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Winning as a Hobby

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  1. #1

    Default Winning as a Hobby

    Hello FTR.

    I have not been active on the forums at all for awhile. I wanted to start playing poker again semi-seriously. The main reason for this blog is so I force myself to review hands/results and make myself more accountable for my mistakes. The blog is going to be a way to track that. I expect to update the blog once a week-ish. Don't really expect anyone to view or comment on it, doing this more for myself.

    Some history: I stopped playing seriously and starting working a real 9-5. Got promoted a few times and currently working a good job and making a comfortable living. FYI college grad jobs are a lot easier than poker IMHO. Oh I also got married! and been traveling to many different countries. She currently is working a well paying job as well. We do not have any kids so most of our money is expendable income which is going towards traveling.

    Enough of life stuff. I think there are benefits of working and playing poker. Biggest probably being that your winnings isn't going towards any kind of expense. Anything you make from poker is just extra expendable income. This takes a burden off while playing. You do not feel "forced" to play X amount of hours. Since you have less time, you play less. But the times you do play, you end up playing at a better state of mind and close to A game as possible. This is true for me but might be different for others.

    I was playing mainly 200NL 6m with some (failed) shots at 400NL before stopping several months. I withdrew most of my roll. I had about $3800 laying around on sites which I decided to start grinding up again. I started playing at 100NL but was not doing too well. I was making some bad plays and do not blame anyone but myself. I decided to drop down to 50NL for now until I feel more confident about my game. Here is a graph from when I started back up again like a week and half ago.

    Image 069.jpg

    After about 5k hands I decided to do 50NL only for now. Once I feel confident I will move up to $100NL again. I will try to post some hand histories I am not sure about or I feel I did not play well. Starting with this one:


    BB (€48.50)
    UTG (€54.20)
    MP (€60.84)
    Hero (CO) (€71.51)
    Button (€118.15)
    SB (€40.50)


    Preflop: Hero is CO with ,
    1 fold, MP calls €0.50, Hero raises €2, Button calls €2, 1 fold, BB calls €1.50, MP calls €1.50


    Flop: (€8.25) , , (4 players)
    BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets €5, 1 fold, BB calls €5, MP calls €5


    Turn: (€23.25) (3 players)
    BB checks, MP checks, Hero bets €14.50, 1 fold, MP calls €14.50


    River: (€52.25) (2 players)
    MP bets €13.06, Hero raises €50.01 (All-In), MP calls €26.28 (All-In)


    Total pot: €130.93


    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    MP had 8, K (one pair, Kings).
    Hero had A, 4 (one pair, fours).
    Outcome: MP won €127.93


    I think I played it fine until the river. I didn't like the river shove due to player's stack size after the block bet. Also, I did not have enough reads on villain to justify that shove. I knew the villain was a weaker player but this was the first time he showed down a hand like this. I think I like the shove more against a reg 200bb+ deep. Lesson learned..hopefully.

    My goals are to at least put in 15k-20k hands of poker a month. I 4-6 table so that's about 400-500ish hands an hour. I do not play poker Fri/Sat as that's mainly time with wife/friends. I will start again Sunday and hopefully have a good focused week. Will update again next week.

    Starting BR:$3800
    Current BR: ~$3950 after RB
  2. #2
    Good luck with your goals!
  3. #3
    Razvan729's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    1,135
    Location
    Bucuresti, Romania
    Turn 3way IP i prefer a check back. OOP would fire 2barrel.
    Folding river as played.
    All posts are just my own opinion about a hand or a general situation... not advices on how you should play...
  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by MTCashman View Post
    Good luck with your goals!
    Thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by Razvan729 View Post
    Turn 3way IP i prefer a check back. OOP would fire 2barrel.
    Folding river as played.
    Agreed.

    I did about 3.5k hands this week. My goal is 5k+ hands a week but life stuff got in the way. Before going on my break I was normally doing 6-8 tables of 6max. Now I notice that I struggle to focus when doing 6 tables and get enough reads on everyone. My main goal is to improve and try to move up. Hourly is not as important as improving right now so I will cut my tables to 4-5 for now. I seem to focus better and play better when doing 4-5 tables.

    This week was a pretty good week, both my playing and running good. I can think of some hands that I did not like the way I played or questionable spots but it is far less than earlier this month. Here are my winnings by stakes this month:



    Current BR is now $4892.52. Thanks to reload bonuses I am clearing.

    Here is a hand I totally leveled myself. I think given the fishes limp, the reg would be raising wide here. I think the 3bet is fine but the 5b shove was bad due to villain's sizing and I did not have enough history on his tendencies to justify this play. This was early in the week and I have not made a play like this since.



    UTG (€11.64)
    MP (€55.38)
    Button (€50.50)
    Hero (SB) (€50.25)
    BB (€18.10)


    Preflop: Hero is SB with ,
    UTG checks, MP raises €2, 1 fold, Hero raises €5.75, 2 folds, MP raises €11, Hero raises €44.25 (All-In), MP calls €37.25


    Flop: (€101) , , (2 players, 1 all-in)


    Turn: (€101) (2 players, 1 all-in)


    River: (€101) (2 players, 1 all-in)


    Total pot: €101


    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Hero had J, A (flush, Queen high).
    MP had K, K (flush, King high).
    Outcome: MP won €98.75



    This hand my hand is really under repped. Button is a fishy player that gives up a lot post flop. I checked flop hoping the turn may help either villains and I can take down a small to mediumish pot with two small bets on the turn/river. On the river, villain is a reg but I do not have any other reads on him. Once he jams over my raise, it is difficult to put him on a hand that I beat. I think all hands that I beat would've just called the raise. There is no reason for him to believe I am bluffing here and he attempts to re-bluff me.



    UTG (€36.57)
    MP (€122.25)
    Hero (CO) (€159.78)
    Button (€88.93)
    SB (€52.60)
    BB (€63.50)


    Preflop: Hero is CO with ,
    2 folds, Hero raises €1.50, Button calls €1.50, 1 fold, BB calls €1


    Flop: (€4.75) , , (3 players)
    BB checks, Hero checks, Button checks


    Turn: (€4.75) (3 players)
    BB bets €3, Hero calls €3, 1 fold


    River: (€10.75) (2 players)
    BB bets €5, Hero raises €15, BB raises €54 (All-In), Hero folds


    Total pot: €40.75


    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    BB didn't show


    This week I will be implementing 100NL with 50NL as well. Goal is 5k+ hands and not to spew buyins.
  5. #5
    Gl with the comeback!

    I play most hands the same, except prob check back the A5hh 3-way on turn.
    Nine to five is how to survive - I ain't trying to survive / I'm trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot //

    Can offer RB deals on most sites, PM me.
  6. #6
    Razvan729's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    1,135
    Location
    Bucuresti, Romania
    why not bet flop on 89cc hand ? are you checking all 9x hands this spot?
    whats your line for TT+, AK, AQ, 33?
    All posts are just my own opinion about a hand or a general situation... not advices on how you should play...
  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Razvan729 View Post
    why not bet flop on 89cc hand ? are you checking all 9x hands this spot?
    whats your line for TT+, AK, AQ, 33?
    actually yeah I half pot that flop with all my range there
    Nine to five is how to survive - I ain't trying to survive / I'm trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot //

    Can offer RB deals on most sites, PM me.
  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Alexos View Post
    Gl with the comeback!

    I play most hands the same, except prob check back the A5hh 3-way on turn.
    Thanks! Would you have shoved the AJo hand? :P

    Quote Originally Posted by Razvan729 View Post
    why not bet flop on 89cc hand ? are you checking all 9x hands this spot?
    whats your line for TT+, AK, AQ, 33?
    Quote Originally Posted by Alexos View Post
    actually yeah I half pot that flop with all my range there
    If it was HU or 3 way with another reg then for sure I would be betting here. I was trying check and hoping the fish behind never puts me on a 9 and I can maybe get two streets of value on turn and river. That was my thinking at that moment.
  9. #9
    Edit: Just realized its my 1000th post!

    My plans fell through for the weekend so I had free time and decided to put in some volume. I was able to put in 5k+ hands which I was happy about. This was the results:





    A little less than a buyin down which result oriented is not bad. However, I played terribly and I am disappointed in myself. I was making calls and plays which I knew were to be bad but made them anyway, plays that I would rarely make few months back. I think a lot has to do with mental focus which I have to work on. Last post I said I wanted to 4-5 tables max but "chasing" my losses I saw myself doing 6-7 tables sometimes. One session I put in was 5 hours which was definitely not optimal.

    I'm not gonna play today or maybe even tomorrow so I can review hand histories more and focus more on playing better. I'm going to post some hands that I lost and I was not happy with my play as a reminder to myself on how not to play. I will further review my hands after I get home from work.



    Hero (UTG) (€94.15)
    MP (€50)
    Button (€94.38)
    SB (€50.25)
    BB (€95.46)

    Preflop: Herois UTG withQ,J
    Heroraises €1.50, MP calls €1.50, Button raises€5.50, 2 folds, Heroraises €11, 1 fold, Button calls €7

    Flop€27.25)J,3,8 (2players)
    Herobets €17.50, Button calls €17.50

    Turn€62.25)2(2 players)
    Hero checks,Button bets €15.50, Hero raises €64.15(All-In), Button calls €48.65

    River€190.55)6(2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot:€190.55

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Button hadA,A(one pair, Aces).
    Hero hadQ,J(one pair, Jacks).
    Outcome: Button won€187.55




    BB ($103.20)
    SB ($148.65)
    Hero (Button)($178.58)
    UTG ($116.85)

    Preflop: Herois Button withA,A
    1fold, Hero raises $3, 1fold, BB calls $2

    Flop: ($6.50)8,3,9 (2players)
    BB checks,Hero bets $4.12, BB raises $12,Hero raises $27.88, BB raises $88.20(All-In), Hero calls $68.20

    Turn$206.90)4(2 players, 1 all-in)

    River$206.90)7(2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot:$206.90

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Hero hadA,A(one pair, Aces).
    BB had8,8(three of a kind, eights).
    Outcome: BB won$204.90



    BB (€32.57)
    UTG (€50.23)
    MP (€37.47)
    CO (€86.54)
    Button (€51.25)
    Hero (SB) (€131.73)

    Preflop: Herois SB withQ,A
    3folds, Button raises €1, Heroraises €3.75, 1 fold, Button calls €3

    Flop: (€8.50)6,9,3(2 players)
    Herobets €5, Button calls €5

    Turn€18.50)Q(2 players)
    Herobets €9.50, Button calls €9.50

    River€37.50)9(2 players)
    Herobets €12, Button raises €32.75 (All-In), Herocalls €20.75

    Total pot:€103

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Button hadQ,9(full house, nines over Queens).
    Hero hadQ,A(two pair, Queens and nines).
    Outcome: Button won€100


    Hero (BB) ($101.50)
    SB ($330.89)
    UTG ($18.46)
    Button ($100)

    Preflop: Herois BB with8,5
    1fold, Button raises $2.50,1 fold, Hero raises $8,Button calls $6.50

    Flop$18.50)9,10,6(2 players)
    Herobets $12, Button calls $12

    Turn$42.50)9(2 players)
    Herobets $22, Button calls $22

    River$86.50)Q(2 players)
    Herobets $57, Button calls $57 (All-In)

    Total pot:$200.50

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Button had9,J(three of a kind, nines).
    Hero had8,5(one pair, nines).
    Outcome: Button won$198.50


    BB (€116)
    Hero (SB) (€100)

    Preflop: Herois SB withK,5
    Heroraises €2.50, BB calls €2

    Flop: (€6)2,K,6(2 players)
    BB checks,Hero bets €4, BB raises €18, Herocalls €14

    Turn: (€42)J(2 players)
    BBbets €95 (All-In), Hero calls €79 (All-In)

    River: (€200)4(2 players, 2 all-in)

    Total pot:€200

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Hero hadK,5(one pair, Kings).
    BB had2,K(two pair, Kings and twos).
    Outcome: BB won€215



    UTG (€126.44)
    MP (€267.80)
    Button (€80.22)
    Hero (SB) (€125.61)
    BB (€213.48)

    Preflop: Herois SB withK,Q
    2folds, Button raises €3, Heroraises €9.50, 1 fold, Button calls €7

    Flop: (€21)3,6,J (2players)
    Hero checks, Buttonchecks

    Turn: (€21)K(2 players)
    Herobets €13, Button raises €70.22 (All-In), Herocalls €57.22

    River€161.44)A(2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot:€161.44

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Button had3,3(three of a kind, threes).
    Hero hadK,Q(one pair, Kings).
    Outcome: Button won€158.44



    MP (€177.07)
    Button (€138.50)
    Hero (SB) (€195.92)
    BB (€31.21)
    UTG (€140.41)

    Preflop: Herois SB withQ,A
    UTGraises €3, MP calls €3, Button raises €11,Hero raises €25.50, 3folds, Button calls €15

    Flop: (€59)7,5,10 (2players)
    Herobets €30, Button calls €30

    Turn: (€119)Q(2 players)
    Hero checks, Buttonchecks

    River: (€119)K(2 players)
    Hero checks,Button bets €24, Hero calls €24

    Total pot:€167

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Button hadK,A(one pair, Kings).
    Hero didn't showQ,A(one pair, Queens).
    Outcome: Button won€164


    CO (€45)
    Hero (Button)(€109.10)
    SB (€108.35)
    BB (€50)
    UTG (€52.07)
    MP (€36.10)

    Preflop: Herois Button withQ,Q
    1fold, MP raises €2, 1fold, Hero raises €5.50, 2folds, MP calls €3.50

    Flop€11.75)5,4,K (2players)
    MPbets €5.75, Hero calls €5.75

    Turn€23.25)7(2 players)
    MPbets €11.50, Hero calls €11.50

    River€46.25)10(2 players)
    MPbets €13.35 (All-In), Hero calls €13.35

    Total pot:€72.95

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Hero hadQ,Q(one pair, Queens).
    MP had8,A(flush, Ace high).
    Outcome: MP won€69.95



    SB (€125.97)
    Hero (BB) (€55.31)
    UTG (€104.21)
    MP (€91.42)
    CO (€57.30)
    Button (€85.74)

    Preflop: Herois BB withQ,A
    UTGraises €1.50, 3 folds, SB calls €1.25,Hero raises €6, UTG calls €5, SB calls €5

    Flop€19.50)8,10,J(3 players)
    SB checks,Hero bets €12.50, 1 fold,SB raises €28, Hero calls €15.50

    Turn€75.50)J(2 players)
    SBbets €91.47 (All-In), Hero folds

    Total pot:€75.50



    CO (€67.25)
    Button (€343.34)
    SB (€148.95)
    BB (€100)
    UTG (€114.11)
    Hero (MP) (€100)

    Preflop: Herois MP withK,J
    1fold, Hero raises €4, CO calls €4,3 folds

    Flop: (€9.50)3,Q,10(2 players)
    Herobets €6.50, CO calls €6.50

    Turn€22.50)K(2 players)
    Herobets €15, CO raises €56.75 (All-In), Hero calls€41.75

    River: (€136)5(2 players, 1 all-in)

    Total pot:€136

    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    Hero hadK,J(one pair, Kings).
    CO hadA,A(one pair, Aces).
    Outcome: CO won€133
  10. #10
    K5s - def fold turn
    2nd last AQ - bet turn always!?
    last AQ - you gotta shove flop or fold with just 20euro left!
    Nine to five is how to survive - I ain't trying to survive / I'm trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot //

    Can offer RB deals on most sites, PM me.
  11. #11
    Week has come to a close. I played 6k+ hands this week but disappointed in the way I played. Out of all the sessions, I think I was happy with only one of my sessions which lasted about 2.5 hours. Played close to my A game and can't think of any mistakes I made. Rest of the sessions, I played badly and pretty aware of where I am making the mistakes. I have to work harder on the mental aspects. Its not as if I'm making a mistake and not aware at that time, it's more I make the mistake knowing it's a mistake and not caring. Of course I know there are mistakes that I am unaware of, which just shows how far I have yet to go.

    Results for this week:




    Results so far after starting OP:



    Graph after OP:


    Will not be playing any poker today, just going over HH's. Will hopefully start again tomorrow. I noticed that the rake in Euro tables are absurdly high. I have paid quite a lot of rake, thus a lot of rakeback but I would prefer to just pay less rake.

    Goals for next week are:

    - 4 tables max
    - 2 hours max each session
    - Focus the entire time. Try to play close to A game as possible
    - Start off with 50NL until I feel like I'm not making dumb mistakes and then try again at 100NL

    Current BR: $4,197.65
  12. #12
    Another week done. Here are the results:



    Didn't get to play as many hands as I wanted to, however, I was pleased with the way I played. I can think of probably only 2 hands which I wish I played differently but the rest were very close to my A game. I lost a lot of coin flips this week so that threw my results off, especially at 100NL, but not gonna be result oriented and I am overall happy with my play this week. I ended up playing some 100NL hands due to having a session during odd hours and not getting enough good 50NL games going. I'll try to play more during peak times. I also noticed I can 6-7 table fine now. I guess I just needed a few thousand hands to get back into it.

    Goals for next week:
    5k+ hands 6-7 tabling 50NL. Maybe some 100NL if I feel confident and see good games.
    2-3 hrs session max or until I feel like I cannot focus
    Be more aware of mental state and not make "emotional" plays that are -ev
    Post more hand histories in this forum and review other's hand histories
  13. #13
    Recently I picked up Daily Fantasy Sports so I haven't put in too much volume these two weeks. I'm reading anything I can about it and still learning. My sample size is small ~500 tournies in the last two weeks but DFS seems easier than poker, atleast at the moment. The main benefit I see for DFS for me is that I can do the research and roster selection at work within about 2-3hrs..and some last minute tweeking at home before the games start. Right now I'm just doing NBA but getting into NFL as well.

    Anyways, for poker here are the results for the last two weeks:



    I am very happy with the way I played these two weeks and made minimal mistakes. There were many preflop hands/flips I lost so heres to hoping running better next week.

    Goals are to do 5k+ hands this week while still doing DFS everyday. Maybe do more 100NL hands.
  14. #14
    Haven't updated this in awhile but have not given up. Well not on poker atleast. I went busto on DFS (only tried with $200). I still think it is beatable and a lot of poker skills translate well to it but at the end of the day I find poker more enjoyable (plus im better at it). Trying to do both while working full time + wife + social life just leads to kind of being mediocre at both instead of trying to focus mainly on one.

    Poker wise I have still been playing but probably only around ~10k hands a month. Currently I am playing mixed of 100NL/200NL 6m and FR. Here are my results so far this month:



    Running pretty hot which always helps boost confidence. Goal is to put in at least another 10k hands before month is over.

    Playing wise for the most part I have been happy with my play. There is one hand I can think of that I played really bad mainly due to playing around like 1:30am on a work day when I have work again in the morning.


    Hero (UTG) ($341.75)
    MP ($77.20)
    CO ($158.39)
    Button ($246.98)
    SB ($322.15)
    BB ($73.56)


    Preflop: Hero is UTG with 10, K
    Hero raises $6, MP calls $6, 2 folds, SB calls $5, 1 fold


    Flop: ($20) 3, 7, 6 (3 players)
    SB checks, Hero bets $13.33, MP calls $13.33, SB calls $13.33


    Turn: ($59.99) K (3 players)
    SB checks, Hero bets $28, 1 fold, SB calls $28


    River: ($115.99) Q (2 players)
    SB checks, Hero bets $55, SB raises $274.82 (All-In), Hero calls $219.82


    Total pot: $665.63


    Results below:
    Spoiler:

    SB had A, J (flush, Ace high).
    Hero had 10, K (flush, King high).
    Outcome: SB won $661.63


    lol @ my turn and river play. Don't play when you are tired and sleepy.

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