Q & A with HoLLLLLaments

Mr.Plough · 11-04-2008 08:30PM #1

Danny aka HoLLLLLaments has agreed via pm to jump in the well. :pac:

One of the younger players on the forum at 20, he is one of the rare regular posters in bbv/nvg who regs online levels 400nl to 1000nl, and aspires to make it into the hendon mob database someday.

I'll start off with some standard Q's, have some theory ones later

1. When did you start playing online? Did you start at the micro levels (20-50nl) and grind your way up to where you are now, or did you jump straight in at 100-200nl?

2. Were you a losing player to begin with? If so when did you start to take the game seriously and work on your game?

3. What would you regard as the best poker article/pooh bah/carpal post you have read?

4. Are you in college/work or is poker your sole source of income?

5. On average how many hands would you play in a month?

6. Running good or bad?

RedJoker · 11-04-2008 08:37PM

How do you deal with all the laughing from other players, family members, etc. since you're not in the HMD?

Does the pity ever get to you?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi · 11-04-2008 08:38PM

1. Who do you like and dislike on this forum and why....dont be shy now
2. Who are ye, newcomer or have you been playing for a while
3. Tourney or Cash
4. Biggest winning and losing day
5. What aspirations in poker & life do you have
6. PLO or HE which do you like more and why
7 Winnie the Pooh or Paddington Bear and why

GL hope you do not drown in the well

RedJoker · 11-04-2008 08:48PM

1. What poker books have you read?
2. Any training site subscriptions?
3. Ever get coaching?
4. Do you have a group of poker friends you discuss strategy with?
5. Who has had the biggest influence on your game?
6. Favourite NVG/BBV posts/threads?

nicnicnic · 11-04-2008 08:49PM

gl in the well

do you spend much time looking enviously at players results on the HMD

Best poker advice you've read

concept you feel tournaments players just don't get

your vvip/pfr/ag

Requiem4adream · 11-04-2008 09:09PM

Holla, sup.

1. What county do you live in? corollary: which town/village?

2. When are you 21?

2(b). Any vegas ambitions?

3. Some generalised donkament matchups:

Westmenlo v BeLoWAboVe
Bax v Sheets
lilholdem v zangbezan
Tmay420 v PearlJammer

4. Some generalised cash game matchups:

Cts v Threeven
Aba v Hallingol
snake8484 v peachykeen
adz124 v dariominieri

5. Food/drink matchups:

Pizza v pasta
chinese v indian
Coke v Fanta
Milk v Water
vodka v Tequila

6.

boards v 2+2 (why?)

phantom_lord · 11-04-2008 09:11PM

were u playing poker back when we were in funtasia? miss it at all?
how come u never post strat, either here, or on 2+2?

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 09:14PM

1. When did you start playing online? Did you start at the micro levels (20-50nl) and grind your way up to where you are now, or did you jump straight in at 100-200nl?
started playing online at 17. i deposited 50$ on to party with my mammys credit card. i won the first 3$ 9 max sng i played and was like ship it yo. I promptly lost all of it the same night. same story the next day. 55$ i think. then i didnt play again for a while. I deposited 100$ a few weeks b4 i turned 18 on tribecca. Ran this up to 9k over the next year or so playing sngs. i had really ****ty bankroll mangement. like if i went on a 1k swong from 7k to 6k id jump in a 1knl game and try and double up to get even. I then went to college in manchester but was still grinding. Came back maybe 6 months later and was working for like 10$s an hour. I was still really bad at poker tho. roll mangement wasnt my only problem. I remember talking to phantom lord in fusion in drogheda one night about a year or so ago and telling him about a hand where i called a raise with k4ss out of sb vs btn and got it in on K104 flop vs aces and lost. i obviously thought the guy was a lucky idiot. the softness of tribecca sngs were enough to keep my roll growing even with these spewy roll shots at cash. I eventually went busto tho. few weeks later i started with 100$, a new found sng pro friend and a new outlook and just havnt looked back.

2. Were you a losing player to begin with? If so when did you start to take the game seriously and work on your game?
I think i answered this above

3. What would you regard as the best poker article/pooh bah/carpal post you have read?
A bunch of stuff on the stt forum on 2+2. Just theory and such, but really helped. I really liked jmans well and also his article on gbucks for bluff. Probably a bunch more gr8 ones i forgot.

4. Are you in college/work or is poker your sole source of income?
just playing now. going back to college in manchester in sept. i hope. i probly wont do. any1 wanna go to thailand or something?
5. On average how many hands would you play in a month?
really depends. i dont have a set target or goal. if we talk about it in days, some days i could play for 10 hours+ and play 10k hands others i could play 500 hands. usually tho ill do the same thing for a few days-->a week so if i play 7k hands on a monday ill probably put a tonne of hours in that week. i dunno maybe 70k hands a month.
6. Running good or bad?
its all in your head. i live for the variance.

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 09:16PM

RedJoker wrote: »

How do you deal with all the laughing from other players, family members, etc. since you're not in the HMD?

Does the pity ever get to you?

crying myself to sleep every night helps.

Duff Man Jr. · 11-04-2008 09:31PM

How'd you get into poker?

Do you play live?

What are your assperations in poker? i.e. stay at a level you can beat easily(without much varience) or keep moving up till you get to the nosebleed games.

You seemed (I could be wrong) to start posting here and 2+2 at the same time, was that in a effort to get "noticed" by the community.

You have no problem getting stuck into a arguement or fighting your side, do you find it surprising you and hj have'nt clashed yet?

Most overrated player on boards/in general?

- gl

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 09:32PM

1. Who do you like and dislike on this forum and why....dont be shy now
peace and love to all. i use to think r4ad was a dick. just kind of got the impression he thought he was the king of the forum. he seems like a good guy tho. just doesnt like to be wrong same as me. Finding nemo seems a bit of a nut. not sure if we got our wires crossed but in the thread where he said he was consistently losing and i said he should reevaluate his game trying to help, he went nuts so he obv wants me dead but w/e. I use to work with phantom lord and hes sound. talk to reggie on msn a bit. also sound. van dice is also sound. Nicnicnics posts are always good and he seems like a really nice guy. Ian, valor and some others post really good strat. el stuntmans blog is really good. loads of others too for various reasons.
2. Who are ye, newcomer or have you been playing for a while
i think i answered this in first post, lemme know if u wanna know anything else.
3. Tourney or Cash
horse mtt>cash>mtt
4. Biggest winning and losing day
-18k +24ishk
5. What aspirations in poker & life do you have
to not play poker for the rest of my life and do something that doesnt soulcrush you. learn some foreign languages. travel, this will be happening soon i hope. sick of the site of this ****hole. lick meg whites face.

6. PLO or HE which do you like more and why
i like playing deepstacked hu plo. alot of people feel 6max nlhe is the most neutral game emotion wise. recently im getting really bored of it, probably because the lack of emotion both positive and negative. Somedays if i havnt play hu nlhe in a few weeks i absoultely love it.
7 Winnie the Pooh or Paddington Bear and why

winnie the pooh cos of tigger

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 09:39PM

1. What poker books have you read?
most, havnt read tommy As new one yet. will soon
2. Any training site subscriptions?
cardrunners,leggo
3. Ever get coaching?
had a friend who played sngs for a living coach me for free after bustoville.
4. Do you have a group of poker friends you discuss strategy with?
on msn/aim/mostly on phone i prob have 5 people i discuss strat/hhs with on a reg basis. irl i dont talk poker with anyone, not more than once anyway.

5. Who has had the biggest influence on your game?
guy in Q3
6. Favourite NVG/BBV posts/threads?
a bunch, i like the drama ones in nvg. the whole brandi **** etc. its like the way women read ok/gossip mags. just an entertaining read that doesnt use much of your brain. theres loads of really funny ones in BBV, OOT etc. best ones are probably stickied there. And cardshark broke thread LDO.

mormank · 11-04-2008 09:49PM

hey. first things first, i didnt realise you were so young when we 'spoke' last month on here. you probably dont even remember but hey. still very impressive ive gotta say given my own situation...

anyway, what level do you find is the easiest that you have played from 1/2 up??
i find at the minute that a cannot lose at the standard micro level im playin but whenever i take a shot at a higher game like 3/6 or 5/10 i flunk out badly..you have done this i take it, what do you think is the best way to get up to these levels? continue to take shots with a % of my profit or just wait and wait etc...

my last question and probably most important, can liverpool make it a hat trick of wins over chelsea in the semi finals of the champion's league?

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 09:49PM

do you spend much time looking enviously at players results on the HMD
probly like 20 hours a week
Best poker advice you've read
well nothing sticks out that ive read but in one cardrunners video where sbrugby was playing stinger in hu plo he talked about a concept that is simple enough really but i just hadnt really thought about it before. He bet the river with top 2 with a broadway sr8 on board and he said he fully intends to call a raise because stinger knows its really hard for him to have KQ here so therefore its a good spot for stinger to bluffraise. that really got some good thinking and discussion with players i know. actually something similiar i have read was when Jman was playing antonius HU on roland de wolfes account and jman bet the river with like 745th pair because he thought antonius would turn 746th pair into a bluff. that hand was pretty sweet and also generated a lot of good thinking for me.

concept you feel tournaments players just don't get

probably the fact that tournaments are not as profitable as people think they are. in relation to cash games i think tournament players dont think on a high enough level. maybe not on a high enough level because people cant think on a level they are not on but sort of a level within a level. Like if someone raises preflop and tournament player calls from bb and raiser chks back flop and then bets when a flush card hits on turn a tournament player will think well he cant have a flush because he would have bet the flop. seasoned cash game players are thinking about so much more. Basically i think tourny players think about the game in a simple sr8forward way. Thats a good thing for them tho because if you start trying to merge your range in a 5k person sunday major it probably wont end to well but thinking in a sr8forward way against good players in cash wont work. theres a bunch of other obvious stuff like playing poorly deepstacked etc.

your vvip/pfr/ag

im playing 35/26/2 over last 20k hands. too nittty imo

Mr.Plough · 11-04-2008 09:52PM

lol You's used to work in funtasia! I worked up there for a couple of summers. As an apprentice electrician though, not on the monkey jump.

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 09:56PM

Holla, sup.

1. What county do you live in? corollary: which town/village?
louth
2. When are you 21?
october, you can come
2(b). Any vegas ambitions?
coke and whores
3. Some generalised donkament matchups:

Westmenlo v BeLoWAboVe
menlo and its not even close. the few mtt players i know say saul is a spewtard
Bax v Sheets
bax probly
lilholdem v zangbezan
not sure, sorel cheats(lol), but chad batista apparently rapes people.
Tmay420 v PearlJammer
dont know who tmays is, i think ive heard of him tho.......so jon turner

4. Some generalised cash game matchups:

Cts v Threeven
cts
Aba v Hallingol
aba
snake8484 v peachykeen
p3achy
adz124 v dariominieri
adz is scum but probly better at nlhe. i like dario tho

5. Food/drink matchups:

Pizza v pasta
pizza
chinese v indian
chinese
Coke v Fanta
lilt
Milk v Water
water, i love ice cold milk tho
vodka v Tequila
after 10 vodkas tequila

6.

boards v 2+2 (why?)
boards prob, every forum people always want to be right but on 2+2 its a new extreme.

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 10:06PM

were u playing poker back when we were in funtasia? miss it at all?
how come u never post strat, either here, or on 2+2?
rough timeline of poker/funtasia in first post.
was good fun during the summer. me and peg(danny(on floor)) used to have unreal craic. but after he left to join the gards, i was like wtf am i doing here? lucky enough i had gotten good enough from poker by then.

really hate getting into arguments on forums re strat. like when someone on here posted something about waiting for better spots, i felt compelled to show him the light but its hard to have debates with people who think they are right. everyone always thinks they are right on forums. I like debating moral/gossip issues tho. basically for posting in strat forums the juice isnt worth the squeeze for me. I do post sometimes here tho. will try and post more

stevire · 11-04-2008 10:07PM

In regards to your goal to get on the HMD...

What big ranking/buyin games have you previously played? And how would you rate your live tournament game?

What live tournies do you plan to play/ always had an ambition to play and why!

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 10:21PM

How'd you get into poker
saw gus hansen, devilfish on tv, watched pokernitelive for a while. won my first 9man sng i played
Do you play live?
like 4 times
What are your assperations in poker? i.e. stay at a level you can beat easily(without much varience) or keep moving up till you get to the nosebleed games.
i want to quit poker as soon as i can find something else. i was talking to reggie about this on msn recently. i like new challenges. if i get bored of somthing well its just boring. pokers starting to get like that. id prob take a break for a few months if i could find something else to give me a challenge for a bit. was playing backgammon for a bit but didnt get into it. if i dont go travelling im hoping college in sept will fulfill my need for a challenge.

You seemed (I could be wrong) to start posting here and 2+2 at the same time, was that in a effort to get "noticed" by the community.
not really noticed, more be a part of really. i kind of slowly started lurking 2+2 then b4 long i was reading all the strat posts. then when i moved to 3/6 i stopped reading so much strat. when i finally started posting i used the name "holllllaments" because a friend and i were high one night and doing flips while talking on the phone and i crushed his KK or something(real bad beat) and he said lol donkaments and i said hahahahah holla and he said lol hollaments and i just thought it was hilarious and took it for my forum name and set up accounts here/2+2/p5s the next day.

You have no problem getting stuck into a arguement or fighting your side, do you find it surprising you and hj have'nt clashed yet?
hj=hectorjelly? if so he seems like a smart articulate guy. cant remember a post of his i read that i thought was bad so probably nothing to argue about yet. tell him to call my sister names or something

Most overrated player on boards/in general?

halibut2;)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi · 11-04-2008 10:21PM

Danny are u often in either poker club in Drogheda if so we have probably played at a table?

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 10:29PM

hey. first things first, i didnt realise you were so young when we 'spoke' last month on here. you probably dont even remember but hey. still very impressive ive gotta say given my own situation...
you pmd me about HU strat?

anyway, what level do you find is the easiest that you have played from 1/2 up??
2/4 is where alot of people start playing for a living. there always seems to be alot of fish at 2/4hu and 3/6hu tho. 5/10 is usually alot of people taking shots from 2/4 and regulars who have made it at the expense of people taking shots. i could be wrong but i always thought the fishpool was smaller than expected at 5/10. 10/20 is a big game. u can make a mil a year playing 10/20.

i find at the minute that a cannot lose at the standard micro level im playin but whenever i take a shot at a higher game like 3/6 or 5/10 i flunk out badly..you have done this i take it, what do you think is the best way to get up to these levels? continue to take shots with a % of my profit or just wait and wait etc...
you probably have what i coined the golf habit theory. You know when you start golfing your supposed to get a coach right way to avoid falling into bad habits which are very difficult to get out of. pokers a bit like that especially at 2/4+. good players will punish these bad habits. id say some good coaching would be a nice idea. think of it as investing in your game.

my last question and probably most important, can liverpool make it a hat trick of wins over chelsea in the semi finals of the champion's league
lol. im neutral. suppose they can if the ref gives them goals when the ball is still 1890 yards in front of the line

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 10:31PM

Mr.Plough wrote: »

lol You's used to work in funtasia! I worked up there for a couple of summers. As an apprentice electrician though, not on the monkey jump.

lol yuh. i didnt work the rides tho. thats peasants work for people like phantom lord.

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 10:35PM

In regards to your goal to get on the HMD...
Im only taking the piss. i couldnt give a **** tbh

What big ranking/buyin games have you previously played? And how would you rate your live tournament game?
never played a live donkament. i think id have to make some adjustments no doubt. probably just getting used to exploiting fields where 95% of people suck. i think id adjust pretty quickly tho.

What live tournies do you plan to play/ always had an ambition to play and why!
dont plan on playing any. prob will if im in the right place at the right time. was seriously considering playing the IO but coudnt be arsed really.

HoLLLLLaments · 11-04-2008 10:36PM

Dorothy Gorgeous Dandelion wrote: »

Danny are u often in either poker club in Drogheda if so we have probably played at a table?

only played a couple of times, not in like a year tho

mormank · 11-04-2008 11:07PM

my last question and probably most important, can liverpool make it a hat trick of wins over chelsea in the semi finals of the champion's league
lol. im neutral. suppose they can if the ref gives them goals when the ball is still 1890 yards in front of the line[/QUOTE]

doesnt sound very neutral!!

RedJoker · 11-04-2008 11:49PM

How do you approach a new opponent HU. Sit back and feel them out, try not to drop too much early. Or come out all guns blazing, create an aggro image and put them under pressure early?

Favourite training site video and instructor?

Also two of the great HU NL questions of the time:
1. Open every button or not?
2. 33 on 852; check call, check raise or check fold?

max_power · 11-04-2008 11:56PM

Hi Holllllla, I don't usually post in the wells but you seem like an interesting guy so heres a few q's.

When did you make the transition from sngs to cash? What was the catalyst?

Is there any reason in particular that deters you from playing live?

Do you still live at home?

What do your family think abot you playing poker?

Coolest (read extravagant and unnecesary) thing you've bought from poker monies?

Do you play any sports?

Favourite music to listen to while grinding?

Do you have any investments from poker monies?

Go travelling and get the **** outta louth lol.

TY and Gl.

HoLLLLLaments · 12-04-2008 12:05AM

How do you approach a new opponent HU. Sit back and feel them out, try not to drop too much early. Or come out all guns blazing, create an aggro image and put them under pressure early?
i usually play really aggressive. i think some people make a mistake by "feeling an opponent out". most people take this to mean just play nice and tight and see how hes playing and try and find the right style to combat that. thats ok but i prefer to feel opponents out by being really aggressive right of the bat and see how they respond. i think being the aggressor HU is really optimal so if i can be i will if someone is 3 betting alot then ill adjust and either snug up or start4 betting depending on opponent. its usually start 4betting. against weak opponents i dont mind getting caught firing a few barrells early on it a match because it doesnt matter what happens after they will always think u have air when u fire multiple streets again.

if im playing someone who is also really aggressive and i dont think they make many mistakes postflop ill just leave.

Favourite training site video and instructor?
I liked sbrugby1, about taking responsibility for your own results. AEjones maybe, i hear timex is going to be making vids for cardrunners so itll probly be him even if his vids suck. also actionjeffs sng vids for cardrunners were great

Also two of the great HU NL questions of the time:
1. Open every button or not?
no, this is not profitable against most, even 1st level, thinking players. im going to start experimenting with min raising as my opening raise otb. A couple of successful hsnl guys do this.
2. 33 on 852; check call, check raise or check fold?
all these spots are player dependant but c/r>>>>>>>c/c. if your going to continue in the hand, c/r is best. whether u continue in the hand really depends on alot of things.

RedJoker · 12-04-2008 12:17AM

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

im going to start experimenting with min raising as my opening raise otb. A couple of successful hsnl guys do this. [/B]

Yeah, JimmieG in his recent LP video discussed good times to switch to min raising.

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

all these spots are player dependant but c/r>>>>>>>c/c. if your going to continue in the hand, c/r is best. whether u continue in the hand really depends on alot of things.

Does your opinion change if it's 6max or do you just lean more heavily towards a fold?

Also what's the biggest difference between a winning 1/2 reg and a winning 3/6 or 5/10 reg?

HoLLLLLaments · 12-04-2008 12:19AM

When did you make the transition from sngs to cash? What was the catalyst?
around $200+sng level. new challenge.

Is there any reason in particular that deters you from playing live?
its really slow/boring. online=>$p/h. i guess some people just like playing live because its real poker or w/e. i just dont really crave it.

Do you still live at home?
no

What do your family think abot you playing poker?
think w/e. i paid of my mams 5k credit card bill a while back so shes cool with it. dad wants me to go back to college but doesnt hate it. i dont really talk about it with them.

Coolest (read extravagant and unnecesary) thing you've bought from poker monies?
1964 jb hutto airline guitar. dont even play it but its the same one as jack white uses.

Do you play any sports?
beer pong

Favourite music to listen to while grinding?
white stripes, beatles, black rebel motorcycle club, the clash. bunch of other stuff. i like some rap but usually only 1 or 2 songs by an artist so ill have lika big rap playlist of different people.

Do you have any investments from poker monies?
one. this is something ill probably look into more in the future. seems boring tho

Go travelling and get the **** outta ireland lol.
ill try lol

max_power · 12-04-2008 12:23AM

HoLLLLLaments wrote: »

[/B] get the **** outta ireland lol.

.

Q & A with HoLLLLLaments

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