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

My partner had a chuckle at this <3

Cash is better than MTTs. you will probably have more money playing cash.

I would say most will agree or you have a more consistent win rate in cash games then MTTs due to variance. I think it depends on a players skill set and line up etc. I know at 100bb+ im not great playing any form of poker. Alot of my study is focused at sub 30bb for mtts with ICM etc.

What I will say in the great words of Nelson Dong (Aus poker coach and influencer - would check him out on insta) - Stick to one format "learn it master it" then branch out.

For him it was cash and now he crushes mtts outside of playing cash. For me its MTTs over cash until I can put a heap of time into studying 100+ BB etc. With that said I hate playing NLH cash and much prefer PLO cash.

Also I love the comment etc- but probs wrong timing as we just had our largest score of 2026 in a mtt which ill update soon!

APL PT Adelaide Series Recap

What a series — and what a whirlwind of emotions. Here’s how it all played out.

I came into the week battling a head cold, so I trimmed the schedule down to:
MLR Freezeout → MLR $600 6‑Max → MLR Jackstar → Main Event → a couple of PLO events.

Freezeout
Quick run, min‑cashed, busted around 30th.

$600 6‑Max
Finished 13th with only 5 paid.
Jam JJ over BTN open for 20bb, he calls ATo, finds an ace. GG.

Jackstar
MLR, doubled early, played well… then tried bluffing someone who literally cannot spell “poker.”
Four to a straight, three to a flush, blockers everywhere — he hero‑calls top + middle two pair 20 from the money.
Lesson: don’t bluff the wrong player type.

Main Event — The Big One
This deserves its own section.

Day 1
After busting the Freezeout, I jumped into the Main with 40bb.
Only then did I realise they added two extra levels to Day 1 — so with a cold, cough, and headache, I had to grind until 1:30am.

But we got it done.
50k → 152k bag, peaking at 240k.
Made a huge fold late: 3‑bet AQo, CL 4‑bet jams, I tank‑fold, he shows AK.

Day 2
Started with 19bb.
Lost a little early, then opened KK UTG for 15bb.
BB (a rec who fast‑plays everything) 3‑bets to 100k at 5/10k — we jam, he snaps JJ, we hold.

From there we went off.
KO’d short stacks, won key pots, 3‑bet successfully, and hero‑called QQ on K9843 vs a triple‑barrel bluff from 45s.

Suddenly we were chip leader, pressuring the bubble with over 1M when average was 400k.
After the bubble burst, we climbed to 2.6M with 16 left.

Then… the dreaded table move.

Moved from feature to an outer table, CL on our left, lost TT vs 87s for 10bb.
Momentum dipped — but not for long.

We opened JTs, SB + BB call.
Flop 983♦♦, BB donk‑jams 12bb.
We call, beat A3♦ on Tc Ts runout, and get back on track.

Final Table Run
Came in 2nd of 9, quickly took a massive chip lead.

Two bustouts happened without us, then we KO’d a 5bb shorty.
Then the hand of the tournament:

BTN open → BB jams 25bb with ATo → we snap QQ → we hold.
From there we dominated 5‑handed and 4‑handed.

3‑Handed Deal
15.8M chips in play — I had 7.4M.
Payouts: 28k / 17k / 10.4k.
We agreed to an ICM deal where I locked 25k, both others locked 15.5k. (yes they accepted a deal where they both recieved less than 2nd...)

A dream deal.

Good thing too — short stack doubled, then KO’d the other player.

Heads Up
Old‑man‑coffee reg.
Lost a few early pots, then the key one:

I open AQo, he 3‑bets 25bb effective.
Even vs OMC, it’s a jam.
He snaps JJ.
Board runs clean.

We jam our last 10bb with K9o, run into A5s, and that’s the end.

Final Result
2nd of 317 for $25,000 — basically first‑place money thanks to the deal.
A fantastic title defence, our biggest score of 2026, and a perfect way to wrap the series given the cold/flu limiting volume.

Now it’s time for a well‑earned break — a month in Europe, my first proper non‑poker holiday in five years.

A great start to 2026, and we’re only just getting going.

See you after the holiday — catch ya!