The Legend of MuchoGood

The Legend of MuchoGood

And here it begins. A somewhat cold, somewhat sunny day in New England. I'm sitting here alone in my apartment finally starting this thread.
Its been something I've thought about for quite some time, and if you check my post history, I've already done one. That was 2017 and I was at the
start of an amazing journey but not for poker. I might get into that a bit but you'll hear about alot of what I learned there as its going to support my play.

So what exactly is going on today? Who am I? What can you expect from this thread?

I am in my early 40s and have been playing poker since my late 20s. Friends in Brooklyn (where I lived for ten years) started having weekly SNGs,
which quickly turned into all night cash games. I also found Full Tilt through my roommates laptop and would play when I visited home a little.
I loved it, was a little hooked but never allowed it to take over my life and played only a little. That all started to change at some point, and I fell in love
with the culture. I was playing in the now weekly cash game all night and often taking the bus of Friday's to Atlanctic city. 2008 happens,
i lose my job and move home to Massachusetts.

Poker did not stop, in fact, I ramped things up. I was dead set on playing all day, every day online. Pokerstars, Tilt, UB were all my stomping grounds
and I was a winner at the low stakes MTTs. It felt so good. It was then I realized why poker and I had a love affair. I could always count on poker. I was
late 20s, struggling with my past, my future, the expectations of the world but **** THAT, all that matter was my little MTTs, my few poker friends, and the dream.
Yes this has it downsides but many years later poker has been that same thing for me and in many ways has given me little blueprints and moments of
inspiration and confidence that has helped me elsewhere in life.

So fast forward to post black Friday. I was a winner at the MTTs but never hit a big score or was able to play bigger stakes. New England always has had a solid poker scene
so I jumped in. Now at this point I started working. I kept up with MTTs for a while post black Friday having good success playing part time. I played local charity cash games, tournaments, trips to foxwoods. I knew I was leaving a job (youth mental health worker) and did well playing exclusively for around five months waiting on the next gig. I was so excited when I was about to start my next gig that I busted my bankroll although entirely in one night at Harrah's Atlanctic City one fateful Saturday night. Who needed it anymore? I still remember driving out of the parking lot with the South Jersey sun beating down on me listening to "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley. Oh well, punters gotta punt.

So I took to work and it was pretty well paying (Union gig). I probably played little bits here and there but probably didn't play for the first year or so. Anyone whose done a construction gig
know you have slow periods and I found poker again. I started grinding the Rockingham Park cash games one winter and did really well. I ran good, games were GREAT, and I really took to studying. I once again found myself with a nice sized bankroll. Work started when the new year got going and I ended up stopping poker. Work grind was hard living in some ways and the older
I was getting I realized I wasn't happy and needed to really be myself and follow my dreams. I didn't know exactly what that meant though. I knew I needed to be happy and I wasn't.
That was around the time I made the original thread. I was hitting a bottom and needed change.

I started to dig, started to seek. Again laid off and thinking I was going to give poker another run. I knew I loved poker, knew I succeeded at it. I started to meditate and let me tell you
in a few weeks my world changed. Looking back my story was probably not the most common but it happens. I unearthed alot in those long early sessions, where I really had no idea what I was doing. I realized I needed major change and that change had to come from within. I was also very hurt both emotionally and spiritually and needed time to heal. The next few years were amazing.
I woke up at 3:30am drove Uber for a few hours and then lounged in the sun doing yoga, meditation, reading. I was a strange dude, made some strange relationships. Found love, lost love etc etc.
I trained over those years to becoming a yoga teacher and taught for over a year. Two silent meditation trips etc etc.

So where does poker come back in? I was always playing here and there. Hitting New Hampshire rooms a bit and then Encore Boston Harbor opened up. As a Massachusetts player this was a dream come true.
No more driving to Foxwoods or New Hampshire, I had poker literally ten minutes away. Pre pandemic, I did okay, the games were good but I wasn't too focused on learning. I was content beating 1/3 but not being one of the better players. At this time I was working my just now quit bar gig, teaching some yoga, living with my ex and playing just here and there. I basically stopped for almost seven months leading up to the pandemic. I had broken up with my ex, and found my current apartment. This was a rough patch and once the pandemic hit everything got disrupted. I stopped teacing yoga as I had no interest in the virtual world and started up playing again regularly as our restaurant was closed for months.

So again, poker started playing a central role in my life. I was dealing with a tremendous amount of change both internally and externally and the game was an anchor. As the world
began to open up, I started playing live more and knew I needed to make another run. I started studying more, and was back in a healthier poker routine. At the end of 2021 I took a very modest
$3000 and started playing the 1/2 games in New Hampshire and Foxwoods. Encore was still closed at the time. I was working just around 30 hours a week in the bar as well. The grind begins. I'm having fun with it. I remember feeling nervous in big pots, not knowing exaclty how to approach certain spots even though I know I've been here before. I grinding away and Encore opens with a nice 1/3 game $500 buyin. I take to it and over the course of 2022 I ended up a pretty big winner for the game. I was a little on again off again with some life stuff but I was around 20 hours weekly when I was actively playing. Between poker and work my life bankroll was very solid. I've been studying and understand concepts years ago I couldn't fully grasp.

Outside of poker, I'm so much more content and knowledge with who I am, how I need to operate in the world. I'm coming at this with honest intentions, not for fame or money, not chasing demons or trying to hide myself (which I was always doing in the past) but I'm here to be more of myself and allow poker to blossom as an extension. I've just quit my restaurant bar/job so now have seven days a week to make myself a better player and person.

So what does that look like exactly? What games am I going to be playing? Whats my actual goal?

Poker Bankroll : 10K

I don't mind having to reload this a bit if need be, but as of writing this is what i have 100% set aside for poker. I will be playing mostly live cash games, with online as well.
The 1/3 buyin is $100-$500 and I'm very comfortable playing these stakes. I consider myself one of the betters players in the pool and rarely feel outmatched. I'm also going to start playing
the 2/5 as well. The buyin is $300-$1000. I'm not a proven winner here and know I'm not one of the better players in the pool. That said I don't think I'm a spot either. I'm confident this level
is beatable with the right focus and bankroll. I'm considering buying in for $500-$600 as the year progresses with the long term goal of buying in regularly for the max. I'm playing mostly at
the Encore Boston Harbor (home of the $11 rake). I also am booking rooms to Foxwoods to offset this rake and Twin River in Rhode Island is reopening. Online I'll be putting $500
on at least one site and playing some .25/.50 cash games. I also will be playing small MTTs to start on Sunday's. Most likely Global and maybe Ignition as well.

I realize this isn't fool proof. I'm prepared to reach back into my life roll if need be albeit for poker itself or to keep funding the full time poker lifestyle. Life wise, things are actually decent
so I can take a little more risk. I'm content where I am at and can be flexible with my living situation if need be. I also will be keeping my foot in the working world helping a friend whose starting
a food truck. I should have some fun and get a few bucks for some expenses here and there. It also would be beyond easy to find a bar gig and go back to part time work/part time poker which treated me very well in 2022.

I hope HOW I live really sets me up here too. I got a few simple goals each day. Movement, Meditation, Play/Study. Movement will consist of hikes, basketball, burpees, yoga, gym, and walks around the neighborhood. Meditation for me is right now 23 minutes seated daily (i'm working up to 33 but I've been on and off these past few months), and the play I described above and I'll also be studying a ton. I have a subscription at a training website and will consider a coach if funds should allow. I should be doing some element of all three daily and I'm confident success will follow.

I'd love to move around and travel a bit also if it can allow. I've already booked somewhat of a dream poker vacation. Six nights in Vegas to start July right in time for the Main event. I can't wait
to see where i'll be come July so I hope to build enough to take some type of shot. At the least I'll be playing the Mini Main Event for 1K. Its going to be a tough few months and not easy. I'm already feeling the heat and the need to stay strong. I'm writing this on Tuesday morning. I've been on a nice little downswing in February. In fact, its bigger than anything I experienced in 2022. 2.7K down. Not the worst considering I'm actually not even down too much equity wise but you know how that works. I'm looking forward to what this year has to offer and hope to update this weekly along the way. I'll end with a hand.

Hand History

2/5 Encore (Effective stacks $620)

UTG (solid) opens UTG $20
UTG1 (solid) calls $20
UTG2 (Hero) calls $20 10d10h.
LJ (Aggro) 3bets to $80. Young kid had been very aggressive in his first two orbits and felt his direct energy sitting down. Can't say much about his skill, but he's going to play pots and fire it seems. This is his third 3bet.
SB (Decent but calls ton pre) calls
BB (Fish) calls
UTG1, UTG2 fold action on me.

So this is an interesting spot for me. This isn't my regular game so regardless of theory I don't have many reps. The other stakes are all 1K+ effective and my reads are pretty spot on. The pot
is big already with $300 in and I have $600 behind. I close the action with $600 behind. Whats the move?