Road back to HS PLO
ABOUT ME:
My screenname is portemilio. I've been playing Poker since I was 16. I started off playing poker on Runescape gambling sites where you'd buy coins ingame which had a $ value and deposit them on runescape poker sites. I found myself obsessed with the game since I was young. I specifically loved the HU format. At 16 i ran up 100$ to 20k when BTC was around 1.4k playing 6 max and 9max nlhe but ultimately got destroyed headsup because i lacked a lot of discipline and had major ego issues wanting to be the best. I always wanted to be the best and would get extremely angry when dealing with variance on top of the fact that I was an unstudied player. In college I transitioned to PLO. I got staked and coached but I wasn't winning no matter how hard I tried because of my serious BRM issues. I'd run up a couple of thousand dollars then instantly shot take 5/10 and lose it all and then go back to the lowest stakes to rebuild, rinse, and repeat. My senior year of college I decided I really wanted to give it my all. In class I'd bring my laptop and drill spots and this was the first form of studying I'd ever experienced (other than hundreds of hours of youtube videos and poker content that I consume). I significantly saw a change in my game. I've always been a highly intuitive player but with the baseline theory I developed I quickly skyrocketed though the ranks. I still had really poor mental game and not great BRM but I was able to run up my first 30k ish month in April of 2022. Unfortunately, I lost it all back shot taking 10/20 on ACR (very commend trend in my poker career). I had to take6 a fifth year of college because of a couple of other reasons but I always knew I was going to end up being a poker player. I dreaded school and felt it was the reason I wasn't succeeding because I still had to commit so many hours to school (studying Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Fluid Mechanics). I come from an Arab household and poker was not accepted at all but that didn't deter me. My fifth year I had the same routine where I'd study in class and play countless hours when I was back. I was also gaming a lot (League) so i decided to cut that out because I figured it was a waste of time if I really wanted to succeed. After I graduated (May 2022) I moved to Lebanon where my parents lived. I finally had no obligations, nothing holding me back and barely any expenses. I devoted all my time to poker (literally 15h days). After 6 months playing 1/2 - 10/20 on mainly bovada and BOL I made roughly 170k in profits. My mental health really suffered. I longed for social interaction; I had none of my friends in Lebanon and I started to not care about poker anymore. My health declined heavily and I felt despite the fact that I was winning that there was a constant judgement surrounding what I was doing. Once I showed my parents how much money I was making they couldn't complain about the journey I was decided to take ( as much anyways) but they were still greatly against it. My biggest mistake came when I decided to shot take 10/20 on Bovada. I was absolutely crushing Betonline and Bovada midstakes for atleast 8bb/100 over a sample of 400k+ hands, but when I played 10/20 nothing I did worked. I got absolutely crushed. My mental game was very strong at this point and I wasn't disheartened, I just figured it was variance. I ended up losing 45 ish buy ins (90k) running 70k below EV. This was almost 2/3 of my roll. I had heard rumors about collusion and cheating rings going on at 10/20 Bovada but I just figured that was bad regs crying about losing because the same was being said about every stake that I was consistently beating. I will never know if I actually got cheated as I have no definitive proof but I highly highly suspect that I did. At this point despite convincing myself that the loss of the money didn't affect me in reality my play began to change because nothing I did was working so I thought i had to deviate. I ended up going to EPT Barcelona in 2023 because I felt the need to prove to myself and everyone that what I was doing was a real job. I had around 50k to my name. I ended up losing 20k there playing 25/50 live (brm issues started coming back I really began to chase what I lost). Once I returned back to the US, started paying rent I prolonged into a 4 month period of break even/losing. I really thought at the time I was playing well I dont know maybe it was variance but looking back at it I had basically given up. I was playing 3h a day max and not putting in any volume at all (20k hands/month max). I'm using this 2+2 thread to hold myself accountable. I'm not going to give up on poker because I know I truly have a talent. I'm at a crossroads right now because im 24 and have little to no job experience so If I want to get a real 9-5 I'd really have to start looking now. I have a couple interviews with some investment banks just to appease my parents but it isn't something I'm taking seriously. On top of that it's really hard to explain to friends and family the journey I've been on because they don't understand variance at all. I'm not saying I didn't make any mistakes I definetly did, but to lose that amount of money is definetly gut wrenching I finally made it and saw it gone at the blink of an eye. I have a lot of fuel in me now and I'm ready to play atleast 50k hands/month. I'm not going to let anyone pressure me or feel the need to prove to anyone (online or IRL) that what I'm doing is valid, I'm just going to do it. It may get lonely but this is truly what I love and I know i will get rewarded.
I'm going to attach this month's results. I had very little money to my name, I moved to my uncles house where I'm paying no rent and felt a lot less pressure on my bankroll. I started at .5/1 and 1/2 and slowly started to shot take 2/5 and very little 5/10 volume. I played almost 72k hands this month, which is the most volume I've ever put in in a month in my life. Attached is the graph. Eventually when I fix my old computer I'll export the DB to my new one and merge them. I will be posting interesting hands and lines I play here as well as weekly-monthly updates. I want to hold myself accountable no matter what and am interested to hear people's thoughts. I only have the last two months of my play tracked I'll post them shortly as I had to buy a new computer
GL ME!
Do you use a hud while playing? How important do you think it is on a site like ignition where most of the time you will only get a small sample on your opponent each session?
I am also interested in this (what hud/tracker), and what is your opinion about the security of the converter?
GL
Im back from India (and extremely jetlagged, 12h time difference). It was an eventful trip to say the least (each one of us got sick multiple times throughout the two weeks). Nonetheless it was super fun to reconnect with a lot of close friends who I don't get to see often and India itself is alright, although I don't think I'd make the trip again. It was nice to take a break from poker for a little. It seems to me like every time I win a decent amount of money in poker I get complacent and lose the value of the money. It's like I'm only capable of really playing or thinking my A+ game when I'm in survival mode and am in desperate need of the money. With that being said, here are my poker goals for 2025:
Attached are 2024 results:
1) Consistency
Whether its hours/month or simply level of play, i want to remain consistent. I don't want to get side tracked by unimportant things that won't bring value to my life. I want to stay in a consistent schedule (not strictly per day, but more achieving x amount of hours/hands per month). I think a reasonable amount to shoot for (on average) for the year is 30-40k hands/month. I say on average because I know some months will be busier than others where I might play less and I know some months I'll play more; however, I don't want to burn myself out (play 12h a day and then take a month off). I need to find a way to make this game healthy for myself and balance my social and professional life.
2) Monetary goal
I've been playing professionally for a little over two years now. It's time to set a monetary goal and actually achieve it. Sure, I've had my crazy months but it seems that money always find a way to disappear (whether through live high stakes shots i shouldn't be playing or poor mental). My goal this year is to make ATLEAST 400k. I think this is a super reasonable goal that I can achieve. I do have higher hopes and ambitions, but I want to set a goal that in my mind is achievable no matter the circumstances. I do plan on taking some shots this year given everything goes well so I think that'll play into this goal being more achievable as well. I just need to keep reminding myself that I'm in this game for the long haul and there is no rush, but I do want to take smart and calculated shots that will skyrocket my career. I'm hoping this will finally be my break-out year. I want to make a name for myself this year and really push myself to not only make money but improve and not back down from marginal spots
3) Studying/ Seeking a Coach
I've been wanting a coach for a while but have never really made a real effort to find one. I want to find someone who can ease me into the high stakes scene and correct some of my mental and technical leaks I might be making that are holding me back. I think it's been hard to find a good PLO coach i respect and would pay money to because I do consider myself a skilled player and most pros who are already established don't really have a reason to coach. Nonethless, it is something I will be seeking under the right circumstances.
4) Health
2024 has been a high variance year for my health. I started the year off in the best shape of my life (Working out 1-2x a day and achieving peak physique while counting calories and eating super heathily, with lacking poker results) --> grinding poker everyday and performing well but sacrificing my health for it. My goal for this year is BALANCE. I find myself to be always in the extremes. I need routine. Now that I'm established in Chicago and not constantly moving around, I have no excuses. My goal for this year is to hit 190 lbs (which is peak weight for my height and genetics). I currently weigh 224 lbs as of today so I have 34 lbs to go. I've done the weight loss journey countless times (while gaining muscle). I'm not worried, I just want to stay consistent and establish a routine that is successful long term.
2025 will be the year of BALANCE. I will strive to continue my progress as a player as well as continue to take care of myself. I will try to branch out and continue to meet like minded people dedicated to the game. Thank you to everyone for interacting and reading the blog, I appreciate it. I'll do my best to keep it updated throughout the year.
forgot to add by month
I like your goals, very admirable to set them publicly and smart to focus on personal well being. Gl.
gl to you in 2025.
Crazy to see that you crushed the games despite having 5 losing/breakeven months. Goes to show how important the long run is and how little any given month really matters in poker and especially PLO.
gl to you in 2025.
Crazy to see that you crushed the games despite having 5 losing/breakeven months. Goes to show how important the long run is and how little any given month really matters in poker and especially PLO.
From Jan - May I was playing mostly 1/2, and some 2/5 with super low volume. I was going through it mentally. Thats why im stressing balance. Then in Julywas when i was in vegas and mostly playing on my phone, and in August i was in cyprus mostly playing on phone as well. So i really only "grinded" like 3-4 months online. Thats why i think my goal of 400k is reasonable i just wanna be more consistent in my online grind and not get sidetracked by life.
To the people asking about the HUD on bovada, no i dont use one. Ive never been the type of guy to find it useful i think it just distracts me and is kind of overwhelming. Its nice because i dont lose so much EV since its an anon game and every table is a new table but on other sites im definetly losing value not using one. I use jurojin thats basically it.
Just played first session today. Im rusty again, excited to get back to normal but damn its crazy how breaks affect me. its been only 2 weeks and i feel like i forgot so much already. the brain is a crazy muscle
From Jan - May I was playing mostly 1/2, and some 2/5 with super low volume. I was going through it mentally. Thats why im stressing balance. Then in Julywas when i was in vegas and mostly playing on my phone, and in August i was in cyprus mostly playing on phone as well. So i really only "grinded" like 3-4 months online. Thats why i think my goal of 400k is reasonable i just wanna be more consistent in my online grind and not get sidetracked by life.
To the people asking about the HUD on bovada
Ya I am a no hud guy as well, even on other sites. I find it to be a huge distraction and imo it has the potential to make you play worse and derail you from becoming an overall balanced and “good” player. I play with guys who I am very sure are trying to exploit the pool and honestly there plays seem very face up to me a lot of the times, clear what they are trying to do and maybe it works against fish but the mistakes are so glaringly obviously and pretty easy to play against. Good luck in 2025!
were all 150bb deep.
MP opens, co calls, i 3b from BB with aa45 single they both call. flop comes 932 2t. I dont have any fd blocker or BDFD. Pretty sure its a half pot with this type of hand, but i just decide to pot thinking calling ranges will be similar and theres some urgency, basically good spot to extract value unblocking all calling range. MP folds and co kind of tank calls. turn comes an off suit 9 pairing the board. its .9 spr, whats the play here with our range/hand to maximize EV vs weak players. Im not sure about theory. I looked up a similar spot hu utg vs sb on 8438 and it jams AA52 purebut i feel like that cant be optimal given the populations tendencies also given his calling range he has so much 9x anyways so maybe this specific spot becomes a range check given his CO calling range hes going to have a lot of rundowns and KK with fd
