Live Grind: How to Fall Asleep at the Table (Without Getting Caught)

[Matt Vaughan]

It's been such a struggle to balance work with, well, frankly with anything. But especially poker. The weeks when I wouldn't get home until 8:30pm, and was in a bad mood... Just not that conducive to wanting to play poker or do it well either.

So yes I'm still playing online cash (thus the hands I've posted), but it's not lots of volume.

 

[Logan2]

$155 for a ticket still nice, gj, although blowing $400 later surely sucks.

made a number of small errors, and one pretty inexcusable one. (Baluga's theorem applies to the river too, ldo.)

This always tilt me a lot more than running shity as can't do nothing about run bad but the small and big mistakes on me can be the difference on ending BE or barely down when running bad
vs lose lot more after mistakes + tilt.

At least you try new casino, do you like it more? (is worth the extra distance)?.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

I like the casino a LOT more than the closer one, and it was significantly softer too, although I only played about 4 hours, on a Saturday night.

Not sure if it's worth the distance. At least for once in a while, yes, but definitely not more than twice a week.

Anywho, today I played a couple small MTTs on Bovada and bricked everything (16.50, 44, and 11). I picked those because they had decent guarantees. But I also played some 200nl. I hadn't done that on Bovada for about a month and a half, since my last session was like -4 BI and I didn't have tons online. Going well so far, but I've been 1-tabling so I make sure I focus, and I've only been on mega soft tables, so it's not really an indication of anything. I'm up about $500 today though.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Naturally I make a post with a hint of positivity in it and within half an hour I'm down for the day... Oh well, was fun while it lasted or w/e.

 

[Logan2]

That happen for greedy obviously , should quit day when ahead but no, always wanting more and more

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Lol. More like I was trying to actually put a reasonable # of hands in for once since this was my first weekend when I didn't have tons of crap I had to do.

But yah, obv being greedy haha.

Anywho, things will be pretty normal this week at work (knock on wood), but then things will get pretty hectic from Thanksgiving on. I'm hoping to up my grind a little after the New Year though, when things settle somewhat.

 

[BenjiHustle]

Not to be a dick, but do you feel like it may help you to see a therapist?

Just asking because you have tendencies to turn good into bad almost as a habit and it may be inherent, not just run bad kicking you every time you try to get positive.

Not just talking about poker, but I remember how elated you were with your job once upon a not-so-long-time ago.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Fwiw, I was elated for GETTING my job - I have yet to be elated IN my job. If you want you can go read reviews of the company and I think a lot of my sentiments related to work will make sense to you.

Yes, I can be pessimistic, and I do tend to tone positives down because I'm wary of getting too excited about things. But I don't turn something good into bad. My job blows atm. And it's not like I'm having a singular bad week - it's been over a month of extremely stressful days where I'm working 5-10 hours per week more than I want to be.

The money is nice because my life is stable and I'm secure financially, and the benefits are pretty reasonable, and I work with very intelligent and mostly friendly people who are around my age. But the actual work of it just sucks right now. I don't want to drag this post any longer than I know it's already going to be so I want go into minute details about what makes it suck. But there's more to happiness in your job than good pay and intelligent coworkers.

Please read a few: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Epic-Systems-Corporation-Reviews-E35163.htm

And I'd ignore the internship ones - those are pretty unrealistically skewed relative to the full-time positions.

By the way, I don't think you're a dick for saying that, but I did want to set things straight in terms of my job, because that aspect is very clear cut. And I went to like half a dozen counseling sessions during a particularly rough time in college, so the concept isn't foreign to me. It was helpful in some ways, but 90% of it was stuff I already knew and had articulated to myself mentally, if that makes sense.

Also, therapy has a lot more value when it's free - I went to free counseling at school. But it's extremely expensive "in the real world," and if I did that I wouldn't be half-assing it like once a month. For me personally I would need to actually develop a relationship with someone for that kind of thing to be worthwhile and have an impact.

The poker stuff is way less clear-cut, unfortunately, and probably the thing in my life that is most deserving of therapeutic attention lol. My current relationship with poker is kind of weird, because I'm sort of out of my downswing... but like I'm not really "winning" in a straightforward way either.

And that still affects me more than I'd like. There're still plenty of times where I question whether or not I'm a winner, whether I'm wasting my time, etc. It's difficult to lose for that kind of time period and not be fundamentally skeptical of yourself. And I don't mean in the good way, where you're questioning the why of plays you make. Rather, I'm skeptical of my worth in the game. And not shockingly, there's a parallel in my job right now, because the training I received falls pitifully short of the skillset needed to do my job well.

This turned kind of rambling so I guess I'll just stop here and see if there's anything else you (or anyone) wants to add. I'm not going back and editing what I wrote, so disclaimer down here: I don't know if I came off uber-defensive or not - but I did try to be honest.

 

[BenjiHustle]

I think it's good that you said all of that anyway. Whether you realized it or not, that laid a lot out that I think is better said than simply thought and internalized. At first, I did think I was gonna get laid into, but I think I came on strong anyway with a topic that most people would hesitate to mention in the first place. It is what it is.

I did check out the reviews and it's basically just as you said. Long hours, low training value, but good pay and you're apparently expected to be a top-notch individual when you enter (which may explain the training shortfall[?]). Some people, as I see it, don't travel... Maybe they just don't mention it. Perhaps you'd be better off staying home, if possible.

All things being what they are, though, I was definitely referring more to poker. I understand that feeling; hell, I'm the physical manifestation of the feeling. The way that it affects me (and apparently you) doesn't seem healthy, either.

Poker has a way of mimicking life and if we can't find comfort in success, it will show. Poker's very good at exposing our mental weaknesses and I have a great many. Not to be Dr. Phil or any shizz like that, I was just wondering if maybe you had some difficulty accepting your own worth, your own ability, your own success, etc.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Well I could go into a long-winded, rambling post about all that, but I'd rather not tbh. But I can tell you that this stuff was far from being "just internalized" lol.

Poker's been up and down, as expected, and I'm trying to find a balance between what's the most fun and what I think is the most profitable. But really enjoying PLO, and running pretty well too, so meh, sticking with a mix, and not too many hands/hr.

PokerStars - P2 PL Hi (6 max) - Omaha Hi - 5 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 91.5 BB (VPIP: 100.00, PFR: 0.00, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 1)
CO: 210.5 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 50.00, 3Bet Preflop: -, Hands: 2)
BTN: 145 BB (VPIP: 63.74, PFR: 37.36, 3Bet Preflop: 26.47, Hands: 92)
Hero (SB): 96.5 BB
BB: 100 BB (VPIP: 67.42, PFR: 14.48, 3Bet Preflop: 4.84, Hands: 221)

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K:diamond: T:diamond: 9:spade: 8:heart:

UTG calls 1 BB, CO raises to 3 BB, BTN calls 3 BB, Hero calls 2.5 BB, BB calls 2 BB, UTG calls 2 BB

Flop: (15 BB, 5 players) Q:diamond: 6:diamond: J:club:
Hero bets 9.5 BB, fold, UTG calls 9.5 BB, CO raises to 46 BB, fold, Hero raises to 93.5 BB and is all-in, fold, CO calls 47.5 BB

Turn: (211.5 BB, 2 players) 5:club:

River: (211.5 BB, 2 players) A:spade:

Hero shows K:diamond: T:diamond: 9:spade: 8:heart: (Straight, Ace High)
(Pre 46%, Flop 54%, Turn 55%)
CO shows 2:heart: T:spade: Q:heart: Q:club: (Three of a Kind, Queens)
(Pre 54%, Flop 46%, Turn 45%)
Hero wins 202 BB


This next one was pretty enjoyable too. Fwiw, previous hand, MP had opened, I had 3b, other played had also cold-called and we went 3way to flop in 3b pot. I cbet an Axx board that wasn't very coordinated and I took it down.

SB: 187.5 BB (VPIP: 33.33, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 0.00, Hands: 3)
BB: 124.5 BB (VPIP: 50.00, PFR: 25.00, 3Bet Preflop: 16.67, Hands: 8)
UTG: 200 BB (VPIP: 44.44, PFR: 33.33, 3Bet Preflop: 25.00, Hands: 9)
MP: 20 BB (VPIP: 63.27, PFR: 37.76, 3Bet Preflop: 26.32, Hands: 99)
Hero (CO): 210 BB
BTN: 112.5 BB (VPIP: 67.54, PFR: 14.91, 3Bet Preflop: 4.72, Hands: 228)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K:club: A:club: T:heart: K:diamond:

fold, MP raises to 2 BB, Hero raises to 7.5 BB, BTN calls 7.5 BB, fold, fold, MP raises to 20 BB and is all-in, Hero raises to 69 BB, BTN calls 61.5 BB

Flop: (159.5 BB, 3 players) 3:club: A:heart: 7:club:
Hero bets 101.5 BB, BTN calls 43.5 BB and is all-in

Turn: (246.5 BB, 3 players) Q:heart:

River: (246.5 BB, 3 players) 5:diamond:

Hero shows K:club: A:club: T:heart: K:diamond: (One Pair, Aces)

Main Pot [61.5 BB]: (Pre 42%, Flop 77%, Turn 71%)
Side Pot#1 [185 BB]: (Pre 61%, Flop 80%, Turn 75%)

MP mucks J:diamond: T:diamond: K:spade: T:spade: (One Pair, Tens)

Main Pot [61.5 BB]: (Pre 26%, Flop 2%, Turn 1%)

BTN mucks 4:spade: 3:spade: J:heart: 4:heart: (One Pair, Fours)

Main Pot [61.5 BB]: (Pre 31%, Flop 21%, Turn 28%)
Side Pot#1 [185 BB]: (Pre 39%, Flop 20%, Turn 25%)

Hero wins 235.5 BB

 

[BenjiHustle]

Well played, sir. Can't believe the hands that are involved. 344J double-suited calling PF for over half-stack... Wow.

Not that I'm good at Omaha or anything, but even I know better. It kind of looks a lot like people used to play Texas Hold 'Em.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Indeed. It's not that often you can gii OTF 3-ways with 77% equity

 

[BenjiHustle]

Do you find any particular Omaha study tools most helpful? I've wanted to get into it for quite some time and with the boom that has happened over the last couple years+, it's definitely time to get in or forget about it, imo. Plus, I simply like knowing a variety of games.

Wish I could find some Badugi action. I slayed at badugi tables when they were available.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

I ****ing love badugi.

And I don't really study PLO much at this point. I've read ~1.2 books on it.

 

[BenjiHustle]

~1.2 eh? You're just a natural poker slayer. Well, I suppose that if I come across something good, I'll see if you're interested.

Badugi ftmfw.

 

[Logan2]

Lol, what 1.2 books mean? one complete the other just read 20%? names of books?.

Never played badugi, is it fun?

 

[Matt Vaughan]

@Benji: Naw not really, it's just a game that's not advanced to where NLHE is in terms of mainstream movement toward something resembling optimal play. And this particular game I'm in is is like it's out of 2009 or something.

@Logan: I've actually never finished a PLO book, but I think I got like .8 through one and .4 through the other The one I'd recommend for beginners is Pot Limit Omaha by Jeff Hwang. It's simple and straightforward but it will stop you from dumping too much EV if you're transitioning from NLHE to PLO.

Badugi is pretty fun. I prefer PL badugi, b/c it's basically like playing preflop a flop game, but just the preflop street, and you can really punish the early mistakes later in the hand by inflating the pot. So it's pretty easy to do reasonably well, yet nobody does b/c it's a drawing game and no one ever wants to fold weak 3-card hands, and people vastly over-value the stronger 2-card hands.

Idk, I don't think it's likely to catch on, but it could be a pretty fun addition to a rotation game, and I think I might try to add it to my home game at some point in the future when I've got a more established player base.

 

[BenjiHustle]

Not to interject, but HELL YES it's fun!

And it's soooooooooooooo easy! The players are terri-bad and if you have a very basic understanding of the game (just check out some Barry Greenstein info on it) then you will crush.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Badugi is a game I never read anything on. Just the rules. I'm pretty sure that, plus basic understanding of position and value betting principles is enough to beat micro stakes (and probably higher) badugi.

 

[Logan2]

Where you play badugi guys?, does bovada have it?, i only know that exist because see it on Stars but never call me to try, no idea if run on 888 to give it a shot.

Will look for Omaha book Matt, thanks.

I really like PLO, what bring me down is the need to bigger BR and to get a new tracker, not much because hud but because to review hands/track results.

 

[BenjiHustle]

I played Badugi on Carbon. The games dried up though.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Bovada does not have it. I can't even think of where I used to play it... Probably Carbon.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Poker room nearer me is closing, and I've been checking out one that's about an hour away. The drive isn't THAT bad but I can't really ever go after work except on Fridays, so that kind of sucks.

But play seems soft, dealers decent, and floor is friendly and already knows me after 3 sessions in 3 days. I'm looking forward to being a weekend warrior but hopefully putting in decent hours.

My gf is moving in in the next few weeks though, so I'm not sure she'll be on board with my playing 20+ hours/week on just the weekends. And the last thing I want to do is take her with me and get her hooked on slots... We'll see though.

Poker has been swingy as hell lately - what a shock, I know. They don't call me "sawtooth" for nothing... Have had lots of + and - 3 or 4 BI sessions where I'm 1 or 2 tabling. Continuing to play PLO and rotation games which has been fun, but I don't think I'm really ready for those swings when multitabling.

Only got about 21 BI for 1/2 in my roll currently, so while I'm reasonably rolled for soft NL games, soft PLO games are kind of another story.

Hoping to get my study grind back on, but not really sure where to start. My bovada account is virtually empty again after a bad run at 200nl and 100nl, and I just wasn't having the hours to grind it anyway. Focusing on live and pseudo-live games, so I may focus more on live poker training.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Hero (BB): 259 BB
UTG: 235.5 BB (VPIP: 30.30, PFR: 17.27, 3Bet Preflop: 6.58, Hands: 4,817)
UTG+1: 137 BB (VPIP: 41.04, PFR: 25.10, 3Bet Preflop: 9.95, Hands: 1,527)
MP: 105 BB (VPIP: 16.99, PFR: 8.82, 3Bet Preflop: 5.76, Hands: 309)
CO: 212 BB (VPIP: 34.65, PFR: 5.45, 3Bet Preflop: 4.95, Hands: 206)
BTN: 119 BB (VPIP: 22.97, PFR: 16.28, 3Bet Preflop: 5.41, Hands: 349)
SB: 69 BB (VPIP: 26.92, PFR: 11.85, 3Bet Preflop: 3.13, Hands: 5,570)

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K:club: Q:heart:

UTG calls 1 BB, UTG+1 calls 1 BB, fold, CO calls 1 BB, BTN raises to 4 BB, fold, Hero calls 3 BB, UTG calls 3 BB, UTG+1 calls 3 BB, CO calls 3 BB

Flop: (20.5 BB, 5 players) 2:heart: Q:spade: 2:spade:
Hero bets 12 BB, fold, fold, CO calls 12 BB, fold

Turn: (44.5 BB, 2 players) 5:spade:
Hero bets 19 BB, CO calls 19 BB

River: (82.5 BB, 2 players) K:diamond:
Hero bets 32 BB, fold

Hero wins 79 BB

 

[duggs]

looks fine to me