Sup folks?
haven't posted in a while. I guess mainly because I haven't had much to say aprt from giving results fo my daily sessions, which I think is pretty pointless seen as though I try give a fairly detailed review at the end of each month.
Well i have a few things I can talk about now. Firstly I played some MTTs on Sunday including the epic Sunday 5million, which I didn't cash in. In fact I played roughly 15MTTs and only cashed once. This was a very deep run though. I finished 36th from 10k+ runners in the DNG 300k on stars. the cash was just shy of four figures but with $60k up top it was pretty disappointing. Was feeling a final table :p. For those of you that don't know it's a $55 donkament. Overall though I'm happy with the way I played, so that is certainly a positive to take from this. I ran good to of course :).
I kinda got the taste fro some donkaments again :). So I will be playing a decent sized schedule this Sunday including a few minftops events, so again some huge prizepools on offer. The following week is Mini Ftops main event day, so I shall be playing another Sunday there. I'm also planning on playing the 2day 6max event. I played this event and made day2 last year with a decent stack. I then managed to blow up and punt my stack in a ridiculous spot. i think with my no limit 6max experience gained this year will stand me in much betetr stead this time and I feel I should have a good edge in this tournament.
The Tuesday in between the Sundays I will be playing a live tournament. It's a £100 freezeout with a pretty good structure (in terms of the usual local offerings) and a £12k guaranteed prizepool. I've been playing live a decent amount lately, cash and online and done fairly well. I feel really comfortable in teh live enviroment now, so I', really looking forward to this.
OK so that's all the good stuff now onto the bad stuff :/. Well bad maybe the wrong word. Over the last few days I haven't won a pot online. Lol, of course I'm exaggerating but it really seems that way. I think this maybe my first downswing, since playing cash or I just forgot how to play i don't know. My confidence has definitely taken a hit also and all of these mixed in with some tilt have been a recipe for disaster in terms of results/confidence. So I think for the next few sessions I will reduce tables and just take extra time over decisions and try and keep an eye on things to make sure it is just coolers/beats/general runbad.
Well that's all I got for now. I will most likely update after Sunday or the liveament and let you readers know how I got on.
Peace!
Thursday 10 March 2011
Monday 28 February 2011
Febuary
I'm undecided on whether I will play today or not, so this may not be the entirety of my February but it's close enough. After looking at my results this month I have noticed a few interesting things. I have drastically increased my tables which has caused my redline to shoot down and if I'm honest turned me into a bit of a nit.
I'm not super pleased with this, as I enjoyed having sick redline and playing a ton of hands :p. This month was a little different tho, as I really didn't start playing until the 17th of the month and wanted to maintain platinum for them FPPs :).
I do think I will continue to play a decent amount of tables but I will play around with the exact number. The month was also relatively swingy with some bad stretched, which weren't down to variance. I'm happy about this though as it gives me something to work on. Anyway here's the graphs and what not:
Pretty severe dip in the middle there, which is most likely the session I made a post about where I felt myself tilting and quit after some horrific beats/coolers/retarded play in the space of like 5 minutes. Overall I guess I'm kinda happy. I ran a little below EV this month but I'm actively trying not to think about that to much. I mean we play poker (or should do imo) believing that EV will even out in the long run, so pointless wasting energy thinking about it. I think if I lose maybe 1 or 2 tables, game select a little better and always (or as much as possible) play my A game my winrate can improve a significant amount. Again I'm happy there is many spots to improve and will strive to work on these things form now on.
Some pretty swingy sessions lol. I have spoke to a few different people now and have had mixed responses. Some say they also lose more sessions than they win and some have said they win more than they lose. My theory for my case is that I often get a little tilty and quit sessions if I'm losing and then start again later that day or another day. If I'm winning I'm generally happy to keep playing. Overall though I'm not really concerned about this. Going back to the long term thing, I don't think we can concern ourselves to much with results from session to session. I will keep an eye on this though and see how it goes over a larger sample.
LOL euro's. A friend of mine who played a bunch of 50nl and is now 100nl reg told me to expect much higher winrates in the euro games compared to the dollar games. In game I never really noticed much difference in the standards and this is a very small sample, still pretty interesting non the less. As you can see all my my profit this month came from the euro games.
I have outlined earlier that game selection is something I need to work on, so again I will monitor this over a larger sample and see what the results are when I'm game selecting better. Hopefully I'm not a losing player in the dollar games next month :).
Goals for March:
I'm not super pleased with this, as I enjoyed having sick redline and playing a ton of hands :p. This month was a little different tho, as I really didn't start playing until the 17th of the month and wanted to maintain platinum for them FPPs :).
I do think I will continue to play a decent amount of tables but I will play around with the exact number. The month was also relatively swingy with some bad stretched, which weren't down to variance. I'm happy about this though as it gives me something to work on. Anyway here's the graphs and what not:
Pretty severe dip in the middle there, which is most likely the session I made a post about where I felt myself tilting and quit after some horrific beats/coolers/retarded play in the space of like 5 minutes. Overall I guess I'm kinda happy. I ran a little below EV this month but I'm actively trying not to think about that to much. I mean we play poker (or should do imo) believing that EV will even out in the long run, so pointless wasting energy thinking about it. I think if I lose maybe 1 or 2 tables, game select a little better and always (or as much as possible) play my A game my winrate can improve a significant amount. Again I'm happy there is many spots to improve and will strive to work on these things form now on.
Some pretty swingy sessions lol. I have spoke to a few different people now and have had mixed responses. Some say they also lose more sessions than they win and some have said they win more than they lose. My theory for my case is that I often get a little tilty and quit sessions if I'm losing and then start again later that day or another day. If I'm winning I'm generally happy to keep playing. Overall though I'm not really concerned about this. Going back to the long term thing, I don't think we can concern ourselves to much with results from session to session. I will keep an eye on this though and see how it goes over a larger sample.
I have outlined earlier that game selection is something I need to work on, so again I will monitor this over a larger sample and see what the results are when I'm game selecting better. Hopefully I'm not a losing player in the dollar games next month :).
Goals for March:
- Play 40k hands
- Watch 2+ training videos
- Review hands/sessions twice per week
- Read poker mindset
Thursday 24 February 2011
Swongs.
As the title suggests, tonight's session was rather swingy. Seems my sessions can often be swingy and maybe this is a result of my current aggressive style. I often seem to drop a buy in or 2 right at the start of my session, which makes it tough as starting out in the whole is not great, especially for someone like me who lacks emotional control at times. This happened again today on larger scale, so I'm definitely going to look into preparing fro sessions better, so that from hand number 1 I'm ready to play my best.
Will post graph for the lolz :), I tried my hardest to grind out a winning session, which worked out, so I'm definitely happy about that. So here's the graph followed by a VPP update:
Will post graph for the lolz :), I tried my hardest to grind out a winning session, which worked out, so I'm definitely happy about that. So here's the graph followed by a VPP update:
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Back on the grind
My last post was after my first session back online for a while. I have gotten in over 16k hands since then (17th Feb) and I played 0 hands over 2 of those days. I was out trying to be a live pro on those days :).
I have been playing a minimum of 12 tables and up to 16. I didn't think I would ever feel comfortable playing that many 6 max tables but it really hasn't taken me long to get used to it at all and it feels really comfortable now.
I don't think I will increase this but I think 16 will be the most regular number in the future. With the extra tables I'm pretty sure I will be able to maintain platinum status on stars this month despite not playing anything until the 17th, which is great.
Tonight's session was pretty terrible and I ran very badly for the first time in a while and I cut the session short as soon as I felt my play deteriorating. Although that seems like a negative I'm seeing it as a positive. Not so long ago I would most likely jump into a $200nl game on monkey tilt and spew money. So tilt is still an issue for me but it seems it's at least a controllable one now, which is progress in my book.
I FT bubbled the live donkament I played and then pretty much broke even in the cash games, so this certainly hasn't been a good week in terms of poker. Having said that I'm really enjoying being back at it. Again this is a good sign that with work and time I have what it takes to take the good with the bad and come out the other side.
I should be putting a ton of hands in over the next few days and the main goal is to stay platinum star. Like I already mentioned I'm pretty sure this will be doable. I will post my results at the end of the month. I'm now starting to mark hands with HEM during my sessions and going over those either at the end of the session or the next day, which is definitely something I will continue doing and see as a valuable learning tool.
The main thing in terms of studying I have not made any progress with is watching videos, so this is something I will try work on from now on but something that I have been saying for a while hopefully I will do it this time.
Sam
I have been playing a minimum of 12 tables and up to 16. I didn't think I would ever feel comfortable playing that many 6 max tables but it really hasn't taken me long to get used to it at all and it feels really comfortable now.
I don't think I will increase this but I think 16 will be the most regular number in the future. With the extra tables I'm pretty sure I will be able to maintain platinum status on stars this month despite not playing anything until the 17th, which is great.
Tonight's session was pretty terrible and I ran very badly for the first time in a while and I cut the session short as soon as I felt my play deteriorating. Although that seems like a negative I'm seeing it as a positive. Not so long ago I would most likely jump into a $200nl game on monkey tilt and spew money. So tilt is still an issue for me but it seems it's at least a controllable one now, which is progress in my book.
I FT bubbled the live donkament I played and then pretty much broke even in the cash games, so this certainly hasn't been a good week in terms of poker. Having said that I'm really enjoying being back at it. Again this is a good sign that with work and time I have what it takes to take the good with the bad and come out the other side.
I should be putting a ton of hands in over the next few days and the main goal is to stay platinum star. Like I already mentioned I'm pretty sure this will be doable. I will post my results at the end of the month. I'm now starting to mark hands with HEM during my sessions and going over those either at the end of the session or the next day, which is definitely something I will continue doing and see as a valuable learning tool.
The main thing in terms of studying I have not made any progress with is watching videos, so this is something I will try work on from now on but something that I have been saying for a while hopefully I will do it this time.
Sam
Thursday 17 February 2011
Been A While.
Not been updating with much poker content lately. I unfortuantely went back on the MTT binge and punted most of my January cash game profits. I then proceeded to forget what bankroll management meant and played way above my roll and skill level.
This is something I have constantly struggled with and most probably the reason I have been stuck at micros for so long. Anyway to cut a long story short I ended up way underolled for the games I was playing before $50nl. However a good friend has put his faith in me and we have arranged a 3month backing deal, which hopefully after that I should have some sort fo roll togetehr again.
I have much more respect for other peoples money than my own, so punting a friends money is not a concern. I have self excluded anything above $50nl for now though for my buddy's piece of mind and will be a good thing to get used to when I'm back on my own roll.
I Just finished my first session back and it was a good one, which should help my confidence. I will most likely lose my platinum status this month now unless I grind super hard but that's not a primary concern anyway. I am also behind supernova pace but this will not be a problem so long as I stay in the game.
This is the first session I have played since the ring game changes at stars and I have certainly noticed the difference. I found many ridiculously soft tables and made many more Green stamps :p. Hopefully the trend of really soft games continues <3 stars.
I will post today's stats and graphs seen as tho I haven't put any up in a while.
Lets hope I can keep it up this time when I get back on my own roll. I know staking is always an option but its a pretty big leak to not be able to keep a roll due to degeneracy and something I intend to plug. After all if I want to be a professional someday this certainly has to change.
Peace
This is something I have constantly struggled with and most probably the reason I have been stuck at micros for so long. Anyway to cut a long story short I ended up way underolled for the games I was playing before $50nl. However a good friend has put his faith in me and we have arranged a 3month backing deal, which hopefully after that I should have some sort fo roll togetehr again.
I have much more respect for other peoples money than my own, so punting a friends money is not a concern. I have self excluded anything above $50nl for now though for my buddy's piece of mind and will be a good thing to get used to when I'm back on my own roll.
I Just finished my first session back and it was a good one, which should help my confidence. I will most likely lose my platinum status this month now unless I grind super hard but that's not a primary concern anyway. I am also behind supernova pace but this will not be a problem so long as I stay in the game.
This is the first session I have played since the ring game changes at stars and I have certainly noticed the difference. I found many ridiculously soft tables and made many more Green stamps :p. Hopefully the trend of really soft games continues <3 stars.
I will post today's stats and graphs seen as tho I haven't put any up in a while.
Lets hope I can keep it up this time when I get back on my own roll. I know staking is always an option but its a pretty big leak to not be able to keep a roll due to degeneracy and something I intend to plug. After all if I want to be a professional someday this certainly has to change.
Peace
Thursday 10 February 2011
Ashton Fucking Griffin
I guess most people will of heard but just in case. A pretty sick prop bet went down. Where griffin laid 3:1 that he could run 70miles in 24 hours. Anyway I will link you to a blog that tells the story excellently. Super story, superbly written:
http://www.cardrunners.com/blog/internetpokers/the-million-dollar-bet-pt-1
http://www.cardrunners.com/blog/internetpokers/the-million-dollar-bet-pt-2
Not been playing much poker lately, made a few bad decisions on that front. Hope to get things going again shortly, will blog about it soon I guess. Please read the above tho!
http://www.cardrunners.com/blog/internetpokers/the-million-dollar-bet-pt-1
http://www.cardrunners.com/blog/internetpokers/the-million-dollar-bet-pt-2
Not been playing much poker lately, made a few bad decisions on that front. Hope to get things going again shortly, will blog about it soon I guess. Please read the above tho!
Thursday 3 February 2011
January review
Overall for the month I'm happy. I won a decent amount from both cash and donkaments. The latter half (3/4) of the month was pretty terrible for MTTs, variance was a big part of this no doubt. However I did start to play some tougher tournaments and make bad choices in game selection. Also probably played too many tables at some stages on a Sunday whilst playing after 4-6 hours sleep and a 12 hour shift. That's pretty clearly a recipe for disaster.
I have definitely fell in love with tournaments again tho and really think I will never quit them, so I guess I should concentrate on getting good at them. I'm happy I started playing cash games also and will definitely continue to do so. I think I will play both rather than specialise tho. I think variety is good. One thing I would like to do in 2011 is learn a hi lo game or any other game really. Just helps to keep poker fun imo.
So I'm not a 100% sure of my future in terms of MTT/cash schedule but I will definitely be playing more tournaments and working hard on my tournament game. Not sure how much volume I will get in for February but we will see. My main focus now is playing well and improving rather than playing X number of hands or tournaments. This does not bode well for my supernova bet, but I'm basically freerolling anyway, as its a push if we both don't make it and I'm pretty sure he ain't making it :p.
I just feel this is the better decision long term than smashing out 100k VPPs with a bunch of leaks is just going to turn those leaks into habits that are hard to budge. My approach now is to spend the first 1/4, 1/3 or 1/2 of the year building a solid profitable game for both cash and tournaments and then make piles of money in the latter half of the year :D.
Also anyone who wants redline coaching let me know :p.
Friday 28 January 2011
Really?
Mbn to win flips deep in MTTs. Got 32nd and 19th 2 days running in the same $22 MTTon stars. Theres always tomorrow O guess :). On a good note though I shipped some sattalites into some qualifiers for some Live events. Think I may play the qualifiers on Sunday and try win a nice holiday :)
Thursday 27 January 2011
They're Back :/
Title is referring to the demons that take over me and turn me into a degenerate from time to time lol. As you probably noticed I was annoyed at the time of writing the last post. Now ordered Poker Mindset ;) to try and help with the mental aspect of the game.
Anyway basically played some stuff above $50nl and done OK, so got back on track a little bankroll wise. I'm not sure whether I will ever stop this inner degen and I'm kinda happy about that. I think its a good thing to have inside. However the key is controlling the gamble and using it in the right spots.
I'm 366 VPPs away from platinum for the month, so I will almost certainly be platinum. I'm semi happy with this although I'm pretty sure I could of cleared platinum a while back but I got a little lazy and played some MTTs here and there just to mix things up. Platinum should help me boost the FPP balance in Feb and get close to the new monitor.
Peace.
Anyway basically played some stuff above $50nl and done OK, so got back on track a little bankroll wise. I'm not sure whether I will ever stop this inner degen and I'm kinda happy about that. I think its a good thing to have inside. However the key is controlling the gamble and using it in the right spots.
I'm 366 VPPs away from platinum for the month, so I will almost certainly be platinum. I'm semi happy with this although I'm pretty sure I could of cleared platinum a while back but I got a little lazy and played some MTTs here and there just to mix things up. Platinum should help me boost the FPP balance in Feb and get close to the new monitor.
Peace.
Monday 24 January 2011
Meh!
Last few days have been tough to say the least. Sunday was again terrible. I'm thinking of not playing a Sunday session anymore. I start work at 6.30am until 6pm and then start grinding. This just seems to be burning money and I find it difficult to stay focused. Looking back through some bust out hands just makes this even more clear. I absolutely butcher some of them if I'm honest :(.
Two weeks running now I have dusted off a decent chunk of my roll chasing a big cash in an MTT. I think from now on I will not play MTTs on a Sunday unless I can wangle the day off form work. I woke up this morning knowing I would have to put in some decent volume to try and recover from yesterday. Unfortunately it's just gone from bad to worse so far. I have played 2.2k hands so far today and dropped 6 buy ins. I have been unlucky here and there but again emotion has got in the way at some stage. With blasting money 2 weeks from MTTs and a pretty break even week at cash last week, having to move down to $25nl is becoming a possibility :(. Hopefully that won't be the case but I'm fully prepared to drop down if need be.
It's become clear over the last week or so that I really need to work on my mindset and emotional state whilst playing. I have noticed myself getting pretty angry over pretty std things, which is not a professional attitude towards the game at all. If I want to progress any further in this game I have got to change this ASAP and not worry about the short term results and/or bad beats. I guess I will talk to some friends about this, as I'm prepared to work very hard at improving this aspect of my game but if I'm honest I am not really sure how to improve it.
Well will get back at the tables and try pull some $$$ back :). If I can stay focused and playing well I may well beat last Monday's most number of hands in a day record, but we'll see. I definitely won't be playing if I'm steaming.
Two weeks running now I have dusted off a decent chunk of my roll chasing a big cash in an MTT. I think from now on I will not play MTTs on a Sunday unless I can wangle the day off form work. I woke up this morning knowing I would have to put in some decent volume to try and recover from yesterday. Unfortunately it's just gone from bad to worse so far. I have played 2.2k hands so far today and dropped 6 buy ins. I have been unlucky here and there but again emotion has got in the way at some stage. With blasting money 2 weeks from MTTs and a pretty break even week at cash last week, having to move down to $25nl is becoming a possibility :(. Hopefully that won't be the case but I'm fully prepared to drop down if need be.
It's become clear over the last week or so that I really need to work on my mindset and emotional state whilst playing. I have noticed myself getting pretty angry over pretty std things, which is not a professional attitude towards the game at all. If I want to progress any further in this game I have got to change this ASAP and not worry about the short term results and/or bad beats. I guess I will talk to some friends about this, as I'm prepared to work very hard at improving this aspect of my game but if I'm honest I am not really sure how to improve it.
Well will get back at the tables and try pull some $$$ back :). If I can stay focused and playing well I may well beat last Monday's most number of hands in a day record, but we'll see. I definitely won't be playing if I'm steaming.
Friday 21 January 2011
Updates.
Missed the delivery for my new computer today :(. Did however manage to wangle a redelivery for Saturday, which is tomorrow weeeee. My desk arrived tho and I assembled that, which rather surprisingly was a breeze. It's a little smaller than I anticipated but still should be fine and looks pretty cool to boot!
Played a shade over 2k hands today and was down a buy in. Was a pretty frustrating day where I played 1100 hands and was up $150 took a break and came back to lose $200 in the next 1k hands. That's how it goes sometimes. My problem is though that in session I'm still letting beats irritate me and effect my game, which is a stupid fish thing to do and the fact that I let this happen infuriates me :(.
I guess I will buy or order form VIP store "The Poker Mindset", heard good things about the book and I could sure use a better mindset right now. I will most likely buy it though rather than use FPPs, as I'm saving for the 27" monitor from the VIP store (maybe two :O).
VPP count is at 4.8k and have 8k FPPs, so I got a long way to go for the monitor(s), but when I get plat the multiplier will help no end.
Will probably put some pics up when new setup is complete. Taking a day off tomorrow and playing MTTs Sunday. Will normally put in a big Monday session at the cash tables but may well be building my new computer then.
Going to see a poker buddy in Leeds on Tuesday, so may not get a bunch of volume in the coming week. Not too concerned though so long as I get platinum for January, which is more or less a sure thing.
Well that's all I got. Peace!
Played a shade over 2k hands today and was down a buy in. Was a pretty frustrating day where I played 1100 hands and was up $150 took a break and came back to lose $200 in the next 1k hands. That's how it goes sometimes. My problem is though that in session I'm still letting beats irritate me and effect my game, which is a stupid fish thing to do and the fact that I let this happen infuriates me :(.
I guess I will buy or order form VIP store "The Poker Mindset", heard good things about the book and I could sure use a better mindset right now. I will most likely buy it though rather than use FPPs, as I'm saving for the 27" monitor from the VIP store (maybe two :O).
VPP count is at 4.8k and have 8k FPPs, so I got a long way to go for the monitor(s), but when I get plat the multiplier will help no end.
Will probably put some pics up when new setup is complete. Taking a day off tomorrow and playing MTTs Sunday. Will normally put in a big Monday session at the cash tables but may well be building my new computer then.
Going to see a poker buddy in Leeds on Tuesday, so may not get a bunch of volume in the coming week. Not too concerned though so long as I get platinum for January, which is more or less a sure thing.
Well that's all I got. Peace!
Thursday 20 January 2011
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Been A While.
Probably the longest time without a post since the start of this blog, which is pretty impressive imo. Hope I ca say this in 12months time. So few updates really and nothing much else.
I remembered why I hate MTTs :). I played two days of MTTs on Sunday and Monday and cashed maybe 3 times. I didn't run or play well at all, so I didn't expect much else. I probably shouldn't of even bothered playing on Sunday tbh. I started work at 6.30am, finished at 5.30pm and started registering form 6pm until 11.45pm, so wasn't really up for it.
After the bad 2 days my bankroll had taken a significant hit, so I was determined to grind hard yesterday and I did. I played my most hands per day since I started grinding. I managed to get in 5641 hands although I probably should of quit at 5k (which was my target). Will insert graph for the lolz:
There were definitely some points in the day when I played pretty badly, which is not good. I sort of have an excuse lol. Well I hope it isn't just an excuse but there were times when the house was really loud and many distractions.
So that brings me to the bit of news> I ordered my desk, which arrives on Friday. I have also decided to upgrade my desktop and start grinding on there again rather than a laptop. I should be ordering my new computer today. Im having a little trouble adding my card details to paypal so I am hoping someone can help me out with a $ swap for pokersite money. I will post pics when it arrives then I will be building it (or watching and trying to learn while someone else builds it :p)
OK last thing is VPP update I guess, I managed to get Goldstar during my session yesterday and current VPP count is 3605, so should get platinum this month I think. Hopefully can rack up some FPPs then. Thinking about getting a 27" monitor from the FPP store. Anyway that's all I got.
I remembered why I hate MTTs :). I played two days of MTTs on Sunday and Monday and cashed maybe 3 times. I didn't run or play well at all, so I didn't expect much else. I probably shouldn't of even bothered playing on Sunday tbh. I started work at 6.30am, finished at 5.30pm and started registering form 6pm until 11.45pm, so wasn't really up for it.
After the bad 2 days my bankroll had taken a significant hit, so I was determined to grind hard yesterday and I did. I played my most hands per day since I started grinding. I managed to get in 5641 hands although I probably should of quit at 5k (which was my target). Will insert graph for the lolz:
There were definitely some points in the day when I played pretty badly, which is not good. I sort of have an excuse lol. Well I hope it isn't just an excuse but there were times when the house was really loud and many distractions.
So that brings me to the bit of news> I ordered my desk, which arrives on Friday. I have also decided to upgrade my desktop and start grinding on there again rather than a laptop. I should be ordering my new computer today. Im having a little trouble adding my card details to paypal so I am hoping someone can help me out with a $ swap for pokersite money. I will post pics when it arrives then I will be building it (or watching and trying to learn while someone else builds it :p)
OK last thing is VPP update I guess, I managed to get Goldstar during my session yesterday and current VPP count is 3605, so should get platinum this month I think. Hopefully can rack up some FPPs then. Thinking about getting a 27" monitor from the FPP store. Anyway that's all I got.
Friday 14 January 2011
A few issues.
Well the heat had to end sometime I guess :(. Started off the day in ridiculous fashion again. Played 1 hour and was up $315 after 680 hands of $50NL, I know I know mbn etc! Decided to play another hour and proceeded to lose a shad over four buy ins in 45mins. However losing the money was not due to run bad but more due to numerous errors and tilt creeping in. I identified the tilt pretty quickly but didn't quit for another maybe 20mins. This is something I need to work on for sure, reducing that time to five minutes would of saved me like $100.
Another thing is I need to stop refreshing holdem manager mid session to see how things are going, just induces tilt when losing and laziness when winning. I took a few beats and made a few mistakes then started pushing draws in marginal spots and firing unnecessary bullets Vs villains who don't like folding.
Those are the indicators I need to be aware of as quick as possible and either stop/take a break or change mindset from there on. Sucks losing most of the days profit but was happy with the way I played until emotions got in the way, so not all bad.
Also got some FPPs and VPPs :). The updated count for VPPs in January is 1675
Another thing is I need to stop refreshing holdem manager mid session to see how things are going, just induces tilt when losing and laziness when winning. I took a few beats and made a few mistakes then started pushing draws in marginal spots and firing unnecessary bullets Vs villains who don't like folding.
Those are the indicators I need to be aware of as quick as possible and either stop/take a break or change mindset from there on. Sucks losing most of the days profit but was happy with the way I played until emotions got in the way, so not all bad.
Also got some FPPs and VPPs :). The updated count for VPPs in January is 1675
Thursday 13 January 2011
The Chase is On!
Finished the day up $500 yesterday after 3k hands of $50nl, which is my biggest winning day in online cash games so far!
Anyway end brag :p.
I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking of switching to stars permanently and going for supernova by the end of 2011. Well I was talking to a buddy who plays MTTs who said he was also trying to go for supernova. I mentioned that I was thinking about it and he didn't feel like I would make it, so I asked if he would like to bet.
Anyway we decided on $200, nothing huge but the motivation comes from beating him. I really feel he has no shot though lol. He plays MTTs and MTTSNGs up to $55, but he is not a great multitabler and hasn't put huge volume in thus far. Obviously this is why he made bet and is going for supernova too though. So looking at our history it probably looks like we will both fail .
To achieve supernova I need to get roughly 300VPPs per day, after yesterdays session I earned 700 from 3k hands, so 1.5k hands per day would have me achieve supernova. Obviously I won't be playing everyday but I definitely believe I can achieve this.
As I have barely played on stars my total VPPs for the year is 910, so obviously well behind pace so far. But it's only the 13th, so its easily doable. A buddy of mine playing $50nl achieved supernova by July last year. He plays more volume than me but knowing he did it by July gives me even more confidence.
I guess I will have a much better of where I stand at the end of February. So will include VPP updates in future posts and try get a better overall game plan prepared in terms of number of tables, hours, days and hands required for supernova. That's all I got, gl me.
Sam.
EDIT: numbers look wrong, think it's 300k hands I need, so like 1k/day hands with days off should be fine
Anyway end brag :p.
I mentioned in my last post that I was thinking of switching to stars permanently and going for supernova by the end of 2011. Well I was talking to a buddy who plays MTTs who said he was also trying to go for supernova. I mentioned that I was thinking about it and he didn't feel like I would make it, so I asked if he would like to bet.
Anyway we decided on $200, nothing huge but the motivation comes from beating him. I really feel he has no shot though lol. He plays MTTs and MTTSNGs up to $55, but he is not a great multitabler and hasn't put huge volume in thus far. Obviously this is why he made bet and is going for supernova too though. So looking at our history it probably looks like we will both fail .
To achieve supernova I need to get roughly 300VPPs per day, after yesterdays session I earned 700 from 3k hands, so 1.5k hands per day would have me achieve supernova. Obviously I won't be playing everyday but I definitely believe I can achieve this.
As I have barely played on stars my total VPPs for the year is 910, so obviously well behind pace so far. But it's only the 13th, so its easily doable. A buddy of mine playing $50nl achieved supernova by July last year. He plays more volume than me but knowing he did it by July gives me even more confidence.
I guess I will have a much better of where I stand at the end of February. So will include VPP updates in future posts and try get a better overall game plan prepared in terms of number of tables, hours, days and hands required for supernova. That's all I got, gl me.
Sam.
EDIT: numbers look wrong, think it's 300k hands I need, so like 1k/day hands with days off should be fine
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Fish on a heater?
So since binking on Sunday (well almost binking) poker has been great. The much needed boost to the bankroll has allowed me to move up in stakes. Some people think this is a bad idea, as I don't have big sample of beating 20nl. However I think its fine as long as I'm willing to move down if needed.
So I'm now playing all my volume at $50nl. I have a pretty big dilemma right now though. I decided to play some 50nl on stars, seen as tho this is where I had the score. I instantly loved playing there just like I did in tournaments. I struggled playing 4 tables on iPoker but with stars superior software I could easily play 8.
But on iPoker I have a very good rakeback deal. However having ta;led with a few regulars in the games SuperNova is attainable at 50nl, so I am considering going for it :O. I will not make any decision yet tho. Live poker was fun and I will write a post about that in the near future.
I have played almost 2k $50nl hands on stars over the last 2 days and here's the outcome :):
Running slightly above EV, which is always nice :). I'm pretty sure this is a nice upswing to start my $50nl journey but hey I'll take it. The games definitely seem beatable tho from what I have seen so far, but as I stated earlier I'm more than willing to move down if needed!
Peace!
So I'm now playing all my volume at $50nl. I have a pretty big dilemma right now though. I decided to play some 50nl on stars, seen as tho this is where I had the score. I instantly loved playing there just like I did in tournaments. I struggled playing 4 tables on iPoker but with stars superior software I could easily play 8.
But on iPoker I have a very good rakeback deal. However having ta;led with a few regulars in the games SuperNova is attainable at 50nl, so I am considering going for it :O. I will not make any decision yet tho. Live poker was fun and I will write a post about that in the near future.
I have played almost 2k $50nl hands on stars over the last 2 days and here's the outcome :):
Running slightly above EV, which is always nice :). I'm pretty sure this is a nice upswing to start my $50nl journey but hey I'll take it. The games definitely seem beatable tho from what I have seen so far, but as I stated earlier I'm more than willing to move down if needed!
Peace!
Monday 10 January 2011
Sunday!
Played around 20 MTTs yesterday, pretty much all of them were really low stakes and super huge fields :/. I cashed twice a min cash in one and 2nd in another. 2nd was in the $5 20k GTD, which had almost 8k runners. Second was a nice 4.4k :).
Ran incredibly hot throughout but feel I played OK too. Came at a perfect time really. Had some loose ends to tie up including some outstanding MU from previous backing arrangement, only the wife tax left to pay now :D. Ready to move forward now, so hopefully another bink will come quickly and I can keep it all to myself!
Going to play live poker again tonight with my buddy Stevie, we will probably late reg some stupid donkament and play cash if/when we bust. Becoming a regular now, hopefully tonight goes as well as previous weeks. Hope Stevie runs a little better!
Until next time..
Sam
Ran incredibly hot throughout but feel I played OK too. Came at a perfect time really. Had some loose ends to tie up including some outstanding MU from previous backing arrangement, only the wife tax left to pay now :D. Ready to move forward now, so hopefully another bink will come quickly and I can keep it all to myself!
Going to play live poker again tonight with my buddy Stevie, we will probably late reg some stupid donkament and play cash if/when we bust. Becoming a regular now, hopefully tonight goes as well as previous weeks. Hope Stevie runs a little better!
Until next time..
Sam
Saturday 8 January 2011
Wasting no time!
I have barely stopped thinking about yesterday all day today. I was busy most of the day but this evening I decided not to play and dig through the Internet instead. Of course I'm looking for a decent chair, desk and two 24" monitors. Not exactly made of money so looking for some bargains :). I have seen a few things so far, so hopefully will get something sorted pretty soon. The monitors will probably have to wait tho.
Going to continue the current trend and end the post with a couple of positives. Firstly hoping to be playing in the pokerstars bloggers championship of online poker soon. Not exactly sure when this is but played last year with my old blog w/o much success but hopefully can run good this time!
Also playing a small sunday session tomorrow as a little treat for doing well in the live games. Deposited £100 on stars so i can mess around in a few donkaments. Probably ending up in around 10 low stakes MTTs but with it being a Sunday and the huge fields on stars I will have the potential for a five figure day :p. Would be so f***ing nice!!!
Will post Sunday results/review/BBV on Sunday or Monday depending on how successful it is :)
Peace!
Going to continue the current trend and end the post with a couple of positives. Firstly hoping to be playing in the pokerstars bloggers championship of online poker soon. Not exactly sure when this is but played last year with my old blog w/o much success but hopefully can run good this time!
Also playing a small sunday session tomorrow as a little treat for doing well in the live games. Deposited £100 on stars so i can mess around in a few donkaments. Probably ending up in around 10 low stakes MTTs but with it being a Sunday and the huge fields on stars I will have the potential for a five figure day :p. Would be so f***ing nice!!!
Will post Sunday results/review/BBV on Sunday or Monday depending on how successful it is :)
Peace!
Friday 7 January 2011
Back to reality :/.
Played a couple of sessions over the last couple of days. Not really many hours or hands though unfortunately. I'm getting a little annoyed now, as I really thought I was motivated and ready to do well this year. Obviously it's still early so plenty of time to make good. I'm still struggling to understand why I could grind 12hours+ online when playing MTTs and struggle to get 90mins of cash.
I tilted for the first time in a fairly long time tonight after some pretty disturbing hands. I guy cold called my 3bet from the SB with 23o and flopped 2 pair on 923 board. A few stupid hands happened and I started to tilt then proceeded to lose more. I'm unsure if the origin of the tilt was from the beats or from external factors. My gut tells me it's the latter. I felt agitated pretty much from the outset and it's been like this ever since I moved house (October last year).
I finished off 2010 learning 6max nlhe cash games. I got some experience with not to terrible results and felt much more confident in my game. 2011 is hopefully going to be a good year where I make huge strides into playing this game for a living. I really need to treat the game more like a profession though. Maybe I should buy "Treat your poker like a business"? Since I moved I have not bothered to set up my desktop or any sort of workspace for myself. I'm currently grinding on the sofa with a laptop, surrounded by a whole host of distractions, which is obviously not good for my concentration. I think part of the reasons I can't play as long sessions when playing cash compared to MTTs is that cash takes up more concentration and effort. I definitely need to sort myself somewhere in the house to grind, which is away from any TV and people. Hopefully need a little run good so I can buy a decent chair and two 24inch monitors too for my new office :). The chair and monitor's would be nice but w/e they will come in time. The grinding space however is a necessity. I am definitely going to get this sorted in the coming weeks.
I really believe if I was more comfortable and in the mood to play tilt would not of occurred tonight. the night did turn out OK though thanks to my degeneracy :/. After dropping some serious $ (relative to the stakes I'm playing) at $20 and $50nl I sat in two £100nl games and managed to end the night with profit. As soon as I closed down the session though I realised what a stupid move that was. It also made me realise how far I have got to go in many aspects of the game before I can be successful. I will insert today's graph for the lolz :blushing:
:(
I feel a lot of the blog lately is negative, which I don't want. When I started the blog I didn't want to only post when I was running good and crushing the games like a lot of people do. Nevertheless I did not want it to be a blog about how terrible everything is, so I would like to end on a positive note.
Me and a buddy have been choosing 3-5 hands at the end of each of our sessions and spending 30mins - 1 hour discussing them. We give detailed reads and stats and talk about each street, the math alternative lines and much more. My buddy is a 100nl regular as well as an MTT player. We met at UKIPT Edinburgh last year and have kept in touch daily ever since. These discussions at the end of our play have helped me a ton. Even he has told me he gets a bunch out of the sessions to, which is good to know its not only one way. This is something I intend to carry on and recommend everybody to give it a shot. having someone else critique your game is great. Also if it's a close buddy you are satisfied they wont pull any punches, which may hurt your ego but will help your game much more in the long run
Wow this turned out so much longer than I thought it would. I'm not going to re read it as I will most likely delete a bunch of it, which I don't really want to do. Although this is a fairly low point for me I am happy I have talked about it here. Today has brought me back down a peg or two as they say but I feel now its out there I can move forward.
I tilted for the first time in a fairly long time tonight after some pretty disturbing hands. I guy cold called my 3bet from the SB with 23o and flopped 2 pair on 923 board. A few stupid hands happened and I started to tilt then proceeded to lose more. I'm unsure if the origin of the tilt was from the beats or from external factors. My gut tells me it's the latter. I felt agitated pretty much from the outset and it's been like this ever since I moved house (October last year).
I finished off 2010 learning 6max nlhe cash games. I got some experience with not to terrible results and felt much more confident in my game. 2011 is hopefully going to be a good year where I make huge strides into playing this game for a living. I really need to treat the game more like a profession though. Maybe I should buy "Treat your poker like a business"? Since I moved I have not bothered to set up my desktop or any sort of workspace for myself. I'm currently grinding on the sofa with a laptop, surrounded by a whole host of distractions, which is obviously not good for my concentration. I think part of the reasons I can't play as long sessions when playing cash compared to MTTs is that cash takes up more concentration and effort. I definitely need to sort myself somewhere in the house to grind, which is away from any TV and people. Hopefully need a little run good so I can buy a decent chair and two 24inch monitors too for my new office :). The chair and monitor's would be nice but w/e they will come in time. The grinding space however is a necessity. I am definitely going to get this sorted in the coming weeks.
I really believe if I was more comfortable and in the mood to play tilt would not of occurred tonight. the night did turn out OK though thanks to my degeneracy :/. After dropping some serious $ (relative to the stakes I'm playing) at $20 and $50nl I sat in two £100nl games and managed to end the night with profit. As soon as I closed down the session though I realised what a stupid move that was. It also made me realise how far I have got to go in many aspects of the game before I can be successful. I will insert today's graph for the lolz :blushing:
I feel a lot of the blog lately is negative, which I don't want. When I started the blog I didn't want to only post when I was running good and crushing the games like a lot of people do. Nevertheless I did not want it to be a blog about how terrible everything is, so I would like to end on a positive note.
Me and a buddy have been choosing 3-5 hands at the end of each of our sessions and spending 30mins - 1 hour discussing them. We give detailed reads and stats and talk about each street, the math alternative lines and much more. My buddy is a 100nl regular as well as an MTT player. We met at UKIPT Edinburgh last year and have kept in touch daily ever since. These discussions at the end of our play have helped me a ton. Even he has told me he gets a bunch out of the sessions to, which is good to know its not only one way. This is something I intend to carry on and recommend everybody to give it a shot. having someone else critique your game is great. Also if it's a close buddy you are satisfied they wont pull any punches, which may hurt your ego but will help your game much more in the long run
Wow this turned out so much longer than I thought it would. I'm not going to re read it as I will most likely delete a bunch of it, which I don't really want to do. Although this is a fairly low point for me I am happy I have talked about it here. Today has brought me back down a peg or two as they say but I feel now its out there I can move forward.
Wednesday 5 January 2011
OMGOMG Graphs!
I have been threatening graphs from the outset of this blog and said I would include some this year in my 2011 post. Well I thought if I don't take the plunge I likely never will. So for this post I have 2 graphs for you :). The first is from December 1st until December 15th (Before VC switched to Entraction) and the second is from Dec 16th until now. As I mentioned I never played many hands over the Christmas holiday period and played a lot live, so volume is not great. So here goes :S
As you can see this graph looks like its upside down :(. I guess the positive is that the profit is still the right side of zero. Most pros would kill for a redline like mine :). But in all seriousness this graph shows imo that I am approaching micro stakes games with the wrong attitude. I'm losing money at showdown, which at the fish micros I showed be value owning those fools :p. I made myself aware of this relatively quickly and made a conscious effort to improve over the second half of the month. The second graph is from my new iPoker account and from the 16th December until today:
Weeee! Showdown winnings in the plus along with a decent redline. Obviously variance has something to do with things here but I believe I have turned a corner and am now getting to showdown a lot less overall and with better holdings for the most part. The positive redline shows I haven't lost my style of play along the way, which I'm happy about!
So like I said for 2011 i will be reviewing my play at the end of each month and posting graphs and maybe stats here and there. I feel this is a good starting point, there is nothing here that can't be improved on. Hopefully now I can just find some time and motivation and get some decent volume in.
As you can see this graph looks like its upside down :(. I guess the positive is that the profit is still the right side of zero. Most pros would kill for a redline like mine :). But in all seriousness this graph shows imo that I am approaching micro stakes games with the wrong attitude. I'm losing money at showdown, which at the fish micros I showed be value owning those fools :p. I made myself aware of this relatively quickly and made a conscious effort to improve over the second half of the month. The second graph is from my new iPoker account and from the 16th December until today:
Weeee! Showdown winnings in the plus along with a decent redline. Obviously variance has something to do with things here but I believe I have turned a corner and am now getting to showdown a lot less overall and with better holdings for the most part. The positive redline shows I haven't lost my style of play along the way, which I'm happy about!
So like I said for 2011 i will be reviewing my play at the end of each month and posting graphs and maybe stats here and there. I feel this is a good starting point, there is nothing here that can't be improved on. Hopefully now I can just find some time and motivation and get some decent volume in.
Missed One!
When making my 2011 post I forgot to mention anything at all about studying/working on game. This was not because I didn't think it was important but more because I thought it was mandatory to have any chance of beating the game.
However, having thought about it a little more (and having no better things to write about :p) I feel having something down in writing will help me stay at it. Also for the n00bs reading it will give them some idea of some of the things one can do to improve their game. I emphasise the word some here, as there are many ways of improving ones game that I will not discuss here and probably not even know about if I'm honest.
So I guess I will talk about the things I'm going to be actively making an effort to do. Firstly NETWORKING, I'm going to be seeking out (begging) better players to give me access to their minds :). I did a great job of this when playing tournaments and have met many great friends and players. But my cash game lists is pretty bare atm and I could do with having some good players to discuss hands with. Almost every interview I have read/heard, that focuses on a good player emphasises the importance of having other good players to discuss strategy and hands with. Just this week I have found someone playing a few levels above me who is willing to help me out. I have already taken advantage of this generosity and will continue to do so. Anyone out there who wants some donks skype/aim/msn hit me up :).
The next on the list is making use of TRAINING SITES. Numerous times during my tournament days I signed up to training sites and just failed to use them anywhere near enough. I currently have some videos from numerous sites on my hard drive ;), so am currently making my way through those. I'm also a member of deuces cracked at the moment. So I am determined to use my membership this time. I am aiming for one video per week as a minimum but should hopefully hit more. I'm currently working my way through the Coaching Kristy series, which is vet helpful so far. For the time being I am happy with DC but as I move up I may well look to get a card runners or blue fire subscription. Although some have advised wait until I'm at 200nl before I get BFP, so I will most likely take that advice unless anything changes in the meantime.
Those are definitely the main two things I want to be working on. I have never been great at getting into pokerstove and things like that but I do want to get a better understanding of the math, so maybe I will look into theory vids on DC or get a book on the subject. I'm also wanting to start reading some hands from the forums of DC and 2p2.
OK that's all I got.
Peace!
However, having thought about it a little more (and having no better things to write about :p) I feel having something down in writing will help me stay at it. Also for the n00bs reading it will give them some idea of some of the things one can do to improve their game. I emphasise the word some here, as there are many ways of improving ones game that I will not discuss here and probably not even know about if I'm honest.
So I guess I will talk about the things I'm going to be actively making an effort to do. Firstly NETWORKING, I'm going to be seeking out (begging) better players to give me access to their minds :). I did a great job of this when playing tournaments and have met many great friends and players. But my cash game lists is pretty bare atm and I could do with having some good players to discuss hands with. Almost every interview I have read/heard, that focuses on a good player emphasises the importance of having other good players to discuss strategy and hands with. Just this week I have found someone playing a few levels above me who is willing to help me out. I have already taken advantage of this generosity and will continue to do so. Anyone out there who wants some donks skype/aim/msn hit me up :).
The next on the list is making use of TRAINING SITES. Numerous times during my tournament days I signed up to training sites and just failed to use them anywhere near enough. I currently have some videos from numerous sites on my hard drive ;), so am currently making my way through those. I'm also a member of deuces cracked at the moment. So I am determined to use my membership this time. I am aiming for one video per week as a minimum but should hopefully hit more. I'm currently working my way through the Coaching Kristy series, which is vet helpful so far. For the time being I am happy with DC but as I move up I may well look to get a card runners or blue fire subscription. Although some have advised wait until I'm at 200nl before I get BFP, so I will most likely take that advice unless anything changes in the meantime.
Those are definitely the main two things I want to be working on. I have never been great at getting into pokerstove and things like that but I do want to get a better understanding of the math, so maybe I will look into theory vids on DC or get a book on the subject. I'm also wanting to start reading some hands from the forums of DC and 2p2.
OK that's all I got.
Peace!
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Live Pro in Operation!
I mentioned in my last post that I had been playing and enjoying playing live poker over the past few weeks. The title of the post is a slight joke but for the last 3 weeks I have made more money playing live than I have for the rest of the week at work having only played one or two 8+ hour session(s).
As much as I like playing online poker and find live poker frustrating fairly often the lifestyle still appeals to me. I really think I could enjoy being a live pro. I just enjoy being in a casino watching the gamblers and people sweating four figure rolls on roulette. I just find the atmosphere amazing and it never fails to entertain me anytime.
So who knows maybe live low stakes NL is the way forward for me :). In all seriousness I will always play online but I will probably play live at least once a week, as it seems to be just so soft. My volume in terms of number of hands will obviously suffer but I believe my bottom line will increase.
Will also be playing live tournaments here and there too, so a bink in one of those would help build the live roll dramatically. I guess that's about all I've got to say for the time being.
Peace!
As much as I like playing online poker and find live poker frustrating fairly often the lifestyle still appeals to me. I really think I could enjoy being a live pro. I just enjoy being in a casino watching the gamblers and people sweating four figure rolls on roulette. I just find the atmosphere amazing and it never fails to entertain me anytime.
So who knows maybe live low stakes NL is the way forward for me :). In all seriousness I will always play online but I will probably play live at least once a week, as it seems to be just so soft. My volume in terms of number of hands will obviously suffer but I believe my bottom line will increase.
Will also be playing live tournaments here and there too, so a bink in one of those would help build the live roll dramatically. I guess that's about all I've got to say for the time being.
Peace!
Sunday 2 January 2011
Fresh Start.
My first post of 2011! After this I will now have blog entries that span across 2 years (ZOMFG)! Although writing a blog at 15.00 Eastern on a Sunday is never a good sign, for a poker player that is. I have mentioned a few times in this blog that since switching to cash I have struggled to put in long sessions. Unfortunately that is still the case.
I'm determined though to change this ASAP. I'm trying to force myself to post results here at then end of each month, so hopefully this will help me grind harder, so I can show you pretty graphs. Since switching from VC to paddy I obviously have a new SN, so everything from VC I am going to "put down to experience". I played my first 30k (ish) cash hands there and made a relatively small profit after rake back (Oh Dear!). But as I say this was me learning cash, so I am relatively pleased.
So I have afresh screen name, a fresh month, a fresh year and a fresh decade! Time to make some big changes, I really hope 2011 is the year I can "turn pro" or play for a living is my preferred term. If I don't manage to make it this year I want to be damn close.
I have had lots of fun over the holidays, got in some live poker here and there. In fact I'm really enjoying live at the moment and planning on going to play some cash and a tournament tomorrow :). Super fishy, which makes it fun and profitable.
That's about all that's going on for now but look out for a new me. Hopefully a bunch more hands and should be some end of month results, unless everything goes tits up that is!
Peace.
I'm determined though to change this ASAP. I'm trying to force myself to post results here at then end of each month, so hopefully this will help me grind harder, so I can show you pretty graphs. Since switching from VC to paddy I obviously have a new SN, so everything from VC I am going to "put down to experience". I played my first 30k (ish) cash hands there and made a relatively small profit after rake back (Oh Dear!). But as I say this was me learning cash, so I am relatively pleased.
So I have afresh screen name, a fresh month, a fresh year and a fresh decade! Time to make some big changes, I really hope 2011 is the year I can "turn pro" or play for a living is my preferred term. If I don't manage to make it this year I want to be damn close.
I have had lots of fun over the holidays, got in some live poker here and there. In fact I'm really enjoying live at the moment and planning on going to play some cash and a tournament tomorrow :). Super fishy, which makes it fun and profitable.
That's about all that's going on for now but look out for a new me. Hopefully a bunch more hands and should be some end of month results, unless everything goes tits up that is!
Peace.
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