensation of winning had already worn off. I could feel the urge to continue creeping in, and it made me feel sick. I had run up some good scores in the past, ranging from +$15-$25k, and squandered it away as if it were play chips. I tried to logically talk myself out of it, "just go do something else, you have played enough" I told myself, but the high of winning is like an unquenchable thirst, I wanted more.

By this time the news had spread to all of my mainstream friends. They all knew I had luck boxed my way into $50k, and every single one of them advised me to stop. I was reminded over and over again how much money this was, and how it opened so many doors for me. I understood very well that this was an epic windfall that would allow me to do everything I ever wanted to do in poker, but the urge to keep playing lingered. It was almost like the Devil himself was sitting on my shoulder egging me on.

I finally left my computer to make coffee, and while it was brewing I decided I would allow myself to lose $2k and then quit for good. I lit a cigarette and began to play. Before I took one sip of coffee I was down to my $2k stop loss, and with out one second of consideration I lost another $2k, then another $2k. All thoughts of poker, and the money had left my mind, and I was now "chasing losses". It's pretty strange to view it as chasing a loss, but thats exactly how it felt. I had $50k, and now I only have $44k so I have to get back to $50k, all the long not considering I had only started with $400. I continued to spin, and I continued to lose. With each spin I felt more and more disgusted with myself, but I couldn't stop now, I was down to $30k, and I had to get back to $50k. With each spin the losing persisted, and when I saw my balance drop below $10k I felt lower than I ever have before, but I was hell bent on getting back to +$50k, and had no thoughts of quitting. It was +$50k, or $-400.

A few hours passed and I was still at it. I was in a very strange state of mind. I felt like I wasn't playing, but more like I was watching myself play, it was very weird. I eventually snapped out of it and realized I had won it all back. My balance now read $53k. I was relieved, but also amazed that I was capable of losing $50k "gambling". I never thought I could do such ridiculous things. I immediately cashed $10k ( the maximum) to MoneyBookers, and was ready to crash.

I messed around on the internet for a few minutes before bed, and the high of winning was already wearing off. Before I left my computer chair the urge to risk the extra $3k had already set in. I knew it was crazy, but some how I made it okay to play once more, telling myself "even if you lose this $3k you still have the $50k", so I opened the roulette table, bought in for $3k, and started to play again. In less than 20 minutes I turned the $3k balance into $12k, and 10 minutes later it grew to $18k, then $22k. I was once again in total disbelief, and realizing I now had $22k hanging in the balance, the sick feeling was back.

I guess ill stop here.. I didn't realize this story was so long..and it gets much more absurd.. prolly gonna take me 3-4 parts to finish... I guess i'll get to the poker stuff when I finish this in a day or so... peace

Personal Poker Policy & Gambling Story

WaLkOfLiFe — Fri, 13 May 2011 09:13:48 +0000

I have a new "Personal Poker Policy" I wrote for myself and will share that in the second half of this entry. First i'd like to share a truly absurd story some of you may find interesting. The ordeal i'm about to share is nothing short of a classic degenerate fiasco, and I will omit nothing as I feel telling the whole story will be more self beneficial.

It all started in late April while talking to my friend over Skype. We were discussing the evolution of poker and how much the games have changed in recent years. We shared past stories of colossal win rates, and tables overrun by fish. I listened to him reminisce, and gloat of a site so bountiful, I decided I had to check it out for myself.

Our call ended, and I immediately Google'd what sounded like the promise land of online poker, a guaranteed winner. I proceeded to download the client only to realize I already had a registered screen name with the site, but I didn't recall ever playing a hand there. I finally recovered my login details, and was ready to make a small, experimental deposit. I planned to test stakes up to 200NL and decided $400 was more than enough to determine the level of play. I fired up 3 tables of 100 NL 6-max, and posted out of turn on all 3. The software was clunky and not very user friendly. It had no auto reload, nor did my hud work. I had been playing for about 5 minutes and decided I may as well add two 50 NL HU tables to get a feel for the HU traffic. I open the first one and buy-in (4 tables total at this point). I try and open a second HU table and instantly get an error message saying I am at the maximum number of tables allowed. I double checked my settings, scanned the tables to make sure everything was looking as it seemed, but nothing I did enabled me to open a 5th table. After messing around for at least 5-7 minutes, I finally got confirmation that I wasn't going insane, when a friend of mine told me that 4 tables was the maximum per player at FishHeaven.com. I thought it was almost comical that such a site even existed, and it all started to make sense. What "reg" would EVER want to play on this site? No player transfers, or auto reload, a lame VIP bonus program, and a 4 table maximum. It became clear that that bodog poker would live up to it's name.

I was uncertain whether or not I should deposit more and try the HU games for real, or wait for more reviews before depositing a useful sum of money. As I 4 tabled I browsed the site and noticed they had a casino. Now I have been known to partake in some ridiculous gambling adventures in the past, so I didn't think twice about exchanging my poker tables for a roulette wheel. I bought in for my whole balance of roughly $380, and began to do some small spins. I was playing inside, which means I was betting on individual numbers, and was betting 5-6 numbers at $5-$10 per number, costing anywhere from $15-$60 per click. Not hitting one spin It took me all of about 10 minutes to lose $360, and be down to my last measly $20 dollar bill. I slapped my mouse over the table and spazz clicked a random number until my full $20 balance was in play, and disgustedly clicked the spin button. I did not even know what number I had bet until I heard a robotic voice say " 24 Black, Player Wins!" (or something close to that) Apparently I picked number 24, the winning number, and got paid $720. I was kind of like "WTF?" for about 5 seconds, and then the excitement of having a roulette bankroll sunk in (sad). I didn't care about the $720. I was more happy that I got to spin the wheel again, and spin I did. Only this time I did not bet my usual $5-$10 per number, and started betting $20-$30 per number, up to $100-$140 a click. I was back to my initial $380 in under 5 minutes, and in a fit of roulette tilt (not as bad as poker tilt) I bet the entire $380 on four numbers, $100 on three numbers, and $80 on one number. I am not sure what four numbers I picked, but I do know I picked number 6 because that was the winning number, paying out $3600. I was stoked to get a score , and figured i'd take one last spin putting $100 on zero, and be happy to quit with $3500. As the wheel spun I was typing a brag message to a friend over Skype, when I heard the sweet sound of bodog's virtual dealer telling me I had won again. Another $3600! for a total of $7200!. I instantly decided i'd risk $700 and spin until I was at $6,500 even, then quit.

I spun the wheel a few times and before I knew it I was below my pre-determined stop mark, and was down to $5,000. I continued to spin as if I did not win anything. Each losing spin masked the fact that I had just scored a decent sum of money, and in a trance like state I continued to play. The next few hours are kind of a blur. I do remember winning a lot of spins betting the max of $100, but I have no real memory of what I was thinking (lol it was very weird), and at this point I was up over $35,000. I don't think I realized how much I was winning, because I continued to spin over, and over, and before I knew it I was up just over $50,000.

It was at this time that I realized..... HOLY FUCK.... 50K?.. STOOOOOPPP U TARD, however I did not stop, but I think I will stop this blog for now and finish the entire story in my next post. I wont say how it ended, but I will say that it did not stop on bodog... I will finish it next time tho.

I will include my poker bit on personal policy document in my next post as well..

Peace

Becoming A Professional

WaLkOfLiFe — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:12:30 +0000

Before I get to the focal point of this post i'd like to take a moment to comment on the happenings of April 15, 2011/Black Friday. I don't care to speculate, or express my opinions on the legality issues. I will not condemn the United States, or place blame at anyones door. I am not a lawyer, nor do I have enough facts to make an argument for neither the prosecutors, or the accused. All I wish to say is, I am sorry for my countless American friends who have been blind sided, and had their worlds turned inside out. Many of my closest poker friends were directly affected by the shutting down of the main 3 online poker sites in the U.S.A. I do know that 99% of these people are just sick individuals who i'd trust with amounts of money I don't even have. So I wish them all the best, and I hope they are back in action soon :) and I will here to help in whatever ways I can, so HIT ME UP IF YOU NEED ME:) (the help i offered is open to about 5-7 people and not the general American public. You 5-7 people know who you are)

As the title reads "Becoming A Professional" I have acquired a new found respect for what professional poker really is. I don't want to come off like I have it figured out because I have tons to learn, but the true meaning of a professional (in poker especially) is not easily discerned, and I am ready to acknowledge that my progress so far in poker has been a drop in the bucket.

Last night I was playing a session while a friend of mine observed. I engaged in battle across multiple stakes, from 2/4 to 5/10 6max. I had no more than got started when the session began to go poorly. The games were exceptionally good, and my friend would repetitively emphasize how big my edge was. I used his words of encouragement to distinguish my firey tilt, and the session prevailed. Hand after hand I could feel myself losing grasp of the session, and the tactility of adverse results began to take its toll. I was tilting. It wasn't as if I was on full blown tilt, but I was definitely tilting, and my friend's prudent words of fortitude began to fall upon deaf ears. It's not the first time this has happened, but for some desolate reason it hit me hard after the session, and I am ready to declare war on tilt, and avow it's detriment to my poker game.

I think I have come a long way in poker, strategically speaking, but I have scoffed at countless details that make someone a "Professional" in the true sense of the word. It's not just tilt. There are many obscure skills and understandings I have ignored out of arrogance or naivety. I won't list them all because there are A LOT of them lol. I would say the top 3 for myself would be; tilt, money management and structure. I feel if I improved 25% on all 3 of these things it would result in me saving a ridiculous sum of money.

My advice to everyone after reiterating these post session thoughts is to really consider poker's vast demand of attention to detail. Never become the guy who settles, or sweeps problems under the rug. Always be weary of the seemingly insignificant non-strategical element of poker and embrace your flaws. I think if you practice this intently you will be well on your way to attaining your aspirations, I know I am going to try my hardest to implement this as my standard practice. GOOD LUCK!

Strategy Post: Check Raise Bluffing-flop

WaLkOfLiFe — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:17:04 +0000

This is my first strategy post. Rather than using a hh to analyze I am going to use a concept or tid-bits of strategical concepts and explain/discuss it. This post will cover check raising. Hopefully it will give some of the readers a better idea of when and why they should check raise. I am going to leave out some of the very obvious stuff and focus on the nuts and bolts of check raising. I also plan to write some sort of e-book at some point that will be aimed at the ssnl player. Maybe feedback on this topic will let me know if it would be helpful enough to people for me to seriously consider writing it.

Check Raise Bluffing: When deciding whether or not to check raise bluff a flop many players run through their reads stating the villains c-bet % and overall tendencies/frequencies and then make their play. A very common mistake people make is improper usage of the c-bet stat and very often miss usage of information. A lot of players look at the villains c-bet % and never really know villains actual c-bet strategy, even though they have had several chances to accumulate relevant information. All they know is villain is c-betting 76%, and the board texture is one which villain should c-bet bluff a lot, and maybe hero has some equity, so he decides to check-raise as a semi-bluff. That logic certainly makes sense, but it really only helps hero's decision making ability on one street, the flop. All too often hero will be put to a turn decision he isn't equipped to make because he either has limited information, or he has no plan and ends up making a rushed/confused decision. I will give a few common pieces of information you should look for that will help you plan your check raises more thoroughly, allowing you to set up a multi-street plan in advance. I will also show a couple hands to demonstrate some adjustments for your planning.

Instead of looking at just the c-bet % of a villain you should be looking for c-bet range-types or tendencies of each individual villain. WTF is a range type???.

Range-Types: There are 2 very common c-bet strategies people at SSNL employ. Polarized and De-polarized, very few players are balanced in their c-betting strategy. Although a De-polarized c-bettor is going to be closer to balanced than a polarized c-bettor. For this post I will focus on Polarized range types and continue with De-polarized types in my next blog entry.

Polarized: People who c-bet a polarized range typically pot control weak/middling parts of their range, and are very often playing their hand face up. They tend to bet air/draws and the upper portion of their value range. Polarized c-bettors could also have a lower c-bet % than a De-polarized c-bettor, due to a higher pot controlling frequency.

In this scenario villain is a player we have identified as a polarized c-bettor, and his stats are: Btn-steal:55%/c-bet:70%/2-barrel:48%/WTSD:22%. Villain is a reasonable regular and seems fairly competent so far.

UTG: ($66) folds

UTG1:($44.75) folds

CO:($55) folds

BTN:($79) raises to $1.50

SB:($98)folds

BB_Hero: ($50) 9 T calls $1

FLOP: Q 8 4 (pot: $3.25)

BB_Hero checks

BTN bets $2.50

BB_Hero raises to $7:

Now lets plan for the hand using the information we have. We know villain is opening a pretty wide range from the BTN (55%), and he is c-betting a polarized range at a moderate frequency (70%). We determine this flop will be one he should be c-betting a good portion of his air, and we know since hes polarized he will be checking back all of his 8x's, pp's and possibly even weak Qx's like Q5, so we can discount these hands from his range. His value range is likely to be good Qx's+ like QT, and not much else. We decide to check raise with our gutter +bdfd, expecting to have sufficient fold equity on the flop. Given the information we can form a plan of what to do on various turns when villain calls. When we are called villains hand range is pretty face up to being some Qx+, draws or equity floats like JT/9T, so we have to plan what to do vs this range when we don't hit our draw, so lets put everything together to form our multi-street plan: Villain is a reasonable reg (wtsd 22%) and we know when called villain has Qx+ and draws or equity floats like JT/9T, which is a reasonably strong range and we should not expect to have fold equity on many total bricks, and we should only continue on the very best of scare cards. So we plan to barrel turned flush completing cards, hearts with intentions of bluff shoving riverd flush completing cards, otherwise we give up on the hand unimproved.

We can make our life a lot easier just by paying closer attention, and knowing ranges as well as numbers.

State Of The Games

WaLkOfLiFe — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 10:51:32 +0000

I have read many peoples blogs over the past 12 months voicing their opinion's about the state of online poker, and where online poker is headed. I have to say that I disagree with about 95% of their theories and opinion's. Almost every single post places the blame on Bum Hunting for the bad state of poker. Most of them are claiming that recreational players are afraid to sit, or get intimidated by all of the "sharks' who are unwilling to play each other. I think that theory is untrue, and I don't for one second believe that this is having a major adverse impact on the games in a way that they portray, or at the very least not on the scale that they are claiming. I also see today's games being compared to the games of 5-6 years ago, and these people truly believing that if Bum Hunting were to some how disappear the games would magically convert back to the days of '04, and that is CRAZY TALK. It just isn't that simple. Do I believe that Bum Hunting is good for poker?. No, of course not. Is it the end all be all?. Absolutely not. There are a lot of factors as to why the games are harder and action is not as rampant as it once was, many of which we can't control.

in 2004 poker was unexplored compared to 2011, and there were not 15 training sites, and UIGEA restrictions, nor was there an economic meltdown. Sites like the one where I am posting this blog have certainly not helped the overall state of poker in any way. They have turned tons of losing players into break even or marginal winners. Full Tilt Poker will grant anyone free access to poker training from upper echelon players for merely playing at their site. The average online poker player is much better than the player of years past, and exposure to these training aids has made this happen. The UIGEA has given many recreational players the false impression that online poker is illegal, and the ones who know its still legal to play get such a hassle when trying to deposit that they don't even bother. People are not spending money on recreational activities at a rate they once were. Vegas is a prime example of this. The economy is in the shit, and recreational players don't have the disposable income they once did. The recreational players who have stayed a float during the economic crisis have likely had a change in priority as well. I am sure majority of people are working longer and harder for their money, some will be moving around the country trying to find better jobs, thus having less time for recreational activities (poker). All of these points are obvious and many of them have been discussed in other peoples blogs, but the emphasis is always placed upon bum hunting.

Heads up poker is where the majority of the"bum hunting" takes place, and it will forever be this way because the model the best players want to follow will not work. The model they want in place requires "everyone to play everyone" or 'King of the hill" and that just does not work. If you start a HU cash table and you get action from someone who you know is going to crush you into oblivion, but you are forced to play him EVERY TIME he sits with you, are you really going to continue playing hu when you are added to his friend list, and he stalks you day in and day out?. The only way it can work is if you are always able to play someone who you are equal to, better than, or a slight dog to until you are good enough to play this stalker who is able to exploit the system just because he is much better than you. The everyone play everyone logic isn't very logical, and is comparable to someone being forced to open their new self started fast food restaurant next to a McDonald's with out having a choice, just because McDonald's has rank. This obviously favors McDonald's in the long run because the self starter will be out of business in no time unless they are able to overtake the KING, and it's the same in HU poker. This is depriving a lot of middle of the road players from making a living just because they are not, and maybe even don't want to become the best. The best players will counter this and say " but now everyone has access to more fish" and that is: a) not true, and b) if it were it does not matter because the lower level player will now be trying to get even from the fish or be making an even smaller profit because he was forced to lose money to the best players. It's complicated, and a lot of people are willing to jump on a band wagon just because some famous players agree it is in the best interest of poker, AKA THEIR BEST INTEREST, and don't think about it for themselves. I don't have the answer, but I am pretty sure the answer isn't to simply end "bum hunting". The flood gates are open! PEACE

Updating Every Day

WaLkOfLiFe — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:42:32 +0000

As the title says I will be updating this blog EVERY DAY, or at least try very hard to do so. I won't drone on about how I am going to do better, and update more, i'll just get to the white meat of things. I have not played much poker lately, but when I have played it has gone pretty well, and I think I should start making some strategy posts here as well from time to time. Maybe include my most interesting hands of the day or something, we will see. I plan on putting in some enormous volume over the next few weeks, so I should have tons of poker stuff to share.

I don't have much real life stuff to share. I got some beers in me for the first time in a long while yesterday and that was kinda fun. I am not much of a drinker, but will indulge in a beer or 2 now and then. I didn't go out, or attend a party or anything, it was just myself having a few brews. That probably makes me sound like an alcoholic, but trust me it never happens, and this was an isolated incident. That actually sounds kind of sad now that I read it lol. Drinking alone while on the internet could probably be taken as a warning sign.. OMG OMG WHERES DR. PHIL!. In more exciting news I am going to shave my beard :O. It's not as baller as i'd hoped it would be, and it actually takes more time to groom and maintain a fucking beard than it does to shave regularly. Thats all I got for now. I will try and dig up some HH for my next post, PEACE

Major Decisions And Recent Results

WaLkOfLiFe — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:14:16 +0000

Once again I find myself 'un-maintaining" this blog. I wish I could use the excuse that I have been far to busy, but it takes less than 30 minutes to write an entry, and I am not one of those people who can't find 15-30 minutes every 2-3 days, so I have lots of time and just suck at blogging I guess. Other than being a huge blog fish, I have realized I am probably going to be a poker player for a long, long time. I am not at all suited, qualified or interested in other lines of work, and I just don't see myself doing anything else besides poker.

Realizing this it dawned on me that I should work on becoming a well versed live player, and begin learning the intricate nuances of the slow paced, 9 handed, real world version of pokers. Obviously it is much easier to go from being an online player to a live player than vice-versa, but I really don't want to take it lightly. I hear many online players talking about live poker like it is easier to crush than it is to get a degree from the University of McDonald's. This may be true, and it may be even easier than I recall it being, but I really don't want to get too cocky, or over confident. In the future I plan on taking it very seriously and I'm going to try very hard to get better at the small things like endurance, stamina and patience. I have high expectations, but i'm not going to call it money in the bank until the actual money is in the bank:).

Given the fact I want to play more live, what better place is there to play live poker than LAS VEGAS!. In the title you will notice 'Major Decision" and that major decision, or actually news at this point, is that I am going to purchase a house in Vegas this spring/summer. It won't be anything super fancy, but it will be decent :O. I have wanted to be in Vegas from the very second I landed there in February 2010 on my first visit. It is just a sick place for a poker grinder to be, especially a grinder who is looking for live action. I am not 100% about the details and exact location, but I am 95% sure i'm going to do it. A couple friends of mine are also interested in moving to Vegas around the same time frame, so that works out nicely as I will probably be renting them rooms in the house, and we will all get sick good at poker and probably take over the world in less than 6 months, and if we fail we can easily just put it all on black to chase the losses :P.

As for poker I have been playing mainly 50 HU the last week or so, and it has been going alright. I wish I were playing more, but I really can't complain too much I suppose. I swear one of these days the Nanonoko in me is going to emerge from within, and i'm just gonna grind so hard i'll make leatherass look like a featherass. I dont have much else to share atm, below are my last weeks results or so at HU.. peace

http://tinypic.com/r/2sajpd2/7

Oh my blog! Oh my blog!

WaLkOfLiFe — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:45:27 +0000

I got nothing really blog worthy to write about today, but I figured it's been a while so I have to come up with something. The poker grind has been less than satisfying lately and i'm enduring a rather bad stretch of hands at the 6max tables. I have not played much 6max in the last 12-15 months and I certainly feel like that could be contributing to my recent struggle. I have been doing sweats with a friend of mine (you know who you are) and he is VERY VERY good, I mean like sick goooooood at the pokers, and he says it's variance, and that I am playing quite well. I am definitely second guessing myself far more than I ever have before, and i'm thinking maybe my friend just doesn't wanna hurt my feelings by telling me I am the biggest 6max fish to ever grace the virtual felt(LOL). Speaking of this friend, he has been lighting it up recently, stacking everything but pancakes. I won't out him, but I am pretty sure you guys will be seeing him on a training site of some sort very soon, unless he SCOFFS at the idea (LOL inside joke).

Things in real life are the same as always, wake up, log in, sit here for endless amounts of time while browsing the most ridiculous random shit you can possibly imagine, most of it non-poker related. I feel like my work ethic has suffered a lot in the last 6-8 months, which is bad news for me because my work ethic before that was utterly embarrassing. I can see myself getting lazier too. I am in the process of accidentally growing a beard. No offense to people with beards, but once you accidentally grow one you are basically the Heavy Weight Champ of lazy. I am heading off on a tangent here and I doubt anyone cares, so i'm gonna call it a blog entry, and POSSIBLY play some interweb poker now. GL Folks

February Fail...maybe

WaLkOfLiFe — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 11:08:18 +0000

At the start of 2011 I vowed to post at least 40k hands each and every calendar month, for 12 straight months. This month I am very close to blowing this personal challenge. For the entire month of February I have played 15k hands. It's very odd because I feel like I am as excited about poker now as I was 2 years ago, and I still feel like poker is my only calling (for now lol). I can't pinpoint the issue at hand but, I am determined to get my 40k minimum requirement this month, so I have some grinding to do:). I really think it would help my cause a lot if I could just forget about winning,losing or fear of failing, and just play hands. So we will see if I make it to my 40k minimum standard, it isn't going to be easy.

February garf

http://tinypic.com/r/106zytv/7

In other news, there's not much blog worthy stuff happening in real life but, I have some group coaching sessions coming up, and I really enjoy coaching in the group format. There is something very interesting about hearing 4-5 opinions of an identical situation. I feel like I learn so much more about each individual when I sit and listen to them talk amongst each other, sharing their views and opinions. The students that carry over from group to 1-1 coaching are my favorite to work with, even if they only did 1 session of group, it just seems like I know so much more about their game already and I have a much better feel for their level and thinking than I would after one 1-1 session. Maybe I should do 1 group session with all my 1-1 students b4 they start?. Thats all I got for now.

Peace

50HU day 1 fail?

WaLkOfLiFe — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 21:59:42 +0000

The first day of my epic 50 HU grind didn't really go as planned. I sat for long periods of time ALONE at 50 HU (wtf?), and got sidetracked multiple times during the day. I ended up getting around 1k hands in over a 4 hour span, which is not that bad I guess, but it's far from my expectation/goals :(

http://tinypic.com/r/2uiw36e/7

On a positive note I think I played pretty well for majority of the session and maintained focus about as good as i'm capable of at the moment. I am looking forward to a LONG grind this evening, but first I have to attend some festivities my GF is holding for her family.

Peace

P.S http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11187255/

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/11186838/

Maintaining A Blog And 50 HU

WaLkOfLiFe — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:45:17 +0000

I have decided to take another shot at maintaining a blog. I am not sure what I will write about as I lead a lifestyle comparable to that of a monk. Not a baller monk either. More like one of the laid back, irrelevant ones who is a lot less disciplined and lazy like a Sloth (SlothMonk?). I am probably not quite that boring, but damn close, so I don't foresee many entries about my "real life," especially considering my "real life" is basically on the internet lol. Oddly enough my situation is quite enjoyable and I don't really sit around pondering the meaning of life or day dreaming of ways I could improve my own existence.

I did, however, experience a moment of reflection a while back. I was just sitting here, gazing out my office window when I noticed a man walking a small dog. I began to wonder: Could I be this guy? Could I lead a standard lifestyle as a 9-5er and a be dog owner? This thought was not super desirable at that moment and became even less desirable when the next image I saw was this portly man bending over, scooping up a large pile of dog shit, and discretely depositing it into his jacket pocket (is this normal?). This confirmed that I am no less interesting than the common man, and that I won't own dogs anytime soon. To summarize, I am just a huge internet poker nerd who is happy doing a lot of nothing :)

Onto the poker stuff, which is the main focus of this blog, although I may get side tracked now and then telling random stories. I play HU and 6m at the 50NL-200NL levels, winning at a decent clip across the board. I would say, like many others, that my main "leak" is volume. I just don't play enough hands in the run of an average month to call myself any sort of "grinder". For this reason I have decided to dedicate the rest of February to playing 50HU only and trying to play as many hands per day as I can stand. I know there will be a few people saying “WTF? WHY PLAY 50 FFS!” but I feel like I have to do something to get the hands in, and the month is coming to a close, so I don't have time for elaborate volume planning. I will likely have a better volume goal for March involving higher stakes. For February I just want to try and make the best of what I got and still try to pull off an acceptable month. I will post graphs and interesting hands here (hopefully on a daily basis). That's all I got for now. Peace.

P.S I am devising some new/affordable coaching offers for micro stakes players, so be on the look out for that!