How did the live game go?

LOL at the turn and river bets.... that is how I play and that ain't a good thing

Well I was up about 70 quid but it's so awfully boring, I had to quit after 3 hours - in which I played about 10 hands. Most people are terrible too, the correct way to play is just passive pre with high potential hands (pairs, Ax suited etc) and try to hit, or raise BIG with premiums, like raise to 5-7BB pre and bet big for value.


Anyway, pretty terrible online session just happened, have been running good so knew it was coming, BR back down to $2173> It's a shame because I played OK but the whole session hinged in 3 hands; Hero v villain in each instance AK vs AA pre, KK vs AA pre and AK vs JJ pre.

Now obv KK vs AA is a cooler so that's fine, but what do you guys think about stacking off with AK pre? In 100BB poker I always thought it was kind of trivial but IDK - seems to lose more than it wins. Like you're usually crushed and occasionally 50/50. Should I just be 4 bet/folding here? Or flatting his 4bet if I 3 bet him?

Think it depends on the positions, your image, the other player and how they are playing.

So if you are the one jamming, then jamming AK is kind of like a semi bluff jam. You don't have a made hand. So if you have someone who is 4b and calling off 100% of the 4b range and that range is super strong, then you will be losing money. You benefit from some folds. Obviously vs PPs you are a slight underdog and vs AA and KK you are crushed and against AK you are essentially chopping, minus the times you get a FD freeroll with AKs. So you need to get some folds. So for me, i don't really 5b stack off with AK from the earlier positions as at my stakes I have not seen them 4b bluffing enough or 4b calling off wide enough. Honestly I don't 4b bluff enough from earlier positions, but have found that it isn't all that necessary tbh. BUvCO, Blinds vs BU/CO I typically don't even think about it much. Just 5b jam. That can change with reads. If you have a nit who will only over 4b AA and KK, then just fold.

If calling off, it just boils down to the pot odds you are getting vs the equity you have vs their jamming range, whatever you think that is. So you can take a spot like you are COvSB 100bb effective. You open to 3bb, they 3b to 10bb, you 4b to 25bb and they jam for 100bb

pot:
You - 25bb
Villain - 100bb
BB - 1BB

Pot = 126bb

So you need to call off 75bb for a pot of 126bb. 75/126+75=37%

So you need 37% eq to make the call. If you take a somewhat tight SB 5b jamming range of QQ+, AK, with AKs you have 41% equity and with AKo you have 38% equity. So in both cases its a call. Not that you are like fist pumping with AKo that you are getting 100bb in pre, but you still have the odds to call.

Now obviously if they 3b smaller and you opted to 4b smaller your odds get worse. Like if you 4b to 20bb and they stacked off your odds would then be closer to 40%, so then stacking off vs that range is not as profitable. AKo becomes a fold and AKs is barely a call. However, if you think they are stacking off with JJ or TT or AQ or have any other 5b bluff jams like A5s, then your equity improves and call becomes more profitable.

I can't really think of very many spots where I 3b AK and then just flat a 4b. Not saying that is correct or standard, just what I do, what I was taught and haven't spent time investigating it. I think in spots where I am not comfortable 3b/5b jamming then I just flat the open. So like MPvUT or COvUT.

Guys I'm going to quit this, I've been putting the volume of a 'pro' in over the last few weeks (lots of untracked hands at Snap to keep the bankroll growing - not just the hands here) and it's not a lifestyle I want. Staring at a screen, sitting down for hours on end, lack of human contact, etc - it isn't healthy and I feel like I've been isolating myself from friends family, haven't been hitting the gym, have been fatigued etc. If I were to become a fulltime grinder I can just see myself becoming more unhealthy, more distant from the people around me and having difficulty with things like mortgages in the future.

. I think the whole 'poker pro' thing was about freedom for me, freedom to be your own boss, work when you want etc, but it's just not like that. The variance of the game is your boss - no-one can escape it, and it means that you have to put in X number of hours to win X amount of money. People say to 'runt it like a business, but it's actually much more similar to being an employee. You have an hourly rate rather than the potential for unlimited profit - only difference is there are emotional swings and no-one to talk to. For me to come close to earning as much as I do in my job and from my side earner I'd have to put in sick volume or play pretty high stakes anyway so it's not like it's even worth it from a financial perspective.

It's a shame really, the magic I used to feel when walking into a casino has gone, when I went there last night I just sat there bored, watching people's awful plays. Truth is, I kind of wish I'd stayed as a rec, not touched online poker and still could get that magic and thrill of real life poker, which is how the game is supposed to be played, not with HUDs and solvers etc.

I started with $1500, grew it to $2k on NL50 and am leaving NL100 with approx $2170, so I've been successful to an extent. My real passion lays elsewhere (it's the 'side earner' I have) and I should really be pursuing that harder.

So this is me signing off, good luck at the tables guys, and remember that the most important thing is to enjoy it!

best of luck to you