blonde poker forum

I'm coming up to 5 years as an online HUNL poker pro, but after a miserable year last year (in terms of $) I'm starting this thread as motivation!

I've played from 2/4 - 50/100 pretty regularly online and have a win rate of almost 10bb/100 over nearly 1.5million hands. Most of my volume has been at 5/10 and 10/20$ although I'm considering dropping down slightly to reduce swings/variance.

(http://s9.postimg.org/a2ltmd8kb/Lifetime_Graphin_BB.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/a2ltmd8kb/)

Lifetime giraffe! Not gonna bother with $ graph for the time being but I've been pretty successful. Yes my red line is a substantial loser and people think that means i'm probably a passive bumhunter but w/e - they're wrong!

I'd rather stay anonymous for the time being but it'd be great to contribute towards the UK poker community as I feel we're slipping behind some of the other European countries in terms on online cash games. I'll be posting the odd hand history of my own (although I'm trying not to give too much away) but am happy to comment on any hands that people post ITT!

2014 goals


150k hands of online HU - this probably doesn't sound like a lot to some grinders but my focus is quality >>> quantity. After doing it so long, it's very easy to get burnt out and grind mass volume while autopiloting. I don't bother with monetary goals but obv I have a figure in the back of my mind I'd like to achieve.

15 live MTTs from 5 different trips - I am by no means a tournament pro, but I absolutely love live tournaments. They are very fun and running deep is one of the best feelings in the world. I'd quite happily not play online tournaments in 2014 as I find them very shallow and just generally depressing.

Gym 100+ times - had the same goal in 2013 and achieved it but hoping to get in really good shape this year.

Read 5+ books - this sounds pretty pathetic but I really struggle with reading and I'd like to improve.

Be more productive with time - less wasting time on the internet, no sleeping 10+ hours each night etc. When I am not playing poker be more sociable, catch up with friends and just generally enjoy life more!


GLGL in 2014!

Welcome to Blonde.

Afternoon "Roger".

That's a cracking post, & beautifully presented, welcome aboard.

I would assume you know it will be "guess who he is" open season, but I have no interest in that.

I think these motivation threads really work. Our very own Plinop does one, he wins "multiple commas" some days, so he's big time, but he has one here......

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=49575.4155


He does not tell us how much he wins - a big mound, apparently - but he keeps track of his VIP things.

At the other end of the scale, in tiddlearse territory, I've been doing the same thing, elsewhere, just reporting honestly, every single day, & it has helped me enormously, I've almost won a whole comma, in under 3 months, too. I'm incred.  

Must say, I agreed with this.....

but I absolutely love live tournaments. They are very fun and running deep is one of the best feelings in the world

Not wrong, & the buzz, especially, of bagging up, & a Day Two, is the greatest fun ever. Live Poker has a bad name, but if we slow down a bit, & adjust to the pace, it can be tremendous fun.

5 books? What sort of books? Non-fiction, I hope? I'd be interested to hear your book choices. An hour with a book at the end of each day is such a pleasure.

Good luck with the next year. Some graph that, though I don't pretend for one moment  to understand those different coloured lines.

Sorry, too easy ;D

Talk us through a normal day's schedule

How old are you?

What are your plans for the future?

I'm not sure on why tbh. But if you look in the lobby on say stars, there are not too many Brits battling the big cash games. I know as far as tournaments are concerned we have some of the best. I think when in the UK when someone talks poker they immediately assume it's a tournament and not a cash game - maybe that has something to do with it.

I'm a huge poker fan and I'm always keeping up to date with who's doing well on the live scene (despite being an online player). Roger Hairabedian is an absolute beast to me and also quite a character. If you check his hendon mob, it's pretty ridix! Anyone making assumptions of how someone is going to play by how they look is going to be totally thrown by someone like big Rog!

I'd like to make it absolutely clear that the OP is NOT me.

Thanks! I don't plan on spending TOO much time on here, but we'll see. Hopefully it's going to be productive and motivational!

Sorry, way too old & portly to be any good.


(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o541/tikay2/tikay2080/BEAST_zpsfd1a9024.png) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/tikay2/media/tikay2080/BEAST_zpsfd1a9024.png.html)

Do you actively post on other forums? Lurk 2+2 at all? How old are you? We need to become the Germans. They are crushing atm.

Hey, welcome to Blonde and good luck!

I've been playing a lot of HU recently, sit and go turbos, and also some HU cash.

Definatly my favourite part of the game, it's such a great dynamic.

Good luck in 2014, and will follow with interest.

Thank you for the kind words.

I'm sorry I won't be posting $ graphs or daily swings simply because I feel it means I have some connection to the money, when actually account balances should just be a tool to play the games I want to. In terms of VPPs or VIP things I simply don't bother. Gaining recognition or some bonus for playing X amount on a site doesn't interest me. Focusing on good decisions and mindset is much more important. If you look at the very top winners on any site, I'd guess close to 100% of them are not interested in VPPs or w/e.

Yeah agreed re live tournaments. I'm actually a very shy person IRL (online poker pro doesn't help this), so I get quite a rush from playing live tournaments. Also feel like there is still incred value for most tournaments up to around the $10k level so I'll continue to play them when I can.

Books wise... I'm such a fish. I'm very interested in property development, so if anyone has any good recommendations there it'd be appreciated! Anything from sports autobiography's to fantasy fiction stuff. My daily 'bible' is The Mental Game of Poker 1/2 by Jared Tendler. If any poker player on this forum doesn't own this book, he/she is simply missing out.

I normally wake up 10am, shower and get breakfast then hit the tables around 11. Play until around 6pm, then have the evening to get dinner/go to the gym etc. I'm actually thinking of tweaking this and hitting the gym in the morning after gym rush hour but twt. I probably play 6 days a week on average.

I'm 25. So ageing quickly in terms of the online world :(

I'd like to focus on poker for the foreseeable future, just because I think there's still money to be made and I enjoy playing so much. But I'd love to get into property investment/development at some point.

Indeed the Germans are crushing. I actually don't think they are as good as people think but obv extremely solid and tough. They are a tight band group of players who can openly discuss strat, reads on other players etc which helps a lot. If you follow the HU lobbies online, it's very rare you'll see 2 Germans battling eachother.

I do post on 2+2 a little, but not too much strategy. No other forums.

I'm 25.

Agree - Jared Tendler is a really good author. What's especially good is the way he writes his books all by himself, without needing any help from anyone else.

Thanks and good luck!

I would have thought the same, but in the course of my work, I'm occasionally obliged to visit 2+2, & I see loads of youngsters all seemingly fixated by it.

I've read some great books recently, I'll list a few when I get home & Post them up here soonest.

Real books, printed on paper, or Kindle?

Real books for me. Enjoy going into bookshops and picking up a new copy of something that looks interesting. A lot of people have recommended the kindle tho, so might get the paperwhite version some time soon. Don't get me wrong tho, I'm'm not a huge reader. That's why it's one of my goals for 2014!

Can confirm that Roger is a bit of a beast.

GL with the diary.  Will be reading with interest

Very interesting! You play on all sites?

You still going after JUST HUNL? I've formed the opinion that HU poker on the internet is completely buried now - what's you opinions on how to clean lobbies up, generate more action etc? I'm writing an article about it ATM would be interested to hear your thoughts.

How do you cope with all the waiting about for action? or do you not have too much waiting?

Wanna give us your Top 5 HUNL guys :P

I hate it when people say HU is dead. It's just that it's not always easy to sit down and get a game within a couple of minutes of sitting. You have to search around a bit and find someone willing to play. People are much more aware of whether or not they have an edge nowadays and there's not as many fish to soften the blows of reg on reg variance.

Nah i'm not strictly HUNL, but it's definitely my best game and speciality. I dabble in HU PLO, 6max NL and PLO and a few tournaments.

Personally I think cleaning up the lobbies is a good idea and has needed to be implemented for a long time. Soft King of the hill format is probably the best way to go in terms of the poker eco system - if say there 5 tables per stake the weaker regs and recreational players are exposed to the very best players and go broke quicker.

There's a lengthy thread on 2+2 here about the topic: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/58/heads-up-nl/pokerstars-heads-up-lobby-changes-feedback-requested-1364689/ (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/58/heads-up-nl/pokerstars-heads-up-lobby-changes-feedback-requested-1364689/)

Top 3 HUNL atm for me:

1 Jungleman
2 WCG
3 Ike

Not sure on top 5. But Kanu7 is worth a mention for being by far the best British guy currently.

Idk, he's def a strange character but a very sick online HU player.

Pretty sure he's not busto, but seems to have made very poor decisions in regards to money.

Yeh I know - I used to play exclusively HU PLO, I just got so frustrated having to have money on 4 different sites, waiting for action, all the grimmy things that go on in HU (exactly same things happen in 6m ofc) that I just gave up, I remember when I started in HU PLO on ftp about 4 years ago, was maybe 10 guys playing midstakes (1/2 - 3/6) MicahJ, Doorbread and rickv only names that spring to mind, and people just used to sit one table at each stake so only ever had like 4, maybe 5 waiting HU tables, when there was no action we used to play each other at lower stakes. Online poker moved on quite a bit since then...

How much of your day is spent waiting?

I get what you are saying about brits and cash games, tournament success dominates headlines :( there are a lot of brits out there playing in the biggest games though!

GL with this thread, gonna follow!!

I think that rumor started because it got out he was backed for a decent period after black friday, he also lost a LOT to Isildur apparently on ipoker during that time but i'd imagine he is doing ok :) 
He sold his account balance on ftp for .85c/$ as well which would have been a fair chunk to lose.

6m games run round him atm on stars when he sits

is that not pretty stnd though? obv the best 6m players in the world, forhayley/katya/fish2013 etc will wanna play jungle in 6m lineups.
Can't see any of them playing him HU though...

Yeah exactly. I'm talking specifically HUNL online.

I can't really comment on who I believe is the best at 6 max or even NLHE overall. Probably someone like Ragen tho.

money on top o' money

According to this article on poker news junglemans had an ok start to 2014

For instance, “mikki696” has gotten off to a strong start and is the early 2014 leader with $400,984 in profit, which came from 4,264 hands over 61 sessions. Likewise, Ben “Bttech86” Tollerene (+$316,580 in 34 sessions/3,712 hands), “2Ari Gold” (+$272,575 in 52 sessions/3,912 hands), “Doorbread” (+$235,062 in 42 sessions/3,230 hands), and Daniel “jungleman12” Cates (+$173,492 in 22 sessions/2,320 hands) all did well on Full Tilt Poker. Over on PokerStars, “yurasov1990”* (+$179,391 in 9 sessions/1,281 hands) and Bryn Kenney* (+$156,553 in 8 sessions/1,357 hands) both booked six-figure wins, the latter of which was written about here.

Big Roger is big. Sat next to him once. I'll never forget when he had a spontaneous cough that his belly pushed the table 2 feet across the room. Nothing got displaced, it was like a magician removing the cloth from a dinner table.

GL with your HU grind. I used to bum hunt HU many years ago. I say bum hunt but I'd always play everyone once. There used to be enough fish in the games back then that you could actually be picky with who you played! Those were the days. I imagine to make a living from NLHE HU these days you need to be very good and determined. Weaker players will surely struggle to make much money any more...

Thanks!

If you had the same nick, I remember playing you on Boss media back in the day! It's very tough nowadays, each day you have to be prepared for battle. You can't just hang around and wait for weaker players like 2/3 years ago.

Boss media, we are talking 5-6 years ago! I used to play the €500+ HU sngs on there. What was your username on there or are you not sharing that yet? Almost all the regs were from Scandinavia but I can't remember playing any UK regs?

I didn't play too many HU SNGs, always found them high variance and tilting. Prob not sharing screen names for the time being, but it's unlikely you'd remember!

So the start of the year has been disappointing results wise. Very happy with how I've played and my mindset so reasonably satisfied.

Planning some live trips for later in the year. Hoping to go to 2/3 EPTs -prob Vienna and San Remo, maybe Deauville (place seems pretty bad), Vegas and then some smaller stuff like this Sky thing at DTD.

Funnily enough i've never been to DTD despite living not too far away. Heard pretty good things and this forum seems to be filled with stories from there so feel I've been missing out... What cash games run regularly there? And how are the line ups?  Will be playing the £1k, £500 HU and the £3k hi-roller (depending on numbers) at this Sky thing, should be fun.

Hope everyone's year has started well and any new years resolutions are being stuck to!

What stakes/games do you want to play?

Sounds like you're challenging me to HU?  ;)

Nothing huge. I'm not too experienced live. Probably £5/10 but I'd play £10/25 or £2/5 depending on the game. Both NL and PLO.

Ha it does sound like that lol but no I certainly wasn't doing that :-P

(As far as I am aware) 5/10+ nl runs very inconsistently however 5/10 DC (plays very big) runs most fridays and Saturdays and bigger PLO (5/5/10, 5/10/25) runs during festivals etc but not all the time. During the sky week I think there will be lots of very good, and some bigger aswel

Idk about 2/2 plo and 2/5 nl I think its runs regularly and sporadically (if that makes sense? )

Hey, hope you don't mind me posting this here, i'll delete it in a bit, just curious on your thoughts on this hand/ thought process, i just posted it up in the hand analysis area

-----------------------------

Hand from 20nl hu cash. The player is reasonable enough. But he doesn't normally raise top pair. I call the flop bet, to let him barrel. Turn isn't ideal but i'm still not 2 worried.

On the river, say villain checked, would you bet small for value or just jam? I think I prob bet small 2 get some value from villain.

I have    7h  2s two spades OTB (£20 stack )

Villian has £16 behind. I min raise to 40p (my standard open) HU cash to people normally 3x pre? I'm so used to playing HU sit and gos.

Flop,   2h 2d 9h

Villian checks, I bet £1.40, he check raises to £2.10. I call, pot is now £5.

Pretty confident I have the best hand here, I just call to let him barrel. Quite happy with this, if I raise, i'm folding out so many of his weak hands. He could have slow played something like Jacks or 10s.

Turn is the   9s, not brilliant but still quite happy. He doesn't usually check raise top pair, mybe he would with K9 Ace 9, but that's such a narrow part of his range, so i'm not 2 worried.

He leads for £3.75 (3/4 pot) I call, pot is £12.50. I have about £13 behind he has £9 behind.

River is  5c , he jams I call.

Thoughts on my line in the hand? If villain checks the river, i don't think i jam cause he's struggling to call, might bet something really small like £4/£4.50

Edit, i could fold (turn??) river, don't know if this would be good or bad, i'm happy that opponent doesn't have a 9 here often enough to call.

No problem. I can leave some feedback. It's difficult to comment on games which are slightly different standard from your own but i'll do my best.

Firstly do u have 7h2s or 7s2s? I'm a little confused. I certainly wouldn't be opening 72o at such stakes, simply because people defend tighter and it plays poorly postflop. 72s I think is a fine open but would be at the very bottom of my opening range at these stakes (I probably open every suited hand).

Min raising and 3x is fine. Normally going to adjust to opponents defending frequencies - i.e. if they are defending too wide i'll tighten my range and make it bigger preflop, if they are tight i'll start opening 100% for min raise and exploit them that way.

Do you have a reasoning for the flop sizing? You bet £1.40 into a fairly dry paired board with only £0.80 (minus rake). Now flop overbetting is definitely an option but you need to consider stuff like balance (what hands are u bluffing with like this), what hands will he continue with (vs an overbet people can fold a lot of the weaker hands in their range) etc.

I think you played the hand fine post flop. You have a read he doesn't raise top pair for value on the flop (so it's unlikely he has 9x) and you are towards the top of your range game theory wise. I certainly wouldn't fold turn ever and would rarely fold river.

I wouldn't overcomplicate this kind of hand. You have a very good hand and your opponent might have a better in hand in a situation where he shouldn't given your reads.

Was this played on Sky?

Thanks for the reply.  It was on sky.

Made a typo in my post, on the flop I bet 60p, not £1.40, £1.40 was the pot after I had bet 60p.

I would never really overbet (the flop) with any hand.

It was 72 os, agree it should be a fold pre! I was playing 2 many s/b's against the vilian, cause most times i could get him 2 fold post flop.

He had the nut flush draw.

Ah makes more sense! Interesting he decided to turn ace high into a bluff

in the opponents shoes with the NFD otr - you would chk/call, or chk and expect to win at showdown if checked back reasonably often?

Lets spose that WE have the NFD and have played the hand like this, how would you react to a check and a jam from our opponent OTR?

I think we win at showdown very infrequently on river with ace high in his spot. But there could be a lot of merit to c/c on the turn after the flop c/r with the NFD - ducy? :)

Interesting question and difficult to answer without reads or stats. He should play all 2x like this when the flop draw missed so I'd lean towards folding

Is it possible to defend too wide vs a minraise?

I could go into a lot of depth on this subject but I don't wanna get too strat orientated ITT.

I assume you've seen/heard about Sauce defending 95% or something from the BB vs top HS guys opening 100%. I want a pretty big edge on my opponent to be able to do that postflop for several reasons - reverse implied odds, being oop, being capped on certain boards etc.

My answer would be yes you can defend too wide but only because you probably aren't adjusting well enough postflop. It uses a lot of energy defending say 85%+ from the big blind as you're constantly in difficult spots with weak hands, being forced to bluff with the bottom of your range etc.

that depends on your ability to maximise EQR.


this

ahhh, funs :) Because our opponent (I'm talking as the flop check-raiser here) has a great deal more 9x in his range than we do - assuming we don't have the dynamic where c/r  9s Ts is credible (making it a pretty bad spot to bluff) + his flop calling range that is non-boat OTT is made up almost entirely of smaller FD's and pocket-pairs, the pocket pairs will frequently check back and his betting range is boats/smaller FD's meaning Ace high flush draw is an ideal bluff catcher with a little implied odds vs a smaller FD and strong equity vs his pot controls as well ( 11-15 outs vs most pocket pairs.

*I never play NLHE :(

 ;applause;

Good post. I've seen it at the high stakes and it seems to have come about more in the hypers too. I love the phrase about it using a lot of energy.

Cheers Rog and everyone,

Apologies for derailing your thread for a bit!

Gl with the HU grind!

Playing high quality poker is strenuous, both mentally and physically. Playing more hands oop vs good players = difficult. Simple as that. If you are looking to improve HU it's a great way to improve postflop skills but you'll probably find yourself bleeding money in simple postflop pots until you adjust correctly (which certainly isn't easy)

Thanks, enjoying the questions. I'm happy to help out when I have time. Good luck to you too!

Booked a consultation for laser eye Surgery in Feb this morning. Have worn glasses for the last 5/6 years and am getting pretty tired of them. It's not cheap but the hassle of no contact lenses for sport etc would also be nice. Went to Optical Express last year and was approved the surgery but declined after reading some pretty horrific reviews on the net so going for the London Vision Clinic on Harley street. Slightly pricier but fuck it, if something were to go wrong with the surgery I'd never forgive myself for being a cheap skate!

In which case, you may be interested to know that I met with Rob Yong & Simon Plumper yesterday, & subject to a few minor details which we should sort today, it is hoped that the High Roller will have a £150,000 Guarantee. It may, however, permit a single re-entry.

I look forward to seeing you at UKPC week in February. We think we have 150 players in the Lobby already, which, with a month still to go, is pretty good I would suggest. 

Ah excellent. Count me in then.

Decided to go to Deauville for EPT next week, will be playing the main and some sides. Should be a nice break from the online grind although I must admit not the biggest fan of France.

When I read your opening post I had to check twice that I hadn't written it myself.  Had a very similar past few years playing similar games and similar stakes. 
I definitely found last year tougher than previous ones, the standard in general IMO seems to have improved somewhat. 
I also really struggle to get through books! (been stuck on Shantaram for about a year now)

What are your views on game theory optimal play?  I've never really studied it much but all the players I respect the most (Haxton/Kanu/Sauce) seem to be big advocates of it.
I'm currently remodeling some of my game to be more in line with this fundamental theory.  In my view a lot more players at medium/higher stakes are implementing this strategy and leaks are becoming more difficult to find.

Finally claiming you're a veteran at 25 depresses me somewhat!

25 is pretty old by today's standards!

Personally, an understanding of GTO is quite crucial. Implementing the actually strategy yourself is very difficult however, so I tend to focus on playing exploitatively myself. Try searching some threads on 2+2 and railing some of the big guns, to work out what they are doing (and why obv).

Perhaps we've played? More than likely to have done.

First hand history of this thread!

BB: $818.50 (81.9 bb)
Hero (SB): $2,097 (209.7 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 6d 7h
Hero raises to $1,228, BB calls $808.50 and is all-in

Flop: ($1,637) Qc 4d 7d (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Turn: ($1,637) Js (2 players, 1 is all-in)
River: ($1,637) Jc (2 players, 1 is all-in)

Results: $1,637 pot ($1 rake)
Final Board: Qc 4d 7d Js Jc
BB showed 8h Kh and lost (-$818.50 net)
Hero showed 6d 7h and won $1,636 ($817.50 net)

#runninggoodwithmisclicks

what were you trying to raise to!?

Just a min raise. Had action on other sites and somehow managed to jam. I hardly ever misclick, so was nice to be rewarded  ;D

Do you mainly play plo SuuPRlim? Will try and post some PLO hands to keep you entertained if so! PLO game has improved a lot in the last few months but still my weaker game.

Lil Dave is one of the best PLO players in the country . He actually smashed the Ipoker network . By the way what's your name ? May be we know each other . :-)

Really enjoying this thread. Will definitely keep up with it

Oh ok didn't realise SuuPRlim was lil Dave. Have read your blog a couple of times and enjoyed it actually!

Actually just been catching up on some Run it Once videos. Galfond's latest HU Zoom video at NL1k is some of the worst content I've seen him put out which is a real shame. Don't get me wrong, I have a huge amount of respect for Phil and what he's done in the game but his thought processes in HUNL were extremely low level and dated. I guess it's hard for to find people willing to share HU strategy nowadays (I for one would'nt make videos for a site currently)

Ty for the comments so far

yeah i said elsewhere that galfonds nl game seems really weak atm, sauce hu video vs syous is really good though.

Agreed the Sauce vids are excellent.

With Galfond, just goes to show how quickly someone can demise at a game when it is not their focus. His plo vids are much better imo.

I think Run it Once vids overall are of a pretty poor standard... Far too much online mtt stuff which doesn't really appeal to me, but maybe i'm biased

The no limit stuff from Brian rast is really not great either IMO.

This is fast becoming one of the best Diaries on here, & I hope it continues.

I'm a little tickled at the use of the word "veteran" for a 25 year old, though.....you would not know me, but I'm a touch older than that. Think I've been playing since you were 10!

Playing pretty much every day for 5 years straight makes you feel old. I'd never played a hand of poker until I was about 18.

I consider players that have been around heads up games as long as me veterans... hardly any of the same guys are playing now compared to when I started. People just seem to fizz out in poker after a couple of good years.

That's actually kind of why I started this thread, to keep motivated and continue to work hard in what is now a very tough environment to make money.

Yes, fair comment. People arrive on the poker scene & then depart pretty soon in most cases, & not so many survive 5 years.

I saw something on Sharkscope the other day which suggested that 22% of Online Players are profitable.  (I assume this excludes cash players). I was quite surprised by that stat, & I'm not even sure I buy it - I assumed the % would be less than that.

Curiously, nearly 100% of Poker Forum users are profitable.

theres a difference between being a winner and being a winner though. i wonder what % of that 22% are actually variance free winners.

I've been playing quite alot (for me) of low stakes HU recently, and can definitely understand why you feel like a veteran. I find it really thought intensive compared to MTTs, but I guess thats because I haven't played that much.

It is so much more enjoyable though. The feeling when you're sitting a guy HU and you know he can do nothing but get lucky to win is like no other in Poker lol. Also enjoy it the other way round tbh, because I feel like I have to up my game alot to compete.

Very true. A lot of people are delusional when it comes to poker results. A big winner in say 2008 and 2009 playing now and losing all their winnings + more = a losing player!

Also, anyone can win in a small sample.

It sounds like you are questioning my legitimacy in this post :D Can assure you I am a winning player!

Yeah but seriously 22% seems very high

22% online players are winner ? Where the looser come from ? I defo not a winning player . Hopefully my mates are . It thought to win online . The swings are massively huge .

They do say HUNL is the purest form of poker  8)

Absolutely not!

I just thought that % sounded wrong, & you seem the sort of chap that we can debate that sort of stuff with, without resorting to the extremes of hype we see so much on poker Forums. (crushed, smashed, hero, legend, da de da).

There aren't any variance free winners. 

Think the stat is obviously wrong.  I must have started nearly 20 accounts over the years.  If you looked at those 20 and saw 17 winners, it wouldn't show 85% of players are winners.  This must follow through and winners are likely to have had more accounts than losers.

I guess I count as a veteran by most people's terms and fave spent most if that time wondering if I am still a winner in the games I play.  It must be close to impossible for most winners in MTTs to ever be sure.  I am sure it is clearer in head up games and cash, but even then you are going to get a lot of marginally profitable cash players. 

I would surmise that the stat (22%) is accurate, but misleading. Stats can be extremely misleading, as you well know. :)

22% stats is a lot ! I really thinks is too much . But how did they loose ?

Yes it's me! the master of worthless/pointless babble :)

Yeh I play PLO only, I haven't played online NL in an age, I used to play a lot live NL and I think really deep NL is still my fave type of poker, however I'm a lot weaker than i used to be so it's pretty dangerous :D *shrugs-shoulders...IT.WAS.SUITED. :S :O 

Have we never met BTW? This is my skype name (Suuprlim) if you ever wanna talk geeky poker strat :)

Yeh post PLO hands! In fact post more hands!! :D I like the brutal hands the best lol

I want Sauce to do a PLO video so so so badly.

my very very very very, i must stress very uneducated opinion on plo is that everybody is terrible, bluffcatch way too wide, even consider bluff catching way too wide, 3bet way too wide pre flop, call 4bets way too wide pre flop and generally gii way too wide.

wish i knew the game better and could say the above was true and would just short stack plo and try to print.

dat variance though.

Everybody?

That's a somewhat sweeping statement, Patrick!

I'd disagree. If you play zoom plo now it's a joke how tight the regs play (and there's a lot of regs grinding for vpps).

The fish are too loose etc yeah but you get that in NL too ofc

(http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Shaq.gif.pagespeed.ce.Xc-mFHmw9b.gif)

No don't think we've met. I don't play loads live and don't really interact much when I do - but this needs to change!

I'm kinda trying to keep my skype poker free for now but I might add you somewhere down the line, if you don't mind :)

Geeky poker strat is cool with me!

BOOM!

My questions is , why are you trying to be anon here ? You don't want readers to know your name, you don't want readers  to know your username online , you don't want to add readers in Skype. Some readers just wanted to sweat and watch you play . I am not  trying to be funny here , but why post for questions and answers BUT readers don't know who the health you are ? #MRANON.. Very annoying you know

Sorry, but if you don't like it don't bother following this thread.

To give away this kind of information and links to my IRL name and online screen names would probably hurt my bottom line. I've learnt a lot from reading others threads so I'm much more careful about what I do and what I say on public forums.

Edit: I'm probably not going to stay anonymous forever, but I will never share screen names and let people sweat me. Hope you understand why.

No reason whatsoever why you would let people sweat you or anything like that because you have a diary.

I always find it kinda strange when people won't say who they are, fair enough screennames but still kinda meh, but like you say, don't read if you don't like it.

GLGL with the grind.

GOOD LUCK TO YOUR STRANGE DIARY #MRANON

Well, you're not completely wrong, except in everybody, you have been watching HS games, and the thing about HS games online these days (25/50+) is that a lot of the regulars who play these games are quite a bit weaker than players who play a bit lower - I've played 2/4 and 25/50 on ipoker this week and honestly the 2/4 games are so much tougher. I know this sounds pretty counter-intuitive but its actually pretty logical;

the mid-stakes games are tough, and hard to escape out of, you need good BRM and to never tilt, it's pretty hard to move from 2/4 - 10/20 without running really good, so lots of very very very good players get kinda stuck in those levels, due to a bit of poor variance at highest stakes they play (which will often be lower samples) also, some people aren't quite cut out for high high stakes gambling and are happier to stay lower. On the contrast to this there are a lot of guys playing reg in high stakes that built their bankrolls in times when the games below were a lot easier and now they have the bankroll to comfortably play 25/50, 50/100 - because i) those games only often run with a "weaker" player in them, and ii) because they don't need to drop back into 3/6 and 5/10 you will find that these guys are below "the curve" as it were in terms with online poker.

Obviously then above that you have THE very best players, your Sauce's, Kanu's, Galfonds etc who are playing the highest limits against the best players because they are the best players.

So yes, rail a 50/100 PLO game on stars and you will see a fair bit of play that is decently below the standard of good 3/6 - 10/20 regs, but these players are defo still profitable and i'd imagine most are making a significantly higher hourly than guys in the pools below them.

Would be interesting to hear Big Roger's views on the difference in level between the stakes, given you've played a pretty wide variety of stakes.

When you say people bluffcatch way too wide, I agree 100%, everyone calls rivers way to wide, even really good players, I don't think in general people 3bet pre-flop to wide though, obv some people do and we can print these guys, but there will be so many hands that are 3bet and taken down on late streets that are really good 3bets, and occasionally you 3bet a kinda that way at the bottom of the range you'd wanna 3bet, and you run into the top hands of the person you're 3betting and you look a little silly but remember in PLO it's pretty tilt getting 3bet.

People DEFO DEFO DEFO call 4bets too wide, huge leak everyone has - spesh at high stakes, but that's a sort of semi-adjustment to the fact people lose there brains at HS, they really do.  Also, calling 4bets is ridiculously good fun, which is prolly the main reason. I had a hand today for e.g 60bb deep @2550 I open UTG, btn calls, BB squeezes I pot 4bet he calls AK74ds ... Can't imagine that is a very good play. I don't have to have AA here, but if I dont then I have AKK, KK[sick card-sick card]ds or AKQ*ds so mmmm not so sure about that, that was fairly big winner in those games too.

I actually think people in general prolly GII too tight...

I don't play online, rarely get heads up, but enjoy the diary a lot.

I know who you are, but don't know you, if that makes sense. Feel free to remain anon for as long as you want.

Good luck with it all.

That ak47 hands is exactly what I meant yeh.

My theory, again could be very wrong. Is that these guys are similar to Mtt players who can't handle the variance themselves so are all stakes and just pushing ridiculously thin edges.

You're right I don't watch any 2/4-360/6 games but regularly rail 10/20 and there was supposedly the best reg and we were watching him 3bet round 50% vs a guy who folded to few 3bets and then they'd both flop a pair and gii.

Also saw a pretty interesting hh today.

Utg opens 5 handed and theoj calls bb.

Flop k92r

Check/raise/click/click gii

Kk9x vs 99xx

Ofc probably a little cold but we tried to brake the hand down a little bit and the guys I was with who play PLO were saying that utg could be clicking it back bluffing here but I literally haven't seen a PLO player check raise/fold

Some people may know that I've been playing a bunch of 5 card recently and I've really been trying to get deep into it. HUDs aren't available and people are playing really really,poorly.

Right now if you took a Mtt reg and put him in no limit he'd probably struggle to beat 50nl but I feel like a good no limit player can go to 3/6 5 card and probably beat the game after very few hands of experience. It just feels Ike everybody wants to punt so so much.

It will be really interesting to see how PLO evolves in 3 yers. At this relative stage of no limit holdem online people were 3.5xn the button as standard and they were considered "unbeatable" games and the regs were supposedly the best there will ever be etc etc krantz was playing 40knl and folding t9o heads up to a min raise...

Interesting...

I can't comment too much on 6 max or PLO, I really haven't played much at all. In NL it's becoming increasingly hard to move up and progress through the midstakes games just because the overall standard is much higher. I very much doubt we'll ever see someone like Jungleman go from NL200-5k in a few months.

There are a lot of solid regulars at 3/6-10/20 just avoiding the variance of the higher games. If you can win say $25k a month grinding those games without hefty swings, why even bother with higher? I wouldn't say those guys are anywhere near the standard as say the 5k regs on 6max at stars (forhayley et al) though. Depending on the network, you can get very soft line ups in the biggest of games... but i'd still say that the higher games on average have a higher level of play. It's just one whale/recreational player runs the action on that table so regs often adjust and play a different strategy from their norm in order to win the fish money.

In terms of HUNL (my speciality!) I wouldn't say there are any massive jumps in skill level until you get to 25/50. 25/50 is the absolute wall in terms of HUNL and if you're beating that particular limit on stars vs regs you are basically top 20 in world. Just look at the guys playing that stake currently and it doesn't lie.. WCG, Ike, Kanu, kaby, I mean how does anyone go from 5/10 to beating those guys? It's a very tough environment. That combined with a lot of networks removing high stakes tables (ipoker, party etc) just makes moving up very difficult.

Agree on the calling of 4bets too wide in PLO - however, it's just so hard not to peel :D

The 99 vs KK on K92r just seems bad to me if at 100bbs?

edit, will wirte longer post later.

The other point aswel is that in order to get into that bracket of "the best" you have to get to 2k, 5k games where THE very best players play and play vs those guys... When 63/6 - 10/20 is so tough these days (comparable to 2 yrs ago) it's very difficult to justify taking like a 50/60k shot vs people who are better than you are now it's not as easy to move down and win it back.

What happens is you just shot take in rec games and whereas this is an absolutly fine thing to do it doesn't help your progression up the ladder (except winning money obv) that exactly where i am in my career I'm OI as far as being the best I just wanna make monies and enjoy myself :-)

If you ever sit in 6 max games around 10/20 level then almost certainly yes.  I play a lot of heads up but not really on heads up tables (unless im punting in a HU hyper!).

I'm also heading out to Deauville - whether you like France or not you should enjoy the games out there.

hands! graphs! brags! horrible beats!

Give the fans what they want!

In live mtts would you ever A) limp the button, B) Limp the small blind. I've started to do both a little bit in certain spots but its obviously impossible to work out at the table and only experiencing x situations.

With regards to the anon thing, I think its fine to post here as anon. Dan Carter posted acknowledging he knows the guy, so that makes it fine as we know he isn't fraudulent or w/e.

I had a weird spot to do with screen names and the like recently. In Edinburgh a mate shouted across from a table over asking me my stars name as he couldn't quite remember it. I shouted it over and the Czech guy next to me perked up. "Is that your screen name or a friends?" he said. I replied saying it was mine and he told me we'd played a lot. I asked him if he played hi/lo and he said no but we've played a bunch. I ask him his name and he just smirks and turned back to play. Felt pretty brutal!

I've been sitting in ~ 5/10 PLO8 games lately to see what I can get started. How long should I play for if a good regular sits? Say its someone who I've not quit before but I dont want to play them this high or w.e. What if he has previously sat me that night/week/month? Instaquit or play 5-10 hands? I got sat last night by someone I wouldn't really want to play and we played 30 mins or so and then he went for a break, but I didn't stay seated after that as I didn't really want to play him. (And the games run very infrequently anyway)

I kinda got a bit annoyed at this thread:  http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=63077.0 (http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=63077.0)

Why does it matter if I want to remain anonymous or not? It's not like you'll go 'AHHHH IT'S HIM' when I tell you anyway, I'm an unknown! Also, as a newcomer to a forum, I literally know who no one is anyway. It's not like everyone has their IRL name as their account name.

Anyway.. bad couple of days results wise, but generally really happy with how I've been playing. Might post some HHs later this week, nothing too exciting been happening.

Went to watch my beloved Everton away at West Brom tonight. We were really really poor, and Lukaku in particular looked like he couldn't be bothered. Hope it's not the sign of things to come...

(http://s10.postimg.org/inc5pfwth/IMG_2374.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/inc5pfwth/)

Interesting questions!

A) I haven't employed a limping strategy in any live MTTs I've played but it's certainly something I've thought about. I'm mainly worried about balancing it well vs stack sizes. Stuff like will my range be capped to the bottom 30% of hands when I limp the button vs 40+BB stacks in the blinds because I 'should' be raising the good hands. 

One very very good thing about limping is the price you get. Only risking 1bb to win 1.5bb + ANTES and IP for the rest of the hand. Plus if you feel very comfortable in your postflop game, you should have a decent edge vs most MTT players (who are generally stronger preflop) on turns and rivers.

B) Absolutely yes. This is much easier to balance too IMO. If you watch a lot of the HS cash games now a lot of guys are limping their entire range from SB. I guess it depends a lot on stack sizes and opponent in the BB... Are they going to defend extremely wide IP with just about any 2 if we open light? Are they folding too much if we raise? Are we superior postflop? Are they shallow enough that we can limp/jam our value hands etc.

With regards to the PLO8 reg..
1) You are not entitled to play anyone that you don't want to. When you're feeling good, fresh and your game is sharp - take on tougher players... You will learn a hell of a lot quicker than playing some random fish. You could also agree to play slightly lower if you feel more comfortable at a smaller stake.
2) Think about if you were in the position of that reg. He doesn't want to be Hit and ran, grimmed etc. So try and have some etiquette. If you are winning, I think giving 5-10 mins notice of leaving is pretty common and appreciated by the villain. If you're losing, leave when u want.

Obviously these are not set in stone, just try and have some common sense.

No sorry I don't. I did take a look to see if I could figure out who he was (to see if he'd beaten me of course :D) but with no luck.

When I played HU cash about 5 years ago I bum hunted because there were so many fish and most of the HU stt regs I played against were Danish/Swedish so I couldn't figure out who he was.

Don't you all think that him being Anon is way more fun anyway?

I'm enjoying this blog so f the haters. You come across well and spark some interesting debate.

GL in Deauville!!!!

Really enjoying your blog buddy.

Don't worry about what some one says on a forum.

Stay anonymous (or not), it really makes no difference either way.

Looking forward to more!

Would be fun if you won deauville next week and came back and said you busted, just to keep your anonymity. :)

how bad is btn'ing/griming etc as a majority HU NL player?

lol

Yeah it's incredibly frustrating. As KoTH has been implemented on some sites you get grimmed/buttoned a lot when you join tables to play/steal them. I probably played like 200 extra BBs or something last year because of it. Might not sound a lot, but still annoying.

I never ever grim myself intentionally, and if someone joins me I try to play 2 hands.

I will be doing my best to win :)

Here's a deal. If I make the final, I'll 'out' myself on here for the railbirds. Slightly wishful thinking but let's see!

Better yet, if you make the final, out yourself for the one hour or whatever it is where you can edit a post, then delete the post. Make it so your hard core fans know who you are, but the casuals have no clue.

Or do a sweepstake and PM 3 random people your name, but nobody else.

I for one think its cool you are being anonymous.

It seems like the right figure - over a period of, say, a month, 22% isn't going to be far off the % of players who have won money, but this will include people who played 4 hands and doubled up, played one MTT and cashed, along with the guy who played 50,000 hands and finished up $0.58, none of whom would necessarily be long-term winners.

Interesting idea. Lets hope we can put it into fruition!

TY for the nice comments

I prefer Vinnie's idea, and find it quite amusing that people are irritated by your wish to remain anonymous ;D

Good luck in Deauville!

All of this.

Tyty!

Really swingy day today. Ran about 8bi below EV but still managed to a small win.

Really happy with how I've been playing this year after a long break over Xmas. Having said that, one particular hand I played the other day is tilting me to fk. Basically FPS syndrome vs another good regular. Had set up the dynamic where I'd checked back some strong hands on the turn (to disguise my range and get called a little lighter, make myself harder to play etc.) But in reality, I think it's bad vs this opponent, he wasn't quite on the level I was thinking at and just absolutely snapped with one of the hands near the top of his range...


BB: $3,412.50 (341.3 bb)
Hero (SB): $1,000 (100 bb)

Preflop: Hero is SB with Ks 4d
Hero raises to $25, BB calls $15

Flop: ($50) 8s 6s Kc (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $40, BB calls $40

Turn: ($130) 3s (2 players)
BB checks, Hero checks

River: ($130) Qh (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets $100, BB raises to $370, Hero raises to $935 and is all-in, BB calls $565

Results: $2,000 pot ($1 rake)
Final Board: 8s 6s Kc 3s Qh
BB showed 4s 9s and won $1,999 ($999 net)
Hero mucked Ks 4d and lost (-$1,000 net)


Ugly :(

Fwiw I'm not into posting a load of brag hands, more stuff to learn from. That particular hand was bugging me, so felt good to get it off my chest.

The hand above is pretty horrible without a lot of history on villain, and I thought I'd established the check back turn strong dynamic with him enough that I can rep flushes.

Way too much FPS tho

I do the same thing, decent swings etc don't bother me but curtain hands just absolutely fume me. I got one from like 2 weeks ago that is still tilting me.

Hand Information
 No Limit Omaha, 10 BB (4 handed).
Hand History converter courtesy of pokerhandreplays.com

Table Information
Seat:  1 blackkbatman ($2109.36)
Seat:  3 omahaney ($1376) Dealer
Seat:  5 oscartramsen ($1550.58) Small Blind
Seat:  6 Hero ($1768.5) Big Blind
Dealt to Hero
(http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/KH.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/8D.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/6S.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/AH.png) 

Preflop  (Pot:15)
blackkbatman    RAISE    $35
omahaney    FOLD   
oscartramsen    CALL    $30
Hero    CALL    $25

Flop(Pot: $105)
(http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/QH.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/9H.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/JH.png) 

oscartramsen    CHECK   
Hero    CHECK   
blackkbatman    BET    $70
oscartramsen    FOLD   
Hero    RAISE    $220
blackkbatman    CALL    $150

Turn(Pot: $545)
(http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/QH.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/9H.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/JH.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/3C.png) 

Hero    BET    $375
blackkbatman    CALL    $375

River(Pot: $1295)
(http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/QH.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/9H.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/JH.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/3C.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/4D.png) 

Hero    ALL-IN   
blackkbatman    CALL    $1138.5
Showdown:
blackkbatman   SHOWS
(http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/8H.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/10H.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/10C.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/5C.png) 
Hero   MUCKS
(http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/KH.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/8D.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/6S.png) (http://www.pokerhandreplays.com/images/poker_image/AH.png) 
blackkbatman  wins the pot: $3572

Looks like a cooler - and it is cold, but vs this guy this hand is just so bad. And I hate this guy, he's awful nitty bumhunter lkjsdkljdkhdfkdfjhjhsakjh

I know the kinda guy.

Maybe you can take this line for value and the c/f river vs such a nit? He's probably not calling with worse, and probably isn't turning sets etc into a bluff without a blocker like Th. I'd need some kinda stats to try and work out if you can profitable jam or c/c this river, but vs nitty bumhunter c/f can't be bad.

Still cold tho, ul

8 pages in, and no one has asked the question we all want to know.


You like nandos? If so, what do you order?

Obv!

Hmm depends who I'm with but if heads up with a good mate we share a full chicken platter, sometimes get something on the side like a pitta too if really hungry.

Have got the whole chicken platter to myself a few times, but it's way too much food.

Also, I like it HOT  ;all-in;

:) I like you.

No sure about sharing food though, doesn't seem right.

You know extra hot is available too, right? ;)

We need to give you a name

Heads up Harry?

I'm happy with Big Rog :)

Today started off with leftover Indian takeaway for breakfast, and I'm now tucking into a bowl of porridge for dinner #pokerplayerproblems

Yesterday was quite tilting. Ran super hot at the start and then just fizzled out and got a bit screwed by coolers and variance...

(http://s28.postimg.org/h5znjs04p/Untitled.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/h5znjs04p/)

Still $1+ per hand isn't too bad! So not complaining

Love it! What order from the takeaway?

Lamb bhuna, saag aloo, special rice and a naan. Delightful!

I should have c/c the flop and then gone from there. River is closer to a c/f than a jam 100% agree. I was losing and kinda wanted to be allin I think, making mistakes in the big hands though, v bad :-(

Sigh day, you did we'll to quit when you did IMO I know those days so well and I. Always -10k by hand 2300 lol

Well done on your award tonight

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfLXq2mIIAASf5z.jpg)

It's not you is it???!!!

These three chances, although it's never Harry so two....

Doubt its heath

Sigh.

Was good to see that the earlier 'look at me' posts were deleted.

Merci Beaucoup!

Yeah it was me.

Will post some updates when I'm home

GG WP etc

You've been outed in probably the coolest way ever, well done sir.

Start a diary. Win world. It's blonde tradition

well done sir

I know a lot of people were itching to say "good luck" etc but couldn't on here.

so, well done now!

Really?

Might have to start one myself then!


Congrats on the award Rog :)

I started one and lost claypole's world :)

Congrats on the bink, roger. Almost predicted it lol.

starts diary, refuses to provide IRL name, says "well if i final table this EPT il tell you all," finals EPT, outs himself by saying "yeah it was me"

that is so fucking boss.

Thanks for the nice comments.

Don't know if anyone railed but lost KQ to KJ vs Harry with 5 left for my shot at the win. Personally I think myself or Harry deserved the win most, we actually played to win where I felt a couple of others just played too tight.

Really happy with how I played over the course of the tourney and have no regrets. Pretty gutted with 4th seeing as I don't play many of these things, I might never get such a good chance.

Was a fun trip.

Not sure I want to keep updating ITT after being revealed so early! Was much happier flying under the radar and doing my thing in the online world. Time will tell I guess!

Excellent result sir.  Keep writing!

How much did nistche have?

tbh mate i don't think that your IRL details being revealed is much of an issue here, keep your online names to yourself ofc.

however you said that the idea was to get "back on track" in 2014, and 200 grand (I assume) prolly gets you somewhere near back on the track lol

Post FTP s/n and go take on the big lads at 400 800 and we'll rail :P

Ha, you sold him short lildave, he was straight back on the grind.  #workethic

27-Jan-2014   France   € 800 + 100 No Limit Hold'em - Random Bounty
EPT Deauville, Deauville    1st    € 28,000    $ 38,291
26-Jan-2014   France   EPT  € 5,000 + 300 No Limit Hold'em - EPT Main Event
EPT Deauville, Deauville    4th    € 207,800    $ 284,17

Welcome to Blonde, we must have played a few games back in the day, but I didn't play heads up for long.

The tourney I won was actually during Day 1b.

Don't feel like getting back on the grind for a little while after such a long mtt and decent score.

I recognise your name from the old Betfair, probably played a bit together

congratulations on winning a side and finalling the main! what dreams are made of! legitimate sicko, very impressive.

Let's get this diary back on track after this minor speed bump  ;whistle;

So, Big Rog. It's Tuesday night. Your feeling peckish.

Mùjon, Happy Garden or KFC?

I have no idea what Mujon is?! Indian I guess - prob my favourite overall.

Rarely eat chinese because it's generally really poor quality, too much MSG and very slimey.

KFC I probably only have a couple of times a year too. But it is damn good.

Stayed with some family in London last night and ate some fantastic Thai food actually. Four of us had 3 courses with wine for £100, which was mind blowing to me! The actual place wasn't fancy but the quality of food was excellent.

Haven't had time or motivation to play poker since getting back to Deauville. Been catching up with a lot of friends and getting back to real life stuff.

Met my laser eye surgeon today, and have booked the surgery for next week. Hopefully all goes to plan.

Considering buying a new place, in either Oxford or London but you don't seem to get a lot of bang for your buck in those particular places. Any experience or tips for buying/renting? Where's good in London etc?

I really don't want to have to give up my car and easyish access back home to Oxfordshire would be ideal. So maybe North/West London. Anywhere central in Oxford.

lemme know about laser eye surgery, been in the tank for years on it.

Seems like a joyful thing to do but then i really don't want anyone putting a laser in my eye

Playing Sky this week mate?

In case he never sees this, the answer is yes, he qualified via Sky Poker.com a while back.

Who'd have thunk?

I had it done about 8 years ago and I'm really glad I did (I was -7 strength on my contact lenses). My mum had it done at same time as me and the way I figured was if middle-aged ladies are going to have it done then should be no problem for me. The one off-putting thing for me was the burning smell when the laser was being done but I soon got over that when the following day I could actually see the time on my alarm clock next to my bed without putting my specs on. I would also imagine the whole process has got better since then.

Just get it done imo.

wow some sick results right there in the EPT - wp sir

Was nice to meet tikay and Tight end yesterday!

Busted the Sky thingy after a couple of hours, in some pretty ridic beat but I'll spare u the details. After never being to DTD before I must say it was a nice place. Loads of car parking and easy to get to (despite the pretty bad traffic). The whole atmosphere in the room was very jovial and the standard of play was ridiculously poor - so I'll be back!

Not gonna play anything other than the main, online cash games are going really well lately (hence not too many thread updates). Not 100% sure how much I want to continue to post ITT now who I am, as some of the people I play against regularly do read this. I guess I'll just keep it strategy free for the time being.

Laser eye surgery was a massive success and I'd def recommend it. I can now see perfectly without glasses, which is an absolute pleasure. Best £5k I ever spent! I'd thoroughly recommend The London Vision clinic on Harley street and the surgeon there - Prof Dan Reinstein is one of the best in the business. The whole procedure is painless although your eyes are a little sore and dry afterwards, so lots of eye drops needed. As bulldozer said, u can actually smell your eyeball burning for a split second as they turn on the laser - quite disgusting!

Yeah keep blogging!

Was going to say hi yesterday but couldn't find you on break. Congrats in France and Glglgl for,rest of the year.

Thanks and congrats yourself.

Had a couple of weeks free and was starting to feel burnt out with the online grind so decided to take a last minute flight to Greece on Sunday evening to visit family. Weather is nice here, not too hot but very pleasant. Ridic cheap food and alcohol too. Four of us went out last night, had heaps of food, wine and beer for around €60.

Got a good internet connection here so won't be able to stay away from the online grind too long. Really enjoying HU PLO this year, NL games are still decent enough just finding the average 5/10 reg at PLO is pretty damn weak in comparison to NL. Def not going to be one of the guys that transitions completely, as HUNL is just too much fun. But I'll def continue to work on my PLO game (might just be a heater!)

If we ever both struggling for action il play some mid stakes HU PLO for an hour or so if you're happy to exchange opinions after the match?

Need to grow a pair on LES! Tikay pointed you out at DtD I meant to say hi but was in the middle of an insane live cash marathon and could barely keep my eyes open lol

I'd be up for that, but will have to be when I'm back home in a few weeks. I'm a fan of recording games and then doing audio afterwards, and do it with friends quite often to plug leaks etc.

How was the cash game? Judging by the average punter at DTD - very soft :)

Today in Greece...

(http://s8.postimg.org/8el2bewyp/IMG_2773.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/8el2bewyp/)

(http://s22.postimg.org/tzibo2crx/IMG_2771.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/tzibo2crx/)

enjoy your stay in motherland Greece. if u feel bit board their are reg games of plo in loutraki hotel and casino, the biggest in the country from 5-5 to 10-20 each day

cool, i'm rusty HU these days cos never get action so will be a level game :) suuprlim on skype

The game was fun, can't say any more ;)

I would love to play this, but unfortunately i'm in Kalamata - not too close to Loutraki.

Do they let anyone in the game? Just PLO or NL as well?

3-5 tables a day, so can't see a problem to get a seat!!! Worth the trouble

What's up Blonde!

Have been really busy over the last few months and neglected updating this thread, but it's the day before I fly to Vegas and thought I'd post a quick update of what's been happening.

Did some travelling and poker in Europe with a couple of buddies, went to Stockholm and played the Nordic masters which was really fun despite the small prizepools and what not. It was more just an excuse to meet up with Scandi buddies, drink and play some cash games. After Stockholm we drove over the border and stayed in Oslo for a couple of days and stayed at my mates girlfriends before flying to Vienna for the EPT. We had a stopover in Munich before flying on to Vienna which was delayed meaning we missed our flight and had to stay in some ridix bowl hotel on the 'foreskin' of Munich. As they didn't take any credit card details when we checked in we attempted to drink both mini bars dry in order to take maximum value/pain on the airline for messing us around.

Oslo - bloody expensive!
(http://s1.postimg.org/59dmkrt0b/IMG_2949.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/59dmkrt0b/)

We got to Vienna the next day and hopped straight in the Eureka 1k which got loads of runners, i eventually bust 45th or so for peanuts. The main was equally tilting as I got set over setted early on day 2 by Konstantin Puchkov with JJ vs KK on KJx x x . For anyone who hasn't been to Vienna, I'd highly recommend going. It has some great architecture and plenty to do and see. The venue for the EPT was the Hofburg palace which was spectacular and I'll def try and make it out there next year.

Getting some volume in the Eureka
(http://s27.postimg.org/gh0obnazz/IMG_2995.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/gh0obnazz/)

Vienna on the Segway tour
(http://s30.postimg.org/9cl0t3k6l/IMG_3043.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/9cl0t3k6l/)


Since getting back, I've been focused on grinding online which has been going really really well. Last year was a big disappointment, which has spurred me on a bit to work on my game and put the hours in. Playing professionally for so long, I'm often struggling for motivation but I truely love the game! Decided to play a little less PLO and work on NL game and have been mostly been battling 5-10 to 25/50 on all networks. Took some time away from the tables to work on GTO strategy and have been slowly implementing that into my HUNL game cos lets face it - the days of 'feel' poker in the online world are well and truly dead.

Outside of poker, i'm in the middle of buying my second house not far from where I live now. Really is a dream house and have to pinch myself to think it will be mine by the time I get back from Vegas on 14th July. Decided to put this house up for rent to earn some income on the side and start building my portfolio for when poker is officially dead! (FWIW I think online cash games will have deteriorated drastically by 2/3 years time judging by trends - iPoker/Ongame/Party all dropping 10/20+ stakes etc etc)

Pics of new house

(http://s27.postimg.org/ervpxy3qn/103123_UMA0034_IMG_00_0000_max_620x414.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/ervpxy3qn/)

(http://s7.postimg.org/9epnplbkn/livingroom.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/9epnplbkn/)

(http://s15.postimg.org/trp845amv/Kitchen.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/trp845amv/)


Off to Vegas tomorrow for 3 weeks with my buddies, renting an apartment 10 mins walk from the strip which should be ideal. Planning on playing 8 events, all NL and then some 5/10 and 10/25 cash games depending on line ups. I've never been one to play huge live cash games - it's normally a pain carrying heaps of money around and worrying and busting and going to the cage to get more money out on cards which charge ridic rates. I absolutely love Vegas and wouldn't miss the WSOP for the world! Walking through the RIO and passing the big name pros is such an awesome feeling for a huge poker fan like myself!

I'll try posting a few more updates ITT, but I started this thread as motivation to do better this year and including live i'm on track from my best year yet! (JINX)

Hopefully bump into some of you in vegas! Good luck at the tables!

Lovely house, boy done good.

Gl in Vegas.

Hey!

Good to see you back.

Best diary on here! More please:)

Sweet house and all the best for vegas, if you play your cards right over there maybe house no3 on it's way?:)

Good luck with the poker and have a great time.

beautiful kitchen, do u require personal chef/cleaner.......

Wow, house looks unreal.

iPoker dropping 10/20 and 25/50 is literally heartbreaking news, now pretty much 888 and stars are the only places to play high stakes nowadays :(

I do agree with you about the condition of online poker, I think it's more to do with your personal ability to commit the required level of focus and energy to the game as you get a bit older, 20-22yrs old and single you can give it your life, 30yrs old, with some real world commitments and a girlfriend/wife I think being realistic will be a struggle to maintain the dedication to poker that will be needed to beat poker as the games do continually improve, so thinking for a future away from online poker defo seems like a smart plan.

The one saving grace online poker had was that with mid-stakes becoming so much tougher the progression of talented mid-stakes players to high stakes will be stunted somewhat, so people with the ability to comfortably play 10/20 - 50/100 will hold a huge advantage...then all the sites start axing 2k+ tables and now we barely have that outside of pokerstars which isn't the place you wanna be heading if your looking for an easier time of it lol

shames, gl in Vegas.
*Lemme know if you ever wanna play some HU PLO as an educational exercise (we play 2 hrs smallish stakes and then chat after?) my HU game needs a fair bit of work...

Tyty for nice comments. Can't wait to get moved into the new pad.

Vegas has been absolutely brutal so far but enjoying our apartment and some time in the pool. Trying again with the 1k today, and still have a few more mtts before the main. Anyone got any recommendations for stuff to do for my bday? Thinking of going to see Mystere at treasure island and some fancy dinner afterwards.

Suuprlim will PM u details to set up a PLO match when I'm home 👌

Incred house, congrats on it.

If you're looking show/dinner. You could prob do worse than Le Reve @ Wynn, followed by dinner at one of the Wynncore restaurants.

Or head over to Cut @ Palazzo, which is prob my favourite steakhouse in Vegas.

All the best for the rest of your trip!