This week I've been really getting my grind on, including a few extended heads up sessions than none other than Viktor Blom, aka Isildur1. I hadn't played a ton of HU PLO in the past few months, outside of a session or two against Viktor in December and the session vs bttech86 that I noted in my last blog. I'm pleased to say that the heads up sessions went very well. I hope to play against him some more in the near future. I am heading back to Rome on Thursday but my internet at my apartment there is fixed now so I will be grinding there as well. Here are some big hands from our matches:

http://weaktight.com/3213074

This is probably the worst hand I played in the matches. It's just too light and I'm never really getting it in good, I don't even have 2 backdoor flush draws. I think checking is the best play, I have enough strong hands in my preflop range that I don't need to bet marginal hands like this.

http://weaktight.com/3213257

I'm torn on this one. My equity is only 19% which is pretty awful, but against other hands in his range it looks much better, and it saves me from a bunch of tough turn decisions. However, I think it's best to just use my position and call.

http://weaktight.com/3213480

Much happier with my line on this one. Just raising the flop would be fine too, I think it's good to mix it up in this spot.

http://weaktight.com/3213489

Obligatory quads hand.

http://weaktight.com/3213491

Biggest pot, an aggressive flop dynamic in deep 3bet pots played a major role.

On a different note, I played 2-7 triple draw for a while today trying to get back into the swing of the game. I was taking shots at the juicier nosebleed games for a while but downswung a few hundred k and backed off. It is a high variance game and while I don't think my 2-7 game is terrible, it's certainly not on the level of the top players and not good enough for me to justify playing those games right now imo. Phil Galfond recently blogged about his experience playing in the games, and while playing against the toughest players in the world is certainly a very effective way to learn, it can also get pretty damn expensive. Today I grinded some 100/200 and played around a lot with the Troutulator software. I wish Troutulator had more allowance for inputting ranges, but it's still a helpful tool. 2-7 is a very mechanical game and I think having a complete knowledge of fundamentals, including the equities of various draws in given situations, how dead cards affect equity, and how the best line changes given # of players in the pot, position, pot odds, and hand reading, will go a long way toward refining my game. I might need a refresher course in high school statistics to help figure out some things, but I think 2-7 is a game in which hard work away from the table (along with playing experience) is the best route to improvement. I'm going to keep playing it here and there and working on my game, and sticking to 1 or maybe 2 tables while doing this, which I think provides a better learning environment in that game. At least for me, dividing my playing time between sessions in which monetary gain is my main objective and those in which learning is my main objective has always worked well for me. If you feel like you're in a bit of a rut with your game, I think it's definitely something that's worth trying.

Also, I put out a video on Friday of me playing 25/50 6max PLO games. The reviews have been good, although limited in number so far. I think the video came out great and will be happy to answer any questions about it. Parts 2-4 will be coming soon. Hope you guys enjoy it, good luck at the tables!

Brian