Played for just over an hour before and had a nice session finishing £66 up. Two hands that helped me achieve that were: (NVM I posted them but it came up all weird on posting them!)
Basically in one hand I had KT on QTTxx and I got min-r on the river. I called and the opponent had AQ. In the second hand I had a flush on a paired board facing a pot/pot/pot line. I shoved the river instead of calling as the opponent was unknown and I felt there was enough value in shoving. He turned over K2 (TPnk) Both these pots added up to £46. Biggest losing pot was only £7 when the guy rivered a straight vs my TP. BR now stands at £1200
Playing in team red vs yellow tonight and the open. May play some cash later on depending how I feel!
Sick read mate. We started off playing at 20nl around the same time I think and I couldn't believe how quickly you moved up and how your style changed!
You clearly have a talent for poker, and would say from your results are one of the best cash players on the site. The fact you have played so high and won is testament to that.
Conquer Tilt and the poker world is yours.
I agree with Maxally, studies first, cause once you have your degree you have so many options. Work and poker part time, or just play poker, but it gives you a lot more choice.
And despite any losses, you were still able to take good money out of poker.
Good luck with your challenge, which no doubt you will crush.
I'm gonna send you a message later on through PM as well.
Good luck, and look forward to hearing how you do.
not licking azz but this guy crushes on any 20 nl table when ever i look at hes tables always got a nice stack
haha cheers mate, there are certainly a lot of good players these days, definitely much harder to win so makes it all that much better when you are winning!
Did you go the grand final (SPT) at DTD a couple of years back?
Yeah, remember it being a good laugh!! I don't remember all of it but yeah that sounds vaguely familiar!
Sick read mate. We started off playing at 20nl around the same time I think and I couldn't believe how quickly you moved up and how your style changed!
Thanks! Yeah I remember you were one of the NL20 regs back then. You probably had a better BR management as well though back then :P It's definitely tempting to play with an aggresive BRM again but think it's going to be better to get in a habit of good BRM.
Good to hear that people have enjoyed the read! I'd been meaning to do something like this for a while but never got around to it!
re. The degree. I do realise that getting a degree is going to be more important than concentrating on poker. That said, I just don't think doing a degree was meant for me and when it impacts on my health it's just not worth doing. It will open more doors for sure, but there's still plenty of things I can do without needing a degree.
I've not given up on it completely.. I will see how I feel in 6 months time and make up my mind then. If I feel ready to go give it another go then I will. If I'm happy in whatever job I have then and don't feel like finishing my degree will help then I don't think it will be worth it.
Get your degree ivan Online poker is an industry in decline. There are way less unique players at 200nl since you played there and the decline shows no sign of stopping. Posted by ajs4385
OK just to re-iterate I am not "not" doing my degree because I want to become a full time poker pro. If I don't finish my degree it will be because of health reasons. I'm looking to find a job atm and I'm mainly looking to get a job in a bookies, as apart from poker, a career in the betting industry is something that I am interested in. I know a degree in Mathematics will help with getting a good entry-level job as opposed to starting out just working in a bookies, but I can still start from the bottom and work up as well.
The poker will just be part time; and as a second source of income. I believe I'm good enough to make a full time living off poker, but I'm also realistic in that unless I get to the point where I'm making a substantial amount per year, then I'm going to need another job because you just can't predict where poker will be in 5/10 years time.
Would love to hear some more input on this though from anyone that is/has been in similar circumstances. Or anyone that has a career in the betting industry!
Out of interest ajs, is poker full/part time for you?
I remember when i first signed up to sky and every other week you where crushing some other poor guys soul on tv. Alls i could do was watch in awe sometimes.
Completely understand where you're coming from with some of these things. Not the massive swings playing poker, since I've always been small-fry, but the depression preventing you from coping with studying, etc...
Anyway, I'd like to suggest you have a look at the Open University. They will give you credit for studies elsewhere so you should be able to just finish your third year and pick up your degree. You can study part time and do it across two years if that would be helpful, too. Obviously there are none of the inherent associated costs of regular student life, either.
Financial support is available and the pressure is definitely not the same as other university courses.
I think you need to enrol by September 5th to study this year, for most courses, so if it interests you there's no time to waste. You'll probably need to have a conversation with them before that about transferring credit.
I don't work for them or owt, but I did start a degree with them about five years ago before my own problems brought me to a halt after the first year. I've been looking at going back to it and I would recommend it for people with issues like my own. Have a look. If you don't fancy it, no problem. Just a possible alternative to think about.
In Response to Re: F_Ivanovic 20nl to 100nl reg by the end of 2013 (+ skypoker/lifestory) : OK just to re-iterate I am not "not" doing my degree because I want to become a full time poker pro. If I don't finish my degree it will be because of health reasons. I'm looking to find a job atm and I'm mainly looking to get a job in a bookies, as apart from poker, a career in the betting industry is something that I am interested in. I know a degree in Mathematics will help with getting a good entry-level job as opposed to starting out just working in a bookies, but I can still start from the bottom and work up as well. The poker will just be part time; and as a second source of income. I believe I'm good enough to make a full time living off poker, but I'm also realistic in that unless I get to the point where I'm making a substantial amount per year, then I'm going to need another job because you just can't predict where poker will be in 5/10 years time. Would love to hear some more input on this though from anyone that is/has been in similar circumstances. Or anyone that has a career in the betting industry! Out of interest ajs, is poker full/part time for you? Posted by F_Ivanovic
I went pro half way through 2009. So been my only income for about 4 years.
First year or two was great loved it. Printing money playing well loving the game.
Just got fed up of sitting up to stupid oclock pressing three buttons.
I probably only average 15 hours a week these days. Got no desire to play and when I do I have one eye on car forums or tv.
Most stressful job I have ever had. I have had stomach problems, sleep problems, repetitive strain injury due to it.
However, plus point is I made a fair bit over years and I am at a stage where all my basic living costs are taken care of and any poker winnings is just spending money to me. Which is a good job cos I dont make much these days.
In Response to Re: F_Ivanovic 20nl to 100nl reg by the end of 2013 (+ skypoker/lifestory) : I went pro half way through 2009. So been my only income for about 4 years. First year or two was great loved it. Printing money playing well loving the game. Just got fed up of sitting up to stupid oclock pressing three buttons. I probably only average 15 hours a week these days. Got no desire to play and when I do I have one eye on car forums or tv. Most stressful job I have ever had. I have had stomach problems, sleep problems, repetitive strain injury due to it. However, plus point is I made a fair bit over years and I am at a stage where all my basic living costs are taken care of and any poker winnings is just spending money to me. Which is a good job cos I dont make much these days. Posted by ajs4385
Really good post.
I think so many people are under the illusion that 'going pro' is the dream job.
The pressure of having no other source of income would be terrifying for me.
Full time job and a nice side income from poker suits me just fine
Terrible afternoon, down £200. Haven't played terribly I don't think apart from a few questionable plays that were somewhat costly. Might post some hand histories in a bit of my losing pots to see where I went wrong.
OK reviewed my hand history with my losses that were over £10. Apart from 2/3 hands (which I'll post below) every single one was some sort of cooler. I only had 2 hands where I won over £10 and 10 hands where I lost over £10!! The coolers included set over set, TP+FD vs set and not hitting, 2 pair against set in 3bet pot, runner runner straight, KK vs AA and KK's getting cracked by top 2 pair.
So in hand 1 I made a thin value raise on the flop and continued OTT. It looks like I have so few value combos (like only 55 as I rarely slow play AA/KK/AK pre) so I expected him to look me up lightly on flop and turn with worse Aces and Kx hands. I think he probably folds river to a half pot size with his bluff catching hands so decide to make it look as bluffy as possible; unfortunately I ran into KK! I think my play was a slight mistake though as lambert hadn't been raising that much so he probably has more strong hands than bluff catchers.
Hand 2 is an abomination. I was confident his c-bet was 2 overs so I decided to float. Then the A came on the turn and he bombs and I'm sure he has AJ-AK and I decide to float again because I reckon he'll check back the river and I had planned to shove to represent a 6. River is the best bluffing card because it also completes the 78 straight. So now I've got here I have to follow through and he time banks down and calls last second. Surpring call because I rarely have a bluff in this spot but perhaps he thought my overbet looked bluffy.
Hand 3 isn't great either. It's clear when he bets 3/4 turn and then calls a raise he probably doesn't have a hand that's going to fold to a river bet.
In hand 1 do you think your ever getting called by worse or are you turning your hand into a bluff? Posted by Donttelmum
lol, explained above. I thought I might have done. Couple of days back Lambert hero called me with TT on AKJTx (3 spades) when I made a massive overbet and shoved river (wrong that time though!) so I definitely thought him capable of hero calling Kx or worse Ax
In Response to Re: F_Ivanovic 20nl to 100nl reg by the end of 2013 (+ skypoker/lifestory) : lol, explained above. I thought I might have done. Couple of days back Lambert hero called me with TT on AKJTx (3 spades) when I made a massive overbet and shoved river (wrong that time though!) so I definitely thought him capable of hero calling Kx or worse Ax Posted by F_Ivanovic
Yo!
Yeah that was just a cooler, I did pop into the chatbox to say unlucky but you were probably grinding away.
You had been caught out bluffing a river V me earlier in this session too.
In hand 3 I think raising the turn is pretty bad imo as your only really repping 5x & possibly the flopped straight. I think you likely raise the flop with all sets, 2 pair and the flopped straight sometimes as it's really wet and a lot of turn cards could slow down further action.
I have played a bit with this villain as well recently and they're a bit of a station to say the least, but i'm sure you've got a few notes of your own now so just need to run better next session ay.
Quick question regarding your sessions, do you have a stop loss or do you just stop if you feel your not playing very well?
Yeah I saw after a bit you had said unlucky, wasn't sure what hand you were reffering too! It was definitely marginal. Normally it would be a cooler but I did think the whole table was playing tight so I shouldn't expect you too have too many worse Ax or worse Kx that would call anyway.
@foldufairy: Yeah, hand 3 I wasn't happy with at all. Probably the least well played hand. Even though hand 2 looks a bit spewy I think with the whole range of hands I have there it should be a +ev play. re. stop loss. Haven't got a specific stop loss but definitely if I feel I'm not playing very well I usually stop playing. In that session I didn't feel I was playing badly but didn't feel I was playing great either, so that's why I decided to quit once £200 down.
Only had half an hour break or so though and then decided to play omaha instead this time. Both ran and played a lot better this time and playing 2 tables I made 6BI's (@10p/20p) so now only down £60 for the day. Had 7 pots where I won more than £10, this was my favourite:
Player
Action
Cards
Amount
Pot
Balance
Small blind
£0.20
£0.20
£13.28
F_Ivanovic
Big blind
£0.20
£0.40
£53.45
Your hole cards
4
6
3
7
mwstachio
Raise
£0.80
£1.20
£35.20
pappa1949
Call
£0.80
£2.00
£14.61
lescrouper
Call
£0.80
£2.80
£17.97
Destiny33
Call
£0.80
£3.60
£19.30
Fold
F_Ivanovic
Raise
£3.20
£6.80
£50.25
mwstachio
Call
£2.60
£9.40
£32.60
pappa1949
Call
£2.60
£12.00
£12.01
lescrouper
Fold
Destiny33
Call
£2.60
£14.60
£16.70
Flop
7
3
2
F_Ivanovic
Bet
£8.20
£22.80
£42.05
mwstachio
Fold
pappa1949
Fold
Destiny33
All-in
£16.70
£39.50
£0.00
F_Ivanovic
Call
£8.50
£48.00
£33.55
F_Ivanovic
Show
4
6
3
7
Destiny33
Show
J
10
6
10
Turn
7
River
K
F_Ivanovic
Win
Full House, 7s and 3s
£46.20
£79.75
Only had 2 pots this time with losses over £10. One of them I probably made a minor mistake, the other was just a bad beat!
Player
Action
Cards
Amount
Pot
Balance
mwstachio
Small blind
£0.20
£0.20
£19.40
pappa1949
Big blind
£0.20
£0.40
£11.29
Your hole cards
J
Q
J
Q
lescrouper
Call
£0.20
£0.60
£25.69
Destiny33
Fold
Call
£0.20
£0.80
£10.69
F_Ivanovic
Raise
£1.20
£2.00
£61.70
mwstachio
Fold
pappa1949
Call
£1.00
£3.00
£10.29
lescrouper
Fold
Call
£1.00
£4.00
£9.69
Flop
6
10
9
pappa1949
Check
Bet
£1.00
£5.00
£8.69
F_Ivanovic
Raise
£4.00
£9.00
£57.70
pappa1949
Fold
Call
£3.00
£12.00
£5.69
Turn
5
Check
F_Ivanovic
Bet
£6.00
£18.00
£51.70
All-in
£5.69
£23.69
£0.00
F_Ivanovic
Unmatched bet
£0.31
£23.38
£52.01
Show
A
6
7
3
F_Ivanovic
Show
J
Q
J
Q
River
3
Win
Flush to the Ace
£22.21
£22.21
edit: weird, the name of villain in hand 2 I had to remove because it said "please edit or remove the following word(s) then resubmit your content: kr aut
Comments
really good post!
One of the best posts i've seen.
You clearly have a talent for poker, and would say from your results are one of the best cash players on the site. The fact you have played so high and won is testament to that.
Conquer Tilt and the poker world is yours.
I agree with Maxally, studies first, cause once you have your degree you have so many options. Work and poker part time, or just play poker, but it gives you a lot more choice.
And despite any losses, you were still able to take good money out of poker.
Good luck with your challenge, which no doubt you will crush.
I'm gonna send you a message later on through PM as well.
Good luck, and look forward to hearing how you do.
Online poker is an industry in decline.
There are way less unique players at 200nl since you played there and the decline shows no sign of stopping.
Anyway, I'd like to suggest you have a look at the Open University. They will give you credit for studies elsewhere so you should be able to just finish your third year and pick up your degree. You can study part time and do it across two years if that would be helpful, too. Obviously there are none of the inherent associated costs of regular student life, either.
Financial support is available and the pressure is definitely not the same as other university courses.
I think you need to enrol by September 5th to study this year, for most courses, so if it interests you there's no time to waste. You'll probably need to have a conversation with them before that about transferring credit.
Open University
I don't work for them or owt, but I did start a degree with them about five years ago before my own problems brought me to a halt after the first year. I've been looking at going back to it and I would recommend it for people with issues like my own. Have a look. If you don't fancy it, no problem. Just a possible alternative to think about.
First year or two was great loved it. Printing money playing well loving the game.
Just got fed up of sitting up to stupid oclock pressing three buttons.
I probably only average 15 hours a week these days. Got no desire to play and when I do I have one eye on car forums or tv.
Most stressful job I have ever had. I have had stomach problems, sleep problems, repetitive strain injury due to it.
However, plus point is I made a fair bit over years and I am at a stage where all my basic living costs are taken care of and any poker winnings is just spending money to me. Which is a good job cos I dont make much these days.
Terrible afternoon, down £200. Haven't played terribly I don't think apart from a few questionable plays that were somewhat costly. Might post some hand histories in a bit of my losing pots to see where I went wrong.
OK reviewed my hand history with my losses that were over £10. Apart from 2/3 hands (which I'll post below) every single one was some sort of cooler. I only had 2 hands where I won over £10 and 10 hands where I lost over £10!! The coolers included set over set, TP+FD vs set and not hitting, 2 pair against set in 3bet pot, runner runner straight, KK vs AA and KK's getting cracked by top 2 pair.
Hand 2 is an abomination. I was confident his c-bet was 2 overs so I decided to float. Then the A came on the turn and he bombs and I'm sure he has AJ-AK and I decide to float again because I reckon he'll check back the river and I had planned to shove to represent a 6. River is the best bluffing card because it also completes the 78 straight. So now I've got here I have to follow through and he time banks down and calls last second. Surpring call because I rarely have a bluff in this spot but perhaps he thought my overbet looked bluffy.
Hand 3 isn't great either. It's clear when he bets 3/4 turn and then calls a raise he probably doesn't have a hand that's going to fold to a river bet.
Yeah that was just a cooler, I did pop into the chatbox to say unlucky but you were probably grinding away.
You had been caught out bluffing a river V me earlier in this session too.
I think you likely raise the flop with all sets, 2 pair and the flopped straight sometimes as it's really wet and a lot of turn cards could slow down further action.
I have played a bit with this villain as well recently and they're a bit of a station to say the least, but i'm sure you've got a few notes of your own now so just need to run better next session ay.
Quick question regarding your sessions, do you have a stop loss or do you just stop if you feel your not playing very well?
Yeah I saw after a bit you had said unlucky, wasn't sure what hand you were reffering too! It was definitely marginal. Normally it would be a cooler but I did think the whole table was playing tight so I shouldn't expect you too have too many worse Ax or worse Kx that would call anyway.
@foldufairy: Yeah, hand 3 I wasn't happy with at all. Probably the least well played hand. Even though hand 2 looks a bit spewy I think with the whole range of hands I have there it should be a +ev play. re. stop loss. Haven't got a specific stop loss but definitely if I feel I'm not playing very well I usually stop playing. In that session I didn't feel I was playing badly but didn't feel I was playing great either, so that's why I decided to quit once £200 down.
Only had half an hour break or so though and then decided to play omaha instead this time. Both ran and played a lot better this time and playing 2 tables I made 6BI's (@10p/20p) so now only down £60 for the day. Had 7 pots where I won more than £10, this was my favourite: