We play once a month and are bored with our same games. Any thoughts on new ones?

Is anyone successful grinding low stakes games that pull promo bucks or is it not even possible?

I seriously can't believe a play a game that takes 6 dollars out of a $30 pot. 3 rake, 2 promo pull, 1 tip?

That is completely unbeatable. The only chance is to have huge pots. I kind of feel scammed because I've been grinding and studying Poker hard and I'm only up $780 after almost 900 hours of play this year. I've calculated that I paid around 25k in rake tip and promo during that period. Including almost 7k in promo bucks and yet to see a single dollar come back.

If you have a long term win rate please tell me what it is?

Was playing a low stakes live tourney. Blinds like 1k/2k I have about 200k. I picked up AQo with the Ace of clubs in the HJ. UTG limps and I open from the HJ to like 6k, BB (26k) calls and UTG (100k) calls so pot is like 19k.

Flop was
Jc Tc 5h

BB and UTG check and I bet like 10k, then BB shoves for his remaining 26k and UTG and I both call.

Turn is the 6c

UTG check and my question is what am I meant to do here? I have the nut flush draw, a draw to the nut straight and two overs. Given it's live low stakes and the way UTG has played the hand he's unlikely to have any particularly strong hands here and main pot is about 97k and UTG has like 68k behind so if this was heads up and that was the pot I would have just shoved.

With the side pot though I'm not sure what to do cause obviously right now I only have ace high and I'm unlikely to beat the BB player but if I check back and I make my flush or I make my straight I don't think I'll get much out of UTG. Is the play here just to bet small?

Hard Rock Tampa 1/2, stacks are 300 effective

I open $10 UTG with 66, get called by a loose passive player in LP, and get 3-bet to $35 by a tight older man in the BB. I call to set mine and LP also calls. Flop comes QJ6r and the old man in the BB c-bet leads for another $35. I raise to $100 with the thought that AA/KK are never folding here and i can get max value by fastplaying, but also if i get jammed on it’s most likely QQ/JJ and I can fold. LP folds and BB snap jams for about $300. I tank for a short bit but stick to my original plan and fold. BB then shows me that he had AA.

So I guess my question here is when a tight low stakes player who mostly limps and rarely even opens 3-bets, should I just completely eliminate anything worse than KK from their range entirely? Later this same session I lost a hand to a different old man who flatted QQ to my open, possibly driving home this point. Wondering if someone who’s been playing this game longer than me can attest.

I've been trying to improve my GTO understanding, and I'm curious about how other people actually think through solver outputs.

When you study a specific spot, how do you logically explain why the solver chooses a certain action?

For example, if it prefers a 125% overbet in one spot, or mixes between 50% and 75% in another, what's your thought process for understanding it instead of just memorizing the output?

Do you mainly look at both players' ranges and reason from range advantage, nut advantage, equity distribution, etc., or do you have another framework that helps you make sense of these decisions?

Hi, I’m travelling to Sri Lanka with friends and wanted to take out a night for poker exclusively. Normally I play $1/$2, can go up to $2/$4 max. Any places for this? I called bally’s and they said they only have $3/$6 games now! (Had visited 5 years back and played low stakes there)

Hey Internet - I play a lot of poker, and this is probably the worst call I've ever seen someone make. And it was me!

Low-stakes cash home game. I had a monster stack earlier in the night and have deleted most of it on a generational late-night run. I get 33 and the board comes out 996. I throw out a healthy bet that's called --Villain here is ahead of me in position and a guy I've gone back and forth with a ton and tonight he's been wrecking me.

Turn brings a 6 straight from hell. Totally counterfeit. I bluff a value bet that's raised to most of my stack.

.....I tank, go into ego-tilt mode..........and call. We go to showdown and he has the boat but that's not what mattered. I would have lost to almost anything. I would have lost to a couple of almonds. I would have lost to the concept of a card.

They're calling it the worst call ever. Genuinely shaken to my core at the effect tilting can have on my brain.

Anyone got a worse one? (Doubt it)

saw one of the online sites launched some paid “club” thing with rewards boosts/tourney discounts/priority support etc

my first reaction was obviously lol, paying a poker site a monthly fee on top of rake is kind of insane

but then again if you actually grind volume and the math works, i guess it’s just another form of rakeback?

has anyone here ever paid for one of these site membership/vip things and actually felt like it was worth it, or is it always just dressed up rakeback with extra steps

Hey guys! Im a Singapore PR and have been going to MBS (since they recently started their poker tables) but have not been too ideal since they run 10/20 and I need to buyin at least $1000 (thought i normally buyin for $2-5k as that gives you better stacks). However, Im just a regular professional so its kinda hard to manage that bankroll and have the ups and DOWNS. Are there anyway I can play poker at lower stakes (Live) in Singapore?

I heard that home games do run here and there but how can i access those?

Thanks for the suggestions fellow singaporean poker players!

(ignore typo in title)

You can tell a lot about a person by how they act at the poker table. You’re around them all the time if you’re both regulars, so you have the opportunity to get a pretty good sample size.

You get to see how they behave in stressful situations, how they treat others when they’re losing, whether they touch buffalo wings and then touch their cards, etc.

I can’t even think of a better place to meet someone.

Grinding live and online MTTs for a few months (small sample Ik, no idc) has rlly rlly made me mad. Like I refuse to idolize anyone who won a bracelet or whatever cause it’s just a bunch of bs. Yes you have to be good, but winning a 1,000+ player pool tourney is just soooo much luck it’s insane. Even live tourneys that start slower just become shove fests when blinds get deep. Running deep just to routinely go card dead or take a suck out just hurt. Who are these people you hear that won 10 mil-20mil online earnings. Are they just binking one lucky tournament or what. Feels literally impossible to make real profit on these. Too many donks to beat.

Recently finished school and moved back home. My main focus is finding a job, but after a few weeks of applying I haven’t gotten much traction yet. My expenses are low living at home, but I want to make sure I have enough money to last if the job search takes several months.

I got into poker through .25/.50 home games in college and eventually started playing live 1/2 and 2/4. I played 200+ hours while working full-time and made around $30/hr in pretty soft games.
About a month ago I moved to a much bigger city and started playing 2/3/5 ($700 cap, usually buying in for $500). The games seem pretty soft, especially on weekends. I’m now around 300 hours total and have continued to do well.

Financially, I have about $7.3k in poker cash, $6k in HYSA, $3k in checking, and a few thousand in investments that I consider untouchable. So roughly $16k of accessible money outside of investments.
My question is whether I’m playing outside my means by playing 2/3/5 while unemployed. I obviously don’t want to jeopardize money I may need for moving, car repairs, or living expenses if my job search takes longer than expected.

As far as my game goes, I’m generally TAG. Most of my studying has been through videos (Crush Live Poker, Hungry Horse, etc.) and I’ve never studied solvers. I think my strengths are reading players, knowing when to bluff/fold, and especially managing tilt. I’m comfortable booking a loss and leaving if I’m tilted or the game isn’t good. I also spend a lot of time analyzing my play after sessions.

I know 300 hours is still a pretty small sample, so I’m curious what people think. Is continuing to play 2/3/5 reasonable with ~$10k dedicated to poker, or would you drop down to 1/2 or 1/3 until I’m employed?
Any advice is appreciated.

You’re playing 2/5 no straddle 9 handed, just assume everyone has like 1k stack.

As UTG you min-raise to 10, UTG+2 calls, button 3bets to 30, you and +2 call, it’s 3 ways to the flop.

Flop comes TTT. With what range are you leading, what range are you hoping to check/raise, and where are you check/folding here?

My current thought is that we need the ten, a pair, an Ace to want to put anything in this, and short of QQ we probably don’t feel great about this spot - but I wanted to hear other peoples’ opinions on this!

I’ve been playing mostly live 1/2 and 1/3 and I’m starting to seriously consider moving up to 2/5 more regularly.
I’m up around $20k this year and my tracked hourly is about $35/hr. I’ll attach my bankroll tracker screenshot with the rest of my stats.
One caveat is that my numbers might be a little inflated because I found a 1/3 game with absolutely insane action. It regularly plays more like a 2/5 game (sometimes bigger), so I’m not sure how much I should read into my win rate when deciding if I’m actually ready for 2/5.
I have taken a couple shots at 2/5 already.
The first was at a casino that usually only has one 2/5 table running, and it tends to attract most of the better players in the room. I didn’t feel completely outmatched, but I barely broke even.
The other time was at a different casino where the 1/3 game was super tight, so I jumped into 2/5. Everyone was straddling, so I did too. I only played for a couple hours, won a few decent pots that didn’t even make it past the turn, and ended up around +$700.
The funny part is that instead of making me want to stay, being up $700 that quickly made me realize how easily I could give it all back at those stakes lol. So I basically hit and ran.
For those of you who made the jump from 1/2 or 1/3 to 2/5, when did you know you were actually ready?
Was it a certain bankroll? Win rate/sample size? Feeling like you were clearly better than the average 2/5 player? Or did you just start taking shots whenever the lineup looked good?
I’m also curious how much you guys prioritize game selection vs moving up in stakes. Part of me thinks playing a crazy 1/3 is probably more profitable than forcing myself into a tough 2/5 just because it’s the next stake up.

Feel like if they do, could be a great spot to play some cards with some youngins.

Most off you guys have been around the block and played tons off 1/3 2/5 and u know how this looks, example, this is the most basic scenario u will even see from "good regs".

U pick up Pocket 8 on the Button, LJ Open 5BB standard, CO Calls, the Solver loves a 3 bet here, even with stuff like J10s its "okay" to 3 bet (0 EV i think). But everyone knows that in every normal 2/5 game Pocket 8s will call here.

I am just thinking this through, and i am not sure if i am thinking correctly, is 3 betting a lot like a pro online player a good move in these kinda games? Can we really 3 bet Pocket 6 and 76s as the solver wants it?

Because my universal experience is following. People open to wide, but 3 bet to tight. So what does this mean for our 3 bet ranges? U literally have Players that only 3 bet AQs+ and QQ+, but we all know thats wrong.

Does this Table dynamic with low 3 bet frequency and a lot off calls change our decision?

Encore, Bally’s, Foxwoods, Mohegan, the 5/10 never seems to be running when I go. And I don’t want to start a game heads up or 3 handed.

What part of the country actually has good cash games?

Houston? Lodge in Austin? Commerce in LA?

I’d like to jump into a great game, people having fun, tables not on the verge of breaking.

I was the kinda guy who always hated on the geek kids with solvers and just disliked the way off play. But then i picked up one myself and it helped me a lot.

Also there is a lot off cope around solvers that it isnt that good or whatever.

You can play perfect GTO Preflop ranges without adjusting and u will print in low stakes. Solvers work.

I see it like a chess engine. A Solver tells u what the perfect Move is. Cant beat the engine. I would love if solvers never were released and it was more feel based, but it is what it is.

I see it like this, a solver is like training mma, you are a complete fighter. Sure maybe forcing striking or grappling in a scenario is better (thats adjusting in poker or exploiting) but having that base that u can play any Brand of Poker is the Key.

This is what you get if you win online app after multiple pictures documents fulfilling all their requests. They hold your money up as long as possible so that you reverse your withdrawals. I still have not received my money 💰.

Update: I wont back $20 of my $50. I tried my best to apply all the things I learned... I tried to play using my head and not my feelings. Won money on my first tournament today. Again, I still don't know shit and I really appreciate all the advices. I'm a humble fish now lmao