(0:00) Private games and the Chauncey Billups scandal

(10:52) $5/$10 session

(12:14) AKhh all-in preflop

(13:00) 99 all-in preflop

(15:38) AKo on K54r6ssQx

(17:57) QhQx on AJ6hhxQx4hhh

(20:01) QTcc on QT4hxhJx7hhh

(21:41) JThh on AQ2hxxKx

(23:25) AA on AQTr4ccJx

Your correspondent discusses the Chauncey Billups scandal and Doug Polk's interview with Philip Wiszowaty and how, again, private games are the problem.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

(0:00) Intro

(0:37) The Noble Hustle

(11:18) $5/$10 session

(12:47) TT on T77ddx8x2ddd

(16:11) AcQx on 974cxcKxKccc

(21:37) A4hh on Q76hxh

(22:39) AKhh all-in preflop

(26:20) J9cc on Q52ccxAccc8x

(29:09) AKhh on 544hxxJhh

(31:16) AJo on AJ4r4ccTx

Your correspondent reviews Colson Whitehead’s 2014 poker diary “The Noble Hustle,” a beautifully written account of his brief foray into the poker world and his entry into the WSOP Main Event. Then, a review of a messy $5/$10 session.

Your correspondent reviews the 2015 Canadian poker thriller “Cold Deck,” then recaps a relatively smooth (but imperfect) session at $5/$10.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:23 “Cold Deck”

11:49 $5/$5 and $5/$10 session

12:03 AJo on K63r4dd

14:08 J9cc preflop spot

15:43 AKo on AJ6ccx7x4x

16:54 KK on T94r9cc5x

19:44 KK (again) on T86hhx

22:27 AQo preflop spot

23:11 JhJx on T76hxhKhhh5x

Your correspondent discusses the potential ban on sweepstakes casinos in California, then reviews a $5/$5/$10 session in which he wonders how frequently he's getting bluffed.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:19 Thoughts on (more) law changes affecting poker players in California and elsewhere

6:06 $5/$5/$10 no-limit hold-em session

6:24 88 preflop

8:47 AQo on QJ3r

11:17 76hh on QJ2hxh4hhh7x

13:11 AdKx K65ddx3ddd8x

15:22 TT on T72ssxQxKx

17:47 K9o on K42rQhh3x

21:34 AKo all-in preflop

22:35 KcKx on A54ccxKdd

25:44 Very old $1/$2 hand history: KK on AK3r

Your correspondent watches the 2013 poker-adjacent film “Runner Runner,” then gets put in some tough spots at $5/$5/$10, making (at least) one big mistake along the way.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:15 Making adjustments to online poker with big antes

3:48 Watching “Runner Runner”

7:35 $5/$5/$10 session

7:56 AThh on Q54hxx9cc

10:21 AJo on J42ccxJhhKhhh

16:51 KK (no club) on Q98ccx

18:08 Quads alert! 55 on Q65cxc5ss2x

19:41 AKhh on AQ2xxh4x

20:53 KsKd on Q74dxdJssQx

24:48 Double-board PLO bomb pot! AK54hhxh on ...
Board 1: 874hhx8xKx (so on the river I have KK88A)
Board 2: A43rA8 (so on the river I have AAA44)

Your correspondent reflects on how private games cycle through players, and how public games in LA can compete with those of the private-game world, which offer newer side games. He also muses on a recent experiment that seems to point toward privatization even in tournaments in casinos.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:15 Scattered thoughts on private games and the way poker is changing

0:37 Derek DelGaudio's "Amoralman"

2:00 The creep of privatization in tournaments

6:16 How private games can cause players to go broke faster (and reflections on the ways the cash-game ecosystem is changing)

17:07 $5/$10 and $5/$5/$10 sessions

18:09 KTo on KJ3r6ssJx

20:25 KhKx on 983hxh

22:24 AJcc on J53ddxTx2ddd

25:01 76hh on J76xcc

29:23 $5/$10/$20 hand: All-in preflop with ATo

Your correspondent plays a $5/$5/$10 session in which he wonders what to do facing a string bet, then navigates a long card-dead stretch. He also muses about the possibility of playing on stream.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:15 $5/$5/$10 session (with digressions)

1:26 Limit hold-em vs. no-limit hold-em

4:07 Weird string-bet spot: AJo (no clubs) on A95xccJxTccc

10:19 KsQx on JT2sssAxKx

13:00 Struggling with how to maximize winnings against tighter recreational players

13:45 AxQd on 765dddQx8x

16:17 JTss on T54dxd5x6x

20:31 KK on J74rJhh9x

22:12 KK (again) on T77ddxAxJddd

26:11 9c9x on T53cxcQss5ccc

28:15 The HCL controversy/challenge and thoughts on playing on stream

33:49 KK on 443xcc

Your correspondent reviews his recent trip to Las Vegas. Then, he discusses two new developments that are bad for poker: Will Kassouf's performance in the Main Event, and changes to US tax law.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:15 Being a tourist in Las Vegas

10:50 Will Kassouf in the Main Event

23:59 Big changes to the way poker players are taxed

Your correspondent offers his take on the controversy at the end of the Millionaire Maker last week, then reflects on the worst year of poker he’s ever endured, a year that he thinks (and hopes) is now over.

FORUM DISCUSSION :

0:58 The Millionaire Maker / Club WPT Gold controversy

11:16 Reflections on the past year

Your correspondent starts with a commonly asked question within the poker community (“How do we make poker more popular?”) and argues the more important question is slightly different: “SHOULD poker be more popular?” Then, he reviews a $5/$5/$10 session in an unfamiliar locale.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:19 On (not) growing the game

11:00 $5/$5/$10 session

12:01 AJss on A54r4cc2ccc

13:27 88 on 998rTrK

17:54 JTdd on KT2r8ddQddd

20:57 KK on 872r3r9

24:29 A9ss on T42dxd8ss9ddd

27:29 AxQd on K82ddx9dddTdddd