Well, the Battle for the Luckbox has officially begun and the Landlord nation has suffered some defeat!

Bodog No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG BJJIII ($225.75)
UTG+1 ($76.15)
MP1 ($174.65)
MP2 ($56.50)
MP3 ($52.00)
CO ($158.35)
Landlord79 ($92.00)
SB ($101.50)
BB ($156.50)

Preflop: Landlord79 is Button with 7 , 7 .
UTG BJJIII raises to $5, 3 folds, MP3 calls $5, CO calls $5, Landlord79 calls $5, 2 folds.

Flop: ($21.50) 7 , 9 , 9 (4 players)
BJJIII bets $25, MP3 folds, CO folds, Landlord79 bets $87 (All-In), BJJIII calls $62.

Turn: ($195.50) K (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($195.50) A (2 players, 1 all-in)

Final Pot: $195.50

Results:
BJJIII has K K (full house, kings full of nines).
Landlord79 has 7 7 (full house, sevens full of nines).
Outcome: BJJIII wins $195.50.

How can I always get my money in so goot and lose? Freakin Luckbox!!

And again!

Bodog No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

saw flop| saw showdown

SB BJJIII ($325.25)
BB ($76.15)
UTG ($169.15)
UTG+1 ($56.50)
MP1 ($47.00)
MP2 ($147.85)
Landlord79 ($100.00)
CO ($101.00)
Button ($166.75)

Preflop: Landlord79 is MP3 with A, 6:.
4 folds, Landlord79 raises to $4, 2 folds, SB BJJIII calls $3.50, 1 fold.

Flop: ($9) 2 , 7 , 8 (2 players).
BJJIII checks, Landlord79 bets $6, BJJIII calls $6.

Turn: ($21) J (2 players)
BJJIII checks, Landlord79 bets $15, BJJIII bets $315.25 (All-In), Landlord79 folds.

Final Pot: $351.25

Results below:
No showdown. BJJIII shows 8 8 and wins $351.25.

Why OH why didn't I take the blue pill and check the turn?????


I did win the biggest online pot of my life this week though!

Bodog No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($76.50)
SB ($144.50)
BB ($47.50)
Landlord79 ($193.25)
UTG+1 ($81.00)
MP1 ($73.90)
MP2 ($66.35)
MP3 ($96.00)
CO ($146.00)

Preflop: Landlord79 is UTG with J , J .
Landlord79 raises to $3, 1 fold, MP1 calls $3, 1 fold, MP3 calls $3, 3 folds, BB calls $2.

Flop: ($12.50) J , 5 , 8 (4 players)
BB checks, Landlord79 checks, MP1 checks, MP3 bets $7.25, BB folds, Landlord79 calls $7.25, MP1 calls $7.25.

Turn: ($34.25) 4 (3 players)
Landlord79 bets $20, MP1 bets $63.65 (All-In), MP3 bets $85.75 (All-In), Landlord79 calls $65.75.

River: ($269.40) 9 (3 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $269.40

Results below:
Landlord79 has J J (three of a kind, jacks).
MP1 has 8 8 (three of a kind, eights).
MP3 has 5 5 (three of a kind, fives).
Outcome: Landlord79 wins $269.40.


Alright, enough w/ the bad beats and the brags, September results were:

Went to Biloxi and lost ($1,069.00) over 17 hours of play.
Online wins were $310.00 over 31.5 hours.
Net loss was ($759.00)

After my biggest monthly win ever, I'm now facing my biggest monthly loss. I went through a 10 buyin downswing between live and online play, then also went on a 4 buyin downswing online after peeking out at a $500 profit for the month. I brought my net online win back up to $310 at the end of this month with my biggest pot won ever, actually, my total online win would have been higher to close the month out if I wouldn't have sat down w/ BJJIII last night and gotten sucked out on! Anyway, I'm happy w/ my recovery, it could have been much worse.


***October Goals***
Get back into the saddle w/ live casino play and win some monies at my favorite honey hole "the Horseshoe- Bossier City"
Play 5k hands this month and win >$500 online. I'd like to be playing $1/2 NL sometime in November or sooner.

***1 Year Goal***
#1. I want to have $20k in my BR by July 1, 2025
#2. If the legal landscape clears, I'd love to turn pro not long after achieving goal #1



***August Graph*** (It shows $200 more than I made, thank Dogwatch for that)

Rules of Engagement

For all of my loyal fans out there who check my blog every day hoping to get a line or two from me, =) sorry that I haven't written in a while but it's the end of the quarter and it's crunch time at work, we've also had lots of stuff going on at church, so I have been uber busy and have taken any spare time that I have to actually play poker instead of write about it. (Wow, that's a long sentence.)

I want to talk about managing when you play poker to optimize your win rate and minimize your losing sessions. I really feel that the players who can better manage themselves will end up making more money at poker and that they'll be the ones who are still around 10 or 20 years from now.

Everyone has his or her own quirks as far as what works best for them concerning optimal playing times. For me, I know that I play bad when I'm tired or rushed. On my trip to Biloxi, MS earlier this month, I was coming off a bout with strep throat. I was still on anti-biotics from the weekend before and wasn't fully recovered. I
figured that a few days of recovery would have allowed me to think clearly enough to play poker profitably. Boy was I wrong. Looking back, I now attribute 50% of my losses to mental fatigue and just plain not feeling up to doing the work of playing good poker. Sure my cards ran bad, that's the down side of variance, but I believe that my losses would have been a lot less if I would have been on top of my game that weekend. This fatigue carried through the next week as I proceeded to go through the biggest downswing of my life, which bottomed out at 10 buyins.

Another area that leaves me feeling tired and doesn't allow me to play at my best is playing poker after sex. I've paid the stupid tax on this lesson at least 2x already, and Saturday night, I tried my luck at it again. I guess that I thought that I had gotten good enough at poker to over come this weakness. I had cut my 10
buy in down swing in half for this month and was on the road to getting it all back when I found myself in a "Right Moment" with my wife. Once the action was over, I decided to do my next favorite activity and play some poker. Boy, what a bad idea that was, I proceeded to drop 2.5 buyins in the course of about 3 hours. I stayed up much too late and played way too long and I paid the penalty for it! I can honestly say that I have never paid for sex, but it has for sure cost me plenty of money!

I've also found that I don't play well when I'm on a time crunch. Situations of "Oh, I've got an hour before I have to be at so & so" are just not the right time to play. I've found that I make hurried calls and take the razor thin edges that are better left unplayed.

I also don't prefer to play at LAG tables where everyone is floating and calling down light. I like to be at semi-educated tables where the players have read enough Skylansky material to fold much too often. I'm not a chronic bluffer, but I do prefer heads up pots against people that I can predict what they are going to do. When I am getting floated and called down w/ 2nd pair or worse, I just need to get up and find another table.

So, what I'm going to do is reiterate to all of my loyal blog readers what my guidelines are for being at my peak when I play cards. This is mostly for my benefit, but I'm going to share it w/ you guys just so that you can help keep me accountable.

1. Don't play when I'm tired, this includes after sex, when I'm short on sleep, and after a very stressful day at work.
2. Don't play when time is an issue. This includes when my wife is pestering me and when I have to be somewhere in a short period of time.
3. Don't play at wild tables. The discipline to get up from these tables should add at least 1BB/100 Hands to my bottom line.

For the month so far, I am up ~$200 online and haven't been back to the casino for some live action since my Biloxi debacle. I was up ~$500 online prior to Saturday night and also lost $170 on Monday afternoon during a time crunched session. Combined, I'm at ~($870) for the month, and would have been half way into that Biloxi loss if I would not have broken my first two rules.

Update as of 10pm, I picked up about $50 tonight in a 2 hour session. It's not much but it's another win!

LL79

Well, things are definitely running better here at the end of the month. I recouped my online losses and am now in the positive for online play. In fact, I've recovered everything except 4 buyins of the Live $200NL losses that I took at the first of this month. I made it back into the black on Tuesday, but I had a session that put me into the clear on Thursday night. I only played an hour or so, but was able to pick up a little more than 2.5 buyins at $100NL. Here are the main 2 winning hands from last night, one is an auto call, the other is very close. In fact, I was so unsure of the quality of my decision w/ the Qs, that I posted it on 2+2 for review. The consensus was to call and let the variance sort it out.

Bodog No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

saw flop|saw showdown

UTG ($122.02)
Landlord79 ($100.00)
MP1 ($158.00)
MP2 ($25.25)
MP3 ($104.25)
CO ($126.75)
Button ($127.00)
SB ($106.75)
BB ($97.21)

Preflop: Landlord79 is UTG+1 with A , A .
1 fold, Landlord79 raises to $4, 5 folds, SB calls $3.50, 1 fold.

Flop: ($9) A , 7 , K (2 players)
SB bets $102.75 (All-In), Landlord79 calls $96 (All-In).

Turn: ($207.75) K (2 players, 2 all-in)

River: ($207.75) 3 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $207.75

Results in white below:
SB has T K (three of a kind, kings).
Landlord79 has A A (full house, aces full of kings).
Outcome: Landlord79 wins $201. SB wins $6.75.

- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -
BB is 54/20/1.8
UTG is 64/15/2

Bodog No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

saw flop|saw showdown

Button ($47.50)
SB ($126.75)
BB ($162.35)
UTG ($174.80)
Hero ($108.00)
MP1 ($100.00)
MP2 ($160.95)
MP3 ($61.25)
CO ($88.50)

Preflop: Hero is UTG+1 with Q , Q .
UTG calls $1, Hero raises to $4.5 , 6 folds, BB calls $3.50, UTG calls $3.50.

Flop: ($14) K , 4 , Q (3 players)
BB bets $14, UTG bets $170.3 (All-In), Hero ????

Here are some of the better comments:

-enjoy the variance
-2AF with a 50VPIP is very aggro, probably something in the upper3/4 range if they were 18VPIP
-Someone with a very high VPIP is seeing a ton of flops, and most of the time he's going to have nothing on the flop. It's harder to bet/raise when you have air or weak draws most of the time.
-Well it's really hard to play "hit or miss" when you have a VPIP over 50%. Quite often they hit something like mid pair, top pair no kicker, or draws, which they're not folding, but not raising either because they're calling stations.
-Usually players with higher VPIP tend to have lower AF, but it can vary from player to player. Some uber-nits have huge AF's because they play so few hands that they have overpairs and sets a large% of the time when they show strength.
Really loose players tend to have low AF's because they flop hands that they are likely to call with, rather than raise with. If someone has BOTH a huge VPIP and a huge AF, they are basically maniacs who are trying to win every pot. You can stack off against them with really weak made hands because they will usually have worse.


Special thanks to Bottomset and Sabr42 from 2+2 for these great responses.

This was my response to their feedback and the results of that hand:

My understanding of VPIP vs AF has deepened. Thank you master Bottomset and master Sabr42!

I never really thought out the fact of how hard it is to have a high VPIP and maintain a high AF. My path to learning still lies ahead of me.

FYI, I put the BB on 44 and the UTG 50% on a made flush, 50% on a random hand like TP. His limp call really perplexed me, so he was on a wide range. I put no one on KK for the higher set due to there not being a 3 bet pf which any sensible human being would have done in the UTG's spot and either of them would have done w/ their high pfr%'s.

Results: I called, BB folded, UTG turned over 8 -7 for the made flush. Turn is a brick and the river pairs the 4 FTW!!! BB admitted in the chat box that he had the 3rd best hand here with top 2 pair.

Landlord theorem holds strong that on a 3 suited flop, donk overbets = strong made hands. I did see one exception last night, a guy donk overbet w/ a str8 flush draw, but that's relatively equal to a strong made hand.

After a 10 Buyin downswing between Live $200NL and $50 to $100NL online, this is a welcomed change!!!

Bodog No-Limit Hold'em, $0.50 BB (9 handed) Hand History converter Courtesy of PokerZion.com

MP1 ($65.90)
Landlord79 ($57.25)
MP3 ($8.40)
CO ($30.25)
Button ($6.75)
SB ($66.05)
BB ($121.80)
UTG ($43.15)
UTG+1 ($38.45)

Preflop: Landlord79 is MP2 with T , T .
UTG calls $0.50, UTG+1 calls $0.50, MP1 calls $0.50, Landlord79 raises to $3, 3 folds, SB calls $2.75, 1 fold, UTG calls $2.50, UTG+1 calls $2.50, MP1 calls $2.50.

Flop: ($15.50) T , 9 , 5 (5 players)
SB bets $10, UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls $10, Landlord79 bets $54.25 (All-In), SB bets $63.05 (All-In), MP1 bets $62.9 (All-In).
Turn: ($195.70) 9 (3 players, 3 all-in)

River: ($195.70) K (3 players, 3 all-in)

Final Pot: $195.70

Results below:
SB has Q Q (two pair, queens and nines).
MP1 has 5 5 (full house, fives full of nines).
Landlord79 has T T (full house, tens full of nines).
Outcome: Landlord79 wins $178.25. MP1 wins $17.30. SB wins $0.14.

I feel that I'm back in my groove again and playing awesome. I've posted 4 winning sessions in a row to start pulling back some of the losses from earlier in the month!!!

One of the main contributors to my recovery of confidence was a Full Ring session that I played w/ BJJIII the other night. It was right at the tail end of that 10buyin downswing and he saw some of the beats that were coming my way. With him there to IM me in real time, I was reassured that the decisions that I was making were the right ones. He did almost stack me w/ his AK vs my AQ though Luckily, I can get away from TPGK. BJJIII wasn't so fortunate, even though he was the one doing the raising, he doubled the villain up. Luckily the villain was a shorty so it didn't cost BJ quite that much.

Bodog No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)

saw flop|saw showdown

MP2 ($83.00)
MP3 (BJJIII) ($97.00)
CO ($68.50)
Button ($131.61)
Landlord79 ($95.00)
BB ($38.50)
UTG ($139.50)
UTG+1 ($38.50)
MP1 ($114.75)

Preflop: Landlord79 is SB with Q , A .
4 folds, MP3 (BJJIII) raises to $4, 2 folds, Landlord79 calls $3.50, BB calls $3.

Flop: ($12) 5 , 6 , 8 (3 players)
Landlord79 checks, BB checks, BJJIII checks.

Turn: ($12) A (3 players)Landlord79 bets $8, BB raises to $16, BJJIII bets $93 (All-In), Landlord79 folds, BB bets $34.5 (All-In).

River: ($147.50) 4 (2 players, 2 all-in)

Final Pot: $147.50

Results in white below:
BB has 7 9 (straight, nine high).
BJJIII has A K (one pair, aces).
Outcome: BB wins $89. BJJIII wins $58.50.

I seem to have picked up 2 percentage points on my pfr% too, I think that the studying that I accomplished over this short downswing has led to that. It was definitely a learning experience, and I'm grateful for it, I just wish that I could get those 10 buyins back before month's end!!!

Here's to playing better!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I wish that I had an awesome trip report to come back with, but unfortunately, ole lady Luck has reversed her favor on me. After posting my best month ever last month, I've proceeded to drop 8 buyins between Live $200NL and online $25 to $100NL. This has erased 2/3's of my win from last month, but I'm playing it safe and hanging in there.

One thing that I'm doing while running bad is playing less and studying more. I believe that desire has a lot to do with our win rate, "If I want to, I will. If I don't care, I won't!" It's that simple. By playing less, I'm letting my desire grow and keeping my money off the table when things just aren't going my way. I wish that I would have played a little less in Biloxi though so that I could have saved some more of last month's win.

Good friends are necessary when you are running bad, especially when it's a big fall after you're been running golden. BJJIII has really been there for me, I was getting down on myself but he was there to let me know that I wasn't making bad decisions, (some of them were close, but not that bad.) As a poker player, I just want to make good decisions, and that's the best that I can do.

IMHO, I really don't like timed rakes. In fact, in the future, I'll be avoiding it like the plague. The Beau is really nice and all, but going forward, any trip to Biloxi will have the majority of my table time being spent at the Hard Rock. That place had a great set up, I just wish that it was a bigger room.

I also played at the Isle of Capri, my luck wasn't any better there. It's a temporary room and will be replaced when the new bulding gets completed. I look forward to visiting this new room, especially since the staff members at the Isle were so nice. I sat down at the 4/8 O/8 game w/ a 1/2 Kill for about and hour and dropped $80, and for future reference, I was highly out matched at this table, it was full of regulars, but I just can't turn down a game as fun as O/8.

Some losing hands from the Beau this weekend:

Set over set when my flopped top set got caught up on by KK on the turn. AA stayed in that hand to make it a really big win for the guy w/ Kings.

I had KK vs AA 2x.

I had my SB (2 seat) raised by the button (9 seat) when it folded to him, I called w/ Q-10o and the BB came along as well. The flop was AAJ and it checked around. The turn was a total brick and after the blinds checked, the button led out for $15 into the $30 pot, I didn't put him on any of that and called. The river was a K, that filled my gutter, I led the pot for $60 and the button pushed for $25 more, I still thought that I was good, but he turned over AK FTW. I really wish that I had payed closer attention to this guy during the hand, I'm sure if I could have seen him around the dealer that I could have picked up on some sign of strength.

With pocket 10s on the button, I made it $10 to go and got called in 4 places. The flop was 4 , 4 , 3 and it checked to me. I bet $40 into the $50 pot and got called in 2 spots. The turn was an offsuit K and it checked to me again. I stuffed my $142 into the pot and got instantly over-pushed by the SB who turned over KK. I don't understand his over-stuff in that spot w/ the 2nd nutz, but hey, he won what was out there!

My online losses have been just about as vicious, but I won't bore anyone w/ that.

I did post a small win at $25NL tonight after posting losses in 2 earlier sessions today, one at $100NL and the other at $25NL. I feel like I'm playing well, though I may be pushing the small edges a little too far. I'll keep fighting the good fight and I'll keep you guys updated on how it goes.