**** TJ’s Sundry Poker Adventures! 2025-26 ****

Yes everything is through the WSOP+ app, and it definitely speeds the process.

It greatly reduces friction for tournament rebuys, and you can see everyone at your table.

As for turnout, it’s hard for me to say, because the only circuit stop I’ve been to is Cherokee, which does the best out of all the circuit events.

The mini main here did fantastic. On a $600 buy in, there were five starting day 1 flights, with over 3,000 entries, and $179k up top.

Hard to even imagine those kinds of numbers outside of Las Vegas in the summer.

Thanks! I am definitely planning on taking a shot at some of this stuff. The mini-main in Hammond is only $500 but does have 5 starting flights. I think I will likely do at least that.

Previous years' results are on wsop.com.

Consider going a couple-three days early, some events have satellites. Even if $500 is no big deal, the satellites can be profitable.

Or on Hendon Mob. Here are the results (and field sizes if you click in) from the 18 events in Horseshoe Hammond last February:

https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/festiva...

Sticking to my "this is when I leave" rule would have made me a lot of money and saved some heartache. Easier said than done, though.

my rule is if I'm even contemplating picking up, I just pick up. IME, it leads to a lack of true focus (on some level, even if unconscious at first) if I decide to continue.

Thanks for taking us along the ride, even though it was bumpy this time. Regroup, sharpen your skills, and you'll be Back in the Black in no time TJ!

That's a good rule, and I totally agree. Mine start before I sit down: If I'm up $X amount or I'm leaving at X time. It's just so hard to leave a good PLO game! LOL.

I know, but I try to remind myself that it's one long session. Games can be that good next time you sit down as well.

I’m not sure one long session and having a stop:win are symmetrical?

I’ve only had a handful of sessions where I had a stop win. One of them was this ridiculous session 3 or so years ago during WSOP. I just busted the daily deepstack, was tilted and miserable as I was walking back to my room at the Bellagio. But then I walked by the poker room and I was like hell it’s only 4 pm, what am I even doing with the rest of my day so I sat down at a 2-5 game with $500 and had the sickest most disgusting and disrespectful session in my life.

Sit down and the very first hand I get dealt we are 4 way to a flop with KJo and the flop is QT9 with two clubs. We pile it in vs two opponents + some dead money from the 4th and somehow turn and river is brick brick vs two pair and flush draw for $1700 pot.

Fold second hand, third hand get 22 on the button vs a 1k stack. Flop 256. Goes bet and call. Turn 7 same thing. River 5 for the boat and we get it in and he had 98 for the straight, no good.

Hit and ran 5 hands or so later for a $2200 profit in 20 minutes.

When I am in for $500, run my stack to >$5, 000 and my normal stop is up $3, 000, I should leave or switch games for a while. LOL. I don't get a lot of time for "this is one long session" at PLO, unfortunately.

Just filed my taxes for last year.

…Ouch.

The tax software I used recommended adding on a small underpayment penalty, because I owed a lot more than what was withheld from my W2 nursing job, with two 5-figure tournament scores in 2025. I suppose what I should have done is got with an accountant after those tournament wins, and done quarterly estimated payments. That also may have mitigated the unenviable situation I’m in now: owing a bunch at the end of the year that I might not have all at once.

I could sell some stock and pay my taxes, but that would create another tax liability for next year. I’d rather let the money I have in the market ride. I’m also thinking about what I want to do for Vegas in the summer for WSOP…. Hopefully not being limited too much by what’s possible.

Live poker’s been going better since I got back from Cherokee… but that trip put me pretty deep in the hole.

Current plan is to rededicate myself to the grind in March, see where we’re at, and evaluate ahead of April 15.

Also, we FINALLY got the Peloton bike replaced at the gym, so I was able to do cardio for the first time in over a month.

…It felt like I definitely HADN’T done cardio in over a month.

I never set a fitness goal for February, due to the uncertainty with travel, and the trips I’d be taking. But directionally, it feels like I’ve come up short this month.

We’ll close out February strong, and do better next month.

I'll give you an example of what I've done this year in a different arena that you may find applies to this type of situation moving forward.

As I have written, I sold a number of office buildings the last couple of years. When an owner does so, if you flip it into a more expensive piece of real estate via a 1031 exchange (very specific hoops to jump through), the taxes are deferred down the road (when you either sell the next property without a 1031 and pay the capital gains and recapture taxes, or you die still owning the property and your estate gets a stepped up basis, which means no capital gains taxes or recapture).

Given that I am trying to lessen the amount of real estate in my portfolio, I did not go that 1031 route. That means I have to pay taxes (capital gains taxes and recapture of depreciation taken).

As soon as each property sold, I asked my accountant for a quick, back-of-the-napkin estimate of how much he thought I would owe in taxes from the sale of the property. I told him I would not hold him to the answer he provided. I just wanted his best estimate.

Once he gave me that estimate, I took that amount of money from the sale, and I put it in a short-term CD that will mature just prior to when taxes will be due. The rest of the money I invested in vehicles that are not as liquid (long-term, dividend paying, A-rated or better, federally tax free municipal bonds mostly--think of things like sewer/water or school municipal bonds to name a couple, which aren't sexy but pay well). But the money in the CD is untouchable until taxes are due. That way I don't need to scramble for money when the tax bill is due.

I think a similar approach would make sense when you make a big poker score in the future. Just food for thought.

The other thing to factor in is making yourself penalty proof. I believe this means paying 110% of your tax liability rather than 100%. That way if you make more money the following year you don't get hit with a penalty. For example, if you win a $1 million bounty at the WSOP and you are not penalty proof, you will probably be looking at paying a penalty on your next tax return. And if it turns out you overpaid, the overpayment gets applied to the following year's taxes or you can choose to take a refund. I am only describing this as a lay person. I'm probably only getting it described in the ball park of being accurate. The next time you speak to your accountant you may want to ask him/her about this.

You and I will be at the WSOP at the same time for a decent amount of time this summer. If you'd like to get together on a dinner break or after we both bust out of a tournament and have a tax discussion, I'd be happy to do so (although I suspect we will spend more time discussing Georgia and Michigan football).

Of course!

I succeeded in closing out February strong, so let’s recap this month.

I may have been unreasonably optimistic with how I end up spending my available free time, in my New Year’s Resolution to finish 2+ books a month.

I’m only about halfway through the second book I started… last month.

I like the idea of striving to be spending my free time reading, as opposed to doomscrolling, or something else. I’m still going to use this thread to write reviews of books I finish.

So check back here to read the write-ups of books I finish every… sometimes.

It was positively lovely today to walk to the gym in shorts and the sunshine for the first time in months.

I’m a little disappointed with my fitness results for February. I never set a fitness target, due to the uncertainty surrounding how much I’d be working, or out of town. I only made it to the gym for 6 workouts in February.

BUT, the weather will be getting nicer (which was a barrier at times for me this month), AND we finally got the new Peloton bike, so I can do more once I’m there.

Backslid a bit in my weight loss journey this month. It’s within the margin of error, though. I (all too eagerly) weigh myself twice a week, and I’m finding that variance of up to 1.5 - 2 lbs in any given weigh-in is just noise.

I’m advancing the dose of my tirzepatide, so hopefully big things are ahead. It’s definitely affecting the habits around what and how I eat.

YTD Weight Loss: -6.3 lbs

And, of course, poker.

I’m very pleased to report that I grinded my way out of the hole, and finished February in the black.

By the numbers, I made +$489, in 42.7 hours of live play (16.1 of which was tournaments), and 263 hands online.

It’s funny (and maybe more than a little concerning) how gambling at the level I’m now at desensitizes me to the absolute value of money. Winning almost $500 in a month shouldn’t affect me emotionally, or how I feel about myself as a cardplayer. But it’s a damn sight better than the -$8.2k hole I found myself in, after my Danville and Cherokee trips this month (PLUS expenses).

I had some great sessions in local games since I got back. I observed players I’ve played with before, adjusted my game for reads, deployed counter strategies, and crucially, made some better quits. So let’s skip all the losing, and just keep doing that from now on.

I had some thoughts about the sessions I was playing in on the way back, that I could have written up here. But I knew I was getting close to getting unstuck, and didn’t want to jinx it. I’m not superstitious… just a little stitious.

However, a key objective of this thread is to serve as an accountability tool for me in my poker adventures. Being afraid of jinxing it runs counter to the mission of why I’m doing this, so that won’t be a concern going forward. I’ll continue to write, when I have thoughts that I want to order, and share.

Now let’s talk about goals for March.

I have no travel plans for this month, so I’m going to seize the opportunity to really dedicate myself to the grind. Going to drill down and focus intensely on my work, my poker, AND my fitness.

13+ workouts in March.

It’s a 31-day month, so that’s about 3 days a week. The weather will be warmer, if occasionally rainy. No excuses.

10+ high quality, engaged, and focused sessions of poker, for an unspecified length of time.

Going forward I’ll be tracking my volume by sessions, instead of hours and hands.

These could be live, could be online. I’m not going to play long sessions in bad games in a misguided attempt to feel better about my volume just accruing hours playing cards.

I have a big tax bill coming due by tax day, and I need to start making preparations for Las Vegas in the summer. So we strive to be goal-oriented, around here. I like being empirical about my goals, because it’s lazy to say I just want to win ALL the monies, every time.

Onward and upward!

It’s my fervent hope that every reader of these musings is doing well. In ALL aspects of life.

IMO and IME

Weighing yourself every day is best for tracking purposes

Reading for 20-30 mins before bed is the nuts. Helps wind you down for sleep and allows you to hit your volume goals far easier

will always board any train to tj engineered by this particular dozen reckless birds

Did you do any updates on the tax software? Taxes are generally supposed to be lower after the Big Beautiful Bill was passed.

Do you have enough shares to sell covered calls? 100 shares per call are needed. You have to pay taxes on the call money, but that's not due until next year, and you avoid the cap gains on your stock. If you're not familiar with the process do a search, or ask here.

You can avoid penalties by making payments during the year. If you hit a big score, find the IRS form (can't remember the number) and you can make a payment any time. You don't have to wait for next April. That avoids interest charges on the penalty as well.

I’ve looked into selling covered calls. Honestly, I don’t fully understand the implications and details of executing them. I value the simplicity of my portfolio.

I understand that the downside is, if your core position surges. I feel less and less certain, in the current macroeconomic and political environment, of what the volatility in markets could mean in the short run for my holdings.

That’s why I like my long term strategy of low cost index funds, and chill.