Harrier's Blog - Mixed Games & Mixed Drinks

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Where do you take chess lessons?

I'm just taking the online lessons at Chess.com. Normally, you would have to buy a subscription to unlock all of them, but they also offer one free lesson per week, and I found that that's plenty for my purposes.

They also have a practice mode, where you get immediate feedback on your moves.

Previously, I had been taking some online lessons at Lichess.org. They are completely free, and have the interesting feature of including documented situations from real chess games, but compared to the Chess.com lessons, I believe they involve a bit too much "guesswork" for less experienced players like me. The Lichess lessons only tell you afterwards whether your move was right or wrong, while Chess.com also give you an explanation why your move was or wasn't correct. Also, each lesson is accompanied by a video explaining the concepts to be taught. It feels almost a bit like a chess equivalent to Pokerstrategy.

Looks like we're back...

I may not be in any condition to do any kind of physical labor yet, but it was worth it to stop by at the poker tables tonight. Five out five SNGs cashed, three of them were outright shipped, the others finished 2nd. Badugi had an amazing start, but had to settle at 9th place, still earning us a decent $15.15 including bounties.

What didn't go so well was 8-Game, where I played a simple $1.10 one and bricked yet again. My results in there leave a lot to be desired lately, this needs to improve.

Other than that, though, a nice session, especially at the SNG front.

A Battle of Wills

This happened on the stone-cold bubble. MP knows me well, and knows that can I often break high Badugis in high pressure situations, and then only carry on with very strong hands. I also know that he knows that.

What ultimately made me stand my ground in his little game of Chicken, though, was the simple fact that even if I'm behind, my chances to improve to something better by drawing are simply not very good with such a rough hand.

In the end, it is quite likely that he broke a hand that would have beaten me.

PokerStars, $3.92 + $0.48 - Badugi Pot Limit - 400/800 - 7 players
Hand delivered by CardsChat

UTG: 8,153 (10 bb)
MP: 12,743 (16 bb)
MP+1: 10,485 (13 bb)
CO (Hero): 4,162 (5 bb)
BU: 20,360 (25 bb)
SB: 16,684 (21 bb)
BB: 31,620 (40 bb)

Deal: (1,200) Hero is CO with 8♠ Q♦ 9♥ 7♣
1 fold, MP raises to 1,600, 1 fold, Hero 3-bets to 4,162 (all-in), 3 players fold, MP calls 2,562

Draw One: (9,524) 8♠ Q♦ 9♥ 7♣ (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP stands pat, CO (Hero) stands pat

Draw Two: (9,524) (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP stands pat, CO (Hero) stands pat

Draw Three: (9,524) (2 players, 1 all-in)
MP draws 1, CO (Hero) stands pat

Total pot: 9,524

Showdown:
CO (Hero) shows 8♠ Q♦ 9♥ 7♣ (a Badugi: Q,9,8,7)
MP shows 3♦ 8♣ A♠ 9♣ (a 3-card: 8,3,A)
CO (Hero) wins 9,524

I still couldn't get anything better than a mincash this time.

SNGs are still going well, though a 3rd place finish in my latest Five Card Draw ended a six game cashing streak. Stud8 is a more bumpy ride, but we're doing okay there too.

All in all, only a slight profit today.

Originally posted by Harrier88
This happened on the stone-cold bubble. MP knows me well, and knows that can I often break high Badugis in high pressure situations, and then only carry on with very strong hands. I also know that he knows that.

He also knows that you know he knows that you know he knows....

Terrible luck in tonight's Badugi with two bullets going by the wayside, but I would like to point out that thanks to the outstanding results in 5CD SNGs lately, we have now cracked $200 in combined SNG profits this year.

It was a crazy week, but there will be more stuff to do starting tomorrow.

Originally posted by Harrier88
Terrible luck in tonight's Badugi with two bullets going by the wayside, but I would like to point out that thanks to the outstanding results in 5CD SNGs lately, we have now cracked $200 in combined SNG profits this year.

It was a crazy week, but there will be more stuff to do starting tomorrow.

I could not find any 5-Card Draw SNGs
I couldn't find any stud8 ones either

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
I could not find any 5-Card Draw SNGs
I couldn't find any stud8 ones either

I eventually did find some — but I registered the $2 Stud8 and it doesn't seem to be attracting any players.
And is $5 the minimum 5-Card Draw SNG?

Wow!

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
And is $5 the minimum 5-Card Draw SNG?

There are $2 5CD SNGs, and they can even be seen right at the bottom of the list in your screenshot.

Stud8 traffic is worse, but it's there. Assuming you go for the $2 games, that is. $5 SNGs rarely have any players in the lobby in either format, let alone any running games. I played some $5 5CDs early this year, but I think that was when the Russians were still around.

I was not aware that there were any Stud Hi SNGs, but that may be for the better. You're kind of giving me an idea with the heads-up games, though...

Originally posted by Harrier88
You're kind of giving me an idea with the heads-up games, though...

That's odd, I couldn't find any HUSNGs, even though I was careful with the filters. Maybe they are not available in my region.

Originally posted by Harrier88

Originally posted by Harrier88
You're kind of giving me an idea with the heads-up games, though...

That's odd, I couldn't find any HUSNGs, even though I was careful with the filters. Maybe they are not available in my region.

Perhaps ask their customer service

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Perhaps ask their customer service

I could, but I only would have given those games a very careful try anyway - and I'm probably better off staying clear, given my experience with HUSNGs so far.

The only reason why I considered them is that I was doing pretty well converting heads-up spots in the STTs lately, in both Stud8 and 5CD.

I assume they don't have very good traffic anyway?

Originally posted by Harrier88

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
Perhaps ask their customer service

I could, but I only would have given those games a very careful try anyway - and I'm probably better off staying clear, given my experience with HUSNGs so far.

The only reason why I considered them is that I was doing pretty well converting heads-up spots in the STTs lately, in both Stud8 and 5CD.

I assume they don't have very good traffic anyway?

I never looked before now. I used to play NL 5-Card Draw HU SnGs. There are open tables now...
In case you missed this, check the "more filters" button:

Current traffic:

Open tables are a good sign - unless it's just the same person lurking around in vain at very table.

I did check the filters, still nothing. But yeah... I'm most likely better off sticking to STTs.

So What Happened Last Week?

I mentioned that things were crazy, but what happened exactly? Well, it all started Tuesday afternoon, when I received a call from my boss out of the blue. I've been doing contract work since the end of February, being employed by two different warehouses in the meantime. The first one went well, where I stayed until the end of August. The second one was something else, and I already mentioned here before that I didn't like it there. And that Tuesday afternoon, I received the news that I was going to be laid off there, effective immediately.

I can't say that I was too disappointed about it, considering that I was looking for greener pastures already, but receiving the news so sudden was still a bit of a shocker. The reason behind it was nonsensical, it cited an "almost provocatively slow walking speed" on my part during work. The only times I ever started "strolling" like that was when there was idle time - of which there was a lot! We were even regularly sent home hours in advance because there was simply nothing to do for us.

I strongly suspect that a personal grudge from some of the higher-ups was behind my sudden termination, and I have reasons to believe that. The way workers were treated was deplorable since day one, and there was zero effort made to resolve any conflicts. Even widespread stealing at the workplace barely raised any eyebrows, as long as no company property was in jeopardy.

Anyway, my boss made a commendable effort to arrange for new interviews for me. One of them was already scheduled for last Friday... and then I got sick on Wednesday night, throwing a wrench in those plans too. To make matters worse, I tried to tough it out until I realized on Thursday evening that there will be no way around calling in sick - except it was too late to reach anyone anymore, so everything had to be done at the last minute on Friday morning.

All of this, combined with the plain agony of being sick and some additional stressors, which included the midterm elections, bad poker results on Tuesday and Wednesday, and having to back out of an offer to upgrade the copper wires for our internet service to glass fiber after it turned out to be not so above board after all... it meant that I was in for quite a ride, all things considered.

Luckily, most of these things are behind me now, and I have almost recovered from my sickness. In fact, I have been to another interview this morning already, and guess what - I'm going to start there tomorrow already. Distance and work hours are just about the same as in my previous job, but other than that, it should have only advantages, including better pay.

Sometimes the little mishaps turn out all right after all, and this may have been one of those situations - but let's take it one step at a time.

Am I sick again? Could it be? How would that even be possible? In any case, I still don't feel great, but it seems more like a common cold this time. Runny nose, dry throat... those kinds of things.

Maybe it's just some aftermath from my infection, or maybe it's something new, which would mean that I really can't catch a break lately, but do an excellent job catching sicknesses instead. Before last month, I didn't catch a single cold in almost three years. Now I may have caught two of them within one month, one of them seamlessly coupled with an infection.

I don't know, maybe I'm just weird. I will keep working throughout the week regardless, I can't afford to miss any days in this situation. First day of work was not easy today, loads of new things to pick up on, but I made it through. No choice but to keep on, we are approaching the final sprints this year.

Originally posted by Harrier88
Maybe it's just some aftermath from my infection, or maybe it's something new, which would mean that I really can't catch a break lately, but do an excellent job catching sicknesses instead. Before last month, I didn't catch a single cold in almost three years. Now I may have caught two of them within one month, one of them seamlessly coupled with an infection.

For two years we isolated ourselves from the see of bacteria and viruses that make up our world. I'm no epidemiologist, but collectively I'm guessing that all our defences are down somewhat as a result.

Originally posted by VorpalF2F
For two years we isolated ourselves from the see of bacteria and viruses that make up our world. I'm no epidemiologist, but collectively I'm guessing that all our defences are down somewhat as a result.

Also, there was just less exposure to these things as a result - not that this outweighed the drawbacks by any means. I'll gladly take a few bouts of sickness over locking myself inside my home all year long.

In my case, one big factor may also be my lack of outdoor sports nowadays. I used to do them on a regular basis, at least going for some jogs every now and then, even when it's colder outside, which is a great way to get your body's defenses ready. This fall, because of my busy work schedule, I did almost none at all, and now I'm not even playing football anymore either.

I need to get this fixed and work on a healthier lifestyle, but my schedule is not getting any better, not to mention that I'm busy enough being sick these days...

Originally posted by VorpalF2F

Originally posted by Harrier88
Maybe it's just some aftermath from my infection, or maybe it's something new, which would mean that I really can't catch a break lately, but do an excellent job catching sicknesses instead. Before last month, I didn't catch a single cold in almost three years. Now I may have caught two of them within one month, one of them seamlessly coupled with an infection.

For two years we isolated ourselves from the see of bacteria and viruses that make up our world. I'm no epidemiologist, but collectively I'm guessing that all our defences are down somewhat as a result.

This is right, Vorpal! The immunsystem needs constant challenge. You know, it´s like your body - if you don´t exercise regularly, your muscles will shrink and you will get weak (and some get obese and lazy). Exactly the same with the immune system. If it doesn´t get enough "exercise", it will weaken and in the worst case, turn against harmless substances (allergy) or even endogenous tissue (autoimmune diseases).

Weekend... and what a week it was. There hasn't been any more poker, work was tough enough with all the new things to pick up. Besides, working morning shifts, I didn't get a ton of sleep, and I didn't feel all that healthy yet anyway. But I'm feeling a lot better now.

Next week may be even tougher, with late shifts and an additional interview somewhere else on Friday morning, after which I will be scrambling to make it on time to my regular shift.

My life sure hasn't been lacking for adventure lately, but not necessarily the kind of adventure worth posting here. I should have time for some more poker this weekend, at least, including tonight.

Also, I'm all set for December now.

Yes, the "Troll Calendar" will be back, for its fourth iteration - but this time, it will be hosted in the Troll Challenges thread. I have prepared another special advent surprise for this blog too, though. Stay tuned...

I think I actually dozed off a few times during last night's session... But that's okay if I wake up to shipped SNGs and nice Badugi bounties. It went well, but I was quick to wrap things up when the last tournament was done, to regain some missing sleep from this week.

Things are going well in general, having even reached another milestone at the end of last month, exceeding our original bankroll goal by $1K... but where do we go from here?

We Met Our Goal - What Now?

I must admit that my bankroll goals have been a bit like a treadmill. Until about two years ago, I gladly just withdrew anything in excess of $1.5K, figuring that I didn't need any more than that for my low buy-in tournaments. Then I thought that I could try shooting for some higher ones, and started saving up until $2.5K, which took over a year due to bad results in 2021. When I did reach it, I thought I should keep building for a while, and by now, we have an extra $1K to it - and I'm still building on it.

I actually did make a very small withdrawal, mostly to unravel some red tape, but since then, I just kept playing without any clear idea of when to withdraw anything. Shall I just keep building? And then build and build some more? Where exactly should I be going with my $3.5K now?

It all depends on the kinds of games I'm aiming for. For my original $4.40 Badugis and other low buy-in mixed games, those $1.5K I always kept around were plenty. One of the higher games that caught my interest back then were the $27 8-Games, but after bad results in this format lately, my ambitions have been stymied a little. Considering my successes in SNGs, I would like to try 5CD and Stud8 MTTs, however. 5CD has some $7.50 games ($11 on weekends), which I was actually playing for a while with my $1.5K roll already. Stud8 costs $16.50 in the evening, this one could use more of a cushion.

I'd say $5K should be a bankroll that would support all of these games pretty comfortably, though it might still be a little on the short side for the $27 8-Games, at least. But do I really want to keep saving up until then, only to run the risk that I end up not liking those games anyway?

Here is what I think I should do: The time has come to take some shots. I will start playing some of those games when I feel ready, but I will not properly grind them yet. Maybe play one or two of them in a week. That way, I can start getting a feel for them, and if it turns out that I'm not beating them yet, the losses will be kept small and can hopefully be recouped by my other games. If I do turn out to do all right in them, the extra winnings will instead turn out to be helpful in saving up for a bankroll that can sustain these games in the longer run.

I think that's the plan for now. Of course, I will keep you guys updated about any of my adventures in those higher games.