Does any1 win anymore?

[JDMcNugent7]

Seriously does any1 win $ anymore? Mayhem and I have both been basically broke for awhile, TP is losing in his stake. Wes are u winning? Is any1 winning? I think this forum is cursed and we all need to start winning at the same time or something

[Zybomb]

Since Jan of 2009 I have basically been running behind horrible. The increase rake in the live games Im playing in obviously doesn't help matters either, nor does the fact that a lot of the fish have dried up (or improved) and due to a bad economy not as many recreation gamblers are regularly playing. I did have a winning 2009 but it was my worst year since I started keeping records in 2005. 2008 was the first full year I played exclusively, and I can surely say that if my 2008 was like 2009 I'd be working again (fortunately it was my best year ever). I did start the first 2.5 months of 2010 on a 20k heater (and by heater I mean my KK was holding up vs AQ all in pre and similiar) but have had a pretty brutal last 4 weeks which snatched away half of that.

While all that was happening my boy Taha managed to cash for 19k in the $5k NAPT Mohegan ME last week, 16k in the $560 Borgata Spring Open Deep Stack earlier this week ,and just today finished 4th in the $7500 Borgata East Coast Championship for 44k. How's that run for a week and a half...


On a side note the forum has been pretty dead lately...I think the central core of us should really focus in putting in some discussion on Situations and Hands played. I know that years ago this place helped my game tremendously just going over hands with everyone -- we have the skill set to step our game up so let's do the damn thing

[PShabi]

I'm crushing (relatively speaking, close to 2bb/hr) the live LHE games I play. I'm also profitable online in 3/6 and 5/10 LHE games. Not by much, but rb adds to it. Online is fucking sad though now. I used to 4-table Party 5/10 6max and kill it and also rake 1k+ in rb every month and I was literally like 1/2 as good as I am now. LOL.

[JDMcNugent7]

I've been convinced I've been running horrible forever too, but it's lasting so long I'm starting to think I just really suck. I know I've been running like complete shit but it's like never ending lately. I've been playing only HU and I mean it's pretty annoying when the last 2 days I think I've C/R the river all in 3 times with stuff like trips, set, and top 2 for value, and even all my value hands are losing. It's just like wtf how did I used to win at this game. It's like everytime I get in with dominating hands I find a way to lose and even when I think I'm going for value, they have the very few cards that are actually ahead, guess running bad just lasts way longer than you think sometimes.

I'm starting to finally get back into poker, but with the little $ I have online it just makes it so frustrating.

[thrash1294]

Hey JD why not go back to what you were doing when you running super hot ?If I recall you played 6max or full ringback then?

[Wes]

seems like the more accurate picture

the only money left in hold em is for the great or the people patient enough to grind out 2bb/100.

[JDMcNugent7]

I never played full ring, and I've def done my best at HU, and that's what I've been playing. fwiw, I actually have a much better winrate at 5/10 than anything below it. Actually its not uncommon in the higher stakes guys to have much lower winrates at the smaller games. We rely so much on reads and how we think people perceive our hands and how we think they should play theirs, that playing against people that don't understand that stuff actually ends up hurting the winrate. Ideally I'd just deposit 20k and play 5/10 and stuff and, but depositing 20k is impossible it seems.

If some1, (maybe Wes) had 20k they could give me online if I just mailed them a 20k check, I'd do it in a heartbeat. As long as we can find a very secure way of doing it and everything. I hate having over 300k offline and not being able to play freakin 2/4 comfortably online. If I knew it'd be so damn hard to deposit I never would have cashed out so much

[Wes]

lol.

poker commentary on forums has not advanced since 2007. people still play their hands instead of figuring out the proper way to play with their own ranges. this forum is rather pervasive in this.

[Wes]

I'd give you 20k ftp if you gave me 20k in cash in person or w/e the vig amount usually is associated with that.

[PShabi]

Now this is the type of shit we need to get this forum cooking again. Trolling the regs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wes]

[PShabi]

You raise good points. Not too much new material though. We all know it ain't '06. If it was there wouldn't be locked threads in the strat section front page. Live IS so much softer than live. I raised that point in the 2009 in review thread as well as the notion that people who used to profit online (me) are going to make more playing 1-table live games. TP didn't want to believe that. It's true though. It's demoralizing, disheartening, and whatever else but it's true. Sucks a dick.

Curious to see your graph, for a point of reference, slp.

[Zybomb]

slp=wes obviously no?

[PShabi]

I guess.

[Wes]

Internet message boards are scourge on my life. I really should stop posting.

[JDMcNugent7]

ya wtf wes lol, is there some weird reason u create 50 accounts. He's probably every1 on here making up a littler virtual world of personalities

[melioris]

I play at lower stakes $0.25/$0.50-$1/$2 NLHE, but lately it is exclusively the $50 buyin games. I think those games are still very beatable (and the $100 buyin game for that matter) but it requires more work away from the table and more pen on paper calculations. Even in the small stakes/micros, which depresses the hell out of me.

I love playing PLO but I suck at it and I end up an emotional wreck, which is fun.

I think the margins are smaller, so the variance is bigger, and the bankroll requirements are larger across the board. The hardest thing for to adjust are my new expectations and the effect of those reduced expectations on my game.


lol, I was just going to make that comment.

[JDMcNugent7]

ya, ill admit wes or slp or whoever else he is is right about my mindset is what's been costing me $. The days of making $250/hr are over, and though I could still make $50 an hour this whole year pretty easy, it's like I'm somehow not happy if I play for 3 hours and see I'm up $150, I'm spoiled to the point that $50 seems like a loss. Gotta just be happy with that I guess for awhile at least and start winning again.

[PShabi]

3 years ago everybody on here was convinced you were set for life and poker would/could be your "career" forever. Sigh......After I started thinking about taking the G in my wallet and the $2700 I have on FTP and tackling the Venetian 8/16 game. I'd actually have to maintain a true bankroll and not just win $200 on Friday and spend $100 of it on Saturday like I've been doing. 30 minute drive isn't all that appealing to me though. No other games over 4/8 around though. Hmmmmmm.

[Talking Poker]

Great thread. A bit on the depressing side, but it's pretty much spot on across the board. It's good to see that people are honest with themselves though. I know personally 2009 was my worst year online ever. I profited overall, but that's including rakeback and bonuses and of course staking, which I seem to have a knack for. Straight up playing and not counting RB/bonuses, I was an overall loser in 2009. Granted I didn't play huge volume, because frankly, playing online these days is depressing for those of us who remember the game from 2006. Ah, the good ol' days...

And shabi/Zybomb - I've recently come to the realization that you guys are probably right. Even with increased rake/tips/expenses and only being able to play one table at a time, I think live poker may actually be more profitable than online these days. Pretty gross if you think about it.

And yeah, obv slp = Wes. I figured I'd just let it run it's course, as I thought maybe he was trying to bring a new personality into the forum to give it a boost or something. I admittedly don't even log in to TP.com myself daily, let alone post that much any more, so obviously I can't blame the scores of others who are in the same boat.

Let's see... I think I touched on everything I wanted to.

I guess for me, the games are so much harder these days and I'm NOT willing to dedicate the time I'd need to to improve enough to really beat them... so that's why I've been trying other forms of poker in the last couple of years to try to keep my interest. My latest thing is these 6 max hyper-turbos on Stars. I don't expect to have more than maybe a 2% ROI in the long run, which really isn't that much unless you are playing 20+ tables (I play 6, usually), but the games are fun and I actually have been motivated enough to study and work on my game.

And speaking of, my stake is up about $1200 now, JD (all from today, LOL).

[Kurn]

I've also been having a pretty annoying year. Playing primarily $30 - $50 SNGs, January was a 25 buy-in downswing. I managed to battle back to even in mid march and since then have regressed to a few bucks above my January low point.

The only plus side (online - I'm solidly in the black in my few LHE & NLHE live games) is my pwnage of the low buy-in Stud/8 and HORSE multis coupled with a win on $5 R&A satellite for the NAPC qualifier which I cashed out as T$ on 'Stars. Without these, I'd be grinding very low BI SNGs. As it is, I'm still playing mainly $30s - $50s now.

SNG wise, I'm not sure how much of my frustration is variance, how much is too many people having read Moshman, or maybe a flawed analysis on my part of what made '09 a better year than '08. I suspect I've gotten too cautious, no so much in push/call ranges, but at the stack size where I go pushbot with less than strong hands.

In '08 I regularly used to push over smaller stacks at the 10 BB point. After absorbing Moshman I tightened up my 12-9 BB push/call range and did not really open up until around 7 BB. I'm beginning to wonder now if the marginal drop in fold equity in these cases is the main factor that's causing me problems right now.

In the final analysis, it is probably a combination of factors that I need to work out to find the proper balance.

A secondary factor is I'm now playing a lot more SNGs on 'Stars and that requires a slightly different approach than 'Tilt due to the difference in the structures between the two sites.

The good news is I'm patient, and of course, in the words if Jim Kelly, "I'm an optimist with a short memory."

[Reel Deal]

Booooooooobbbbbiiiiiieeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

[JDMcNugent7]

I got sick of losing and am doing well at .25/.50 and .5/1 HU lately, mainly playing on UB. You can actually make a pretty good hourly at those games 4 tabling HU, didn't really realize it could be so good. Hopefully I get back on track, I don't mind grinding the smaller games lately so if I just continue to do that until I got enough to move up I think I'll be fine.

[lightfungus]

My online poker days dried up a while ago. I was well behind most of you in skill and time invested and didn't have the time to invest to keep up.

Live poker is more profitable and more enjoyable to me, bringing me back to what originally got me into the game in reading people rather than just situations.

I also just had twin girls that have stolen me ole heart.

[sjay2k]

Poker has definitely got a lot harder, but it's still very beatable.

JD i don't think you need to be stooping as low as .5/1nl hu.

The major times I've played poorly is when I've feeled "entitled" to win just because I have in the past. You just need to maintain the discipline. There's a lot more than the FTP games, which used to be awesome, but now are overcrowded.

Needless to say I'm f wasted in Rio. Dangerous, dangeorus city. I will escape here or die trying.