BooG690 Lerns Zi Pokerz

So I'm down in Tampa (got myself some nice color). As always, I check the forums for interesting hands. And I've realized that I need to graduate to the Full Ring forum here at FTR. Of course I will be checking the BC every now and then...but I will be focusing more on the Full Ring hands. That's really all I wanted to say. Later all!

Edit: Shitty first post on page 4.

Seat 2: GANGSTA_MONK ($29.50 in chips)
Seat 4: K.T.A.-1985 ($5 in chips)
Seat 5: Suppinho ($5 in chips)
Seat 6: miar1234 ($9.75 in chips)
Seat 7: Don V 2009 ($77.80 in chips)
Seat 8: BooG690 ($25 in chips)
Seat 9: Poker_Muzz ($25 in chips)
BooG690: posts small blind $0.10
Poker_Muzz: posts big blind $0.25
klaba_ffm: sits out
4dgamble: sits out

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to Poker_Muzz [X X]
GANGSTA_MONK: folds
K.T.A.-1985: folds
Suppinho: folds
miar1234: folds
Don V 2009: folds
BooG690: raises $0.75 to $1
Poker_Muzz: raises $2 to $3
BooG690: raises $9 to $12
Poker_Muzz: folds

You may want to adjust your 4b sizing, allows me to play my range pretty perfectly. Not enough hands on you to conclude you 4b bluff yet - but ur never 4b bluffing when u make it 12 here pre.

Thanks Muzzard. Definitely appreciate the time you took out to help me out.

As for an update, I call 3bets too much. That is all.

In the midst of a downswing, one starts to wonder if they ever really beat the game.

I'm starting to doubt I ever did. However, reading articles shows that this mentality is standard. Hopefully I get my mind right soon.

I'm heading to Coney Island tomorrow...hopefully that'll help get my mind right and give the deck time to reshuffle and heaterize me.

Calling too many 3bets could be a huge leak. You may want to think about some leaks you have. Variance could be playing a big part but make sure it's not your play too.

I'm consciously making an effort to stop calling 3bets.

Muzzard and I had a conversation and I see that 3bets should RARELY be called. With that thought in mind, I'll be calling 3bets a lot less! Thanks a lot Kmind for the advice.

yo boog690 let's set up a sweat session some time, I'll yell at you to fold to those 3bets and we can discuss things etc.

So I will be reviewing my stats a lot and posting small snippets of leaks that I am finding. Here we go:

My 3bet value range is totally skewed. For one thing, I found that I am 3betting mid-PPs. The funny part is that I KNOW mid-PP's are pretty shitty to be 3betting for value...so why am I doing it? Again, recognizing a leak is the most important part.

"OWN PPL POSTFLOP" - M2M

Keep up the good work man. Those are def. leaks that will increase your winrate a ton!

Originally Posted by BooG690

In the midst of a downswing, one starts to wonder if they ever really beat the game.

Originally Posted by BooG690

My 3bet value range is totally skewed. For one thing, I found that I am 3betting mid-PPs. The funny part is that I KNOW mid-PP's are pretty shitty to be 3betting for value...so why am I doing it?

As coincidence would have it, I just recently wrote, among other things, an opinion on downswings and "3 betting" @ $25NL and lower - look @ #'s 3 and 5 respectively. The cliff notes version is that you don't want to think of yourself "in the midst of a downswing". Know that the very next hand could be equally good or bad. I totally understand the feelings you've expressed and maybe YOU don't actually think you're in one, but when you say you're IN a downswing, that's a red flag to me. As for the 3 betting, whether or not you're getting the results you want, 3 betting is so far down the list of things you can probably improve that I would recommend staying out of the 3bet, 4bet, 5bet game. Work on the ranges game, value bet game, starting hand versus position game, relative hand strength game, and many other games before that one. Good luck.

So after reading Jason's (GREAT) post on his blog and making a conscious effort on working on my leaks, the past few sessions have gone really well. There was actually another leak that should have been obvious:

I was too damn loose and playing a high-variance game of poker.

It has been working for me in the past...so I figure I wouldn't change it. But with high-variance poker, you should expect bad downswings...and I simply don't have the mental strength and bankroll to withstand those. Additionally, playing a loose game of poker is UNNECESSARY as I'm still getting paid off at my tables.

So, basically, I clamped down, played tight, and opened more tables. Why more tables? Playing more tables helps with my patience in that I see more hands and will, of course, need to play tighter.

Solid poker is good poker. Hopefully the good vibes continue!

So I'm continuing to play solid, tight poker and I continue to get good results. I had another good session tonight.

With my tighter play, I am in fewer tough spots postflop and am still getting action on my big hands (perhaps because they're HUDs are still showing my old stats).

Downswings cause you to study yourself and identify your leaks. My laggy play should have been easy to identify, but I was stubborn and I thought it was OK. Deanglow's stat post showed me that, even at the higher stakes, tight is good. Also, talking to M2M and Muzzard showed me that there's no reason to play too laggy. Thanks to all of you.

However, with my tighter play, my aggression seemed to have gone down (and it was already quite low). I believe I probably should be raising a bit more postflop (something I rarely do). Also, my red line is tanking...but I don't really give a shit. Just a funny side effect of tighter play, I guess.

All in all, my confidence is creeping back and I am enthusiastic to hit the poker tables again. It's great how much help people I met through this site have helped. That's what makes FTR the best poker forum on the internet.

Enough sappy stuff...I'm outta here.

Nice reflection post.

I'd like to say one thing: lol at trying to play lag at low stakes, look at what the biggest winners are running...most of them are tight, with a few exceptions.

Oh and you're a splarm.

I'd like to think of myself as semi-Laggy, but I'm probably more semi-tight. What is 23/17 considered? What were you running? What are you aiming for or expect to see with your new play?

As you guys may (or may not) know, this month started off pretty rough. Variance hit, I played like shit, and my confidence went down the drain. I obviously had leaks and I had to patch them up as well as I can. My laggy play was causing me to spew money and it took this downswing to see it. I tightened up my play (basically) overnight.

This night was July 21st, 2009. I wanted to see how I've been running after this little "turning point." Well, this is where this post becomes a brag:





Sure, I've been running quite hot...but I'm playing damn well. I've been making a point of rarely calling 3bets. I've been 3betting lightly in situations that call for it. I'm keeping pots small when I hold marginal hands and I'm not being shy about going for villain's stack when I hold a monster (this results in small losing pots and big winning ones). But most importantly, I CLAMPED DOWN and stopped playing like a lagtard.

Originally Posted by Jason

I'd like to think of myself as semi-Laggy, but I'm probably more semi-tight. What is 23/17 considered? What were you running? What are you aiming for or expect to see with your new play?

I was running 18/12. I consider 23/17 pretty damn laggy...but to each their own. With my new style, I expect to face less tough decision postflop. I also won't let myself spew as much with marginal hands and kickers.

I'm going to begin to post more hands of scenarios I feel are troublesome for me. Hopefully this improves my game as well. Additionally, I bought both Professional No Limit and Theory & Practice to learn some new theories on poker.

All is well so far...hopefully the next three days go well to end this rocky month.

Hey BooG, can't express how grateful i am for the sweat session. It seemed to put a few things in perspective for me. Ship the +8 buy in day. Hopefully ill be out of this hell hole soon enough! Good luck with your game get up to that 50NL soon!

Ahhh...July is finally over. I've never been happier to see a new month. Here's how it ended up:



And take away $100 from that due to that prop bet with M2M and I'm only up about $41 for the month. Well, at least I completed a comeback...so I'll take a breakeven month.

I have a good feeling about August. I got two new books and I plan on getting a few sweat sessions going with players better than me. Hopefully that'll help me identify more leaks that I may have.

I probably won't be getting Gold Star this month being that I will be at Full Tilt clearing that "Big Bonus," thing. Also, I will be going to Tampa again for a week. If all goes well and I reach 50NL, I plan on going to UltimateBet to clear their sign-up bonus. I may not play on PokerStars at all this month (unless they entice me with a bonus)!

Goals for August
Move up to 50NL
Clear FTP Bonus
Don't lose prop bets to M2M
Put in more hands than in July

very nice comeback on the graf

So I haven't posted here in a while. I actually haven't been playing much poker. I've been training for a job in sales and the commute has been killing me.

Also, I withdrew all my money from PokerStars on July 31st. I did so in anticipation of a PokerStars reload bonus for the WCOOP. I was also going to put some money on Full Tilt to get their "Biggest Bonus Ever" promotion. However, I did I pretty stupid thing with part of my roll. I deposited a bit onto Absolute Poker.

The players are pretty damn fishy on Absolute Poker. The 25NL there plays a lot like the 10NL on PokerStars. However, there is only like 9-10 25NL tables running, even at prime time. There are a lot of 50NL tables at Absolute Poker. I will admit...I tried the 50NL tables on Absolute Poker. Funny enough, they play a lot like the 25NL tables on PokerStars.

However, the software is absolute trash. It freezes up a lot and the lobby does not really refresh itself. Additionally, the bonuses are SUPER SLOW to clear. I will probably clear a bit of money and withdraw most. HEM does not work at the new 7-2 tables (which are kind of interesting tbh since these players take the 7-2 prop bet way too far)...so that also sucks (though it gives me a chance to see exactly how much I rely on the HUD with 4 tables running).I guess I had to experiment to see...but I will be staying with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.

Anyways, I was right about PokerStars doing a little reload bonus for their WCOOP. I guess they're calling me back. Thank you PokerStars. You answered my bitching and whining.

As for the pokers, my bankroll is increasing and I'm gaining more confidence. I'm reading Theory and Practice. It's a great book for anyone who hasn't read it. There is a bit dense...so please don't breeze through it. That's all for now.

Edit: The HUD for HEM works for the 7-2 tables on Absolute Poker now. The HEM customer service is simply amazing. The 7-2 tables came out yesterday and today's beta fixes the non-import bug.

Hey BooG, I need a prop bet. SHALL WE? I play $60K hands and you give me $100! Sounds fair, amirite?!?

FWIW, I've never played more than 40K hands in a monf.

Originally Posted by Illfavor

Hey BooG, I need a prop bet. SHALL WE? I play $60K hands and you give me $100! Sounds fair, amirite?!?

FWIW, I've never played more than 40K hands in a monf.

...Ahhh, I've missed the IRC.

Remember that tilt can go both ways. Some players change their game drastically due to weaker opponents. This is OK...but be sure not to change your game so much that you are, in essence, spewing your buy-ins away:
- Do NOT begin to try and win EVERY pot. This will inevitably lead to spew.
- Do NOT begin to play hands OOP because you think you are THAT much better than your opponents.
- And remember that your opponents get the same amount of monster hands as everybody else. Do NOT fall into the trap of betting into them because you think they are always weak.

Also, I've been noticing a lot of microstakes players in the IRC discuss their winnings of the past hour(s) and day(s).
Guys...nobody gives a shit. Why not? Because it simply doesn't matter. You're looking at the short-term part of the game. Please remember that poker is a shitty short-term game. Your winrate in the past day or two is totally irrelevant. There is no point in even looking. If you MUST, look at the end of each session (but remember, each session CANNOT be a winning session). If you really want to challenge yourself, look at the end of each week or month. I personally take it month-by-month...though this is ALSO too small of a sample to tell anything from.
Looking at your winrate and how your session is going is simply a side effect of wanting to climb up the stakes to quickly. You are, most likely, hung up on the idea of making all this money to get to 5NL/10NL ASAP. That time will come. Be patient. Learn to value bet at these smaller stakes and you will inevitably hit the 10NL and even 25NL.

As for me, I'm doing rather well. I will be depositing on Full Tilt and back on PokerStars to claim my bonus monies. I feel rather focused at the tables. Coolers and bad beats aren't bothering me much anymore. I feel very good mentally.

I will be rereading Theory & Practice. After I've done so, I will move onto Professional No Limit. That is all for now boys. LATER!

Nice blurb.

The whole obsession over short term results is interesting. I used to check my win rate/graph etc all the time. But as we evolve it becomes less tempting - to the point where I haven't looked in a few days, and also have almost no idea what my win rate or $ won is over the last 10-12k hands I've played.

One of the biggest things to help this is remove all the win rate and dollar per hour related stats from our databases so we can't look at them. We might be on edge a bit for the first few days since we can't check those numbers we just love to stare at, but eventually it just becomes easier to the point where caring about them is non-existent (to a point of course )

I feel like I've improved in this area, and without removing those stats I probably wouldn't have. TY spoonitnow for another great tip.

BTW nice 72o hand you showed me, post imo.

lol at 72o you linked while i slept. Started an OP stop by some time. And keep pwning this here game

So I just posted on how we shouldn't really worry about how our sessions go and such...but I haven't bragged much in this OP. Here goes:

I Can Haz 1200bb At Table?


Ship the 8BI day!

So 100nls is in sights. Very nice dar BooGs

Very nice sir.

Comments of Absolute Poker? Withdrawal times/RB coolness/ease of bonus clearance, etc? I believe it will be my next site after I clear up a few bonuses on Stars and FTP, so I'm gunning for your bitch ass.

jesus christ nh!

So over the past two sessions I've been playing like shit. No bad beats, no coolers, I've just been playing like shit. I'm trying to cram some hands in at the end of this month...but I refuse to continue playing when I'm not playing up to par. I'm ending my sessions early because I'm sucking it up.

I've been winning this month. I believe this has gotten to my head and I've begun to widen my range at every position. I'm beginning to play laggier since I am letting my winning get to my head. I need to clamp down and play solid poker again. I seem to be having this problem (of loosening up) every month and it just ends up in me spewing money. However, I caught the cancer early this time (only lost a buy-in and a half) and I will continue to play solid poker next session. WOOT!

I hate you. $2k BRaments?
*sighs*
*turns on the UBER BOOM SWITCH*
*cracks knuckles*

Time to play some catch up imo.

O yea, I'm back from boot camp. WOOOP WOOOOOP WOOOOOOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MUST. TIGHTEN. UP. AGAIN.

Stop making congical visits to the local prison and you wouldnt have this issue ldo.

So I withdrew my money from Absolute Poker. That didn't take long, huh?

It took me long enough to realize that the BBJ rake was killing my sessions. I would literally be up 3 buy-ins only to see it dwindle away without playing many big pots. I researched on 2+2 and found out that many players were having this problem. I guess I didn't realize this until recently because I've been running super hot before then. Moral of the story: do more research before switching poker rooms.

Anywho, I'm back on Pokerstars and couldn't be happier (poker-wise). My computer is a piece of shit and couldn't take Absolute Poker's crappy software. My computer would go into lag-mode as soon as I opened up AP and HEM at the same time. I will be waiting to receive my check from Absolute Poker to move back up to 50NL on PokerStars.

As for real life, things aren't really going as planned. Being that this is the only blog-thingie I have, I will have to use this to vent (DISCLAIMER: please ignore the following two paragraphs if you don't feel like reading me bitch & moan). As some of you have seen in the FTR Commune, I have no fucking clue what to do with my life. My mom's pushing me to go into medical school...so I feel like telling her to stfu and let me live my life. I feel like my life is in danger of becoming a waste. I've done well in school forever, busted my ass, and received my college diploma...and for what? This fucking college degree has gotten me absolutely nothing. I don't want to invest eight more years of time and hundreds of thousands of dollars into something I'm unsure about. Why didn't I major in something useful like computer science or accounting (I have an Economics degree fwiw)?

Also, I've stopped being active and have been in my house a lot. I'm going to have to change that...I'm not happy with that. However, that can easily be fixed.

Well, that's it for now I guess. I'll check in at the end of the month for another update.

Your in a similar spot that I was in 8-9 years ago.
Do NOT go into med school for mom....you'll hate it. You have to do it for you. You're the one who will be studying, working, exhausted and in debt (at least for a while) not her. If you like what you will have to do in Med, then do it.

Being active is one of the biggest things you can do to stay positive. I was in a similar boat. I had a degree and no job, I started sitting around a lot and you get more anxious and somewhat depressed. If you get out of the house, run, go meet friends, anythig it will make you feel 100% better about the situation.

If school is an option, look into a university/college program book for something that interests you and that you feel you could make a living on.

All I can say is, right now you're still young, and even though this seems like a huge thing right now, 5-10 years down the road it wont be. I'm happy where I am but 8 years ago I had no clue I'd be here, you just never know what happens.

Baller house - Canada - 1 year - Save up roll.

I've heard good things about "48 Days to the Work You Love". Try reading that and see if it helps your outlook and plan.

LOLPOKERDEGENGAMBLINGLIFESTYLEFTW

OK, so it's been long as hell before I updated this bad boy...and a LOT has happened during that time. I never really got to post my August graph...but later late than never (if this was a shitty graph, I definitely wouldn't have just "remembered" to post it):

Yeah, I know, it's late. I don't care though.

Anywho, as I may have said earlier in this thread, I was going to withdraw to pay off my credit cards and kill the interest I am constantly paying every month. Obviously the cashout curse hit me and I went on a major downswing (reasoning to be quasi-explained later). With my smaller bankroll and my downswinging, I chose to move down to 25NL (which I am currently at). I wanted to regain my confidence. I lost about four buy-ins, was breakeven for a while, and dug myself out of that hole and currently trying to salvage the month. And that's where I stand.

***DISCLAIMER: BITCHING TO FOLLOW***
[BITCHING]As for the whole doctor thing I was going through, I finally told my mother it just wasn't going to work out. I simply didn't want to do it and I had to explain it to her. I am currently attending school to start a computer science major. She seems disappointed, but she accepts it. [start the "doesn't get along with brother" theme of this thread] My brother, on the other hand, is being pretty ignorant and closed-minded about the whole thing. He's worried I'm not going to find a job and doesn't understand how I'm going to live with such a "small" salary. He honestly, TRULY thinks money equals happiness. That TILTS the crap out of me...

Here's some background for my next little anecdote. My brother was basically my best friend until the age of seven. At that point, I guess he became a teenager (he was 13) and totally forgot about me. I was basically neglected and he would even sometimes make fun of me in front of his friends. He began to verbally abuse me for everything I did. Two remarks that stick out are: "Why do you walk/talk like that?" The funny thing is, I walk and talk like everybody else does...but somehow my brother found the way I do it to be "weird, idiotic," etc. (For future reference to those still reading, don't make fun of the way a person walks, talks, or anything else they cannot help, especially at a young age) I almost felt as if everything I did was wrong, even though I gave the effort to do it right. It got to the point where I avoided speaking or being by him; it's been like this for years. Our relationship is currently broken beyond repair. To this day, the verbal bashing he used to give affects me a bit (especially if somebody comments on my doing something ridiculously wrong when I am giving a conscious effort). Anywho, today my brother made me feel like I was some kind of weirdo again. Basically ruined my day.

Additionally, tonight I was grinding with renewed confidence and feeling good. My brother walks in, tilts the shit out of me, and I had to end my session. I lost three stacks in the process...but I can't blame that on the tilt. They were mere coolers (OK, one was due to tilt), but losing my buy-ins and having to deal with my brother tilted the shit out of me. Session ended early, I'm pretty pissed off, and I want to move out of this house. I seriously don't get along with him and it's made me a miserable person towards others (my social life is on a downswing btw). When he was studying in DR, I was much more pleasant. Now that he's back home, I'm a lot more irritable towards my mom and others. I want to get out, but now that I'm going back to school, it's just not financially feasible. *shrugs* I'll figure something out.

Why am I telling random internet peoples this? It's easier to get these kind of things off your chest on a blog that is yours. Also, this is basically an anonymous outlet. Nobody I know IRL reads this or will ever read this. I've always found telling people my problems a sign of weakness and I never really want to bother people with my problems (I'm also afraid people won't care or disregard it...this is probably something else due to my brother).[/BITCHING]

Anyway, I guess I feel a bit better after writing all this. I'm gonna get my ass to sleep and hopefully be fresh for school tomorrow. LATER!

After listening to you discuss things with me in the IRC you seem like you've regained direction and know what you want out of your life/job etc. It sucks that your family still hasn't come around man. I can't truly understand because I'm not going through what you are but I've been in similar situations where I can put myself in your shoes and see how other people just don't get it. It can be really frustrating. Fwiw you're in a field where you can make really good money. Just because there is some other (few) occupations out there that pay more doesn't mean shit. Those jobs aren't for people who aren't 100% into them and dedicated. Okay enough late night rambling.

It's really late and I didn't plan on reading this much but when I didn't want to stop since I opened your blog for a reason lol. Message me on IRC anytime you wanna just chat it up - poker/life/women, whatever.

This is what blogs are for man, let it all out. More interesting that way anyway, plus you're more likely to pick up bits and pieces of advice.

dude, get into fitness prop bets!
and can you somehow encourage your bro to move out? like, he's late 20s or something right?

Originally Posted by BooG690

With my smaller bankroll and my downswinging, I chose to move down to 25NL (which I am currently at).

nice work. Move back up as soon as you feel it's appropriate though.

Hang in there Boog. I mean things could be worse. At least you don't live with that Kramer guy.

Grind pokerz and work hard at it. Who knows; you might become a 100 or 200NL reg and be able to afford rent in a place of your own in no time!

As the others have said, this is the place for this stuff. We who care will read it and attempt to help in whatever way possible, from poker advice to just shooting the shit. Our lives are full of stress, and compound that with our choice of very stressful hobbies it can quickly become too much. Find your outlet and use it. Know that, despite me ribbing you, I'm here I you need a friend to talk to.

Awww.... BooGer Sorry shits going to teh gay in IRLaments. I wish I could be there more often for you dude, but you know if you ever catch me on IRC or AIM I'm there for ya to make perverted jokes with. And just think about Canada this spring yo. That should like AUTO make you feel better. And shit, me n you had that talk about me being scared to go back to the Marines on IRC, so its like time for me to reciprocate(sp?) imo.

Hope shit starts going better dude. <3

Well, shit's going pretty well right now. I'm still learning to play poker and am STILL at 25NL. That's fine though.

For (at least) the rest of the month, I will be playing 6max (as suggested by a fellow FTRer). I find playing 6max better suits me as I always seem to stray towards laggier play. Like a dumbass, I started with 6-tabling. Today, I chose to tone it down to 4-tables. With only 4-tables, I have a great feel for the tables. There is no need to 6-table if I am looking to strive for bigger and better things. I must learn the game by 4-tabling before trying to get more hands in for a greater hourly winrate. I don't want to comment as to how I am doing as it is irrelevant given the sample size.

Life is going well too. I actually enjoy going to school now (I never ever did). Now that I see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is more enjoyable. As a pre-med, I never enjoyed it knowing medical school would be looming.

And now the reason for this blog post: a proposed prop bet. This bet would run all the month of October. Additionally, I will not be taking this prop bet with a non-FTR-reg. It is basically a prop bet to get me to start exercising (I know, I shouldn't need a prop bet to start, but I'm a degen, what can I say?) [I would like to thank daven and Robb for this idea btw]. Well, whomever I bet with and I will be competing against each other. The competition will be who can run/jog more miles in the month of October. Every mile completed will be worth ~$10 (obviously negotiable). Whoever runs more miles in the month of October wins the difference in miles. For example, if I run 30 miles and Player X runs 25 miles, I win $50 from Player X (if every mile were worth $10).

FINE PRINT: I would like to formally challenge Carroters to this (I think he was talking about wanting to begin exercising in his OP). I reserve the right to decline challenges from players (No way I'm taking this bet from daven, jyms, m2m, etc.). Obviously other fitness prop bets can be added in conjunction with this one. The prop bet will run from October 1st, 2009 12:00am to October 31st, 2009 11:59pm IN EACH PLAYER'S RESPECTIVE TIME ZONE.

Let me know who's up for some props!

This is an interesting idea Booger. I have one reservation with it though. How the hell are we going to be able to prove how many miles we've jogged? I mean I trust a lot of the regs on FTR are honerable, including you, but I mean it just seems sketchy to ship monies to someone you don't know IRL based on their word alone.

I guess you pose a good point. It works well in theory...but it breaks down in practice. We can make the difference in miles to be $1 each...or even just start an OP for bragging rights. I don't know...I just know I need to start jogging/running again.

you only cheat yourself and your developement by lying about a prop bet which by the way, counts for an insignificant amount of money.

just my 2c

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

you only cheat yourself and your developement by lying about a prop bet which by the way, counts for an insignificant amount of money.

just my 2c

LDO.

The money really isn't the point (which is why I'd be willing to make it a $1 even). It is simply a symbol of the bragging rights I've gained throughout the month.

Things are going good. 6max is treating me well...I feel comfortable playing there. But here's an idea for myself:

PLAN YOUR FUCKING HANDS!

lol, I can hz prop bets? $100/mile imo

You should've been included in that list of people I say "Hell no," to.

You would think, but no one remembers poor, old Dustin anymores.... fucking Marine Corps. :P

Nice to see my blog all the way on the bottom. I've been sleeping on my blog since I don't find it very interesting to write about poker especially since, if I write daily, it would probably end up being very results-oriented and that's what I'm aiming NOT to do. In an effort to become more results-oriented, I took that shitty bankroll tracker out of my signature and replaced it with a much sexier signature.

After speaking to Dranger about the whole idea of blogs today, I've decided to use this blog to chronicle my real-life happenings as they connect to poker. Also, I would like to at LEAST have my monthly graphs here so I can follow my progress in case I ever lose my database (and it's nice to have it all in one place).


Yup, my September graph...in the middle of October. My worst month ever...and it all ties in with my real-life. As has been written in my blog, I was going through IRL shit and basically tilted throughout the entire first half of September. No bad beats, no coolers, just good ol' fashioned playing when I shouldn't have been playing. However, I didn't play much this first half, which I think may have been a good thing. However, with all the crap that was on my mind, my game was pretty damn swongy and I didn't allow myself to string together consistent wins. Bad poker month was rooted in a bad real-life month. That is not at all a coincidence.

As for October, it started out meh but I've gotten my shit together. I will not be commenting on exactly how I'm doing (as it doesn't matter). Also, I don't plan on commenting on moving up. I probably won't have one set day to move up. I will transition myself into 50NL when I see fit.

With school, poker has taken the backseat. I am not happy about this very much. I love the game...I love learning the game, I love thinking about the game, and I love the positive effects the game brings on real-life. For instance, there are days where I choose not to go out to the bar and drink (wasting money and brain cells) to stay in and play poker. I've cut my drinking way down and replaced it with poker. This is positive any way you cut it.

Also, I began to exercise and try to get in some type of fucking shape. I actually want to put this priority in front of poker as well (as it doesn't take much time to go outside and jog 2-3 miles). With exercise comes better tilt control and a more positive mindset (this includes increased confidence). There is no reason I shouldn't be running every day...but I have to keep my eye on the ball (that's been a bit tough for me to do).

I will be setting goals for myself both in poker and in real-life and writing these goals here in this blog. The goals will start small and hopefully snowball into something bigger. For starters, I will be going for a 2+ mile run once this rain gets the fuck out. Also, I will be cutting down on my portion sizes of food. As Americans (I can't really comment on other countries), we're used to this disproportionate serving size of food. I must make a conscious effort to break this habit. Also, I've been trying to sleep 7+ hours per day and have been doing great. However, I've been slacking on that goal. This goal is back on the list. Three small goals. As for my bigger goal, I hope to regularly run in 5K races by 2010.

For more on real-life and its effect on poker, read this article: http://www.flopturnriver.com/poker-and-life.php

Shameless plugs ftw.

Good luck in all things, life and poker sir. It's always nice to be mentioned in a blog imo.

I should do the same thign you're doing with the fitness. I've been slackign the last 3-5 days.

So one misconception about the idea of blogs that I was wrong about...I felt that it'd be weird to post more than once per day and that it's necessary to post at least once per day. Fuck that, I post when I want.

Anywho, just came back from a nice job. New York is freezing right now though; so my lungs weren't feeling to gravy. I have to buy warmer clothes for my torso (any suggestions?) and start rocking the skull cap when I go out for a jog. Other than that, it was a success.

I'm on a hot tea kick right now...which I think is a good thing. I don't know much about tea except that it's delicious. I'm thinking about ordering a good amount of green tea online (again, any suggestions?). I will also put the lower portions aspect of my goal into practice starting today and hopefully it will snowball into an easy habit (kinda like when I forced myself to like water).

As for poker, I have work tonight & tomorrow and a midterm on Monday. I hope to squeeze some in this weekend, but it isn't necessarily on my priorities list. If worst comes to worst, I'm back to playing regular poker by next week.

That is all.

WOOOOP

And lol at forcing yourself to like water. Try drinking hot ass canteen water while you're hiking and your mouth is filled with dust/dirt from everyone dragging their feet so you're basically drinking warm mud. Tap water = the nizzles nowadays.

Alright, well today was my last midterm for a while. I pretty much pwned it and that pumped me up. I got back home with a shitload of energy so I think I'm gonna jog it off. I'll probably be jogging three miles instead of my usual two right about when I'm finished writing this. Being that I only had three hours of sleep last night since I was studying, I'll probably be crashing later today.

With midterms over, I'll have more time to focus on poker. Everything is going well on that side of things. I paid off a large chunk of my credit card debt today and it looks like I may be out of debt before 2010. It makes me happy that I won't be making a gay resolution such as "pay off my debt" or "get healthy" (I hate the idea of resolutions fwiw). If anything, my resolution will basically be maintenance, which isn't really a resolution at all. Life is on an upswing again.

Good to hear it all going okay booger. Upswings in life are definitely nice. Keep on heading in the right direction. I need to start jogging again ive turned into a lardass the past year. haha

I like where things are going here.

First and foremost, I lolpwned my C++ midterm. I took it on Tuesday and felt uberconfident in my pwnage. We got our exams back today and I got a 40...out of 40 bitches. BOOM HEADSHOT!

So my body seems to be getting accustomed to my daily (quasi-daily) jogging. Admittedly, I was tired as shit when I first started. It sucked. By the time my day finished, I didn't really have any juice to focus on poker. I was focused on relaxing in bed. As my body gets used to my daily running, it becomes easier to come back home, shower, and keep my day rolling.
I think my body is beginning to get addicted to the exercise (yes, that really happens), which is a great thing. By jogging, I get all my energy out and am not as excited (emotionally; in the negative sense of the word) to play poker. Instead of getting pissed when I lose or pumped when I win, my emotions remain neutral. This is probably the most important change to my poker game as of late.
Lastly, I'm on a crazy tea kick. Tea is fucking amazing. I seriously recommend it to all on FTR. Drinking boiling water takes time (it's fucking hot). Sitting and slowly drinking tea is more relaxing than it sounds. Also, the caffeine kick is pretty sweet (get over it, caffeine isn't as bad for you as you think). I just drank some tea, wrote a bit for FTR, and am ready to run. I plan on getting back and playing some poker (playing at ~4pm is pretty good since the players are lolbad at that time). After playing, studying some programming will ensue and the day will end with more poker.

Since some may be wondering, poker is going well. I should note now that I probably won't be making as many poker updates as a "poker blog" should. There will be no talk of buy-ins or money until the end of each month (maybe). Those of you who I speak with will know how I am doing (kinda). I am doing this to keep my emotions as neutral as possible. To quote Primetime:

Originally Posted by Micro2Macro

I like where things are going here.

Quite the interesting weekend...not too proud about it. The weekend started out great, I was getting my work done, playing well, and enjoying myself. My birthday was on Saturday where I basically told myself I was getting drunk. I ended up getting sick (though I think it was the flavored liquor that did it) by the end of the night and felt like total shit the next day.

I've almost gotten to the point where I feel getting drunk is a complete waste. I forget everything of the night before, I'm hungover like crazy the next day, and I'm just disappointed in myself. However, what I can say, is that I usually never drink like this. I'm usually quite responsible and only drink three or four beers (max). I guess since it was my birthday, I saw it as an opportunity to get a little extreme. However, I'm too old for that shit. I’m 23 and I probably should start acting it. I’m pretty damn mature for my age, but I wouldn’t mind cutting out my reckless drinking (even if it is just once a year).

I probably wouldn’t be as disappointed in myself had it not been for the fact that I was speaking to this girl at the bar (and she was basically in the bag). However, being that I’m an asshole, I got too drunk and probably made a fool out of myself (not that I would remember). So again, getting wasted is exactly that, a waste. Even though I never really get drunk unless it’s my birthday, but even once a year is still too much.

I didn’t run at all on my birthday (Saturday) or Sunday. I’m pretty upset about that as well. Losing a day because I’m hungover is unacceptable. Perhaps it’s just the birthday blues and the feeling of getting older. I haven’t achieved much and I’m actually a bit backwards (being that I had to return to school after realizing medicine wasn’t for me).

tl;dr
1) BooG is getting older
2) BooG shouldn’t be getting drunk
3) BooG shouldn’t NOT be getting the girl because he chose to get drunk
4) BooG shouldn’t be drinking any flavored liquors
5) BooG needs to be running every day

Perhaps it’s just the birthday blues and the feeling of getting older

Holy shit son....you just turned 23? And you feel old? Fuck me......

I was in a spot at your age, I finished University and had no job for over a year in my field. Everything just came together one day and life took off from there....

23 is young and frankly most people are older when they "achieve" something in todays standards.... People are settling in and getting serious at a later age nowadays....later to start careers, later to marry, have kids etc...
It's more important that you realized that medicine wasnt for you, before you shelled out an assload of $$ and time to go in a field you dont enjoy...

As for staying active, cudos to you (sp?). Dont beat yourself up if you miss a day but I find its very important to feel like you are taking life seriously and staying in shape always helps me.
When I miss a chunk of time and don't exercise, I feel more lazy in general.....when I'm active, I'm more happy with myself...

kudos imo

Originally Posted by BooG690

tl;dr
1) BooG is getting older - agree
2) BooG shouldn’t be getting drunk - disagree
3) BooG shouldn’t NOT be getting the girl because he chose to get drunk - AGREE
4) BooG shouldn’t be drinking any flavored liquors - ldo
5) BooG needs to be running every day - 5+ days a week

ps, 23 old is kinda funny...

Alright. Another update from me. October sucked balls poker-wise. I was running hot in 50NL, but once that ended, it all toppled down. I simply cannot beat 50NL. 25NL comes easy but 50NL is kicking my ass. So I'm just going to bitch and whine about how I can't beat a stake.

Psyche. Fuck that. I'm gonna do something about it. I seemed to balance out the studying (school), poker play, and jogging in October. It's been OK...but I forgot one vital part: studying for poker. So I'm going to add that to my set of balls to juggle. I will require myself to study poker before any poker play begins (unless I have a day off from school; I will allow myself to play poker in the mornings, don't ask me why). Also, I've gotten myself a coach who should help me make the transition from 25NL into 50NL when I choose to take another shot.

Real-life is going well. I'm owning my computer programming class and linear algebra is beginning to make sense (I'm sure it'll stop making sense again soon though). I've got a bunch of social events I want to attend in November and work is also picking up so that's always good.

Also, for those that actually read this thing, I will be posting hands where:
1) I am confused of villain's range or am faced with a difficult decision.
2) villain showed down with a hand on the river that I failed to include in his range.
3) I bet for thin value with worse than top-pair.

Here's where the fun comes in. For those of you who read this, I'll ask you guys to flame, berate, and make me feel like trash for my poor poker play. You know you wanna...kthx.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (5 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



Hero (Button) ($34.05)
SB ($26.85)
BB ($29.25)
UTG ($86.30) - A 40/22 fish who is pretty passive
MP ($25.80) - A 62/22 over 39 hands. Haven't seen much postflop play.

Preflop: Hero is Button with 10, 10
UTG bets $0.75, MP calls $0.75, Hero raises to $3, 3 folds, MP calls $2.25
I choose to three-bet for value here against these two loose/passive fish. I expect their calling ranges to both be wide.

Flop: ($7.10) 9, 8, K (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks
When I was playing, I felt I should opt for "pot control" here and check through and perhaps get thin value out of later streets. I did not want the pot to get too large in the earlier streets with only second pair. Also, it may help convince villain that I do not have the king and make him more likely to call with worse hands on the turn.

Turn: ($7.10) 5 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero bets $4, MP calls $4
Here, I chose to bet for thin value. I bet a little more than half the pot (to both keep the pot small and get value out of his small pair hands). Villain's calling range probably looks something like: {77-55,A9,KJ+,KTs,Q9s,J9s+,T9s,97s}. However, that's assuming he checks on the turn with KQ. I think I may be overestimating villain's passiveness. He may have a lot less kings than I think as he probably bets the turn with his KQ hands.

River: ($15.10) 3 (2 players)
MP checks, Hero checks
I feel like I may have missed more thin value from villain here. Of course, this is dependent on if villain calls two streets with a pair of nines (or lower pocket pairs). I chose to check since I thought villain's calling range would be comprised of far more kings than nines but I am now second-guessing myself. Again, villain's check on the turn almost tells me he barely has kings in his range. I probably should have bet ~$6 here.

Hand looks good to me Boog, I don't bet this river here because he can have JJ + QQ being passive preflop and play exactly this way. Also given this is a 3-bet pot I'd expect him to be more passive than usual with weakish kings so don't discount them from his range imo. It's close though and I certainly don't hate a bet.

Hope you get to grips and start pwning the fiddy NLs soon. When you get back up there I'll donate some more BIs to you.

I was feeling the same way since Oct was also horrible for me and was more or less BE. Novemeber has began with an 8BI upswing though in the 3k I've played so far so there is hope. I don't think there's such a huge differecne between 25 and 50Nl presonally, at least not so much of one that you should crush one stake and fail to beat the other.

A lot of it might just be varaince. Play more 50NL as soon as possible, table select and pwn some fish to get your confidence back.

Laterz man.

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $0.25 BB (6 handed) - Poker-Stars Replayer from Poker Hands Replayer



CO ($80.55)
Hero (Button) ($47.75)
SB ($25)
BB ($25.35)
UTG ($25) - Only nine hands on player. FWIW, he's been 50/25 in those nine hands. The best reads I have on player come from this hand; he posted UTG and check/called preflop. I'm going to assume his passiveness preflop translates into passiveness postflop. Though not always true, I have to make a generalization at this point.
MP ($27.75)

Preflop: Hero is Button with A, K
UTG (poster) checks, 2 folds, Hero bets $1.25, 2 folds, UTG (poster) calls $1
I haz AKs, I raise for value. Standard.

Flop: ($2.85) K, J, 3 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $2, UTG calls $2
I flopped a TPTK. I expect villain's calling range to be wide here (again, I'm assuming fish). {Kx, Jx, QT, T9, PPs} all come to mind.

Turn: ($6.85) 5 (2 players)
UTG checks, Hero bets $3.75, UTG raises to $12.50, Hero folds
Sweet. I got check-raised by a player that I assume to be passive. Here we see Beluga's Theorem at work. I cannot really think of anything I beat here. I really don't imagine villain playing his flush draws like this...but let's assume he does. We will also assume villain never folds his flush draw to my shove. Using the EV equation: 0 = 32.35x - 18(1-x) where x = my equity, my shove of $18 would need an equity of 35.75% to be breakeven. Villain would need to have a whole bunch of flush draws in addition to his {KJ,55,33} for my shove to be even close to breakeven. Again, villain probably doesn't play his flush draws very aggressively and this is a standard fold (IMO).

Total pot: $14.35 | Rake: $0.70

Results:
UTG didn't show
Outcome: UTG won $13.65

OK...so a standard hand, right? I agree. However, this is a spot where I would usually think "OMGFISH, I SHOVE." However, this thinking really makes no sense. It probably should be the opposite: "OMGFISH RAISED? SNAPFOLD!" Fish are usually passive. Here, we're not sure villain is a fish, but we will make that assumption. In the past, I probably would have shoved this and be stunned when I saw KJ or a set. It's sad really. I guess I just wanted to post this hand to show that I'm trying to grow as a player...

Nh BooG! It's good to see that ur not making spew calls/shoves in this spot. I just learned the Baluga's Theorem for the 5th time yesterday, too lol. I keep feeling the need to stack off with AQ on a Q high board on the turn vs a passive tard and they show up with the nizzles, and I'm always left thinking, "lolwut." SO gg us imo.

I'm confused how you can have 9 hands on someone and their vpip/pfr be a multiple of 5?

Cuz BooG is good like that imo.

Originally Posted by Illfavor

I'm confused how you can have 9 hands on someone and their vpip/pfr be a multiple of 5?

Its a strange and wondrous thing that the ancients have held secret for thousands of years. Only recently has Boo rediscovered it. Its calling "rounding"

The AK hand looks like an easy fold.. I expect us to be behind his range here a lot. If you see him pull the same move later and there is a showdown bluff, make a note and adjust.

I was catching up on your blog and saw the thing about jogging. I have been wanting to get back into that for a couple of years now. And if you think you feel tired at 23, wait until you are my age. (35) I have a 3 year old and 1 year old so my evenings are spent letting my wife relax while I take over for a couple of hours. So by the time that is over and I play poker for an hour or two, I am wiped and ready for bed. And getting up at 6AM to run just doesn't appeal to me anymore. Before I was married I ran at like 9-10 at night and it was great. I was doing sub 6 minute miles and yawning while doing it. Now I doubt I can do a sub 6 minute 100 yard dash.

We should start an FTR fitness thread and everyone start a similar jogging program, with everyone posting their mile or 2 mile times weekly.

I am interested in your 50NL quest as I am at the same stage too, so I'll be following along here. GL!

I actually really like that idea for a fitness program Outlaw. I've been getting lazy as shit. Something like that would seriously motivate me to get off my ass and do some running.

Speaking of running ... I've got a 1/2 marathon in Texas a week from this Sunday.