Turning 0$ into WSOP trip

Reply to:
"It'd be cool if we do a podcast for PokerStrategy at some point, we can talk about your Bahamas plays there too!"
Sure, we can make that happen

Now back to that J♣:J♥: hand
I would guess that UTG player's range should be TT+, AQ, AK and against this JJ has 47% equity. If we add a wide BB shoving range, when our equity drops to around 37% in a 3way pot. And this is the point where big boys differ from the guys like me who won't be re-entring the tournament. If you are happy to fire multiple bullets in a 5k event, when you just gamble that JJ hand trying to get a big stack and build momentum for a very deep run. If you lose, you just reentry and play again. In my case, it just didn't seem like a good strategy to risk my stack with a chance of busting 2 out of 3 times. On the other hand, when the field is very strong and there is no big (or any) edge at all, calling with Jacks would never be a bad move. The more I think about this hand, the more I get closer to just tossing a coin as for every shove argument I find I counter one

Now I'm back at home to settle down for a Christmas period so no hard grinding until New Year. However I made a session on Sunday just to check what Live Events there are already for 2024.. And surprise surprise..

Valentine's day at Paris, what location could be better than this?

Happy New Year to all PokerStrategy community! I wish you all profitable winning graphs and fair Rivers Ant most importantly, being Happy
Not by accident I highlighted this word in a picture, as all my goals basically lead to one --> Happiness. I'm not sure if it's my natural ability or I trained it through time, I tend to be happy and positive. However, there are some times when I am not in a very charming mood, although there is no particularly reason for that. And that keeps me wondering, what makes people happy? I found many articles on this topic and most of them marks 4 factors as foundation. Here they are:

Health
Money or more specifically Financial Independence
Enjoyment of (at) work
Relationships

I exercise regularly so I am healthy both physically and mentally. Also I would say I have a successful poker career and have a financial independence from my early days, so the issue might be in the latter two lines I do enjoy playing poker and I do enjoy studying it, and although I am a winner in a long run, but some downswings (even small ones) still affects my mood. My recent trip in Las Vegas had a huge variance not only in results but in my overall feelings as well - busted all my 4 tournaments first week and after last exit my confidence was low I seriously thought about ending the trip and coming back home earlier. However my 2nd week at the cash tables was great and eventually it felt like the best trip of the year. Obviously first week didn't make me poorer and second one didn't make me richer, so the swing in mood doesn't make sense. At least in theory. A leak that I should fix in 2024
And now about relationships. Like most poker players, or at least online generations players, I am quite an introvert person. But I also noticed that my mood usually is high when I'm surrounded by the closest friends and relatives. I still find it difficult to make new connections and its like "climbing over a hill" to start a conversation with a stranger. This year I will try my best to take that first step, even without beer

This post was influenced by my new Bankroll challenge as I was wondering, what target to set. There are discussions about if more money can bring more happiness, but I like the theory that there is a threshold over which more money doesn't guarantee you more happiness. The country you are living in is the most important factor and in this picture you can look for your own:

There is a big gap from the lowest point to the highest but I was very surprised that the figure in Lithuania is on a low side - 26840$. Even when I accurately picked the capital Vilnius, the figure only slightly moved to 28k$. Still 4 times lower than US or 3 times lower than UK! I guess that makes Lithuania a very good country for poker players
Now back to my Bankroll Challenge. I will put 10k as my starting point, so to be happy I need to finish at around 40k. I will probably spend around 3 months combined in other countries playing Live Poker and most of those countries require more $$$ than Lithuania. Add another 10k for raising a small kid and my Bankroll challenge figures are complete:

Bankroll Challenge 2024
Starting bankroll 10 000€
Goal Bankroll 60 000€

All the best and see you at the tables!

Happy New Year and good luck this year. Hoping to see big live & online results from you. ♠_drink:

Originally posted by mariussica88
Happy New Year and good luck this year. Hoping to see big live & online results from you. ♠_drink:

Thanks Salca, crush that Bankroll Challenge!

First session of the year concluded with a small win

It's nice to kickstart with a gold, but overall not very happy with my game at the moment. Couple of bad calls on the river when people never bluff (even though GTO approved), some missed opportunities myself, focus all over the place and no mental strength for a long grind. But not very surprising considering my last morning session online was probably a month ago Also seems like pokerstars migrated from .eu to .com and all my notes, preferences and stats disappeared. Some work should be done with PokerTracker before my next session A♥:

2nd session, 2nd win

Lots of Brasilians on the Final Table, but it was a Polish guy to beat in HeadsUp. This hand was crucial in the match:
PokerStars - 10000/20000 Ante 2500 NL - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BB: 49.61 BB
Hero (SB): 43.89 BB

2 players post ante of 0.13 BB, Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.75 BB) Hero has Q♣ A♥

Hero calls 0.5 BB, BB raises to 5.5 BB, Hero raises to 13 BB, BB raises to 49.49 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 30.76 BB and is all-in

Flop: (87.78 BB, 2 players) 6♣ K♥ 2♣

Turn: (87.78 BB, 2 players) K♦

River: (87.78 BB, 2 players) K♣

BB shows A♦ T♣ (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 26%, Flop 14%, Turn 14%)
Hero shows Q♣ A♥ (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 74%, Flop 86%, Turn 86%)
Hero wins 87.78 BB

Overall much happier with the performance than on my first session, surely fixed PokerTracker helped a lot. Now let's see what Sunday grind will bring

Good day Grinders

Bankroll Challenge 2024
Starting bankroll 10 000€
Last Update 10 000€
Current Bankroll 10 249€
Weekly profit +249€
Goal Bankroll 60 000€

Despite having two good sessions in the middle of the week, Sunday was not like that. However, I felt that I played my best on the latter day, but the variance with a huge player pool was not on my side. From the good notes over the week, I learned how to make more colours on PokerStrategy Forum

Talking about Live Satellites, I was close to getting a package to Irish Open. 10 main prizes, finished 16th while 13th get some prize money. Busto hand:

PokerStars - 800/1600 Ante 200 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG+1: 24.09 BB
MP: 20.65 BB
Hero (MP+1): 16.51 BB
CO: 14.31 BB
BTN: 18.37 BB
SB: 28.65 BB
BB: 47.81 BB
UTG: 52.97 BB

8 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.5 BB) Hero has 5♥ 5♠

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 16.38 BB and is all-in, fold, fold, SB raises to 28.53 BB and is all-in, fold

Flop: (34.77 BB, 2 players) 6♦ Q♣ 7♠

Turn: (34.77 BB, 2 players) K♣

River: (34.77 BB, 2 players) J♦

SB shows K♠ K♥ (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 81%, Flop 87%, Turn 100%)
Hero shows 5♥ 5♠ (One Pair, Fives)
(Pre 19%, Flop 13%, Turn 0%)
SB wins 34.77 BB

Looking now, it seems punty. I was 15th in chips so I needed to make so steels to catch top10 players, but Middle positions is a bit too early to jam 16BB stack.
Overall I'm happy with my first week although the results are very modest. Still it was nice to get back into grind and hopefully my pace will increase gradually over the time

Originally posted by Mantelo
Good day Grinders

Bankroll Challenge 2024
Starting bankroll 10 000€
Last Update 10 000€
Current Bankroll 10 249€
Weekly profit +249€
Goal Bankroll 60 000€

Despite having two good sessions in the middle of the week, Sunday was not like that. However, I felt that I played my best on the latter day, but the variance with a huge player pool was not on my side. From the good notes over the week, I learned how to make more colours on PokerStrategy Forum

Talking about Live Satellites, I was close to getting a package to Irish Open. 10 main prizes, finished 16th while 13th get some prize money. Busto hand:

PokerStars - 800/1600 Ante 200 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG+1: 24.09 BB
MP: 20.65 BB
Hero (MP+1): 16.51 BB
CO: 14.31 BB
BTN: 18.37 BB
SB: 28.65 BB
BB: 47.81 BB
UTG: 52.97 BB

8 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 2.5 BB) Hero has 5♥ 5♠

fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 16.38 BB and is all-in, fold, fold, SB raises to 28.53 BB and is all-in, fold

Flop: (34.77 BB, 2 players) 6♦ Q♣ 7♠

Turn: (34.77 BB, 2 players) K♣

River: (34.77 BB, 2 players) J♦

SB shows K♠ K♥ (Three of a Kind, Kings)
(Pre 81%, Flop 87%, Turn 100%)
Hero shows 5♥ 5♠ (One Pair, Fives)
(Pre 19%, Flop 13%, Turn 0%)
SB wins 34.77 BB

Looking now, it seems punty. I was 15th in chips so I needed to make so steels to catch top10 players, but Middle positions is a bit too early to jam 16BB stack.
Overall I'm happy with my first week although the results are very modest. Still it was nice to get back into grind and hopefully my pace will increase gradually over the time

It's fine as long as you assume the players behind will fold a lot, which they should, you should only be getting called by TT+ and AQs+ by most players.

I assumed the smaller three prizes were like 30% of a package value. The shove range would be even wider if the smaller prizes were quite big.

Yes, something like 20-30% of the package value. In theory players should fold hands like 77-99 to my jam, but I doubt they will. These Irish Open satellites are very soft

Originally posted by Mantelo
Yes, something like 20-30% of the package value. In theory players should fold hands like 77-99 to my jam, but I doubt they will. These Irish Open satellites are very soft

Then you should tighten up your range big time to be blocker heavy. 88+ and suited Aces. Small pairs are death against wide calling ranges in satellites.

I'm getting close to shape my goals for 2024, but before revealing them, it's time to evaluate the Year of 2023

1. Visit 8 countries, at least 1 of them new to me - 1 point
January - Krakow, Poland (non poker)
February - FPT Paris
March - PokerStars Eureka, Rozvadov
April - Irish Open
June - Summer Festival Malta
September - UKIPT London
October - WSOPc Rozvadov
October - UKIPT Edinburgh
November - Las Vegas by PokerStars
December - Bahamas, GG Wsop

10 trips, 9 poker related, 9 different countries (Rozvadov twice). Plenty of new places - Krakow, Dublin, Edinburgh and finally Nassau in Bahamas, so the goal is complete and slightly overachieved. For the last 3 months of the year I was more away than at home and there is a little issue with that - it is very difficult to maintain quality sleep, nutrition and exercise. I guess I will have similar amount of journeys next year, so I will have to plan this area better

2. Experience of 10 educational trails in Lithuania - 0,7 points
Saidės educational trail
Karmazinai Hiking Trail
Educational trail of forest resources
Ribiškės Routes
Pučkoriai Park Trail
Meironys Natural Trail
Parnidis cognitive pathway

It all started well, but I lost the pace in the end of the year Being away from Lithuania didn't help either, but definitely going again with this goal for 2024! Here are my top3 pictures of the trails

3. Extend Trophy board or ship Major MTT online event - 0,5 points
These are only virtual trophies I won last year. 6 Zodiacs out of 12.. Good goal for 2024 incoming?

No wins in the Live stops, although I had couple of Final Tables. The closest flirt with a major win online came in GG Global Millions event where I finished 2nd, my best online result so far.

4. Reach Final Table in Sunday Million, GG Masters or any 1 Million Guaranteed event - 1 point
As mentioned in the previous goal, Final Table was reached in Global Millions event. It's never nice to lose a HU match not only because of the trophy but also for the monetary difference between 1st and 2nd place. However, if I could run so deep again in such a large field tournament, that would automatically mark the year as a good one

5. Buy 5 art paintings - 0,6 points
In theory I could have bought all five depending on the results, but I only managed to get 3, with The latest addition is in the picture below. I'm sure at least 2 paintings will arrive this year, but probably I won't add this goal to my yearly list.

6. Study poker 360 hours - 0,75 points
January - 36 hours
February - 12 hours
March - 33 hours
April - 10 hours
May - 37 hours
June - 26 hours
July - 35 hours
August - 12 hours
September - 34 hours
October - 16 hours
November - 18 hours
December - 12 hours

Total of 281 hours, 78% of the desired number. Looking at monthly numbers, the first thing I see is the lack of consistency. Usually I start the year strong, but when the hours varies like yo-yo. Especially end of the year was low, but it was highly influenced by the high volume of Live play. Definitely keeping this goal for next year, and hopefully keeping on track more than before.

7. Foster our Homestead - 0,75 points
Generally I'm happy with the way things are going here. Lots of goodies in all seasons (maybe except winter) and there is no better feeling than taking a nap in a hamak with nature sounds all around. We hoped to pave a better road and build a small construction like sauna house, but we are leaving this task for this year. Hopefully

8. Reach 50k XPoints on French Duolingo - 1 point
Probably the most consistent goal of all. Not only I reached the points mark, but also extended the learning streak to 742 days. For sure a milestone of 1000 days is on the horizon This goal will also come very practical as my 1st poker trip this year will be in Paris. And if PokerStars will offer satellites to France Regional tours, I might visit this country more than once.

9. Finish in Top3 with Top Kickers reserve team, both in Winter and Summer seasons - 1 point
My own physical form was up and down all year, but our team performance was good all year around and deservedly we got silver in the end. With my age at 36 now, I decided to move to reserves team which I think was a good decision for all parties. Our main team finished 3rd in their league and potentially have an option to move to League 3. It's still not a professional league in Lithuania but a big step forward from amateur leagues and it requires much more finances to compete in it. At the moment we are still not sure if we take that step but overall we can conclude that it was good year for both teams at the club

10. Read 12 books - 1 point
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
The Craft of Intelligence, by Allen Dulles
Father, There will always be America by Loreta Jastramskienė
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
Process, by Kafka Franz
Die 32 by Mario Reading
Silk by Alessandro Baricco
People of War by Giedrius Petkevičius
Exercise of 7 intelects by Renata Lazdin
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Fatal Decisions by Robertas Petrauskas
Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally

With the last day of the year, I finished the Schindler's List book. Symbolic, taking into consideration what's happening in Israel and Gaza right now.

Now let's sum up the points and the total is.. 8,3 points Which I feel is a very accurate number. I had some good scores on the poker field, happy with how my life progressed in general and only couple of small details to make it even better. I will reveal those details in my next monthly update which will be related to my previous post about happiness.

Until that time, have a great start everyone!

4th session of the year concluded with a double

First it was a win in a 109$ Bounty event on PokerStars. Not a big field, but very strong opponents. It was a tough battle in HU with a guy over 1 million in earnings, but runner runner sealed the deal

PokerStars - 2000/4000 Ante 600 NL - Holdem - 2 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

SB: 17.46 BB
Hero (BB): 47.54 BB

2 players post ante of 0.15 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.8 BB) Hero has A♣ 4♣

SB calls 0.5 BB, Hero checks

Flop: (2.3 BB, 2 players) J♣ 9♠ 3♥
Hero checks, SB checks

Turn: (2.3 BB, 2 players) 8♣
Hero checks, SB bets 2 BB, Hero calls 2 BB

River: (6.3 BB, 2 players) 3♣
Hero checks, SB bets 4.98 BB, Hero raises to 44.39 BB and is all-in, SB calls 9.33 BB and is all-in

Hero shows A♣ 4♣ (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 59%, Flop 62%, Turn 18%)
SB shows 7♣ T♥ (Straight, Jack High)
(Pre 41%, Flop 38%, Turn 82%)
Hero wins 34.92 BB

Other victory achieved on GG, on much lower stakes, but with a Zodiac Avatar

Almost one thousand entries and I'm quite happy that I won't have to play this tournament again

Bankroll Challenge 2024
Week 2
Starting bankroll 10 000€
Last Update 10 249€
Current Bankroll 11 284€
Weekly profit +1035€
Goal Bankroll 60 000€

Good day Grinders

It was a good start of the week with two nice victories and I really had big hopes for Sunday. Unfortunately, I used all my luck in flips before, so it was a short Sunday night grind. No packages for Live festivals either, although there is only Irish Open on the menu on PokerStars at the moment for me

One more victory in 55$ tournament on GG However, not very pure as we made a deal in Heads-up while I had slightly more chips. Opponent was a crusher from Brasil and it was my last tournament of the day, so a deal is +EV I guess

Hello from Latvia
And good luck in your poker journey:f_thumbsup:

Thanks Zakis! But this gentelman doesn't look like Latvian at all

Bankroll Challenge 2024
Week 3
Starting bankroll 10 000€
Last Update 11 284€
Current Bankroll 11 756€
Weekly profit +472€
Goal Bankroll 60 000€

Good day Grinders

Another profitable week, with some nice wins before my Sunday Grind. This time I was much more prepared, well rested and probably it was my best session this year from quality perspective. But poker doesn't work that way

I was close to IrishOpen package, but had to burst the bubble again.

PokerStars - 1400/2800 Ante 350 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 7 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
UTG: 19.54 BB
UTG+1: 13.04 BB
MP: 34.25 BB
CO: 20.18 BB
BTN: 27.48 BB
SB: 29.11 BB
Hero (BB): 6.88 BB

7 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 2.37 BB) Hero has 7♥ 7♦
fold, fold, fold, fold, BTN raises to 2 BB, fold, Hero raises to 6.75 BB and is all-in, BTN calls 4.75 BB
Flop: (14.88 BB, 2 players) 4♥ 2♦ A♠
Turn: (14.88 BB, 2 players) Q♥
River: (14.88 BB, 2 players) 5♦
Hero shows 7♥ 7♦ (One Pair, Sevens)
(Pre 81%, Flop 76%, Turn 86%)
BTN shows 3♠ 3♥ (Straight, Five High)
(Pre 19%, Flop 24%, Turn 14%)
BTN wins 14.88 BB

11 players get package, 12-13 places get around 200$, while I had to settle for 14th position and some consolidation prize of 70$.

Also there are satellites for Rozvadov available, but no luck here either. A cooler situation against chipleader sent to the rails very early:

PokerStars - 125/250 Ante 36 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
SB: 20.67 BB
BB: 50.08 BB
UTG: 19.55 BB
UTG+1: 54.87 BB
MP: 205.22 BB
MP+1: 52.73 BB
CO: 17.2 BB
Hero (BTN): 39.68 BB

8 players post ante of 0.14 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 2.65 BB) Hero has Q♦ Q♥
fold, fold, MP raises to 2.8 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 9 BB, fold, fold, MP raises to 205.08 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 30.54 BB and is all-in
Flop: (81.73 BB, 2 players) 6♠ 8♠ A♣
Turn: (81.73 BB, 2 players) 3♦
River: (81.73 BB, 2 players) 2♥
MP shows K♣ K♦ (One Pair, Kings)
(Pre 82%, Flop 92%, Turn 95%)
Hero shows Q♦ Q♥ (One Pair, Queens)
(Pre 18%, Flop 8%, Turn 5%)
MP wins 81.73 BB

But there was another hand that keeps me questioning if I made a terrible spew or it was a standard move. It was Sunday Million Mystery Bounty 215$ event where I had a big stack and we already entered the money phase. With shortie moving Allin and a healthy stack only flatting, I thought my K♠:Q♥: was good enough for isolation jam, but unfortunately I run into dominated A♠:Q♣: That opponent was one of the top regs, so I though he will be flatting with lots of hands, but maybe it is a good spot for me to flat as well? Especially then were are two big stacks in the blinds who can hurt me a lot.
PokerStars - 5000/10000 Ante 1250 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 8 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

UTG: 22.73 BB
UTG+1: 5.95 BB
MP: 44.39 BB
MP+1: 16.36 BB
CO: 26.96 BB
Hero (BTN): 70.68 BB
SB: 45.24 BB
BB: 77.68 BB
8 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 2.5 BB) Hero has Q♥ K♠
fold, UTG+1 raises to 5.82 BB and is all-in, MP calls 5.82 BB, fold, fold, Hero raises to 70.55 BB and is all-in, fold, fold, MP calls 38.45 BB and is all-in
Flop: (96.86 BB, 3 players) 5♦ 2♠ 5♠
Turn: (96.86 BB, 3 players) A♣
River: (96.86 BB, 3 players) 6♣
MP shows Q♣ A♠ (Two Pair, Aces and Fives)
Main Pot [19.97 BB]: (Pre 50%, Flop 63%, Turn 86%)
Side Pot#1 [76.89 BB]: (Pre 73%, Flop 86%, Turn 100%)
Hero shows Q♥ K♠ (One Pair, Fives)
Main Pot [19.97 BB]: (Pre 23%, Flop 13%, Turn 0%)
Side Pot#1 [76.89 BB]: (Pre 27%, Flop 14%, Turn 0%)
UTG+1 shows J♦ A♦ (Two Pair, Aces and Fives)
Main Pot [19.97 BB]: (Pre 27%, Flop 25%, Turn 14%)
MP wins 96.86 BB

Couple of orbits later I found myself in a good spot to triple up and a potential Bounty award, but..

PokerStars - 7000/14000 Ante 1750 NL (8 max) - Holdem - 7 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4
MP: 52.15 BB
CO: 60.11 BB
BTN: 62.76 BB
SB: 11.26 BB
Hero (BB): 12.7 BB
UTG: 46.55 BB
UTG+1: 59.91 BB

7 players post ante of 0.13 BB, SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB
Pre Flop: (pot: 2.37 BB) Hero has K♣ K♠
fold, fold, fold, CO raises to 2.25 BB, fold, SB raises to 11.13 BB and is all-in, Hero raises to 12.58 BB and is all-in, CO calls 10.33 BB
Flop: (37.16 BB, 3 players) 2♠ A♦ Q♦
Turn: (37.16 BB, 3 players) 3♠
River: (37.16 BB, 3 players) 3♥
Hero shows K♣ K♠ (Two Pair, Kings and Threes)
Main Pot [34.28 BB]: (Pre 55%, Flop 10%, Turn 5%)
Side Pot#1 [2.88 BB]: (Pre 67%, Flop 11%, Turn 5%)
CO shows 7♠ A♠ (Two Pair, Aces and Threes)
Main Pot [34.28 BB]: (Pre 27%, Flop 76%, Turn 86%)
Side Pot#1 [2.88 BB]: (Pre 33%, Flop 89%, Turn 95%)
SB shows 5♦ 5♣ (Two Pair, Fives and Threes)
Main Pot [34.28 BB]: (Pre 18%, Flop 14%, Turn 10%)
CO wins 37.16 BB

Let me know, how you would have played that KQ hand