Musings of a poker "pro"

Any plans if the poker thing doesn't work out for you again?

I was actually thinking about buying a Tesla Model Y and living out of it like a camper van since you can run the climate control for days while you sleep, maybe make some sort of traveling vlog just for the hell out of it (not for income) to document the lifestyle. I just refuse to go back to working at a desk/cubicle. I've considered car sales or some other low barrier to entry job with a high income cap based purely upon performance.

Not sure if this is a good way to think of poker but at 2/5 there is A LOT of straddling so maybe im down more like 10 BI's instead of 20? Anyway just had another thousand dollar squalor

Yes, games with a lot of straddling will play bigger and have more variance. I have not done a calculation on this in a really long time but make sure you are good at playing with straddles as win rates will go up which will reduce variance. There is a chapter in Mathematics of Poker by Chen and Ankenman about bankroll management which is really good.

I always heard these stories of guys living in their cars and playing down at the Commerce. That became a fear of mine. You seem to embrace it. That is interesting to me.

Barry Greenstein says the most important attribute for a poker player is mental toughness. Probably the worst thing you could do is make it a self-fulfilling prophecy that you have to get down to 20 buy-ins in order to take things seriously. It's not that serious at 100 buy-ins but it is serious. Bad river play gets expensive fast. 50 buy-ins is still plenty and it is serious. It's not as serious as getting a fish to play you heads-up for half your roll or final tabling a big tournament but it still is serious. That doesn't mean you can't laugh at the table or away from the table. No one wants to play with a Terminator. I just got started writing. The communication will only accelerate. I'm rooting for you.

I almost wonder if I should just treat every session as a 5/10 game so that the bet sizes and ranges make more sense. The max buy is $800 so it's almost there. TPTK is no longer a punt if youre playing a mere 100BB's deep. The strangest thing about these games is how wildly polarized peoples ranges are. I never see a nice linear strategy of suited connectors and small PP's in peoples raise/3bet/bluff strategy. It's always either QQ+ or 36o. I guess polarizing is a bit easier since they can just fold when facing aggression and get it in with the nuts?

As for willful homelessness, this will be my last shot at poker. I feel I have enough volume at this point that whatever happens I must take responsibility for. If I'm going to live out of Tesla (unlikely honestly) then I'm going to pursue some other opportunities entirely.

I stumbled upon an old poker interview with some 2/5 crusher at the Wynn who employed a rather unusual strategy, to me at least.

Essentially his postflop play consists of betting 1/3 pot on the flop nearly every time and then either betting pot or overbetting on the turn/river with his bluffs or continuing with 1/3 PSB for value. He briefly explains that by betting small on the flop he quickly "see's where he's at" by keeping opponent ranges wide, since most players will raise or checkraise their big hands against a small flop bet. Therefore if they just call they likely have middle pair or nothing at all, enabling him to bluff later streets. If they actually raise him on the turn/river then he has an easy decision to fold.

It's not a bad strategy but it's not as good unto drawy flop as 1/3 pot bet allows profitable drawing. Perhaps don't play as high, I don't really know what the casino game level is. Playing higher cards for face up value is going to be more profitable due to stack size ratio and shortstacks. Makes it harder to profitably draw.

I would focus more on your poker pro leaks than your actual strategy leaks, as those seem to be the bigger deal.

Hey, I can understand the roller coaster of emotions that come with gambling professionally. It sounds like you've had a rough start with your bankroll taking a hit, but it's good that you recognize some of the mistakes you've been making and are taking steps to address them.

Have you considered taking a break and giving yourself time to recover both physically and mentally? Sometimes a little time away from the tables can do wonders for your game.

And hey, have you thought about trying out some judi bola online? It could be a fun way to mix things up and potentially even win some money. Just remember to gamble responsibly and never risk more than you can afford to lose.