The Well: Velocity
 

I'm going to be taking a break from 2p2/poker for about a month, and when I come back I'll making the decision whether poker will be my profession or just a hobby. I feel like I've assimilated quite a bit of knowledge over the past few years and want to pass it on before I go away and possibly lose much of it.

If you aren't familiar how well threads work,
[ QUOTE ]
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 Wednesday, 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 Wednesday? and the voice from in the well shouts back: Because on Wednesday, it’s your day in the well .

Well this is my Wednesday in The Well which will consist of this weekend.

You may ask me any question about whatever you like, related to poker or not. I will answer to the best of my abilities.

[/ QUOTE ]


Velocity

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Cool.

Please talk about your earn rate over the last year or so, i.e. where you played and what levels and what your ROI was and is before and after the legislation.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

What games are you currently playing?

Who have you learned the most from?

How many tables do you play for sngs? Continuous or sets?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

If you feel you need to take a significant break from poker, what makes you feel you would like to do it as a profession?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

how do you feel about not taking every +EV SB push?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

What levels have you played during your career?

Did you experience any "humps" in terms of understanding / playing ability that took a while to overcome at some of them?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

What are your top three "revelations" that made you a better poker player?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Cool.

Please talk about your earn rate over the last year or so, i.e. where you played and what levels and what your ROI was and is before and after the legislation.

[/ QUOTE ]

About a year ago 6 tabled continuously the party 109 speeds. After 6 months of playing my ROI was 8% over 7000 or so tournaments. I think this comes out to about $100/hr once rakeback is factored in. I moved to cash right before the doomsday, and haven't really played SNGs post-Frist. Nowadays I'm playing .5/1 NL HU and 6max mainly on full tilt for 4ptbb/100 8 tabling (when 6max) for around $60/hr.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
What games are you currently playing?

Who have you learned the most from?

How many tables do you play for sngs? Continuous or sets?

[/ QUOTE ]

I play .5/1 NL 6max and .5/1 NL HU.

Going to take the easy way out and say Eastbay. Getting SNGPT fixed more of my leaks than any one poster did.

When I played seriously I 6 tabled continuously, but if I played SNGs now I think I would 12 table continuously.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
If you feel you need to take a significant break from poker, what makes you feel you would like to do it as a profession?

[/ QUOTE ]

I enjoy playing, enjoy the lifestyle I get to lead (sleeping a bunch), and think it would be hard to go to work with a degree for less $/hr than I made when I was 19. I feel like I am becoming a compulsive gambler as time passes, and it has begun to consume my life, so I am taking a break. If I can come back and focus on it more as a job rather than satisfying my impulse to gamble than it is a job that offers more flexibility and better pay than most jobs I can get in the next few years after I graduate.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
how do you feel about not taking every +EV SB push?

[/ QUOTE ]

If a move is +EV I'm taking it. However, SNGPT isn't the be all end all of EV though. Taking every "+EV" push from the small blind that ICM tells you is dumb. ICM isn't perfect, and a lot of times you gain more by folding to preserve your stack and letter the other people be morons than will show up in your ICM calcs.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Why are you doing a Well post in the SnG forum when you haven't played SnGs in months?

Man this is a weird forum.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Still interested in vegas this summer? Me, you, ALReturnsLOLERZ FTW!!

when/where/road trip/can we borrow your friend's private jet?

beer and liquor of choice?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Cool.

Please talk about your earn rate over the last year or so, i.e. where you played and what levels and what your ROI was and is before and after the legislation.

[/ QUOTE ]

About a year ago 6 tabled continuously the party 109 speeds. After 6 months of playing my ROI was 8% over 7000 or so tournaments. I think this comes out to about $100/hr once rakeback is factored in. I moved to cash right before the doomsday, and haven't really played SNGs post-Frist. Nowadays I'm playing .5/1 NL HU and 6max mainly on full tilt for 4ptbb/100 8 tabling (when 6max) for around $60/hr.

[/ QUOTE ]

why did you quit playing sng? personal preference or it is no longer profitable?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Best/worst coinflipper/highcarders/lowcarders you've ever encountered.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
What levels have you played during your career?

Did you experience any "humps" in terms of understanding / playing ability that took a while to overcome at some of them?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have played SNGs from 5.50 on pacific in my earliest days to taking shots at the 215s and 530s on party just before the fristing. The highest I ever played regularly was the 109s.

Cash games I have played from .05/.10 to .5/1 live and .05/.10 to 25/50 NL and .5/1 to 10-20 limit online. I only ever shortstacked 25/50 and 10/20 NL, the highest my regular game in cash has been was 1-2, but full stacked up to 5-10 occasionally.

As for humps, first realizing at cash that you can completely pwn people in position was big. Also, when in SNGs when I realized the difference between a 10bb push into my 5bb stack vs a 5bb push into my 10bb stack in the ranges was huge. Seems kinda basic, but it was really important. Aso, when I first got SNGPT and realized how wide I could be shoving from the SB was pretty big.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Why is (this) the first "should I go pro/I might go pro"-type post I've seen since mid-October?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
What are your top three "revelations" that made you a better poker player?

[/ QUOTE ]

the three in mentioned in replying to eurym probly. thought em2 talking about his thoughts on the importance of being the preflop agressor was pretty big. basically in cash games with position you reraise a lot and oop you fold to raises.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Why are you doing a Well post in the SnG forum when you haven't played SnGs in months?

Man this is a weird forum.

[/ QUOTE ]

I almost never posted in any of the NL cash forums. Plus I figured a lot of the questions would be non-poker related and these people know me better.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Is Iowa NIT or Big dance bound?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Why is the first "should I go pro/I might go pro"-type post I've seen since mid-October?

[/ QUOTE ]
Someday the world might be know as pre-Frist & post-Frist.
Sorry for jumping in Velocity, looking forward to your reply...

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Still interested in vegas this summer? Me, you, ALReturnsLOLERZ FTW!!

when/where/road trip/can we borrow your friend's private jet?

beer and liquor of choice?

[/ QUOTE ]

definitely, I'm planning on coming out to vegas this summer even if poker is just a hobby.

sometime this summer my friend will come out to vegas to visit. we can probably come along in the jet with her to spend some time in New York or Philly when she leaves. roadtrip possible on my spring break, im probably coming chicago for part of it so its not that much more of a journey to head to michigan. no iowa-michigan or iowa-ohio state football games next year so thats out. ship the schedule for big ten championship and bcs bowl.

Leinenkeugal (spellingaments) Honey Weiss and Boulevard Wheat are good beers, plus Leiny has good caps for throwing.

Favorite liquor is probably Ketel-One, though I've been drinking more Crown Royal lately.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
why did you quit playing sng? personal preference or it is no longer profitable?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cash games are more interesting. Plus SNGs were waaaay softer on party when I played them. You can learn 95 % of the knowledge with probably 50% effort and that used to be enough to crush them. To crush them in the same way now you need probably 99-100% knowledge which requires a lot more work to learn.

My cash game will improve and I will make more money there as I move up with much more ease than I would playing SNGs.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

How hard are you gonna pwn with Alreturns and JJunip in vegas this summer?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Best/worst coinflipper/highcarders/lowcarders you've ever encountered.

[/ QUOTE ]

Raptor beat Fiery coinflipping and Fiery beats everyone else so I guess hes the best flipper. You are by far the worst highcarder, with FJ being the best. Inyaface was a decent lowcarder, but I have to give the nod to Fiery being the best again. Honorable mention to gramps for knowing it was +EV to take some of FJs action in games of skill such as these.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Why is the first "should I go pro/I might go pro"-type post I've seen since mid-October?

[/ QUOTE ]


Someday the world might be know as pre-Frist & post-Frist.
Sorry for stealing your reply StregaChess, but it fits...

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Is Iowa NIT or Big dance bound?

[/ QUOTE ]

Big Dance. At 10-6 (18-12) for 4th place in the big ten, plus winning a game in the big ten tournament (the only time Alford coaches well) should be enough to let us lose to someone in the first round.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
How hard are you gonna pwn with Alreturns and JJunip in vegas this summer?

[/ QUOTE ] The SIHBs will look small time compared to how hard we pwn [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Will I meet you in vegas this summer?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Do you know something that would be useful to know for an STT´er which you haven´t read mentioned anywhere, and would you PM me what it is if I promise not to share it with anyone?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Will I meet you in vegas this summer?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, unless you wuss out like you did in December [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
Do you know something that would be useful to know for an STT´er which you haven´t read mentioned anywhere, and would you PM me what it is if I promise not to share it with anyone?

[/ QUOTE ]

It isn't mentioned enough, and people vastly underestimate the importance of having better players you can pester with questions from time to time and discuss poker with outside the forums.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

You might not be the person to ask, but where do you see SNGs and the ability to make a living off of them in the future?

How difficult was it to become a competent cash-game player and would you recommend it in general?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Will I meet you in vegas this summer?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, unless you wuss out like you did in December [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Ya exams are teh gay

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
You might not be the person to ask, but where do you see SNGs and the ability to make a living off of them in the future?

How difficult was it to become a competent cash-game player and would you recommend it in general?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you can beat the 22s for 10% 8 tabling and play full time, 40hrs/week 50 wks/yr you can make 40k, which is definitely enough to live off. Obviously this is a lot more work than most of us put in and it has there isn't as much ridiculously easy money around, but anyone should be able to make a living off them indefinitely. If you want to be super rich thats another story, and less than 50 people will be making 150k/yr if all they play is SNGs, and that number may be a bit high.

It wasn't too tough to become a decent cash-game player. I played a lot of cash games live during high school. Once you figure out you want to have a big hand in a big pot and what a big hand actually is it's easy.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Do you know something that would be useful to know for an STT´er which you haven´t read mentioned anywhere, and would you PM me what it is if I promise not to share it with anyone?

[/ QUOTE ]

It isn't mentioned enough, and people vastly underestimate the importance of having better players you can pester with questions from time to time and discuss poker with outside the forums.

[/ QUOTE ]

I will also add that a lot of times even if you don't get why people are saying what they are saying, listen to it, they are better players for a reason.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Some questions from a native Iowan-

1. 1985 or 2002? A. better team? B. bigger heisman crime? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

2. Ferentz is god, true/false.

3. Which was more bothersome; getting hometeamed by the refs in florida or texas?

4. What in the bloody hell happened to the QB Tate was supposed to be last year?

5. Can an avatar pwn better than yours?

Matt
U of I would've been Class of '01 but the weather called me south.

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

Is Ricky Davis more Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson?

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

No question. Just good luck with the decision. You are young, this means you can screw up and it doesn't matter, so don't sweat it too much. If in doubt toss a coin: heads pro, tails job. The secret is if you feel for one moment that you don't like the result of the toss, do the opposite!

Re: The Well: Velocity
 

After an infinite number of 5-handed SNGs that pay 65/35, who is the biggest winner at a table of David Sklansky, Ted Forrest, Daniel Negraneu, TJ Cloutier, and Doyle Brunson? What if raptor sits down and they play 6-handed? What if you took raptor's seat?