The Return of Av8tion - Poker as an Income Stream (4 Viewers)

opting out of the bomb pots and such isn't the problem... it's the fact that you're still paying for the time while they do these stupid things.... and they take forever because it's always a 3-4 way allin that ends up being chopped... so now you've wasted 1/4 of my time that i'm paying to be at the table with your stupid bomb pots...
I can see how that would be annoying in a time raked game. I guess the trade off for you to decide is whether the meta-benefit of having the juicy players at the table enticed by these bomb pots/PLO breaks is worth the cost of time lost assuming you sit those hands out to keep variance down.
 
Aaand we're off...

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aaand.... we're not off exactly...

HIT AND RUN ALERT

Update #20

upset stomach-induced hit and run... just got in from Alaska... took a short nap and headed over to wait about 2 hours for the 2-5 game to start. I win a couple hands without showdown and play one major hand.

Button straddles to 10, folded to me in MP, I raise to 25 with QTc. Folded to the straddle who 3-bets to 80, and I call.
Flop comes T-J-x rainbow. I check, button bets 85, I call.
Turn comes 9d making 2 diamonds on the board. I lead out for 160 on the semi-bluff and the button calls.
River is a T, missing the flush and giving me trips. I bet 230 on the river repping the missed draw, and the button tank-calls. I announce trips and he mucks.

I play for about another orbit when my stomach suggests it's time to rack up and go back to the room. Stomach might be bluffing, but I fold for value and wait for a better spot.

Starting Bankroll: $13,777

Location: Hard Rock Casino, Cincinnati, OH

Stakes: 2/5 NLHE

Time: 30 minutes.... :(

Buyins: $800

Cashouts: $1,559

Result: $759

Ending Bankroll: $14,536
 
So here are the numbers for the statistically inclined (even though the statistically inclined would note that the sample size is so small that the statistics are irrelevant)

20 Sessions played

16 winning sessions (80%) with an average win of $473

4 losing sessions (20%) with an average loss of $1,100

61.5 hours played

$41.24 average hourly rate

Total Profit: $2,536


Thoughts so far... I'm still up... I haven't hit it out of the park and I haven't gone bust... just need to keep grinding out sessions and wins while avoiding tilting off unnecessary buyins during the losing sessions. One thing I think I'm going to change that should help on the losing days is my buyin strategy. Instead of adding on to match the stack or keep myself topped off all the time, I'm going to play short and build myself back and then if I go allin and bust or get below 20BB then reload. This will keep me from losing 4 buyins in 2-3 hands. This should help lower the variance a little and keep the losing days a little more under control. $500 average per winning session is a pretty solid and sustainable win rate throughout the games that I play. The $1,100 is a little high for the average loss. I'd like to see that go down to maybe $750-800.

With my edge and the games that I play, my target is to win around 75% of all my sessions. Obviously, if I move up in stakes (which won't happen unless/until I move to Vegas) that win rate will probably shrink to 60-70%, but for now I think I should win 3 sessions to every 1 that I lose. This gives me a target win rate of about $175 per session which would equate to an hourly rate of around $35-$40 per hour. This should be sustainable long-term, and as I get more used to adjusting to the different types of games that I play and analyzing myself and improving my own play I'm hoping to squeeze a few more percentage points to the positive.

In the end, this is supposed to be a self-sustaining source of supplementary income. Being 2-3k a month to the positive will certainly help the effort to retire early. Unlike @Anthony Martino and the other pros around, I can move up in stakes quickly because nothing ever comes out of the bankroll because it's not used to cover any expenses outside of poker. Every $1,000 I earn is $1,000 that I can use to take shots at higher stakes or add to my cash reserves to survive the inevitable downswings (like that 4k downswing near the middle of July).
 
aaand.... we're not off exactly...

HIT AND RUN ALERT

Update #20

upset stomach-induced hit and run... just got in from Alaska... took a short nap and headed over to wait about 2 hours for the 2-5 game to start. I win a couple hands without showdown and play one major hand.

Button straddles to 10, folded to me in MP, I raise to 25 with QTc. Folded to the straddle who 3-bets to 80, and I call.
Flop comes T-J-x rainbow. I check, button bets 85, I call.
Turn comes 9d making 2 diamonds on the board. I lead out for 160 on the semi-bluff and the button calls.
River is a T, missing the flush and giving me trips. I bet 230 on the river repping the missed draw, and the button tank-calls. I announce trips and he mucks.

I play for about another orbit when my stomach suggests it's time to rack up and go back to the room. Stomach might be bluffing, but I fold for value and wait for a better spot.

Starting Bankroll: $13,777

Location: Hard Rock Casino, Cincinnati, OH

Stakes: 2/5 NLHE

Time: 30 minutes.... :(

Buyins: $800

Cashouts: $1,559

Result: $759

Ending Bankroll: $14,536
What is your thought for donking the turn instead of check raising?
 
What is your thought for donking the turn instead of check raising?
most of the previous hands at the table have normally been checked down after a flop bet-call. The chance of him barreling again were pretty low so I decided to make a bet to either get a fold or build the pot if he calls and I improve.
 
Update #21

Short and not sweet

came with 2 buyins to the 2/5 game, got both buyins all-in with the best hand and got sucked out by a draw both times.

both times with sets.... maybe it's time to fold all pocket pairs ;)

lost to flush and an open-ended straight draw, both all-in on the flop...

oh well... no poker for a week or so until I get back home...

Starting Bankroll: $14,536

Location: Hard Rock Casino, Cincinnati, OH

Stakes: 2/5 NLHE

Time: 1 hour

Buyins: $1,600

Cashouts: $0

Result: $1,600

Ending Bankroll: $12,936
 
Update #22

Back home for two months... let's get those sessions started!

Pretty standard 3-hour session with most of my pots being won without showdown...

I had a fun moment when I flopped a set on an all-heart board... player to my left and I got it allin for like 50 bucks more on the flop and ran it twice. He just had a pocket pair with a heart, first runout comes heart-heart... second runout gives me quads.... CHOP IT UP!

I had JKs in position on a 7-T-Q rainbow flop 4-handed. ALL THREE players in front of me shove for like 80-200 or so each.... I decide to check for pot control. After the dealer informs me that's not a viable option, my decision becomes somewhat more difficult... no matter what my opponents have, an A or 9 gives me the nuts, and I have backdoor spades... rough math gives me about 3:1 to call and I figure at least two of them have sets or two pair, which in this scenario I consider to be the same hand... along with other hands like TJ QJ and the possible open-ended straight draws like 9-J or another K-J... I tank for about a minute... figure I'm about 30-ish percent equity against what I think my opponents have, which makes it a call in the long run, so I throw in the chips and we agree to run it twice...

Three of us flip immediately, and it's exactly the result I was hoping for. 3rd allin had T-T for a set of tens, 2nd all-in had 7-7 for a set of 7s, and the first allin never showed his hand...

First runout is clean for the tens, and I bink an ace on the river to take the second half

Startingf Bankroll: $12,936

Location: The Hangar, TX

Stakes: 1/3 NLHE

Time: 3 Hours

Buyins: $500

Cashouts: $1,650 (after paying my $50 monthly membership fee and table time)

Result: $1,150

Ending Bankroll: 14,086

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We are officially back on the grind as of this week. I've secured a surprise staking deal, so I'll be splitting my profits with my new backer.

One final session before the agreement goes into effect tomorrow...

Update #23
I was running an errand on the other side of town... so I figured i'd take a couple bullets and go to the one room I've never lost at.

3 and a half hours of mostly folding with a little bit of insanity mixed in...

I called a shortstack jam with pocket 4s after I opened... he had 63o and I held both boards (lol)

Guy to my left would raise to $21 without looking at his cards every hand. I waited until I had kings and limped... he did his thing, couple people called, then I rip in the big limp/3-bet. One caller who then folds to a c-bet on the flop.

As usual... most of my pots were won without showdown...

Startingf Bankroll: $14,086

Location: Johnny Chan's 88 Club, Houston

Stakes: 1/3 NLHE

Time: 3.5 Hours

Buyins: $1,000

Cashouts: $1,444

Result: $444

Ending Bankroll: $14,530


This will be the last update with this bankroll total for the foreseeable future. Starting tomorrow, the bankroll total will go back down to $10,000 and at the end of each month, all those funds above 10k will be split 50-50 between me and my backer, resetting back to $10,000 at the beginning of the next month.

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Why do you need a backer for low stakes cash? Are you moving up in stakes?

I guess If you are playing Omaha it would help with the variance
 
Why do you need a backer for low stakes cash? Are you moving up in stakes?

I guess If you are playing Omaha it would help with the variance
He had just said he was going to take 2-3 months off due to a financial need. I'm guessing the backer allows him to jump back in sooner.
 
Seems like an odd decision from the backer. If it was me I'd try and have you growing your bankroll so you can play bigger and bigger games. But congrats on getting back into the grind I've been enjoying the thread.
Bigger and bigger games aren't really to be had around here for the most part. 1/3 in Texas plays like 2/5 anywhere else... bigger games aren't that frequent. If things go well, we can always up the agreement later, but for now this works for us.
 
Lost some pots... added 500 on... 79d on the BB flop 7xx 2 diamonds. I bet 20, 3 callers. Turn 9 I bet 80 SB calls. River brick he checks I shove for 150 effective... SB tanks and calls... ship it! Back in the black...

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We get the $20 7-2 game going since the table started. I'm the button straddle and raise to 26 with the goods. 2 callers. Flop has a 7... I bet 40 1 caller. Turn is a blank. I bet 100.. opponent folds... I flip the 7-2 for an extra 80 from the table :)

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Currently in for 1500... turned straight loses to a river flush for stacks... flopped flush losed to a set that binks two runouts... trying to claw back... level of play right now is very low... just need to be patient and wait for a hand...

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No need to post a pic of my final stack...

Treaded water for the next couple hours, get dealt AKd on the button.
UTG raise to 20, several callers. I 3-bet to 150. 1 caller, everyone else folds.

Flop 6K4 rainbow. Check, bet 100, call.

Turn 9. Check, I shove for another 300 or so, call.

Fucker has 6-4... I say again... he called a $20 raise then another $130 on top with six high.

We run it twice, I don't improve either time...

I'm down $1,500 in the game and then have to pay the table time of $95 as one final kick in the teeth for a frustrating night.

Time played: 7 hours

Result: -$1,595

Total Win/Loss: -$1,595

New Bankroll: $8,405

I'm gonna have a long night sleep then head over to Chan's 88 club and try to run it back. It hurts to lose these hands in this fashion, especially this one where I didn't get the money in good.... but I feel slightly positive that although everything was going against me for the back half of the night I continued to fold shitty cards and didn't fall into the trap of loosening up to try to get back to even. That's something I can build on for tomorrow's outing.
 
No pics because of someone objecting to it... good 3 hour session... back and forth with no real notable hands... gotta leave for an engagement tonight...

In for 500 out for 810... made back some of last night's stupidity... back at it tomorrow

Time played: 3 Hours

Total Time Played for August/September: 10 Hours

Result: $310

Total Win/Loss for August/September: -$1,285

New Bankroll: $8,715
 
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Edited the update post now that I'm back home. I was gonna play a big end-of-month tournament at the Hangar but with little sleep and a long drive behind me I didn't feel my best, so I'm skipping it so I can sleep and hit up Chan's tomorrow well-rested for more happy-hour rake-free poker (they don't charge time from 10am-1pm so that's a free $30 in earnings). I dropped off the new Hangar dealer buttons I made for them... everyone seemed to like it... so that's a win :)
 
One table of 1-3 going right now. For those who you who associate 1-2 and 1-3 as low stakes... the term doesnt apply to Texas. Most games, it qualifies as mid-stakes and in games like this one... it is considered high-stakes cash, with several stacks above 10k
 

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