A journey - much delayed ($8 to $8888 or quitting poker)

Booked a small win.

So... I am trying to not adjust / over adjust to opponent's stats.
Felt kind of bored playing my own strategy.
Proceed to fire up 18 tables @100bb deep.
25NL x9 | 10NL x9
The funny thing is that the swing was NOT wild at all.
Peaked at +$50, Floor at -$40 ... that's a really tiny swing.

I would like to review some crazy hands, but at 18 tables, I had no time to take notes as they happened.
Will check stats later to see if the wins were actually just taking money from 10NL and donating to 25NL.

Mid session update. Forcing myself to take breaks when playing.
Skipped posting a few mini sessions.
Been playing mostly 18 tables.
Somehow amidst the chaos of the endless actions, I am more under control.
And somehow the swings have been SMALLER?!?!

Current session was smooth sailing +$100 over 2 hours then lady luck took her share

• J9s < AJ [KQT] bvb
  
• Q9s < AQ [KJT] bvb
  
• AK < 87s [A77] 3BP: effect of 500bb deep, didnt P4B AK =___= paid for my mistake
  
• JJ < T2s [J32] SBP: BB donk100 w pair+FD, T OverBET JAM and got there
  

within a few minutes I gave back half the profit =T but as I was closing the tables preparing for break

• 87s > AK [A77] trippy ... near identical as previous hand except I had 87s ... vs same OP, got my money back and then some
  

Gave back a small amount, but the session was very interesting.

Was playing well and running below average.
hovering around even
THOUGHT to self ... hmm I am playing well, things will turn around
30 minutes later +150 ^_^ (great runs of cards, +EV runouts)

So how did I end up in the red?

• AA < KK < 99 [332] 4BP: maniac 99 spiked =______= BOOM back to even just like that 1400bb pot =_____=
  
• QQ = KK (phew)
  
• AA < 32s [AK7] 3BP: (maniac sitting with 1500bb+ cold call from BB) ... he donk100, CBJAM and I can't find the fold. Sometimes you just run like dirty against the maniacs
  
• Still happy with how I played overall.
  

Played poorly.
Tried to squeeze in an hour of play and kids weren't cooperating.
Should've stuck to my schedule.
Better to not play than to dust off $120 for no reason.

98s < KK [K7655] flopped OESD+FD, xR, T CB, RJAM into FH
T9s < KK [T922] villain flatted KK and T 2BJAM and I couldn't find the F
KK < AQs could've saved the session to break even, but instead it doubled the loss.

Started of +50 to +30 range for first hour.
Then stayed event for another hour.
Last hour, I just played poorly and also ran terribly.
So that's -300 over the last 2 sessions?
=___= that's12 buy ins !

One of those sessions where you wonder if villains can see your cards and future runouts:

• AA > TT
  
• AK > QQ
  
• AJ < KT [QJ22Q] SRPSRP: villain was passive until a massive 2BJAM OTF, we pick it off
  
  • TT > AA [T92] Villain limp backRaise and called 45% of his stack to P4B =____=
    [LIST]
    
  • this was pretty much the end of the good news
    
  
  
• AA < Q5s [Q85]Villain limp backRaise and called 45% of his stack to P4B =____=
  
• AK < K5s [A552K]SRP, couldn't find the F BN after with that river
  
• A5s < AJ [T52J] 3BP, flopped pair+FD, I take line of xR, T overbetJ... villain call F xR and bing the T and held on
  
• QQ < J9s [KQ48T] SRP, i flatted from the SB and goes donk50, overbetT, overbeT JAM R
  
  • this hand brought me form even to negative and I probably should've stopped playing
    
  
  
  
• QQ < KK [8742] SRP, villain slowed played KK and got me w Turn 2B JAM. I call off because of dynamic double FD board
  
• AA < T8 [863] SRP, triple straddled. Maniac donk JAM 4xpot OTF and we call off only to see trip 8s by the turn =____= [COLOR]
  
• QQ < A2s [Q435] 3BP, I CB small, T xJAM
  

March results, terrible in game, but BR keeps growing with bonuses.

Haven't had a chance to get back to the felts this month due to IRL stuff.

Starting April late, but at least starting well.
Booked a decent victory +$100
Very smooth session, positive right from the start.
Did drop from +180 to +40 with big cooler, but recovered a bit at the end.

• K7s > AA [K76] SRP: I xR from the BB, villain piled it in
  
• AA > QQ
  
• AK < AK quartered
  
• AQ < AK [A7223] 3BP: Villain 3B from BB, xFlop, xTurn?? I bet small, river pot to own myself =___=
  
  • Probably should've sized down riverbet to target PPs, weaker A
    
  
  
• AJ > JJ [AT769] 3BP: Villain 3Bsq BN, xFlop, call my T Bet50, 2BJAM v my small riverBet?
  
  • I didnt think 88 would call T
    
  • we at 25NL is good enough to JAM sets / 2 pairs for value here
    
  
  
• K4s > AQs [632][4][4] SRP bb def v utg: I xR Flop combo draw, CBT50, CBR20 and villain JAM =)
  
  • Have too many other missed draws to fold here
    
  • villain would've piled it in on the flop w set
    
  • dies tiny number of 64s, 43s A5s... doubtful though
    
  
  
• TT < JTs [87669] 4BP: villain xR vs my CB, turn barrel, river JAM ... sick run out =( ... 700bb pot =(
  
  • obviously I didnt have JTs in villain's 4B def range
    
  • even if I know his exact range, I think AA - KK can still play this way ... =T
    
  
  
• KK > 98s [AK245] SRP : villain xR Turn TINY to rep the flush, river overbet 125... villain's sizing was off and we pick it off
  
  
• KQs > xx [74498]3BP: Call CB33, 2BT, JAM R vs villain w Riv F stats of 81%
  
• TT < KJs [J4367]3BP: Villain goes for 3 street of value and I dont fold =(
  
• 87s < 66[T66A5]3BP: CB25, oh great T lets pot it, JAM R =____= oops
  

started GG Care Flip Out with 98bb and the second highest had 8 ... manage to not win any hand and get zero =T

Mid session break.
Started off poorly and was -100 within 45 mins.
Slowly battled my way back. Peaked at +50 and ended at +15 after 2 hours.

• Most of the losses was to the same guy. Maniac with 88 vpip stole my lunch money.
  
• AK < K4 [K8433]
  
• AA < QJs [Qxx]
  
• AK < 22 [AA52] villain xR my CB, bing T and double up
  
• 87s < J7 [J778] villain went from 50bb to 500bb within 10 minutes =(
  ... same villain promptly 4BJAM 65s vs AJs [J42]fd ...lose 300bb to someone else and leave table =(

• KK > 55 [K8578] 600bb pot got half my losses back
  
• AA < ?? [9625]3BP, 2 callers: CB25 - SB DONK POT - VILLAIN2 JAM - I fold SB FOLD =____=
  
• KQs < J5 [87675]3BP villain bn 3B?: I xR Flop, barrel Turn and gave up on river =T
  
• AJs > A8s [A43KJ]SRP: villain CB50, xC vs my bet50, I overbet200 river and got a call ... put me on missed FD?
  
• KQ > KJ [55587]3BP: somehow I will a medium pot when villain called river75 with worse =D
  
• 63s < AA [863T8] SRP: I donk50, CB100 ... went for it on R with overbet125 and got snapped ...
  NOT SURE ... but I think 8 is the only card I bluff like that on R and would do the same with my straight / houses

Didn't update after last session's second half.
Battle mostly to break even. Ended up with tiny +$20.

Today's session #1 (2 hours) was smooth sailing from the start. New closing peak.
JTs > ??, ?? [8747]3BP, 3 way, I doubled flatted BN: I have all the sets two pairs+ - xR flop, CBT - River JAM and got it through - off to great start!
AA > KK
AK < J3s [KJ3]4BP, I flatted from bn, back 4B v BB ... =____=
JT > 99 [KQ94A]SRP: villain CB-Overbet-Overbet JAM into me =D
JJ > AA > QQ A maniac straddle to 32, we got there
KK > TT BB PF5BJ vs my BN Flat-Back raise 4B

New peak: $5190

will be losing my "35%" rakeback from N8 =*( Hope to get to good bonuses at GG in a couple of months.

Mid session update. +70over 1.5 hours
Mid / Small win, but very happy with my play.
Card distribution was probably below average.

Started off -$75 and card dead.

• AT < Q4s [AT3] Maniac 3BJAM flop and got there twice =____= ... how???
  
• KK < A4s Maniac call 200bb to my cold 4BJAM???
  
• ATs < A9s [874T]3BP: Villain, x, xR and call off vs my 3BJAM ... and he got there with 6 outs ... that kinda day eh???
  ... must fight the tilt ... =_____=
  ... stayed at around -75 for awhile, felt good that I was still playing a solid game
  
• AK > QQ we are on our way.
  
• KK > A7s [864] Villain P3B: CB100-call off v my 2BJAM (same maniac as previous)
  
• 55 > TT [985J] Villain P3B: CB100-CBJAM ... we get back our losses + interest from maniac
  
• 55 < ?? [A54] Villain P3B: CB33... T / R makes 4 Flush Board and Villain JAM =____=
  
• AA > 98 > JT [A98] We flat AA BN vs CO ... action flop... money goes in and we hold
  

Second half was smooth sailing and got up to +$100 quickly.
Smooth run was bound to end...

• 88 > ?? > ?? [AQJ49] 4BP: X Through on Flop, T Aggro guy lead on double FD board, R Front Door Flush got there and I went for it w 2BJAM vs Block Bet
  nothing else of note happened ... mostly standard stuff ... then ...
  
• was getting tired and starting to close up shop ... got dealt AA on two tables ... one got no customers... the other ....
  
• AA < KK for 800bb =____________________=
  
• happy to book a tiny win despite the huge cooler
  

Quick 45 min morning session. Break even.
Didn't feel sharp, call it early (need to keep up the self awareness).
Was up near $75 but lost back to back hands to fish near the end.

KQ > ?? [JT84T] 3BP: villain triple for small sizing??? we go for smallish river 2B to fold out AK AQ maybe 99?
55 < 77 [52298] SRP: Just a cooler, I went with CB, CB100, xJAM =____=
AA > 98 [976QQ] SRP: CB33-CB125-CB66... villain wakes up with 2BJAM??? We call and get the good news
T9s > 77 [8742Q] SRP: CB50-pick up BD FD on Double FD board T OVERBET125 - get there on the R - OVERBJAM ... cooler for us =) Villain prob should've shoved it OTT???
QQ < K5s [J745K]3BP: I went will CB25, CB100 JAM versus smaller stack =___= he got there
KK < A6 I P3Bsq, fish "wakes up" with back 4BJAM ... guy went from 100bb to 400+bb in 2 hands thanks to my charity =(

Asked N8 to have my Player Notes and Rakeback rank available on GG when I move to UK.

I was thinking they would just link the accounts / duplicate some settings since it's the same email address / identity.
They ended up transferring, so I guess I don't play the last few days before flying.

10k notes =T.

Not sure how I feel about my session.
Game was good for sure, tons of maniacal fish.
Definitely not optimal to play without my notes.
Cards just didn't fall my way, it happens.

• KK < 54o [K327] 3BP: villain has no F bn
  
• AA < 98o [AT7] 3BP: same villain very next hand - but AA wasnt me ... sometimes you can only chuckle at it
  
• AK < AQ
  
• QQ < ?? [AKK] 4BP: villain CBJAM
  
• AQ < ?? | ?? | ?? [AK9] 3BP: My CBet was greeted with C-2BJAM-3B overJAM =____=
  
• 44 = 33 [A43]
  
• KK < 77 | T9s [Q87] 3BP: At least got away on the turn to action from multiple players
  
• KQ < 32s [Q62K2]I P3B CO and villain calls from SB???... villain C CB? villain C T bet??? villain donk JAM R??? Losing to QQ+ I'd feel better =_____=
  

Just noticed I didnt win a single big pot / find a single successful good bluff (part of no Notes + bad play)
Also just noticed it is "only" -$100, I guess I did win my share of pots and luckily some pots villains weren't full 200bb stack.
Flopped nothing / second best all session long. Poker is hard =P.
It all evens out in the long run, but man it feels bad losing like that.

It was very bad idea to do a test run at GG last summer, deposited $200. Basically gave up all the first time deposit bonus. Basically gave back the profit from the test run =T.

Anyway, first run, notes are back.
Played TERRRIBLY, maybe still recovering from flight. -$150
N8: 5200
GG: 300

Let's just skip a day or two and recover =).
Also will probably need to deposit or move down to be sufficiently rolled.

Thought about skipping posting because of how terrible I played.
Something is just off, maybe the new schedule or just new environment.

Anyway, felt my game was not great last session so AT LEAST I am very self aware and moved down.
BUT ... played HORRIBLY (the card felt average, just me being terrible).
How bad... how about -11 buy ins in 2.5 hours???

I started 9 tables and moved whenever I lose a stack. I moved 7 times!!!
AND the 9 tables I had left ... none above starting stack... WTF happened?
My guess is that I just felt I could run over people because I moved down... and played a strategy that I am just not good at.

11 buy ins "only" 4.5 buy ins from normal stake, but geez it does not feel good. Maybe take the chance to do extra reading and reset.

Just enough to run 9 tables, no extra =(
Summer's winning got redistributed with my poor play.
N8: 5200
GG: 200

Staying at 10NL until I feel comfortable with my new routines.
Ran terribly and played subpar, but starting to feel better.

The invisible pressure of going broke is strange. My BR is around 5K but seeing the smaller number on GG makes me feel uneasy. Anyway, I could battle from $8 to 5K, I am sure I can battle from $200 to a reasonable BR.

Either that or I just deposit to make myself feel better =D.

WTF hands of the day: (I dont remember 10NL being THIS wild)
KK < 84 [444]: 4BP: ... did he know he was going to flop quads???
KQ < J5 [KQ5]: 3BP: ... villain went to town xR, cB, JAM riv... ???
AA = AT = A5s [KQ5]: Won side pot, broke even

Booked a tiny $40 win. A win is a win. Will work to slowly grind BR to comfortable level before moving back to normal stake. Not sure if this is the right way to do this, but I really despise depositing =D unless there's some sort of bonus and stupid me already wasted the $600 last summer when I deposited but didn't really play =___=.

Will not be posting again until I am back to $500+ on GG. GL ME =)

Took 10 days, but we got there.
BR at GG = 525 (50 in rakeback shortly)
Roughly +150 in game | +150 in bonuses

Lowlights:

• Got to $480+ twice before falling back to $400
  
• Got to $500 before losing 4 stacks waiting for the BB
  
  • Came back after a break, first hand KK < AA [834AK] =______=
    
  
  
• Lost 5 stack on 4BP TT < JJ [T77J]
  

Highlights:

• Consistently 2.5k+ hands daily
  
• At one point had 300+bb on 9 different tables (achievement unlocked?)
  
• AT > AK [T522A] +400bb 4BP, villain thought he got there when we took Flop / Turn cautiously.
  
• AK > AQ [JT427] +300bb 3BP, we call down vs xR, cb, cbJAM vs maniac
  
• AK > JJ [8725K] +400bb SRP, all draws bricked, we 2x overbet JAM river for value, villain put us on draw
  

Now I have to decide whether to move back to 25NL or just stay here and make consistent money but not grow as a player

Overall journey 5700 / 8888 (96 days remaining for ~$3200)

Quick midnight session. +75 over 2 hours.
Got better part of card distribution.

• 77 > AK [752AK] SRP, villain cb75, cb100, overbet JAM
  
• 87s > A3 [AT492] villain was overcalling cb50, cb75... I rivered flush and OB JAM and somehow he call??
  
• K9s > ?? [765A9] SRP: we go w xR, xC, open JAM and got it through
  
• AJ > AT... [66354] I delay cb, riv bet75 ... won with AJ high? lols
  

Morning session was break even. but GG paid me =)

Overall journey 6100/ 8888 (98 days remaining for ~$2800)

Squeezed in an hour before kids work up (kids sleeping) Break Even
An hour before heading out (kids studying) Break Even
An hour before making dinner (kids playing)
Last Hour was a struggle, card distribution was poor. A few well timed bluff kept us close to break even.

There were basically as little swing as you'll see over 9 tables x 3 hours.
For the first 2:55, peak +20, valley -10.
... play well ... wait for the cards to turn around ...

77 vs 55 vs JJ [754] in a 5 way 3BP ... I faced pot bet (55) - 2BJAM (JJ) ...
AA vs QQ vs KK action goes ... raise to 10 over limpers (QQ)... P3BJAM?? (KK) 100bb ... I call ... QQ reJAM another 100bb ...

SOMETIMES YOU JUST RUN SO GOOOOOD, LAST FEW DAYS' BEEN FIRE
... which is why I can't complain that I lost both of those hands -500bb ...
Stayed extra 15 minutes to recover a bit =T. -$30

Overall journey 6100/ 8888 (98 days remaining for ~$2800)

Early session #1 (1:40) : +$20
Cards were average, VPIP a tick percentage points lower than normal, but no huge coolers either way.
Running hot with the GGCare Flipout: +19 (5W for $400+ in last 6 days after going 0 for 7 prev week)

Only 6 tables this morning, kids were moving around and need helped from time to time. Took better notes of some hands:
QQ > AJ [J428] 3BP: villain cold call P3B from sb and donk33-cb50... we 2BJ and he calls it off on double FD board
AA > ??x4 We flat MP and by the time it came back around it was 100+bb pot, we JAM and take it down
T8s > ?? [K7685] SRP, villain cb100, cb100, cb100 on double FD board, front door completes on R (we missed). we go for it w 2BJAM
AK < A8 [Q842A] SRP, villain donk33, cb33, overbet and we pay him =T
AQ >T9 [QJ27Q] SRP, villain went for it after we check back the flop, bet80, overbet 150, we snap it off

Maybe just card distribution, or maybe fewer tables, found many more good bluffing spot. 5+ overbet Bluffs all got through.
We also made one super tight fold.
AQ [AK84A] flush completed on R. SRP: villain opens utg bet50 into 4 players, bet75 into 3 players, x overbet JAM vs my river bet40...

Overall journey 6100/ 8888 (96 days remaining for ~$2800)

Quick update, firing up tables before midnight.
4 orbits in, not a single hand won post flops.
already down 5 stacks
KK < AA cold 4BJ, straddle wakes up w AA
QQ < AA
AK < AJ same maniac straddle to 32 and yeah...
reset and see how things go, might be a short short session =___=

2 hours in and we finally recovered from the disastrous start. (felt like it was shorter)
Stayed between -50 to -30 for a long time, stopped losing but weren't making any headway. Felt like I was losing more than fair share of premium starting hands (or getting bluffed?)

Then a few hands came my way,
87s > ?? (maniac) [K527] P3Bsq on BN, maniac donk50 we float, 2BJ vs cb50
A8 > KQ [JT5Q9] (same table) SRP: 2B v his CB, CB125, CBJAM (nut Flush over second nuts, lucky me).
99 > ?? [AA37K] 3BP: xC, xC, open JAM
76s < AJ [J542A] SRP: we try to rep the flush and 2B river vs bet33,bet75,bet33 line.. he didnt believe me
TT > T9s [98727] SRP: we go with bet50-bet125-bet125... same villain as previous ... didnt believe me again

bad fold maybe??
KQ [KT62T] SRP 3 players, x, delay cb50, x - bn bet 75 on flush card river ... i fold and got shown 62, K4... prob call if I close the action (though I doubt CO would everhave any xR there)