The Well: nation
 

A stranger is being shown around a village that he has just become part of. He is shown a well and his guide says "On any day except tuesday, you can shout any question down that well and you'll be told the answer" . The man seems pretty impressed, and so he shouts down: Why not on tuesday? and the voice from in the well shouts back: Because on tuesday, its your day in the well .

i'll be here grinding all day, go ahead and ask me whatever you want.

-nation

Re: The Well: nation
 

Groouunndd flooorr..

Poker Story? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: The Well: nation
 

What stakes do you currently play? Do you always go broke with KK with 100bb stacks if the money goes in preflop?

Re: The Well: nation
 

I know you are just getting back into the swing of things w/ grinding tons of hands again. But what do you think is one of the most important things to do while grinding tons of tables for long sessions? Not nessecarily poker related, but what keeps you sane when grinding all the hands...

Hope that makes sense...

And...

What do you think is most important to your success in the SSNL games?

Re: The Well: nation
 

When did they start playing with guitars in the NBA?

No, serious one now: Do you think that everybody who wants to become a really good poker player should be playing all the variations or is concentrating on one game (say NLHE for us) the better way to go?

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Groouunndd flooorr..

Poker Story? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, I started playing poker when I watched Moneymaker win the WSOP in 03. I started playing little home games. Of course, at first I was awful, but then I bought a limit book and learned how to play tight. Everyone was bad in my home game so I started to make a little money here and there.

I used to play limit online at that time, but as a donkey would. I think I was a winner at the low limits I used to play, but only because it was in Party's heyday. This was around my freshman year of college. Second semester freshman year, I started playing in a game at Penn State in one of the common rooms. There were a bunch of good players who had played in high school, including .Alex. and pokerfink on 2p2.

I started playing in that game and was the worst player in the game. I hadn't played a whole lot of no limit until I played there, but eventually became good friends with the regulars and became one of the best players in the game. We started at a 20nl game, then 40nl, then eventually a 100 game. The poker scene at Penn State was jumping, we would run 3 games at once in that commons hall.

During that time, I slowly built up my roll from $20 up to around 1k. We took a turning stone trip and I played 1/2 there for the first time. At that time, it was a 100 max game. I killed the games and made about 1400. I also started playing in a 1/2 200 max game in my hometown.

From there, I built my roll up to about 6k, all from playing live 1/2. Eventually I started playing some 2/5 and finally decided I was good enough to go pro. I dropped out of school and moved to Vegas.

I got out to Vegas last January (2006) and for some reason didn't really play much right away. I was excited to move out here and did a lot of partying. I didn't really act like a pro. My roll got really really low, to about 4.5k at my lowest point, so I decided to play 1/2 online after talking to a friend who was grinding full ring.

I learned how to multitable and really honed my full ring game. I built my roll up to ~25k last november, and then took almost the next 8 months off. I was pretty burnt out and focused on other things like weight loss and enjoying life instead of grinding all day.

In mid-october I realized I was down to 8k after just living off my roll the whole time with no other income. I started 16 tabling 1/2 on full tilt and am now right around 17~18k again. I'm going to try to find balance in my life so I don't get burnt out because I need to save money so I can start investing some day. So my goal for each month is around 80k hands...should be very doable.

I haven't been the greatest pro. My biggest obstacles of been lack of discipline as far as putting in the hands every month and also poker add. I get bored sometimes and start playing stupid games like limit and dump money in games where I'm -ev. I consider myself one of the best 1/2 full ring players in the game, easily top 5 at full tilt. It's a matter of just playing poker and saving my fun time for after I'm done with it.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
What stakes do you currently play? Do you always go broke with KK with 100bb stacks if the money goes in preflop?

[/ QUOTE ]

200nl. I go broke against almost anyone except the tightest of the tight players who I have no history with. However, I rarely get KK aipf. I dislike 4 betting all in against tags because I never get called by QQ. I prefer to play for a little pot control.

Re: The Well: nation
 

How did you only spend 17k in 8 months living and partying in Vegas??

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
I know you are just getting back into the swing of things w/ grinding tons of hands again. But what do you think is one of the most important things to do while grinding tons of tables for long sessions? Not nessecarily poker related, but what keeps you sane when grinding all the hands...

Hope that makes sense...

And...

What do you think is most important to your success in the SSNL games?

[/ QUOTE ]

I listen to music constantly, especially pop music with really catchy hooks so I sing along. It keeps me upbeat. I also break it into 2 hour sessions.

I think I adjust to the regulars better than other players. Many regs are content to just give up or fold because they have other stuff going on and they can find better spots. I don't mind going to war with them. Also my blind play is exceptional.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
How did you only spend 17k in 8 months living and partying in Vegas??

[/ QUOTE ]

Ooh, I left that out. In January I moved back east to my hometown for 6 months in between leases so my buddy and i could get a place together. I didn't spend much and I played some live 1/2 and did ok so I treaded water for a bit.

Re: The Well: nation
 

What's your SN on ftp?

Are you still involved with the sweatshop crew? They recruit any new mules?

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
When did they start playing with guitars in the NBA?

No, serious one now: Do you think that everybody who wants to become a really good poker player should be playing all the variations or is concentrating on one game (say NLHE for us) the better way to go?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a uke!

I think you should play whatever you make the most money at. Playing the most variations only matters if you never get any action like Ivey and have to play everything so people will play games they think they're good at. Poker is about money, not impressing people with your flexibility. Just beat the crap out of whatever game you're best at and take the money to the bank.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
What's your SN on ftp?

Are you still involved with the sweatshop crew? They recruit any new mules?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm keeping my SN private for now.

I never was involved with them financially, they were just my friends, and also, they were not a "sweatshop". As far as I know, they still play with the same guys, I have only kept in contact with Chuck since moving back to Vegas.

Re: The Well: nation
 

I'm going to go drop off my tennis racket for restringing, I'll answer the next batch when I get back.

Re: The Well: nation
 

What is your pov on 3 betting?

I think my blind play is my biggest leak. What advice can you offer when playing in the blinds?

Re: The Well: nation
 

Are you nationz on FTP?
What is your ptbb/100 at NL200?
Do you have plans to start a poker sweat shop like Chuck?

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What's your SN on ftp?

Are you still involved with the sweatshop crew? They recruit any new mules?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm keeping my SN private for now.

I never was involved with them financially, they were just my friends, and also, they were not a "sweatshop". As far as I know, they still play with the same guys, I have only kept in contact with Chuck since moving back to Vegas.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: The Well: nation
 

Besides playing what steps did you take to improve your game while you were building a roll?
What do you do to improve your game now?

Re: The Well: nation
 

How are you liking living in Vegas the second time around?
Do you see yourself continuing to bounce between live and online play? What do you like about each one?
Did you ever talk to my masseuse from Ceasar's Palace again?
Will there be another one of those 2+2 donk games at next years WSOP?

Re: The Well: nation
 

do you regret dropping out of school and having a degree to fall back on if poker fails for you?

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
I think I adjust to the regulars better than other players. Many regs are content to just give up or fold because they have other stuff going on and they can find better spots. I don't mind going to war with them. Also my blind play is exceptional.

[/ QUOTE ]

What makes your blind play so exceptional, and how did it become so? I think most full ring regulars are pretty terrible in the blinds, myself included. Is your willingness to go to war with them part of what gives you such an edge in the blinds? Also, have you played much 6-max and did that help with improving blind play? And approximately how many FRNL hands have you played lifetime?

I think I missed a paragraph break there somewhere.

Re: The Well: nation
 

Didnt you use to play exclusively on stars? Why the switch to FTP?

Re: The Well: nation
 

What is your 3betting range from the blinds when a 30-50bb stack open raises in LP? What is your calling range?

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
What is your pov on 3 betting?

I think my blind play is my biggest leak. What advice can you offer when playing in the blinds?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think 3-betting should be reserved (we're not talking premiums here) in position against a hijack or CO player or out of the blinds when the button raises and it's folded to him. I get a lot of folds by attacking the stealers.

The biggest advice I can give in battle of the blinds is be aggressive. keep raising pf or potting when they show weakness.

Re: The Well: nation
 

do you listen to music while you play? if so what are your favorite poker playing jams. favorite non-poker jams?

whats your favorite movie

what is the most motivational thing that ever happened to you in your poker career (maybe something you read/witnessed/etc.)

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Are you nationz on FTP?
What is your ptbb/100 at NL200?
Do you have plans to start a poker sweat shop like Chuck?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I am not nationz on FTP. I've run at 3.6 over my past 64k hands. I am running awful at the moment in showdown pots. I have had one losing day since starting back up on Oct 17th.

Chuck does not run a poker sweatshop. He and his friends chop their action. I have no plans of staking anyone, I am only interested in my own action.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Besides playing what steps did you take to improve your game while you were building a roll?
What do you do to improve your game now?

[/ QUOTE ]

The biggest thing that helped me was having close friends who were serious about poker. Reading the boards is invaluable but actually talking and arguing about better lines is huge for me as far as thinking about the game better.

Right now, I like reading other people's posts and seeing how their thinking process. Even if I don't agree with their line, it gives me insight into how some players think and that in turn helps me assign ranges better.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
How are you liking living in Vegas the second time around?
Do you see yourself continuing to bounce between live and online play? What do you like about each one?
Did you ever talk to my masseuse from Ceasar's Palace again?
Will there be another one of those 2+2 donk games at next years WSOP?

[/ QUOTE ]

I like it a lot more because a ton of my friends have moved out here. I have lost a lot of weight recently so my social life with women is better, I have more confidence, so I am enjoying life in general a lot more.

I suspect I will not be playing live seriously anymore, unless I am playing a juicy 5-10 or 10-20 game. I am making ~$150/hour including rb playing 200nl online now. At 2/5 nl, I'm not sure I could clear $35/hour. The tips, rake, and hands/hour just don't make it worth it.

No, I never talked to her again [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I haven't been to Caesar's since that night.

I forgot you were GiantBuddha! Didn't put two and two together...hit me up next time you're in town bud.

YES we will definitely do that again...lot of fun even though I got worked.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
do you regret dropping out of school and having a degree to fall back on if poker fails for you?

[/ QUOTE ]

I did for a bit when I realized I was down to 8k. That's mostly because all of a sudden I lost confidence because I hadn't played much. I got scared that I might go broke and would have to go back to school.

However, once I got back in the saddle, everything came back quickly and playing poker is like printing money to me. Most of my friends with college degrees are doing nothing in their field and making very little money. I'm confident I've made the right decision. I may go back to school later just to learn to invest my money.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I think I adjust to the regulars better than other players. Many regs are content to just give up or fold because they have other stuff going on and they can find better spots. I don't mind going to war with them. Also my blind play is exceptional.

[/ QUOTE ]

What makes your blind play so exceptional, and how did it become so? I think most full ring regulars are pretty terrible in the blinds, myself included. Is your willingness to go to war with them part of what gives you such an edge in the blinds? Also, have you played much 6-max and did that help with improving blind play? And approximately how many FRNL hands have you played lifetime?

I think I missed a paragraph break there somewhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think playing a decent amount of 6 max last year and earlier this year helped my play with marginal hands a lot. That coupled with my fr experience has really helped my game as far as assigning people to ranges and exploiting them. I'm just better at hand reading than most of the fr regs imo.

I've played probably around 600k full ring hands. I'm not sure where all that money went. Last year I played 6 max and started at 3/6 for some reason and dropped like 15k. This year I've spent a lot and not played much. I'm a retard. One of my major goals is severely curbing my unnecessary spending.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Didnt you use to play exclusively on stars? Why the switch to FTP?

[/ QUOTE ]

I thought that without being supernova (as I didn't play enough this year on stars, only 65k vpps), it would be better value to play on FTP for rb. Little did I realize that the games are 100x better on ftp. So many awful half stacks playing the games. On stars I would recognize 8 players on the table...ftp doesn't have nearly as many regs.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
What is your 3betting range from the blinds when a 30-50bb stack open raises in LP? What is your calling range?

[/ QUOTE ]

This is actually a spot I'm working on now. My calling range is any pair, ajs+. My 3b range is really dependent on their numbers. the looser they are, the looser my range.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
do you listen to music while you play? if so what are your favorite poker playing jams. favorite non-poker jams?

whats your favorite movie

what is the most motivational thing that ever happened to you in your poker career (maybe something you read/witnessed/etc.)

[/ QUOTE ]

My fav poker jam right now is potential breakup by aly & aj. No, I'm not gay. Nonpoker musice is largely comprised of lil wayne.

Favorite movie is Garden state or transformers.

That's a tough question...probably when friends who's poker game I had a ton of respect for started asking me my opinion on hands or complimenting me on my play after sessions. Helped me realize I was improving significantly.

Re: The Well: nation
 

ALL IN

Re: The Well: nation
 

Do u regret having associated yourself with the "Sweatshop crew" due to the feedback you recieve, or are you happy to have stuck up for your friends? why?

Re: The Well: nation
 

Who are your favorite regs to mess with and why?

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Do u regret having associated yourself with the "Sweatshop crew" due to the feedback you recieve, or are you happy to have stuck up for your friends? why?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't mind it. I'm pretty sure if I didn't know Chuck, I would be very suspicious at first as well. What really bothered me was how people manipulated facts to try to sway public opinion. For example, one person said he thought they all clicked at the same time, and then another poster asked me "how do you explain how they click in every pot at the EXACT same time????" it was sort of ridiculous and did nothing to prove anything other than make me frustrated. I really really hate intellectually dishonest arguments like that, because those people are just trying to win the argument, not trying to figure out what's actually going on.

As I said in that thread, my real life friendships are worth more than any internet forum rep I might have. I choose my close friends wisely and wouldn't go out on a limb like that for someone I thought was shady, but I knew that Chuck had no bots and was not a sweatshop, so I was willing to step in the fire for him. I'd do it again.

Re: The Well: nation
 

[ QUOTE ]
Who are your favorite regs to mess with and why?

[/ QUOTE ]

Um, I don't have any specifics really, I just try to do well in the spots that come up, I try not to go after anyone too much because I'd prefer to just exploit them without really realizing it.

Re: The Well: nation
 

Software?
HUD...what do you display?

How many tables?
Your numbers for VP$IP/PFR/AF/WTSD?

Are there implied odds when calling a TAG's PFR when she has a low WTSD%? I really do struggle with cold-calling and haven't found a good strat yet.

Can you explain your favorite two situations where ATC will do?

Re: The Well: nation
 

I play 16 tables and use PAhud and PT.

Prefer not to give my numbers.

There's not implied odds, but doesn't that mean he's very easy to play back at? i peel a lot or raise against these guys, but only if they're lp raisers.

What's ATC?

Re: The Well: nation
 

any two cards