THISPLAYISBAD- PLO cash game journey

When going up in stakes what kind of BRM were you following? Was your roll built from just poker or did you have money from job?

Very nice! Thank you for the kind words and good luck on your journey!

Started out playing PLO 10 with few hundred dollars in my account while working a full time job. Busted the roll a few times before I got good enough to win consistently. Highly recommend having a full time job and taking your time moving up stakes.

I got my first coaching session from OP and was very happy with the value I received. The price was much more fair than other coaches offer. Honestly it was the best coaching session I’ve ever had and that’s saying something. I could tell he really wanted to help me. I also loved that he used a mix of gto and exploitative work with more of an emphasis on exploits. I plan on buying a bulk package. Thank you Mike!

I am playing many years poker professionally and i have worked with many coaches. When i started working with Mike i knew his gonna improve my game from our first session.
He can explain gto theory but also how would approach specific hands on each street vs specific opponents. Also i am impressed with his ability to analyze spots very quickly with fluent English. Since we started working together he addressed many issues in my game but also noticed specific stats that need fixing.
I feel now i play much better but also improving after each coaching session. Highly recommended.

If you struggle with mental game issues (practically everyone does whether they admit it or not) then yes it will easily pay for itself many times over. Soft skills of online poker are majorly underrated.

Hey everyone, hope you’re all doing well. It’s been a while since my last update.

Last year ended up being my worst year in poker results-wise. I started the year strong, winning around $50K in the first month, but after that I essentially spent the rest of the year breaking even. It was definitely a frustrating year overall.

Looking back, there were quite a few leaks in my approach. The main ones were not being disciplined enough with game selection, forcing volume when I wasn’t really in the right mindset to play, playing too many tables, and generally trying to grind through spots where I probably should have just stepped away. A lot of good lessons came from it though.

One of my recent mastermind videos actually goes over the year in detail if anyone is interested in the full breakdown.

Thankfully, this year has started much better. Including rewards, I’m currently up over $90K, which feels great after the kind of year I had previously. Obviously still early in the year but I’m happy with how things are going so far.

I’ll post my overall graph since starting this blog below, along with my updated $1K graph. I’m particularly proud of the $1K results because it took me quite a while to consistently beat this level. I feel like I now have a much better understanding of how the regulars are approaching the games and I’m very comfortable in these pools.

The plan moving forward is to start taking shots in the $2K games soon and see how that goes.

I also currently have one coaching slot available, so if anyone is interested feel free to PM me.

As always, thanks for the continued support and for taking the time to read the blog.
Good luck at the tables everyone.

Hello, everybody! I hope everyone is doing well.

Time for my semi-quarterly update.

This year has been quite a roller coaster. My first son was born in February, and because of that, my poker volume has been much lower than I would have liked. That said, the life EV I gain from spending time with and taking care of my son far outweighs the theoretical dollar EV I'm giving up by not being at the tables. I wouldn't trade this time for anything.

On the poker side, I finally feel like I've found my groove in the $1K games. I genuinely believe I've become one of the stronger regulars in that player pool. Because of that, I've started taking shots at the $2K games. As has been the case every time I've moved up throughout my career, the initial results haven't gone my way. I dropped nearly 15 buy-ins almost immediately.

My approach to moving up has always been the same: I give myself a five-buy-in shot. If it doesn't work out, I move back down, rebuild at the lower stakes, and then take another shot. Rinse and repeat until the move sticks.

Despite the rough results, I actually feel very comfortable in the $2K games. Nothing the regulars are doing has really surprised me. In fact, there are a few $2K regulars whose games I honestly don't think are particularly strong. The biggest difference compared to $1K isn't that the players are dramatically better—it's that, on average, their fundamentals are stronger. Their preflop ranges are more sound, which naturally reduces the overall win rate available in those games.

The biggest challenge at $2K is simply finding good games. There just aren't many whales these days who are willing to punt off $2,000 every time they sit down. As a result, game selection becomes significantly more important.

That said, my long-term goal hasn't changed. I want to become one of the best PLO players in the world. Several friends—and even a few people whose opinions I respect greatly—have told me to take the "easy money" by staying in the $1K games and below. While I understand that perspective, it simply isn't what motivates me. I want to see how far I can push myself in this game.

Balancing a full-time job, a four-month-old son, creating content for PLO Mastermind, coaching students, and still finding time to grind and study leaves me with very little free time. But I've made peace with this season of life. Rather than fighting it, I've learned to appreciate it, knowing it's temporary and that one day I'll have the opportunity to return to grinding full time.

I've attached my overall results for the year, along with my separate $1K and $2K results. The $2K sample has been almost entirely variance—plenty of coolers and big spots that simply haven't gone my way. I'm looking forward to turning that around, establishing myself as a winning regular in those games, and continuing the climb.

As always, thank you all for your continued support. I truly appreciate it.

Good luck at the tables, everyone.

Congrats on becoming a dad and solidifying yourself as one of the better regs at 1k PLO Mike! I may be projecting, but I think you’re doing the right thing. I’m sure your wife and son really appreciate you being there for them. I imagine you will be able to replicate your 1k success at 2k once variance rectifies itself. I enjoy the vids you make for the mastermind. Wishing you and the family the best going forward!

Hello, just curious, what is your motivation for creating content for PLOmastermind when you already have limited available time for poker + play 1k?

Thank you very much for the kind words my friend! Wish you all the best as well.

I genuinely enjoy making the videos. Throughout my life, I’ve always been involved in coaching or teaching in one form or another. I’ve been a math tutor for kids, a wrestling coach, a jiu-jitsu coach, and now a poker coach. I’ve always found a lot of satisfaction in helping people improve and sharing information that gives them a better chance to succeed.

Sure, there’s a small financial benefit to creating the videos, but if I broke it down on a dollars-per-hour basis, it’s probably negative EV. I spend far more time making them than I could ever justify from a purely financial perspective. I do it because I enjoy the process and because I genuinely like helping people get better.