1/3 Grinding and Bankroll

Always morally confused by this mentality. If the structure of the game states one can buy-in for 40bb then one can buy-in for 40bb. It's like being banned from a game for x-raising. Sometimes it's okay to disregard etiquette, especially when the etiquette in question is not necessarily good for the game (i.e. games shouldn't be "invite only" in the first place). And, yes, shortstackers get on my nerves sometimes, too.

You seem to be a pretty cool nice guy, so please take this advice as something constructive.

If you are perceived to be a big winning pro, I think you should care what the rec players think about you do. We can ignore the rec players who are scumbags and are known to have no character. If the nice guy rec players prefer that you tip more to the dealers, do it. If they prefer that you buy in for a full stack, please don't short stack. Etc.

It's somewhat like the Golden Rule. Put yourself in their shoes. And then act accordingly.

Thank you everyone for looking out for me. IÂ’ll keep it all under advisement. The truth is I wouldnÂ’t be where I am without help from a lot of you who have looked out for me over the years.

Sorta slow plo session, grinding a few hundo here and there, grateful for the modest win. Gonna call it an early night before or after hopping into a 2/5, the games were so-so today. Some folks migrating here from Philly and Parx lately, 4c players though.

Happy Father’s Day!

Hope you are feeling better! I've been at a conference, so just catching up a little.

Thanks for checking in! I'm feeling better, normally these colds don't last more than a few days. I slept way in tonight to rest up, should have helped.

Ended up winning a good pot in a bad game with AAK84 one nut suit in l/rr then 4! pot, shipped 952 flop and rivered wheel to scoop against he other two AA. Won $1,800 on the session.

BR challenge: $22,200 to go.

1/2 action Session going well, was running well until lost AAJT5dddd to KTT42 in 4! pot on K86dd, then lost top set back door second nut flush draw to second nut sttaight ott in dry side pot, didnÂ’t get there but probably should have just raised flop even though it was extremely draw heavy. Won JJ775 all in pre to action player too. Got a good triple up with AKT94ds with top two in 4! pot on drawy flop and my back door flush hit this time, netting me a big profit. Game slowed down and the big stacks quit but game is still ok.

Edit: just doubled up a scared money nit with my dsKQQ87, it was a bunch of short stacks and I figured he’d fold as he’d done before preflop But this time he called with AA.

Ended up around $3,300 on the day. Nice one at the end was semibluffing AK876 nut hearts on AQ57hh, got AQ to fold.

Br challenge: $18,900 to go

Slept way in and woke up super late to some lattes, feeling better each day, watching some poker vlogs, figured it was a good time to check in with everyone.

Some local talented players represented the area at WSOP with wins in some big o events, that was neat, including one of my buddies who I played with for a while until he moved down to Virginia. He was short most of the final table and then ran it up like a boss. WSOP wasn't in the cards for me this year, didn't feel like traveling at all and dealing with stiffer competition when my games are soft enough as it is. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

An old colleague at work emailed me and said I should expect a reference check from a potential employer soon, it's for a mental health attorney position which is awesome. Helping people with psychiatric disabilities is a great calling, but I wonder if it would hit too close to home for me.

The money in poker only motivates me for so long, and I am starting to feel the high from bigger average monthly profits start to wear off, leaving me seeking more meaning in my life again. I would like to start a mental health law project with my money eventually, but how long from now? Will I last another 5 years on the grind, by which time I should have more than enough money to start a project, or will I get bored and quit long before then? One of my poker icons hardly plays in the casino anymore, he just travels a lot, and he's a top player. Probably seeking that ikigiai he always talked about.

This would be a net-benefit for society if you were comfortable with the role, especially compared to poker. If you didn't feel comfortable with the role or found the legal system hindering more than helping those with mental health issues, then it might be a net-negative. I was going to suggest being part-time attorney/poker pro but realised such a prospect is likely impractical. Doesn't hurt to be given an alternative, though, since it may help you establish whether or not what you're doing is making you happy.

I may ask my former colleague how the job is going if he gets it, then consider applying myself later on. Thank you.

I got bit by something on my way out the door today on my leg after I put on my pants, saw the redness and felt light headed and numb in the face as soon as I got to mgm. A dealer friend said I didn’t look good too. Called 911 but by the time they got here I felt better and it probably wasn’t life-threatening. What a way to start your day though.

Session is slow today, spider bite was bad omen I guess, left plo down a little to play 2/5, game turned into 5/T, a bluff got tank called by a set on QJT73, went back to plo where won KK plus fd to ?? Then lost AAJ96 nut clubs on KQ2cc in 3! pot spr 2, to QQ, then got stacked again KK in side pot with top set to two pair and gutter, then doubled up top set to nut flush. Grinding it back.

At 2/5 player and dealer were getting into a petty argument about a previous floor ruling and bickered back and forth. She told another player he should play baccarat because he was dealt and played a natural nine. The first player told her she shouldn’t say that. He later won a small pot and tipped her $1. She threw it back to him. Undeterred, he threw her $5. She threw that back too.

Then $25. She threw it back.

Then $50. Thrown back.

$100. Same.

$200…! Back it went. “I don’t want your money,” she said.

:O

Still running meh, playing whatever, down today and getting towards the end of a long session, game is good so there’s still hope.

Had a chat with head of mental health division of local public defender’s office about my old colleague, she said they are going to be hiring more people and hinted I might want to apply. I have to become licensed in another jurisdiction though before I even consider this. And I would be taking a huge pay cut compared to poker which I would probably hardly ever get to play anymore….it was nice to connect with my old law calling though, sharing experiences with the head of the office was fulfilling and reminded me how pointless poker is compared to other callings.it was also nice to speak with someone educated and civil and not completely selfish for a change. A breath of fresh air.

True but far more important is why. Do you prefer it when a fish sits at your game or a shark that is taking a shot at the game but either lacks the money or lacks the stupidity to let you win big against him? Plus you will find out the bigger the game the more likely the fraud/collusion/cheating as the reward for one fixed hand every two hours is large enough to be worthwhile but frequency is small enough to be very hard to detect.

Wrapped up on a W somehow, from stuck almost $3k, bunch of tougher players left for 5/5 (someone skipped the list and bumped me), leaving weaker opponents to join 1/2, plus started getting and making some hands, so it worked out that I got bumped, won AJT54ds on Q923r - open ender plus wheel wrap - against QQ33, all in ott and got there on A river. Also won a couple AAs and booked a good win on a long and tiring overnight session. My ex texted me to hang out but I was too spent from poker.

Very happy to be awake during the day again, even though the game quality is a little more sporadic in the mornings. It was starting to wear on me waking up at night.

Had a dream last night I was in a game show competition and I kept advancing to the next round, the final round was to win a beautiful mercedes and the host of the show was a big black woman who gave me a big hug when they announced that I'd advanced. I didn't find out if I won the car or not.

Feels sorta like winning the game of pokers, keep advancing...some uncertainty 'bout the future...one of my poker room reg friends is a big beautiful black woman...hmm....

br goal: $17,250 to go (or so). Not an exact science this time around, playing it a little loosey-goosey eating an avocado toast.

When I won the AJT54 against top set QQ, loser said "nice hand john, and also f you...in the nicest way possible." Lol.

A lil’ overdue chip porn..also look how strong my equity was in this all in…with a strong 2-7 hand…in plo5…I was robbed!

Dealer asks me to square up despite no one complaining, I said I thought I was already square but he insisted so I moved over. He said that wasn’t enough, and at this point it was pretty tight between me and the guy to my left. He said I was like “Fishcake,” “you want all the space to yourself,” referring to a reg a lot of people don’t like. I asked him not to compare me to him as it wasn’t a fair comparison. He then told me to shut up. I called the floor on him. Never tipping him again. Great start to the day!

Don't be that guy. I've played live poker for over 20 years now and never had a major problem with a dealer and never considered not tipping them. I'm sure some dealers can be jerks, maybe I'm just lucky I've never met one. I've seen plenty of players that were jerks though. You have way too many incidents for you not to be part of the equation. I'm going to side with the dealer here. Again, it's how you respond to these things that make me believe you were wrong in the first place. The fact that you think not tipping a dealer because you had a bad interaction is acceptable is wrong. If you don't like the service, go to a different casino. You have to tip. That should be drilled into your head. You have to tip. In fact, you shouldn't even tip that dealer less, tip him normally. Tip dealers you like extra. But not tipping? Nah man, not acceptable. Really take a step back and try to objectively evaluate your behavior. Calling the floor on a dealer cause he told you to shut up? No one likes a tattle tale bro. Deal with it like a man. And I'm not saying you can't call the floor if someone's behavior is out of line but come on. Tell the dealer f*** you or just shut up, don't tattle tale for that. And don't not tip a dealer for any reason ever, your judgement isn't good enough to determine when not to tip so err on the side of you're wrong. Just let it go.

This is all just advice to help you out, feel free to completely ignore it, don't tip that dealer and see how that snowballs into other problems.

I don’t want your advice. Please don’t post anymore in this thread.

No, they don’t. Not tipping one dealer won’t have any impact on the other staff or dealers.

It’s funny because this particular dealer has always been professional and cordial and this was a one off moment for him. I don’t know what got into him.

I was sincerely offering you what I felt was valuable advice in an objective manner. If you don't want me to post in here anymore, this will be my last post. You are well on your way to becoming the local pariah at your casino and you seem to lack the awareness that your own actions are the cause of this. I'm sincerely just trying to help you recognize your behaviors that are problematic. It hurts to hear hard truths. Would you really want to live in a bubble where all of your actions go unchecked?

You should follow your friend's advice about taking the high road. Never tipping a dealer again because of a bad interaction is certainly not taking the high road. Also consider this dealer is incentivized financially to be nice to you and still they told you to shut up. How would you read into that?

I'm out!

I'm with El dumbo on this one. An extreme minority of dealers are douchebags that don't realize they're there for you, not the other way around. They show disdain for the players, other employees and the job that by tipping them you're only enabling them to continue with a job they hate.

Yes, anyone can have a bad day, so a one off isn't reason to not tip, but if you play often in a room you can see the pattern repeat many times with these offending dealers. Dumbo plays often enough to judge.

Dealer was way out line I wouldn't tip them either for awhile at least.

Not tipping 1 dealer will hardly make you a pariah, some people never or rarely tip period.

I've never had a "major problem" with a dealer either but I have seen a lot of bad dealers.

Good work. I don’t like doing it but players calling out dealers when they get out of line is the only way to fix the situation at mgmnh.

Idk what it is but the dealers are more out of line than anywhere else in the country: doing passive aggressive stuff like that needless square up to anyone that is perceived to be winning, berating fish, talking strat, stealing blinds/straddles and saying it was a tip, whining about not getting tipped enough, talking about workplace disputes, discussing how the union works, rooting for certain players and so on.