Name: (AUS) – Variance, Mental Game (Tilt) & Victory: My Poker Journey

Session Recap – 5/5

After watching MAFS with the missus, I decided to sneak in a short 5/5 session at Stacked Social — played from about 10pm until the game broke at 1:30am. A quick one, but with a couple of interesting spots.

Early Cooler: QQ vs AA

Bought in for $1k, and before long I’m sitting on $800 with a $10/$20 straddle on. Folds to me in the CO and I find QQ, make it $80. The $20 straddle bumps it up to $250. He’s capable of squeezing light, so jamming felt standard. He snaps with AA and that’s that. Down $1k straight away.
Reload.

Building Back + The Main Hand

I chipped up through a few small pots and got to around $1.5k, playing about $1.3k effective with the main villain.

Straddle is still on. I open KJo from MP to $30, HJ calls, BTN makes it $115. I decide to call — could fold, but it’s fine — and villain calls as well.

Flop: J♣ 8♣ 6x

I check, villain leads $125, BTN folds, and I call with top pair.

Turn: Q♠

I check again, villain checks back. That check caps him heavily — most strong hands continue here.

River: 4x (no flush)

I don’t think he has many good Qx combos. Maybe QT/Q9s, some Jx. I go for a small $50 block bet to get looked up by worse.

Then he clicks it to $125.

Strange line. Hard to find value he’s repping. After some table talk and tanking, I decide to turn my hand into a bluff and re-raise to $625. If he somehow has weak Qx, he’s in hell. I still credibly rep straights and sets. He tanks for ages — long enough for the table to get annoyed — and eventually folds.

Cool spot, and nice to find the non-standard line, but it also highlighted a bigger leak that’s shown up over the last two sessions.
Leak Identified: Early-Position Over-Opens

Outside of the QQ vs AA cooler, most of the pots I’ve lost have come from opening too wide early:
• suited connectors
• weaker offsuit broadways (KJo, KQo, QTo)
• small/mid pairs (22–66)

At Stacked, players are splashy and 3-bet wider than your average casino lineup. That means:
• you end up in bloated pots OOP
• you miss most flops with SCs and small pairs
• offsuit broadways make dominated top pairs
• and these guys will fire three streets

Coming from an MTT background, I’m used to opening wider and navigating postflop. But in this environment, the adjustment is clear: tighten up early, overfold happily, and wait to get money in with a nutted, condensed range.

From CO and later, obviously we can widen again.
Location Matters

This is very room-dependent. Back when I played at the casino, the games were passive — lots of flats, very few 3-bets. In that environment, you can open bigger and wider without getting
punished. Stacked is the opposite: aggressive, splashy, and full of people who want to put money in.

Mental Game Check-In

Mentally I was okay tonight, but I can still feel that “hate losing” tilt in cash. A few of the wider opens happened right after the QQ vs AA hand, which is a sign of wanting to get even. Combine that with having my worst month ever, and yeah — it adds a bit of pressure.

The good news is I’ve got a busy rest of February and won’t play again until next month, which should help reset things.

Session Scoring

Focus: 9.5/10
Everyone was asleep, so I could just grind in peace.

Mentality: 8/10
Better than last session, with only small dips.

Poker Play: 6/10
A bit harsh, but fair — too many early opens and loose calls.
(Also punted three $100 flips at the end and won two of them four ways, which helped the result.)

Final Result
In for: $2,000
Out for: $2,444
Hourly: $129/hr

Solid win, but the session could’ve been much cleaner without the early-position leaks and the mental pressure I’m putting on myself.
On to next month — catch you all then.

Solid start to the month with a great run on acr in the loncar - hopefully a sign of good things to come - keep studying working hard and I’ll put in the live volume too!

Catch ya next time

Forgot to post the month graph with BB/100 as per my previous posts. Wont let me edit add it in. Only 22 mtts to start the month but a solid start - results in PT4 are in USD I always convert to AUD when I add to my BR app on my phone. in short BB/100 won is increased greatly by the PLO win - overall a hot start to the month but not really enough data to make this sample meaningful.

Overall, over the two days 836.70 usd profit = $1,184.27 profit AUD played 12.93hrs = $91.59 an hour. Probably not sustainable but we take it!

For those interested only been playing on and off ACR for a year and below is my overall graph at 306 MTTs. BB/100 is a 20.14 and adjusted is 8.42bb/100. deffs running hot over our 1st 15k hands on the site.

I Am a Series Champion!

With the OSSXL Series running on ACR, I fired a few more MTTs today—and the final tournament of the session delivered in the biggest way possible. This is the story of how I became an ACR Series Champion.

Event: OSSXL #43 — $10k GTD $52.20 Hyper (Mid)

This event counts toward the Mid leaderboard, and after coming 2nd in the Boski Series event last May, I’ve been hungry to lock up my first online series title. Today, the opportunity finally came.
The session didn’t start smoothly. In the $33 OSSXL 6‑Max, I had 3x starting stack in the first hour before losing AK < AQ, AK < J9s, and 99 < AA. Other events fell apart too. Then I busted this Hyper two minutes before late reg closed—AQ < 55. I rebought, decided to one‑table the Hyper, and call it a night.
Best decision of the day.

Max Late Reg, 20bb, and a Dream

Third hand back, I open AQo in the CO, SB jams 90bb, and we snap. Hold vs A9o. From there the run began: small pots, a few KOs, and then a huge bubble hand that pushed us into the top three.

A dream river for 9bb four from the money—massive in a Hyper. Cooler spot! You can never fold here with QQ however, with so many short stacks and his jam range being so tight your massively fold vs all in here.
Then came the dip. Lost two sub‑5bb all‑ins chasing bounties. Doubled the guy who eventually finished 4th—twice—while he held a huge bounty. The KJs vs T9o hand summed up the chaos between the bubble bursting and the final table.

Final Table Run: A Masterclass

We reached the FT—our second in three days and third deep run in a major event—starting 9/9 with 10bb thanks to the blind rollback.
What followed was one of the cleanest ladders I’ve ever played.
• Hand 1: Jam AQo for 8.8bb UTG. SB (10bb) iso-jams A3s. Never a call for his tournament life, especially with my small bounty. We turn him dead and jump to 20bb.
• Hand 2: Next hand, CL opens, short stack flicks in 1.1bb, we defend 95s for 1bb more. Board runs out four diamonds, we beat both players, and suddenly we’re 3/8.

A few bustouts later we’re 3/4, then this key hand arrives:

SB jams BvB, covering me by less than a blind. His bounty is huge ($189). I call with KQ, flop a queen vs AJo, and take the chip lead. (what's the worst hand you call here- I don't even know if this call is good with ICM - find out tomorrow when I study it).

Then the punt of the century:
Next hand, BTN has 0.9bb, the “fish” opens 2.2bb, and I wake up with AA. I 3bet to 5.5bb, he calls, flop 2‑3‑5r. I c‑bet small, he instantly jams 2x pot with 88 - Snap!!!. Turn 4 (cant lose), river 9, and we now have everything—40bb—with 2nd on 7bb and 3rd on 0.9bb.
Somehow 3rd spins back to 10bb, but eventually gets KO’d by our HU opponent. And now it’s heads‑up for the trophy, with a 3:1 chip lead and a $540 bounty on the line.

The Winning Moment

Villain has 7.8bb in the SB, jams, and we look down at A6o with 22bb. Standard call.
He rolls over 9♣3♣.
Flop: A♠ 6♣ 8♦
Turn: Q♦ (dead!!)
River: Doesn't Matter I'm a Champion!!!!!
And just like that—we are an ACR Series Champion, shipping $2,273.24 USD plus the trophy.

Reflection

It was a surreal moment. Three days into March and we’re already +$4k, cutting last month’s deficit in half. The move to ACR and softer fields has been a massive win, but it’s important not to get ahead of ourselves. There’s still a live event later this month and plenty of live cash to play. Variance can swing both ways.
But for now, it feels incredible to see the study paying off and to finally secure that first online series title.
Below is today’s MTT graph—yes, the BB/100 is absurd because winning a tournament means you literally win every chip in play. Unreal run, grateful for the momentum, and excited for what’s next.

(Todays graph)

See you in the next update.

Difference between having 1k losing day a break even day or our largest score online. Bad few sessions down like 2k or so the swings are real- so gutting. SO close to kick starting 2026 back into gear and instead we stare more into the hole...........................................

Finally Time for an Update!

It’s been a minute since the last post. After the six‑hour drive to Mount Gambier for a small live stop and then coming home to a mountain of work, finding time to write has been tough. But I’ve finally got a moment, so let’s dive into how the grind has been going — there’s plenty to cover, so strap in.

Mount Gambier Live Stop

The trip kicked off with a classic bit of run bad: 30 minutes from town, not paying attention, and bang — $500 speeding fine. Not ideal. Thankfully, that was the only downside of what turned out to be an awesome weekend.

Great food, a solid score, and some quality time with one of SA’s top regs and his partner. That alone made the trip worth it — he’s a full‑time pro and gave me some really valuable advice about my future grind. My partner also had a great time, which made it much easier to reset mentally whenever I busted an event and needed to chill before the next one.

Events Played
I fired four events (well… three plus a punt in the PLO):
• $1.2k Championship Event
• $600 High Roller
• $300 Teams Event
• $300 PLO (the punt bullet before heading back to watch the Crows beat Collingwood)

Championship Event Run
This was easily the softest $1.2k I’ve played in Australia.
• Bullet 1: Lost a few small pots, then got JJ in on 2‑4‑6 for 30bb vs SB’s flatted 22. GG.
• Bullet 2: Pulled off a sick bluff on the last hand of rego, then settled in and started accumulating.

Made the FT as chip leader 1/9, with top 6 paid and $20k up top — a real chance to turn the year around. I turned down two deal offers to restructure and pay top 9, which ended up biting me. I doubled up two short stacks (<10bb), and trying to pressure a live FT with a 40bb average just doesn’t work the same as online. A couple of 3-bets and a 4-bet went the wrong way, and suddenly I went from 1/9 to 7/9.

We eventually agreed to restructure and pay top 9. I laddered where I could.
With 7 left, I found a full double: CO open with AK for 13bb, BB jams AJ for 10bb, and we hold. Bagged 5/5 for $4k locked.
Day 2 started with 9bb. Folded down to 5bb before jamming JTs CO into BB’s AK. Out in 5th.

A good score — but with that field and that FT chip lead, I should be winning this event at a high frequency. Big note to self: you can’t run over a live FT when the average stack is 20–25bb+. Online regs understand ICM; live recs don’t. Different game.

Other Events
• $600 High Roller: Crushed early, big stack at end of rego, then bricked everything for 3 hours. Made a mistake 4-bet jamming ATo for 22bb vs a reg who snapped TT. Out 10 from the money.
• $300 PLO: Flicked a bullet at halftime of the footy. Didn’t spin.
• $300 Teams: No one made it through their first shootout table. I got AK in vs AT for 4x start with 6 left at the table — villain found a T.
Overall: a fun trip, a small profit, and another deep run that didn’t convert.

Online Grind & Game Selection Fix

Over the weekend I spent a lot of time talking with the SA reg I mentioned earlier. We’ve always been friendly, but after double‑dating with our partners we’re a lot closer now — and he gave me some brutally honest but much‑needed feedback.
I’ve been struggling with what to play. I even tried a local $250 live event with only 32 runners and a 9x up top — felt like a waste of time. Multiple people told me the same thing: this isn’t the play.

So I asked my mate to look at my online schedule on GG, ACR, etc. His verdict?
My game selection has been completely off.

I also checked in with a good NZ friend who streams — same feedback.

The Fix
We built a schedule focusing on:
• Smaller‑field MTTs on GG/ACR during weeknights (only playing the bigger fields on the sunday grind)
• Avoiding reg‑heavy turbos, hypers, and PKOs
• Using PPPoker and PokerBros for softer, bigger games at night or midday or morning grind non Monday morning (Sunday Grind)

Immediately the results improved.
Recent FTs
• $50 Daily Monster Stack (GG) — 8th
• $55 2.5k PKO (ACR) — 4th
• $125 Daily Special (GG) — 6th (on bullet 2)
No heat at any FT, but the deep runs confirmed the new schedule is correct.

WSOP $150 PLO Main Event

Today I only fired one event: the $150 WSOP PLO Main.
Massive early stack, cruised into the money, then down to the final 18.
• Got AA43ss in vs KK32ds for 30bb — villain found a K to stop us becoming 2nd in chips with a $166 bounty.
• With 10 left, BTN open, SB 3bets, BB CL 4bets, I 5bet AAxx… SB also has AAxx, BB has KQT6ds and goes with it.
• Board runs Q‑T‑X‑T and we bust in 9th.

A 5x is always nice, but the winner took home $7k and we were right there again with no luck deep.

($297 usd with bounties)

Where Things Stand

February was rough — didn’t cash anything meaningful and ended the month down $9k. In a different universe with normal variance, I’m probably up $30k this year with the runs i had in Jan and Mar. But here we are.
March, though, is currently a winning month (+$2k), and the new schedule feels right. I’ll keep grinding and see how we close it out.
Until next time — catch you all later.

Hey team, quick update!

I took the last couple of weeks off from the grind, only jumping into a handful of PLO6 online cash sessions. The break was needed, and I used the time to make a pretty big decision: I’ve committed $2.4k to hypnotherapy to work on performance and tackle some of the mental‑game demons that have been holding me back.

The goal is simple — remove another barrier between me and the level I know I can reach in poker. If this helps me elevate my game and build stronger foundations, it’ll be worth every cent.

This month I’m firing the usual events at the upcoming Matchroom series, and I’m shifting back into a heavy focus on PLO MTTs and PLO6 cash online. The rakeback has been solid, and when I’m disciplined, the games are genuinely soft.

I’m aiming for a big winning month to turn the year around. Let’s make it happen — see you all on the flip side.

Small Update

Hey all — quick update. The break ended up stretching longer than planned. I took some time off over Easter, then Gather Round hit Adelaide and I decided to just roll with the downtime.
But that ends today. The Matchroom Series kicks off for me tonight. A mate of mine actually shipped the Mini Main over the weekend, which was awesome to see — I didn’t play it because I had tickets to every Adelaide Oval game during Gather Round. Below is my schedule for the upcoming series:

Matchroom Series Schedule
April 13 — 15k Monster Stack ($350)
• 1x MLR
• Likely firing the Hyper Satty beforehand
April 14 — 6-Max PLO 8-Max (8k GTD)
• 2x bullets
• 1x MLR if needed
April 16 — 100k GTD Main Event ($1150)
• FT’d this event four times
• 1x re-entry if early
April 19 — 100k GTD Main Event ($1150)
• Day 2 direct buy-in at the start
• 1x MLR if needed
• Finished 10th last year using this strat
April 20 — 10k GTD Shot Clock ($250)
• 1x MLR if needed
April 22 — 10k GTD Self-Dealt Championship ($115)
• 1x rebuy if needed
April 24 — 10k GTD Series Saver ($300)
• 1x MLR if needed

It’s a really solid run of events for me, and I’m grateful to be properly rolled for the entire series even if variance hits. Still, I’d love a strong series to turn this year around.

Upcoming Live Poker

May brings the APT (starting May 15), so there’s plenty of live volume coming up — which I’m genuinely excited for. Live poker has historically been where I’ve made the most money, and hopefully that continues.

APL also announced their Adelaide dates (June 9–14), which lines up perfectly before I head to Europe on June 18. That means I’ll get the chance to defend my APL PT Main Event title from last year.

Online Poker & Study

Online has taken a back seat and probably will for a bit. I’m still committed to PLO MTTs and PLO6 cash, but with so many live events coming up — plus full-time work — I’ll need to be selective with online volume. Likely more cash-focused sessions to allow proper recovery before live MTT days.
I’ve started studying PLO6 cash and it’s been interesting. Most of my study lately is PLO-focused so I can keep building my edge in low–mid stakes PLO MTTs and eventually become a winning player in mid–high stakes online.

I’ll still review hands and study NLH MTTs, especially with all the live events, so it should be a good mix.

Hypnotherapy Update

I’ve officially booked the four sessions my hypno coach recommended:
• 1 × 2‑hour session exploring the past
• 2 × 1.5‑hour sessions focused on the present and future
• 1 × 2‑hour closing session

I’m also working through a course and completed a strict 14‑day journaling block tracking emotional responses — mostly negative ones, but also noting positive moments. I’m genuinely curious to see what comes from these sessions. I’m hoping it elevates my game the same way working with a live MTT coach did before my big 100k+ run in early 2025.

So that’s the update. Lots of live poker ahead with some online sprinkled in. With disciplined study and consistent mental‑game work, I’m hoping for a big few months before heading overseas. After that, it’ll be APL Millions time — and I’ll see what time off I can take and what I can grind. Aussie Millions is also around the corner; probably outside the bankroll for now, but I might still fly over for the $1k $1M GTD opener.

Peace — and updates to come from the Matchroom Series.

Monster Stack

Update from last night’s Monster Stack. I’m breaking this one into three parts: pre‑game (with a focus on the hypnotherapy work), in‑game, and post‑game reflections.

Pre‑Game

About an hour before the event, I decided to restart a proper pre‑game routine. I went for a walk at the local park — barefoot on the grass, which is meant to help ground you. Surprisingly relaxing, especially with the hypnotherapy track my coach gave me playing in the background.
I chose a warm shower instead of a cold one, which I think was a mistake. Cold showers give that dopamine spike and build discipline, and I want that pre‑session. Warm showers can stay in the post‑game routine where they belong.
I ran out of time for a full study block, but I squeezed in 10 minutes of mental‑game work from Elliot Roe’s A‑Game Poker. I wanted 30 minutes, but at least I did something.
Overall, for my first semi‑structured pre‑game routine back, it wasn’t bad. I’ll give myself a 7/10 — earlier start, more mental‑game work, and a cold shower next time.

In‑Game

Session 1 (Start → First Break)
I felt great. Calm, focused, and ready for a long battle — exactly what the pre‑game routine was meant to do. Poker-wise, I started around 75k, dipped to 60k with some whiffed boards and 3‑bet folds, then picked up a big pot:
Hand Breakdown
• CO: AA
• Blinds: 300/600
• BTN: massive whale calling any suited two, recently won big pots with 74s and K9o
• SB: 50k stack, main villain
I open to 2k (exploit vs BTN), BTN calls, SB calls.
Flop: 2♠ 2♣ 3♦
SB checks, I c‑bet 2.5k, BTN calls, SB min‑raises to 5k.
I expect some 2x/33, but also a ton of overpairs he might just rip in. I make it 15k, BTN folds, SB calls.
Turn: 2♦
He’s got ~1.1x pot left. I bet 10k to set up a clean SPR jam. He calls.
River: 8♦
He checks, I jam, he snap‑calls with K3s.
Up to ~110k.
Strong session overall — clear thinking, no rush, no tilt.

Session 2 (Break 1 → End of Rego)

This is where things slipped.
It was the final episode of MAFS, and I decided to watch it on 9Now at the table so I could talk about it with my partner later. Fun idea, terrible poker decision. It completely broke the flow I built in Session 1.

I played maybe three hands total, missed spots, and drifted into C‑game. Card dead, distracted, not present.
Final hand of re‑entry:
• Stack: 89k (75k start)
• Blinds: 2k/4k → 3k/6k next
• I open AQo to 8k
• 90% VPIP opp flats
• Reg flats CO
• BTN (tight) 3‑bets to 30k
I’m ready to fold — his range is nutted.
But SB has 44k and is jamming any two to rebuy. He rips it in.

There’s 80k+ in the middle, we crush SB’s range, and BTN can fold some hands knowing SB is over‑jamming. I reluctantly go with it.
BTN snaps with KK.

We rebuy.

Session 3 (Post‑Rebuy)

With MAFS done, I felt locked back in — but with 13bb MLR, there wasn’t much room to maneuver.
• Jammed AQs over three limps — no call
• Down to 9bb next level
• UTG (8bb) jams, folds to me in BB with A9s
• Easy call vs a reg who knows he needs to take spots
• He has A5o
• Board runs T T 5
• Forced all‑in next hand with 0.5bb
• GG

Post‑Game Thoughts

Overall, I played well — but Session 2 was a self‑inflicted wound. MAFS at the table was fun but absolutely killed my focus. I don’t like headphones, but music that matches arousal levels is fine. Reality TV mid‑session? Not so much.
I’ll give myself a 6/10 for the night.
Losing start to the series, but no more MAFS distractions. I’ll tighten the pre‑game routine and add some post‑game structure too.
Tonight is the PLO event — excited to see how all the study translates. No guarantees, but my live PLO MTT track record in the <$650 range is strong, and this one fits right into that zone.

See you tomorrow.

PLO UPDATE – Main Event Pre‑Game

Hello everyone — hope you’re all well. Here’s the latest session review from the PLO event. This one’s a day late, but that’s fine. As always, I’ll break it down into pre‑game, in‑session, and post‑session. PLO gets complex fast, so I’ll keep it to one key hand per session.

Pre‑Game[/B]

I wanted to continue the pre‑game routine because Monday’s Session 1 felt great. But Tuesday’s version wasn’t as sharp — for different reasons.
On Monday, the mistake was choosing a warm shower over a cold one. On Tuesday, the issue was distraction. I had AFL Fantasy Draft trades coming through, and I have a terrible habit of replying the moment I see a message. So during my 15‑minute barefoot walk on the oval, instead of grounding myself and focusing, I spent the whole time negotiating trades.
I made up for it with a proper cold shower — around three minutes (1.5–2 songs). I also started earlier, which gave me 20 minutes of mental‑game study. I worked through a theory module from my hypno coach, and that helped bring me into the zone before heading off to battle in the PLO.

In‑Game

Session 1

The plan was simple: accumulate or go home. Dylan Wiseman’s PLO MTT philosophy — build a stack early so you can apply pressure later — and I wanted to lean into that.
Early on, I moved from 50k to 62k without much resistance. Then came the big one:
Hand: Q998 (One suit)
Blinds: 200/400
I open to 1k, BTN/SB/BB all call.
Flop: Q‑9‑8 rainbow
BB leads pot. I call, others fold.
Turn: 5♦
Now we’ve got:
• Middle set
• Gutshot
• Flush draw
• Boat outs
BB pots again. I can call and play rivers, but if I hit, I rarely get paid. Or… I can repot, get it in vs the very obvious JTxx, and take my ~40% equity.
I choose violence.
We get it in.
He has JT T6 (no diamonds).
River: 8♦ — full house.
Stack: ~130k
I finished Session 1 at 129k (peaked at 151k). Toward the end I felt lethargic, warm, and headachy, which cost me a couple of pots. Time to reset for Session 2.

Session 2

Pre‑session routine felt great. During my walk I found myself naturally repeating:
“I’m confident in my PLO study. I’m going to play my A‑game. I’m worthy of my A‑game. I will put myself in position to win this tournament.”
No huge hands this session — just clean, controlled accumulation. Moved from 129k to 200k without showdown, mostly through 3‑bet pots and pressure.
Late reg closed with:
• 67 runners
• 9 paid
• 5.6k up top
• 19 left
ICM already real.

Session 3

Kept the positive self‑talk going. Three tables of six (8‑max event). The BB in this hand is a strong reg and friend — very capable, understands ICM, and already sitting on 1.1m of the 3.6m chips in play.
I’m at 300k (3/6k) and open K‑6‑5‑4 double‑suited to 15k from MP. SB calls, BB calls.
Flop: 4‑4‑7 rainbow
BB checks. I c‑bet small (12k). SB folds. BB pots.
I call — expecting heat on later streets.
Turn: K♣
Full house.
BB pots again. Could be 77, 47, or a bluff — he’s capable of all of it. I call, leaving an ~0.8 SPR.
River: Q♥
He tanks, then checks.
Easy jam?
Not really.
What calls us?
• A4 folds
• 47 might fold
• We lose to 77
• We lose to weird QQ4x/QQ7x that rivered boats
• We beat bluffs, but bluffs don’t call
After a two‑minute tank, I check back.
He shows a 7 — pure bluff line, planning to rip non‑picture rivers.
Huge pot our way.
We get moved with 16 left and unfortunately the chip leader lands on my left. Bubble‑pressure dreams die, but we make the FT 2/9 with 432k at 8/16k. Third has 417k. CL has 1.3m. Tough spot, but I’m ready to fight.

Session 4 – Final Table

Started well — got two flop x/r pots through with top pair + draws. Climbed to 500k before doubling a short stack. From there, folded into 6‑left before the key hand:
Hand: J‑T‑9‑7 double‑suited
Blinds: 10/20k
I open to 40k from 280k. SB/BB (both cover) call.
Flop: K‑9‑4 rainbow
Two backdoor flush draws, pair, gutshot — good enough.
They check, I pot, leaving 8bb behind.
SB folds, BB calls.
If he has Kx without Q, we have 40–45%.
If he has KQxx, we have ~30%.
Plenty of good turns.
Turn: K
Basically kills us.
Goes check‑check.
River A.
X X
He shows KQ85.
Bust Hand:
A‑8‑7‑3 double‑suited.
CL limps 20k.
I decide to limp SB instead of potting — mistake.
BB checks.
Flop: 5‑8‑J rainbow
Two backdoors. I pot, CL calls.
Turn: 2♦
Pair + flush draw.
We get it in for 2bb.
He calls with TT64 no FD.
If I pot pre, he may fold.
Over a raise, I would’ve potted.
So yes — misplay.
We brick the river.
6th for $1,175 on a single $350 bullet. Solid night.

Post‑Session Thoughts

Not the trophy I wanted, but I’m proud of the performance. I found my A‑game easily, PLO feels so natural, and everything I’ve been studying translated cleanly. It reinforces that a heavy PLO focus is the right direction for the rest of the year.
Scores:
• Pre‑game: 8/10
• Play: 8/10
• Mental state after: 10/10 — normally I’m frustrated after another deep run, but not this time.

Now onto the Main Event tonight — basically a free bullet thanks to the PLO cash. Let’s see if we can run up another Matchroom Main Event FT.

photo from last night to keep in tune with FT photos throughout the blog!

Matchroom Main Event – Our Biggest Score of 2026

The Matchroom Main Event has been the tournament for me over the years — four final tables since 2021. The question this week: can we make it five?
This run had everything: discipline, adversity, luck, mental‑game breakthroughs, and the best poker I’ve played all year. Let’s break it down.

Pre‑Game (Day 1 & Day 2)

I kept the routine consistent across both days:
• Barefoot walk on the oval
• Meditation music
• Warm shower (seems to be the winning formula)
• Study block before leaving
Day 2 was the best pre‑game I’ve ever done. I started almost two hours early, muted group chats, partner out shopping, coffee in hand, and drilled sub‑20bb chip‑EV + ICM spots on GTO Wizard for ~40 minutes. Completely locked in.

Pre‑game score: 9/10

Day 1 – The Disaster

This was, without exaggeration, the worst poker I’ve played in 2026.
I couldn’t find the zone. Couldn’t focus. Felt tired, annoyed, disconnected.
I punted a spot, then jammed AJs for 14bb into 55 and lost the flip.
That meant the plan kicked in: rebuy for Day 2 with either 20bb or a 10bb MLR.
Reset. Regroup. Come back sharper.

Day 2 – The Run Begins

I woke up feeling like it was my day. Calm, positive, and repeating to myself:
“Good things are going to happen today.”

Early Chaos
First hand: defend A7o vs four players (bad defend), get punished, lose a chunk.

But mentally? Completely fine. Let it go instantly.
Three hands later: QQ in a 3‑way → back to start stack.
Then fold to 10bb- 99 > A6o → back again to start stack.

Then the hand that lit the fuse:
UTG jam 88 for 13bb → tight MP reshoves → he has TT → 8 in the window.
Maybe it is our day.

End of Session 1:
• Start 60k → Peak 180k → end of session 170k
• 154 entries → 36 left → 21 paid → 33.3k up top
• ICM officially real

Session 2 – The Heater

At 200k, I open A7s UTG+1 to 12k at 3/6k. BB calls.
Flop: 3‑4‑7 (two diamonds)
This board smashes BB, but I’ve been studying big c‑bet sizing here.
I go 16.5k → call.
Turn: A♥
Two flush draws, straight draws, and we make two pair.
I size up to 55k to set up river jam.
Villain — an agro reg — rips it for my tournament life.
I call. He has 66 turned into a bluff.
We fade the 5 and jump to 500k+.

Then the Q5s Pain
Raise UTG, splashy MP calls and I Defend T8s (hearts)
Flop 6d‑7d‑9h. X/Raise flop to 30k vs MP probe of 10k vs x x,
barrel turn for 85k on 2s, river 3d, I x
He bets down to 120k with Q5s of diamonds I call.
Back to 300k.

Bubble Madness
Four from the money:
• I win an 8bb all‑in KQo vs A6o CO vs SB
• Then this spot on the direct bubble:
CO opens 2x of 30bb, I 3‑bet A3s hearts from SB of 32bb, he calls.
Flop Q♥ J♥ A♦ — dream.
I bet small, he rips.
Tank fold. He shows KT♦♦.
Solver says call Axs hearts — small mistake, but fine.
Then the AA Trap
LJ open AA on the bubble.
CL 3‑bets from BB.
If I jam, I kill his bluffs.
So I flat.
Flop Q‑9‑8 two clubs. I have Ac.
He bets big → I jam → he calls with AKs of spades.
We hold.
Back to 400k+- build to 700k lose a bit to 500k,
Then the Monster Pot
11 left.
CL opens, 25K at 6/12k I flat SB with BB stack at 5bb and a money jump next KO - he folds.
Flop 5‑6‑8 two clubs.
I x/r vs 20k cbet to 75k → call.
Turn J♦ → bet 120l to set up Jam river → call.
River J♣ → I jam 315k leaving 24k behind for balance with bluffs.
He tanks forever and calls with AA.
We’re over 1 million.

Final Table – The Grind
We enter 4/9 with 980k at 8/16k.
But three huge stacks, three mid stacks (including me), and two shorties meant ICM hell.
The short stacks kept doubling.
In the first two hours, I played two hands.
In the first four hours, I played four hands.
Finally, at 10bb in the SB, my friend in the BB has 9bb I have 10bb
I shove 55 → he snaps AJ → we hold.
FT started at 9:40pm.
I KO him at just after 1am.
Laddering to 6th
I stayed out of the big stacks’ way, picked good 3‑bet jams, and laddered to 5 left with ~10bb.

The Bust Hand
UTG (2bb) jams.
I peel AJo flat of 12bb.
CO flats.
CL rips in sb!
I hate it, but CL can easily be isolating wide vs UTG very Wide jam for 2bb.
I call.
AJ vs KJ vs AQ.
No help 2x KO.
We bust in 4th for $13,000 — our biggest score of 2026.

Post‑Session Reflection

I’m genuinely over the moon.
Not just with the result — but with the mental game.
I used self‑talk constantly:
• “I am worthy to play my best.”
• “My best looks like discipline and focus.”
• “I will take it one decision at a time.”

Instead of spiraling into “what ifs,” I acknowledged emotions, let them pass, and stayed present.

This was the best MTT I’ve played in 2026 — even better than the Mt Gambier Championship run.
Scores:
• Pre‑game: 9/10
• Poker: 9/10
• Mental game: 10/10

Play like this and another major trophy is coming.

I’m taking tonight off (sleep deprivation is real), then firing a couple of smaller events to close out the series.
Looking forward to the rest of the year — and hopefully with a touch of luck, another big title.

Peace from a very tired but very happy DAMMO_23

Forgot to add the Ft photo again- 1980s rebok top- 1990s Copa Mundials on was a good drip to run deep ������

Copy and paste from discord (Lex) FYI- But have to do something between live events.

Hey all,

Most of you already know the story, but back in 2025 (right before Lex Live 4) I attempted a $100 → $5k bankroll challenge on GG. I actually spun it from $100 to $2.4k in a month… before absolutely punting it off on stream in spectacular fashion. Croaks can confirm I went nuclear.

Fast‑forward to now:
A) I’ve been working with a professional mental‑game hypnotherapist/coach, and
B) I haven’t streamed in over a year…

So it feels like the perfect time to give it another crack.

I’ll be running a $500 → $5k bankroll challenge on GG, streamed over on Twitch.
This isn’t a viewer grab — just letting people know since most haven’t seen my face on camera since 2024.

I’ll still be updating everything on Insta, and I’ll still be battling my usual $300–$2.5k live MTT events. But I’m genuinely excited to see:

A) how the new mental framework helps with in‑game self‑regulation, and
B) how much discipline I’ve actually built — because let’s be honest, that was the leak last time.

If you’re interested in watching, you already know where to find me. (DAMMO_23 on socials, online etc)
Looking forward to seeing if I can get this done properly this time around.

1st update BR challenge

Taken from the forum update post in the lex community discord.

Started this run with $500, and I’m finishing the first week at $2,026. It’s been a really fortunate start — 5 final tables and a win in the $5.50 pko hyper for $918.

I’m genuinely grateful for the early results, but also keeping perspective. I had a similar start last time, and when things didn’t keep going my way straight after, I let it affect my decision‑making. (Tilited off trying to get to 3k quickly) - This time the goal is to stay steady, stay disciplined, and not get ahead of myself.

Appreciate everyone following along.

I’ll share another update next week.

bb/100 graph and ev graph- only 64 mtts and 2634 hands so not a true trend.

our biggest win so far in the challenge - came back from 4bb 80 players left.

Live update

APT kicks off today, and I’m going in with a very clear plan. Most of my best results have come from MLR or Day 2 registrations — the APL Milly mini‑main chop was an MLR, the recent Main Event 4th place was a Day 2 rego, and a bunch of my deeper runs in stacked Matchroom and APT mains have followed the same pattern.

So for this series, I’m leaning fully into that strength.

I’ll be drilling short‑stack (20bb and under) sims on GTO Wizard and treating every event over $1k as a Day 2 rego spot.
The logic is simple:

A) It means I only need Day 2s off work, which keeps the schedule realistic.
B) It plays directly into my strongest format — shallow‑stack poker.
I’ve put in thousands of hands of MLR online MTT volume, and that experience translates extremely well to these spots. Add in the ICM benefit of entering when half the field is already gone and you’re often close to the money, and the strategy becomes even more appealing.

Now, I’ll admit: playing deeper live does give you more time to exploit recs at meaningful stack depths, and that’s a real edge. But I expect the $1k+ fields at APT to be tougher than the average local series. Entering later helps smooth that out — fewer marginal deep‑stack spots versus regs, more high‑leverage short‑stack decisions where I’m most comfortable.

Plenty of pros take the MLR/Day 2 rego approach, and for this series, it feels like the right balance of EV, schedule, and skill set.

So updates of the BR challenge and APT to follow- Have a great day guys!

how much did u tilt off? 2k+? any degen stories?

Br still at 2k for this challenge barely played with the live , last time I constantly got to 2,5k then brick 50mtts back to 2k 1.8k then one day I tilted my marbles off on stream and then put 2k through 6 tables of ALL in and fold and bye bye BR challenge.

Wont happen this time - mental game in a much better place! 😀

APT Update So Far

It’s been a massive week — poker every day, roughly 12 hours a day — so let’s run through how the series has gone so far and what’s coming up next.

Bankroll Challenge

The BR challenge has been on pause during the series. I’ve played maybe 10 online MTTs total, nothing notable, and the roll is sitting just over $2k (or around $1.9k if I fire a couple before today’s live session).

Event 1 — $350 Freezeout

Quick one.
Hero’d off with middle pair vs a splashy Asian uncle on 665K BTN vs BB. He had 63o. Cool.
Then jammed TT into AK for the rest and didn’t win the flip. GG.

Event 2 — $600 Hachem Deepstack

Day 1
Late regged with 50bb and managed to bag for Day 2.
The day was… strange.

Won a 4‑bet pot vs a guy who called 43s pre and then called a turn jam on KJJ8 with a flush draw when I had AKo.

Lost a big one with AcJh on JJ3cc after opening UTG and getting four callers — including Q2s from MP.

We peaked at 3x start stack but bagged 1.5x. Played well, not perfectly.

Day 2

This was a grind.
Stayed below average all day but picked up hands at the right times. Started at a table of death but survived to the break. Later picked up JJ vs TT for 20bb which helped.

We reached the bubble:
17 left, 15 paid, $17k up top.
I chipped up to 30bb with four stacks under 10bb — feeling good.

First hand after dinner:
UTG opens, I peel AA in the BB, 3‑bet, he tanks two timebanks then jams.
He has QQ.
Q in the window.
We bubble in brutal fashion. If we hold, we’re near a million chips and likely on a deep run. That one stung.

Event 3 — $1250 Grind

After bubbling the $600, I fired Day 2 of the $1250 instead of day 1 after bubbling.
Played four hands, lost all four, and had to MLR rebuy.

Spun it up with a few pots and held 77 vs AJ to stabilize.
Made it down to the final two tables with ~30bb average.

Key Hand vs CL
Open AKs (diamonds) UTG, CL calls.
Flop T46r — I c‑bet small, he calls.
Turn 6♠ — he should lead this card but doesn’t. I probe 30% to target his weak middling stuff. He calls.
River 8c — only 97 gets there.
He leads small. His line makes no sense.
I tank, use two timebanks, get a live read, and call.
He shows 53s. We win.

Set Over… Flush
Later, flat 66 on the BTN vs CL open.
Flop J62cc, turn 2s, river 7c. -
We call flop and on turn he x we size down to keep flush draws in he calls.
On river he leads half pot, easy raise to basically an all in size for me, he calls, and we’re up to 700k.

Final Table
We make the money and the FT, but the seat draw is a nightmare — Brazilian super‑reg CL on my left. Even as 3/9 I had to fold everything.

Fold down and lose some small pots and 5/5 we are down to 5bb, double with 88 vs K7s, then next hand shove 98s SB for 13bb. Solver says jam if shortest, 3x/fold if equal stacks. I chose violence.
Brazil wakes up with A9o.
We bust 5th for $5.4k.

Event 4 — $350 6‑Max
Bullet 1
Wild old gentleman overbet-jamming every flop.
I call a 5x squeeze with 55.
Flop 986hh, he overbets.
I don’t think he has a premium or a set, so with 6 outs + maybe ahead, I call.
He has ATo.
Turn T.
Bullet 1 gone.

Bullet 2 (MLR)
Spin to 60k, then pick up AA vs AQ and hold.
Win a few pots including a nice one with J9s on KQT.

Then the key hand:

Average 130k at 4/8k, I have 178k.
Open Aks HJ, BB (MTT CL) jams 20+bb.
Snap.
He has 99.
Flop K65 — let’s go.
Turn 9 — let’s not.
Another 90% spot lost.
Soft bubble.
If we hold, we’re chip leader and likely win the event.

Event 5 — $600 ADL Champs Main (Day 1A)
Frustrating day.
Every time I built a stack, I lost a big pot immediately after.
Got below starting stack three times, fought back to 80k, then this hand with 40 minutes left:

BTN opens, SB (tight-ish but splashy reg) 3‑bets.
I look down at AJs in BB.
Solver jams this always — and so do I.
BTN folds, SB tanks and calls with… 99.

Yes, 99 again.
Yes, we lose again.

If we hold, we bag 2x average and come into Day 2 with 30bb+ in a shallow structure. Instead, we bust before the bag.

Summary So Far
We’ve played well.
We’ve put ourselves in multiple high‑equity spots.
We’ve been on the wrong side of variance in every major moment.

If AA holds, AKs holds after flop, or AJs wins a flip in their key spots, we’re talking about:

A deep run or win in the $600

A deep run or win in the 6‑max

A big bag in the Main

Instead, we have one cash and are slightly profitable for the series.

What’s Next
Coming up:

$1.15k Adelaide Players Champs

$2.5k Goliath

$600 Main Event (another flight)

Possibly the $350 Mid‑Stack

Plenty of poker left.
Plenty of chances to run good.
Next update soon.

End of APT & BR Challenge Update

APT has wrapped up, and while the series didn’t go the way I hoped, it wasn’t a disaster either. “Okay” is probably the fairest description. The BR challenge, on the other hand, hit a nice milestone — so let’s break it all down.

APT Recap

In short:
4 final tables, breakeven series, and a lingering sense of “what could’ve been.”

After the FT in the $1.2k Grind (covered in the last blog), I was excited for momentum. Instead, I’m left a bit disappointed — not at the cards, but at myself and some of the decisions I made along the way.

Across the series, I made four final tables:

$1.2k Grind

$350 PLO 4/5 Rotation

$450 Flipper

$350 Matchroom M33

So why am I unhappy with four FTs?

A) It was still a breakeven series.

I fired too many bullets chasing Player of the Series points — a mistake I won’t repeat.
The PLO FT alone took four bullets. A couple of the $350–$450 events took two bullets.
Breakeven with four FTs tells you everything about the re‑entry volume.

B) I missed Player of the Series.

I needed one deep run in a major event to lock it up.
I couldn’t find it. (ended up 5th as we gave up last day after not gaining a top 40 finish in the main event)

Late Rego = My Superpower
Every deep run — including the Grind — came from Day 2 rego or max late rego with 15bb.

It’s just who I am as an MTT grinder.
Half the field is gone, the structure is shallow, and live players make huge mistakes vs sub‑20bb stacks.
It’s money‑printing territory for me.

If I simply max‑late‑rego’d every mid‑to‑low buy‑in event, I’m up piles.
Instead, I let discipline slip and chased points.
Lucky to walk away breakeven.

The Four FTs — All with Shots to Win
Across all four final tables, I had real chances to close.

1. The Grind
One key decision with 13bb could’ve kept me alive with a different line. Whatever — that’s poker.

2. $450 Flipper
3‑handed, 12bb, 77 vs AJ.
Flop JJx.
We lose, finish 3rd.
If we win, half the chips in play are ours.

3. $350 Matchroom M33
4‑handed, I’m CL.
BTN (2nd in chips) jams 11bb.
I snap AKo.
He has 77.
This time 77 holds.
Again, winning = likely trophy.

4. $350 PLO FT
Turn: I have QT3AK with hearts on J849, turn gives me the nuts.
Villain has JT99x.
River pairs the J.
He boats.
I lose a 70/30 for the tournament lead.

If I win the two 50/50s and the 70/30, I’m chip leader short‑handed in all three events and likely win my first APT trophy.
Instead: 0/4 and breakeven.

Main Event
This one hurt.

13 from the money, SB (super reg) 3.2x opens 18bb.
I have A9o with 30bb.
Perfect pressure spot.
I 3‑bet jam.
He snaps KTs.

Solver world:

KTs should 3x

Facing jam, KTs is a fold this close to the money in ICM.

Chip EV world is a clear call- in game:

He calls

Flop QJ2, turn 4♥, river 8♥ — runner‑runner flush.

This pot was worth a lot in Player of the Series equity and would’ve given me 2x average on the bubble.

We did well to min‑cash from 11bb, then lost a flip for 7bb with 46 left.

If we run even slightly better in flips, this series is huge.

Key Takeaways
A) My game is in great shape.
I’m playing well, improving, and consistently putting myself in high‑EV spots.

B) Discipline matters more than ever.
Re‑entering too much and chasing Player of the Series points is -EV and kills win rate.

C) For my strengths, the strategy is simple:
MLR every event.
Every deep run came from it.
Even in the $2.5k, I spun 16bb MLR to 3x start before running 99 into KK for 20bb.

Grind ft 5th for 5.4k

$350 M33 event 4th for 1.4k

$450 Flipper - 3rd for 3.1k

PLO4 PLO5 Roation 3rd for 2k.

BR Challenge Update
These are taken from my Lex Veldhuis Discord thread.

Extract 1
Not much volume due to the live series.
Only ~5 MTTs and an hour of cash in the last week.
BR moved from $2k → $2.3k thanks to one strong PLO cash session (short‑stacking 50c/1 with $20 buy‑ins).

Extract 2
Work has limited volume, but I’ve been doing small sessions of short‑stack PLO Rush (PLO25/50/100, 20bb buy‑ins, leaving at 70bb+).
Variance has been kind.

We’re halfway to $5k inside a month — the same point I reached last time before punting it off.
This time, with better mental game work, the goal is to avoid “punt‑off‑ville” and keep the climb steady.

Conclusion
APT was an okay series — not great, not terrible — and the BR challenge is still trending upward.
I’m looking forward to grinding more online, mixing in some live events, and then heading off to Europe on June 19th.

Until the next update — stay safe, run good, and catch ya!

End of Month Update — $500 → $5,000 Challenge

Hey all — end of the month means time for a proper challenge update.

We close out the first month of the $500 → $5,000 challenge at $2,160.
That’s a fantastic result. One more month like this and we’re already knocking on the door of the finish line.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

The Highs, the Dip, and the Mental Game Battle

I flew out of the gates early — hit $2.5k very quickly before and during APT.
But after a slightly disappointing APT run, I found it surprisingly hard to regulate my emotions when returning to the challenge.

Two big reasons:

A) Fatigue.
APT was long hours, long days, and mentally draining.

B) Old scars.
I’ve hit $2.5k so many times in past GG challenges and never broken through to $3k.
That history sits in the back of my mind, and it triggered the urge to “blast through” the barrier instead of playing normally.

That urge led to a small punt — a five‑minute lapse on a brutal Saturday morning session where the bankroll dropped from $2.3k → $1.9k.

But here’s the important part:

I stopped.
I closed the session.
I walked away.

It sounds small, but it’s a huge step forward. In the past, that moment would’ve turned into a full spiral. This time, it didn’t.

My partner pointed it out immediately, and my hypnotherapist reinforced it later that afternoon.

What We Uncovered in Hypnotherapy
The session was eye‑opening. A few key takeaways:

A) Stopping the spiral is progress.
It won’t be perfect — the goal is to build the mental muscle to respond better to setbacks.

B) There are still unresolved mental programs.
The feelings of anger → anxiety → fear are old patterns that trigger punting behaviour.
We’re working through them.

C) The “lost years” narrative is dangerous.
Because I punted off my bankroll at 24 and stepped away from poker for two years, part of me feels like I’m “behind” and need to catch up fast.

This creates a toxic internal pressure:

“I should be further ahead.”

“I should be full‑time by 30.”

“If I didn’t punt at 24, I’d have a 500k roll by now.”

These thoughts aren’t logical — but they’re powerful.
They make losing $100 feel like losing months of progress.

This challenge is as much about fixing those mental programs as it is about doing a bankroll challenge for content.

The Good News
Despite the wobble, the mental game work is helping.

I’ve felt more confident, more stable, and more in control than I have in years.
The results reflect that:

Great first month of the challenge

Four final tables at APT

Break‑even month overall (+$83) despite the live series swings

No major punts, no spirals, no self‑destruction

That’s growth.

I’ve also loved getting back into streaming — shoutout to everyone who’s been hanging out in chat. It’s been fun sharing the grind again.

Looking Ahead
The next 18 days will be a mix of:

A few live events

More streaming

More challenge volume

Then I’m off to Europe for a month before tackling the second half of 2026.

Will we get to $5k?
I genuinely believe so.

Will I punt again?
I can’t guarantee perfection — but I’m doing everything I can to build the mental framework to avoid it.

Below are the graphs from the challenge so far (MTTs + cash since 8/5/26).

Thanks for following along — see you in the next update.
Run good and take care.

(cash game results- we have been lucky with variance to say the least)

(mtt results- roughly an $8 ABI - have crushed it and will hopefully continue too)

Sounds like you got a gambling problem. one of the first signs is trying to chase losses. Say no to catching up and start where u are right now.

I think I can agree with this to an extent - where I haven't got your classic have to gamble on everything like horses etc I still feel I have the ability to chase loses like this which is what's being worked on, comes from hate losing tilt if you go by the poker definition but good spot.

(edit - I use a pretty strict BR management for my actual Poker roll now to mitigate this and has been working well the last 5 years of playing semi pro).

Another Final Table in a Mixed Event

Can we finally win a mixed‑game MTT? At this point it feels like the running joke. I’ve got a stack of 2nds, 3rds, and deep runs without a trophy. Two years ago I famously finished 2nd in the old $1k version of this event at Stacked — blew a 5‑to‑1 chip lead, got sucked out on four times, snapped my headphones. People still remind me of it every time I make a mixed FT.

So… could today be the day?

Bullet 1
Super card dead.
In Stud, started with buried 9s, made two pair, only flatted 7th, lost to a straight.
In Badugi, started with a nice 5‑6‑7 draw, bricked out, lost to a Q‑Badugi.

Bullet 1 gone.

Bullet 2
Much better start.
Won some pots, then misread an O8 spot — thought I was getting quartered with A2T8, didn’t realise I rivered a gutshot, flatted nut‑nut and got a warning. Honestly, it woke me up.

From 15 left to 4‑handed, I played some of the best mixed poker I’ve ever played. My draw games felt sharp, especially in Badugi. Made the FT 4/9 with $4.1k up top.

Pulled off a beautiful Stud bluff — 6th‑street check‑raise, 7th‑street lead — blocking all his straights while every heart was dead.

Got to 4‑handed with the chip lead, then 3‑handed in 2nd.

The Swings
Mixed games gonna mix.

Lost a big O8 pot where I was 90% to scoop

Lost a Badugi hand where I was dealt a J‑Badugi and villain drew 2 → 1 → 1 to make a better J

Won some Razz and Stud pots to recover

Then lost a huge Stud pot 3 handed where I had two pair vs our villians open‑ender — he squeezed a 6 on 7th to make a 2-6 straight

Eventually KO’d the other player and got heads‑up against a fellow SA reg — solid mixed player, great NLH player, good guy.

Déjà Vu — Again a Bridesmaid
Just like two years ago, lost the first few hands and were down to four big bets.

Then the massive O8 spot:
I had AAQ8 with the nut flush draw and overpair vs not much… and he rivers an offsuit 9 for two pair.

Lost the last bet in Stud and that was that — another 2nd place.

But unlike two years ago:
No blow‑up, no grief, no disbelief.
I accepted it, shook his hand, had a laugh, took a photo, went home.

I only play 3–4 mixed MTTs a year — variance is huge — and honestly I’m probably doing great. One day it’ll click.

Bankroll Challenge Update
The BR challenge is flying again.
We’ve gone from $2.3k → $2.8k, thanks to short‑stacking PLO Rush cash — absolute gold mine so far.

$400 in (well, $800 with the rebuy), $2.6k out, and a BR boost on top.

Happy with the result.

Burnout in your car at the round about for celebrations? The misses would enjoy that more than married at first shiiite