SplitSuit.com

Good morning everyone. Things have been going quite well in Boston, and my sleep schedule is doing…something. I have been passing out at weird times, like 5p or 8p, and waking up at like 3p on average. But at least I am getting full nights of sleep, which my body seems to appreciate. My dog doesn’t seem to thrilled with the spastic sleep times, but it is what it is.

I have been getting a ton of work done since I’ve been home. I wouldn’t really describe this trip as a “vacation” I guess…more as “work from a different place”. But being up so early has allowed me to get most of my work done by like 1p or so. It has also given me some more time to play which has been nice. The HUL games on the weekend seem to be really good, and I tend to get people to play me for longer. It has been a bit frustrating because a few of my opponents have a bad tendency to notch the fuck out of me…but it happens.

Also got my sister all moved up to college this weekend. So odd knowing she is all grown up now. Was odd remembering what my first weekend at college was like, which as I remember it, was super awkward. I remember my first meal at college was HU with one my best friends currently, but that he was 90x more awkward than I was. I remember showing up to a party at 10p…about 1hr before anyone else did, lol. Also getting out of said party, drunk and stumbling, and not knowing how to get back to my dorm. The joys of opening weekend =)

Oh well. Also got a disturbing email with some analysis about the currently climate of the poker environment. Not a good way to start the day, and it looks like I have to go do some homework to say the least. Hope all is well!

*SS*

Back in Boston safe and sound. Flight got delayed a little last night, but not enough to throw the day off course. Forgot I was laying over in O’Hare for a bit, my favorite airport ever. So damn busy there always, even at 5a people are just jamming around. Of course I couldn’t sleep the entire time, but not surprising. Watched “Swordfish” and “I Love You, Man” on the flight, which were both like a perfect amount of time to distract me.

Landed and went to pick up to see my dad pulled over…apparently they dont like you driving too fast through the airport roads…lol. Then drove home (like 20min trip from airport to my house) and saw some of the craziest shit. This dude driving this SUV was going nuts. Going like 80, then cutting people off for no reason, then braking…I could have sworn he was drunk. But then, he does this for like 5min, then someone cuts him off. SUV guy gets fucking pissed, goes like 90 to re-cut him off…and then STOPS..literally dead stops, in the left lane on the highway. Was fucking crazy. Didn’t see if the SUV guy got out of his car…but it was the silliest thing I’ve seen on the road in quite some time. Welcome back to Boston I suppose

Got home, got some breakfast, and then passed out around noon EST. Woke up at 8p, ate some pizza with my dad, and played with Kingjamen (my dog) a bit. It is now 11:30p and I am considering going to sleep. I have to be up at 7a to help move my sister in her dorm. Brings me back to moving in for my first weekend of college…damn was I a different person then. Funny how just a few years changes you.

Well just wanted to write a quick write up before I passed out. Hope all is well!

*SS*

I wanted to write up a quick blog post before I jumped on the plane. So I figured as my nitty ass got here early, I might as well write one =) I love McCarren Airpot…free wifi and very clean. Got some good Thai food, got through security, and fingers crossed a nice and easy flight =)

Things have been hectic the last few days. The sleep schedule hasn’t improved at all, sadly. I am still getting to bed around 7a each day…and regardless of the time I wake up, it doesnt get better. I don’t want to pull the wrapper, but might end up doing that tonight if I cannot sleep on the plane. Fingers crossed!

Lots of work has gotten done in the last few days. I have been writing like a fiend to finish up this project, and finally got it all done. I will say that my ADD was of no help what-so-ever…but I worked through it. In between this 2p2 chatroom and yoga…

I am looking forward to getting back home for a little mix up. Get to see this girl I’ve been missing, my family, and hopefully see rain. Damn the fact that it never rains in the desert, ever, lol. I’m a little nervous that I will sleep through the vacation because of the time difference and my schedule, but I’ll see what I can do.

In case you havn’t been looking at the music tab, I added 2 new playlists to enjoy. The “Heart Breaker” song from this playlist is addicting as hell

Alright, I’m gonna start a movie and then board. Hope all is well!

*SS*

This weekend has been a damn blur. Sleep schedule got shit on again, and my average bed time has been around 7a. I have been waking up at 3p, and it hasn’t budged too much from this sadly. I will probably turn the wrapper at some point this week (stay up for 36hrs or so) in an effort to restart it, but we’ll see what happens.

For those that may have noticed, I added a Music tab at the top of the page. I will be throwing some playlists up there (generally ones that I either grind to or relax to), so feel free to check them out. The first one “Bang Out Electro” has an amazing song called “Drugs” by Felix Cartal. Amazing damn song, and if you like electro, you will eargasm all over it. Even my roommate, who despises electronica, liked it.

I have been working like a fiend all weekend…getting tons of writing and stuff done…all prep work. I seriously cannot wait to be done with it. I hate writing like this sometimes. But, it needs to be done…and work through the ADD I do. So what if it is taking me 3hrs to write something that should take me 30min to write!? I cannot wait to get on Addy…my brain and productivity will thank thee kindly.

I also realized I am becoming an old man. I realized that I dislike groups of teenagers, I almost ran outside with a blade last night because I heard a scream, and bought a sunshade for my car windshield. I almost bought a Dora the Explorer one just for shits and LOLs, but decided I would totally feel like the kind of dude that hung out at Chuck-E-Cheese alone if I did that. And I heard a really random high pitched female scream last night from outside and thought that something might be wrong. Turned out to just be kids drinking and being randomly loud…but srsly scared the shit out of me. I’m very protective in that situation, and will generally jump in if I think someone is in trouble. Luckily no one was, but srsly, don’t fucking scream like that at 2a and put people in panic mode

Other than that, life has been gravy. Just grinding like always. Hope all is well with everyone!

Also, I really want to do a Poker Hand Review on a hand that isnt mine. So if you are interested, just drop a HH here and I’ll do it up

*SS*

Just wanted to put up a quick blog post before I crash out. Things have been going pretty well this week. Although it feels like it is already Friday…damn long feeling weeks. Went to the doctors on Monday and everything checks out except for a lil high blood pressure. Im guessing much of that can be attributed to stress and lack of sleep, so not really surprising. Also got some numbers from them to further me along on my quest for adderall, so hopefully I can get that all figured out soon.

I have actually been falling asleep much quicker the last couple of days. Only 1hr on average to crash out! I have been doing a little yoga at night to burn some energy and it is helping thus far. Also realized how bad my balance has become, so it’s nice to get that back on track. I need to get in better shape, so yoga and maybe actually a run or so should help that. I hate being busy with things that are a higher priority than keeping in shape.

Business stuff is going well. Spent lots of time the last few days dealing with lawyer stuff. Also been working on an upcoming project that should be quite amazing when finished. I know I have been very elusive as to what the project is for the last few months, and I apologize. Just know it should be pretty damn awesome when released =)

That all being said, I need sleep badly. Fingers crossed I can get right to sleep. Hope all is well!

*SS*

My body does not like me much. My sleep schedule keeps going from decent to absolute shit. And it’s not like I’m out partying hard or anything. I’m giving myself lots of “cool down” time before I crash out, or try to crash out anyway. Been getting to sleep at an average of 6a the last few days, and waking up at like 2p to try to get things done. Accidentally woke up at 5p the other day, which was aggravating. I love sleeping, but hate feeling like I slept the day away.

It probably doesn’t help that my ADD has been nuts the last few days. I actually had to take a 2hr car ride today just to calm down enough to get work done, lol. Driving is a huge coping mechanism for me so long as I don’t stress while doing it. So I decided I would drive in the slow lane to the strip, and then drive around there for awhile…felt really good and relaxing. Work has actually been getting done through all of this, which I’m very happy about. But then again, a lot of Halo has been happening as well…for better or worse I suppose =)

I am considering writing another paper soon. I might do that in the next few weeks depending on work load. I want to do a paper similar to “What makes us different”, but more focused on in-game poker decisions. I think one of the bigger thought-process leaks people have is that they don’t know how to compartmentalize the information to make quicker, easier, and more profitable decisions. I think I can put that into words fairly well, and coupled with some examples, I think it could be very beneficial to people. We’ll see what things look like…

I have also been DL-ing a ton of music lately. I got a bunch of Lupe Fiasco, Rhymefest, and Anthony Hamilton. Also got a complete collection of Bach and also Paganini. So much music, and seemingly so little time to listen to it, lol. O well, there are plenty of worse things in the world. And on that note, I’m going to go put in a session. HULHE is going very well thus far, so probably going to go play that. Hope all is well

*SS*

$0.25/$0.50 9 Player No Limit Hold’em Cash Game, 6 Players @ The Table
Poker Tools by Stoxpoker – Hand Details

MP: $103.95
CO: $46.60
BTN: $137.35
SB: $6.60
Hero (BB): $50
UTG: $49.50

Pre-Flop: Hero is BB with A A
UTG raises to $2, 2 folds, BTN calls $2, SB folds, Hero raises to $7.35, UTG calls $5.35, BTN calls $5.35

Flop: ($22.30) 5 9 8 (3 players)
Hero bets $42.65 and is all-in

So this is the original hand. UTG is a player who doesn’t appear to like me very much. I have 4b him once, have stolen as much as possible from him, and just been a PITA. He is running 11/8 over the last 150 hands, and is on a few tables with me. Hero has been running a lovely 32/26 on this table, and has been just raise/CB-ing with minimal success mostly. And BTN is a very bad, very spewy 43/5 over 40 hands. No other notes of history for this hand.

UTG opens to 4x, BTN flats, and it is my action. Now normal betsizing would say i should go to 4x here, or $8. I decide to tone it down a little bit here. If I go too large, say $9.25, I may scare some of the strong/weak pairs from UTG, like TT or JJ. I also really don’t want to lose BTN. Also, if I go to what I did, $7.35, and UTG calls, then BTN will surely call, making a nice $22 pot, and $42 back…for a simple 2SPR pot. Although multi-way pots tends to suck with hands like AA and KK, this is a spot where the SPR is mistake proof and also keeps them in with favorable ranges.

The flop is perfect for my hand as it misses TT-KK (the logical setting range of UTG), and keeps all of his pairs as overpairs. BTN, well if he hit a hand, then good for him. Again, the SPR is so low that folding isn’t an option. I actually decide to take an odd line and shove here. I figured this might look bluffy to UTG, and that if he calls, then BTN might come along with a 1pr hand as well. It is a very optimistic that i get both stacks in the middle with a super edge, but odder things have happened =). So I do shove, and then…

UTG calls $42.15 and is all-in, BTN folds

Turn: ($106.60) Q (2 players, 2 are all-in)
River: ($106.60) 5 (2 players, 2 are all-in)

Results: $106.60 pot ($3 rake)
Hero showed A A (two pairs, Aces and Fives) and won $103.60 ($54.10 net)
UTG showed J J (two pairs, Jacks and Fives) and lost (-$49.50 net)

The real interesting part of this hand is looking at it from UTG’s POV. He raises UTG with JJ to 4x (I would obviously suggest 3x. If you are going to be OOP almost always, and pretty much unable to stack off JJ as an overpair well, then why make the pot bigger?), gets a call by a super spewtard, and then another spewtard squeezes (I’m sure he views me as a spewtard and not as a solid player). He actually has a pretty tough spot here when he gets squeezed. Flatting, imo, is the worst of the options. Let’s look at the options closely:

1.) Fold. Well we don’t lose much which is nice. Folding preflop is neutral EV. And my stack is threatened by this one single 3b…I don’t think much of an edge can be had here given stack off range, and I’m not 100% sure of the squeeze range

2.) 4b. Again, if we commit here, we don’t really have an edge (we may sometimes, but probably not often). So this isn’t a great option

3.) Call. We have position, which is almost negated by the lowly SPR. Also, I’m going to have to see this flop MW as monkey in the middle, not good stuff. Also, with JJ, an overcard will hit the flop about 45% of the time…thats uncomfortable for putting in almost 20% of my stack preflop to play the “did you miss your overcards or did you have an overpair the whole time? while dodging babysets and junk” game

Folding would be best for UTG unless he knows that I am not only squeezing light, but stacking in some hands he has an edge on. His edge is pretty much not there at all against a logical stack range, so fold fold fold…and don’t get trapped

*SS*

The week is going alright so far. Actually been hustling like a machine getting this little business off the ground. I feel super broke (I’m not…just feel that way) for some odd reason this week, which generally makes me get more business stuff done. I sadly cannot grind when I get in this mindset, but it just gives me more time to get business stuff done. Passive income streams ftw!

By the way, not sure if people reading this have ADD, but I will let you know mine is getting so silly. The funniest thing about ADD is the amount of ironic situations that arise from it. For instance, when I first got out to Vegas my goal was to get adderall or wellbutrin, or something of the like. The great thing about ADD is that you constantly put off things like that. So it has been, give or take, about 3 months since I’ve been in Vegas, and I just FINALLY made an appointment.

I realize I should probably be putting more work into coping with it. I should write more lists, and take advantage of the times I can focus….but I cannot bring myself to do it. I also realize ADD has helped me a ton in poker, so I really can’t knock it that much. The odd thing about ADD kids is they can actually hyper-focus on things they have an interest in. I have an interest in poker and the thought process behind it…and that has helped me spend hours upon hours studying. Gift and a curse I suppose =)

So other than spending lots of hours trying to focus on the tasks at hand, I haven’t been up to too much. Finally got over to the pool at the new place, and was very saddened to see it only went to 4.5ft deep. Which means I cant swim in it. *sigh* I really wanted to swim for exercise, because I hate running, but it turns out I have no choice. And came up with some new ideas for next summer…so we’ll see what amounts from that.

Also, I have been entertaining the idea of staking some new players. If you, or someone you know, might be interested, send me an email (might take me a day or so to respond…so don’t think I’m ignoring you: splitsuit@gmail.com). Must meet these requirements:

1.) currently playing 5NL-25NL
2.) play on FTP or PS
3.) put in at least 25K hands per month
4.) want to be on stake for at least a few months
5.) are willing to get some coaching during the stake
6.) are willing to sign a contract
7.) are a winning player to date over at least 40K hands

If interested, shoot me an email and we can discuss some things.

Hope all is well!

*SS*

Good weekend for sure. Went down to the strip on Friday night to hang out with some college friends. Very funny when you all went to school on the east coast, and are all meeting up on the west coast. Also awesome how nothing changes. Caught up over at Blondies (a sports bar in the mile mall at PH) and started drinking pretty quickly as they showed up late. I probably should have eaten something other than a lunchable all day, but it happens =)

Played the game we always played at our college house, flippong. For those that have never played, it is a bastardization of flip cup and beerpong. Teams are generally very large (6-8/team is standard) and very quick, social, and drinking intensive. We only had 4 players/team which made it that much faster. Kind of sucks that I haven’t thrown a ping pong ball in nearly a year and my aim was horrific. But the sloppiness added to the hilarity.

Spent almost all of Saturday in the house. The better part of the day was spent brainstorming business ideas and just talking out ideas, good and bad. Got some pretty decent stuff done…and then randomly came across this game from Robert Kiyosaki called “Cash Game”. Bought a copy of it, and played through the first game very quickly before getting the second game (202) and playing that through. The game was amazing. It is all about keeping your own financial books, learning how to balance cash flow v expenses, and spotting good v bad deals.

I honestly suggest this game for everyone, and especially start at 101 if you are not very financially literate. The game really taught you that your salary means nothing. Everything is about finding passive income and new income streams. It was also very interesting to see how leveraging is super favorable, even though the game gives you bankloans for 120% interest. This was a huge change in approach for me, and is really helping me put the pieces of my financial future together.

That being said, my brain has been on overload the last few days and I have been sleeping very poorly. I actually had to listen to 4 hours of classical music last nigh just to calm myself down enough to lay down. Hopefully this ceases as I need sleep badly…but here is some of the classical I was jamming out to (DL-d a nice pack of 150 classical songs…so I am finding some stuff I had never heard before). Enjoy!

*SS*

Poker Stars $0.25/$0.50 No Limit Hold’em – 8 players –
The Official DeucesCracked.com Hand History Converter

MP1: $28.10
MP2: $61.70
Hero (CO): $51.80
BTN: $24.00
SB: $95.40
BB: $64.20
UTG: $50.10
UTG+1: $49.25

Pre Flop: ($0.75) Hero is CO with A J
3 folds, MP2 raises to $1.50, Hero calls $1.50, 1 fold, SB calls $1.25, 1 fold

Flop: ($5.00) A J 7 (3 players)
SB checks, MP2 bets $3, Hero raises to $11.30, SB folds, MP2 calls $8.30

Turn: ($27.60) 8 (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $17.10, MP2 calls $17.10

River: ($61.80) 6 (2 players)
MP2 checks, Hero bets $21.90 all in

So this is the original hand from a session a few days ago. The villain here (MP2) is a very loose villain, running about 35/17 over the last 50 hands. He seems to be a bit tilty and has just lost 2 decent sized pots in a row. Hero is running about 15/9 over the last 50 hands, and the other villain (SB) is running about 13/10 over 6.7K hands. No history between any of the villains.

Preflop MP2 open raises to 3x. Now, generally I would fold a hand like AJs to an open raise from MP, but this villain is special. He is very bad, tilty, and it seems he might be ready to spaz out. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT and a concept that a lot of people either ignore or misunderstand. Generally a bad player will buy in for $X, and play with it until it is $0…simple. We generally expect that a fish isn’t going to reload. It is awesome when they do, but it is not what we expect. When a fish gets tilty…they are telling you they are going to bust their stack and then leave. When this is the case, we have to take advantage, and often times that is done by playing more hands, and sometimes not the best of hands, like AJ, against them.

I opt to call here, rather than 3b, which is debatable in this situation. We end up seeing a 3way pot, and I flop top two. I raise the CB up to $11.3. The raise here should be a bit smaller imo. Something like $7.85 would be an awesome amount. I am not concerned with the SB…if he was lucky enough to flop a set here, o well. However, I want to allow MP2 to make a big mistake…either by bluff 3b-ing or by flatting and getting stuck with 2nd best hands.

The rest of the hand is pretty basic as I make a 1/2PSB turn bet to “glue” him to the pot, and then shove the river. It is important to shove the river, even though the flush came. Although you should often yield for at least a second when a draw fills, this player shouldn’t worry us. His range is comprised of way too many Ax and Jx type hands for us to not put in the last bit of the stacks.

MP2 calls $21.90

Final Pot: $105.60
MP2 mucks A T
Hero shows A J (two pair, Aces and Jacks)
Hero wins $102.60
(Rake: $3.00)

The big part of the hand was getting involved preflop, and the glue-bet on the turn. Coupled, this made for a nice win for us. Remember to look for these kinds of spots, especially when playing on weekends or weeknights where there are more fish around who are just looking to give you their stack =)

*SS*