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

Your correspondent reviews a boom-era poker film that did not stand the test of time, then gets annoyed with himself after playing badly against an opponent at $5/$5/$10.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:19 “The Grand”

15:16 $5/$5/$10 NLHE session

15:40 A5ss on J85ssx

16:48 QJss on 974ssx8cc3x

19:10 QThh on A54ddxJx4x

22:39 J8hh on J43sxs3cc6ccc

26:01 A7ss on K63xccJss7x

30:46 55 on T95ddxJx9x

Your correspondent looks ahead to the World Series of Poker, then watches the excellent but occasionally abrasive Winamax YouTube series "Inside the Mind of a Pro." He then reviews a $5/$5/$10 no-limit hold-em session that ends with a wild double-board PLO bomb pot.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:15 Tournament season!

6:49 The YouTube series "Inside the Mind of a Pro"

16:35 $5/$5/$10 session

16:46 AQo on T73r6cc

19:14 KJdd on T65ddx

22:03 AsTx on T95sss6xQx

23:53 KTo on J93r8x4

26:45 A6hh on 633rJx2

29:12 KsQx on 853rAss

30:53 KJo on AAQrTssKx

31:44 Double-board PLO bomb pot: T952 with ten-high spades. Top board: 842r5ss2x. Bottom board: J73r8ssAx

36:19 Thoughts on playing double-board PLO bomb pots with a cap

The "Inside the Mind of a Pro" series is available here:

Your correspondent looks back at the 2021 film "The Card Counter," about a gambler struggling with his past as a soldier. He then plays a $5/$10 session in which he tries to shake off the rust of an extended break.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:15 "The Card Counter"

11:15 $5/$5 and $5/$10 NLHE session

13:29 $5/$5: AKss all-in preflop

14:47 KsKc on 642hhx5ss3hhh

17:19 $5/$10: AdJx on 875rJdd3x

22:08 A4dd on 988ddx

25:46 KThh on T82rQcc

27:51 KdKx on 954ddx3dddQdddd

Your correspondent compares live no-limit hold-em to online to illustrate why live poker creates a unique kind of confusion that can be hard to resolve. He then reviews a $5/$10 session that featured a tantalizing bluff spot he didn't take.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:19 Why live poker is destined to confuse us

7:31 What I've been up to

8:30 Playing online PLO

11:16 $5/$5 and $5/$10 no-limit hold-em session

11:19 $5/$5 hand: AA on T954r

12:26 At $5/$10: AThh on T82r3dd6ddd

15:05 AKcc on KT5hxh4ss

17:49 77 on T87hhh9hhhhJx

21:57 KsKx on J62ssxJx9x

23:43 A3hh on KQhxhJxTx

Your correspondent revisits the possibility of diversifying by learning different game types, then plays a wild $5/$10 session in which he reflects on an increasingly rare opportunity to play with a huge action player.

FORUM DISCUSSION:

0:16 Introduction and adjusting to declining game quality

4:38 $5/$10 NLHE session

5:57 On getting to play with very fun players

10:13 Ad4x on J52ddx3x

11:54 QQ on JT6rAss

14:17 QQ all-in preflop

15:28 AQo on Q75xcc2x2x

18:10 QQ all-in preflop (again)

23:12 A4cc on 763xcx

24:31 99 preflop spot

25:52 AA on K72ssx6x