[Donkeybrain]

Two sessions since starting this blog and both have ended in the red brining this months total to minus 620USd. Dont think I have had a losing month for far on PLO25 but if this doesnt turn around soon then maybe this one will be. Yesterdays session was quite fun to was playing well I thought and just didint run to well in some some key spots, but was a lot of fun hands. But then todays session was like many has been this month where nothing is working and Im questioning everything I knew about poker. Was the same thing in NLHE after not having a losing month in years and then loosing 5 days in a row and my brain goes like “did I get lucky the first 5 years and this is what its gonna be like”. BR down to 210 now aswell so might be a reload tomorrow as im playing 6 tables there is only two reloads if it starts of in the red.

[Adelaney]

Hey @donkeybrain

Welcome to the community and the PLO Mastermind 🙂

It’s great to hear that switching to PLO and beginning to study and becoming more involved in the community as a whole brought back your passion and enjoyment for the game!

Hope the grind begins to improve over the next few days and you can start to put some winning sessions together again, which is always naturally great for the confidence and reassurance aspect of things.

Good luck on the grind and with your goals, look forward to seeing your next updates!

[Donkeybrain]

Thanks Adelaney, got some bad news the day after that last post so took a few days of and will be travelling a bit next few days so wont be getting a lot of hands in. But will have my laptop with me so will have a few opporunities to play even to I will probably spend more time studying next few days rather then playing.

Played a shorter session today after no poker the last 3 days and it was quite a fun one ending with a okay profit of 44 USD in 3 hours. And here are som of the sessions hands using the replayer function (hopefully im doing it right).

https://plomastermind.com/replayer/324InJNzP/

This hand was not really that interesting as it plays it self after the flop. Im always c-betting this hand as either my opponent got a Jack and I can probably get 3 streets of value of him or he missed and im taking it down. Hard for him to have anything but JJ on the river when he raises but could have been QQJx and it was a recriational player so anything can happen.

https://plomastermind.com/replayer/524InQ6OG/

Another aces situation that happens all the time. Im oop and the villain is 75bb deep im blocking the Jack and both my aces are blockers to the broadway straight, and also a 9 that blocks straights and give me some unlikely back door straights myself, and the SPR is so a given stack of spot. Ended up being behind this time but the luck was on my sight turning that 13% on the turn into a 100% on the river.

https://plomastermind.com/replayer/624InMqnz/

Pretty weak starting hand but feels like a pretty given open on the Button when no one has opened the pot. Got one of the better flops and bb leads out and I decided to slow play as there is not that many bad cards to freeze the action on the turn I think he is likely to bet again and I can get it in on a blank turn. 4 of hearts was the perfect turn and bb pots it and I think he will most of the time have a Queen with a flush draw or a set and since he bets pot hes commited and its an easy all in, and if he has top set then not much to do about it and the turn keeps us in pretty decent shape in worst case scenario.

https://plomastermind.com/replayer/224InGzAy/

This hand is quite intresting where im not sure if the defend on the bb is maybe a bit to lose, but im the biggest nit ever so feels like I cant play any tighter. Anyway flop is bad and im check folding, and when it gets checked around and we see the turn im not sure about the check raise. There are almost no good rivers, but im giving this new reg that bets credit for calling to lose and also bluffing when missing so I decide to pot it back to him when he bets out. My plan is to check call any bad rivers because I think if he calls with a diamond draw he will bluff on a club, and also bluff if the board pairs with a non club or diamond card. Think it is a great EV play vs him as I will always win the pot on a blank river and win half the time if a suited card gets there.

https://plomastermind.com/replayer/224InK4Rx/

Also a interesting hand where I like the 3bet on the button, and on the flop I flop the world and would have liked to see myself be e bit more. The turn is the soul crusher card but a good card to bluff at with a smaller sizing so that street I feel like I played fine. River is not the dream card but since we were sitting there with J high we cant complain, and when the villain checks it feels like there it not much use to bet for value. Could have turned the hand into a bluff on the river as my opponent could very well have the nut flush but I decided I had enough show down to check it down.

https://plomastermind.com/replayer/524InJBwN/

Not to sure about the villain but he seemd to be 3betting quite a lot so was happy to call a 3bet with this hand. Got a nice looking flop aswell and decided to go for the check raise where he could have AAxx and my check raise would put on a lot of pressure and also have plenty of equity if the money goes in. And I also thought he could have something like he had where I got him crushed and im happy to get it in. Feels like a spot where I want to play my hands fast to give my opponents the chance to fold the better hand, and to keep myself a bit balanced as I will also be in same spot with made hands like 89TT/ TTJQ etc.

https://plomastermind.com/replayer/524InYMcc/

Pretty happy with how I played this hand aswell checking the turn as I think my opponent can have a lot of different kind of hands ranging from what he had to set of 8s and 7s, and also some 9Txx. Not many good rivers so I went with a check hoping he would have a made hand and bet and call of my shove. River was bad and since he didint go all in on the turn I now had a decision, luckily I have spent 90% of my study time to study this situation with what do in an SPR pot of 0.0000002, some say its a waste of time but there I was shoving on a scary river getting paied.

Was quite a lot of hands so gonna call it here for today and stalk some other blogs for a while.

Hand Replayer

[Donkeybrain]

Not much poker last few days a Ive been travling a bit. Been getting some good study hours into as my train that was supposed to take 5 and a half hours took 8 and a half with the Swedish rail road trafic always having problems. Did not help I got a 120USD fee for booking a student ticket when my student discount had expired earlier this year so gonna have to remember to not make that mistake again when travling back home….But atleast the plomastermind videos kept me busy for most of the train ride. They have already had some impact on my game where ive been seeing more opportunities in how to play hands, and the last two quite short sessions have also shown a decent profit aswell which is always nice.

Next two days will be a solo trip spent in a cabin out in the woods so no poker for those days but I have downloaded some mental game episodes so will be nice to have a sauna then sit by the fire and having some nice food and a few bears listening to those. Gonna be really great getting a few days alone and just relax and hopefully when I get back I can finish this month with this positive trend ive had on the poker tables last few days and carry that with over to the next month aswell.

[Donkeybrain]

Been back a few days now from the cabin and been playing quite a few shorter sessions which all been landing in the green. been a pretty good mix of studying and playing even to if I where back in my own home I would definitly want to put in a few more hours playing. Think I have been playing really well and that im on a good track to make some major improvements to my game. I still have some figuring out to do when it comes to pre game warm up as listening to mindset podcasts seems to have a very good affect on me atm. Just listening to some poker and mental game related topics makes me feel a lot more encouraged and focused so want to keep doing that and see if the positive effects will last.

I also remember seing a video with Patrick Antonius a while back where I felt him opening up a lot and sharing a thing that I thought I was probably one of the only ones feeling. And that was how he talked about how he was in Vegas playing and had been winning for 5 days straight and that winning didint bring any happiness but just felt like a normal day in the office, and when he lost he felt terrible. That is something I can relate to a lot from my NLHE days where I felt very botherd with the idea that I was doing something that gave no positive feelings when going good and at the same time felt terrible when not going good. After losing sessions they have also had an impact on me constantly reminding me about it and I was only able to forget that when surrounded with friends just hanging out or working out, and when I spent the rest of my day alone the bad feeling would just sit with me for the rest of the day and sometimes days. Last few sessions I have won aswell and still that havent really brought me much feeling of happiness, but I have felt quite a rewarding feeling while playing, and that comes from that feeling of playing well and I have felt like my decisions during hands have been very thought out and that has made the outcome of the hand to have less impact because I would not have changed the way I played it. And im not used to getting that rewarding feeling while playing so that has been great to enjoying the moment while playing.

Hoping to keep this momentum up next month and get some short term success to go along with working towards the bigger picture!

[Donkeybrain]

Been slacking a lot this month, or rather I’ve been quite busy with irl leading to only been playing 23 hours so far this month. Have been playing very well when I have played I feel, except for today where I felt I was not in the zone at all and I was getting into a lot of hard spots because of playing my hands poorly pre flop. So down almost 200 for the day which could have been less had I played better. But now I’ve set aside more time to play so I hope to be playing better again and with the time to put in some decent hours i’m gonna need to get into that good mindset and focus up. Been lots of fun at the poker table to this month so already looking forward to the next session while writing this.

[Donkeybrain]

Second session ended up starting a bit later then planned. Was crushing it for close to two hours then ended up getting pretty unlucky in one big pot and I started to lose focus and wanting to review some hands instead of actually playing so ended up closing the tables. I also got really lucky in a hand earlier in the session so cant complain more then that the time I got lucky I knew I was playing the hand poorly and still I followed through so even tho I know and accept I will make mistakes every session this was to much of a rookie one. Other than that the bluffs were working, the thin value bets where getting paied and I feel quite good about the session all in all. The last few weeks have improved my pre flop and post flop so much its crazy, from working on my own making big mistakes in my deduction and also looking at my opponents who many of them were playing quite a similar strategy as myself and I didint realise a lot of the leaks that came with taht, and now after many videos and work of the table Im making very good progress. The results in the form of winnings are not completly there yet, still the last few weeks its been positive results and my BR is a bit more healthy at 670usd. I still have leaks in all parts of my game but they are getting smaller and smaller and there is a lot of room to improve.

[Donkeybrain]

Long session ending in a big loss today. Havent felt good at the tables last few days and focus has been a bit off. Would not have matterd today where nothing went good, only had a short come back going in spots you dont really want to be in but my opponents ended up being on the lower end of their range every time and my hands held. That started a comeback of winning 6 buy ins in 200 hands before things turning sour again and the session ended up down 12 buy ins total. Gonna review some hands now even to I dont feel like doing anything poker related now.

[Adelaney]

Sorry to hear the focus has been a bit off the last few days when it’s came to playing poker. Have you thought about just having a couple days away from poker just relaxing, resetting I know you mentioned above you’ve been slacking a bit this month due to focusing on some real life things. Looking for the outside it feels as if a few days off just putting your focus anywhere but poker then coming back to it and putting in a few review sessions might be helpful.

Hope things turn around for you both with focus and on the tables the rest of the month.

Ash

[Donkeybrain]

Yea I was also thinking that taking like 2 days of could be a good idea. But I will have to do some travelling again soon so wanted to use the days up til then to get some volume in. These off days I have I still feel like I have to play as I have not found a routine yet that is working all the way so I still need to practise to get into my best mind set before the session and still play if Im completely there. Also got into a ton of spots yesterday where I was not comfortable what lines I should take and did not get a good read of my opponents ranges where I felt quite unable to make good decisions no matter if I ended up folding/calling or raising. I also dont consider myself to have gotten unlucky yesterday and that in reality it was just a bad day at the tables that will happen and where I also could have lost less money if I had played better.

Today I did two short sessions where I felt I was playing better again and even had a pretty bad down swing in the second session but bounced back and kept my cool. Now there will be less playing until Sunday and I will try and squeeze in a session here and there if I can find a good time to play. If not then I will take these days to study and work on my mental game which I find really inspiring.

[Donkeybrain]

To long since I updated here. Been a few ups and downs last 2 weeks and last now for the last week I have been crushing it which has been feeling amazing. Biggest problem Ive had is because of corona I have not been to the climbing gym in a while and its messed up my routine and I usually dont get that hungry now when not working out and I end up eating a lot less so I wait with food for and get really fatigued. So most sessions has ended after only 2-3 hours and after I had food I have not played much more after. Tomorrow Im planning to put in quite a few hands, one session early in the day and one in the evening. Currently played 11.5k hands so far this month which is decent but I still in the lower end of what I think I need to play. Been running very hot this first week of this month at 19BB/100 winning quite a few really big hands and all in adjusted is at 3.50. Have been feeling great at the tables and caught on to some leaks in my EP and MP positions which put me in a lot of uncomfortable positions post flop that will save me some money and headache. I have not been studying enough either and mainly been working on my mental game and now need to put in some more hours into the poker theory aswell. Hopefully the heater can continue for a while longer and keeping on improving.

[Donkeybrain]

Jinxed myself really well with the last post. 3 days later and 4 sessions in the red with one really impressive 13 buy in loss. Still a while left until the holidays to get some hours in so probably wont update anything until then, just gonna keep on going and see how it goes.