Mix game journey

I've enjoyed your mixed game posts but I've yet to hear about you having a winning session - just don't post those?

quit the game
tired, need to exercise n slim down
lost tiny, played 3 hands in an hour n half won 1 lost 1 n chopped 1

went to bobbys to say hi to a couple guys n crazy mike tells me im welcome to play his game if i want; its a full game but also im really not confident facing the likes of andrew yeh, david baker, jen harman.

i guess i couldve just said thank you and fist bump a couple guys and walk out instead i said "i just quit the 80" as a reason not to play in crazy's game....jen astutely asked what does that hve to do with anything?

anyway. im poor compared to them. gotta be humble n try to improve

These are my results in the past month in mix game: (decreased hours but had bunch sessions in nlh for one reason or another - when i hang out w buddies n if they wanna play poker its obv nlh) , then plus today's 80/160 where i broke even, havent counted exact chips yet; i left my two racks by the table on a tray as i take a walk now.

Probably true that I tend to post more about losses than wins; because I ponder more about losses. There's nothing to gloat in winning (unlike big bet where sizing matters a lot so winning a pot doesnt mean you played it right - as Gus hansen said once its a mistake if i value bet 3k on river n got called but could have value bet 5k n still get called) but much to learn in losing.

as i told justin houser that the number one thing in gambling is being honest w urself n being transparent w own results. I guessi hv a dark history now due to how i dealt w the prop n the loan shark whom i sold the debt to back in sacramento but they are already shady ppl so i dont fault myself too much; however in grand scheme of things, u cannot be a good gambler if u r dishonest.

back to the W/L, for some reason i find it hard to beat 20/40. i didnt win during summer at wsop and i am dead even after wynn 20 restarted post wsop in late july. I have been winning in 40 tho as i did since day 1 - steve billirakis n chris mchugh pointed out to me that its probably the mindset w blue chip game v red chip game. 20/40 aka red chip game makes me play much looser n thats not good.

i have gotten back into 80/160 during and after wsop more n more as i improve, getting slightly unstuck overall from the period of time when the game was at resorts world. I try to be on my A game when I go play the 80 but so much for that as I just played an 80 session on no sleep last night. But I take 40/80 n 80/160 w 120% seriousness.

You might be inspired by that 10k loss in the 2/400 Doc's game. I dont think i mentioned it ever because the game took place in july. There are some very interesting backstories to it. I'll run it later. I also hv the hand histories of the session too in a text somewhere.

Ty. That's a very rare occurrence. The regular game is O-hi and O8 but I don't play it much.

So on july 11th i went to play the 20 stud8 at bellagio and iirc lost 3 hands n booked a $900 loss (over 20 bets in a split pot only game is atrocious). I sorta rage quit the sesh but still no seat open at the 80 mix. A few ppl were doing flips as Cong's game was winding down so I hopped in to flip w them. Think we were doing $500 or $1k a person 7stud hi/O-hi split flips. I lost just shy of a dime in the flips and then AK, Long n I went to max the 3k TORSE. I didn't survive to the break n after dinner w dan habl i called an early night. Next day when I woke up I got a text from a buddy telling me that there is a 2/4 ace game at bell - and that brought up some memories - one of my fav movies is nosebleed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju_7_595...) about these two french mix players. At around 48th minute, Seb talks about this guy from Mississippi w cowboy hat who exclusively play ace. I never made it like my mission to go play the game but on the 12th, as soon as I saw the text n checked bravo to confirm that the game was still running, I made sure I need to go play n see it for myself. Most of my money is at resorts world - but I didn't wanna go there n risk game breaking. Glad I had some cash on me, 10.5k; and 8k in venetian chips.

So I got to bell, 20 stud8 still running, probably from the night before; and I took a seat in their 4 handed game - Doc, 80 mix host, chinese chris, and a guy who had a deep run in the wsop plo tournament I dont recall the name.....TO BE Continued.

so i hopped in the game w 10.5 eventually i was in for 18.5 cuz when i was stuck big i dont wanna be assumed to be playing behind so i asked the floor the verify the venetian chips for me and thats a couple days before chip verification terminated across vegas on 7/16

here are the six hands i played

1st hand: 3! pot w a raise on flop, i whiff 6low draw n -3.5bets; standard hand

2nd hand: i open n doc 3! from the blind; on turn i had 76321 raised him and got rivered by a 6, he drew 1 n donked river. this is a spot im supposed to fold, probably 753 is a threshold call i think. anyway -5bets

3rd hand: the most interesting hand i open 5431 n doc defends showing 42 (in the documentary seb says doc was being careless but wasnt the case he does it on purpose) so 3-1 flop n he donks again i catch a 7 n raise he 3bets! he drew 3 and 3bets me! so i had 75431 turns out he had 74321. now i call flop n we both pat he Checks!! i check back and effectively eliminates me having any 6. river pat pat n he values - now this value bet is the moment i realized that i wasnt playing a whale, but an actual seasoned a-5 shark. anyway -3.5bets in an unconventional way

4th hand - i broke 864 oop vs doc he drew 3-2 made wheel and raised me on turn (i could have folded on turn when i got raised but i got sticky, -3.5 bets when i couldve -2.5

5th hand - another standard one. 3! small blind w a256 vs jlots draw 3 open, i bet whole way and river paired 6 and got called by jack.. lost 4bets

6th hand - i folded 7521 vs jlots 6431 after second draw lost 1.5bet

so overall lost 21bets in these six hands if i tracked correctly... fairly normal.

in wynn 20now n played one hand so far - badugi pat T8 didnt hold 3way
turn was 1-pat-1 XBCC
river was 1- pat - Pat!!
hard to know if my ten was still good but i already patted just gon check fold river
now on river bb drew 1 and donks i tank folded my ten n cutoff folded her 9 wowza

dibs on the 2-7 mixed limits tour trophy

omg this is tilting
played 3 hands so far
lost a dugi
chopped an o8
lost an ace hand..bad river
down 600

cant win in these 20/40 streets

i remember larry berg needling me when we were playing 50 saying i was gon blind out in a cash game haha

i mean, im simply the tightest player in mostly any game n i dont think its changing anytime soon

this is funny
an aggro action player made number 2 3 hands in a row in deuce n a good buddy dallas mark raised utg looking down at jack five after announcing hes gon raise if he sees one wheel card
and he drew three n made a seven

after the hand he said yep poker is all skill. so thats the true essence of mix game. the swings are hidden n u dont even know it. i believe in my tightness; in fact it's not about my belief - tight is right.

ill find a time to go play some bacc or shoot some dice w mark. he's given me ride n we've talked a lot about sports n stuff

update:
lost an interesting drawma2 hand (pat T76 got 3! n flop 89 wrap had to pat n try to win board cant draw to flush in hand, folded turn)
chopped an o8
won an o8 on turn
lost a HU deuce hand - almost pure flip - 2347 v 2578
lost a 3way 3bet deuce hand
lost a HU deuce hand w a pat 864!
lost Another deuce pot - 248 v a one card draw improved to 2458 then bricked n folded turn. Crazy!

running bad!

was stuck about 1200 n last hand was a 5way pre 4way turn n drawmahahigh $1660 pot n i won half w trip aces in hand so booked a -750 loss

tilted.

watching the fight tonight. bet on Bud - i initially bet straight win +160 then realized neither is getting knocked out so put more w by decision +250

btw draftkings is 1.4 n 2.1 respectively... what a joke

stigma is racial bias but... lets go Bud!

30 holdem at bellagio
no other game rn

super unsure about holdem so...

action player limp i check bb j7s flop Q J low no bdfd; 3way, sb leads i fold middle pair.

action player limp i call one extra chip sb 92s i xc T93 flop w bdfd bb folds turn 6 not my suit i check fold

honestly dont know holdem spots

utg open i flat utg1 w ako
hu
448 bc
turn 4 xx
river 6 xbf

i have to value bet my ak on river right?

Seems fine

Fold pre

3b pre, bet with initiative on the flop/call if he donks/call if he c/r, bet with initiative on the turn/call if he donks/fold if he c/r, check back river with that line. Prob fine to bet river as played but like what is calling you that you beat/what is folding that you lose to?

From the hands you've posted through the thread, it seems like you miss value when you are ahead and get valued when you aren't. I understand in the black chip games there's a lot of gamesmanship involved and maybe you are being selective in what you post, but I'm curious in the 1/2+ games that you get into, are you only playing if there's a spot in the game or are you just jumping in when you feel like it? How many players at an average 1/2+ table do you think you're better than/worse than/equal skill level to?

these 1/3 nlh at bellagio makes me puke. won, but so not worth it.

****ing hell

thx, bet river as played wanting value from his worse ace highs was my thought the time. i believe u about the suggested line - amazes me that i should defend vs xr on flop n donk on turn.

Yes, I agree. In order to be a better player, getting in that extra value bet is very crucial - i actually remember the old david baker telling me his opinion on a player where he just doesn't think that person is winning Precisely Because of the missed value bets he observed when playing w her. In my defense, I tend to play conservative in split pot games because the risk of getting scooped outweighs the reward of scooping. In single winner games, however, I do need to push harder when I am ahead - it reminds me of a hand I played w andrew yeh a couple years ago in resorts 80 where i opened a36 in dugi n he 3 bet n pat, i river a 9 n donks and he finds a raise w 7 - it's not a raise i would put in because for me to call turn n draw, im certainly smooth; but the good player andrew is he puts in the raise, dont know if he would fold if i 3! river, but you clearly see the skill. Saving grace was that I bet folded my 96 on river.

The stake I prefer is 5/10, 10/20 big bet and 40/80, 80/160 limit - both in terms of my bkr n my comfort level. 1/2 feels similar to 80 in fact. But higher than 1/2 i try to be careful. Different environs also have different game dynamics n setup. I don't often play CMS game, whether 150 or 200, because it has too many big bet games. Pot limit double board omaha; pot limit best best iirc; pot limit drawma2, etc. However, when you go to LA Bike to play the 2/400, it's a simple limit mix, mainly single winners. I didn't get to play when I was there recently, got kicked out by the floor person, but I got to play limit mahjong $5 a pop.

Anyway, in vegas, 40, 80 and 100, i wouldn't game select, im happy to play. i consider myself middle of the pack.
My overall results in 40 is up w one small bet winrate - it's one of the few games i win since day 1.
In 80 i'm stuck due to the game at resorts where I just got run over n over n over n over n over by pros when I was new. It was about 3 years ago, roll was around 20k, I would go play 80/160 and lose 3 racks. You gotta learn one way or another. But since the game moved to bellagio due to conflict between some players, I'm able to win a reasonable amount back but overall still stuck.
In 1/2, I'm up small but sample size is small. We were going to start a 1/2 game at bellagio around this time of the year. But after I lost in 3/6, I wasn't eagerly pursuing it.

The particular Doc 2/4 ace game, I jumped in because Doc was playing. I clearly considered him a spot at the time, but my opinion changed after playing w him. You can not be bad at a variant if you play it exclusively for decades. Funny thing was as soon as I sat down and got dealt in, I got a text from ted forrest telling me to be careful taking a shot in a game where I could be the worst player at the table, and yes that includes Doc. I learned the lesson the hard way, but it's just one session. Ted is obv famously known for his shot taking n i feel as long as you are not at grave risk of going broke; it's ok to play, just don't be dumping. --- So along the same line - why did I play the resorts 3/600 for a couple weeks? There is no way in hell i am fav there but I told myself, im ok losing somewhere between 30 n 100 in a reasonable timeframe, if i do lose that is. I see it as a natural rite of passage to eventually get to that stake. In the end i lost somewhere around 60; i have the exact number tracked on my phone. I told eric sagstrom when i feel ready ill come play again; and that game at resorts is hands down one of the best run games i've played in; good host, good floor, obv Great dealers, many from/co-contracted to the wynn. So....i lost 60, i play smaller, at the same time, try to freaking graduate at uc davis. i try to win 10k a month, but that's a rough idea. Hopefully things go well, and i win 70k by the end of december. Let's not put the other direction into the universe, just swing up only. 😀

To rank myself in an average 8 handed table, using bell 80 as an example, i think i am 3rd-6th in all game variants. sometimes it hurts me when i play too tight in games like o8 where i probably burn ev; sometimes it helps me when you can see some regs, say in 2-7razz, call on 3rd 2 pips too wide. I try to play my A game n hopefully I win. Wait till next summer, which will be my fourth summer in vegas, i'll try to play 80 everyday and see how it turns out. Now, there are ppl that I just sit down feeling "demoralized" because I know 8 times out of 10 I am going to get outplayed - tyler brown is one of the guys i find super impressive. And thank god andrew yeh has progressed to 150/300 n 2/4. Don't come to my 80 table!

one smooth session at wynn 20

dont think i lost a single hand that went to showdown; drew out once in deuce vs cyndy V n decided to donk w number two but in retrospect check to an aggro opp n xr is better but hard to say dont wanna miss value - at leat gtd a bet

also bluffed cyndy one hand w 66 in deuce, who knew i had best hand w her rivering 77. it was just a hail mary. she calling at least j or better probably even 22 or better

got convinced to play this
6ppl house rule 3ppl get paid 6-9-1500

colorful lammers

right away got bad beat by ron ware
aa v kk in lhe 4bet pre n 7dAh2h4h5h, obv i check fold river. 8 to 1 not good odds

tournaments suck!

wynn 20 now

weird badeucey hand
i open HJ 9d6c4h2s2d sb reg 3! i call she draws 1 i pitch the Nine Of Diamond!!!!

so 1-1 and flop went check check
omg im the worst player

then i drew 1 again caught Ts, she bets so i folded...

similar hand later in badeucey i defend 3d5s8s8c8h n pitch 8s caught 9s xc n pitch 9s then xf turn

im so tired... im so bad...

ye, standard tho. defend against a cbet n turn nut flush draw. grumpy just isn't bluffing. He didn't Show show obv but he said it n it's what i expected too. 3! kk or qq with a heart.