Another day and depressingly a familiar outcome late in the session. Finding it so hard to get any upward momentum when nearly every day's play seems to get undone in 15 minutes late in the session what took 600+ hands to establish.

Tonight I get the OESD with flush draw all in and make the draw myself for a nice change only to cop the re-draw on the river followed almost instantly by KK < AK when he runner runners a flush.

Sigh.





TODAY




MARCH TO DATE




So first week of March done and met a few goals.

* Averaged 1,000 hands per day.
* Posted a profit (but with a hit at the end)

.....VPIP/PFR so far in March only 18/14 which isn't too bad but I would like to get it up a bit more. Btn steal 38% which is still too tight and PF 3bet is 4.6% which is better than normal but could do with some work too.

Happened waaaay too often this cricket season for my wife's liking.............and for my liver's for that matter. I can drink all night at 42 better than I could when I was 18. But it takes me a lot longer to recover. Mind you I don't get crook often and I generally manage through the next day no worries but it takes me a good 2-3 days to really shake off the tiredness. Monday night now and I'm absolutely still knackered.

Another tough night last night. Haven't looked at the results but almost 2,000 hands which is at least a good sign that I'm getting hands in.

The big pots just aren't going my way though.

From memory - 33 < TT on 38T, AA < QQ AIFP xxxxQ, KK < AA, open ended straight flush draw doesn't improve v set, and AKo < AKs on K high flop that runner runners out a flush.

Trying hard to stay positive and just keep grinding the hands and there's a slight improvement in some numbers (that still need working on) but at 5NL it's kind of depressing that I'm not moving forward more quickly.

Just fuck right off. This about sums up how every session goes for me these days. Hand after hand like this.

I'm at wits end.

I've decided I'm done with poker for a while. It isn't worth the heartache. It's not my job but has been a decent source of extra $$ in the past to be able to buy a few things or have a few weekends away etc.. But there's no enjoyment now. Feels like I'm just running in to set ups every time some decent money gets put in the middle.

Right now though I've either completely lost the ability to play or am going through the worst run I've ever had. I can't win a stack no matter how strong a hand I have. Overpairs are getting coolered often (sets etc) but my sets are never getting action. If AA flops top set somehow someone is backdooring me. If I have an open ended straight flush draw I'll miss every time but the most ridiculous gutshots are calling large bets and hitting against me far too often.

Not sure where that leaves this thread. The running has started to pick back up and I did a 10km fun run Friday after little preparation and went quite well but I'm not sure a poker forum thread without poker is going to interest too many people.

Good luck all.

the KQo is a fold OTR.

When you came back did you study at all? Did you just jump back on the tables and play? If so that is going to be the reason.

I'm not sure the final $4 into an $11 pot with TP against a donk is a fold. Looking at the result of this hand in hindsight sure but this guy has played worse. I didn't post his stats up but I'm not sure I fold too often in the same spot v this particular villain.

Likewise I don't think you can just say 'that is the reason". Might be a small part of the reason only. Yes I've done some db analysis, watched vids etc although I'm not fastidious about studying. I never had a break from the game either. Or at least an extended break. I had a few months tops where I wasn't playing as often but was still getting some hands in.

Mind you I'm not seeing saying there's not value in both your points as there clearly is and obviously something is amiss with my game too but as I said previously I'm letting it go now. I think I'll simply be happier not playing the game right now.

What do you expect him to bet with in the KQo hands then? 67 gest there OTT, KT gets there OTR, bdfd gets there OTR. I don't see him ever value betting worse or taking that line as a bluff. We have KK, KT and fd in our range and 67s so we will not be exploited by folding this. Very clear fold!

As for the no studying & break: Soz not sure why I thought you had two or three months where you played very little and mroe recreationally but may be getting journeys mixed up! If that isn't the case this point is less important but if it is then returning to games without studying is like trying to run 10k at your usual pace after 2 months rst or very light short runs.

I made the point because the KQo hands imo is very clearly a fold BUT is the call I would make if I hadn't studied or played for a while. I very commonly find my c game being full of bad calls and I play my c game mostly when I haven't been studying (or as I found out last night when I am tired and therefore have below 5/10 energy lol).

I love the term "some db analysis" what exactly have you done? Have you looked over your stats and tried making adjustments? Have you gone deep into your database to track a particular leak pulling out a number of examples then speaking to someone better to see how you should play the? Every single 10nl player with a db will do the same data base analysis (the first one) and they don't go anywhere (shock).

What vids have you watched? What did you gain form them? How did you track the knowledge you learnt and how/if you have applied it? Did you note down whilst watching the videos?

If you don't want to study then that is fine, but you can't expect to make much from poker if you don't :') Fish have one thing in common: they don't study, or if they do they don't do it very effectively. Fish also have another thing in common: they lose money. Linked? Probably

Some of that's fair and some is well wide of the mark which is prone to happen on anonymous forums when people speak generically without knowing full details of any given situation. I'm too 'over the game' right now to bother having a back and forth though even though I appreciate you taking your time sharing your thoughts (seriously).

All I'll finish with is what I said earlier. An unbelievably bad run combined with my own mental disintegration as a result means my love of the game is at an all time low and I have little resilience left to battle through it right now. I'm not a pro. I have a decent job and while I've enjoyed the extra $ that have come from the game in the past, there's no point playing at this point when I find so little joy in the game.

I'm never folding on that river either.

Not fun to hear man but I will just say this - Enjoy your time off, do what you love and spend some extra time with the family and drink some more beer.

Will be here for when you get back!

G'day all. Hope everyone's poker is going great guns and more importantly life is well.




RUNNING

About 10% of the way through 2016 target of running 1,500kms with 165kms travelled so far. A long way behind where I was this time last year and a fair way behind the pro-rata target of approx. 420kms for this point of the year.

HOWEVER, things are starting to click again. With cricket finished, presentations done and dusted, and the poker being put aside for a while, I have started to pick up the miles again. So far for April I'm on about 50kms with another run planned tonight and a target of achieving minimum 100kms for the month which I think I should do without too much trouble.

Time to really start building to that 20km trail run in August and in the meantime I have registered for a 5km fun run early May which isn't a race so much as a fundraiser for breast cancer. Beyond that, the Melbourne Marathon is in October and while I haven't entered and been able to quite mentally commit myself to such a big undertaking yet, I have just set up and started the preliminary stages of a training plan based around doing a marathon in October.

I've started running with my Thursday night group again and also started to run the weekly 5km parkrun events. Ran the first run back in 23.18 and last week improved that to 21.52. Hoping to incrementally improve that over the coming weeks as I pick the fitness back up and perhaps challenge my best 5km time of 20.15 (ish) and possibly go sub 20.

Back at parkrun








LIFE

In life news, the family are enjoying cricket season being over and their husband and father returning to their lives, lol. Been getting quite a bit of family time in with trips across different parts of the state visiting various forests and rain forests recently. Nice to get the kids out of the house and in particular the son out of his bedroom and away from his laptop. Been in the new house nearly 6 months now and as we head in to our winter we have emptied the outdoor spa and currently have the workers at our house installing the natural gas ducted heating.

POKER

Not much to add to the last post. I have played a little but not a great deal and my confidence is basically shot when I do. Have little in the BR currently and don't seem to be able to get much happening. At some point I'll feel like playing again and at that point I'll have to step back and really do some work on my game. Reading, vids, db analysis. Not really sure where to start. Coaching perhaps although outside of my roll (when there is some size in it) I don't like to spend too much real life funds on poker expenses. Whether I re-deposit or grind from what I have is also a decision that will need to be made.

As for the cricket season just finished, it was disappointing as coach that all 3 senior sides made the semi finals but all lost at that point. Would have been nice to have had at least one team advance to the grand final but unfortunately we didn't put our best games together when it counted. Was satisfying as the old bloke who hasn't played 1sts for a few years to return to the coaching and 1st XI captain position this year and actually walk away with both the batting award and cricketer of the year for the 1st XI. Would have preferred a premiership to the individual awards but it was nice to know I can still hold my own with the younger guys.

Don't know if anyone else has seen them or what sites it's being played at but perhaps these 6+ games are the go for a while. I'm encountering them at Boyle Poker.

All the 5, 4, 3, 2s taken out so 6 is the lowest card in the deck and the A plays as the high or low so A6789 is the low straight.

Also - 3 of a kind > straight and flush > full house.

The player pool is really fishy early days is my experience so far. Might be a nice way to try and re-build the roll.

Lovely post their mate and the family stuff sounds awesome! I always wonder how hard it is to balance everything being a Dad especially with 2-3 kids but seems you are doing a pretty amazing job!

Not played the 6+ games myself yet but I hope it takes off as it looks like a pretty fun game - i can imagine live 6+ would be really fun and know they are playing it in the nosebleed Macau games!

Yeah the 6 max games are designed for action for sure and if you can remember what beats what (3 of a kind > straight and flush > full house) and ensure you consider that when playing, then I think there's $ to be made. The sets are the gold because people just have so much trouble laying down a straight on a non-pairing, non-flushing boards and the straights are more common so play those PPs every time. Fold if you miss and cash in when you hit.

Why is 3 of a kind ahead of a full house? You need 3 of a kind and a pair to make a boat

It's not @CrazyCookie I probably didn't make it clear with how I typed it.

3 of a kind > straight
and
flush > full house

Full house still beats 3 of a kind.

You can view the rules and hand rankings Here

So the running's really back in full swing now. Been churning through the kilometres in April. The groins and ankles are taking some time to adjust so haven't really cranked up the pace yet and the Thursday group runs I do have quite a diverse range of runners so the pace of that one is really slow as we try to accommodate all runners and finish together.

Can feel the legs getting stronger and the recovery after each run getting quicker though so the improvement is there. Managed a 14km run with a few others last Sunday which is the longest one I've done in some time. Have crossed beyond 100kms for April already which is the first month I've done that this year and hope to get to 150+ by the end of the month.





Still a long way behind the pro-rata ytd goal (460kms) but hopefully I'll be closing that gap with every week that goes by now.

Still nothing to report on the poker front. Playing just a handful of hands here and there but still haven't started grinding. It's interesting that my plummeting results basically coincide with the move to the new house. Had a pretty solid graph right through last year but had a steady plummet since the move in October 2015. Initially attributed that to all that I had going on and a lack of concentration when I was playing but things have calmed down a long time ago now so perhaps I just haven't found the new set up as conducive to playing/concentrating as the old one. Need to make a concerted effort when I get back to it to ensure I am fully focussed on the tables and eliminate the distractions.

Went and saw Black Sabbath on Tuesday night as part of their final tour. While I'm a heavy music fan I'd never listened to them all that much but I have got to say it was a fantastic show. To still produce such a great performance at their age is a credit to their skill and passion for what they do. Had awesome seats too....not on the floor but only 3 rows from the front in the stands and not all that far from the stage. EPIC.

Highlights of the show for me was War Pigs & Snowblind though the entire thing was awesome.

Managed to get a small recording of the intro.

Black Sabbath not my thing but I imagine live that is pretty much amazing.